Winter Holidays 2011

So...this is a good time to post about Christmas, right? Sorry things have gotten so behind! For whatever reason, we have been busier than usual lately--not in a bad way, just lots of fun stuff going on.  And to be fair, this is the third time I've written this post.  It keeps getting deleted/not saving.
I'm going to attempt to combine several of our December events into one post, so try to keep up.

Here we go.

Dec. 11--Santa Party

This is a genius idea. Our friends Marc & Sarah have Santa come to their house every year, give a gift to each of their friends' children, and pose for pictures. It's much more manageable for parents than a trip to the mall line. There's food, lots of kids, and plenty of memorable moments. Carson was very relaxed at first....

then Santa arrived...

then this happened.

Okay, maybe next year.

Dec. 17--Annual Christmas Dinner with Friends

We've been having this gathering for over a decade with some of my friends from high school and college.  The celebration has definitely changed over time, having begun as a bunch of college kids looking for a reason to gather with food and drinks. Now, all these grown-ups show up.

And bring their kids.

And it's still one of my favorite nights. Thanks for hosting, Nackers!


Dec. 20--Carson's 2-Year-Old Appointment

Another successful check-up.  Carson was 25.1 lbs (25th percentile) and 33 3/4" (50 percentile).  We tried a new doctor this time and really liked him.  We'd seen him before for sick visits, and we really appreciated how much time he was willing to take with us.  Doing all of this for the first time, it's so nice not to feel rushed to get our questions out before the doctor rushes out the door.  We're thinking of making a switch for good.

Dec. 24--Christmas in Hartsville!


We had an amazing time at Giddy and Grandad's this year!  It was so much fun watching Carson. I mean, it always is, but Christmastime was awesome. She doesn't totally get it all yet.  While we definitely spent some time singing happy birthday to Jesus and talking about giving presents, we also definitely avoided discussing the whole "strange-man-coming-into-our-house-at-night" situation.
But singing Christmas carols (which we still sing almost every day in the car), talking about how the three kings came to visit baby Jesus, and watching her get excited about gifts was great. The other day, she asked me, "Where is baby Jesus?"  I told her he grew up into a man and now he's in Heaven with God.  She informed me that one day, she would go see baby Jesus and God.  "In Heaven," just in case I wasn't sure where the meet-up would be.

We got tons of quality time with Brandon's family too.

A few funny memories we'll treasure from this year:

Dancing with Courtney--we ended up getting this game for our own Wii when we got home b/c Carson loved it so much.

Reading books in the bed and Carson telling Brandon and I which book to read, at what volume, and when to switch.

This conversation as I was laying her down to go to sleep one night:
      C: (picking her nose) What's that?  Oh, a booger.
       Me: Oh, okay. 
       C: I want to see it.  Turn the light on.
       Me: Um, no.  You can see a booger another time.
       C: (apparently having dropped her new pal)  Where did it go? I can't find it!  (pause) Probably to be with his mommy and daddy.

Christmas morning, Carson opened a gift from us (a board game) and we told her it was a game.  She promptly said, "Oh. Can we put it on the iPad?"  Signs of the times.

Singing "Baa Baa Black Sheep" at the tops of our lungs, and laughing hysterically, for a significant portion of the ride home.

Dec. 31--New Year's Eve Out!

NYE this year was a first for us. Since we've been together, we have always spent NYE at someone's house. This year, we got a sitter and went out with some very dear friends. There could have been no better way to begin a fresh, new year. Brandon dubbed it his best NYE EVER.

We had dinner at Dante's Down the Hatch (where, years ago, we had our very first date). We sat by the jazz band, ate a lot of food very slowly (b/c we didn't have to rush to avoid a meltdown), drank champagne, and laughed.
And stayed up past midnight!! Thanks for heading up the plans, Marc & Sarah!

Jan. 1, 2012--Christmas with the Flowers Fam

New Year's Day, we were able to have Christmas with my family, which was another fun celebration.  As always, lots of sarcasm, laughter, and running children.  Couldn't ask for anything better.

And as an extra bonus, Carson got to have her very first cousin spend-the-night at Patrick & Maddy's house!  Thanks, Uncle Toby & Aunt Angie for the invite--she talked about the fun for days and days!

Overall, we would definitely say this holiday season was a fun one.  We're so grateful for the many blessings of 2011, including healthy and loving families, friends who not only support us in the tough times but add so much to our day-to-day lives, and the precious gift that is our daughter.  There is no gift or celebration that could improve upon the true gift it is to have Brandon and Carson to explore life with.

Hope both of you still reading this have had a great start to the year!  More pictures below