Real Haircut and Other Events

So we decided it was time to finally take James to a salon and get his first real haircut. We started talking to James about it Friday night at dinner and during his night time routine. I told him it was going to be so much fun going to get his hair cut the next day and that if he was really good he would get a prize! And his consistent response was "Mommy no hair cut!" As if he knew what he was getting in to. I should have taken this as a hint...it wasn't a complete disaster but it was not a "fun" experience either...This is how it took place. James would only sit in Daddy's lap and he refused to wear the "Cars" drape (whatever that thing is called??). And we had to have a toy for a little distraction.

A little zipper distraction and Kristen (the girl that cuts Chad's hair) was so nice to move around with them and be so patient.

A little bribing...usually works to bribe James with his fav food items...We tried pudding his new favorite but it didnt work like we thought...he considered and then he saw the scissors again and forgot about the pudding...

Finally we are done with a change of shirt since his other one was covered in hair...can't you just see frustration in Chad's face :)... this face is saying "Brooke put down the camera and let's go" haha

The cut is a little shorter than I would have liked but considering the circumstances I figured the hair will always grow. He looks so much older now and I don't think I like that. I swear the cut makes him look 3 in taller. That may not make sense...but it does!

That afternoon we figured we would take him somewhere fun since he had such a rough morning. We headed to downtown Fairhope for the Haven parade. A mardi gras parade for dogs and their owners. No we did not register Baxter but James got to see lots of doggies and he got lots of beads!! (Side note: I thought James would be able to ride in umbrella stroller until he was atleast 4...We have not used it in awhile and when we put him in it Chad said "Does he still fit??" It was a little snug but worked). Again another reminder that our little baby is definitely becoming a little boy :(

Sunday we planned to go to a friend's house for the Super Bowl so I offered to bring dessert because I have been wanting to try a new recipe! My presentation of desserts is never really all that great but I thought this was one was picture worthy. I wanted to take a picture of the yummy layers but I figured it would be rude to bring a pie with a missing slice :) Graham cracker crust, cream cheese, chocolate pudding, and whipped topping with chocolate shavings...I really wish I had a sliver now.

Fun Times

A few weeks ago we went to Atlanta for the weekend to spend celebrate Christmas with all the Jones'. On our way to my aunt's house we stopped by to see our friends Brooke and Carl. We met Brooke and Carl on our honeymoon in 2006. They were on our same flight to St. Maarten and happen to be on the same boat to Anguilla staying at the same resort. We really had a great time together during the week. We learned we have a lot in common. All of us from the south and all of went to SEC schools. Carl graduated from Georgia and Brooke graduated from Alabama. We obviously share the same anniversary and now we both have a son! We have been pretty good about keeping in touch and gotten together a few times. We hope to make a trip back to Anguilla to celebrate a significant anniversary. Brooke and I would like to go for our 5 years but I think the guys are thinking more like 15 years. Here is a picture of the 4 of us during our honeymoon.

This is George "Wilson" who is now 5 months old. Isn't he a cutie and he is such a smiler. He smiled often while were there and Brooke warned us that the time we arrived is normally his "fussy" time...he made her out to be a liar! He was so good!

And James loved hanging out with Carl. Chad and I might as well not been around...


Next stop my aunt Denise's house. All of our cousins came over Saturday to visit. This is Madison and Lilly, my cousins Dusty and Amy's little girls. James loved playing with the big girls and even loved pushing their pink stroller...Chad was not happy!

Trying to a flip like the big girls...he really was pretty good at it but it was making me a nervous wreck!

In Loving Memory...

of Daddy Bill. Unfortunately 2010 has not started off to a great start. On January 23rd we received an unexpected phone call that Chad's grandfather, Daddy Bill, had passed away. Daddy Bill suffered from Emphysema since 2001 and fought many battles that he was not expected to win and lived longer than anyone ever anticipated but this last battle took all he had. When you lose someone you love it is so easy to be selfish and want them back because you cannot imagine your life without them however in Daddy Bill's case we pray for comfort in knowing that he is in a much better place, no longer suffering, and he had lived a great life. See Daddy Bill may not have lived a luxurious life with extravagant travels or fancy cars and a big fancy house things that a lot people use to measure success, he however was a selfless man in every sense who adored and loved his family dearly and because of this his family loved and adored him. And that is what made his life so successful. He was so proud of all of his children and grandchildren and he always treated me as if I were one of his grandchildren too. As Daddy Bill became older he spent more time at home watching CNN and reading newspapers and every time we would go visit him he always had accounting questions for me...most of them I could never answer but he could. I think at times he knew more about the accounting industry than I did. He took an interest in reading about accounting issues not because he liked accounting so much I think but because it was my career and he had interests in every thing all of his family was interested in. That was just the way he was. We will all truly miss Daddy Bill but I am thankful that I knew him and proud to be a part of his family.

A few of my favorite things...

Brrrr...it continues to be so frigid outside. I can't remember the last time we had this many days of such bitterly cold weather. The weather man says it is supposed to warm up this week. Funny how you get excited about the high 50's. During this cold weather these are the things that help make it bearable. My slippers and our new coffee maker! The slippers I admit are little pricey for house shoes but they are worth every penny! These were a great Christmas gift and Chad makes fun of how often I wear them but I just can't get enough! If you are looking for some new slippers I would highly recommend.

