Jackson's 1st Christmas Pics

Christmas Eve with Great Grandma and Grandpa Kirk:

1st Visit with Santa:

Pictures from Christmas in Stillwater:

Christmas Day in Illinois with my parents:

Happy Holidays from Chicago

Hi everyone!

Long time no blog...

I can't believe it's been a month since I got on here and talked about our little man! So much has happened this past month, I just have so much to talk about. December has brought us many blessings...mostly in the form of Christmas and family time. For the last few months, I've been pretty anxious about things....work, Justin finding a job, etc. etc. But the last 2 weeks, I've been able to relax and enjoy Christmas. I was afraid for awhile I would never get in the Christmas spirit, mostly b/c Justin was kind of a Scrooge the first 2 weeks of December, but when finals were over so was his bad attitude! It's been a much better end to the month though...here's why:

We opened presents on December 16th. I was home sick that day as I had been in the ER just the day before with severe dehydration from food poisoning. Jackson was just absolutely fantastic at opening presents....it was as if he'd opened hundreds of presents before! All I had to do was open a little tear for him and he handled the rest. I have to admit he was more impressed with the boxes of things and the wrapping paper on them, but once we made those things disappear, he was excited to get some new toys. We kinda took it easy on presents this year b/c we'll be moving in 6-ish months and we didn't want any more things to have to pack and we know Grandpa and Grandma Kirk would get him a lot too! He got some chewable blocks, a set of sound making balls, a baseball kit, a dog that makes noise and sings the ABCs, and a set of stacking cups. He really enjoyed the baseball kit and the stacking cups b/c he likes to make noise by hitting stuff with other stuff. He also loved the Christmas tree. In fact, we spend about a half an hour every night before we left for Chicago reading a few books in front of it. I'm seriously considering leaving up a little tree in his room all year b/c he gets so excited to see the lights. Too much fun!

School ended quickly and we left on the 18th to head home to Chicago...packed with tons of toys and clothes. The plane ride was actually pretty smooth...minus a few hours of delay and the lovely amount of doodle Jackson decided to start and finish on the plane before we could lift off. I'm not sure why he decides to have an exploding diapers now when we travel...let's just say it's not fun to change a poopy diaper in a small, enclosed space with NO changing table. I had to get creative and I was not a happy camper, but we made it through! Got to Chicago and found snow...yay! The next day Jackson got to flirt with some new people at my grandparents' 50th anniversary party. He was just an absolute angel! So sweet and so loving to everyone...I was so proud. On Sunday, we did an annual trip over to my aunt Jana's house to bake Christmas cookies. Now that I'm old enough ;0) I was able to be the designated froster. We had fun and I was glad to get to hang out with my cousins. Monday was the day we had our annual OHS Christmas party. I was so looking forward to hanging out with my friends and my husband with our son, but Justin couldn't go b/c our downstairs toliet exploded all over his suitcase and he had no clothes :0( Jackson of course wasn't the angel boy he usually is either. It just wasn't as much fun as it had been the in the past b/c I couldn't really talk to my friends, but I was glad to see my peeps!
The next day Justin and I headed to downtown Chicago to indulge him in his Christmas present. We ate at one of his favorite restaurants, Monk's Pub, rented a hotel room, and went to the Chicago Blackhawks game. It was a lot of fun! It was the first night we've ever spent away from Jackson and I only called 2 times :0) We had fun being young and enjoying each other's company. The game could've gone better, but our seats were awesome (thanks Dad for finding the tix!). It was a great night and we hope to be able to get out a lot more together as Jackson gets older. On Wednesday, my friend Tai from high school come over and took some family pictures. It was great catching up and I can't wait to see the pictures.
Now for the Christmas festivites...On Christmas Eve, we usually go over to my Grandma and Grandpa Kirk's but they weren't feeling good enough to cook this year, so they came over to our house. We ate Christmas dinner and then opened presents. Jackson was spoiled once again and I thought my Grandma did a great job at getting us gifts this year. Jackson really loves this orange turtle she got him. It was a really nice night with our family! The next morning, Jackson slept in until almost 9am, which was so nice! My parents went all out this year. We were shocked by their generosity. Jackson of course made out like a bandit! He ended up with a wagon full of loot and I've been loving everyday as he plays with his new toys. We are definitely going to have to send a package back to the house though b/c we don't have enough room in our suitcases! Jackson had the best day and wore the best, biggest smile the whole day. He really enjoyed hanging out with Mamaw and Papaw Kirk and the rest of the family at my aunt Jana's house. This Christmas was awesome!

So far, this trip home has been a great one. I've really enjoyed spending time with my family and my parents. We got snow and it's been beautiful, but not a blizzard like down in Oklahoma...I feel so bad for how bad ya'll got it down there! We didn't get to make to Cincinnati like we'd planned, but that's okay. The weather just wasn't going to let us cooperate! Now, with just a few days left of our trip, I'm going to spend as much time with my family as I can. I don't think I'll be ready to leave when it's time and I know for sure I won't be ready to go back to work! Thinking the last few days will be full of more shopping with my mom, catching some dinner with my daddy, a movie with my hubby, a few more visits with friends, and possibly a visit to the Shedd Aquarium. Happy Holidays everyone!

PS - We still haven't heard anything on the job front. It's getting to be quite frustrating, but we're still hopeful to know something in January. We'll let you know as soon as we know. Please continue to pray for us :0) Thank you!