Merry 4th Day of Christmas!

On this 4th day of Christmas, we thought we'd share a sampling of pictures taken on Christmas Eve and the 1st and 2nd days of Christmas (12/24-26) with you. We stayed with Ma-Mere and Pa-Pere in Cashiers. Aunt G came home from her "home away from home" in NYC, which was especially fun for T and G! And Annie and Poppy were able to join us for Christmas Day lunch. And we even got a late night Christmas snow!

It goes without saying, that experiencing Christmas through the eyes of a two-year old is an adventure. Ho! Ho! Ho! Thompson had a "digger" kind of Christmas, adding to his digger collections through a variety of means...puzzles, toys, backpacks and books.
We hope each of you had a joyous holiday and enjoy the remaining 8 days of Christmas!

Happy Birthday Thompson!

And what a birthday it was!!! Thompson took a great afternoon nap, which was the perfect preparation for his late afternoon-early evening birthday celebration. Upon arising, he immediately noticed his digger cake (which was so generously order by his Aunt Graham - thanks Aunt G!) and it would be an understatement to say that he was enthralled with it. I'll admit, we were amazed at the restraint Thompson showed in waiting until the right time to "dig into" the cake. We explained that he had to wait until his friends came over and only after we had played, eaten dinner, sung "Happy Birthday" and blown out the candles could he touch the diggers. And yes, he waited, so very patiently. After successfully blowing out his two candles, he bypassed the opportunity for cake to play with those three diggers.

And for those of you wondering what we did to celebrate Thompson's birthday...we had a book exchange! Each child was asked to bring two books - one to swap and one to share. The books for swapping were placed on the coffee table at the end of the party. Each child selected a wrapped present, opened it and went home with a new book. The books for sharing will be taken to Mission Children's Hospital next week.

Here Comes Santa Claus

Yesterday we attended Biltmore Forest Country Club's Christmas brunch with Annie, Poppy, Ma-mere and Pa-pere as well as Thompson's Great Aunt "Sister" and Great Uncle Sam (Bobby's aunt and uncle). Thompson was most enthralled with meeting the infamous Santa Claus, the petting zoo and eating the M&M's while trying to decorate a gingerbread house. I think the adults' most memorable moment was after Thompson told Santa "I want digger" and Santa's elf gave him a goody bag...he couldn't understand why there wasn't a digger in the bag. Ah, note to self...prior to meeting Santa, try explaining that this Santa doesn't come bearing gifts!

First School Picture

We thought you'd enjoy seeing Thompson's first school picture (taken in September).

And speaking of school, he is still having a fantastic time!

Happy Advent

Well, I'm embarrassed to see that my last post was a month ago! Clearly, November was a busy month for this Jones family (translation...I found little "free" time to sit down, blog and provide you a glimpse into our world).

Looking back over the past month, we started off a bit rocky as Thompson came down with a cruddy stomach bug that lasted nearly two weeks. Yuck! Thankfully (and prayerfully!) he pushed that virus and now has the ever-present toddler runny nose. Ah, the joys of parenting!

For those of you who know us best, I'm sure it comes as no surprise that we spent Thanksgiving in Cashiers with both families. Ma-mere and Pa-pere took Thompson to the Christmas tree farm where we was able to select two trees for cutting - one for Ma-mere and Pa-pere's home and one for our home.

As this year's Christmas season got underway, we weren't quite sure how Thompson would respond to the lights, decorations, etc. Well, let us tell you that some of his favorite phrases are "Christmas tree lights on," "candle on," "Santa Claus" and "Jesus". (Of course, the pronunciation isn't perfect, but that makes it all the more endearing.)

And speaking of speaking, Thompson has had a vocabulary explosion this past month. He is constantly learning new words and working hard to pronounce them. He's also putting words together to form 2-4 word sentences. If only we'd have the forethought to get out that video camera and record him speaking.

Oh yeah, how could I forget, we are gearing up for Thompson's second birthday, which is scheduled for two weeks from tomorrow! Where has the time gone?

Bobby is still commuting daily to Cashiers. We are excited the winter season is upon us as his office is closed on Sundays and there is only one Saturday during the month of December that he is scheduled to work. Plus, the office is closed the week after Christmas! As for me, I'm staying busy being a wife, mother, sister, daughter and friend...all the while trying to remain calm, patient, content, thankful and joyful, especially during the Christmas season.