Santa Claus came to town...

Despite his feeling towards Santa this year, he still found it in his heart to pay a visit to John Hall this Christmas. JH and Khloe sat down to write a note to Santa on Christmas Eve to leave with the cookies and carrots they laid out for as a special treat for the big guy.


We played and played with all of John's toys all morning in our pj's which was nice. He took a long time to go through all of his toys. He went straight for the shake'em cars, so it was a while until he lost interest in them to move on to the other things Santa left for him.

Cousin Khloe got a doll that eats, drinks, and then makes realistic poopy diapers. I told her she was more than welcome to change John's, but she didn't seem to think that was a very good idea.

John Hall (and his parents)had a very merry and fun Christmas. We are so grateful for our sweet boy...He was so fun to watch. Sharing Christmas with him made it so much more magical and more meaningful than ever. We're so happy we have him in our lives!

Later on Christmas Day, we celebrated with the whole Havard crew. John Hall got lots of wonderful presents from everyone. He loves spending time with his Muddie, Pop, Aunts, and all his cousins...

The cookies I crave...

Over Thanksgiving, Jason's mother bought turkey cookies for each child to enjoy. They were decorated so cute; packaged in cellophane tied with fall ribbons. John wasn't interested in eating his, so I tasted a bite and let me tell you...it was HEAVEN! These cookies are so thick and chewy; they have the best flavor. I'm not really a big cookie fan, so that's saying a lot coming from me. The cookies are so precious and the shop is so darling. I included the link to their online shop...it's a new place, but these girls are certainly on top of things. Everyone should have the chance to taste them!
http://sugarcookieconfections.com/

Christmas Card 2010

Hall Christmas 2010

We celebrated Christmas with my family this weekend. We decided the first order of business was to get the pictures taken and out of the way. That worked out well for everyone except John Hall who had to be prematurely awoken from his nap. He wasn't in the mood to smile....sigh....We still managed to get a group picture with all 17 people looking at the same place. That's a Christmas miracle in itself!!!

After pictures, we had lunch and ate all sorts of wonderful food contributed by everyone. Jason and I brought crab/potato soup, homemade oyster crackers, pimento cheese dip, O-Henry balls, and pretzel/rolo/m&m bites.

After everyone ate, we heard a knock at the door. It was the one-and-only Santa Claus. He said his sleigh had broken down after he left the mall and he heard we were celebrating, so he thought he's stop in to pass out presents and sing a few Christmas carols. JH still wasn't fond of him and refused to even sit on the same couch.


John got lots of neat toys from the family like a shake-n-go race track, shake-n-go police car, "cars" books, remote control car, a tricycle, and a dino train set. Actually, all the kiddos got all sorts of fun toys and we spent the entire day playing with them as well as the adults playing a few rounds of dominoes....so fun!

Kris Kringle & Kids

Last night, we had our annual supper with Santa at Brandie, Trey, JT and Tinsley's house. John didn't mind seeing Santa last year, but then he was only 8 months old. He was very interested in Santa from a distance and even danced to Santa's sing-a-long. We tried to get a picture of just John and the big guy, but he would only take one if I was holding him and even then, he didn't want any part of it (I felt a little sorry for Santa because he had me and JH on one knee with Jason on the other. Not exactly a light load).

Santa came and spent an hour with the kids which gave plenty of time for telling him their Christmas wishes, asking all sorts of questions, passing out presents, and singing Christmas carols. All the kids loved it; especially Bella who was very inquisitive! (see video below)

We had a potluck style dinner with shrimp creole and rice, tortilla soup, french bread, salad, stuffed mushrooms, antipasto platter, reindeer cupcakes, cookies, pizza, and chocolate dipped pretzels.

Here are my dear pals: Tonya, Keitha, Brandie, and Stacy.

Brandie's family tradition was to cut down their Christmas tree, so she now does that with her own family. It smelled great and was so cute! It inspires me to have a fresh tree next year?

The boys: Shawn, Jason, Trey, Kevin, and Wes

Santa brought a big bag of gifts to pass out to each kid. John's truck was a big hit with the toddlers. He has played and played with that thing all morning.

Kooky Kommercials

There are all sorts of cute commercials that come on television that I would consider entertaining. I am reminded of so many iconic commercials that have stuck in my mind over the years. I like to think I have decent taste in what would be considered a good commercial; my child however, does not. There is a commercial that airs in the central Arkansas area for a jewelry exchange company. The catch phrase is "A rubber chicken couldn't give you cash for your gold, but we can..." The chicken pops his head in throughout the commercial for no apparent reason at all. It is seriously ridiculous, but John Hall LOVES this commercial. It airs throughout the morning during the Today show, and he'll come running to the television when he hears it on...He laughs and laughs at that silly chicken.

The 70's Coke commercial - I'd like to teach the world to sing

Who could forget where's the beef?

And another commercial classic...The Arkansas gold and diamond exchange chicken!

Lunch Lads & Ladies

Today, John Hall and I spent the morning Christmas shopping. Then we met up with our buddies, Tonya and Cade for pizza, salad, and gelato. After lunch, Cade came over to play with John while I wrapped the gifts we bought since they're due tomorrow to go out for delivery. I think I love when Cade comes over just as much as John Hall. They seriously have so much fun together; it's like they carry on their own conversations. I overheard them laughing hysterically in our bedroom, so I grabbed the camera. They just refuse to perform, but I thought what I was able to get was still cute. I just love these little pals!

Weekend Review

I hosted book club this month. We had a busy weekend, so I keep the food simple and served salad, rosemary potato bread, lasagna, and some sweets I bought from Target. We decided that the books we'll read for January BC will be The Help and/or Water for Elephants.

Ho Ho Ho and Hulabaloo was Saturday night. We went to dinner before the actual party. These are the only pictures I took all evening. As usual, it was a very nice event and we had a great time!

Lately, John Hall, has started asking for snacks by name. Mid-morning, he grabbed my hand and led me to the kitchen pointing to the microwave saying "pop-pop." I obliged and made some for him. About the time I sat down with him to let him have some, the phone rang and I left the room to find it. (I'm never sure where our phones are since we have a little elf that likes to hide them) When I came back into the room, I found him with spilled popcorn all over the rug. He was stomping on it and then eating it! He is such a little mess! :)