Merry Christmas, everyone!

It has been eventful, to say the least. It all started on Wednesday. That's the day we took off for our southeastern "world tour" as I call it. We loop to Greenville, SC, and then on to the ATL. It took us the better part of the day to finish wrapping gifts, pack the car, tend to the baby, etc. We were nearly done, when Jerod took the mostly-packed car to run a few final errands while I fed the baby and finished my packing and attempt at house-cleaning. As the baby lay sleeping in my arms, I heard my phone ring...good thing I checked it after strapping Shepard in his car seat to finish his nap (I thought we were leaving in the next 20 minutes). Jerod forgot his phone but was using someone's cell to let me know that our mostly-packed car was STUCK in the CAR WASH at the BP station down the road!!! Stuck. Like wouldn't start.
By the time I fetched my awesome neighbors...one to listen for the kid and one to drive me to the BP...some kind folks had helped him get the car out of the car wash! We didn't end up leaving until nearly 5 pm. And we had started trying to get out of the house around 8:30 am! It was enough to make me hate Christmas travel, but it was good to see smiling faces of family on the other end.
sidebar: when you have pre-paid childcare one block from your house, it's ridiculous NOT to use it while you pack up. We would have saved three hours easily had we taken Shepard to school. We just weren't thinking clearly.
We got to hang out with Uncle Matt, Grandma Jones, Uncle Justin and Aunt Jessica and cousins Madeleine and Micah for a few days, opening our bounty of gifts on Christmas Eve morning. Shepard was pretty laid back about everything. Just looked around and took it all in. He was very interested in eating tissue paper, and mildly interested in some of the items he received. He doesn't know it yet, but he got some GOOD STUFF!
As the Columbia Joneses departed, the rest of us made a dinner of pasta with browned butter and mizithra cheese...so good. Then we trekked to Uncle Matt's house for the evening. Around 3 am, I noticed that Jerod wasn't in bed...but as I heard him coughing from the next room, I assumed that the sinus funk he'd been battling had taken a turn toward cough-land and he didn't want to keep the baby and me up. Around 4 am, he crawled to the door and needed some help. He had been experiencing the great white throne-hugging for several hours. It was bad.
So, our Christmas morning consisted of hurriedly getting ready and whisking him to the ER after giving Grandma a list of Shepard's schedule. After ten hours of straight nausea, vomiting and other...um...yeah...Jerod was pretty dehydrated and not getting any better. While we waited for the fluids and meds to kick in, I fetched the book I just started on from the car...ironically titled "Skipping Christmas" by John Grisham. Sometime while we were trapped in the ER, it started snowing. It was lovely, but at this point, I had a sick hubs, a champion Grandma who had been watching the baby all day, and a sick Uncle...and we all needed transport along with two dogs and all of our stuff. The roads were looking a little dicey, and we weren't sure we could get back the next day. So, I loaded up the car in the snow...and later ventured out to a 24 hour CVS for meds and gatorade...and was so thankful to find a Chinese restaurant open on Christmas!
What a day.
So, we'll have some pictures and videos up before too long...I haven't even told you about the next leg of the journey. We'll just say that apparently, Shepard and I are carriers of the evil Bah Hum(stomach)bug!
This has been one crazy holiday.

Merry Christmas from The Joneses

Motorboats and Squeals of Delight

Just this week, Shepard has started making this funny "raspberry" motorboat sound. Here ya go...

Christmas, Tricks, and Little Lambs

Before you watch this darling video of my darling (hee hee), an update on the Shepard. He is currently eating his feet and laughing a lot. He's also started truly rolling from back to tummy and then tummy to back again. We'll see when he puts it together that if he doesn't stop in the middle he might get somewhere! Yikes. We have some sincere baby-proofing to begin around these parts. His little hands are learning that they can grab most anything that's in reach, including mommy's jewelry. (dang it) Now if Mommy could just find those easy-release silver hoops she just bought...(double dang it).
Tonight Shepard was fussy, perhaps working out some of the day's air intake (cough cough) via his intestines. Poor little guy. I finally calmed him back down and thought I'd put his little lamb blanket/stuffed animal in so he had something to hold on to. Worked like a charm. And yes, I know. His name is Shepard. He's snuggling with a lamb. In my defense, it was a lovely gift from his Aunt Suzi and Uncle Harry before we even knew he was a he and before we had even considered the name. I can see on the monitor that he is snoozing away with it now.
Here's our Christmas video. I'm pretty sure I mixed and matched the verses on that song, but Shepard doesn't know the difference. Stay tuned to the website for a great video of "motorboat mouth."

Hey Santa!

Santa Claus came to town! And Shepard seemed just fine with that. Here are the pics...our digital "holiday card" will be posted this week, but just to tide you over, here are some Santa shots. 

(grandparents, your prints are on the way!)

Snow Baby!

I took a whole entourage to Bristol, TN last weekend. The Christmas production I'm in, The Birth, was performing two nights at King College in conjunction with the Buechner Institute (Frederick Buechner wrote the better part of the source material). All of that to say...what a lovely drive through the mountains! And on Saturday morning, we were greeted with a dusting of snow. Just enough to make everything lovely, but not to make things treacherous.
Of course, this was Shepard's very first snow. I'm quite sure he won't remember a thing. And he didn't really seem all that enthusiastic about it. But then again, he is just five months old. I'm going to have to update my own snow wardrobe to be sure that when our next Carolina snow hits, and he is old enough; I can get out there and make snow angels and all the rest with him. (leave it to me to make it about a wardrobe issue!)
So, here are a few pics of Shepard's First Snow! And this darling carriage we found just sitting on a side street. Jerod would not let me climb in. So we just stood there for a moment while Nana snapped away.

Snug as a bug...in a sling

When in doubt, check it out...with your mouth

Mmmmm. Hand.

That's for real cute.

Look. White.

Are we about done here? 'Cause it's warmer in the car.

Thanksgiving, Part 2: Cousins

Shepard got to hang out with ALL THREE of his cousins at Thanksgiving. Super!

Grandma has a lap full of love

Tux and Jonathan eagerly await some TURKEY!

Cousin Madeleine had lots of love to give.