Here Comes Santa Claus!

Good thing we've all been on the NICE LIST around here this year! The kids put on their Santa outfits and we headed to see Santa Claus at South Park Mall. Paxson has had to wear his red keds a lot this season, and he's made it very clear that he is only wearing them because it is Christmas. Each time I get them out, he'll say, "Mommy, is it still Christmas?". I've figured that this is really my last year to dress him in little boy clothing, he'll be too big next year!

It took Paxson no time to find this drum set in Pottery Barn Kids. We think we've convinced him that he has to big like his cousin's Mac and Beau to get this present!

Gracie Myers shed a few tears when she sat on Santa's lap, but Paxson helped to reassure her that it was OK.

Paxson asked Santa for: a lollipop drum, a demote-introller (remote control car), and a leaf blower. Gracie Myers didn't ask for much, but we put in a good word for her! :)

Getting the House Ready for Santa!

The inside of the house is ready for Santa's big visit, but Bill and Paxson decided that they wanted to spruce up the outside! Thanks fellas, we appreciate all that you do!

Paxson calls this his "hunting camouflage jacket".

Paxson has his own wheelbarrow to help haul off the leaves.

The wreaths are hung and the trees are out and lit. We had to remove the candles from the windows due to the two little hands that kept knocking them down!

Like Father, Like Son!

Christmas Adventures!

Our family has always enjoyed viewing the lights at McAdenville, "Christmas Town USA" during December. This year, we stopped by the Billy Graham Library to see the live nativity and to possibly take a horse and buggy ride. Unfortunately, the line for the buggy rides was way too long to stand in. We spent some time walking around the library and then headed on to McAdenville! This year, we were able to all ride together in the old Ramada Inn van...the only two secure passengers were really Paxson and Gracie Myers. We spent some time viewing the lights and even did some off roading as we veered from the correct route!

Unfortunately, we did have some minor car issues, but the van still had some life left to make it to the nearest Krispy Kreme in Gastonia. We are happy to say that we all made it back to Charlotte in one piece!

Paxson was amazed at the real animals at the nativity.

What a beautiful display.

Gracie Myers was bundled up for the cold night out!

The Chalfants!

Meme and Pops with some of the grand kids.

The back two rows of our sweet ride!

Uncle Ben and Aunt Nicole

Pops, Meme and Meredith led the way!

Uh Oh...only a minor oil shortage! Pops was able to get the van up and moving again.

Gracie Myers was up way past her bedtime, but was having way too much fun to fall asleep!

The cute Holiday Dozen from KK!

Paxson scored the snowman doughnut! Uncle Wes appears to be a tad bit jealous of Paxson's tasty treat!

Sharon Presbyterian Weekday School had their Christmas program today at 10:45AM. We arrived early and got great seats so we could be up close when Paxson and his class sang their "Mary and Joseph" song. Well, much to our surprise, Paxson decided to cover his eyes for most of the performance because, "I didn't want daddy to see me". We managed to get a couple of shots of Paxson looking our way during the performance. Bop commented that we probably wouldn't ever have to worry about Paxson running off to Broadway!

What a precious sight to see all of these sweet children singing about baby Jesus!

At least Paxson sang the song this year. Last year he just stood and stared at the crowd.

He said "Daddy couldn't see me when I covered my eyes!"

Paxson's younger 3's class before the performance.

Paxson and his classmates walking into the sanctuary.

The class singing "We Wish you a Merry Christmas".

Yes, that's our boy jumping off of the alter!

Gracie Myers really enjoyed all of the music.

Pops, Meme and Bop came to watch Paxson perform and then stayed for the party.

Mrs. Fisher and Mrs. Haenlien with Paxson.

Christmas Card Craziness!

Each year, like most families, we try to take a nice picture to include on our Christmas card. Well, year after year, this pictures seems like it is more difficult to take. Maybe it is because we tend to wait until the last minute to take the picture. Or could it be that we try to use the self-timer in hopes that we get one good pose? After about 50 attempts, we are all burning up and Bill and I are exhausted and the kids look more cranky than cheery. We even gave the kids lollipops to encourage them to smile, these ended up being more trouble than they were worth!

We finally gave up trying to take it on our own and enlisted the help of our next door neighbor Rhett. He managed to get the kids to smile and the last picture that he took ended up being the one that worked for the card. Thanks Rhett!

I had to include some of the "not" pictures that ended up on the cutting room floor!

We didn't exactly make it into the frame.

Good thing Bill was ready with his smile.