We used some of the Christmas money we received to purchase this new coffee maker this past weekend. It is great for a household that only has one coffee drinker. So many different varieties and always a fresh cup with no clean-up! And secretly Chad loves it too as he has left the house with a coffee mug in hand the past 2 mornings. It has turned our household into 2 coffee drinkers. And the best part it makes hot chocolate too!

2009 Recap

I can't believe it is already 2010! I remember the days of Y2K and remember celebrating 2000 at Toomers Corner in Auburn as we all braced for what could happen when the days of 1900's ended and now we have spent 10 years in the 2000 with very few hiccups. It has been a great decade and I don't really have time to recap the past 10 years but I would like to recap 2009 especially since I did not really start this blog until late in the year. I can't take credit for this idea as I got it from another blog I read and thought it was a great way to sum up our year!

January

January we spent packing up our first home, tear :(, in Mobile and moved to our new home in Fairhope. We love where we live now but we have so many great memories that were spent in our first home that will always hold a special place in our heart.

February

Was spent trying to settle and celebrating Mardi Gras. James attended his first Mardi Gras parade and it wasn't all he expected it to be...

March

We celebrated 2 special birthdays in March. March 5th we celebrated uncle Chase's 21st birthday in Las Vegas!! Our first big trip without James. We missed him terribly but it was a wonderful getaway. March 20th we celebrated James' 1st birthday!! James also started walking this month and has never looked back :)

April
We attended our good friends' Claire and Wes beautiful wedding in Dothan. It was so much fun spending time with old friends. We also celebrated Easter and held our first Easter egg hunt even though James was the only hunter...it still counts, right??

May

We made our first trip to the beach for the day. James did not love the sand but by the end of the summer he was a huge fan. This is the month I started reading others blogs and became inspired to try new things. Making homemade breakfast more often was first on the list. James didn't seem to mind his blueberry waffles and gave me the official thumbs up approval.


June

We celebrated this dad by making him work in the yard and make some additions to our landscape. We, and by we I really mean Chad and Chase, planted these pretty trees below. They looked like that for about 2 weeks before a major drought and significant heat wave hit our area and their life was short lived. I really wish someone would have told us June is probably not the best month to plant large trees...

July

Chad and I celebrated 3 years of marriage! And then once it "cooled" off for a little bit we made a few day trips to the beach and discovered that James will nap near the ocean. This was a great discovery!!

James sat on a horse, aunt Kim's horse Gracie that is, for the first time during July and seemed to like it...

My best friend Lorie and her daughter, Ashlyn came to visit the end of July and we all had a great time. We spent the weekend constantly laughing!

August

Brought more visitors and more beach trips. My best Jeanna came to visit for the weekend and got me motivated to start walking again for a brief 2 weeks :) We visited the Pink House in Grayton again with all the girls which is always fun. James loves it too because he usually gets most of the attention being the baby of the group.

This is one of my favorites and I felt needed to make the blog at some point. It may even make another appearance at James' future rehearsal dinner unless he deletes it first :) James was wearing this ensemble one day when I picked him up from daycare. Yes he is wearing a sleeveless Nascar shirt and yes he is not wearing pants. He apparently messed up the other 2 outfits so they had to come up with something. It didn't seem to bother him one bit but Chad and I couldn't stop laughing!

Brooks and James finally got to spend some good quality time together when our friends Jennifer and Patrick came to visit...and little did we know Jennifer was expecting Brooks' brother-to-be!

September

Sautter family beach trip to Caribe and Arley had to make an emergency exit :)! This month I
started another new thing...The Stracener Scene!


October

Brought beautiful hot fall weather and this cute little Pirate for Halloween!

November

Yes I turned 30 and celebrated my birthday with my 2 favorites boys and then spent a fun filled surprise weekend at the beach with my favorite friends! We also made a trip to Auburn for the Auburn/Alabama game. Even though we ended up losing it felt so good to go back and reminisce.

December

We celebrated 3 specials birthdays. The birth of our Savior Jesus Christ, the birth of my mother and the 30th anniversary of the birth of this man.

Yes Chad finally turned 30 and after 57 days of hearing how I am the "older" woman in his life I was glad! Even though I wasn't able to surprise him as well as he did for me, I still think he had a great birthday. I bought him a sky caddie, a golf navigational system, that he has been wanting but now I am starting to rethink since it may mean he will be playing more golf in the future. We spent his actual birthday at home. I ordered a mini German chocolate cake (his favorite) that apparently did not have a strong foundation as you can see...it did not look like this when I picked it up.

And then we celebrated his birthday with some great friends New Years Eve in the concrete jungle of Birmingham where the lights will inspire you and make you want to put 2 hands in the air for the Vulcan! For those that do not recognize the song, Empire State was theme song for the night. We rang in the New Year with a delicious meal and great company! Unfortunately I do not have any pictures from the night and some that Kristin took were left in her camera on the table...

So that sums up 2009 for the Straceners. It was a good year with many blessings and we can only hope 2010 will be even better! As for my New Year resolutions...I am never good at these but I want to spend more time with my camera, exercise more once it warms up a bit, read more books and teach James how to use the potty!