Christmas 2010

We had a great Christmas! Tyler was such a joy this year, although we learned a few lessons about traveling with a toddler.

On Christmas Eve, we started celebrating a new tradition--Dixie House Cafe in Fort Worth. Chad discovered this place and wanted to take the us to a old-fashioned, mom-and-pop kinda place for lunch. Plus, we picked up our homemade pies that we ordered for Christmas lunch.

After a nap at home, we went to the Christmas Eve service at our new church, First Baptist McKinney. They didn't provide childcare for the service, as an attempt to celebrate as a family. It was our first time taking Tyler to "big church," and he didn't do too badly. We only had one freak-out moment because he wanted to go with all the kids to the children's sermon on stage. After Chad took him in the hall, he calmed down and sat through the entire service. He liked all the music.

Then we rushed home to make cookies for Santa (a family tradition) and read the Christmas stories. Daddy always reads "The Story of Christmas" and "Twas the Night before Christmas." Since Tyler LOVES books, he loved this activity.

Then it was off to bed before Santa comes ... well, not without checking to see how his cookies were doing in the oven.

Santa came, and we managed to get a few pictures of what he left for our very good boy.

On Christmas morning, we set the alarm and went in to wake Tyler at 7:30 a.m. We had to get an early start since we had busy, busy day planned. He normally eats breakfast immediately, but when he saw what awaited in the living room, he forgot about his hunger for a moment. Merry Christmas little buddy.

He loved his train table and Thomas Early Engineer train set! And in true Tyler-form, he climbed right up on it to get a closer look.

We opened a few more presents at home.

Then, we went to Grandma Marty's house for a Christmas celebration. Tyler must have been an extraordinary boy this year, because Santa left him gifts at Grandma's house too! He ran straight in and "ooohhh"ed over the table and train. (Sidenote: my mom and I never discussed what Santa was bringing Tyler, and we bought almost the same things: tables, chairs and trains. So funny!) Tyler opened a few more gifts, but his favorite was the snack tree she made. We were all super impressed with her creativity. Tyler could go up to the tree (which intentionally matched his bedroom colors) and pull off all the toddler snacks he could! An edible, toddler-sized Christmas tree ... so perfect!

We banked at my mom's house. She loaded us up with gifts! We are so spoiled! :)

Next, we all went to Grandma Judy/Great Grandma Morgan's house. Tyler was starving, so he got to eat a little early. We all sat down at the beautiful table and shared a great meal. After lunch (and an attempt at a nap), we opened presents. We drew names again this year, which proved to be a little more difficult than in years past. But we still had fun.

 
Of course, Erica and I had to take a pregnant picture (Me: 27 weeks, Erica 29 weeks). This time next year, we'll have two new babies. Baby Logan and Baby Grayson will be crawling all over the place ... crazy! 

After a long, nap-less day, we headed home. Poor Tyler was exhausted. But it was a great Christmas nonetheless. We were able to celebrate with family and make many new memories.

Merry Christmas from The McKinney Family

A Year Ago this Christmas ....

After unpacking the Christmas decorations, I found myself in a reflective mood. Tyler's ornaments from last year included a footprint and "baby's first Christmas" bootie. It's amazing to me how much a child can grow and change in one year. I can honestly say I love him more and more each day. Being a mommy is fun! Here's a look back for comparison. Same cute boy. Same adorable smile. 

4 months

16 months

4 months

16 months

4 months

16 months

4 months

16 months

 

4 months

16 months

Doctor update

The anti-contraction medicine is working, for the most part. I've only had a few bouts of severe pain, which have usually been cured with a glass of water, a warm bath or lying on my left side. At the doctor yesterday, my cervix was measuring perfectly. In fact, it has even lengthened a tiny bit more. They did another sonogram as well to check Grayson's growth. He is in the 50th percentiles and should weigh significantly less than his big brother at birth. Right now, he is 1 lb 13 oz. He is so cute, all curled up in a tight ball. He's always asleep and very cuddly ... again, very different than Tyler who performed acrobatics in the womb. Oh, and we think he has my nose. It's a lot more pointy than Chad's. :)

Our doctor is doing a couple more tests at the next visit after Christmas to make sure my body isn't showing any more signs of preterm labor. But she thinks everything will be fine. And on January 3, she is scheduling the c-section! She's going to look at the calendars, make sure that both doctors in their practice can be available, and request a specific anesthesiologist. I can't believe we'll have Grayson's birthday chosen in a couple weeks! It will most likely be March 10, since our doctor is the staff doctor at the hospital that night. But we'll definitely let you all know when the date is chosen.

Keep up the prayers; they are obviously working!