Programs, Programs, Programs

The Christmas season can be SO hectic...especially with school aged children I'm finding out! Last week, we had the school Christmas program on Tuesday (Maybe I can upload the video if it's not too long...it was absolutely hilarious); practice Wednesday for the Church program; Parent's night out Friday night (awesome to get a little date night and some shopping done); Saturday morning was Breakfast in Bethlehem at our Church; And Sunday...it was Papa's Birthday, Thomas was ordained a Deacon of our Church, and the Children's Christmas program and dinner were Sunday night!

Breakfast in Bethlehem is always fun, even though I've heard it called "Breakfast in Chaos!" We ate a delicious breakfast, followed by our Pastor's reading of the real Christmas Story. That's just the calm before the storm...next the children got to do a few Christmas crafts. Yikes! I must say, we were a little smarter this year and used glue dots instead of trying the 'ole Elmer's again! They also set up the manger scene, where you can dress up as the wise men, or the angel, or Mary and Joseph...we even had a sit-in Baby Jesus this year. Here are a few pictures from the day:

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Last Sunday we got our Christmas tree at a local farmer's market instead of going out to the tree farm (much to TJ's dismay). Tristan didn't make it for the set-up stage, but that's not the fun part anyway!


A short while later, I had two eager boys ready to decorate...or one ready to decorate and the other to tear them all down ;)



While I was supposed to be helping finish up hanging the lights, I snapped another picture or two intead...


Once I got back on task, which made the husband quit tapping his irrated, why aren't you helping me, foot (which I don't blame him for), we decorated rather quickly. Tristan again didn't make the end and fell asleep on Daddy while decorating. But, the rest of us enjoyed the finale.



Last night we tried to make the West Point Christmas Parade (and, not to get into a political chat on the family blog, but it is CHRISTmas that we are celebrating)! However, we ran late and only made it for the last...ummm...maybe 2 minutes of the parade. But, we were there to see Santa on the fire truck closing it all out.



Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

8th Monthiversary

Tristan is 8 months old!!! He has been such a wonderful baby...BUT he has flipped the switch...it was all just a tease! In the past month he has become a full-on monster, a cute one, but a monster none the less! Well, maybe I'm being too harsh...nah, I'm not! Tristan has started to throw mini-fits...like he's 2 years old! He grunts and jerks his body (or jumps up and down if his feet are on the ground) when he doesn't get what he wants; he fights tooth and nail EVERY time we put him in his car seat; he decided it would be fun to stay up ALL.NIGHT.LONG for about a week and a half...I think just to see if we would survive! I seriously thought God had to decided to give us a break with this one since our first is worth 2 handfulls! Guess again. It has also become increasingly difficult to take Tristan's picture, see proof:



Tristan is crawling everywhere and is into everything. He mainly uses his crawling indepedence to get somewhere he can pull up. He rakes anything he can reach off of tables, shelves, etc. He is saying a few words...mainly Dada...yea, Dada! Little stinker just smiles at me when I babble "Mama...Mama...Mama" over and over, and then says "Dada!" That's fine, he can call his "Dada" in the middle of one of his tantrums at 1:30 in the morning 'cause I sure won't respond to that! In all seriousness, we can take the child anywhere...he loves looking around and being around people, so I guess we can be thankful for that right now ;)

I was able to get a cute picture of both boys, even though Tristan is looking at his "Dada."

Check Out the Newest Clothing Style

Anyone have a son out there? Ok, yes. Anyone have one of these kinds:


Not a headless son, just check out the pants...I'll give you a closer look:


Now, tell me, HOW, in this world, can you not realize you have your pants on inside out?! Then, when you can't get the zipper zipped after a few minutes, you ask your Daddy to help out since it is "stuck." He, of course thinks it's hilarious and goes along to "help" you out.

Seriously, this sort of thing happens in our house at least 3 out of the 7 days each week. I have to inspect TJ's clothing, which I am sure Daddy thinks is to approve of his clothing choice that day, but really it's to make sure his shirt and/or pants are on right-side-out and facing the correct direction (and on occasion, might be to "approve" of his Daddy's clothing choice).

