A boy, his balloon, and the Mad Bomber

Gage's Valentine balloon is still going strong, as is his love for it. Both of these pictures were taken last weekend. Gage did not give up the balloon all weekend.


It was also very cold last weekend. Stephen brought out the Mad Bomber. You can say what you want about the MB, but it will keep you warm. I like this picture because it shows off Gage's 3 teeth. Gage has had only 3 teeth for quite a while. Tooth #4 shows no signs of coming through anytime soon.


Savannah and Stephen went to the circus today (next year, Gage and I will get to go too)...those pictures to come soon if I can figure out how to get them off the card. It amazes me that I have a job as a technology project manager!!! Boy, have I pulled the wool over someone's eyes!

I heart snow

Gage isn't such a big fan, but he does enjoy watching from the warmth of the living room. I bought this hat when I was pregnant with Gage...I'm so excited it finally fits!!! He's not as thrilled about it as I am. You can't really see it too well, but he's holding a red heart mylar balloon he brought home from school today. He held onto that balloon for a good hour and a half before I could sneak it away from him and hide it. It was really getting in the way of walking, crawling, climbing, etc.


Atlanta got some snow today...a lot more actually than I thought we would get. At last measurement, accumulation was 2 1/2 inches from the Barnett back deck. Savannah FINALLY got to build a snowman...something she has reminded us of ever since it snowed a year ago when we promised she could make a snowman and before we got out to do it, the snow had melted. The snow we had in early January was too powdery to even make a snowball.

Daddy helped...







Alice, recognize the snowman's hat?


The birds have been very happy ever since we brought home the Yankee Droll Flipper. I have yet to see a squirrel take a ride, but the bird seed seems to be lasting a lot longer!


View from back deck.

Christmas

We started the holiday season out to get that perfect holiday card photo. Here's one that didn't make the cut...none of our family shots made it to the card. I've got some great ones of Savannah screaming and Gage trying to jump out of my arms. I'm throwing in the towel....family photos need to be outsourced!


Growing up, one tradition we had in my family was to open one gift Christmas Eve night. Our gift was always our annual Hallmark ornament. Last year I got my set from my mom and it's fun now to put my old childhood ornaments on the tree. We have continued with the Hallmark ornament tradition, however, we let Savannah pick out her own ornament around Thanksgiving so she can hang it on the tree and play with it all season. So the Barnetts wanted to start a new tradition...one that would be reasonable to keep up year after year...Christmas PJs! I'm not really into Christmas-themed PJs, but I do want to keep them somewhat coordinated while they are still young.


All the family came over Christmas night for dinner and more gifts. We tried another family photo. Sorry, Rainwaters, we took the picture before dinner and missed you all :( And, no, I'm not pregnant, but this photo sure tells a different story. I'm on it, Mom, 2010 exercise starts....tomorrow of course.


Gage appears to have had one too many eggnogs.


And here's one picture that DID make it to the Christmas card. If you got the Shrek reference, then I applaud you :)


I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and safe and Happy New Year!

Here's one from New Year's Eve 1999. What an incredible decade it's been!

Happy Birthday, Gage!

There's been a lot of firsts around here lately...

First birthday - Gage turned ONE almost 2 weeks ago!!! I know, bad mommy for not blogging before now.
First steps - Yep, Gage took 2 steps to Stephen Sunday morning. Hasn't done it since.
First tooth - Tonight after dinner while cleaning the tacos and pears off Gage's face, I saw it...a tiny little white line on his bottom gums. So what's a mom to do? Stick my finger in his mouth, of course. Yep, it's a new tooth!

Nana came to town for Gage's birthday. Thanks to all the Werners (minus Siri and Brooke) and Aunt Melanie, Uncle Josh and Skylar for helping us celebrate Gage's special day. It's true, Skylar was there, but you'd never know it because we're pretty sure she didn't leave the playroom all night! Many thanks to little Miss Laura for entertaining Savannah for hours! Of course, I'm pretty sure Laura was ecstatic to have her very own real-life dress up doll and Savannah was the willing participant.

Along the lines of first birthdays, Gage also had his first taste of cake...twice. Take one occurred Sunday afternoon following his mini photo session. I'm pretty sure he was cold and tired and wanted nothing to do with my camera or his cake. Here's my little grump man.


So we put his cake in the fridge and vowed to try again the following Saturday. We had a rocky start.


I think he must have just been upset we didn't put his hat on him before starting.


Once we cut the cake into quarters, he went to town. Needless to say, all hopped up on sugar, he didn't nap the rest of the day.


Top it off with some milk (yay! no more formula!!!)...


Gage had his one-year appointment with Dr. B last week. With the doctor visit comes 4 shots :( Gage took 'em like a champ and slept for a good 2 hours afterwards.

Stats:
Weight: 20 lbs, 5 oz. (25th percentile)
Height: 29 inches (25th percentile)
Head Circumference: 48 cm (95th percentile)

Savannah Kate

Santa...the prequel

Yesterday Savannah and I headed over to meet Santa Clause at the Shoppe of Vinings. We have taken Savannah to the Phipps Plaza Santa for the last 3 years and still have our reservation for this year's visit next week. Last year she didn't disappoint, but with the Disney trip still in recent memory, we wanted to make sure she was not going to turn, run and scream this year. She did great!


Lots of hugs.


My only guess is that Aunt Melanie taught her this one..."Flash Santa and you'll get more toys." Yeah, that sounds like something Aunt Mel would teach her :-) Let's hope she keeps her dress down next week...I don't think the nice folks at Phipps will look too kindly on this type of behavior.


This is what Gage thought of me leaving him home while Savannah got to schmooze the big guy.


But he's always quick to forgive. It helps too that Savannah made sure to put in Gage's request for a train table.

This year we took flight

Gage's first Halloween! While Savannah wanted Gage to be a pirate, we opted for NASA Commander.


Savannah decided this summer that she would be Tinkerbell. We weren't sure she really understood what she was saying, but every time we asked what she wanted to be for Halloween, we got the same response, "Tinkerbell!" My mom keeps asking why we have not posted Disney pictures yet...well, I didn't want to give away Savannah's costume. Disney pictures will come soon!