Lefty or Righty?

Cory received his first electronic device for Christmas... a Leapster. As I was trying to reclaim my house from the Christmas mess today, I looked into the living room and saw this:

My little guy was actually entertaining himself with this blessed contraption. I love how he's holding the little pen with both hands for maximum control. He still can't decide if he wants to be a lefty or a righty. He eats, writes and plays ball with both hands equally. Hopefully he'll decide by kindergarten.

Battle of the holiday bulge

Mason was a little worried about his holiday weight gain and decided that he wasn't going to eat today. He wouldn't take a bite of baby food or rice cereal all day, and I felt like I was trying to nurse the Tasmanian Devil (he would not keep still!). I tried to tell him that not eating will only lead to binging later, but he wouldn't listen. Let's hope my chubby little man isn't catching Cory's bug.

  

My Little Archaeologist

Grandma and Papa Whitesell sent the coolest gift to Cory. It was a block of plaster with a skeleton hiding inside. Cory and Kevin spent the afternoon "excavating" the bones. Cory loved using real tools. The skeleton was awesome and only lost a few ribs in the process.  

Christmas 2012

Christmas morning started early with Cory waking up at 3am burning up with fever. Kevin and I basically didn't sleep after that. It made for a long Christmas day, but thankfully the yule tide endorphins and sugar kept us from collapsing. This little guy slept all through the night and didn't wake up until Cory was almost done unwrapping everything.

 

Sneeky Santa bricked the doorway into the living room. Cory had to knock it down to get to his gifts. 

 

Santa was really smart this year and was able to obtain some second hand toys to give to my Cory Boy. It helped make Christmas magical, even on a budget.

Mommy and Daddy were good this year, so Santa didn't forget them either. Yes, that is a box of Zipfizz by my stocking. If you don't know about Zipfizz, I'm sorry. It is my secret to being supermom. I only drink it every once in a while, but when I do, I am truly unstoppable.

Whenever anyone asked Cory what he wanted for Christmas, he would reply, "A cage!" Santa had to get creative in his hunt for "a cage" but thankfully found one (thank you Holly).

We ate Christmas dinner at Grandma and Papa Birds, but Cory's fever came back with a vengeance so we dipped out early. I missed my South Carolina family a lot. As happy and as full as my heart was all day, there was still a hole. Throughout the day I would imagine what every one was doing "at home" and hoping they were having a wonderful Christmas too.

Bird Christmas Eve Party

We had a fun(ny) Christmas Eve. Holly hosted a yummy dinner and cookie decorating fest. Mason was  happy and snuggly as always. How could any one not be smitten by this little angel?

Cookie decorating was obviously a big hit. I especially loved 1 year old Colton icing his cookie. I'm pretty sure he did a better job than me.

 

Cory ate more cookie toppings than I'd like to admit (which may explain the stomachache at 3am).  How would you tell this sweet face no?

So on to the funny part of the night. Kevin has been helping to sell some of his late-Grandpa Bird's belongings, since the family is trying to sell Grandpa's house. During his visits to Grandpa's patio, he has found lots of "treasures" surely destined for Good Will. He had a vision of wrapping them all up and giving them to his family.  Well, Kevin isn't just a man of vision. He has excellent execution skills. Check out some of these funny gifts:

We laughed and laughed as everyone tore into their presents. Kevin is our hero.

Christmas Views

Kevin took these pictures of some elk and a big horn sheep from our living room couch and front yard. He loves spotting game and we both love living right on the bench of some beautiful mountains. 

Christmas Eve Sledding

Kevin is the best dad ever. While most people were ducking for cover, he braved the Christmas Eve storm and took Cory sledding. They were frozen when they were done, but at least they had giant smiles frozen on their faces. 

 

Drowning in money

I guess Santa was feeling a bit cash poor on Christmas Eve. Kevin pulled out years worth of change he had been hording and decided to sort it. We made a family activity out of it. Who knew this kid would love playing in a giant pile of change this much?

Is it just me or are Kevin and Cory pulling the same faces in these pictures?

And so it begins

On Christmas Eve we had a winter storm so my workout was forced inside. While Kevin and Cory braved the weather and did some sledding, I bonded with Jillian. Mid workout this special package arrived.

I won a pair of Pro Compression socks on a blog giveaway, and the delivery time couldn't have been more perfect. I had to put them on right away to make sure that they would fit around my cankles and was thrilled when I was able to shimmy them onto my sexy legs.

Can you tell I was very happy in spite of the weather?