Before these pictures, I was desperately trying to get a current, cute...at this point, I would take a somewhat decent picture of both boys for our Christmas card. Again, no luck...for real...see for yourselves...





While I know these are not terrible, and could be considered "somewhat decent," and definitely show their feisty little (or BIG) personalities...I'm still not satisfied. If only an 8 month old responded to threats...hmmm...

Too Many Blessings to Count

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving Holidays this past week! We have had a very blessed year in the Hill house, and are so very thankful for each and every one of them. But, I am most thankful for our families, who provide so much love and support to us. I don't know where we would be without these guys:



...or, these guys:



I'm especially thankful for my sweet, into everything, drive-me-crazy boys (and even the ant bites I got while taking this picture):



Happy Thanksgiving from our Hill-Side!

A Shutterfly Christmas

I love Shutterfly; I think I might personally keep them in business! Since getting married 6 years ago, I think I have had Shutterfly make my personalized photo Christmas cards each year. However, this will be our first Christmas as a family of four! I can't wait to send out our Shutterfly cards to all of our family and friends who haven't met our newest addition! What I love about Shutterfly, is that they have so many different options and prices. You can pick from the more expensive card stock option or go with the less expensive photo paper cards. I have used both products and have not been disappointed! Check out their 2010 Christmas Card collection and pick out which one you will use this year!

Shutterfly also has other cards that you can use throughout the year. My brother works at a summer camp and loves to receive mail from his family and friends while away. So, I make him several photo cards each summer, with pictures of what his nephews are up to, and Shutterfly sends them directly to him.

Another one of my favorite items are the personalized photo calendars...Grandparents LOVE these, and they are great Christmas Gifts. Last year I decided to get my Dad something else for Christmas, and he called after getting my gift and asked where his calendar was this year...so, needless to say, I won't be making that mistake again this year! (And, yes, I made him a calendar right then, and had it shipped directly to him.)

And, my ABSOLUTE favorite Shutterfly items are the Photo Books! Have begun making family photo books for each year, filled with pictures of everything our family has done during that year. I can't wait to show them to my boys when they are all grown up!

And, if you are a fellow blogger and want to receive 50 free Christmas cards go to this link and learn more.

7th Monthiversary (Actually closer to 7 1/2 )

Tristan turned 7 months on October 31st, but as you can see, I'm behind. I have no excuse, well actually, I have many! But, this is about Tristan so I won't bore you with my shortcomings. Tristan is still a GREAT baby, however he is now on the move...everywhere! I'm not sure if you would call it crawling, maybe more of any inch worm technique, but he definitely gets where he wants to go...and QUICK! He is sitting easily now, and has started to try to pull up on furniture. No teeth yet, but by all of the drool and whinning, I would say it won't be long! He loves his big brother, and TJ is still pretty indifferent about him. He loves his baby food, as I have yet to find something that he doesn't like. He went to the Dr. last week (you will notice the raw nose in the pictures) and weighed over 18 pounds!

Because I didn't want to take his 7th and 8th month pictures on the same day, I went ahead and took some when TJ wasn't home, so I will try to take those this week and share the, always fabulous, pictures of the boys together.

I stuck him in the bean bag to give myself an extra few seconds to get my pictures...it takes him a while to figure out how to get out of there!

We also took Tristan to his first football game this past Saturday for the Auburn vs. Georgia game.

Enjoying his beverage of choice while tailgating!

Ready to cheer on the Tigers!

2 minutes later, he passed out. Missed the eagle. Missed the jet fly over. Missed the band. But he was ready when the Tigers made a comeback!

We made it through the WHOLE game! As mentioned, and I'm not bragging (not too much anyway because I believe in Karma), but Tristan is a FANTASTIC baby!

What is this scratch in my throat...

...oh yea, it's from yelling so loudly I couldn't hear anything else around me! All I have to say is TOUCH DOOOOWWWWN SPRINGWOOD...with 56 seconds left in the 4th quarter to take the lead 20-14! I was a cheerleader in my past life, for many years, and I don't think I have ever left a game so exhausted. My body was tense from beginning to end, and when the last second ran off of the clock, tears stung my eyes! People have no idea, absolutely.no.idea. unless you are a coach or are married to one, how hard football coaches work. It was almost indescribable to watch Thomas achieve something that he has worked so hard for. Being a coach's wife is really hard some days, but I wouldn't trade seeing Thomas' face like that for a million dollars! The Wildcats are headed to STATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TJ: "Daddy...did you know you are going to STATE?!"

