Merry Christmas!

Getting good at opening gifts

Ooooh, it's the Cookie Monster

A real cowboy!

Bennett's 1st Jack (Mule) in the Box

Bennett's first tractor!

Merry Christmas from The Tidwell's!

Kissing on Ms. Micah

Fletcher, Bennett and I left on the 21st to spend Christmas in Texas. It was the first time in 3 years that the Texas crew were all getting together for the holidays, so it was a wonderful time of getting to hang out with the family, eat good food (Mom's infamous biscuits and gravy), and catch up on old times. Fletcher hadn't met a lot of my extended family and I felt so proud to get to finally introduce him to my mother's side, my dad's side, and my step-dad's family. Poor guy....I'll give him a quiz on names and faces in a few days. My dad and step mom, Deb, drove in from the panhandle to see us. Thanks Papa and Grammy for make that long haul! I know Bennett was (and , of course, so were we) so glad to get see you both on his birthday and Christmas Eve. My brother and his wife, Brooke, along with my sister, Jade, were all staying in Bonham, so we had late nights of playing air hockey, games of pool, and telling stories on each other. Our first stop in Texas was my best friend, Roxie's, to visit her babies. Bennett's first girlfriend is Ms. Micah James.....hope that's OK with her daddy 'cause Bennett stole kisses and hugs from the get go. Isn't she a beauty! I have a ton of pics to post from our trip, so I apologize if it gets a little monotonous!

Hope your Christmas found you surrounded by those you love the most!

Happy Birthday Bennett!

My baby boy turned one on December 23rd and I still can't believe it. This year has been amazing.....filled with more joy than I ever imagined possible. I've learned so much this year and feel so badly for all that I ever put my parents through. I worry about him bumping his head as he tries to learn to walk, so I can't begin to imagine when he's 16 and driving. Let's take it one day at a time. :) BUT, I will apologize to my parents for ever coming home late, not calling them back when they had left messages for me, and all of the other things I did that would make any parent worry. It all comes full circle.

We celebrated Bennett's birthday in Texas at Nina and Pa's house. We were having my mom's side of the family over for our Christmas celebration, so Bennett had quite the audience as he dove into his cake. He was a little hesitant at first, but once he got the hang of it, cake went everywhere.

Happy 1st Birthday, Baby Boy!

Merry (Early) Christmas

We leave tomorrow morning for Texas, so we decided to have our Christmas tonight. We had a great time opening our gifts to each other and watching Bennett go at it. Unfortunately, I'll be exchanging some of the gifts I got for Fletcher for different sizes....don't ya hate that? Medium or large......the big question. Fletcher did an awesome job with my gift. Bennett loves his new chair from CeCe and Pops! Thank you so much the wonderful gifts!

A New Car

Last night Bennett opened his gift from Aunt Katie, Uncle Chuck, and Cousin Trey and it was a new car! Fletcher spent the rest of the night putting it together, so first thing this morning Bennett went for a ride. We've been driving around the house ever since. It's amazing how instinctly kids know how steer and shift. :) He loves it!

Thank you to the Woodcocks for a wonderful Christmas gift!

Bennett Opens Another Gift...

Fletcher left Thursday for duck camp, so it's just Bennett and I hanging out. We've officially finished our Christmas shopping (at least we think we have) and we've done some baking to take to the neighbors. Aside from us both being a little under the weather, we've had a great time. Our new thing now is he likes to chase me. We crawl around and he'll follow me back and forth across the room. All you moms reading this know exactly what I'm talking about. We're heading to Texas for the holidays, so I've been letting Bennett open a gift a night. Grammy and Papa mailed a box full of goodies and CeCe and Pops brought down their gifts, so Bennett has a lot to choose from. Right now we're still pretty fascinated by the wrapping paper, but I'm sure that will change. I've posted some pics from the last few days.

The Man in the Big Red Suit...

A couple of weeks ago, I took Bennett to meet Santa. Actually, the week leading up to our meeting, Bennett and I would walk by Santa at the mall and I would point to him and Bennett would wave. I thought the wave was a good sign. Well, as you can see I was mistaken. They took a few pictures and this one was the best out of the group. I think once Bennett figures out who brings the presents, he'll change his mind about the man in the big red suit. :)

Festival of Trees

Today we went to the Festival of Trees at the Atlanta History Museum. Again, right in the middle of nap time and this time no music to distract the little guy. Bennett wasn't as enthusiastic about looking at all the beautiful Christmas trees, but once we made it to the train room that all changed. I have to admit, I was as entertained as he was with the train setup. I couldn't get him to sit still long enough to get a good picture, but our pal William was willing to pose for the camera. He's such a doll! We had a great time hanging out with our friends.

We let Bennett open another present tonight. He got a great book from Papa and Grammy.

Thanks for the cool book!

Got Teeth?

Getting teeth for Bennett has been a longtime coming. Well, sort of. Actually Bennett was born with a tooth. I know some of you are thinking "What?", but it's true. When he was born he had a tooth bud on his bottom row and a day or so later there was a tooth. Wild, I know.....really not that wild. I had one as well, but for our doctor it was a new thing. He got his second tooth on the bottom at about 9 weeks. After that we had a tooth drought. No tooth action until about Halloween when Bennett's top 4 teeth decided to all start coming in at the same time. It's taken them a little while, but we're finally to the point where we're starting to capture a "toothy grin" in pics. We're still battling the runny nose and diaper rash since they're not all the way through. And as you can see from the pics.....we love to chew on EVERYTHING. Fletcher and Bennett were have a teething tug-of-war tonight.

