Goodbye 2009

2009 is over and wow what a year it has been! It's been really interesting to see how much Albrey has grown and changed from a bitty baby to a toddler. I just look at her now and keep thinking, she is a little person! It makes me sad in a lot of ways because of how busy I've been and how much time I have spent away from her, but I'm trying to not dwell on those feelings as much as I have anymore. I've somewhat made a decision {not resolution, I HATE New Year's resolutions~they just don't usually stick for most} to have a better outlook on life and to stop dwelling on being sad so often. I prayed for the things that I've received in my life and God has blessed me so much, therefore, I need to stop getting upset with the blessings that he's given me. So, please hold me accountable if I start having a pity party again! But, no promises that I won't every now and then! :) However, I see no apararent changes coming anytime soon, so I'm just going to try and have a positive attitude!

It has been quite a while since I've posted anything so let me try to recap our Christmas....

The Sunday before Christmas was spent with Zach's extended side of the family a.k.a. the "Lawson Family" Christmas. We celebrated at Shannon & LeighAnn Fortner's B-E-A-U-TIFUL home in Guntersville {some of you may recognize the name, he used to be a Mortgage Broker for Countrywide but now has a new company}. We ate Italian, a welcome change from the norm Christmas dinner, and had a great time visiting with family. Since the family is so large, we exchange names only for the kids and they exchanged presents! Albrey got an awesome little tea set, which she absolutely loves. She LOVES to share her tea with Mommy and Daddy!

the Christmas fairy with her teacups

On Christmas Eve, we went to my in-laws house for our Christmas with them. We ate breakfast for dinner, which was mighty yummy thanks to the wonderful cook, Darlene a.k.a. Nana. Of course, they spoiled us with LOTS of presents {even though they always say every year that it's not going to be much}! We had a great time with them and Albrey loved all the clothes she got and toys, like a broom, mailbox, giraffe bike, corn popper, and more that I can't remember at the moment! However, her most favorite thing ever was the tissue paper! She wanted to rip it all up into the tiniest shreds for her entertainment, so of course we let her. Zach and I also racked up with clothes, jewelry for me, and a brown suede jacket for Zach.

Albrey w/ her tissue paper


Mommy and Daddy {NOT Santa :)} set up all of Albrey's toys for her to wake up to on Christmas morning and we were SO excited for her to see her things, especially her tent! We did go a little overboard, but it's just because she was so good this year! Anyways, we normally let her make a little noise for a while in her crib, not crying - just noise, before we go get her in the mornings. But, we were so excited on Christmas morning that we literally jumped out of bed at the first peep she made to get her up! :) We got the video and regular camera out and got ready to catch one of her wonderful expressions that she makes as she saw her loot. As soon as that little fuzz head came around the corner, she looked, and NOTHING.....I mean NOTHING! I could tell Daddy especially was disappointed so I tried to take her over and let her look close up at everything and still NOTHING! See...

And this is what she saw...

All she wanted was breakfast...can you believe that?!?....well if you look at the size of her belly, you probably could buy that! So, we had a breakfast break and then she got more excited! She got all kinds of clothes and Wiggles movies, a new Bama paci, her tent, a Little People ride-on Princess car, a PBkids chair {green polka dot w/ her name on it} and her Dora tent. Her fave gift.....the chair...she just loves to sit on it, have a snack, and watch TV {hmmm.....sounds familiar, like her Daddy}.

Alb in her chair

Told ya....Daddy and Alb in his chair

Zachory really spoiled me this year! We agreed that the living room set would be our gift to each other which we went to Akins Furniture in Dogtown to find. You can find pics of our goodies on FB...you HAVE TO check out the zebra chest that I got! However, Zachory, being the sneak that he is, kept shopping for me and getting me other things, so I had to get him some extras too, like a black suede jacket (if you're keeping count that makes 2 jackets). We definitely had the BEST Christmas that we've ever had this year!!!!

Later on that day, my fam came over for Christmas lunch, which was non-traditional, much to my step-dad's chagrin. We had chili, hashbrown casserole, and other finger foods. I also made sugar-free banana pudding for Zach, and I did remember the bananas this time! ;) We opened even MORE presents from Nonna and Pop! Albrey of course racked up with more clothes and toys. Mommy and Daddy got a fondue pot, clothes, and some BAMA gear. Zach also got another black jacket!!! So that makes 3 total jackets for him....let me explain....

My lovely husband in the wonderful profession he works in has to dress up for work....like we're talking shirt/tie/the whole deal. However, in winter, to top off his outfit and keep him warm of course, he wears......a hoodie....YES, that's right, I said a HOODIE! Think gray sweatshirt material BAMA hoodie, over a SHIRT & TIE!!!! So, needless to say, the Mom's and wife decided NO MORE HOODIES to wear to work, We got him some nice jackets, although he did end up taking 1 back since we went a little overboard!

Also, on Christmas day, my Mom, Chris, Ashley, and I went to visit Grandma G. {look back to the Thanksgiving pics to see who I'm talking about}. She was in the BEST mood and was pretty mentally alert/aware, which is sadly not usually the case. For instance, she looked over at Ashley's sweatshirt and said, "Is that Auburn?" and we told her it was {she only wears Auburn b/c she likes orange....I'm not kidding}. So, then she says, "Oh no, we like ROLL TIDE!" Now if that's not Grandma in her right mind, I don't know what is! It was definitely the best part of Christmas in my book. :) To top off the night, my stepbro~Christopher, spent the night with us so that he and Zach could play video games! Cute, right? It was a good old fashioned middle school sleepover! ;)

So, I'm still not done w/ Christmas.....

The next day we went to Hartselle to Zach's Uncle Barry & Aunt Amy's house to celebrate the "Standridge" family Christmas w/ his parents, Grandmother, and cousins Breanna, Cameron, Hunter, Carrington, and Sam {who is Cameron's gf}. We ate a traditional yum-O Christmas meal and opened gifts {Albrey got her first American Girl doll~thanks Amy!}. We had a great time, but you could tell that we were all so pooped from celebrating Christmas so many times already! But, we always enjoy hanging out with Amy & Barry and family!

the "kids" :) LOVE them!


We had a WONDERFUL time celebrating Christmas with our family many times {namely 4}! :) And most importantly, we did keep in mind the reason for the season which is Jesus Christ's birth. For that, we are forever thankful and grateful to our Father in Heaven for giving us such a wonderful gift. That is the reason that we spend time with family and give gifts to show our love and appreciation for everyone! We hope that you and yours had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!