Are You 2 Yet?

Oscar had his third and last birthday party in Jackson on his birthday. Chris & I kept it simple and we invited several of our close friends, made soup, and had a very nice, simple party. Oscar loved his cupcake "2" cake from Pam and she did an amazing job. I just asked for some cupcakes, but Pam turned into trucks and everything little boys would love. Brendon and Trey bought him a Radio Flyer Roadster, which he was super excited about receiving. After everyone left he rode it around the house until bedtime. He has had the three best birthday parties any spoiled little toddler could ask for!

The best person in the whole world, Pam, made this great cupcake "2" for Oscar.

How great is that! Trucks, dirt, rocks, and chocolate!

Christmas Cards in a Hurry

Earlier in the fall I said (to myself) that I was going to design this year's Christmas card and it was going to be awesome. I had this whole concept and design and everything, I was just missing one thing.......TIME! Before I knew it we were leaving for Louisiana, then it was December 4, yikes! So instead of the greatness that was to be the jauberry Christmas card, I compiled several left over cards from years past, bought some boxed new ones, and even threw in some lovely papier ones to finish them out. Then we had to get a photo. Now I know a lot of people with families have professional ones done, and that is nice and all, but it also costs money. I cannot see paying $500 or more for something everyone besides grandparents are going to throw away 10 days after they receive it. So on December 6, I told Chris to bring our camera to work. We were to meet in the town square right after work and whatever we came up with, that is what people were getting for our Christmas photo. We took several options, and decided on the tree one, which we then sent to Albertson's for a grand total of $11.

Next year though, it will be great......... but I am still not having professional photos taken.

Winner!

How Lovely are thy Branches

The weekend after we got back from Louisiana, we gathered up the gang, made some chili, and headed out to find a tree. When Christmas tree hunting, it is always best to go as a large group; it makes the whole afternoon more enjoyable to have other friends trudging through the snow trying to find a beautiful tree to kill. This was also Oscar's first outing in the snow since April. Oscar is not as big of a fan of snow as I wish he were. He prefers hot chocolate and eating indoors by the fire. He did not want to be pulled in the sled, like his good friend Parker. He wanted to be carried. All 30 pounds of him, while I am post holing in the snow. After what seemed like 4 miles, we finally found our tree. Unfortunately it was the size of the Griswold family tree, we decided that we would take it, but there would be serious trimming that would need to be done. Hiking down with Oscar was much easier than poor Chris dragging that 300 pound tree. Although neither one was that enjoyable. We finally made it back to the trucks where chili, hot chocolate, and corn bread muffins awaited us. Of course Parker and Oscar waited no time digging into the muffins. They probably ate about 3-4 each along with carrots, apples, and other snacks I had brought. We finally loaded our over-sized tree, said goodbye to our friends and began the journey home. Chris did a great job trimming the tree and we spent the evening hanging ornaments and watching A Christmas Story. Lovely day.

Happy Second Birthday Oscar!

Happy Birthday Oscar. It seems impossible, but this year has gone by even faster than the first. You have learned to run, talk in sentences, eat with utensils, drink without a lid, build Lego towers, and so much more. You are so loving, but are definitely like your mom in that you do not want to be hugged too tight for too long. You are so kind with other children, especially the sweet girls in your classroom. You love to wrestle and play with Daddy and are learning to be more gentle with mom. You love to show us your belly and try to show other people Mom and Dad's belly, when maybe you shouldn't (church). You love Cars and Curious George and we have all the gear to prove it. You have a funny face that keeps us all cracking up laughing. You are becoming a better sibling to George, and he appreciates that you no longer pull his tail.
We love you so much Oscar, you are the best son, and we know this third year is going to go by even faster. So please bare with us as we hug you too tight for too long, we cannot help ourselves.

70454 Birthday

Oscar is spoiled. We all know it. Even the grandparents know it, though they will not admit it. Luckily he is not fully aware, or maybe he is, that this year he is having not one, not two, but three birthday parties. We cannot help it, it is great that everyone gets to celebrate with him! Of course we had to have another Cars themed party because, as Kelly & Roger can testify to, Oscar loves Cars. My mom got Oscar the cutest Cars helmet and hopefully Lighting McQueen will inspire him to wear it without much of a fight. We had a delicious cake and Oscar apparently could not wait until the end of Happy Birthday Oscar to dive right into it. Everyone else ate cake from the other side as Oscar continued to help himself. Oscar had a great time because Oscar loves Cars and cake.

Ponchatoula Gobble Gobble Gobble

On Turkey Day we made the mad dash to Ponchatoula to join the Van Vrancken family for Thanksgiving. I have to say, and I am not being biased, that my dad makes the best turkey in the whole wide world. He smokes it for hours and is so delicious, juicy, and I could go on forever. As proof of how delicious it is, there is no turkey left for sandwiches or anything because people cannot stop themselves from taking little bits of it for six hours straight until it is gone. Oscar is a HUGE fan of Paw Paw Charlie's turkey. We usually have to pull him away from the table. Our toddler can eat more food than both his parents combine. No wonder he has such a cute little belly.

My mom is always the perfect host and she really makes Thanksgiving such a flawless activity. I love drinking coffee in her beautiful china after dinner with my family and remembering holidays from the past. I love that we come home for this holiday every year. There is nothing better than being with great family and delicious food. It has all the wonderful moments of my childhood, and I get to revisit them every year.

He has turkey in one hand and is still reaching for more food!

MMMMM Pecan Pie!

Fun in Monroe Park

Oscar has not been able to go to a park in a few weeks because of the cold weather. Monroe's weather was much warmer, so we went to a park by Beth's house on Wednesday. Of course, Oscar wanted nothing more than to swing, swing, swing. He finally left the swing to climb on the dragonfly and hang out in the tire swing with Daddy. It was nice to be in warmer weather again, especially since it was in the single digits in Jackson. Bbbrrrrr!