A Year in Review

Another year has passed. And I must say, this year I have grown so much! 

I'm declaring it The Year of Growth. 

Emotionally I am a completely different person. Becoming a Mommy has taught me so much about myself. In the matter of minutes that E took to enter this world I became more vulnerable than I have ever been, and to this day still am. A quote I heard has always stuck with me because I find it so true.

"Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body."

- Elizabeth Stone

I couldn't explain it any better. 

E has become my WHOLE world. My world literally revolves around him. If I could spend twenty-four hours a day/ seven days a week with him I would. He has made me a stronger person. No longer does the "small" stuff bother me. Because in the end, I know what is most important. Coming home to my sweet family. Pre E I was a busy body, always had to be going, going, going. Lunch dates, shopping dates, vacations, dinner dates, drinks with friends, anything to keep me busy. Now I look forward to staying at home and playing with E. I look forward to family get togethers where E can play with his cousins. I look forward to Santa Claus, birthday parties, and the Easter Bunny. All this coming from the girl who never wanted kids ;) Oh the journey we call life! 

We will be bringing in the New Year watching our fighting LSU Tigers at Aunt Jenn and Uncle Brandon's house. Needless to say, we will be in bed long before midnight. Another joy of motherhood, early bedtime. My inner night owl has disappeared. 

I can't wait to see what 2013 has in store for my family and me!

P.S. This is my 100th post. 100 posts in one year. Not too shabby for this busy Mama.

The coffee cup

E and his obsessions crack me up!

His first obsession was trash cans (and still is). 

His newest obsession is his Daddy's favorite coffee cup.

He has officially confiscated the cup.

In the past when Chris was drinking his coffee E would reach out to touch the cup and then he would push it towards Chris to take a sip. E got the biggest kick out of hearing Chris sip his coffee.

Somewhere along the way, E got ahold of the cup and hasn't let it out of his sight since. 

Here are a couple of pictures of E and HIS coffee cup. 

See that sweet little pot belly? hehe.

'Tis the Season

What a fun Christmas this year! So much different than last year. No postpartum depression. No tears this year for this girl here. (Pat on my back.) E woke up to a living room full of toys. Santa was very good to E this year. Out of all the toys to choose from, E automatically beelined to the $10 white trash can. Surprise face! I've been a little MIA from my blog in the last month. Between E's birthday and Christmas this mama has been super duper busy. So let me catch everybody up.....MY CHILD'S FUTURE IS LEANING TOWARDS BEING A GARBAGE MAN. There I said it. E is out of control, obsessed (to a creepy, scary point) with our gross, disgusting, filth ridden trash can. Here are just a few pictures taken over the last month (notice all different days by the different outfits). And he doesn't discriminate, he plays with all trash cans- white, black, stainless, step foot, hit top, spin top. If it holds trash he's all up in it. I think Santa brought him a grill in hopes that he might change avenues towards a short order cook, but E's not falling for it. 

I think the white bearded man brought E a trash can in hopes that he'd stay of of his Mommy's....wrong! E's way too smart for that. 

So as a plan B I relocated the trash can in the laundry room. Behind a sliding door. E was not deterred. Instead, now when he hears the door sliding open he takes off running to try and beat the door before it closes back. It's quite a sight to see. And let me tell you, those big ears work very well. Possibly too well. So our battle royale over the trash can continues. 

Back to Christmas.

When E first walked into the living room he was mesmerized by the fact that his Nonnie, Poppy, Grannie, and Paw were all there. He just checked everybody out for the first few minutes. Then the fun began! There was sliding, lego stacking, hamburger grilling, and teeth brushing going on. 

Welcome to SantaLand

The Holy Grail of Christmas

Check out that silly boy's bed head

 

 

 

My sweet little family in our Christmas PJs

And then there's this....

The husband in his union suit.

No I did not force him to wear this.

No I did not bribe him to wear this.

Nor did I blackmail him.

Yes, a couple of Christmas's ago HE asked for this.

And yes, there's a poop door in the back. 

A grown folks onesie.

We spent the morning at home playing with E and all of his new goodies. 

For lunch we went to CeCe's house. The menu consisted of sandwiches, soup, and salad. Which I think was a wonderful ideal. We were turkeyed out after Thanksgiving. E got lots more goodies- which he didn't quite get to enjoy at the time because he was mid meltdown. Needless to say, we headed back home for family nap time. 

 

E and his cousin Aly, who he is absolutely smitten with. 

After nap time we headed over to Nonnie and Poppy's for steak and potatoes. Can you say YUM?! While we were there, my mom pulled out an old jewel.....

This is little boy last Christmas. Gosh time flies! 

This picture made me realize how far we've really come. 

I hope everybody had a wonderful Christmas that was filled with many, many memories and lots and lots of love.

Merry Christmas from the Morrison Clan

Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas from the Morrison's!

Remember the true meaning of this celebration we call Christmas. 

It all started with a little baby in a manger. 

We are fortunate to have all of our immediate family all in one central location. 

This weekend we did Christmas at my mom's. Christmas Eve was spent with Chris's dad and step mom. And Christmas will be spent with Chris's mom. 

