Had a Holly Jolly Christmas

Yes, it was wonderful. Paul picked Jadyn and Amanda up from the airport on Christmas Eve in Montgomery, AL and we headed out to celebrate in the area.

Here's a pictoral essay, complete with witty captions, compiled by Amanda.

We put Jadyn in her new Christmas pajamas, complete with hat. I think she looks like an elf.



Did I mention she's not fond of headgear?



Like, at all? We gave up on the cute elfish hat.



This silly toy came from the gift shop of a "stuff yourself sick" smorgasbord in Amish Country, PA. I just thought it was silly, and when she showed it to her at the shop, she said please. How could I resist such manners? (And yes, those are my cheesy Christmas socks.)


On Christmas morning we had breakfast with family friends in Montgomery. Jadyn was her usual charming self.


This classic toy, the "Chatter Telephone", is probably the only rotary dial phone she will ever see. But she loves dragging it around by its receiver like a dog on a leash.

Yes, she was a bow-head. For all of about 18 seconds.


We did our own present-opening later in the afternoon. Since this was her first "interactive" Christmas, we fully expected some hilarious moments, and we were not disappointed.



This, in typical Jadyn fashion, is how she began taking items out of her stocking.

There are two things I'd like to point out about this picture. First is the big red Elmo chair. It giggles and jiggles when sat upon, which at first was very disconcerting to Jadyn. Now she gets a kick out of bouncing in it to make it laugh. Second, she already understood the "rip the paper to see what's inside" idea. I was thinking this wouldn't happen until next year.



I just love this picture. Aside from the great look on her face it looks like Elmo is sneaking up behind her to bite her ear off.



We put the bows on her head so many times that eventually she thought that was a natural part of the process and started doing it herself. Scary what you can teach a kid this way.



See what I mean about the ripping?



She got a Leapfrog musical activity table. That smile says it all.



She says, "Thank you."



Sometime in the last 3 weeks, Jadyn started making a face that we have since called "Funny Face". She often perfoms it upon request.



There's a house in Montgomery that is ultra-decorated for Christmas. I mean MEGA. Hardly a square foot of lawn goes without some sort of singing, dancing, lighted or inflatable doodad. This was Jadyn's reaction to it all.

Big Girl on Campus (BGOC)

Jadyn and Daddy took a stroll on the Mississippi State University campus today - a clear, breezy but warm day in early January.

Standing "tall" in the shadow of Davis Wade Stadium.
Something catches her eye out away from the stadium.

Caught her looking!
Playing ball near the Chapel of Memories.
"Man, will you just take the picture? I'm tired! Let's go to the house!" (This was the last frame I took before we headed for home.)

Brought to you by the letter 'H'
Amanda and I want Jadyn to learn how to speak properly, despite the culture in which she resides and my tendency to mumble in my native Southern accent.
We don't want it said of Jadyn that she is among those in this region who think "head" has two syllables - "heyad," for example. At the same time, I hope she grows up with an appreciation of and reflecting both her Southern and Northern roots.
She has one of those Leapfrog toys which uses magnetized letters and attaches to a device, applied usually to a refrigerator or other metal appliance. When the letter is attached, a young child's voice comes on and says what the letter's sound(s) is (are). "'B' says 'buh,'" etc.
She got it for Christmas and we did a great job of keeping up with all the letters - for about a week.
On Thursday night, I did an inventory and found "H" missing.
We hunted in every logical place for H and couldn't find it.
We decided to buy a replacement set and it should be on the way soon.
"H says ... 'huh,'" I think. I don't remember.
But after we get it back, I hope to play it enough where I won't forget it.

Come fly away

Last month my grandfather passed away at the age of 95. In spite of the crazy holiday season, I decided to get tickets so that Jadyn and I could go. Besides the fact that she can make almost any difficult situation more pleasant simply by her presence, she had never met her uncle (my brother) and aunt (his wife).

The difference between this trip and the one this past summer was that while for both flights I didn't have to drive as far to/from the airports, we DID have a stop in Atlanta each way. That, coupled with the fact that Jadyn was no longer in the "bucket" seat that snapped into the stroller, gave me cause for concern. But hey, we managed.

Here, without further ado, are the pictures.

The Atlanta Airport has this cool little play area where kids can blow off steam while waiting for their next flight. Here she is interacting with another girl who is the same age but definitely NOT the same size.


Can't you just see how happy she is to be out of that seat for a while?!


At the hotel, playing with (what else?) the remote.


With Aunt Misty & Uncle Jason.


Waiting in the airport on the return flight. Notice that big white thing on the stroller? That's her car seat. Yes, it was quite a stroller-full, but look at that smile!

My video baby!

Bad Blogging Mommy

How dare I go a whole 6 weeks without posting?! You'd think I had a job and a 15 month old to chase around, or something!

Seriously, sorry. It's been a tad whirly here at Chez Crazy lately.

Here are some pics to hopefully make up for my slacking.

"Mmm, leafy!"

She really looks like her daddy here.


Tangled in Christmas lights. What a cute little elf!

