Christmas 2008

Taylor and I had our first Christmas at home with our 4 four-legged kids, and it was wonderful! We both come from families that really know how to celebrate Christmas, so it has been so much fun combining our family traditions and adding new ones! It was a perfect Christmas :)

My mom and dad suprised Taylor with a canoe! This way I can go with him and make sure he's safe-- no more kayaking all by himself until sundown! If a gator wants him, they'll have to go through me first!! haha ;)

Since my dad's birthday is December 24th, we have always had birthday cake on Christmas Eve! Suzanne started making cake for me on Christmas Eve the first Christmas that I spent on Bainbridge (the first Christmas away from my family), and we decided that it's a pretty good tradition to keep!

Taylor found a recipe from one of Bobby Flay's Throwdowns on FoodChannel.com for me, so I could made a red velvet cake this year--it seemed kind of Christmas-y :)

Grammy's fudge! We learned to make it this summer when we went to Oregon... I accidentally used the wrong kind of chips, but my hubby has still been eating it-- so it wasn't a total loss :)

Our first Christmas without family-- and no one to take pictures of us together ;)

Mexican Fiesta-- one of Taylor's family traditions...we only made half of the recipe and STILL have sooo much leftover!

One of the MANY clean-ups we had to deal with :)
Time to watch a movie (Love Actually)...so Pumpkin always starts hiding in case we try to catch her ;)

But then she jumped up on the couch all by herself to snuggle with her daddy :)

Way too much activity for Tubbie with all the baking and cooking... Gamer had left the room to go have some quiet time by this point. She doesn't like it when we don't sit still :)

Sweet Maggie, resting on her daddy's feet :)

Christmas morning!
Our ornaments from Suzanne and Les :)

Taylor and I did each other's stocking this year-- so the gifts all had to be small enough to fit in the stocking (Taylor kind of cheated and only followed the size idea of stocking gifts and not the price...he spent way too much money on me, as usual --his heart is a little bit too big for his own good sometimes!!)

Christmas stockings for the dogs! They all have very specific toy preferences...

Lots of stuffed animals for Maggie

Lots of edible toys and treats for Tubbs- he was allowed off his diet for the day, of course!

Chewy toys for Gamer (more for her to "guard" than chew....but it makes her happy :))

Squeaky toys and a hand puppet for Pumpkin (I need to make her a stocking too, I know!)

Mine! Mine and MINE!! (Maggie sometimes needs a reminder when it comes to sharing stuffed animals)
Getting so brave...

She loves the hand puppet!

DON'T TOUCH MY TOYS! And no one ever listens to her-- they know she's all talk.

Tubbs--just making sure he's not missing out on any treats.

4 happy, spoiled dogs

Thanks Anne and Bobby for our Mario Kart!! :)

Taylor's new fishing vest

My new slippers

Our dog snowglobe from our Bainbridge Island Santa :)

Suzanne's hash brown quiche for Christmas morning breakfast --with Mimosas in honor of Poppy, of course!!

So many toys to choose from!
Taylor making his first prime rib (Suzanne's recipe :))
It was perfect!!!

Mmmmm :)

Having a father/son moment...

Time to clean up!!

Taylor took this without me knowing... and I am clearly loving the Wii (just a bit serious though...)

And I am stuck in the grass while playing Mario Kart (and still being super serious)--I would have looked like an awesome player if he hadn't have included the TV in this shot! haha ;) I'm learning!

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!! :)

Dogs and Snooks

One of Taylor's snooks... The fish survived and swam away after the pic was taken :) He is so cute!!

Snuggling with their Daddy after a traumatic Christmas card photo shoot with Mom.

Taylor with 2 of his girls-too many girls fighting over one boy in this house! It's a good thing I have my Tubbie :)

The Best Dog Daddy!

A couple of nights ago while we were watchintg TV, I glanced around at our four resting dogs and said that I was going to give them all a special chewy treat because they were just being SO good!! As soon as they heard the crinkling of the dental chew bag opening (ok, maybe they weren't so much "treats" as healthy chewies, but still... :)), all four sets of eyes were on me and all four tails were wagging with excitement. To all of our dismay, I proceeded to pull out the last 2 chewies in the bag...

