THE THAMES FAMILY: Christmas in Montgomery

Christmas was a whirlwind to say the least. Traveling with 2 little ones just never ends up being easy, no matter how much planning you do. We actually ended up leaving for Montgomery a little sooner than we had planned on, so poor Christopher stayed behind for 2 more days and had to do most of the grocery shopping, putting together of toys for Christmas Day, cleaning, etc. He was a real trooper and somehow it all got done. We split our time with the Thames' and with my parents and got some great playtime with our cousins, Ella and Gray. Caroline and the girls literally squealed and played from the time we got there to the time we left. There were definitely tears when it was time to head to my parents house. We came back to Birmingham (in the worst rain storm I've ever driven in) Christmas Eve night so the kids would wake up at home and see if Santa came down the chin-che. Thankfully Santa closed his eyes during the many "fits" that Caroline pitched over 2009 and still brought her more than she asked for. And he definitely chose to overlook the broken dishes, knocked over planters, eaten dog food, toys thrown in the toilet, pulling of his sister's hair, and the list could go on forever that sneaky little Rutland has accomplished in less than a year of life. We will give him a pass until that year birthday, but after that and as Harris Crumpton says, "I'll bring the thunder on you"! We had a few "what were you thinking" presents given to the children this year, mostly by grandparents who obviously adhere to the rule of "We're the grandparents. What you do with the gift is your problem." Case in point....my dad (aka Pops) held out strong on our #1 "what were you thinking" gift for several weeks. Granted my mom was with him those initial trips to Sam's to restrain him, but finally he made a trip unsupervised and came home with a 6 ft. (no that is not an exaggeration - see photos below) Minnie Mouse. Obviously Caroline loved it and talks to it like it is the "real" Minnie Mouse from Disney World, but where in the world do you put her on a daily basis. I feel like she needs her own room, closet, bathroom, etc. at our house. So currently she is sitting at our dining room table until she tells us where she would like to move next. Thanks Pops!!! (And FYI, she had to ride back to Birmingham sitting shot gun in Christopher's truck - buckled in of course!) A close second to Minnie is "what were you thinking" gift #2 - a Red Rider BB gun for Rutland, who is 10 months old and definitely responsible enough to shoot a weapon - Sure, why not. I do have to say, his daddy would have been heart broken had he not received his first firearm this Christmas. I'll never understand it, but Christopher was thrilled and so proud when he opened that gift. At least we can put it away until he's 18. And finally, our #3 "what were you thinking" gift was actually given by me to my husband. I had a very unusual selfless moment at Target one day and bought Christopher a Wii. For those of you who don't know, Christopher is the poster child for ADD and completely zones out when in front of a TV. Although there were some choice words exchanged in the first few days after he got it, we haven't had many more problems since. Of course I've been a little preoccupied with my new toy - a new Mac laptop, so it's all good! We had a wonderful Christmas and were so blessed to spend such quality time with family. Here are some photos from the holidays...

Rutland's favorite thing to do Christmas morning was trying to eat the peppermints in Caroline's stocking

My sister, grandmother, and me - yes we have on the same scarf!

Caroline with her new babydoll stroller and wearing EVERY piece of jewelry from her stocking

My sister, Ashley, and her boyfriend, Christian - AWWWW, so cute!

Caroline and me

6ft. Minnie Mouse

Running to "meet" Minnie. Please look at Pop's face - so proud he thought of this one!

Rutland and Papa making their "face". Papa taught him to do this and he will do it on command now. Anyone who says Rutland and I favor, have never seen Shot!