Birthdays and Christmas

We've had a great past two weeks with my birthday, Bennett's birthday and Christmas.

For my birthday dinner, I had a great time with Josh, Greg and a few close friends eating tapas at Loca Luna in Atlanta. Very, very nice. And what a nice surprise that one of my girlfriends who couldn't make it called the restaurant and had two pitchers of sangria waiting for us at the table! Love you, Annie! :)

I took some cupcakes to Montessori for Bennett and his classmates to enjoy on his birthday. Here he is waiting patiently for what turned out to be pretty sad little cupcakes. The teachers asked that I put little or no icing on them, so they just each had a letter and all of them together spelled out "HAPPY BIRTHDAY BENNETT." The icing was a light orange that pretty much got lost on the yellow cake. Oh well.

Fortunately, I had the motivation and energy to make up for it with his actual birthday cake. We had a very small get-together the Saturday after his birthday, and I made a Sesame Street cake for him. I did the signs on the side of the cake no problem, but started getting nervous about free-handing the characters on the top. Josh is pretty talented when it comes to stuff like that, so I asked him to just draw out the shapes of the heads for me. He said, "I will if you want me to, but I feel like you'll be more proud if you can say you did it all." Ugh! Darn him for being right!

So I did it, and while the colors are kind of off, I am pretty happy that I was able to create this:


He didn't care much about what it looked like, he just wanted to eat it. All he said was, "Mmmmmm!" And he was very focused on that wish he was making...


Oh, and I should probably mention that using baking powder that expired in February of 2007 is NOT OK. I'm embarrassed to even admit that I had something so out of date, but I honestly had no idea it was that old. It definitely made a difference. The cake was like a brick. It was the absolute farthest thing from fluffy. Mama said, "It's like there's not any levening in it." I said, "I put baking powder in it, and I know I put it in there, because I clearly remember having to scrape the teaspoon around in it to get it to come loose 'cause it was kind of hardened in the can." Ding, ding, ding! Yeah, uttering those words made me go check the can. Oops.

Poppa and Grandmama gave him a workbench that is quite awesome.


Pop and Gigi gave him a drum that came with a tambourine, harmonica and a recorder. The very next day he took those drumsticks in the other room and started paying on Josh's real drum set with them. Hey- can't beat the real thing!

*I should add that the real drums do not take the place of the toy drum, by any means. He just knows that there are more than one instrument on which to use his new drumsticks. :)

Elizabeth had just as much fun playing with the boxes. Josh made a ride out of it.


Make that two rides.


And unfortunately, I feel like I need to be honest and let you know that about half of the time was spent with Bennett like this:


Yeah, he's getting very good at fit-throwing.

So after the birthdays came Christmas Eve. We spent that evening at my parents house. Mama fixed a great meal of green beans, corn, dressing and gravy, deviled eggs, sweet potatoes, macaroni and cheese, and I think there was some kind of meat, but who cares about the meat? Oh, everybody but me? Oh well. If you know me, you know how I love my veggies. Mmm.

And I usually pass up the dessert too, in order to have more room for a second round of vegetables, casseroles, and gravy. NOT THIS TIME.

Ohhhhhh, man. About a month ago, I told Mama that I overheard Greg talking to someone about how his mom used to make him a cheesecake every Christmas, but that she hasn't in a long time. He wasn't at all complaining, they were just discussing old traditions and what they remember about Christmas. So of course, I had to pass along the word that there needs to be a cheesecake involved in our Christmas meal this year.

So. Glad. I. Did. That. It was the most wonderful thing I have put in my mouth in a long time. If you haven't ever had a real cheesecake, you are missing out. It was so silky, and creamy, and rich and wonderful. Heavenly, even. Ku-dos, Mama.

So anyway, yeah, there were presents and stuff too.


Malia took this photo of me and Josh. Yikes! Stripes! Fruit Stripes Gum. Sorry, had to.


And, again with this face.


Christmas morning was enjoyed by just the three of us, and Bennett did very well opening his gifts. He got the hang of present opening after his birthday party. He would open one, play with it for a few minutes, and then move on.


Santa Claus brought him some Dr. Seuss books,


a new blanket for his bed,

a stacking train,

a Home Depot apron, hard hat and hammer,

and a little trike. In one arm he has one of the Nerf balls my parents gave him the night before, and in the other, a little hobby horse ornament that a salesman at Macy's gave him. You can't just play with one thing at a time!

He also got a great set of stencils and gel crayons with a little hanging frame to show off his masterpieces. Josh's aunt and uncle from New Jersey are always so sweet to think of us at the holidays. Thanks, guys!

But.... the fun couldn't last forever. Out came the terrible two monster.

Later on that morning, we headed to Alabama to spend time with my dad's side of the family. I don't have any pictures of that, but we had another great meal, played dirty Santa, and Bennett tried my patience because all he wanted was for me or my dad to be holding him. So frustrating. Josh, Jeff and I left and Mama and Daddy said they'd bring Bennett back with them. Josh and I had to be back because his parents were coming that evening to visit with us.

When Mama and Daddy brought Bennett home, they said after we left he had everyone laughing at him. He was apparently putting on a show dancing to music, talking, and doing all his cute little things. I was sorry I wasn't there to see it, but I was glad he didn't leave there looking like a total whiny pants.

I think it's me. He acts out when I'm there. It happened at his Montessori Christmas party (I left out that chapter on purpose, because it was the morning from hell.) He was terrible! I had to take him out of the room more than once. His teacher said, "I think it's because you're here, because this is not the Bennett we know." It happened at his birthday party (again, left that out.) He spent the night with Josh's parents the night before his party and they brought him on Saturday. They said he was an angel the whole time; just a complete joy. As soon as he got home, oh no. Ugly, ugly. Of course, he hadn't gotten the nap he was used to, so that definitely played a part. And then as soon as I'm gone from my grandparents' in Alabama, he turns on the sweet, entertaining side of himself. Oh well.

Anyway, so Josh's parents came Christmas night. I had put together the workbench he got for his birthday and that's what he was interested in before supper.

We had everything ready to cook dinner, but decided to take the easy route and go to Waffle House instead. It was great. And no mess!

Pop and Gigi brought lots of nice gifts for us and for Bennett, including a red wagon and a rocking chair that I didn't get a picture of, and they also brought gifts from Josh's sister and her family since we weren't able to see them this year.

If we lie down in the floor, he immediately lies down next to us. He and his daddy were having a sing off. Basically, just who can hold the note the longest. He loves that game.

And of course the family photo, in which I look huge. I have been feeling really, really humongous lately. I am showing sooo much more than I was with Bennett at this point.

And that was our Christmas! Hope y'all had a great one!