Oh, Yeah! Christmas.

We've kinda been busy since Christmas. Nana, Kingston and I went to Charlotte to visit Aunt Freda and my cousins. We got to meet Jason's new little daughter, Kori. She was precious. There was New Years, a visit to Nigel's mom's family in Virginia, my last day of work until late January, shopping with my friend Nicole, and on and on. And it will only get more busy as I will soon be soaking up the sun in Costa Rica in a little more than a week. But I won't bore you with the sordid details. I'll wait til I get back and rub it in!

And now, without further ado. . .

Christmas morning!

Kingston's trampoline was a big hit. I'll bet you thought it was just for jumping. Wrong. It is also for playing with choo-choos. And pretending to nap. And diaper changes.

But it's especially fun to jump on. With Dad. Preferably while Dad is holding Kingston and doing all the work. But sometimes jumping on his own.

After Christmas morning at our house, we went to Nana and Grandpa's house for more Santa Claus and more presents. You saw those pictures. After brunch there we headed to Virginia to visit Nigel's family. The highlight of the trip was climbing the big magnolia tree with Pappy.

We got home just at bedtime, had a quick jump on the trampoline and went to bed. It was a great day for the Haynes family. Kingston still doesn't quite get the whole Christmas, Santa Claus thing, but he did figure out presents and wanted to open every one he came across!

Happy New Year everyone! We expect a fun and exciting 2010!

Great Grandmama Maline

Christmas pictures. I know. You want to see Christmas pictures. Well, there a quite a few of them but I really wanted to tell some stories about my Grandmama's brief visit. She made things interesting! And it deserves a post of it's own!

First things first. Grandmama cannot say Kingston's name. It comes out Kinston, Keenston, or any other version other than the correct one. Her last name is King. Her son's name is Winston. She can't seem to put it together.

Grandmama watched as Kingston opened his stocking and Uncle Mark helped him get things working. She spent most of her visit sleeping in this chair. She would stir just long enough to put some Bath and Body Works stinky hand sanitizer on her hands. To quote Kingston, "Eeeeeeew!"

Kingston showed Grandmama his mini Pound Puppy (remember those?!). She thought it was a frog at first. Ummmm, OK. Then she posed with him. Kingston thought she was crazy. Ummmm, maybe.

Great Grandmama Maline gave Kingston a two dollar bill for Christmas. She called him over and wanted to explain what it was and how he would always have money if he kept it in his piggy bank. He didn't care.

Family photo. Not sure why the camera put a green splotch on Nana's neck. Otherwise it's a good family shot. Notice how my dad is having to hold his mother up. She didn't want her walker in the picture.

Nana and Grandpa took Great Grandmama home Christmas night. She had a good visit but it was time for her to go. Oh, Maline. What a piece of work.

Merry Christmas, Great Grandmama! We really do love you.

Santa's Lap!

Kingston sat on Santa's lap! I am so excited about this because I wasn't sure that it would happen this year. Or at least that it would happen without him screaming his head off. Now, I'm not saying he really loved it, but he at least tolerated it. Which is enough for me!

To quote Kingston, "Ho, ho, ho lap." Success!

We are getting geared up for a big birthday on Sunday! Kingston will be 2! We are having a very few friends over for a very small, low-key birthday party on Sunday afternoon. Keeping it simple is what will keep us sane!

And Kingston has already gotten his biggest birthday present from Nana and Grandpa. He got it about a month ago so that he could enjoy it before the weather got too cold. Thanks Nana and Grandpa! Kingston loves his car today just as much as he did in November when you gave it to him!

Merry Christmas!

It was Kingston's second Christmas! Well, it seemed like his first since he was 5 days old last Christmas and looked like this:

Of course he is still too young to really understand the concept, but our family sure had a fun time this year! I think the pictures will explain.

Kingston was tuckered out on Christmas Eve. He crawled over to Uncle Mark and told him he was ready for bed.

On Christmas morning I tried to get a cute shot of him as I went in to get him out of his crib. He was a bit camera shy but the bed head was too good to pass up!

We took a minute to do a self-portrait while we were waiting for Nigel to brush his teeth and get ready to see what Santa brought.

Santa really knows what a little boy likes! He brought this really cool wooden block full of fun (lots of assembly required the night before!). It was a big hit.

