My sister, Traci, and her family are here visiting for Christmas. My neice, Averi, and Jack decided to "share" a blanket (even though neither wanted to move his/her seat on the couch) and relax while watching some good ol' Curious George. Meanwhile, the rest of us prepared to put the babies to bed. Can you tell Rick is enjoying the chaos?
Rick and I held a mini-photo shoot trying to get a good picture for our Christmas card. After a lot of sweat and a few tears (thank God, no blood!), we did end up with a few good shots. The bottom photo of Sam is so sweet with his face lit up with lights. The middle photo is fairly representative of the bulk of our session. Finally, the top photo was the winner--we love how it so accurately portrays how Sam kisses!
Soon after Sam was born, my mom came to visit. We were shopping for a double stroller when she asked me if she could buy a gift for Sam. We saw these beautiful painted canvas monogram sets at a little baby boutique, and I told her that would be a great gift. We were able to have them custom-made with his initials and the colors of his room. They didn't arrive until after she had gone, but they really look great above his crib. In fact, we've come to realize that Sam appreciates them the most. Check out his maniacal behavior and laughter at the mere sight of these wall hangings. This happens EVERY time he catches sight of them.
Last weekend, I caught Sam as he was crawling by and noticed he had something in his hair. When I went to pull it out, my fingers stuck--pine sap! It just so happens that Sam is the perfect height (while crawling) for his hair to skim the bottom of the Christmas tree. The pine-scented super glue helped define the trendy, little mohawk spike Sam is currently sporting, but it quickly hardened into somewhat of a hazard for the rest of us, who love kissing the top of his head. I had no idea what gets sap out of hair. Fortunately, I didn't have to stress out about the possibility of cutting off his spike because Rick gave Sam a good bath and gently scrubbed until all that sap dissolved.
In lieu of our annual trip to the mountains for our Christmas tree, we chose to make things a little easier on all of us by stopping a little short...at the foothills. This year, we cut our trip in half by visiting a tree farm in Lincolnton--an easy one hour and ten minute drive. Jack chose his own tree very quickly and helped Rick cut it down. Sam enjoyed playing with the pine needles. Rick and I were a little less decisive, but we finally agreed on a 9 ft. tree for our entry way. Lucky for us, Santa and Mrs. Claus were visiting the tree farm. Jack introduced himself to Santa, "My name is Jack Colewox," and told him he wanted a scooter for Christmas. We hovered over cups of hot chocolate while the trees were secured to the roof of the Tahoe. Jack sipped his "coffee," and Sam took a nap on the way home. 
