Merry Christmas!!

As this will likely be my last post before Christmas, I just want to wish you all a VERY Merry Christmas. I hope that this Christmas season you will take time to remember the most PERFECT gift we could ever receive: Jesus.We have been celebrating the Christmas season with lots of friends and great memories. Ty's work party was at a restaurant in Tampa called Bern's Steakhouse. To say it was delicious would be an understatement. We got to tour the wine cellar which has 350,000 bottles of wine - the largest private distributor in the country. The oldest bottles date back to the 1700s and cost as much as $10,000 a bottle! Here is a picture of our party in one of the wine aisles. We also had a fun gift exchange with our small group from church. I ended up with the gift that we brought, but I guess that was my fault since I brought kind of a crummy gift! We gave our small group leaders a gift certificate to Bern's Steakhouse so they could celebrate their 14 year anniversary. We have been incredibly blessed by this small group of Christian men and women. Because the Lord has blessed our lives with you all, we can comfortably call Tampa home.

Here's a funny picture of Molly and Colt. Boy was it hard to get them both behaving for a picture!
This is my favorite video of Colt this week. He is now rolling over from his back to his stomach! And he enjoys putting his feet in his mouth :)

Here is another video of Colt prop sitting, well at least for a little while....

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Just getting into the Christmas spirit :)

My Christmas Wish

Mr. Romantic

Today is the 6 year anniversary of the day Ty proposed to me. Yesterday, Ty conjured up another production that will be hard to forget. I have been bugging him for a while because of the lack of romantic gestures lately, so around 1pm I receive a bouquet of flowers. The card was sort of lame, but I called him to say thanks anyway. Then around 3pm, the doorbell rang again and there was ANOTHER bouquet of flowers and some candies. This time the card was very thoughtful. Around 5pm, I was in the front yard getting ready to walk with some of my neighbors. We saw a florist's van coming down the street. My neighbors said, "We saw the van at your house earlier. Wonder who's house he's going to now?" Well, the van proceeded to pull into my driveway again for the third time, this time with a BEAUTIFUL bouquet of roses.
When Ty came home from work, he took Colt and put him to bed. Then he mentioned going out to eat dinner, which I was not excited about because that meant we couldn't go eat until after Colt woke up from his nap. I sat down at the computer to do some things and the doorbell rang. Ty had been telling me all day that the Verizon guy was scheduled to come by (that way I'd be home for all the flower deliveries), so I figured it was him at the door. In walks a couple from our church small group (We Love you Abe and Julie!) with a whisk (a reference for Joyce and Lindsey). I was VERY confused and thought Ty had invited them over to go eat dinner with us as a surprise, when they said, "No, we are here to babysit while yall go out." So, Ty and I went out to play putt-putt, go carts, video games and eat burgers. What a thoughtful husband - really using his thoughtful gene. I love you Ty!
Here are some pictures I took of Colt this week in his cute reindeer hat :)

Random...

This Thanksgiving, we stayed in Tampa and had a delicious lunch at our neighbor's house. I thought I might cry because we weren't with Ty's family as we have been for the last 6 years, but I didn't. Whew! Thanks Jen for having us over! We had a great time. We stayed in Tampa because Ty was on-call for work - and good thing we stayed because he got SO many calls and had to run up to the office a ton. I was asked to make sweet potato casserole for dinner. I've never made that particular dish before, so I snagged a recipe at allrecipes.com and it was delicious! Here's the link if you want the recipe for yourself: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Charlines-Sweet-Potato-Casserole/Detail.aspx

Also, we went to a Christmas tree lighting with some friends from church. Colt wore his UT outfit, despite the fact that the Longhorns lost. He got several comments about his cute outfit complete with the socks (thanks, Beth!).

Also, I got my hair cut. Above is the "after" picture, and below is the "before" picture.
I bought a Christmas tree for Colt's room since Grandma J bought him these CUTE ornaments at Disney world. However, after the tree was decorated, I was about to cut off the tags and saw that the tree had the following written on the tag: "Handling of the plastic in this product exposes you to lead, a chemical known to the state of California to cause birth defects and other reproductive harm. Wash hands after use." So, since I figure that Colt will be decorating the tree from here on out, I am going to return the tree as I don't want him to be touching all that lead if I can help it. Also, our main Christmas tree also had this warning on the box, but it was already assembled and decorated by the time I figured it out. But, I'm pretty sure we'll be getting rid of it after this holiday season. Just a note on the warning: how come ONLY California is aware that lead causes birth defects and reproductive harm?!
Here are some videos that hopefully have uploaded correctly. The first is of Colt "talking" and the 2nd is his first experience watching some bubbles. Have a great week!

