Fletcher Christmas Parade

We braved the cold on Saturday morning for the Fletcher Christmas Parade, and it was REALLY cold. The low that morning was only 15 degrees. Brrr!!!

We ate breakfast with the Hayes Family beforehand. Papa joined us, too. After breakfast, we set up our chairs and enjoyed the show. Fletcher is a pretty small town, and it was no Macy's Parade, but the kids really liked it, especially the candy. Jacob was so excited to see Santa riding on top of a Fire Truck at the end. We also saw his teacher, Ms. Debbie, walking in the parade with her church.

The cold air must of worn Lydia out! She fell asleep on the 5 minute drive home, and STAYED asleep when I carried her in. This has NEVER happened in her life! EVER.

We also experienced another miracle on Saturday - Jacob pooped in the potty and has been doing so since!!! I cannot tell you how relieved and happy this makes me! Potty training has been the absolute worst part of parenting him so far. He's been going pee-pee in the potty since summer, but that's it. I guess something just clicked on Saturday and he decided to go for it. If you ever need to be taken down a notch, just be a parent to an impossibly strong-willed child. Realizing the lack of control you have is maddening. Its also really hard to not look at all his little buddies who have been potty trained since they were two and not feel complete frustration. I'm just glad that I won't be packing a diaper in Jacob's backpack when I send him to kindergarten!

On Sunday Scott and I had a little brunch date! Craig and Lori gave us a gift card to Rhubarbs last Christmas, and we realized it expires next week. (We haven't gotten out much this year!) Meme watched the kids and we enjoyed a yummy meal, and then did some Christmas errands.

Snot, Coughs, and Fevers

Ugh. This past week was filled with lots and lots of snot, coughing, and fevers. Everyone in our house got sick, except for Mommy. Jacob had to miss both days of school and Daddy came home early a couple of days, due to his fever. I think everyone is on the mend now. Both kids still have runny noses and yucky coughs, but no fevers. I think it might be a long winter!

On Saturday we had a last minute family photo taken. My friend is the sponsor of the Jr. Beta Club at her school, and they were doing a photo fundraiser. In a shocking turn of events, Jacob was incredibly agreeable and Lydia cried the whole time! I doubt we will end up with a decent picture, but at least all the money raised goes directly to the school club.

We spent the day at Meme's house on Sunday. We made lots of yummy Christmas cookies and helped her decorate her tree. Meme makes the absolute best Christmas cookies. Its just not Christmas without them!

Lydia had her first taste of livermush and LOVED it! She is Mommy's girl through and through!

Decking the Halls!

Christmas traditions, specifically starting Christmas traditions, with our little family is very important to me. And on Saturday we took part in one of my favorite! Last year we started our tradition of going out to breakfast and getting our Christmas tree the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Last year Lydia was a newborn, and it was all kind of a blur, but this year was perfect! Its so special to have time together with just the four of us!

We had breakfast at Cracker Barrel...

And then picked out our tree!

We planned to go to a tree lot in Hendersonville that we've gone to in the past, but we had to stop for cash at Lowes, and decided the trees there looked pretty good. It actually worked out perfectly, because we were able to contain the kids in the truck cart while we looked at trees.

On the way home, both kids feel asleep, which NEVER happens. Scott and I joked that this might be the best family picture we manage to get this Christmas season!

Grandma, Grandaddy, and Uncle Michael came over that evening for a quick visit, and helped us get the tree inside. Jacob was very busy reading and telling stories to Uncle Michael.

Jacob woke up sick on Sunday with a high fever and bad cough. Even though he didn't feel good, he still had fun putting ornaments on the tree. Lydia doesn't seem to care too much about the tree so far, which is a good thing!