Taylor jumped up and said not to worry, that he would just break them in half (since I was having no luck at all). After realizing that this was physically impossible to do, he then marched out to the garage, with four dogs on his heels, and pulled out his saw! How sweet is he?!? It took a little while, but our heroic dog daddy came back into the house with 4 evenly constructed chewies!!

Not the most exciting story, but sometimes my hubby deserves a little credit for all that he does! And while we're on that note, he cooked the most delicious chicken parmesean last night (even with the wheat pasta, healthy Panko bread crumbs, etc..) and cleaned the kitchen entirely. He's pretty special :)

He doesn't know it yet, but his wife is going to insist that he watch It's A Wonderful Life with her this weekend because it's her favorite movie, and he has somehow avoided watching it for the 8 years they've been together... hehe. It's either that or TWILIGHT (which I am dying to see!!!) I have a feeling we'll be heading out to the movies this weekend.... Vampires will definitely appeal more to Taylor than anything in black and white (just don't tell him it's a love story!!) ;)

Here he is sawing... Tubbie was giving him some encouragement (Notice his kayak in the background-- he has worked SO hard on that kayak to make it fully functional for fishing, and he now fishes in it all the time. He caught almost 15 fish a couple of days ago! He puts all the fish back, of course, but still, that's pretty impressive!)

And here he is giving them their treats :)


(Also-- Check out the new pictures of my precious little niece, Catie Cox, on Megan's blog!
http://megan-wwwpeanutbutterandredwine.blogspot.com/ )

Cell Phone Pictures

I just got around to uploading my cell phone pics onto the computer, so here are some random pictures from the past couple of months :)



Taylor fishing on the beach while I napped and read a book- a common weekend afternoon for us :)

I love living at the beach!

When I go to Nashville by myself, I get to stay in my old bedroom (with my FAVORITE fluffy white comforter!), and now Charley shares the bed with me every time I visit --although she is still learning to share-- when she sprawls out on the bed, there's hardly enough room for me!

Getting to know my Grandma's cat, Blue... she rescued her after she was found by a dumpster, sick and alone at 6 weeks old. She is so precious.
I am a total dog person and don't know a thing about cats... so what does it mean when they bite like this?? She kept doing that to my fingers...it didn't hurt, but I wasn't sure how to respond :)

My beautiful Grandma Mary... I had to take a picture of her when I was sleeping over at her house last month...she is always so glamorous :)

After a long day wedding planning with Anne and Suzanne! Anne dove into the Snickerdoodle Blue Bell ice cream with one of the 2 plastic spoons we have in the Nashville house and the whole handle broke off- haha. I love being a Childress girl... Blue Bell ice cream, margaritas, and champagne, and we're good to go--maybe some cheese enchiladas too :)
Those giant birds again-- they were doing some weird mating dance here, I think. I really don't know what to think of them-- and to be honest, I think they are a bit aggressive. They don't seem afraid of me at all...

Just a typical night getting ready for bed :)

Mom and Dad in the waiting room at the hospital on Dec 1

Megan holding Catie for the first time!

Catie with her eyes open-- I love this baby girl!

Family picture :)
Abby is still learning her boundaries... and thought she'd try breaking the rules while Mommy and Daddy were feeding Catie in the nursery.

Sleepy Catie

So precious!!!

Lily, Sadie, and Abby joining their Mom in the nursery...they all fell asleep in their while she fed Catie. (She isn't nursing here in this pic, by the way)
Striking a pose
The peaceful, quiet 2nd night home with Catie. We all took turns snuggling Catie while watching TV and reading. The dogs love their new sister, ESPECIALLY Lily. They get a little concerned when she cries, but they are super gentle around her and try to lick her toes :)
Brian and his 2 girls :)

OH... and my sister had read Lockie's blog about Twilight a little while ago, and she is now almost finished with the 3rd book, so I started reading the first one while I was there since there was some down time in the hospital... and I am HOOKED! I LOVE this book-- and I'm not even a fan of vampire stories usually! Thank you Lockie!! :)

It is a sunny 75 degree day here in Port Orange, FL...all the windows are open, I'm in a t-shirt, skirt and flip-flops, I just talked to Megan, and she and Catie are doing great, Taylor is fishing in his kayak, I'm decorating for Christmas, listening to Christmas music and making cookies, and the dogs are snoozing around the house... Life is good :) It doesn't get any better than this!