Tagged

I've been tagged by Cara, so here goes: 38 questions...

1. Name: Charis Elizabeth

2. Birthday: March 12, 1980

3. Birthplace: England. Yes, I have dual citizenship.

4. Eye Color: brown

5. Hair Color: brown. My hair gets a red tint in the winter and it looks like Colt’s hair takes after mine.

6. Height: 5'5" I am average height now, but in 5th grade I was the tallest kid in the whole class!

7. Ethnicity: Anglo… I think my ancestors were of German descent and some Indian on my mom's side.

8. Weakness: Lately it’s been junk food (smores, root beer floats, and left over Halloween candy). I hopped on the scale today and saw that I’ve gained 5 pounds over the last month, so this obsession with junk food is going to have to come under control!!

9. Most missed memory: I miss college. I miss cross country practice and being in good shape. I miss my semester in England. I miss hanging out with friends and the relative lack of responsibility and living in the ACU “bubble.”

10. Thoughts first waking up: Since being a mom… “No! Let me sleep longer.” Or if I wake up before Colt, “Is he still breathing?”

11. Last time you cried: This is cheesy… but I’ve cried a few times while watching Oprah.

12. Song title that currently says how you feel: I only miss you on the days that end in “Y.” Yes, I am sad that we are unable to spend time with family on Thanksgiving. We will be giving thanks for you from sunny Tampa FL.

13. What is the perfect day for you: A nice morning run followed by a pancake breakfast. Then I’d spend a cool day at the beach with friends and family and not have to cook the rest of the day. (I actually really enjoy cooking, but you need a break every once in a while, ya know?)

14. Ever been asked for an autograph? No, but once a middle schooler proposed to me when I was in high school. He had a (fake) ring and everything! So sweet.

15. How do you vent anger? I used to throw things, but now I usually talk it out.

16. Who do you talk to most on the phone? Ty, my neighbor Jen, and my dad. Honestly, with a newborn, I don’t talk on the phone as often as I used to.

17. As a kid, were you a lego builder? Don’t think so. We had these Discovery Toys that you could build into different designs and roll marbles through.

18. Do you chew on your straws? Nope

19. Do you sing in the shower? No, but I do sometimes in the car.

20. Who's the last person you stayed up late talking to on the phone to? Probably Kendal or Shannon Janz. But again, I don’t talk on the phone for long hours much these days.

21. The last place you went to in a plane? Austin TEXAS!!

22. Do you cry at weddings? Yep. Especially if the bride or groom start crying. Do some of you remember the Pittman wedding? I was sobbing.

23. Are you afraid of the dark? Only when Ty is out of town.

24. What are you addicted to? Grey’s Anatomy and reading others blogs

25. Crunchy or creamy peanut butter? I like them both, but I only eat “natural” peanut butter with the oil still on top until you stir it in.

26. Who do you fight with the most? I guess Ty, but honestly our fighting has gotten less frequent, especially compared to our first year of marriage. I love you, Ty!

27. Who can you tell anything to? Ty, Kendal, Beth … I think I’m becoming more transparent with others than I used to be.

28. Do you recycle? Yes! It is an important civic duty. I recycle paper, glass, aluminum and plastic. It really cuts down on the amount of trash we put on the curb.

29. Who makes you laugh the most? These days, probably Nick Paparesta. (Sorry, Nick. I know you only like to look at the pictures on my blog, but aren’t you glad you took the time to read this?)

30. What is the worst feeling ever? When you drop your kid. Yes, he’s fine.

31. How many pillows do you sleep with? One

32. How many rings before you answer your phone? My phone doesn’t ring – I have ring tones. Ty’s ring is “Can’t get enough of your love” which we walked back down the aisle to at our wedding. My general ringtone now is the UT fight song. Hook em!