Congrats to all of the Springwood Family!

"All we do is Win, Win, Win!"

So, the last few weeks have been crazy-busy on this side of the hill! Between all of the Halloween festivites, a sick baby, and football games, it seems like such a blur. Tonight TJ and I are headed to Birmingham to cheer on Daddy's team...they are in the semi-finals...if they win tonight, we will be headed to Troy next Friday night for the State Championship Game!!! I am not going to get into the the story, but Thomas has been designated the "interim head coach" for the playoffs since the head coach has been suspended for all playoff games. While this has been very difficult for the Springwood Family to swallow, I am so glad that my husband has gotten this opportunity. He is the most hard working, dedicated man I know. I couldn't be more proud of him. This situation has been really stressful for him, but he has handled the adversity with determination and confidence. I was so thankful that they won last week (he would probably still be sulking if they had come up short)! I know he will do another great job tonight and I hope to see that excited smile headed for STATE! Best of Luck Honey...we believe in you!

Hey! Guess What?

We went trick-or-treating on actual Halloween this year! TJ has been dying to be a Jedi for months and couldn't wait to get his costume on (I actually think this costume is a Storm Trooper, but that's the one he wanted and thought was a Jedi)!



Tristan was a brown cow...and it was a precious costume!


Had to get a family shot.



After the obiligatory pictures, we set out in search of candy to last us all winter. I must say that TJ is the perfect trick-or-treating age...we had a BLAST! If you have ever met my child...you know, he doesn't meet a stranger. He will talk to anyone who will listen, even if you don't care to hear him! I believe his political career has already begun, as I was reminded at a few houses! We went around my Mom's neighborhood and many of the same people still live there that lived there when I was TJ's age. One lady in particular, who is now in her 80's, just "had to come see that baby!" She made her way down the sidewalk from her front door, and squatted down(much easier than I would've thought) to see Tristan. She began telling us that she was blind in one eye and couldn't see very good out of the other and went on and on about her Mother's sight when she was a child. Finally TJ looked over at her and said, "Well, Tristan can see out of both eyes...and so can I!" Our outting took nearly the full 2 hours allotted by the City for Trick-or-Treating because after receiving candy at each house, he would say "Hey, Guess what..." and stay a while chatting up each neighbor about their pumpkins, or the apple he had gotten at the first house, or his costume. He gave one older man a hug; he ran from one house before getting his candy because the guy scared him so bad, which he scolded when he calmed down; he even held his hand to keep the door open several times so he could finish his conversation! We had so much fun watching and listening to him at each house! I have never seen another child with his abilities to make so many people smile!

By the end of the night, both boys were exhausted...and so were we!

I see why babies LOVE their passies!

I get REALLY excited and into Auburn Games, well even my husband's high school games! (If you've ever met my mother you know this MUST be a genetic thing) Maybe I should take up football coaching on the side...hmmm... But, during Saturday's game vs. Ole Miss, I kept scaring poor Tristan to tears! So, I plugged my mouth so we ALL could enjoy the game! We keep multiple passies spread throughout the house & car, so that they are never too far from reach...maybe I should keep a few in my pockets to soothe myself?!

Friday's Menu

I had a wonderful experience at the newest restaurant in town, and had to share! TJ's Bistro was impressive and I'll definitely be visiting there again soon! The owner was also the waiter and chef...a real one man show!



I enjoyed Lime to drink (I really said wine), a burger, and fries. Nana's devilish horns came out and she ordered a Coke to drink, with spaghetti and bread as her entre.

Halloween Festivities

I was excited to be able to be a "Party-Mom" for the TJ's Halloween Party. Last year, I was an Easter Party-Mom, but Tristan was born the day before the party, so needless to say, I wasn't able to attend! My duty was to bring some Halloween books to read to the class...BEFORE they got high on sugar! TJ's teachers told me how excited he was that I was coming to the party and had been telling the other students all about the books I was bringing. He was so cute during the story time...as soon as I would read the title of the story, he would tell them how it ended! Another mom brought tons of yummy, Halloween snacks. And then we did a craft...hanging spiders!
Participating During Story Time

Halloween SUGAR!

