Baby Greenie's First Christmas

In the weeee hours of December 25, the Greenie Christmas tree was lit up in all it's glory:
The Christmas lights were aglow in the bushes (click to actually see them...):
(and yes, it was pretty much impossible to take a picture of glowing lights in the dark without a flash...) Here's another shot of the entryway to our home with the lights a-shining:
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care (and you can click on any of these photos to make them bigger - I cut the file sizes down for this post):

And it seems that Santa DID make a stop at the Greenie house! Just LOOK at all of those presents!
But before Carter could see just what Santa brought, we had a little breakfast (while wearing his "Baby's First Christmas" bib...thanks Kristin!):
The suspense was getting to him, so we hurried up with breakfast:
But before checking out the presents, Carter had to scope out the ornaments. This blue one looks pretty tasty:
Same with this snowflake. Glitter is edible, right?But never mind the tree decor, let's get to the presents:
What's this? Ribbon? And this is such a pretty tag!
Here, Mommy, let ME help!
Vroom, vroom, check out this truck (thanks Aunt Katrina!):
I can help with this one TOO! Thanks Aunt Nancy and Uncle Jim!
MORE wrapping paper, weeeeee!:
This is SOOOO much fun!
Mommy, look at this snowman! Thanks Grandma C!:
Grandma C picked out the BEST KU clothes! (Mommy approves!)
Hey, Daddy, check out this awesome bow!
Whoa! A giant penguin! Thanks Uncle John!
And finally, a little post-gift-opening shot:
Pretty much an all-around success for Christmas No. 1, eh? Here's a shot of Carter playing with his new toys (and those goofy monsters are from Mommy and Daddy - they were made for charity - they let 4 and 5 year old kids design "monsters" and made them into stuffed animals - hilarious!):

The Greenies spent Christmas dinner with some pals in NW Albuquerque and stuffed ourselves silly. Forgot to bring the camera, so no photos to share. *sniff But we owe a big THANK YOU to Brian, Genny, and their folks for letting us spend Christmas with them! We had a great time and Carter had a TERRIFIC first Christmas!

Hope your holidays were just as fantastic!

Ho! Ho! Ho!
~kerrie

Twas the Night Before Christmas

With Daddy having nearly 1/2 a month off of work (he's off and I'm working OT...figures...), the boys are getting little well deserved father-son time.
They had a rough day on Christmas Eve playing with some toys, taking a walk, some nap time, and then playing with a few more toys. Daddy fed him all sorts of fun stuff throughout the day, but sadly, he never got any real Christmas sweets... Tough break kid, Mommy ate all the fudge!

Here are a few shots from his Christmas Eve broccoli dinner (hey, it's JUST like figgy pudding!):Looks like the boys had a little fun at dinner time, eh?
Then there was the let's-play-Mommy-some-Christmas-music-time or Carter's version of "Carol of the Bells"...(cover your ears):


Matt joked about what it'd be like if he used a REGULAR coffee tin, as that was just his nuttiness on DECAF!

Moving on towards the evening, Grandma C sent Carter a very large and very colorful edition of the classic poem "Twas the Night Before Christmas." Before we settled in to bed, Matt and I took turns reading the book to Carter and hopefully we'll continue with this tradition for future Christmas Eves!

A little suspense in the story:And getting sleepy toward the end of the book:
All in all, Christmas Eve was wonderful. Even got a little teary while reading the story because I just love how perfect our little family is! Couldn't ask for a better life and I wouldn't trade this for anything!

Anywho, up next, we'll see how much Carter enjoyed his very first Christmas Day!
~kerrie

Congrats to Steph & Donnie!

Since I know my pal Stephanie (from SWE) reads our blog, I thought I'd put up a little post just for her!

Starting with a big....
51 hours of labor (!!!!!!) and a C-section later, her little boy (Donnie the 4th) has arrived! Can't wait to meet the lil' guy in person and oooh and aaah over adorable baby photos!

Heartfelt congratulations from the Greenies and here's to a few rest-filled nights!
~kerrie (& matt & carter)

PS Must be something in the water, because we currently have FIVE friends that are expecting! So you'll be seeing more congrats down the road (...to Chris & Renae, Jessica & Braden, Andy & Erin, Angelica & Robert, Wes & Oshani...)