It worked out perfect this year. No rushing like mad crazy people from house to house on the day of Christmas. And I feel like we got quality time with each family, which is all we could really ask for on Christmas. That's the most exciting part of it all- gathering with the ones you love. 

This is what our sweet E thinks about Santa.

Better luck next year!

Always remembered

In memory of the precious lives lost at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012. 

Silence and Support for Sandy Hook

I know all of you share my sadness over what happened yesterday.  As a mother - I can't FATHOM how those parents must feel. I hope you will all be praying for the people of CT.  They need our prayers. 

On Tuesday, December 18th, there will be a blogger day of silence. We will post the button and that's it. Please try to not post anything else that day if possible.

 We are also raising money that will go to an organization in the memory of this tragedy. The organization is calledThe Newtown Family Youth and Family Services. Here is the official description of the support service we are donating to: 

"Newtown Youth and Family Services, Inc. is a licensed, non-profit, mental health clinic and youth services bureau dedicated to helping children and families achieve their highest potential. NYFS provides programs, services, activities, counseling, support groups and education throughout the Greater Newtown area.

ANY DONATIONS MADE TO NEWTOWN YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES WILL BE DONATED DIRECTLY TO THOSE EFFECTED BY THE SANDY HOOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SHOOTING."

Please visit THIS PAGE to make your donation.

 We can't imagine how they must be feeling, especially this close to the holidays. We would love for you to spread the word on your own blog, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Let's make a difference and use blogging in a positive way. Thank you in advance for participating.

 Love,

The Blog World 

p.s. If you would like to, copy-paste and repost any part of this, please do. Share on.

Breakthrough

We have had a breakthrough! 

E is consistently eating "real" people food.

Whoop Whoop! {happy happy happy dance}

We've been patiently practicing at this for the last three months. 

I originally started using the baby led weaning. And at first E took to it.

But somewhere along the way..hhh hmmm he choked on a potato....and he stopped.

Amazing how that works. So we've been dishing out that delicious jar food that smells like feet. 

My fickle angel refuses to touch anything slimy. So much for a healthy diet of fruit and vegetables. 

My mother got the genius ideal to try feeding him chicken pot pie. And he loved it! Jackpot!

Slowly I tried new things. Chicken nuggets, pizza rolls, biscuits, hash browns, etc. 

I can say for twenty-four hours E has eaten big people food.

Hopefully this is goodbye to that jar crap.

Fingers crossed.

Overhauling

In case you haven't noticed, my blog has had a bloggy makeover. 

It was WAY overdo.

It's amazing what a makeover can do for a girl. 

A splash of color and a change of fonts....and wahhhhlaaaa! Magic.
I am completely blog illiterate (when it comes to design) so I was in desperate need of help.

I found Kreated by Kelsey (a blog designer) on Kelly's Korner and she has been absolutely amazing!

I would recommend her to anybody and everybody. 

I'm super picky, and overbearing at times and she handled me wonderfully.

Not to mention, her prices are reasonable. 

Hope y'all enjoy the makeover as much as I do.

I added some social media buttons, so y'all come check a sister out :)

Cat in the Hat First Birthday

Today was a HUGE success! 

The party was so much fun.

Unfortunately it flew by.

For three months I prepared for this Cat in the Hat extravaganza, and in a matter of a couple of hours it was over. Just like that.

But, every single bit was worth it.

E will only have one first birthday, and I treated it that way.

Possibly to the point of excess. 

I'll let you be the judge of that.

Here is E's birthday tour, and the majority of it is compliments of Pinterest.

Our shirts were compliments of ETSY

E loved his truck. 

I think he spent half the party being pushed around by cousins.

Right up his ally.

E's first "jacked up" truck.

I'm sure it won't be this little country boys last.

Birthday boy acting as door greeter. 

A wonderful ideal I found on Pinterest.

Everybody signed E's "birthday" book. 

I'm going to make this a birthday tradition (at least until E makes me stop). 

Such a timeless keepsake. 

The candy bar.

YUM!

Perfect for the older kids.

They filled their party favor bags with candy. 

The month banner. 

I My mom took a picture on each monthly birthday.

It is crazy how much he has changed.

At six months you can really tell a difference. 

I'm going to do something with these pictures, just haven't quite decided what.

I'm sure Pinterest could show me a few ideals......

The drink bar and popcorn stand. 

I My mom found some punch at Brookshires that was the perfect color.

Needless to say it tasted horrible, like sugar with a splash of water and food coloring. 

But that's okay, as long as it looked good.

Thank goodness we had backup water and cokes!

And last but not least, definitely most importantly.....the cake table.

We had yellow and red velvet cupcakes with a touch of cotton candy.

E's smash cake is the hat on top, made by none other than Nonnie.

Cake smash time!

E took to it fairly quickly.

He ate SO much cake.

I just couldn't stop him.

Cousins Parker and Chiara in their THING shirts.

So cute!

Love these two.

Somebody is coming off their sugar high.

And that's all folks........

A special thank you to the most wonderful mother ever. 

I couldn't have created this masterpiece without you. 

And Aunt Sara was a huge help too. 

My put together and clean up crew.