Catie's first night at home

Brian went into work this morning while Megan and Catie were still in the hospital, so I went over to the hospital to hang out with Megan on her first day alone with her little one. We are honestly like the blind leading the blind when the two of us are alone with the baby, and we are very anxious people to begin with (it is a family trait ;))...We actually called the nurse in one time to make sure Catie's face wasn't turning blue. And it turned out just to be the lighting! Without Brian around, we are a mess ;) BUT, we got MUCH better today without our Mom (Grandma) or Brian around. Megan changed her first diaper and I figured out how to get Catie to take a bottle when she would rather sleep (we tickle her cheek...and if she is really resistant we take off her hat, which wakes her up in a second and makes her a bit mad :)). We have to be super careful with her eating until she makes it over 6 lbs, so we keep having to wake her up to eat. She's now down to 5 lbs 9 oz so we have a little way to go...

They invited me to come spend the night with them tonight so I could babysit my 3 four-legged nieces, Lily, Sadie, and Abby. And I was SO excited and honored to be included in such a special day--Catie's first night home! I got to hold my darling little Catie for a long time while her parents got her room all situated, and I have decided that boppys are absolutely awesome--but I was clearly the aunt, as my left hand cradled the baby and my right hand held a glass of red wine! I guess I always thought bringing a baby home was so stressful and crazy, but it is so peaceful right now. I know in 2.5 hours, a commotion will start upstairs as the new Mommy and Daddy awake to feed little Catie... and I am 99% sure that Megan is not sleeping right now as it is. She is the HEAVIEST sleeper I have ever met, hands down, and I know this from living with her for close to 18 years! But, she has not been able to sleep for more than an hour at a time because of her hyper-awareness to Catie and Catie's erratic newborn breathing! I know I would be the same way... in fact, I am up right now wondering if there could be any risk of Catie having covered her nose with her shirt sleeve or somehow rolled into the blanket she is swaddled in--and she's not even mine!

Megan and Brian are actually asleep on two giant Papysan pillows on the floor next to Catie's crib right now because they couldn't get the monitor set up in time, the crib needs to be taken apart before it can be moved into the bedroom, AND they don't trust the sturdiness of the bassinet to hold their baby! We're all going to move the crib tomorrow unless the monitors will suffice. I know they are not getting a very good night's sleep, but I hope Megan is getting some rest-- she is beyond exhausted.

I am looking at three passed out dogs right now- Lily on the floor by my feet, Sadie on the big comfy chair and little Abby on the couch. It is so nice being around these guys because I am missing my hubby and my 4 babies like crazy. Taylor has been getting hourly updates on his niece, and he's been telling me all about my little ones at home. Apparantly he though that since Tubbs met his weight goal of 85 lbs, he was now allowed to eat the girls' food-and not his diet food, WITH the soft food we put in their food to entice them to eat. AS IF Tubbs needs anything to entice him to eat. Anyway, that explains why Tubbie has been following his daddy around the house so much! :). While I've been gone, Maggie has developed a new irrational fear of eating in the kitchen (this in addition to her fear of hanging lamps, ceiling fans, thunder, lightening, rain, the word "No", smoke, steam, beeping noses (I blame this on Taylor setting the fire alarm off with his fancy cooking creations-- like the huge flames from brandy catching on fire for his steak au poivre: )), suitcases, and Mom's camera--more to come, I'm sure ;)), Gamer has branched out from only growling at Tubbs during mealtime to growling at him anytime he comes within two inches of her (it's ok, she's all talk and even our sweet old man knows it), and she has claimed my spot in the bed... AND Pumpkin has started jumping in the bed each morning to greet Taylor and even snuck into the bed tonight while Taylor was brushing his teeth! I am a total homebody, so as much as I adore my new niece, I miss my little family every minute of every day. So it will be bittersweet when it comes time to leave her in a couple of days...so hard to leave my Catie but so exciting to see my family! I'll be back right after Christmas though, so that will make it bearable!

