Christmastime!

December 15
My friend Rachel had a gift exchange party. It was great to dress up, be with our friends, eat lots of yummy treats, and have a fun white elephant game. And this was a girls only party, so even better! Everyone brought neat gifts and I would have been happy taking home any one of them. I ended up with a hot cocoa and mug set with a book and a Woodstock stuffed animal.


From the left: Tiffany, Yvonne, Sheralyn, Me, Jessica, Katie, Dawn (holding Tiffany's baby Tyler), Maribel, Rachel

December 16

Friday night we had our ward Christmas party at the church, complete with turkey and all the fixings! They also had a little program and a sing-a-long which was surprisingly really fun. Near the end all the kids sang a song to usher in Santa Clause. I wish, Wish, WISH I had a video of Cannon's reaction! He was beyond excited! I was holding him up and as soon as he saw Santa his eyes got huge and he raised both his arms high with one hand opened and the other hand holding up two fingers and he starts shouting, "Yeah, Santa! SANTA!" Just picture someone at the concert of lives and that would be Cannon! He ran to Santa to get in line with the other kids. Despite his total awe, the picture of him would suggest otherwise. This was his third time sitting on Santa's lap this year and it never got old for him.




December 19

For family home evening, we went to see the lights at Largo Central Park. Actually I got there early with Cannon so he could play on the playground first. We got there around 4:00 and played until Ryan got there at around 6:00. Cannon was happy to see the lights, but he was most excited to walk on the train tracks. Afterwards we got $2 subs at Subway.







December 20

My birthday! I got to open my presents in the morning before Ryan left for work. Ryan's parents got me a watch (I left my other one back in Austin). My mom got me a Willow Tree figurine of a husband and wife and also a Visa giftcard. Ryan got me a shirt from Old Navy and Burts Bees chapstick (I was impressed that he attempted to buy me clothes). And he surprised me with an iPOD Touch! I LOVE it, but I feel so guilty for having it. But with all the giftcards we got, it more than makes up for it.

In the morning I met a couple of friends, Rachel and Jessica, at the park. Rachel made me some earrings and Jessica got me journal and chocolate cupcakes. It was such a nice day at the park and fun to let the kids run around.

Later that day Cannon and I met Ryan at his office around 5:15. I had never seen his office, so he gave us a tour and introduced us to a few co-workers. Then we headed out for a dinner at Maggianos. On the way there we saw two dolphins in the bay! I always complain to Ryan that he gets to see all the good animals, so I was so happy that I finally got to see some dolphins!



December 24

For Christmas Eve we went the beach! We decided that needs to be our new tradition. It's been really warm, like in the 80's, so we felt that the beach was the perfect way to spend the day. It's always a little cooler once you get to the shore. We didn't have any intentions of fully swimming, but we wore our swim suits anyway. Cannon found a stick and just wanted to play in the sand. We stood in the water, which actually wasn't that cold, but the wind was cold. It was so nice and relaxing. We also saw a few seals out in the distance.





Christmas!

Christmas was so much fun this year! Cannon "got" it and that made it so fun! The first thing he said when he woke up in the morning was, "Is Santa here?" He kept thinking that he was going to see Santa. I kept explaining that he wasn't going to see Santa and that he had already come. We let him open his stocking and a couple of presents before church. We had church at 10:00 and so we waited to open everything until after church. I kind of liked the delayed gratification. When we did open presents, we took our time. Cannon liked to play with each toy for a bit before opening the next one. Our families definitely spoiled all of us, especially Cannon!

Later that day our friends, the Kanooths, came for Christmas dinner. I made a turkey, stuffing, and rolls. And Rachel made mashed potatoes and a super delicious blackberry pie! Dinner was great and the kids had fun playing together.

I love how he calls his trampoline a "bounce-a-leen!"





The dogs got their Christmas bones and their toys. Trixy is the other dog and we are watching her while her family is in Utah for the holidays.


The aftermath!


Christmas dinner with everyone, except Micah. He was asleep in Cannon's crib.


How many babies can you fit into a dog crate?


After dinner I cut Micah's hair. Doesn't he look so handsome?

I was really good this year and cleaned out things before Christmas to make room for the new stuff. When Cannon went down for his nap we were able to clean up and organize the toys before he woke up. Today we are going to take the tree down and put away all the decorations.

