Christmas

Christmas this year was one of the best so far.  Having friends over for an ugly sweater party, family parties every weekend, Christmas shopping for the little boy and spending time together....I couldn't have asked for anything more.  Christmas morning my family came over for scones and to watch Crue open his gifts.  Later in the morning we headed over to the Morrells for more scones and to open more gifts! Needless to say Crue was VERY spoiled.  Unfortunately I was busy enjoying Christmas to take many photos :(  I only got a few at our house and none at the Morrells (Katy I know you have some so you need to send them to me).  Here's what I have:

 I know what you're thinking... he's too young for a guitar...but nope, it's still one of his favorite gifts and he will go in his room and "play" for us

 He LOVES his bear and will go in his room and give it snuggles.  It's the cutest thing!

1st Birthday

Our little boy turned 1 on Dec. 11 so we had to have a party! Crue LOVES crowds and kids so he was in heaven. I just want to say thank you to all our family and friends that came over and celebrated with us. I wish I had taken more pictures and a group shot! It's still weird to me that he is only 1 because I feel like he has been with  us for much longer that that.  I don't remember my life before he came along.  He's my everything and I wouldn't change one thing about him.  I am so thankful that I get to be his mom.  When I'm having a bad day all I have to see is that cute little smile and it automatically brightens my day. I have to smile back.  A few things about Crue:

• Crue doesn't walk...he runs
• He thinks it's funny when I tell him no....and trust me...it's not that funny
• Eating dog food and knocking over the water is still his #1 mission from morning till night
• The only word he really says consistently right now is "that" and then he points to whatever he wants
• He loves bananas and eats about 2 a day
• He gives the best kisses in the world and he gives them to everyone, including his dogs
• When you say something and then start laughing he will usually give you a courtesy laugh.  It's so forced and it's the funniest thing
• He's very handsome
• At his 12 month appointment he was in the 33% for weight and 49% for height (which I am so thankful for...I thought this would be a lot less) and still only had his 2 bottom teeth
• If there are shoes or slippers anywhere in sight he will bring them to you so you can put them on
• Still loves bath time
• Only his puppies and stuffed animals get snuggles from him
• He loves getting in the dogs kennel and actually wants me to lock him in there, and yes, I know I should take more advantage of this
• Crue likes to go up and down the stairs by himself
• He's very strong willed and independent.  He wants what he wants and usually gets it 
• He won't sit still.  Getting him to sit in his high chair is sometimes impossible.  He is just too wiggly. I usually sit on the floor with his food and whenever he wants a bite him comes over to me and gets one and then he is on his way
• I have to pick up and clean my pots and pans, measuring cups, tuperware, and mixing bowls every night because those are his favorite toys

Words can't explain how I feel about my little Cruiser.  So I'll just say this, I love him.

Giving Mags a snuggle


Shrek is constantly licking Crues face and I think he gets a little tired of it..

While I was getting ready for Crue's party he decided to decorate the bathroom for me

 and then he decided to help decorate for his party too







Crue LOVES these girls and they are so good with him

A Very Vegas Thanksgiving

This year was my family's turn to get us for Thanksgiving.  As we do every other year with them, we went to Vegas.  It was especially fun this year since we had Crue and my cousin Enjoli just had her baby.  Crue had a lot of fun being the constant center of attention.  Thanksgiving day was filled with amazing food, great company and then some pretty intense Foosball.  Once that was all over we went to my gmas to put Crue down and then we headed out to the mall! My grandparents aren't down with pulling all nighters so they hung back and stayed with Crue.  We got to the outdoor outlets at about 11:30 and shopped for a few hours. When we were done there we still had about an hour and a half till Target opened so of course the only thing to do was hit up the casino! My mom, little brother, and I played the slots while everyone else took to the tables.  The best part is while we were playing the slots, some security guard came and was chatting my mom up for about an hour and didn't even notice my underage brother sitting right in front of him playing! Anyway we finally got home about 7:00 am and went to sleep.  Luckily my grandparents were kind enough to watch Crue for a few hours so we could rest.  Then we got up and shopped for a few more hours.  I loved every minute.  I know some people think it's crazy to go out on black Friday but it's one of my favorite things to do. Until next time....

