Our Wonderful Christmas (2009)

Hard to believe that Christmas is over!!  We had a wonderful, magical Christmas.  I think Daddy made it especially magical for me.  I thought it was all about Peyton!  :)  But who's complaining!  Peyton got so MANY toys from family and friends, I had to put away some more of his old toys to make room for the new.  He didn't know what to do with himself or what to play with first.  He was so excited to see all his Christmas gifts from Santa!!

Mommy got more than she expected too for Christmas! I got all my camera assessories and I got my Adobe Lightroom 2.6 editing program which I absolutely love.  The other thing I really wanted was a nice Nikon Speedlight flash.  I didn't really ask for it because the Lightroom was expensive enough, so I requested a cheaper off-brand flash so that I could practice with it and maybe ask for the Nikon Speedlight for my birthday in May.  Well, what I saw in front of me when I opened one of my Christmas presents took a while for my brain to register.  Kevin got me the Nikon Speedlight SB 600!!!!  I soooo squealed like a little  girl!  I was so, so happy!  I do love my husband!!  And Peyton gave me a beautiful sterling silver Saints necklace.    I was totally spoiled this Christmas thanks to my wonderful family!  I am truly blessed in so many, many ways for my family! Check out Peyton's Christmas morning videos below. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrsnouAJyAA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGmcxT9qDRI

                                     Peyton playing with his new rollar coaster!

I think he is loving his new school bus!

Mommy's Saints emblem necklace from Peyton (still didn't have my coffee yet!)

Nanny came over Christmas morning!

Dawn and Brian visit by Skype

Peyton opening his 100th present!  :)

Our wonderful family minus Dawn, Brian and future Baby Breen

Oh, Christmas Tree

It's almost Christmas time.  :)  We can't wait!  It will definitely be a great Christmas with Peyton!  The only bummer is that Dawn and Brian cannot make it down to New Orleans this Christmas.  Dawn only has 7 weeks left to go in her pregnancy, so her doctor advised against any travel.   So I guess we will see them next Christmas.

The last two years I bought a special ornament for our tree.  I have been collecting ornaments over the years, but now into collecting for my baby.  Since it is Peyton's second Christmas, I got him a number two ornament.  Hallmark is making ornaments up to the the number five, so I am hoping that I will be able to continue finding them throughout the upcoming years.  If not, I guess I can buy something else as our special ornament.   However, I do love my collection so far.  :) 

Snow on Fulton Street

Last year I wanted to go to the Snow on Fulton Street  but decided against it since we didn't think Peyton would get too much enjoyment out of it.  So we committed to this year.  It was really nice!  A little crowded, but nice.  The only thing I was a little disappointed with is that the "snow" are really bubbles.  But the kids there really seem to enjoy it including Peyton.  It was nice that Peyton was able to run around looking at lights and chase snowflakes.   After playing in snow (bubble) flakes, we got some eggnog, a caramel apple and a rice crispy treat and then headed home.  Peyton was a tired little boy and was asleep by 8:00!

Breakfast and Pajama Playdate

Today Peyton and I was invited to a Breakfast and Pajama Playdate at Bethany and Gracie's house.   Everyone brought a breakfast item...so we had a buffet of different foods!  And it was yummy!!  Peyton was so happy to be out of the house (bad rain the last couple of days) and had a great time playing with Gracie's  toys.  The kids and most of the moms looked adorable in their pjs.   I would have worn mine if I didn't have more Christmas shopping to do afterwards.  :)  Thanks Bethany and Gracie for a wonderful breakfast playdate.

Saints, Christmas in the Oaks Walk, and Picture with Santa

Did I mention how crazy proud we are of our team??  Saints are now 13-0!!!  What a great game.  Bring on the Cowboys!  Next Saturday the dome is going to be unbelievable.  Can't wait!!

So after our glorious victory, we did the Celebration in the Oaks Walk.  At the end of the walk you can go into Storyland and the Amusement Park.  We did it last year and had a great time...even though we froze.  This year it was warm after our big thunder storm the night before but it turned out to be very misty, foggy, wet, muddy and damp night.   The misting kept getting really bad at certain times so I had to put away my camera or take it long enough to get a quick shot, then return it to it's case.  That sucked!!  But we still enjoyed everything!  Remember this picture of Peyton with Santa from last year?

Christmas of 2008

Well, Peyton decided he didn't want anything to do with Santa again this year, so we had to take a picture with him!  :)  I really didn't want to because I had my Saints t-shirt on.... until Santa told me that everyone was taking pictures with their Saints gear on.  I looked around and you know what?...Santa was right!!  Saints everywhere!!! So I gave in and we took a family shot with Santa.  If you look closely at the 2009 picture, Peyton has the SAME EXACT expression on his tramatized little face as last year! So frickin' funny!!  He was in a very crabby mood tonight (if I remember correctly, so was he last year) ha!  But who can blame him with how the weather was.  Maybe next year it will be just a dry and cool night.

After pictures, we changed Peyton and had some fun on the rides.  Unfortunately the train was down tonight, so Peyton missed out.  He love trains!  We were disappointed.  But he did enjoy the Merry-go-round.

So we went to look at the toy train station setup that is in the park.  Peyton was so excited to watch the trains go around and around.

We also went and looked at all the lights in the oak trees and the different light shows.  It is truly amazing to see this every year.  The only problem was that we had to trample through mud!  Yuck!!

I absolutely love the statues.  I wish I could have taken more pictures of them.

I told Kevin that I think next year since Peyton will be close to the age of three, he will enjoy the rides and Santa more.  Kevin laughed and said I said the same thing last year!  :)  Peyton has to love Santa one day right? But I do love our picture even though I really only wanted it to be Santa and Peyton.  Oh, how I enjoy Christmas!

Cutting of our Christmas Tree...and Hair.

I can't believe how close it is to Christmas time!!!  I love Christmas, especially since Peyton's arrival.  This year will especially be exciting because Peyton is one year older now.  Chrismas can't get here fast enough for me!!  Today we decided to get Peyton's way overdue hair cut then go hunting for our special Christmas tree.  Of course, our three o'clock in the morning riser Peyton fell asleep right before his hair appointment and decided that he would stay asleep through the whole thing.  How he managed to do that I will never know.  The hair dresser thought that Peyton sleeping through his haircut was so funny!  I  guess Peyton was the 'perfect' customer!  :)  Afterwards we searched for our tree and came across a Blue Fir  and it is absolutely beautiful!!  We couldn't wait to get it home to decorate it and my fireplace mantel!  During our family time decorating the tree, we tried to get Peyton to put up an ornament or two but he was more interested  playing with them.....so, I will try again next year for his participation. 

Renaissance Festival

About 9 to 10 years ago I went to the Renaissance Festival in Hammond and loved it.  I have been wanting to go back for YEARS and finally got to go again.   Personally, I had a great time walking around, checking out the sites and taking pictures.  I know my Mom and Sister did also but my Dad and Kevin wasn't so thrilled about it.  Maybe it was being called My Lord every 10 minutes made them uncomfortable!  :)  I think it was too much walking for my dad and for Kevin, if there is not New Orlean's restaurant styled food out there then he is pretty much disappointed.   I just think this festival is so nicely set up with all the costumes and role playing.  The only thing I really disagree with is that they charge extra for certain things like to see the torture chamber or to play games.  I mean it cost $14 dollars to get in!  That won't stop me from going again in a year or two.  Especially when Peyton is a little older.  I really think he would love it.