Cannon's First Race

My good friend Rachel talked me into yet another race. But this one was only a mile, so I knew I could do it easily. I decided I would take Cannon this time and let him run it. This run only cost $8 and you got a nice long-sleeved running shirt, backpack, and a pancake breakfast. The race was at Coachman Park in downtown Clearwater. We were right by the pier and had a beautiful view. The 5k and 10k runners got to run over the bridge that takes you to Clearwater Beach.

I had to wake up Cannon in the morning, but he was excited to run the race. Once we were there he was a bit clingy and not very enthusiastic. Once our race started he didn't really understand what we were doing. Our course went around the block twice. He did much better on the second half actually. By that time most of the people had passed us and we were left alone. I turned it into a game and we chased each other (one of his most favorite things to do!). That got him really pumped! We would run for a bit and then he would tell me when he wanted to walk. Since everyone was ahead of us with their strollers, they were waiting for us at the finish line. They started to cheer for Cannon and that made me feel so proud of him. We came in at 21 minutes and Cannon felt so proud of himself too. And then he asked for water! They gave him a ribbon (which he proudly wore) and a nap-sack type backpack with a couple Sesame Street toys and bottled water. Then we ate at the pancake breakfast which was delicious! We had a really fun time and I hope that Cannon and I can do more races together.




Here's everyone, from the left: Tiffany with Dylan (5) and baby Tyler (3m), Yvonne with Everest (15m), me and Cannon, Rachel with Micah and Savannah (18m)

Cannon Update and Stuff

Cannon is really turning into his own self. He just seems to be growing up so much, which is why I'm attempting to write it all down.

Here at the top 11 things about Cannon:

1. He has the memory of an elephant. He doesn't forget things or places, ever. For example, we went to Khols one day and he played with some Thomas trains there. This was about a month ago. Then last week we went again and as soon as we pulled in the parking lot he asked to play with Thomas! Things like this happen a lot. He is also really good at remembering names and faces.

2. He is incredibly social. He LOVES people and children. He makes friends with everyone, even strangers at the grocery store. People notice him too, with his curly hair and smiles. He will play with any kid, but he really likes boys that are a little older than him because he likes to wrestle and run. I have noticed that he makes friends with girls too.

3. Despite being so outgoing, he likes his private time too. Often times he will go to his room and read every book on his bookshelf. He likes to have some quiet time and time alone each day.

4. He is slowly starting to give up naps. Last week I attempted to get him back on his regular sleep schedule and put him to bed a lot earlier. He ended up sleeping 12-13 hours at night, but didn't want to take a nap everyday. He's not ready to give up naps all together, but a couple times a week he'll go without one. We just have to make sure that he goes to bed a little earlier on the days he doesn't nap. I'm fine with him not taking naps, as long as he's happy. Yesterday he didn't take one and we ended up going to the beach. Today, he protested one, but ended up falling asleep. Some days he'll just play in his crib for an hour or two. We've been putting him to bed around 7:30 and I love it!

5. He loves trains, school buses, and motorcycles!

6. He is caring towards others. We are starting to get past the stage of "MINE!"  What's mine is mine, what's yours in mine-that's still his philosophy.  On Sunday I stayed in his nursery for a bit to help the teachers. Cannon had three cars and was deep into his play. His friend walked in the room, but you could tell that he had reservations about being there. Cannon immediately ran over to him and gave him one of the cars he was playing with. It made me feel good that he would think to do that without being prompted. I thanked him for sharing and told him that it made Aiden feel happy. I have never pushed Cannon to share or take turns, because that stuff comes with time. I don't like interrupting other children's play so that Cannon can have a turn and likewise, I wouldn't want someone interrupting Cannon's play. When I see that Cannon wants something someone else has I will tell him, "Wait until he's done or choose something else." This has worked pretty well. Or if someone is trying to take his toy I tell him to tell the kid, "I'm still using it." He's still working on that one though. If a kid tries to take a toy from him, Cannon will usually give it to the kid after he is finished playing with it. I love to watch moments like that.

7. Cannon and I bond over chocolate milk. It's our secret addiction. Really, it's slimfast. I LOVE slimfast, not because I'm trying to lose weight, but I like the way it tastes and it's a good quick snack or in addition to a PB&J. I ask Cannon if he wants chocolate milk and we both get so excited we can hardly contain it! He has his choice of two special cups, specifically set aside for chocolate milk. We sit at the table and drink it together. He moves his straw when I move mine. We only treat ourselves a couple times a week, but it's heaven for a few minutes.

8. When it comes to eating vegetables, he is hit or miss, but I can always count on him eating avocados or sweet potatoes.