Crafty Kid

Finished at the Bell...time to go!

After the party, TJ and I rented a movie, curled up on the couch (with more junk food), and spent a little one-on-one time before heading to pick up Tristan. Fun Day!

I'm a little Batty...

most days, but even more this time a year for Halloween! After TJ's meltdown Wednesday night because we didn't have time after church to carve his pumpkin, we promised that Thrusday night would be THE night. Being the "stuff as much as we can into one day" sort of people, we first had to pick up the frozen cookie dough that we sold to raise money for the school...that had to stay frozen...that my bestest husband put into the refrigerator at home (not too much sarcasm here...he really is the bestest); we headed to an early soccer game, which I had to take off from work a little early to make it on time; then we headed home to, if I do say so myself, a wonderfully delicious crock pot of Potato Soup...of course, the whole way home, TJ is complaining that he "might not like the soup...what will happen if he doesn't like the potato soup...what will he eat..." and so on and so on. After Thomas and I enjoyed our bowl(s) of soup (TJ decided he wouldn't eat dinner last night) and fed Tristan, it was Pumpking Carving Time. TJ did not want to stick his hand inside the pumpkin because of the "goop," so Mommy did all of the dirty work (does it make me wierd that I kind of like that part?). We have one of those books with patterns, and TJ picked out a "ghostly bat" pattern for his Daddy to carve. I must say, Thomas has amazing carving abilities! What a fun night...can't wait to see how cute they are all dressed up...well as cute as a Jedi can be...
"Mommy's Little Monster" enthralled by the pumpkin action.

He just HAD to use that knife to cut the top!

"Helping Daddy"

Working Hard sawing the throw-away pieces

After 15 shots of trying to get the camera setting right...I introduce Count Batula...he was happy to join his brother from another mother, Thug.

Become like the Tortiose, not the Hare...

TJ has a notebook that comes home daily from school with all of his work throughout that particular day. There is a "keeper" folder, a "bounce-back" folder, and a "homework" folder inside. As the school-involved parents we should be, we check this notebook each night for any keepers, bounce-backs, or homework. To be perfectly honest, most of the stuff that is a "keeper" ends up in the trash can. I do look through it, but I would be turned in to that Hoarder show if I kept everything...man, at all of the paper! But, Monday night as I was scanning the soon to be trash pile, I noticed a -4 on one of TJ's papers. Upon closer inspection, I saw a note...in red...dun, dun, dunnnnn. It said "Slow down and take your time. Make sure you do not leave anything blank." So, I figured this was one of those times. TJ was sitting on the counter "helping" me cook dinner. I showed him the paper and read the note to him. I tried to explain that he doesn't need to rush through his work, and that he needs to take his time and make sure nothing is left blank when he turns his paper in.

His response: "Ok, but I was trying to hurry...I saw some Legos that I wanted to play with!"


This is the culprit...it started his infatuation with Starwars...and Legos! Is is worth mentioning that his DADDY got him this game?

Meet Crazy Lady...

...and this time I'm not referring to myself! This is crazy lady and her friends, Thug and Auburn.


Last Sunday we headed to Auburn to hang out with Nana for a while and so I could spend a little one-on-one time with TJ. Nana kept Tristan while TJ and I headed out in search of a few pumpkins. We ended up finding his Halloween costume, 2 comforters for his bunk beds, and pumpkins. It was a gorgeous day in Auburn, so we painted pumpkins outside in the sun. I painted an Auburn paw on one pumpkin, while TJ painted the second small pumpkin. We couldn't get the white paint pen to work, so he got gold teeth, which I thought complimented the gold nose ring nicely.
Thug + Auburn = Forever

TJ finished Thug off with a red paw print on the back to support his school.


Since Thug had been given some school spirit and now supports TJ's school, Nana let us take him home to our house. He is now protecting our front door...with his looks. Happy Fall!