I think I could eat this little boy up. I mean, is this a cute kid or what?

I always do stockings for Nigel and Mark and generally the loot comes from the Dollar Tree. This year was no different. One year I found really nasty looking teeth and we all took a picture and emailed it to Mom as our family portrait. It was classic! This year I found "gold" chain necklaces and grills. They were a big hit. I knitted Uncle Mark a hat for Christmas so this was the total package. Yeah, yo! He is throwing up his gang sign, "West 3rd" (the main street we live off of).

Nigel is big pimpin, too, but for some reason his bed head is not as cute as Kingston's was!

After we enjoyed our time at home, we went over to Nana and Grandpa's for Christmas with the Kings. We got some good stuff! They always over do and this year was no different. Kingston got a bike helmet and seat so look for pictures of the Haynes family on bicycles some time soon! I didn't take any pictures over there since I was too busy enjoying my presents. Oops.

Nigel and Mark went surfing this afternoon while Kingston and I spent time with Nana, Granpa and Great Grandmama. When we got home, Kingston had dinner and then a cookie made by Pappy's (Nigel's dad) friend, Brandi. Thanks Ms. Brandi! Kingston loved his cookies!

After a very busy day, Kingston fell right asleep. Now I have the task of figuring out where to put all of the new stuff we got today!

We had a very Merry Christmas and we hope you did, too!

A Holiday Tradition That We Actually Do

The King/Haynes family has a few Christmas traditions that we do every year. For the most part, we are pretty flexible with "celebrating" various holidays, and don't always do the same thing every year. Christmas is a little different, however. There are 3 main things that we do.

1. On Christmas Eve, Nigel, Kingston and I eat dinner at my mom and dad's house along with my Grandmama King and Mark.

2. After having our own little Christmas morning at our own house with all of its inhabitants, we go over to Mom and Dad's house for Christmas morning and brunch.

3. We have dinner at the Hardy's house one night before Christmas. (But not always on the same night each year. It depends on schedules and plans.)

Last year I was obscenely pregnant and couldn't really enjoy the yummy food for fear I would explode. (Kingston was born 4 days later!) This year, Kingston got to enjoy the tradition for the very first time. You see, the Hardy family has been friends of ours since before there were 3 girls added to their family! Before Mr. and Mrs. Hardy had kids, Mark and I would stay with them if Mom and Dad were out of town or busy. I babysat for their 3 girls as they came along. Ever since I can remember we have been having a Christmas dinner at their house. It is something I look forward to every year. There is always good food, good drinks and lots of good conversation (not to mention good presents!).

Did I mention that Mrs. Hardy was one of my favorite teachers, too? 4th Grade.

This year was no exception. Sunday night we went to the Hardy's house for dinner. The youngest Hardy was the only one of the girls to come this year. The other 2 were busy with college life/jobs/boyfriends. I missed seeing them and hope to see them at some point during their Christmas break. The youngest Hardy practiced for her Girl Scout babysitting badge (kidding) by playing with and looking after Kingston! They both had a great time, I think. Mrs. Hardy even broke out an old toy that her girls used to play with. Kingston loved it!

Kingston and his newest buddy, the Youngest Hardy

It was fun to watch Kingston open his early birthday presents and his Christmas presents. It was a small taste of what's to come in the next week. I'm already getting a little nervous about the amount of "stuff" we are going to acquire when it is all said and done. Where, oh, where will we put it all?!


Another Hardy Christmas dinner goes in the books. Thank you, Hardys for all you always do for us. You are very special people and I want you to know that you make our Top 3 Actual Christmas Traditions List! That is a very exclusive list to be a part of. Obviously.

I Promised

I promised pictures from the lighting of the tree and the Christmas parade and I refuse to disappoint. Here they are! And as a pleasant surprise, there are a few of Kingston putting some ornaments on our own little Christmas tree that we picked out today. It is up and decorated and is super cute.

Friday night it was REALLY cold so we had to bundle up when we went to the tree lighting. So much so that I couldn't break out the camera but once to grab this quick shot (or at least that's my excuse!). Here is Kingston as we walked to meet up with Nana and Grandpa. Kingston had on 20 layers of clothing as well as a blanket over his lap. He was fine except for hating his hat. The boy HATES a hat.

