It's Beginning to Look Alot Like Christmas!

Key word here - beginning. 

I had/have all these wonderful plans for Christmas and am already feeling like I may not be able to fit it all in.  And I have all these visions of everything turning out perfectly.  HA!  I started to feel disappointed when my muffin tin advent calendar didn't look as "perfect" as the one on pinterest, and I started to get a little OCD when my milk jug snowman still had the expiration date on the outside.  But here's what struck me tonight as I was cutting out tiny little (imperfect, totally not traced, free-handed!) circles to hot glue on felt ornaments -

a 2 year old doesn't care about perfectionism!

I mean seriously, do you think he even noticed that the baby in the frame below is NOT a picture of him?  Not once.  I've only had the frame for 2 years.  What's the rush?

Or what about a crooked star on top and a string of lights not working on our pre-lit tree? 

He hasn't said one word.

That little container on top was filled with these little pieces of deliciousness.

Do you think he uttered one complaint when he was eating tiny bits of wax paper that I could NOT for the life of me scrape off the bottom of the pretzels?  NO!

And what about the ribbon I cut too short for the middle jar?

Or the uneven stipes and crooked candy canes?

 

Or two Mary's in one nativity scene?  Little hands keep taking Mary from his nativity scene and putting it in mine.  Why?  Because Mary is a "girl's toy".

"As for God, his way is perfect: The LORD’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him."

Psalm 18:30

Perfectionsim?  I'm throwing it out the window.  This Christmas season, I'll be taking refuge in Him and loving on these two:

Who needs the three wise men coloring page mommy printed out when you have a live model to display your talents?

Pictures of Tripp

NOTE - This ws originally supposed to be posted before Halloween and after this post!  Where does the time go?  I mean, I've turned 30 (THIRTY - AHH!) since then and it's now DECEMBER!!!  More to come on me turning 30 - which was the best birthday EVER, thanks to the most thoughtful husband & wonderful family and friends who participated in his "gift". 

And also, I've got a lot of things planned for Christmas beginning with this:

I am officially excited about Christmas! 

OK - on to my long overdue post about our mountain trip.

Did that title get your attention, grand-parents?!?!  After yesterday's post, I thought I'd lighten things up a bit.  Get ready - there are a lot of pictures!

Mom, along with Meme & Papa, planned a trip to Pigeon Forge and they graciously invited Tripp and me to come along.  I gave them every chance to take back their invitation, but they insisted.  I really didn't think they knew what they were getting into - a 2-year old in the car for hours upon hours can sometimes lead to a little craziness!  But Tripp did great - long hours in the car, minimal naps, Papa constantly giving him SUGAR - he did great, all things considered. :-)  However, we did come home a day early....hmmmm. 

Anyway, onto the trip!

Packed and ready to go!!  All in one car.  We weren't sure if we'd make it!

 Apple Juice - an important necessity around our house.  We don't leave home without it.

 They're all smiles now...

 Our time of departure was to be 7 AM - we were thrilled with this!

Our first stop for a snack - YaYa's homemade chicken salad!

 Finally at the cabin and enjoying the beautiful weather.

 We stopped at this little shopping area to let Tripp get rid of some energy.

 They were taking my order at the McDonald's drive through.  $12 for a cheeseburger!

 We've been thinking about building a play/tree house for Tripp and I loved this design.  Please disregard the "kid" making her way over to the top deck.  haha!

 Tripp trying to dump the pumpkin out of the $200 wagon. 

 One more picture of the play house.  I loved the little "house" underneath.

 That face!  I just want to squeeze him and never let go.

 Looking for his new friend, the centipede.

 YaYa and Meme took Tripp on nature walks and these were some of the "treasures" they found.

 Singing the "shark song" in the hot tub.

 On the tram to Dollywood (notice they're faded smiles).

 Even Tripp looks a little less enthused.

 YaYa and I would argue over who had to ride the spinning rides.  She lost out on this one and the carousel, but somehow I got stuck on the scrambler with Tripp.  I definitely think I got the short end of the stick!

 Day 2 of Dollywood - on the train.  The smiles are returning!  Probably becuase of their "plan" - the three elders left me alone with Tripp!  All day!  Me in an amusement park with Tripp all by myself.  Whew!  We had a great time though, and Meme, Papa, and Mom enjoyed all the shows.

We eventually met back up - I bribed them with lunch:-)

 Everytime I turned around Papa was giving something sweet to Tripp - ice cream cones, "travel bag" filled with candy corn & tootsie rolls, even gum!

 By the end of the trip, we started calling Tripp the "Two Snack Wonder"!

 Alas, all good things must come to an end!!

 One more thing - Tripp rode a horse named Zach.  Meme ended up buying a stick horse for Tripp and now we have a prop for T's halloween costume...

Huge thanks to Meme, Papa & YaYa for putting up with us.  We had a great time!

First of Many

Howdy, Partner!

This cowboy was trick-or-treating before he even left our house!

But who could be hungry after these cheeseburgers!  I'm totally addicted to pinterest.  Are you?

On our mountain trip, Meme bought Tripp a stick horse.  I immediately thought it was a good prop for a cowboy costume.  However, the guns and holster took precedence and poor Zach, the stick horse, was passed off to Daddy for the rest of the night.  I got stuck holding the pumpkin because Tripp kept complaining it was too heavy!  (And he kept wanting to show off his guns.)

And we're off!

Our first stop....

Mr. Matt's & Mrs. Julie's

Mitchell and Kristin brought our little buckaroo a cupcake.  We were so glad they did - we were afraid he hadn't had enough sugar!  haha! :-)

Before Trick-or-treating...

and after...check out that expression.  Too much candy!

Happy Halloween!

(Notice Allen still has the horse.)