Christmas...Lovelady style

We spent this Christmas morning at home opening our gifts to each other, eating cinnamon rolls and otherwise just enjoying our time together. William is getting to the age where the Christmas morning excitement is close to palpable. Santa was definitely good to him this year. It almost made me feel like a kid again too...seeing Christmas through the eyes of a child. I wasn't very good at taking lots of pics this year. I took a few, but I got wrapped up in all the excitement and the camera collected dust in the corner. Here are the few that I did manage to capture.

He wasn't too sure about Lightning McQueen

Moving on...

Here he is getting some last-minute driving instructions

Loved his work bench...thanks Jess!!

Didn't waste any time digging in!

Checking out the loot

Liked the motorized car...

Until he found the "go" button...As a side note, we can't get him of of it now!

Merry Christmas, From our Home to Yours...

Dear Santa...

I just wanted you to know that I've been a really good boy this year.

I've helped mom with her cooking...

I've helped her clean out the refrigerator

I helped to clean out the pantry....several times!

I even helped mama wrap presents!

So...in short...please hurry, Santa...

I was a good boy last year....

but this year has just been filled with extra goodness!

Love, William

Lions, Tigers and Bears...oh my!!

Ok, so maybe just one tiger was at the Hattiesburg zoo last week when we went. It's a fairly small zoo, so William missed out on the lions and bears, but since big cats scare him, I don't think he minded! He loved all the little monkeys and birds...anything smaller than him! His favorite was the train, or "choo choo". He was a little skeptical at first, but was saying "choo choo" the whole ride, but at $2 a pop, I'm sure we'll be taking another ride soon!

Enjoying the monkeys

His fave...Mr. and Mrs. Monkey

Wasn't a fan of this one at all : (

Photo-op with grandpa after the exciting train ride!

Aquarium First-Timers

Last week we took our first day trip the New Orleans for some family fun. It was the first time Jay and William had been to the "big easy", so it was a fun adventure for everyone. We ended up eating lunch and then hitting the aquarium. Cafe du Monde was on the agenda, but I failed to foresee how busy it would be by mid-afternoon! As most know, we are now in full-blown toddler mode, which makes it very hard to get good pictures of the little man. He's such a little busy bee, that I just have to snap pics as fast as possible and hope for the best...about 1 in 20 is a keeper. So here are a few of the best from our outing, even if everyone in the frame isn't looking at the camera (I'm not naming any names, ha).

Oh, and on a side-note...a blogger that I follow is having a great giveaway that I thought I would pass the info on. Just go to her site and enter to win! http://www.inthiswonderfullife.com/2010/12/yep-two-new-giveaways.html

Taking it all in

He just stared in amazement...

Daddy explaining it all

Who doesn't like sitting on a big frog?

You can just feel his excitement about having to pose with mama

And here we are on the whale...he was too busy for pics!

The Ocean through the Eyes of a Child

Yesterday, we took a day trip down to Gulfport...one of the many perks of living in Hattiesburg. William had never been to the ocean or beach before, so we had so much fun just watching him take it all in. His reactions were priceless, and reminded us of the amazing beauty and wonder of God's creation. He was in awe and wonder of everything from the ocean to the seagulls. I definitely think we'll be making many trips back in the future. But, first, allow me to show you the ocean in a whole new light...through a child's eyes...

First experience of toes in the sand...obviously not a fan

Still not a fan

Getting a little better

First look at God's amazing creation...wow!

Could've stared at it all day long

And....not a fan of the water!

Safe back in daddy's arms

Until next time...

Hooray for Free!!

I know that many of you fellow bloggers out there have probably heard about Shutterfly's 50 FREE Christmas card giveaway, but for those of you who haven't, let me give you the scoop! Shutterfly is a wonderful website that I use to backup my photos for storage and for use in the future for cards, stationary or other fun stuff like calendars and such. Well, they are now giving...yes, giving away 50 free cards to all of us bloggers. We have used them before for Christmas and thank-you cards and they are fantastic! Follow me to the website here, and check out all the beautiful cards! I haven't been able to choose my favorite so far, but here are the few that I absolutely love!

I apologize that they are so small, but you get the idea...CUTENESS!! I'll be ordering my 50 soon, so hurry up and click here to get yours too!

Boys will be Boys

We've been busy over the last few weeks getting settled into the new house. William is loving it, but mostly the big yard with lots of dirt. He's become quite the little boy lately, just wanting to be outside, playing with trucks in the dirt. I suppose that I knew it would come someday, I was just hoping to hold onto my little baby for a little while longer, though. This stage is so very fun, though, as he is constantly cracking me up!

His first pair of Levi's...contain yourself, ladies!

Fun with dad

Who needs toys when there's dirt?

Throwing acorns and watching them fall

Loves walking around with his ear protection!

Love that irresistible smile!