Anyone else think this was a GREAT idea?

So my brother and his 4 year-old daughter have been living with our parents since my sister-in-law died in June. And it's busy and bustling all of the time.

But, you make do. When John moved them in, he stored all of his personal things, except for his computer, golf clubs, and of course, their clothes. Abby really never had a space, although the whole house is free game for whatever she decides to do...be it freestyle dance, kickball (and how funny is it that the grandkids get to play ball in the house...), or Hungry, Hungry Hippos.


Since around Thanksgiving, Mom and Dad have been trying to figure out how to better make use of space when Jenny and I descend upon them. Add in our two dogs, and it's a proverbial madhouse.


So a while back, Mom moved the crib into their bedroom. When we arrive, they sleep in Abby's room, Abby sleeps with John, and then Jenny, Benjamin, and I have Mom and Dad's side of the house. It works pretty well until Dad forgets his cholesterol medicine or house shoes, and decides to bang around in there at 9:15 when Ben is already down.


Okay, so you pretty well should have a picture of what's what. Except for one thing. Abby's room has remained pretty much untouched where the decor is concerned. Mom and Dad replaced about 80% of their furniture when they moved to the new house. Mom's focus has been more on the living rooms and the more used parts of the house. So Abby's room has just had the antique iron bed, a small dresser, and some of her toys.


This is all about to change.


I had been thinking about this in the back of my mind for some time. Apparently, the apples don't fall too far from the trees, because John has had the same thoughts.


Recently, he purchased a couple of paintings for her room at our parents'. When I heard this, a bell went off. "Let's do the whole room," I thought. "And Christmas Eve. And she'll have NO idea."


So I checked with Mom, ran it by John, and we all came to the conclusion that it was a terrific idea. He has since purchased a few extra things, retrieved her dollhouse bookcase from storage, had the paintings personalized, and I have purchased the bedding and some sheer panels to go over the blinds at the ends of her big window.


Here's what her bed will look like on Christmas Morning, after Santa has worked his magic:

I am so sad that we won't be there until around Noon. I'm sure she will be calling us that morning to tell us what Santa did. I can't wait to post more pictures of the whole room when Santa's finished.

TB

9 Months and Growing

Here's a happy boy...

Yesterday we went to the doctor for Benjamin's 9 month checkup. 

Fortunately, nine months = no shots. Unfortunately, flu shot = big needle. He did really well, though.

We were also told to start brushing his teeth. All two of them. I mean, seriously. Come on. If he thinks the booger syringe is the end of the world, what on earth is he going to think when we start irritating his two piddly little teeth with a brush?

He's either going to have a complete meltdown or he'll laugh hysterically. Can't wait to see.

Here are his stats:

Weight - 21lb 3 oz...75th percentile

Height - 29.5 inches...90th percentile (Have you met his Daddy?)

Head - 75th percentile. (That melon he's got now, believe it or not, started out in the 20th percentile. Thank the Lord it grew into his body).

He's healthy and happy, and all is well.

Today's Top Ten List

Here you go: The top ten things we can be heard saying to Benjamin:

10. No, no
9. No, no
8. No, no
7. No, no
6, No, no
5. No, no
4. No, no
3. No, no
2. No, no
1. No, no

All I Want for Christmas is a New Car Seat...

Bless the child.

He's over 20 pounds, we're pretty sure, and he's still being crammed into his infant carrier car seat.


So, we bit the bullet and ordered a new one tonight. We've shopped all over town, compared all sorts of models, and basically went with the best.





So we continue these early steps in a lifelong journey of putting his needs first. And he's worth every dime.


Happy Monday.

Recent Events

So this is his newest thing...standing at the door in the afternoon waiting on me to get home from work. I guess by 430 or 500 he's had enough Mommy time. 

It's probably the best part of my day when I see him standing there. 

Here's the tree. Excuse the lower branches. Little curious hands tend to go straight for the ornaments...so we left them off of that part. 

Benjamin needed lights in his room, according to his Mommy, so I hung a strand of icicle lights along his windows. 

During a somewhat disastrous photo shoot Thursday night, in an effort to get Ben and both dogs in a photo (didn't work like we wanted...), we managed to get a couple of him playing with an ornament. 

Such a perfect little face. 

Have a great weekend!

The Best Gift

Okay, so bear with my sappiness, if that's a word.

I'm sitting here at my desk listening to Christmas music, while it's freezing outside. There was ice on my car and ice on our trash can this morning. It will be 28 tonight. Winter is here. Christmas is here. And Baby Kelley is almost here.

Jonathan and Lauren are some of our favorite people. Jonathan is the student minister at Calvary, and we spend more time with each other than we do our wives, it seems. He's probably my best friend in the city, and I'm glad to have spent my first year working with him.

Their son, Spencer Vinsant, should arrive sometime today. Jenny and I are so excited to see how this changes their lives. I guess it's something you're more excited about after having a son yourself. If I didn't have a million things to do to prepare for the events of the coming weekend, I'd be at Baptist in the waiting room all day today. We cannot wait to meet him.

In the meantime, here are the lyrics to one of my favorite Holiday songs. And I'm pretty sure it's a favorite of my mom's as well. Enjoy.

"The Best Gift"

The best gift that I ever got
Didn't really weigh a lot.
It didn't have a ribbon 'round,
And it sometimes made a terrible sound.

The best of all it seems to me
It wasn't b'neath a Christmas tree.
And yet, I guess I'd have to say
That it made all the other presents twice as gay.

The best gift that I've ever known
I'd always wanted most to own.
Yet in my dreams of sugar and spice
I never thought it could be so nice.

The best gift that I'll ever get
Was sometimes dry and sometimes wet;
Was usually pink, but often times red
As it lay so innocently in its bed.

The best gift of the year to me,
The one I hold most dear to me...
The gift that simply drove me wild
Was a tiny, newborn child.

- Barbara Streisand

Settling for something better...

Okay, so let me just own up to it. We're not going to the Dallas Symphony this year, and I'm a little sad by that. Jenny and I have attended Christmas Celebration 5 out of the last 6 Christmases that we have been together, and we've always enjoyed making a weekend of it...shopping, eating, and just enjoying the hustle and bustle of mid-December in Dallas. 

One of my favorite parts of the concert every year is the performace of Still, Still, Still, an Austrian carol that I can only describe as the perfect holiday lullaby. So each year I listen to various arrangements and performances of this particular piece to get me ready. If you've never heard it, download it on iTunes. The UCLA Madrigal performance on "Hark, How the Bells" is particularly nice. 

This afternoon, as I attempted to rock Benjamin to sleep after a nearly four-hour battle, I popped in Still as a last-ditch effort. As I watched his face go from exhausted frustration to complete peace, and I felt his body relax as he fell asleep, I've experienced the peace which that song brings in the most perfect way. 

And with regards to missing Christmas Celebration 2008, I feel that I've found a suitable alternative.