I'm hearing Megan's footsteps again upstairs...and there are now 3 sets of brown eyes looking at me, completely aware of the footsteps above them and wondering why they aren't sleeping in Mom and Dad's bed tonight! I'm going to go snuggle on the guest bed with them until we all fall asleep :) I love being an aunt!

CATIE ROSE COX

Spa Day on Saturday

Sunday night- before the big day!

SHE'S HERE!

And she's perfect!

Love at first sight :)

The Curbs descend on the new family :)

Daddy multi-tasking (cell phone/diaper change)... he has been AMAZING! Such a good daddy :)

I am in love!

Mommy and Catie- look at those little toes!

So sweet :)

Catherine Rose Cox was born on Monday December 1, 2008. 11:29 am, 5lbs 14 oz, 18.75 inches long, and 100% precious. I have only seen babies born on TV, amidst drama and screaming, and I had no idea what I was getting into when Megan invited me to stay in the room for Catie’s birth this morning. Mom and I stood against the wall so we weren’t in the way, but watching all the action from inside the room was absolutely amazing. My sister is the type of person who can make anyone laugh at the most inappropriate times-it’s part of her charm ;) And she has been joking about the birthing experience since the beginning of the third trimester…up until the night before the birth. Catie’s entrance into the world proved to be a bit more painful than humorous, but I can’t even describe the strength I saw in my sister today. I know it sounds cliché, but watching my big sister give birth to this beautiful baby girl was the most inspiring event I have ever seen. She was obviously tired and in intense pain, yet she did what she had to do to bring life to this little bundle of absolute joy that we call Catie Rose! As soon as the baby was carried over to the table in the corner of the room, Mom and I ran over to see her. Soon, Brian was sharing in our awe of this little girl… as my sister lay by herself watching our backs and, I would think, wondering where her support group went! She was really brave… and I’m not just saying that. I was with her for over 12 hours today, and I swear I didn’t hear her complain one time—even through the tears, as her epidural “hesitated” to do it’s job, she never complained. And that is why Miss Catie Rose Cox has the best mommy in the world. I am in awe. And as far as Catie, I am in love .

I sat at the nursery window for almost 2 hours, noting ever twitch and every sneeze, and making sure those nurses knew that Baby Cox in Room 2 was not just any baby—she was my niece! The nurses even pointed me out during their shift change, and I just smiled, letting them know that I wasn’t going anywhere—so they better not make any mistakes on my watch. After the nurses brought Catie upstairs to see her Mommy and Daddy, I had the opportunity to hold her for a long time while the nurses helped Megan attempt to walk on her somewhat numb lower half. I even got to feed her part of a bottle. Her tiny lungs are still not completely under control and she has a little trouble crying, so I literally squealed with excitement when she started crying in my arms-this coming from someone who has always cowered away from newborn babies, or any crying baby for that matter (crying is a GOOD sign in newborns I have learned!). Her breathing is now perfect and she has been checked out by her pediatrician and did just fine. Megan is going home tonight when Brian gets off of work, so Mom and I are going to hang out with her tomorrow for her first day at home alone with Catie. Even after knowing her for 2 days, I cannot stop staring at her perfect little lips and nose, and all that dark brown hair! It was curly when she first entered the world, so the one curly-haired girl in this family is hoping for someone else to share hair stories (and woes) with! I would have thought she was beautiful no matter what she looked like, but this little girl is an angel, a princess, and a beauty queen all rolled into one—she is stunning and so very loved. I can’t stop thinking about her, and I still find myself catching my breath when I think of how truly blessed we are to have this little one in our family. After what we all went through in May 2007, the gift of a healthy little girl is without question a gift from God. And we will never forget it. Welcome to the world, Catie Rose Cox!!!!!