Teddy's First Chanukah!

Teddy has enjoyed celebrating his first Chanukah!

(above) Teddy figured out how to roll his ball off of the stack of presents!

Shae and I are grateful to have so many family members that live close to us. We got together on Saturday night at my brother and sister-in-law's house to celebrate the fourth night of Chanukah. Jenn cooked traditional potato latkes along with the less traditional potato-broccoli latkes.

(above) Hal and Jenn ate on stools because they didn't have enough chairs for everyone.

Below: Cousins hanging out

In the next picture Teddy is watching his Uncle Hal light the menorah that once belonged to Teddy's Great Grandpa Fischer.

(yes.. in the background that is the traditional Chanukah football). After we sang the prayers and lit the candles- it was present time. Between a Grandma who loves to shop, and several aunts who also like to spoil Teddy- he got plenty of practice opening presents. Good thing since his birthday is coming up!

I think he got the hang of it:

Below: Teddy plays with the best thing ever- the box his present came in!My goodness, is there a baby in all of that mess???

My sister admitted she is turning into my mom. She bought all of the cousins these adorable PJ's and then asked that they put them on and pose for a picture:

COUSINS!

Teddy wasn't the only one having fun:

(above) yes, that is Maggie's headband on Shae's head!

Violet's big present from her parents was a kitchen from Ikea. Although she did not seem very interested in it, Teddy seemed to love it:

Teddy snuggles with Shae after a fun night:

The next morning I put together some of Teddy's new toys. He LOVED playing with them.

Shae was happy Teddy's presents are diverse. Here Teddy plays with his new farm set. Note: Teddy's cows are only grass fed, and his chickens are cage free. Teddy also received this awesome recycling truck:

Teddy gave us a concert from his new piano:

On Sunday night, we hosted the family for our second annual traditional Chanukah Taco night. Shae prepared his mom's delicious taco shells:

And they were a hit! Maggie, on the left, typically does not have a very big appetite. However, she stated, "I can't stop eating these tacos" as she helped herself to her 4th taco!

Teddy LOVED his Grandma Susie's taco shells! He also loved the hamburger meat.

After we ate, it was time to light candles and sing the prayers again.

Goodness there are a lot of people here:

After we opened presents, I enlisted the Gibson children to help me make our "chocolate dreidels" out of marshmallows, Hershey kisses, pretzels, and frosting. Wonder why they love to help with this activity?

My goodness hosting is so much fun.... but it is also very tiring!

We went to my parents' house on Wednesday night to celebrate the last night of Chanukah.

Here's a shot of the Best Profile EVER:

Teddy got even more toys. Caroline and Maggie love playing with Teddy:

This next picture is for cousin Amy. Teddy found this little champagne glass and carried it around pretending to drink out of it. I guess he is fancier than his cousin who sticks to beer!

Teddy loves the ball he got as a gift. Here he is with Grandpa Bud:

We had a wonderful holiday and are most thankful for our family and health!

In other news- Shae was taking care of Teddy Monday night while I was at clogging. He was surprised to notice not one, but two new teeth that have broken all of the way through. Neither of us were aware of them. They are in the back, past the incisors, so we had not seen them. That makes 9 teeth before the age one. I guess this little man wants to be able to eat!

Lastly, December is an extremely busy month for us. Not only do we celebrate Chanukah and Christmas, but we also have our anniversary, and Teddy's birthday. Add a trip out of town, and we have one very hectic month. I have found myself making list after list of everything that needs to be done and it's deadline. Check off Chanukah.... now on to preparing for travel. We are so excited to see Shae's side of the family. But before I can start packing, I better do the laundry:

Teddy is ELEVEN months old!

I can not believe that for our next monthly picture, Teddy will be a year! But let's not jump ahead. For now, he is 11 months old:

Teddy continues to be a very happy and healthy little boy. He is generally very very happy, unless he is hungry or tired. (Wonder where he got that from...) He is really outgoing and smiles and babbles at everyone wherever we go (that I really don't know where he got. Maybe from some of his outgoing aunts). He continues to be so much fun, and he loves playing, exploring, and being silly. Although he is not walking yet, he is faster at cruising and will stand on his own for several seconds at a time. He is just growing SO fast!

