Santa aka - Stranger Danger

Last year, we took Charlie to see Santa, and Nick and I just knew he would freak out the minute we put him in his lap. We were pleasantly surprised to see that Charlie really liked the man in red and did not seem to be scared at all. He loved looking at Santa and was very interested in his beard. We got the cutest pictures, and it was a perfect first meeting with Santa.

This year we were not so lucky. I can't say I was expecting much after seeing and hearing stories about his friends' encounters with Santa. As you can see from the picture, Charlie was NOT a happy camper when he got his big chance to snuggle up close with Santa. There was a brief instant of shock on his face, and that quickly turned into complete panic. The photographer and I snapped a couple of quick pictures before I swooped in to rescue Charlie. Poor kid. Maybe he will be more excited next year when he really understands the concept of Christmas. Until then, here is Charlie wishing all of you a Merry Freaking Christmas!

Cousin Rylee

We are VERY much in love with the newest addition to our family. Rylee came home from the hospital Friday night, and Nick and I made our way over to meet her on Saturday. We weren't able to go to the hospital because of Nick's pneumonia, and it was very hard waiting to see our little niece for the first time. She is as precious as we expected and just about the bittiest little thing. She left the hospital weighing 6 lbs, 7 oz....PEANUT!!! Nick and I went without Charlie on Saturday so that we could get some good quality time with Rylee. We brought him to meet his cousin the very next day when we celebrated Auntie Dani, Auntie Vicki, and Auntie K's birthdays at the Shaw's. As expected, Charlie was very excited to see a little baby. He wanted to touch her face and head and would have crawled into the carrier with her if we had let him. He still has a lot to learn about being gentle, but he will have two babies to practice with soon enough.

Nick and I are thrilled for Dani and Walker, and we know how much love and joy Rylee will bring to their lives. We can't wait to watch Rylee, Charlie, and Baby Shaw grow up together. Nick and I both agree that holding Rylee made us get even more excited about the arrival of our little man in the next few weeks. It's a good thing I am already preggers, because I definitely have baby fever after this weekend.

Friends

Nick and I are blessed with a great group of college friends. We do not get to see all of them as much these days, but when we do get together it is guaranteed to be a great time. Last Friday was the annual holiday party for all of our UGA friends. It is something that we look forward to all year because it means that everyone will be together and that many of our friends from out of town will be there as well. Nick's best friend, Andy, and his wife, Amy, came into town from Charlotte and stayed with us before the party. Charlie was in LOVE with Andy and Amy. He wanted them to go everywhere with him, and had no problem crawling up into their laps for some one-on-one cuddle time. Here is a picture of Charlie and Andy bonding after breakfast on Friday morning.

Out of Touch

A "To Do" list about a mile long has prevented me from updating the blog recently. I am in FULL nesting mode and am trying to get so many things done that it is making my head spin. December is always a busy month for everyone, but this year it has been especially busy for us. So, here is the abbreviated version of what we have been up to recently. I promise that after this weekend, the posts and pictures will back in full force.

-As I mentioned, I am nesting big time. This means that I have spent countless hours cleaning and organizing drawers, closets, and the basement. I can feel the chaos on the horizon, so I need to make sure things are in order before the baby gets here. All of my organization may fall apart within the first few hours of bringing home baby, but nonetheless, it makes me feel more prepared.

-The nursery is well under way. We just painted, and I have three of the most beautiful, custom pieces of artwork ready to be hung on the walls. There is still a lot to be done before I make the grand reveal, so stay tuned.

-Along with decorating the nursery, I decided to redo the upstairs bathroom and decorate it for my boys. I also decided to create all of the decorations for the bathroom myself instead of buying a lot. This has kept me busy.

-In the midst of all of this, Nick got terribly sick a couple of weeks ago. He came home on a Friday complaining that he did not feel well, and by the next day he was bed ridden. He was misdiagnosed with the flu at first, and we later found out that he has pneumonia. I have never seen him this sick before, and it was very scary watching my big, strong hubby so run down. He missed four days of work. I don't think he's even missed one day before this. Nick being sick was not on the "To Do" list, and it was really hard not having his help for so long. Luckily, Nick is feeling much better, but he was still advised to take it easy for the next few weeks.

-We are back to the drawing board with a name for Baby Boy Shaw. I will spare you all of the details, but a few weeks ago Nick came home and told me he did not like the name anymore. Honestly, I was never wild about it in the first place, so it was not hard to let it go. But, seriously??? Are we really STILL looking for a name for this poor child?

-All of the above, along with the normal holiday parties, Christmas shopping, gift wrapping, etc., and it has made for a crazy busy month around here. Because Nick was sick, we have not even had a chance to take Charlie to see Santa yet. So, Charlie and I are going to have to visit Santa on our own this year. It's a good thing Charlie does not understand Christmas. I think he'd be a little disappointed so far.

