Family Photo

We had this picture taken in November, but I hadn't been able
to post it since it was a Christmas present for several family members. I was very pleased with the fact that she was able to get all of us looking and smiling! Tanner has already grown out of that outfit though!!

Things are crazy right now with my family in town from Alabama, as well as Arizona. Blogging hasn't been anywhere near the top of the priority list! We have had many Christmas celebrations and get-togethers, and lots of good family time, but it should all slow down by Saturday!

Our experience with Santa

Santa's first trip to meet Santa was last Monday night. A cold front had hit and the roads were fairly slick. In fact, we didn't have school that day due to the icy conditions. While we waited in line, Tanner was all smiles! There is so much to look at inside Bass Pro that Tanner was pretty mesmerized. When it was finally our turn, I introduced Tanner to Santa and Tanner's eyes were HUGE. I don't think he knew what to think. At first, I think it was a toss up as to whether Tanner should pull Santa's beard or grab his glasses. The glasses did not have any lenses, so they were an easy snag. The glasses won out, followed by a close second to a hand-full of beard hair. Santa kept his patience, but when his "Ho, Ho, Ho-ing" started, I think the jiggling that began was the final straw on the unfamiliar territory for lil' Tanner Jay. This was the result:

We got the heck out of the Santa Village and the Winter Wonderland and wandered around Bass Pro for awhile. Tanner calmed down and just enjoyed the scenery. Tobin later told me that he never liked visiting Santa when he was little. He was scared of Santa for a long time. Hmmmmm....

This was Tanner's first trip (of many to come, I'm sure) to Bass Pro. Daddy loves to go there, so I know it will not be the last time. I know Tobin can't wait for the day when he and Tanner can go look at hunting stuff together. We wanted to find a place that we could take his picture and return for future pictures to show Tanner's growth. Tobin thought this would be a funny shot, so Tanner may not have good memories of the place after all.....lol!!

1st Snow Day

Tanner and I had a great time on our first day off together due to inclement weather! haha I have always had the mindset to sleep in, bum around for awhile, then get a lot accomplished. Well, insert 7 month old infant and there goes that gameplan!

His giggle has really come a long way! I used to long for smiles and now I get the smiles and the giggles! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT!!! I uploaded this on FaceBook, but some of my friends and family don't have a FB profile, so I thought you might enjoy seeing it on here! You'll have to scroll down and hit pause on the Christmas music in order to hear the sillyness!!!

Spoon-feeding

We started Tanner on solid foods on Thanksgiving Day. He got to eat some rice cereal by spoon rather than in his bottles as he has gotten for at least 3 months! This is in addition, to his regular bottles. We have since moved up to oatmeal, but only once. I haven't been as diligent as maybe I should be.

It has been...um.....not pointless, but a real pain in the patootie!

Any ideas on getting more in the baby than ON them??????

Daycare update~

I just can't say enough how happy I am with our new daycare situation. Everything has been wonderful so far, but take a look at the road that leads to Miss Amy's house!!! This pic was actually taken after I dropped him off and I was headed to work. This gravel road runs into a very hilly, narrow farm road (pic to the right) that leads to another farm road that leads to a main highway. The road to her house is pretty scary, especially in bad weather, but in most cases of bad weather, school will be cancelled and driving won't be an issue. It is a small price to pay for daycare that you trust and feel comfortable with though.
For those of you that have wanted an update, here goes:
Amy has texted me between 3 and 15 times per day all week. She sends me pictures and updates on what Tanner is up to. Let me just say, I LOVE THAT!!!! No more than a couple of hours seem to go by without me knowing what he is up to. Tanner was in her care all five days this week and I do not have one single complaint! Everything went quite well. Some days I dropped him off at her house and took her middle school kids to school; other days I met her at school and she took him back home after dropping off her children. Some days I took the kids home after school and picked him up then, and some days she brought him to me as she picked up the kids. We text each afternoon to figure out a gameplan. Next week will be different as the other baby she watches (14 mo old) will be back in town. I work with his mother and they have been on vacation, so this was a good week to start on since it gave Miss Amy more one-on-one time with Tanner, and Tanner got to know her 10.5 mo old son, prior to having all three together. All in all, I am very pleased with our new situation.Things have been busy around the house...Tobin got his deer mounted for his Christmas present. He stares at it all evening kind of like I look through my scrapbooks. It's funny to me, only because I cannot even begin to relate. But, it makes him happy as a lark and therefore, I am happy. It was cute hearing him show it to Tanner! We are both off tomorrow and I can't wait to try to sleep in somewhat!! I hope everyone has a great weekend!