You'll notice that the sign has now been moved way over Teddy's head.
because of this:
These pictures got even more difficult this month, as Teddy has taken on the hobby break-dancing:
in a rocking chair...
Here are some pictures I snapped over a span of less than a minute. They are in the order I took them to give you and idea of Teddy's dance number:
umm... can I get a spotter please.....?

I'll end this post with a silly little video of our silly little man:

Teddy's First Thanksgiving

We have many things to be thankful for this year. Of course Teddy is at the top of that list!

I love this next picture because it shows off one of Teddy's finest features.... his cheeks:
This next picture is of Teddy and me before we went to Thanksgiving dinner at my sister's house. We are posing with the awesome sign Shae and Teddy made for me.

When we got to my sister's, my parents surprised us with tropical outfits for all of the grandchildren. My parents had just returned from a cruise, and they requested a family photo in the outfits.

(above) Jack and Teddy sport their new outfits. Jack liked his so much he kept it on for the rest of the night.

(above) Teddy plays with his buddy Henry.

(above) Grandpa Bud with all of his grandchildren.

Once the pictures were finished it was time to get down to business..... and EAT.

(above) Shae sitting at the children's table. I think Teddy is thinking, "What are YOU doing at this table?"

(above) Teddy enjoys turkey. I'm pretty sure he LOVED this holiday!

(above) Teddy is thankful for his Daddy. So am I!!!!

My dad's birthday was on the 22nd, but he was driving home from Florida that day. So, we also celebrated his special day on Thanksgiving. Happy Birthday Dad!

(above) Grandpa poses with his new presents. The hat is from Georgia (the country) and the puzzle is from us (of country music singers).

We had a wonderful time with family and are so grateful for all of our family members both near and far. Shae and I continued our holiday weekend by going to my parents' mountain house in Blairesville, Ga. Before we left though, Shae had to put the finishing touches on his homemade wine:

Below is a picture of Teddy and me at the cabin.

Yes, we ARE in matching purple sweatshirts. If you think that is bad, wait until you see more of the pictures.

(above) Shae and Teddy at the cabin.

Teddy enjoys a meal in the mountains. On purple chairs. With purple curtains behind him. And purple on the table cloth.

Shae and I had not been to the cabin since I was pregnant with Teddy over a year ago. We were excited to go for a walk in the mountains.

On Sat. we drove out to Lake Nottley to check out the beautiful view. And the dam. Yes, I married my dad!

(above) Teddy and I enjoy the gorgeous day. That is until it starts getting really really windy. I don't think Teddy appreciated that part:

For the weekend, we wanted to make sure that Teddy understood the rule my mom set for the mountain house. You have to relax when you are there. You are supposed to "leave all of your troubles and worries at the bottom of the mountain." I think Teddy grasped this idea very well:

(above) Teddy is napping... in a purple room. Shae and I wanted to make sure Teddy understood the full concept of vacation. So in the next picture- here we are at the local pizza buffet. Teddy loved the pizza!

Lounging around is also another must for vacation:

And cuddling. And even watching TV! I was so excited when I remembered they have satellite. Since we cancelled our cable, we haven't watched much TV. I am pretty sure we watched enough over the weekend to last us until next Thanksgiving!

It was really neat to bring Teddy to the cabin. My mom has the house full of children's toys and it is cool because I can remember being there when my sister's children were babies and they played with these same toys.

(above) Teddy loved the toy ice cream!

(above) Teddy in the pack-n-play. Note- the purple couch in the room.

Shae enjoyed his own home made wine!

But it wasn't all fun and games. Shae worked with Teddy to practice climbing up and down stairs:

Teddy also made time for some yoga:

(above) I believe that pose is the side plank. Notice how advanced he is. Teddy is able to do yoga while holding on to his ice cream!

So, a quick recap: at the cabin we had no worrying, pizza, relaxing, TV, and everything is purple. No wonder I love that cabin! Teddy loved it too:

Although it did wear him out:

We hope that everyone had a happy and healthy holiday. I am so thankful for my family and friends, and their health and happiness. I am especially grateful for my wonderful husband!