Christmas Recap 2011

We had the most wonderful Christmas in Michigan. My godmother Mary T. drove with us all 11 hours to and from my mother's house. We stayed at Baby Nephew's house three blocks from Mom. My gorgeous grandmother flew all by herself from Memphis to be with us and of course Dad joined us for the festivities. Andrew looks so grown up in this photo but he is just one year old.

Baby Nephew was baptized at home that weekend. Eric and I are thrilled to be his godparents!

Eric and I are thrilled to be his godparents!

The precious lamb went straight from my mother's diamond cross. He's brilliant, I'm telling you.

My fairy godmother.

This was the first year in all my days that we waited until after 1pm to open our prizes. Saint Andrew needed to take a nap so we enjoyed a leisurely morning with ham and Sister Schubert rolls.

The first photo above was taken with a tripod and timer. I loved this shot I caught of  Daddy, E and Mary Frances staging the shot. I realized later that something was fogging up my lens so Francie looks more angelic than usual. I'm sure my Dad said something hilarious which is par for the course.

Once Baby Nephew arrived, the prizes were opened, the roast beast devoured and I finally got some quiet time with him. We gave him that cute little sweater. My brother wouldn't be caught dead letting him wear a smocked outfit, which breaks my heart, so we prepped him up with a little polo! He is truly the most laid back little guy. We just talked and talked for twenty minutes about trains, cars and my necklace. Elise caught us in this precious moment and I will cherish this photo forever.

Blessings and thanks to my sweet family for their incredible generosity, love for us and to Mac and Elise for asking us to be godparents. We are truly honored. 

Baby Nephew

Uncle Charlie and I had the BEST visit with Baby Nephew in Kalamazoo. We couldn't get enough of this baby boy. I love this age where he is nearly walking, can't talk but is expressive and is just a little angel.

E. looks like a giant. Love.

He waves hello which I think is hysterical. 

My brother is just as adorable as ever with his son. He woke up every morning to play with the little man before heading to work. Elise is the sweetest Mommy ever too. She runs with him daily and reads him books every night before bed. Such good habits to start early. We love Baby Nephew's auburn hair. My grandmother had red hair. Aside from his hair color he is a dead ringer for Mac when he was a baby which means he looks exactly like our Daddy as well.

Eric is such a sweet and funny Uncle.

Baby Nephew is just a little lamb and I can't stop looking at these photos. I miss his face so much it hurts. He is the only nephew on either side. Be prepared to be spoiled dear one. Just not rotten.

He was teething but was still such a good and happy baby. "Yeah, I chew my finger cuz my teeth hurt...but it's no big deal Aunt Nellie. Don't worry." 

A few girlfriends have nicknamed me the baby whisperer. Oh how I adore that title. I think it's because I'm such a crazy lady around kids that they stare in amazement. I make up little songs and the favorite of the weekend was, "Who's that Crazy Lady." We even left Mac a voice mail from the car and sang the song with a few clever improvisational lines like "Who's that crazy lady? Driving down the highway. Who's that crazy lady driving with Uncle Charlie? Missing her baby Nephew." You get the gist. Crazy! Well, Macker played the voice mail to Andrew on speaker phone and the little lamb walked to the phone and starting giggling. AH! Just warms my heart. 

Remember the sweet baby shower prizes we sent Baby Nephew in this post? Well Andrew is now big enough to play with the trucks. We brought him an early birthday present so he would have some roads for his trucks. We found this cute rug at Ikea. 

He dug it the most. Can't wait to get him sets of Hot Wheels to vroom, vroom all over town.

His Momma was so excited about the rug too and insisted we put it down while he was sleeping the night we arrived. 

I could have played with him all day. Look at those cheeks! I just want to squeeze em!

And he's learning to share which makes us very proud. Good job Macker and Lisey!

Coco is getting a little bit of the back seat now that there is a new addition to the family. She still gets tons of love and enjoyed her sunshine every morning.

Hey is that real? Pappy came over to visit and for the Michigan game. So did Mom, but the one great photo I took of her isn't downloading for some reason. They were playing the clapping game where Andrew makes her clap. It's adorable. I'm sure every kid does this but I just think he is the smartest kid ever!

E. is getting the hang of this.

Warms my heart how happy the little guy is with his Uncle Charlie.

We are welcoming the chill of October at Stone Hill Farm reminiscing about our fun trip home. Thanks Mac and Elise for the fun visit. We love you guys and really do want to see you, but can't WAIT to see Andrew in a few months. :) Momma and Daddy thanks for all the loot too! My gosh. We had to redecorate when we got home. Will send photos soon. Love you all!!!

Baby Brother Baby Shower

My little brother, Douglas McWilliams and his precious Elise are having a baby boy in the next few weeks. Mom is hosting the baby shower in Kalamazoo today. I sent a few goodies for Baby Boo Boos. Ha. That nickname kills me!

No boy baby shower can be complete without the Pee Pee Tepee for the sprinkling wee wee. Baby Boo Boos is getting Santa Hat themed ones. The best part is that my Grandmother clued me in on these after going to my cousin's shower a few years ago for little Jimmy. She howled with laughter telling me the story of the hit gift of the shower.

We found these handmade trucks at the Fells Point Fun Festival. 

I loved the trucks so much that I found someone to make custom cookies for the give away. It's kind of a cute play on my brother. Get it. Mac Trucks. :)

The cookie maker extraordinaire was a friend of a friend. Susan and George are expecting and I went to their shower a few weeks ago. The hostesses did SUCH a great job.

The tables were set so beautifully.

Katiecakes did the flowers.

And each person got a precious little pink owl cookie as the favor. The invitation had three owls in a tree. Just adorable. We found the cutest owl onsie at Red Tree in Hampden as our gift. I just love a good theme!

So Susan's bestie Michelle has this friend Kristin in New Jersey who makes these custom cookies. The best part is that she ships them anywhere in the states. They arrived perfectly yesterday and Momma emailed saying, "The cookies made it." Follow Sweet Spot on Facebook and click on the gallery to see more cute photos.

My other signature baby gift is to hand stamp Crane's invitation cards for the wee ones with my baby feet stamp. Yes, I have stamps but I'm not a wacky stamper. Just have a few stamps for stationery, custom wrapping paper and gift cards. We are heading up north for Christmas and intend to spoil our little nephew to bits and bits. 

Lisey, we love you so much and know you will make the most incredible mother. If you can put up with the Macker, you can handle anything sweetheart. Ha! Kidding. This is the only preggers shot I had of you at the lake. Love your little baby bump. Can't wait to see shots of you from today.

Macker! I can hardly believe you are going to be a Mac Daddy! Seriously, sniff. You'll always be a little punk to me, but I look forward to watching you grow as a father. Holy bananas! You are going to be a FATHER. 

Could you guys be any cuter?!!! Love you so much, Aunt Nellie and Uncle Charlie

Momma, thank you so much for doing all the heavy lifting for the party at your house. I truly wish I could be with you to help. Have fun, take three deep breaths and enjoy it Granny Punks!!! Get Pappy to help you. Hee hee, I can't wait to see what the kid calls my parents.