Christmas Tree 2009

Upon getting home with our '09 Christmas tree we did encounter some small problems.
Problem 1: The 1st time we set up the tree it was NOT straight. Now the blame for this can go in many directions but nevertheless the tree was leaning. BAD. This was a problem for me and for Chad. So 4 sticks and 1 brick piece later the tree is now straight.
Problem 2: Our brand new from Home Depot tree stand specifically made for trees over 8 ft (ours is 9) leaked. This was a problem that we did not discover until the tree was in the stand. But leave it to the red neck repair kit and duct tape it was fixed no problem. And almost 4 weeks later it is still holding strong!!
Problem 3: Jackson was napping as we decorated the tree. So we decided that we would put all the breakable ornaments up high so Jackson could not destroy them. We separated the ornaments into a breakable and non-breakable area and we got all the non-breakables on the tree and guess what..... Chad's phone rings and he needs to go to the office to help a customer. (And since he is paid via commission he headed in). So of course Jackson wakes up screaming and all the breakable ornaments are still in the floor. And I as any good Mommy go into his room get him out of his bed. Then I make sure he has all of his favorite toys to play with and then shut his door and leave him in his room by himself to quickly put the ornaments on the tree and let him out to see our Bama Christmas Tree.
Jackson looked at the tree -- tried to touch one thing --- Mommy said NO NO and he now acts as if it is normal to have a 9 ft tree growing in our living room.

Here is Jackson after we fixed the leaking problem
Here is the tree with lights

Here is our Bama Tree. Now I am sure Bama Tree's are all the craze this year but no our Bama tree dates back to 1998. I started my Bama tree in '98 and when Chad built his house in '05 he started a Bama tree also. In '06 our Bama tree's joined forces and got it's tree topper (Yes a Houndstooth hat) and the rest is Crimson Tide history.

Here are some of our Bama decorations on the tree.

As most of you know Jackson also has a Bama baby room (see post from May or June 2008) and so I thought this stocking made a perfect door decoration.

Here is Jackson after I let him out of his room and he saw the tree for the 1st time.

And of course like any curios little boy he had to touch it.

Christmas Tree Shopping

The day before Thanksgiving we headed to Thornhill's Christmas Tree Farm to look for the perfect tree. Jackson loved the Christmas tree farm and why not acres and acres to run and play. The weather was perfect and yes we did find the perfect tree.....

Yes they did think that Jackson was going to allow this but believe me it did not last very long at all and he was off and running.

Chad's Birthday Dinner

About a week before Chad's Birthday we drove up to Monteagle TN with Chad's parents to High Point Restaurant. If you live in the area I would definitely recommend it for a nice dinner at a quaint place. Check out the web site for more info. http://highpointrestaurant.net/5301.html

Before we left for dinner we took a family picture and you will notice that Jackson has a slight halo. This is quite funny because he is all boy and would tarnish the halo image. But of course he will always be his Mommy's angel!!
Chad and Jackson in front of the door at High Point. I just love these guys so much!!

Here are a few shots inside and outside of the restaurant of Jackson. It was an old stone building and had tons of small rooms and a great patio area outside. I will be going back to this place.... hopefully soon!!

Halloween 2009

Last year Halloween was Jackson's 1st holiday. He was the cutest little pea in a pod. And it is amazing what changes a year can bring. This year Jackson went as a Grease 50's Dude. Now one this was the same from last year. Jackson has no interest in the actual process of trick r treating. But I guess that will be next years change.....

Here is the 2 year comparison of my sweet little boy. Now the process of creating a 50's Grease Guy was really easy except the hair so here is what was required for the hair.

Step 1: Wet it down good Step 2: Apply LOTS of hair product to get it to stand up stiff

Step 3: Twist and twirl hair and spray, spray and spray some more.

Apply black leather jacket, roll up pants and put on white socks and black shoes and you have the spitting image of an original 50's guy.

Oh yea and we also went to a Halloween party with the theme of "tragic endings" so we went as a vampire and someone bitten by a vampire.

Jackson's visit to Tate's Farms

This afternoon we took a few hours to head over to Tate's Farm for a visit to their pumpkin patch. To say we only went to a pumpkin patch is the understatement of the year. This place has everything.... First Jackson started off by running as fast as his legs allow. So of course we headed to catch him. Jackson has found that he wants to go into whatever direction that we are not planning to go. So we spent lots of time redirecting him. He spend quite a while in the swings and loved them.

Then he went to play in the cotton bin. He was not able to walk really good in the cotton but he did a great flip right after I took this picture.

They had these two tractors there that kids could get into, which was really neat except my child just wanted to drive for about 2 seconds and then run and try to jump out of the side. Keep in mind it was about a 3 foot drop, which he did not understand was a danger.

Also they had this giant pile of tire. Another no fear zone for Jackson. He loved being in the sand but really wanted to jump off the tire.

This would not have ended good except Chad was right there to catch him.

He enjoyed the walk though tires too.
Just a little too tall

Yep that will be a grass stain.... Your welcome Mommy

Jackson also had a good time playing peek a boo around the decorations.

He is hiding BOO

They also had a petting zoo with bunny's, goat's, and a lama. The llama liked my shirt!

Then we took a hayride over to the actual pumpkin patch. Jackson loved the pumpkin patch. He loved all the free space he loved to run from pumpkin to pumpkin. But most of all he wanted to pick up a pumpkin. However, he was not successful.

Here is Jackson and Chad on the hayrideMommy and Jackson on the hayride So many pumpkins and so little time

I love this place......Maybe I can pick this one up.

Oh now maybe I can pick this one up.
Hummmmmm......... I am not even going to try.

We all had a wonderful time and we will definitely be going back next year. I am sure we will be there even longer next year. In addition to all of the things I posted about there were also hay mazes, lots of slides, a concession stand with funnel cakes and lots more.