Sutton and I tagged along with my parents to Night at the Barn in mid December. We drove out to a farm in the middle of nowhere, way north of here and had cocoa and cookies and sat around a big fire on hay bales. There was a sand pile for the kids, and then when it was our turn, we went into the barn with a group and watched a living nativity. It was so cool because there were live animals all around us, and this was really what it was like when Jesus was born!
My dad made friends with a llama, and Sutton jumped on my lap while we sang Christmas songs and he got so tickled when a goat stood up on a hay bale and peed. :) We took a photo out by the fire after the nativity was over:
Sutton helped me make Rolo turtles while Adam was at his last day of school before break. We gave them to him when he got home that day. It was so cute, Sutton was so intent on unwrapping the Rolo's himself, and each one took about 3 minutes to unwrap.
We went to a fly-in at Daddy's school one Sunday.
We had our small group Christmas dinner and party. All the yummy Christmas food and a nice time with friends. Sutton and Hudson bought each other gifts while the rest of us did a white elephant exchange. It was so sweet how excited they were about giving something to each other.
Adam went back to his school on his first day off to get some grading and stuff done. We visited for lunch, and Sutton helped him with his work. :)
"I can't do it Mommy!"
One evening, we were eating at a buffet and Adam kept stealing Sutton's ice cream, so this was his solution.
You remember in Sutton's 2.5 year post how I said he was such a great kid who rarely misbehaved? Yeah, well. I jinxed myself or something. Ever since then, it has been...challenging. One day after a long battle and a long time out, I was stressed and so Sutton {Adam} made me this card.
We went on a walk one afternoon during break, and saw the geese swimming in the river.
Sutton liked running ahead of us on the trails.
I gave Diesel a bath one evening, and got a little...um...help.
One of Diesel's favorite places to lay: with his head buried in Adam's armpit.
Snow!
A comparison of how different my boys looked 2 short years ago.
I painted my nails red and it really threw Sutton off. We had to have many conversations about why my nails were red and why we couldn't paint his. When I first showed him, he wouldn't tell me if he liked it or if they were pretty, he just kept saying "It's red!" "It's red!"
Ginger came over one morning to have me give her a little lesson on photography lighting, and we got to use two really cute kids as our models. I love this photo of Sutton and Avery together. They really are such fun little friends.
The Friday before Christmas, Sutton and I went to pick up Aunt Sara from the airport. We got there a bit early, so he had to play in the arcade.
Daddy teaching Sutton the important things of life. Like how to fly an RC airplane.
Christmas Eve morning while we were waiting for our breakfast at the restaurant.
Our tree all lit up and stocked with presents on Christmas Eve night.
The aftermath of Christmas morning...
All the Dreher boys hanging out on Christmas.
Sutton likes it when Adam rubs the back of his head with his beard. Weirdos.
Our Christmas lunch at the Chinese buffet. This child...
Adam gave me an iPhone 5 for Christmas (love it!) because my old iPhone wasn't working too great. He tested the panorama capabilities on Christmas night while we were hanging out at his sister's house with their family.
A couple of days after Christmas, we went to
Illuminations at Botanica. It was so great! We had to bundle up because it was really cold, but once we were there, we barely noticed (thanks to some hot cocoa and lots of walking). Sutton love the rainbow tunnel.
They have a toy train that runs on a track and Sutton was obsessed. We saw it at the beginning and then that was all he could talk about the rest of the time. So we went back at the end so he could watch it some more.
Luckily they provided little stools so the wee ones can get a good look.
My college friend Natalie is having a baby in May! So excited. She lives in Michigan, so while she was here over the holidays, her family threw her a baby shower.
She finds out tomorrow (on her and her hubby's first anniversary!) if they're having a boy or a girl. So exciting.
I took down the tree a few days after Christmas, and so that meant that it became the best place to play. He's so helpful. :)
Poor little lamb got sick a few days before the new year. He woke up crying early one morning with a fever and was inconsolable until he finally threw up. It was still iffy the rest of the day. Two days later, we thought we were out of the woods, and then he started coughing and it sounded very croup like. He was having such a hard time breathing and it was so sad. The nights were like having a newborn again, getting up 4 and 5 times to calm him down when he'd wake up having trouble breathing.
He spent lots of time on my lap and we watched lots of movies. We even had made New Year's Eve plans, but those were abandoned when we realized how sick he was. So sad.
It snowed on New Year's Eve, and Sutton was so excited. He just wanted to go play in it. But he wasn't feeling too well.
I was changing the sheets on our bed and he thought the pile of pillows made a fantastic "pillow boat."