33. How many times do you press the "snooze" button? I don’t have an alarm these days. I just wake up when Colt does.

34. How do you sleep? I used to sleep only on my back. But during pregnancy I had to start sleeping on my side (which was IMPOSSIBLE for me to do). Now that I am allowed to sleep on my back again, I am so used to sleeping on my side for the last 6 months, that I can’t sleep on my back!!!

35. Last time you laughed: On Saturday we saw Dan in Real Life. It was hilarious. But at dinner before the movie, Ty seriously asked our waitress how she styled her hair. Gotta say that was pretty funny. I’d definitely never heard him ask someone that question!

36. Ever looked at someone ugly and said "EWWW"? Yes, on a rare occasion. I am shallow and have issues.

37. What is your favorite color? Blue

38. What is your favorite state? TEXAS!! It is the only state that can fly its flag equally high with Old Glory. I haven’t been very impressed with Florida since we’ve been here. It’s flat, has bad medical policies, and it doesn’t snow. Thank God we have great friends here!

OK....NOW I TAG: Colleen, Chaney, and Beth (yes, this is a good excuse for you to blog, Beth!)

Here's one of my favorite pics from the week, also the one at the top of Colt and Molly.

Rollin, Rollin, Rollin

Colt has been rolling over for about 3 weeks now, but we've been traveling so much that I have yet to post a video of his new skill. Ty and I kept putting him down for tummy time, then leaving the room or doing things around the house, so we both missed his first several rolls. In fact, Ty's mom was the first one to officially see him roll over. Ty and I finally got to view the grand event on his 8th time to roll over! Now, he rolls over SO quickly when I put him down for tummy time that I'm worried he'll be slow to start crawling since he prefers to roll onto his back :(

Also, Saturday was Ty's birthday! We had a great night out at our fave Tampa restaurant, Grille 116. Ty always says the "e" on the end of Grille means they can charge an extra $15 a plate. Anyway, we left Colt with our friends from church while we ate. They put Colt in an activity gym and he loved it! Here are some pics that Kristel took:

Alaina wanted to show Colt how to properly use the toys :)

Here's a pic I forgot to post last week. Bang Bang and Colt watching Star Wars. Gotta start him on the classics early in life :)

Floridian or Texan??

We have been traveling to Texas so much since Colt was born, that it's hard to know whether he calls Texas or Tampa home. This past week Colt and I flew to Austin for my friend Kendal's baby shower.

These are my friends: Colleen and Kate, Sunee and Adalaide, me and Colt,

and Kendal with baby Malachi still cooking. I miss these girls!

Then Uncle Cody and Aunt Chez drove us to Houston to spend time with Bang Bang and Grammy (Ty's parents). Colt got REALLY fussy in the car and I'm lucky Chez and Cody didn't kick us to the curb! Guess they got over it cause they look like big Colt fans in the following pictures :)

Grammy is having fun reading Colt the menu at BJs.

Also, here is Colt in his Halloween costume. I figured he would be a cute fireman. You decide.

Colt received his first dollar and Halloween card from Grammy, Bang Bang and Uncle Dusty.
Since the pumpkin pants pictures were so popular, here is another:
On Halloween, 6 sets of neighbors sat out in a driveway and we handed out candy together. Here is the Dishman family and our little fireman (often mistaken for a bumble bee):
Grammy had fun taking pictures of Colt. Here are some of our favorites:

Happy Halloween

Sorry I am posting a day late off my Tuesday goal, but I wanted to do a "photoshoot" with Colt and wasn't able to do it until this morning. However, the pictures turned out cute, so I hope it was worth the wait. I'll take more pictures tonight with his official halloween costume, so stay tuned for more pictures!

We went to a pumpkin patch to take family pictures, but when we got there all the pumpkins had been sold! So we just took pictures in the hay and with the one pumpkin we brought with us. Lesson learned: show up EARLY to pumpkin patches; don't wait until Oct. 30th.

This next picture was taken at a Halloween party in our neighborhood. Ty was a Tampa Bay Buckaneer, I was a pirate, and Colt was a Devil Ray. Guess we've assimilated to Tampa!

Have fun tonight everyone. Happy Halloween!