Birthday Bash, Christmas Carols, and Family Funsies

It's been over a month since my last post. It's been a LONG, overwhelming month. We moved into our new house. Yes, you'd think that I'd have pictures to share by now, but I don't. Let's just say we are throughly enjoying it and will so even more once we can see the grass long enough to get all the boxes out of the garage and into the shed so the garage is organized and the car can fit in. December was overtaken with getting the house put together well enough to have our guests over for Little B's birthday bash. Not to mention, trying to fit in time to get ready for Christmas. We were very blessed to have multiple friends willing to go above and beyond to help out with babysitting, moving, organizing our stuff, etc. It did not go unnoticed and we really appreciate it!

Right as we were settling in, we received sad news for our family. Our beloved Aunt K had passed shortly after discovering she had cancer. It was a very big shock for everyone because we were just stomaching the news that she was sick. We made plans to go to the funeral - which was interesting since part of the way we were driving 40 mph on I-65 since there was bad snow - and celebrated her life with family. It was a beautiful service and even Little B was well behaved for most of it. We will miss her at each gathering but she will always have a special place in our heart.

Little B's birthday bash was wonderful! It began the night before by Momma B taking on a never before done task: decorating a cake...in the shape of a giraffe nonetheless! Daddy B was a great help with cutting out the shape since Momma B couldn't find a giraffe pan. The decorating looked awesome if I do say so myself! It was quite the big feat and it was accomplished with flying colors (minus the baby cake I tried to make that bubbled over and didn't cook in the middle - so Little B had a regular square bakery cake for himself.

His very first birthday gift was from his sissy, Big E. While he is really enjoying the toy now (he loves the music to anything so this is a favorite!), originally all he truly cared for was the box. Our son has found that a packing box, shipping box, or rubbermaid box is his new best friend because he can push it, climb on it, and even put things in it (including himself!)

Little B had a blast at his party! From playing with balloons, to not wanting anything to do with his presents, to wanting to open them because the older kids were, to playing with his gifts, to eating the all important cake! He didn't miss a beat. Of course, lessen learned for Momma B: next time have him open presents before cake! Needless to say, someone had to have a hose down before he could open presents!

And then there is his actual birthday...the poor little guy puked four times in five hours! Daddy B and I decided that based on two years of birthday trauma, he won't want a birthday next year. Plus, his momma has cried both birthdays now too! We THOUGHT that he was all better the next morning and so we went ahead with our plans to leave for the grandparents. However, Christmas morning, we found out that apparently, he still harbored germs because a rollercoaster of sickness started with Daddy B and progressed to Uncle Z, Grammy, Granddaddy, Uncle E, Nana, and Great Grandma. And then they shared it with more relatives. It was a fun Christmas let me tell you ;) Because of how sick Daddy B was, Momma B was beginning to wonder if we were permanently going to be a family that opened presents the day after Christmas (that's what we did last year because we were too excited with a new baby to open them after we brought him home). But, Daddy B mustered up the energy to sit and watch gift opening - even if Momma B did have to open his gifts for him. Momma B and Little B were bummed with having to miss out on Uncle E's game but we had to keep healthy so we could still make rounds to the great-grandparents in IN. So, Daddy B went to his family's for a day and a half and Momma B and Little B fought off bad attitudes due to swollen gums. Yes, Little B's one year molars decided to come in as a little Christmas present. "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth..." Of course, Little B has always been on the slow teeth growing schedule so his teeth take 4 weeks or more to pop through but the fun definitely began right after Christmas! Before leaving for Evansville and starting the tooth misery though, we enjoyed Christmas with our other family - The K's. The boys had a ball with their new things! Since Momma K and Momma B have "their boys" Daddy K got each of them a Willow Tree little boy out of a set. So cute and proudly displayed on the tv stand (the boys know better than to mess with the Willow Trees :))

Pictures below of him on his actual birthday and the boys with their new Christmas stuff.

Time was enjoyed with all the grandparents and great-grandparents in IN and TN. We didn't have the stamina to take the kiddo all the way to AL to celebrate with the Black clan. Despite being turned forward facing over the holidays!!!!, Little B spent over 17 hours in the car over the span of a week and he was over it. But, who can blame him?! We arrived home from our whirlwind holiday visit just in time to have Daddy B put Little B to bed while Momma B made a quick run to WalMart and made it home just in time to ring in the New Year as a couple.

Since we've been home, January has had a few more events to mention, but for the sake of attention spans (the readers' and even the author's, that'll be saved for another post to come soon!) I hope the holidays were wonderful for each and every one of your families!