Sitting Pretty

It was time. Barely.

According to the law, a child must be at least 1 year old AND 20 pounds before he or she may ride in a front-facing car seat.

We've had the new car seat for at least 4 months. I've been waiting and waiting to use it. It sat in her closet, taunting me. At the one year check-up, she had not made the weight. She was 18.5 pounds. Now, she gains about a pound a month. So here we are, 7 weeks after that appointment. I decided it was time. (Besides, I was tired of lugging her around in the "bucket".)

Our friend Rick helped Paul install the new seat. Top of the line Britax, which we bought used from Rick and Martha. Was clean, never been in an accident, and half the price of a new one.

Like any good and overly photo-obsessed parent, I captured the moment of the great switch.

Daddy sets her into the new car seat. She seems wary but interested.

He starts buckling her in. This is usually where she starts fussing but for some reason she was too distracted (by the camera) to bother fussing.


All set and ready to roll. "Have toy, will travel!"

And now, I present another comparison study. The top photo is the first time she went into her car seat when we brought her home from the hospital. The bottom photo was taken the day we put her in the new seat.

Quite a difference, isn't it?

Camping, Baby Style

As you can see from Amanda's blog, we went camping this past weekend with some friends from church. This was her first camping trip, let alone our first camping trip as a couple. It was a great time, and of course we got some pics.


It was really cold the first day so we bundled Jadyn up in her brand new coat and winter hat. She could barely move, but it was adorable.

Daddy took her out to hit the trails.


"Beep beep! Coming through!"

"Mmmmm, spaghettios! A great camping food!"

Playing ball outside the tent. It's 3 times the size of her head, but that didn't stop her from trying to eat it!

Exploring fall

Paul took Jadyn outside this morning on one of the first few cool days of the fall. We got in a few of the obligatory posed pictures ...




then he let her search around in the yard - with the aim of not letting her put, well, keep anything in her mouth.

Checking out what's on the ground.

This was probably seconds before she tried to place the unknown object in her mouth.

Off to look over another patch of the yard.

Sunglasses, shoes, football and gender identity

On Monday, Amanda was sorting through some of Jadyn’s clothes to see what we wanted to keep, discard or pass along to another family.

We’ve had an ongoing challenge to teach Jadyn how to wear things on her head – hats, sunglasses, etc. The photo story involving the sunglasses and shoes took place over about 10 minutes.

The story about the football happened later in the evening and comes later in this post.

Sunglasses and shoes

Mommy starts the experiment.

The struggle ensues.

Mommy sets the example.

The shades didn't stay on long.

Jadyn moves on to something much more interesting … A bin full of shoes! Notice the forgotten sunglasses over her left shoulder. This is more like it. Definitely a girl thing!

We tried a hat, but – trust us – it didn’t stay on long either.

Football

Later in the evening, Daddy was watching Jadyn so Mommy could keep working on the assortment of things in the living room.
For those of you who’ve never been to the Deep South in the United States, we take our football very seriously – especially college football. It is a “water cooler” topic in almost every Southern state on Mondays and throughout the week in the late summer and early fall.
Daddy is a University of Alabama graduate. Alabama is a school rich with football tradition. The late Paul “Bear” Bryant was its legendary coach for many of the last 50 years. He left some big shoes to fill when he passed away in 1983 after his retirement weeks earlier with a record 322 wins, the most of anyone at the time in Division I-A.
In 2003, Florida State University’s Bobby Bowden overtook the Bear’s record and currently stands at 351 wins.
On Monday night, Daddy decided to give Jadyn a “structured” football lesson. It basically involved letting her hold a toy ball emblazoned with Alabama’s long-time logo and years the team won the Southeastern Conference title up through 1992.
That’s the year Alabama won its most recent national title – its 12^th overall, directed by Gene Stallings, a player and coach under the Bear.
Without further delay, here is a photo from the formal football “introduction.” It kind of says it all:

Gender identity

All that being said, we think Jadyn’s gender identity got a further boost from the attraction to the shoes. However, her broader understanding of the culture in which she currently resides and its love of football also got some support.

The Big Pink 1

Our little baby girl turned 1 year old on Sunday, Sept. 10, 2006. To honor the day, we had a little get-together with friends and family. We had a "Flower Power" theme which was adorable. And, of course, we took lots of pictures!

She left this bow in her hair for most of the party. Hilarious!

Her "Aunt Amy" made her birthday cake and cupcakes.

Daddy, Jadyn & Mommy on the big day.

She enjoyed her cake, including her first taste of chocolate.

She loved riding in the little car from Oma and Opa.

More New Pics

HER FIRST HAPPY MEAL

I had to ask twice for an "under 3" toy. Sheesh.

Chicken nuggets and apple slices.
She liked them so much she kept shoving them in
and forgot to swallow. Oops.


What a sweet girl, sharing her toy!

AT A FRIEND'S BIRTHDAY PARTY

Her first experience with a cupcake.
(Yeah, you can see where this is going, can't you?)


She really enjoyed it....

...in spite of the mess.
Good thing babies are 100% washable!