Little Dab Here, Little Dab There...

Last post I mentioned that Carter seemed a little suspicious of the camera... Well, tonight, he was a little ham! As soon as I turned it on, he was all smiles! Love it!

Tonight's dinner (spinach + broccoli, chicken + sweet potatoes, and some cottage cheese + blueberries) was a hit! Carter is starting to want to "help" feed himself, but usually ends up just banging the spoon and making a huge mess. Which, frankly, I don't mind, as everything is washable.

However, tonight he managed to get food EVERYWHERE. All over his clothes, all over his tray, all over the floor, and a bunch on his face. I thought it was hilarious, as he even had sweet potatoes stuck to his FOREHEAD! Had to capture the moment, because it was just too cute (and click on the photos to make them bigger - and really see the mess...):
Gave him another bite of broccoli while Matt was snapping photos and here he is showing you what it looks like in his mouth - eww:
And yes, the guilty party (mommy) caught in the act - aiding and abetting? I think so, dear Watson!
Two or so more days of work for me this week and then I'll be resting on my bum for Christmas. Matt's off until January something, so I'll be working on his "honey-do" list in my spare time!

Have a great night!
~kerrie

The Tornado Kid

As I sit and listen to KU basketball (canceled all of our cable, DirecTV, etc. so now I listen to all of the KU bball games...which isn't so bad, as it's on Jayhawk Radio, so it's well-biased for "my" team!)...thought I'd catch up and post a few blogs. Trying to get a few more up here because I love to peek at my boy when I'm having a busy day at work. Sort of my calm before the storm. But we'll get to storms here in a sec...

First up, thought Carter was decked out like a little preppy kid today, so we snapped a few photos. I just think he looks adorable in blue jeans, so when paired with the rugby shirt, he definitely is higher class than we are!
Was a little cranky this morning (he's been sleeping like a ROCK lately, so when Matt wakes him up for school, he's a little like his mom...cranky!):
So we ended the photo shoot with a few hugs and then all was ok (yes, that's wet hair...still getting ready for work - and that giraffe print behind me was from Kelly - VERY cool!):

Next up - the tornado. Took a few photos of Carter playing yesterday and here's a "before" shot of his play room:
And here's the "after" shot - pretty much looks like a Kansas tornado ran through:
He didn't seem to mind the mess and even tried bringing some toys to bed (and those monkey PJs are from Grandma C - VERY cute and VERY warm!):
And one last shot with Mr. Pickle. Haven't a clue where Matt picked up a stuffed pickle, but Carter seems to enjoy it (and was a little suspicious of the camera):
Anywho, game is wrapping up and sounds like KU has this one in the bag! Rock Chalk, Jayhawk!
~kerrie

Jumping for Joy! ...And Garlic!

This is just a silly post to end the weekend on a good note. As I wrote previously, we crammed a LOT into this little weekend and managed to have a really great time doing so!

Carter, on the other hand, had a really, REALLY great time this weekend! Got to spend a little time in his jump-a-roo and STILL loves bouncing around like a goon (thanks Grandma C for keeping our boy occupied so happily!) - and sorry these next 2 pics are fuzzy - he wouldn't exactly stay still:
In real-time, it sort of looks like this:


If you heard the spoon clanging in the background, that's because Matt was making dinner on Saturday night while I was working on the computer. Asked him to make a sauce up for the GIANT spaghetti squash and told him to throw in 2 cloves of garlic when he made the sauce.

Well, luckily I got up to check on dinner's progress and noticed that Matt had cleaned up a few more than 2 cloves of garlic. Exhibit A:
And here's a close up - must be about 25 cloves there(!!!!): After getting a good laugh out of it, I notified him that a "clove" isn't the same as a "bulb" of garlic! He was all ready to toss it in and get dinner to the table. Bless him for having such a big heart, but sometimes he REALLY gives me a good laugh always doing the "right" thing! :)

Anywho, time to fold up some laundry and hit the hay!
~kerrie