Allen and I have been blessed with a wonderful holiday and precious time with our family. Christmas night was perfect, with Shannon and Nathan with us to welcome Meghan, Justin, and the boys. It is fun to have our own children home and exchange gifts with them, but there is nothing like watching little ones open their presents. Bridger exclaimed, "Wow, wow," for each package. He's opening the movie
Kung Fu Panda in this picture. Allen and I watched it with him when his parents went out. What a great little film. Bridger is quite the movie nut, but he really enjoys music too. Meghan was playing lines from Disney movies, and he could name the song and movie.
Here he is listening to a CD with the little CD player we got for him. I remember when he was just a tiny fellow how he was fascinated by his daddy's headphones. He will no doubt be a musician of some sort.
Taplin was the entertainment for all of us, including Louie. Louie, who has never had a taste of people food, learned quickly where to wait for treats. Taplin especially liked the dinner rolls, and he likes to feed himself, so that meant lots of bread bites landed on the high chair between his legs. Louie loves Taplin.
Taplin loves his mommy. He follows her when she's in the house. He had a death grip on her leg while she was cooking. He is leaning to say ma-ma, but he's not quite there yet. He has the deepest little voice, and he makes lots of wonderful baby noises. He will watch your mouth intently when you talk to him.
I had one wonderful afternoon with just the boys -- Allen, Taplin, Louie, and Bridger. Taplin is on the move and curious about everything, so while Bridger and Allen watched Wall-E and played with puzzles, Taplin entertained Louie and me. Louie was a thief, as usual, stealing the smallest of Taplin's stacking boxes every few minutes.
We aren't the only luck grandparents in the world. I love this picture of Greg with his little baby Mac. We had two Christmas dinners, one at noon with Shannon, Nathan, Greg, Ruth, Michelle, Sean, and Mac. We love our extended family.
Louie got in on the Christmas gifts too. His plastic squeakly Nathan's hot dog was in his stocking this year.
Nathan and Shannon make a snuggle spot for Bridger on Christmas night. I know Shannon has enjoyed her extra days off even though she loves her job. She invited Allen and me to visit her work and see where she makes graphic magic for the magazine. I drooled on all of the sewing supplies and the huge sewing room.
What a wonderful week of special moments. The holiday has flown by in a blur, but it has been a happy time. I have loved spending quiet time with Allen too. He's been working some because of the go-live with ULA, but he's been home, at least! We rang in the New Year with a day trip to Nashville (to my quilt store which has moved to a new location and to lunch at the Chophouse), and then we spent the evening at home watching movies. Today, the last of the decorations have been stowed in the attic for another year.
There is absolutely nothing more precious than a little one having a bottle. Pure peace, pure satisfaction. Last weekend, Meghan and Justin and the grandsons came up for a wedding. Unfortunately, dear, sweet Taplin had some sort of stomach bug, and he had a hard time off and on all weekend.
Aunt Shannon and Uncle Nathan joined us for dinner Saturday evening. Shannon is helping Taplin appreciate Grandma's quilts. He liked the red and the buttons, I'd say.
Bubble fun! Bridger likes it when Grandpa fixed him a bubble bath Friday night with the jacuzzi turned on. Taplin and Louie want to help too, but they don't have the luxury of actually getting in with Bridger.
Mmmmm. Saturday during the wedding, Bridger and Grandma made chocolate chip cookies. Bridger saw his opportunity to help and scooted the chair across the kitchen. Nothing like licking the spatula. And the beater. And the bowl. None for Louie, the poor, neglected pug.
Uh-oh. Bridger's fine, but by Sunday morning Grandpa had Taplin's stomach bug. By Sunday evening, Grandma had it. Then Aunt Shannon and even Meghan had it. Poor us. The boys and Meghan are coming back in February so that Meghan can go to a conference at A&M. Let's hope everyone stays healthy!
By midweek, I was feeling better and couldn't resist getting back to my sewing. I am working on a paper pieced block of the month quilt on my Internet quilt show, http://www.thequiltshow.com/
To paper piece, you print out the pattern pieces, place the fabric on the back piece by piece, and sew on the lines on the paper. If manipulating objects and using the old noggin stave off Alzheimers, I good for this week, at least. The process really boggled my brain, but towards the end, I got the hang of it. I could never have achieved such precision without the paper piecing.
This is the final product for the January block of the month. I am pretty darn proud of myself. This was not easy for me. It is about 15" square, and it will be the center medalion in a quilt. I don't know if I will follow through for the entire year, but so far, so good. I cleaned up my sewing room after this was finished, and I can report that paper piecing is messy, kind of like having grandchildren around. Of course, the fun far, far, far exceeds the mess.