Saturday we had a fun day with Nana and Grandpa. We watched the parade, tried again to get our picture taken with Santa which was disastrous a really good time, and played on the boat. To prove that we went to the parade, cruise on over to Eden's blog and look for us in the background of a few of her pictures. Grandpa had on an orange hat, Nana was wearing a purple-ish coat and was holding Kingston and I had on a red fleece. You can see us in the background of some of the horse pictures that Eden took. We were directly across the street from her and she didn't even know it! I only managed to break out the camera when we got on the boat.

When we got home we were excited to find an early birthday present for Kingston on our deck. Nigel's Godfather, Doug, made Kingston an Adirondack chair! It is the perfect size and Kingston loves it! He can even get in and out of it all by himself. Thanks, Great Godfather Doug! What a treasure.

Kingston wanted to take the ornaments off of our tree more than he wanted to put them on. Tomorrow it will be interesting to see how many times I have to tear him away from the tree. I can foresee some temper tantrums coming in our near future!

This week we have play dates, play groups, shopping adventures and a few other things that I can't remember off the top of my head. Should be fun!

Jolly Old Soul? I'm Not Buying It!

We went to see Santa this morning at the Festival of Trees. I think the picture tells the story. . .





But on a lighter note, the Mommy & Me Christmas tree turned out great! The homemade ornaments were so cute and the birdies were adorable.









Check out all of the loot that was donated to our organization!





The trees will be auctioned off on Saturday night and we think our tree will go for the highest bid!! I mean, I'd love to win it. You know, if I had a few extra thousand dollars to spend. Our tree last year went for nearly $2,000 and this year the loot that comes with our tree totals close to $5,000! I'll let you know the final bid. The money goes to a great local charity.


Stay tuned for our evening in Manteo at the tree lighting, maybe a recipe for what I plan to make for dinner (you know, if it turns out to be tasty), and various other stuff that is fairly unimportant in the grand scheme of things.

A Little of This, A Little of That

First, let me tell you what I made for lunch today. Ham and Potato Soup. It was really, really tasty-and I'm not just saying that because I made it. Kingston and Nigel liked it, too! I recommend it. So much so that I am sharing the recipe with you.

Ham and Potato Soup:

3 1/2 cups peeled and diced potatoes
1/3 cup diced celery
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
3/4 cup diced cooked ham
3 1/4 cups water
2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
5 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk


DIRECTIONS
Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.
In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes.
Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through. Serve immediately.

If you make it, let me know what you think! It was very easy and quick. Hopefully you will have better luck than I at getting your roux to thicken. Why do I always have trouble with that?!

-----

And now I want to share some craftiness with you. I agreed to make the tree skirt for the Mommy and Me tree for the Hotline Festival of Trees coming up this weekend. I took the scraps from Mrs. Biggs' scrap pile (she makes the most adorable baby/kid clothing and accessories) and fashioned this here tree skirt.

I think it turned out pretty good. It isn't perfect, but I think it will serve it's purpose. I was also thinking that it would be easy and really cool to make a tree skirt out of old baby clothes that you want to keep for sentimental reasons but know won't be worn again. I'd be glad to try it for someone if they are interested. Let me know!

We will decorate the tree tomorrow (Dec. 3) night. I'll try to remember to take pictures of the final product. I taught the moms how to make fabric birds one night and I can't wait to see how they look on the tree. Fun and festive!

-----

Kingston has just grown enough to fit into these adorable PJ's that Nigel's boss and his wife gave us as a baby present (along with the bath toys that Kingston still loves). He is the cutest thing on the planet in his footy pajamas! I could just look at him and giggle all night. Well, at least until 8:00 when it is time for bed and time for mom to have a break!

I tried to get Kingston to wear this cute Santa hat so that I could get a good Christmas card picture (yes, I'm still on that quest). As you can tell, he was NOT a fan of the hat. So scratch that idea. You will not be getting a Christmas card with Kingston in a Santa hat. Thankyouverymuch.

-----

We are looking forward to the Christmas season! I'll kick it off with my tree decorating tomorrow night, then we are going to Manteo for the lighting of the Christmas tree with Nana and Grandpa. At some point in the next week or so we will be getting and decorating our very own tree. We love telling Kingston "no" over and over again so the tree and it's decorations will be tons of fun. . .