(Zac and Mike were mimicking my gma & gpa...they think they're pretty funny)

Only fair

If you remember awhile back I told about the time when Mike let Crue fall off the counter.  Unfortunately, the day I hoped would never come did.  I feel it's only fair that I record the time I let it happen.  It all started when I put his bumbo on the counter, so that I could feed him his fruit.  I stuck him in it and turned my back for about two seconds. Somehow Crue managed to wiggle out of it and was just sitting on the counter.  Mike and I were right there and I said to Mike, "Oh my gosh I can't believe he just got out of his bumbo! We really need to watch him." Well apparently in the 10 minutes it took me to feed my child I forgot about this new little trick.  I had just finished feeding him and was throwing away the jar when I heard the crash.....oops....that's right...he fell off the counter.  I felt horrible. Maybe worse than horrible because, like I said about 2 seconds before, I knew he could get out of the bumbo but I guess I just forgot.  Can I blame that on mommy brain?? Anyway I must say I am very thankful that Mike had previously experienced this fiasco because he was able to check Crue's eyes and the bump on his head and assured me that there wasn't any damage and that we didn't need to take him to instacare.  So now, thanks to some neighbors who were no longer in need of a high chair, Crue has a safe place to eat.  I have posted some pictures below to show that for the most part we do watch our child and he's normally a pretty happy kid...except for when his parents make dumb mistakes that result in him being injured.

Crue riding the frog at the aquarium

(Mike just pointed out to me that him sitting there by himself on the frog wasn't super safe... wow we really can't be trusted alone with our own child)

While at the aquarium Crue's favorite thing were the alligators and Aiden's were the piranhas...these boys worry me

He's excited!!

Finally in a front facing car seat!

Pulling out the nightlight at Great Grandmas house

and then making a mess of her spices

Crue LOVES his puppies

Playing quietly! Yay! This is happening a little more frequently now and I must say it feels like I've gotten my freedom back

 Eating a dum dum sucker

I don't know why he is so unhappy in this photo..he's getting snuggles from his mom! What could be better than that?

This kid puts EVERYTHING in his mouth

Here he is screaming because he wants more coke...I think we may have an addict on our hands...

(honestly though I really don't give him that much)

Halloween

This year we dressed Crue up as a robot/alien...not really sure exactly what the costume was suppose to be, but hey, it was cheap.  Well Crue didn't like it so my mom gave me my brothers old pumpkin costume and he LOVED it! He even kept the hat on! We were going to go trick-or-treating with neighbors but since the weather was so crappy we just visited family and friends.

This is for you Gena!

I can't believe I haven't put up any video of my little guy walking! Thank you Gena for requesting that I do this!  Crue's been doing this for a little over a month now. He pretty much walks everywhere but if he falls he has to crawl to a piece of furniture to lift himself back up.  He hasn't quite mastered how to stand up from a sitting position yet...but we're working on it.  The funniest thing about him walking is he is so tiny that it just looks weird.  He's only 10 months and in the lowest percentile for everything so you can image how small he is.  Whenever people see him walking they laugh and comment about how cute it is that such a little guy can walk. I must say it is pretty dang cute! We were with some friends on Halloween and they have a little boy who is a little older than Crue and about a head taller who can't walk yet. To see these 2 together was hilarious!  Crue was walking around the house and Carter just watched him go!

and just for fun here is some video of Crue dancing! Normally he dances for a lot longer without stopping but I used the ringtone on my phone and whenever he sees my phone it's like everything else in the world disappears!

Mean Mom

I think Crue must think I am the meanest mom because I won't let him have dog food. I've really tried to figure out how to keep him away from the bowl but I'm drawing a blank.  If I put the food up then the dogs sit there and whine till I put it down.  If it is anywhere on the floor Crue's got a sixth sense and bee lines for it.  I really don't know what to do!  I've caught him with up to 4 pieces of dog food in his mouth and three additional pieces in his hand.  I'm not worried about him eating it as much as I'm worried he'll choke because he's stuffing so much in his mouth.  Apparently I'm just going to have to watch my child. 

(If you listen carefully you can hear him huffing and puffing to hurry and get there before I stop him)

Garner Village

On Friday Crue and I went to Garner Village with friends and had so much fun.  I love that place during Halloween and can't wait till Crue's a little older and not so afraid of the witches! He was pretty good for the most part except for when he escaped from his stroller.  I turned my back for a few minutes and the next thing I know my friend Lisa is pointing on the ground and calling my name.  Crue had slide out of his stroller and was crawling away.  We were parked next to the sweet shop so maybe he thought he could sneak away and get some candy...can't blame him for that!

I'm not sure why but he's almost always sucking on his bottom lip

 my friend Timalee's little girl LOVES "baby Crue"

 Sunny, Crue, Landon, Brynlee

 Crue wasn't too sure about the witch...

 I bought Crue a honey boy cookie which he devoured in less than 2 minutes