This was the final picture that we decided to use. This is a classic Gracie Myers picture because she has quite the reputation of being our "social butterfly" and waves to people everywhere!

Paxson trying to get away!

Paxson was nowhere to be found and Bill said, "Just say No to anymore pictures!"

Need I say more?

This would have been really cute, but I couldn't crop it to get Bill out of the picture!

Merry Christmas and we'll hope for better luck next year!

Christmas Cookie Decorating and Ornament Making Party 2008!

Paxson has some really amazing little friends and he's always looking for a reason to get together with them. This year we thought it would be a lot of fun to invite some children over to decorate Christmas cookies and make ornaments and other holiday crafts. The kids had amazing time and all of the parents were a huge help! Meme was a lifesaver in the kitchen too!

In my mind, I imagined that the parents could all just drop their kids off and Meme and I could handle it! Well, we would have been a little outnumbered! All in all I think the kids had a blast and they were on a sugar high after leaving. We look forward to making this an annual tradition for our kids!

Paxson and his buddies adding glitter and color to their ornaments.

Aunt Nicole was so sweet to sew aprons for each child to wear.

This would be Paxson using his juice box straw to suck up the cookie decorations off of his plate. Are you serious?

Gracie Myers didn't miss any of the action!

Here are a few of the elves who would let me take their picture!

The kids patiently listened to a Christmas story before leaving!

Hannah Kate gets some help from her Mommy.

Nana Lou came with Kristen and Kaylin.

"Mommy, there's a pig-eye in my nose!"

It was about 45 minutes after we put Paxson to bed for the night that I went into his room to look for something. I could tell that he was still awake, because he was under the covers moving around. I walked over to his bed and pulled the covers back and when I did, he had his finger shoved into one of his nostrils. I said, "Paxson, that is gross, let mommy get you a tissue". He said, "But Mommy my eye is in my nose, not a boogy". I replied, "Paxson your eye is not in your nose, your eyes are right here". He then said, "No Mommy, not my eyes, the pig's eyes!"

I immediately remembered seeing a greeting card from Bop on Paxson's dresser before bedtime. This little card was shaped like a pig and had two plastic googly eyes on it. As I looked down at Paxson's bed, I noticed that the card was there, but the eyes were missing! I quickly called for Bill and turned on the lights. As I inspected Paxson's nose, I only could see one "pig- eye" lodged inside of his nostril. He informed me that they other one would not fit..."...Mommy I tried to get them both inside, I even used my thumb, but only one would go" Well thank the Lord we only had one "pig eye" to remove! The other loose eye was found on his pillow.

Bill suggested we use the nasal aspirator and/or tweezers, but both were a no go with Paxson. Since Paxson has not learned to blow out of his nose yet, we were afraid that our plans of removal might backfire and he'd inhale more! So, we called Bop and Pop Pop, and Bop made a few suggestions of how to remove it. One of Bop's suggestions were to use the suction hose from the vacuum cleaner hose to gently suck the "pig eye" out...she didn't intend for us to hold it directly to his nostril, but just underneath. Well considering how deliriously tired I was combined with fact that I had no idea of how to get this thing out of Paxson's nose, I began to laugh. Just imagining us hooking up the vacuum cleaner and holding it to Paxson's nose was funny...the idea did make sense however! As I was explaining the idea to Bill he also began to laugh as did Paxson. Well, when Paxson laughed the "pig-eye" briefly came out of his nostril, but then quickly retreated once he inhaled again! So, Bill covered Paxson's mouth and told him laugh once more really hard and with the next belly laugh, the "pig-eye" went flying out of his nose and onto the floor!

I guess this milestone in parenting is payback for us both, I stuck a peanut up my own nose during nap time when I was a toddler and Bill experimented by putting a small magnet inside of his nose when he was younger too! "What goes around comes around"!

Paxson had fun explaining how the "pig-eye" made it into his nose!

Here's the famous card...minus the eyes! It was a really cute card and I wouldn't have hesitated in buying this card for a second...who knew!

A relieved Paxson with his Daddy!

More from the Bag Lady...

Merriment is in the air around our house and we are getting geared up for Christmas! Gracie Myers is up to her usual silly self and loves carrying a purse of her very own! You never know what you might find in her bag, today it was the remote control for the TV!

Bill just loves adding to our chaos by playing the harmonica!

Gracie Myers has been programmed to say "Cheese" every time she sees a camera....which is strange considering she never has anyone taking her picture!

All dressed up with nowhere to go!

This view is just priceless, I love how tiny she still is!