9. I love the way he says sandwich (samich) and giraffe (gee-raf).

10. He is very sentimental about his old baby things and clothes he's outgrown. Recently, I got rid of some of his baby things that I don't think we'll need when the next one comes along. He was so excited when I got them out of the closet and he seemed to remember them. I had to prepare him in advanced that we were going to give them to a baby who needed them. We had to talk about how he used to use them and I let him play with some of the stuff for awhile. In the end he was okay with it. I know he inherited that gene from me, because Ryan doesn't give a second thought to throwing things away.

11. He loves to give kisses! He is famous for giving unsolicited kisses. One night when I was putting him to bed, he just kept kissing me! He wouldn't stop! I loved it.

That's all that I have for Cannon. Now onto the rest of us.

We got our Christmas tree on Saturday. I really didn't want to spend very much money on one and I had set aside $25 expecting to probably only get a Charlie Brown tree. We went to a lot just up the street from us. The trees were fresh from Wisconsin and they all looked healthy and full. We found one for $29. It is a little bit short, but it is full and nice looking. It exceeded my expectations for that price so we are pretty happy with it. I knew we couldn't have a big tree in our little place anyway. I was super excited to decorate it! Ryan is a bit of a bah-humbug when it comes to holidays, but he happily goes along with my plans anyway. I thought Cannon would get excited about decorating, but he seems to have his dad's laissez-faire approach. He hung a couple of ornaments, but really just wanted to play with the nativity set. This works out because he leaves the tree alone, a stark contrast from last year. However, he does like the lights and asks that they be turned on all the time. Actually, he know about the plug so he turns them on himself.







Cannon does know about presents and is getting excited about that part! I have been ordering a lot of his presents from Amazon. Each time a package arrives he gets so excited! I open it alone and then hide it upstairs. He always goes upstairs to look for it and then laughs! I know he's going to be one of those kids that finds his presents. Speaking of finding presents, I found something that Ryan got me. I wasn't trying to snoop, I was actually looking for something else. Besides, I am the type that likes to be surprised. I didn't tell him, but maybe I will after Christmas.

Also on Saturday, we were invited to have breakfast with Santa at the YMCA in Palm Harbor. Cannon eagerly waited to sit on Santa's lap and then proceeded to tell him lots of stories including, "Daddy is home sleeping," which was true. I was impressed with the breakfast spread and then afterwards there were Christmas crafts. Cannon did a couple of simple crafts, but then he saw the big child care room and that's all he wanted to do! They said he could play in it and I sat in the corner for an hour and a half while he played. I meant to take pictures, but I left my camera in my car and I didn't feel like going back and getting it.

On December 2, Ryan's work had their annual Christmas party and the Florida Aquarium in Tampa. We got all dressed up and hit the town! Ryan has never been to the aquarium, but I have been there with Cannon. They had the whole thing rented out just for us. They set up tables downstairs for eating. For dinner they had a salad station, pasta bar, and prime rib. Really good food! The best part was that we had full access to the aquarium so we didn't have to mingle with people we don't know. I did get to meet Ryan's boss and a few of his co-workers. They had the dessert station next to the sharks. So we got to eat our cake while watching the sharks. We were so needing a date and we had a great time. Afterwards, we went and saw the new Twilight movie (Ryan's suggestion).

We felt like real grown-ups going to a real party.

I bought an overhead projector for $25 on craigslist. Cannon loves to play with it and now he calls it Shadow. He loves to watch his shadow dance and he likes to move the light.




Blue always has to be part of the action too!

I Don't Need a White Christmas

Ryan and I are in total agreement that we have no desire to ever live where it gets cold! It makes me happy that it is December and we are wearing shorts and flip flops. The weather is just gorgeous right now and I am so happy we moved here! This is our time to be outside since I know we will be complaining of the heat come summer time.

Today we went to Belleair Beach. I didn't bring our swim suits because I thought it would be too cold to swim. The weather is warm, but the water is too cold for me. There were two families there, one from Canada and the other from New York, and they went in the water. I guess if you live up north and are used to cold water, then it might be okay for you.




Cannon mostly wanted to feel the sand and walk around.





We did decide to dip our feet in and Cannon inevitably fell in all the way. At first he was upset, but then laughed about it.

I love days like this!

Stick

Cannon's new favorite kind of toy is a stick. Any kind. If we are outside he will find one and he will play forever! There are lots of things you can do with a stick.






This picture is my favorite.