-Charlie has been great during all of this craziness. He has been shopping with me way too much and watched entirely too much TV. After this weekend, the madness should begin to die down considerably. We are all looking forward to that!

Welcome, Rylee!

Rylee Catherine Patterson

December 16, 2009

10:01 p.m.

6 pounds, 12 ounces

19 inches

Our beautiful niece made her way into the world late last night. Nick and I are so happy for the entire Patterson Family, and we can't wait to meet Rylee. We love you!

32 Week Baby Update

Oh my, are there really only eight weeks left until my due date?!?! I am 32 weeks today and in shock that I am less than two months away from meeting my new little man. For those of you who are wondering - Yes, Nick and I do have a name picked out for Baby Shaw, but we are waiting to tell the whole world until we feel it out for a few more weeks. I swear naming this child has been one of the biggest challenges of my life!

I had my doctor's appointment a couple of days ago, and everything is looking great with the baby. He was napping during the visit, so his heart rate was slower than normal. I found it very sweet to think that he was sleeping. Hopefully he is a big fan of napping once he is out in the world! I have been measuring a couple of weeks small at my last few visits. It's nothing to be concerned about. It might just mean that Baby Shaw will be on the small side, and I am not going to complain about that. If I continue to measure small, they will likely do another ultrasound to make sure that everything is okay. Even though my stomach is measuring small, I am still packing on the pounds. I have gained 26 pounds so far. If you see me munching on a Christmas cookie, feel free to take it out of may hands.

Great news for the nursery! The back ordered bedding came earlier than we thought, and I have been able to get a head start on decorating. I am meeting with the painter tomorrow, and I have already met with my former co-worker to have the artwork done for the room. I am hoping to have everything done before New Year's.

Tanglewood Farms

I had heard about a miniature animal petting farm from our friends, The Hardys, and I have wanted to take Charlie for the longest time. The rain kept us from going in October, and we have been super busy every weekend in November. Finally, this weekend we were able to make a trip to Tanglewood Farms in Canton. We couldn't have picked a more perfect weekend. The weather was gorgeous, and we had the entire place to ourselves.

I was not quite sure how Charlie would feel about the animals, but he was so brave. He walked right up to all of them, big or small, and was not afraid to feed and pet them. Charlie liked the chickens and roosters the best. He enjoyed chasing the birds around the pen trying to pet them. Nick liked the miniature cows, and I was worried that I wasn't going to be able to get him to leave their pen. I have decided that I want to adopt a miniature goat because they were my favorite.

It was just such a great day with my boys. I can't wait to take Charlie back next year. It is definitely a place worth visiting again.

Look Who's Talking Now

Charlie is talking up a storm these days. He is still probably behind most children his age, but Nick and I could care less. We are so proud of the progress he has made in the past few months, and we are happy to brag about his accomplishments. Here are a few of the words that Charlie has started to say since our last update:

on

off

milk

hi

moon

book

eye

nose

duck

dog

it's dark

two

car

bear

apple

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family. Our little family has so much to be grateful for this year...health, the love of our families, new life, Nick's job, being a stay-at-home mom, the list goes on and on. Although we may not reflect on these blessings as much as we should, Nick and I know how truly fortunate we are, and we are so thankful for another great year!

We went over to Granddaddy and Oma's in the morning to spend some time with everyone before they ate. Charlie had a blast playing outside with everyone and really liked sledding down the hill in the front yard on a piece of cardboard. After we visited for a while, Charlie and I headed back to the house for a nap, and Nick stayed to eat with the family.

After nap time, we headed over to Grandpa and Grandma's house for round two of Thanksgiving. My parents have been renovating their kitchen for months, and Thanksgiving was the big reveal. What a beautiful kitchen indeed! We played for a while and then sat down to a lovely meal. Our picky eater even ate the turkey and a roll!

It was a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

Tis' the Season

Oh my, I do love Christmas! More specifically, I love decorating for Christmas. I decided to set up our holiday decorations the weekend before Thanksgiving so that we could get some other things done over Nick's time off. I had to do some creative rearranging of my normal displays considering Charlie can reach just about everything these days.

It was fun introducing Charlie to the tree for the first time. He immediately called the ornaments balls and wanted to touch all of them. I told him that none of us could touch the ornaments with our hands, but that we could look at them with our eyes. Before I knew it, Charlie was getting his face as close to the ornaments as possible to get a better look with his eyes....too funny! For the most part, it has been pretty easy to keep him away from the tree because it is set up in the living room at the front of the house (out of sight, out of mind). We'll see if that continues to be the case as the month goes on.