First Present to Open...

We decided since Bennett's 1st birthday is December 23rd, we'd go a head and let him open a few presents in advance. Not that he's ever going to do without, but we thought we would try and separate his special day and Christmas (our special day). Ms. Monica and William gave Bennett a birthday present on Wednesday at our playdate. Tonight after dinner Bennett opened it. As you can see, he loved everything about it. The music books were wonderful....as was the wrapping paper....and later the bow became a toy as well. Of course, I have to post pictures of every step this little guy makes. :)

Breakfast with Santa

This Saturday morning, Bennett and I had breakfast with Santa at our church. They did a reenactment of the Elf on the Shelf and afterwards Santa made an appearance. Of course, it was right during our nap time, but once the music started, Bennett was too excited to sleep anyway. He clapped to the music and couldn't take his eyes off all of those elves. We got our copy of Elf on the Shelf and even had it autographed by the author. Such a great morning!

Rudy Comes to Marietta

Sunday afternoon Fletcher and I ran up to the Marietta square to see Mayor Rudy Guiliani. We heard he was coming to town and wanted to hear what he had to say. We got into the little room where he was doing his press conference and then he walked right past us when he was leaving. I took a few pics.

Bennett's Baptism

This past Sunday, Bennett was baptized. It was such a special day for all of us. Nina (my mom) flew in on Wednesday night to visit and help me get ready for the weekend. CeCe and Pops (Fletcher's parents) and Aunt Katie, Uncle Chuck, and Cousin Trey all made the trip down from Nashville on Saturday. They made it just in time for the kickoff of the SEC Championship. The kids played and we enjoyed taco soup and Nina's mexican cornbread. Sunday morning, Bennett was great. I was worried....prayed he wouldn't lash out at Dr. Matthews or cry when they took him. He was a little chatty during the actual baptism, but he went with it. He's such a ham. Everyone came back to the house for lunch. We're so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends.

Bennett is 11 Months!

So we're quickly (really way to quickly for me) approaching our 1 year mark and my baby boy is growing up too fast. I'm enjoying everyday. I think I'm one of those annoying moms who thinks her child is so funny....and so smart....and so handsome....., but I can't help it. I really have such a good time with him. Last night we watched the Vols win in the 4th or 5th (or maybe it was only 3rd) overtime. It felt like 5, but I can't remember now. Bennett sat in my lap watching. After a while I thought he had to have dozed off, but he hadn't. He was just watching the Vols. He's never sat that still. I took his temp....thought this kid must be ill. Guess their born with this SEC addiction. Anyway, these have been the best 11 months ever!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I know I'm a few days late on my Thanksgiving post, but Fletcher was out of town duck hunting and Bennett and I have been busy decorating for Christmas. :) We did wait until after turkey day before any wreath or garland made an appearance. We spent Thanksgiving Day up in Nashville at CeCe and Pops (Fletcher's parents) and had a wonderful time visiting with the family. Bennett got to play with his cousin, Trey and got to enjoy his first Thanksgiving meal. He loves exploring throughout the house.....and his new favorite trick is playing with the toilet paper roll. Keeps the little guy busy! The men were out the door heading to duck camp as soon as dessert was served which is par for the course. The girls spent the rest of the evening on the couch by the fire. We have so much to be thankful for this year! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Look-alike Meter

I saw this on Chesley's blog and thought it was so cool....I had to copy! Thanks, Chesley, for the great idea! Of course, finding solo individual pics was a tough one, so bare with me. :)

Happy Veteran's Day!

Since Fletcher has served in Iraq 3 separate times and continues to serve in the United States Marine Corps, Veteran's Day means so much to us. This weekend was the USMC's 232nd birthday ("Sempre Fi" as Fletcher would say). I'm so proud of my husband and hope Bennett grows up understanding the sacrifices these soldiers make. This morning, Fletcher was in the Veteran's Day parade held in downtown Atlanta, so we went to watch and show our support. Bennett loved it! Our good pals, Callie and Matt, went with us....which was huge considering we all stayed up way too late last night playing Spades and Hearts. I hate to make accusations....but I think the boys cheat. :) I know Fletcher was hating his alarm clock this morning at 6:30.

Happy Veteran's Day!!!!

Our First Haircut

We decided Saturday that it was time for Bennett to get his hair shaped up. Not that you can tell from the pictures, but it was starting to look a little scraggly. Again, the pictures don't do it justice, but the lady did a great job. She left my baby some hair and just got the scraggles in the front, over the ears, and in the back for me. Bennett was less than excited about the whole experience. I wish I had videoed it for the records, but I was too busy holding his arms OR legs at times. At one point, my child grabbed the lady's boob, squeezed, and pushed her away. Yes, a proud parent moment for me. BUT the end result after the tears and tantrum was a well-groomed haircut and a certificate with a lock Bennett's hair to prove it.

Our New Toy

The Bat Hat