I always think about how my every-day is something most people don't see. So I took a photo of a typical scene in the Dreher house. Sutton in his high chair eating, the Christmas tree on, Diesel wandering around with his nails click-click-clicking on the floor. I love our house...it's old and has it's flaws but I could stay here forever (especially if we somehow added a second bathroom!).
Sutton was {im}patiently waiting for his Aunt Jessica to come by one day to drop something off.
Jessica ended up inviting us over for dinner, and then the cousins all had to play airplane. They decided that stacking pillows in an airplane shape was the funnest thing ever.
Sutton found a little propeller and kept holding it up to his forehead saying "I airmane! I airmane!"
You would think the following photo is the same thing. Nope. This was accompanied by "I pirate! I pirate Mommy!"
We were talking with Sutton a lot about Christmas, but I felt like he didn't understand the timing...that it would be here in 25 days or in a couple weeks, and that it was ONE day. I was talking about this to a friend and she suggested an advent calendar. So I scoured Pinterest for ideas and made one myself. Now every day, he asks to "do a-vent calenner?" and he gets up on the piano bench (the calendar is sitting on the piano), we get a wrapped chocolate down, and I point to the number and say it's that many days til Christmas. Who knows if this is actually helping him get it. :)
While I was busy making the advent calendar, Adam was being crafty in his own way. He took some giant cardboard boxes and made Sutton this awesome fort! All three of us sat in it one night. It was a tight squeeze. :)
One Sunday after church, we went to eat at Red Robin and we were asking Sutton what he did in his class. He told us he sang about "Jesus in my heart." I about died. #1...he actually told me what he did in class, and #2...he sang about Jesus in his heart. I love it so much.
I feel like every kid has this photo taken of them at some point in their life.
We went to drive around and look at Christmas lights one evening because Sutton loves them. We decided to take Adam's truck because Sutton sits higher up in it and could see out of the windows better. But that meant all three of us squeezing into one bench seat. There was lots of bumping elbows, but I wouldn't have had it any other way. Here we are, waiting on Daddy to join us in the truck.
We saw several awesome displays, including the
Lights on St. Paul. Sutton couldn't stop talking about the fire truck he saw.
His little face was so eager and sweet trying to find Christmas lights as we drove.
Our family pic and Instagram from the adventure.
Sutton requested a sandwich for his bedtime snack one evening. We were winding down by watching a Veggie Tales movie in Mommy's bed, and his shirt was rolled up and he set his sandwich on his belly. I told him to move his hands out of the way so I could take a picture, and this is what he did.
One of the gorgeous December afternoons we've had lately, Sutton wanted to play outside but I was busy doing dishes or something. So I just opened the sliding door to the backyard. He grabbed his bubble gun and his dog, and went and played outside with no shoes and no pants. :)
This was a shot I instagrammed from his 2.5 year photo shoot. We have a friend who always talks about how Sutton is like Ryan Gosling (an actor) with his facial expressions and cool poses. I thought this was the perfect example of Sutton as Ryan Gosling. Haha.
Adam had crazy hair day at school, so he talked me into shaving his hair into a mohawk. I actually kinda liked it. But the next day, he shaved the mohawk off without consulting me and was basically bald. I'm still waiting for his hair to grow back...
I went to Target one Thursday after I dropped Sutton at school to get him a couple Christmas presents. Most of the lights were off, but the registers still worked. Apparently a power line was down or something. It was weird.
I posted this on Instagram as a "Throwback Thursday." This was Sutton just over a year ago. So blond and little.
Our weekly Mommy-Sutton date last week consisted of grabbing a pizza on our way home from errands. This child is crazy.
Another little glimpse into my life. I'm trying to blowdry my hair, and Sutton has to play cars and binoculars right in between me and the counter. We have a whole house to play in...
Last Saturday, the three of us went out to Walmart for a couple things and it turned into an all-morning Christmas shopping trip. We went to countless stores and got a lot of our shopping done. We stopped at Starbucks along the way to refuel.
Shopping really tires this kiddo out, he fell asleep in his seat (with chips all over his face) long before nap time. And then took a nearly 4 hour nap when we got home.
A deer at a recent photo shoot.
For the first time since Sutton was born, puzzles are happening at my house. I LOVE doing puzzles. My mom and I always did them and listened to Smashmouth when I lived at home. But I haven't had time or a place to do them since I became a mom. I made an effort to schedule less work during this month so I could enjoy the season, and it has allowed me to do puzzles after Sutton goes to bed. I've finished two this week!
Some friends of ours from our new small group had their first baby on Sunday. Shae was set to be induced on Wednesday (12.12.12), but little Hunter had ideas of his own and came 3 days early. We were so excited for them because it's been such a long journey for him to get here. He's perfect. And tiny! 5 pounds and some change. About half Sutton's size at birth, haha.
We went to the hospital to visit them the same day he was born. So he's about 5 hours old in these photos. Cah-razy. Sutton loved the hospital for some reason and keeps playing hospital at home. "I go to hospital now, okay Mommy?" (Walks to the next room.) "I drive my cars to the hospital. Vroooooooooom."
I tried to be fun and creative and found this activity for toddlers on Pinterest. But...Sutton refused to quit eating the Cheerios. So it was mostly just fun for me.
He's just so cute. All the time. Even while he's watching a mooomie.
We went to visit Daddy one day at work, and as you may remember, Adam has a pet bearded dragon named Draco in his classroom. Well, he'd gotten Draco out of his cage while we were there, and Adam always holds him on the back of his hand. So when we got in the car to leave, I gave Sutton a piece of chocolate and instead of eating it, he put it on the back of his hand and called it Draco.
I have to admit that I rarely have Quiet Time and that's something I need to work on so badly. I know it would be life-changing. I did a little devotional one day this week while Sutton was napping, and this verse jumped out on me. It's something that I need to be reminded of every day.
On Tuesday, we went to small group and our friend Tim was setting up a train around their Christmas tree. Sutton and his buddy Hudson were enthralled.
Meanwhile, Baby Tim slept.
We had a bunch of overripe bananas this week because Sutton has decided to quit eating them for breakfast. So I looked up a recipe for banana bread (since I'd never made it before) and voila! Amazingness in a bread pan. This loaf is almost gone (I made it yesterday) and I don't think my boys have had any...
We had dinner at my parents house last night, and my mom had this sign cut from a cardboard box that my grandma had given her.
Today while I was working, Diesel was busy looking cute in his nest on the couch.
Today for "Throwback Thursday" I Instagrammed this photo of my brother and I. I think I had to have been 4 or something. I'm sure we were so helpful when my mom was baking. :)
This evening, Sutton and I did a ton of Christmas shopping. Too much. Afterwards for our weekly date, we went and ate at Doc Green's. I told him I wanted a photo of him, and this happened. Of course. Such a weird child.
Then we came home and he got to watch "Kih-mas mooomies!" (Frosty the Snowman) while I wrapped Christmas presents. I looked up at one point and he was just laying on the couch, mesmerized.
Then Grandma Janet called and said Santa was going to be at their house in 10 minutes. Sutton was so excited. We got there, and Santa was standing out in the driveway, wrapped in Christmas lights. We got out of the car, and the second Santa spoke, Sutton knew it was his Papa Ed.
Neither Adam or I grew up believing in Santa, so we don't plan on making a big deal out of Santa with Sutton. But it's still fun to pretend.
We waited a couple minutes for his cousins to get there because they'd been out looking at Christmas lights. Everyone was so excited, but everyone knew it was Papa Ed. Haha.
Adam's last day of school is tomorrow, and then he's on Christmas break! We hope to have lots of Christmas adventures over the next few weeks.
