Merry Christmas From the Marks Family

We left Alabama on Friday morning in route to Apalachicola to visit with Nate's family for a while. It took us an unusually long time to get to Apalach due to the holiday traffic, but Ryder was quite a trooper. We had a delicious Christmas dinner at MiMi's house and then opened presents. It was pretty wild with both little boys there, but I think that Ryder had a lot of fun. He decided while opening gifts that he needed to wear MiMi's salad spinner on his head like a hat. It was HILARIOUS! He wore it until we forced him to take it off as we were leaving. He also got really attached to Sadie's (MiMi's dog) old toy. He's seen this thing hundreds of times, but it was somehow different this time. Little boys are strange!

The best part of Christmas at MiMi's was getting to see Uncle Paul and Aunt Shellie, Nate's brother and sister-in-law. They live in Birmingham so we don't get to see them very often. Ryder really loves his Uncle Paul and they look eerily alike. I forgot to take a pic of those two together so I'll have to do some digging in my photo archive to see if I can find one. Another great thing about this Christmas was the weather. It was so warm once we got back in Florida that Ryder wore just a t-shirt and went barefoot. Gotta love the Florida weather! I swear that my child does own pants...he just doesn't like to wear them.

The Perfect Storm

I know that I promised over a month ago to catch you all up on our happenings. It just hasn't worked out that way for me. The Marks family has truly experienced the "Perfect Storm" for the past month. If you've ever seen that movie you know what I mean. The storm started right before Thanksgiving when I realized that Ryder was getting a little puny. So, the day before we left for Alabama I took him to the doctor where they told me that he had a sinus infection and put him on Omnicef. I did that and we went about our business. While in Alabama he just seemed to get sicker. When we got to Charlotte he had a terrible constant cough and dark green mucus. Took him to Urgent Care and were told that he had bronchitis. Put him on Zithromax along with the Omnicef. Poor little guy! Continued to get worse. Took him back to the dr. and told it was a virus, but to continue the meds. Didn't sleep at all on Saturday night. Took him to new dr. on Sunday and told he had a chest infection and one of the worst ear infections she'd ever seen. Put him on Augmentin. Three antibiotics in three weeks...is that a record? Started getting a little better. Came back home and developed a rash all over his body. Took him to his pediatrician here and told that he was misdiagnosed from the beginning, shouldn't have been on the first two meds, had a cousin of the hand/foot/mouth virus. Can you tell that it was a fun time? Then, Christmas hit...enough said.

So, I am back and trying to catch up. I backdated the posts so they are in a little bit of a weird order. I think the last one that I did goes back to November 24th.

Teal Family Christmas

We traveled to Slapout for the majority of our Christmas. We got there on Wednesday morning, played with Ryan, and then had Christmas Eve with my dad's sister Leslie and her family. We always enjoy seeing them and hearing what the three teenagers are into. Ryder really loves playing with their son Dallas. Dallas and Ryder had a great time opening gifts and playing with Ryder's new tools.

Christmas morning brought another warm day to Alabama...and a little bit of rain. Not too exciting. We had a delicious brunch at Nana's house and then the cousins (plus my dad) headed off to see Marley and Me. What a great movie! If you haven't seen it you should. Definitely pulled at my heartstrings. We then headed back to Nana's for some yummy eats and present opening. Ryder walked away with the most loot...can you believe it? Nana and Daddy Wayne got him a tricycle, which we are actively trying to teach him to ride. He also got quite a few puzzles, books and alphabet toys.

I hope that you all had a blessed Christmas season and that Jesus was at the very center of everything!

Cheese!

Ryder is finally getting into letting me take his pictures. While at the ornament party, he sat in Aila's backyard, looked at me, smiled and said "Cheese!" Of course I seized on the opportunity to take a few pics.

Aila's Ornament Party

We were very happy to be invited to Aila's ornament party a few days before Christmas. Amanda baked each child an ornament with their first initial and let them all decorate however they pleased. She is such a brave mommy! All of the lil ones made such cute ornaments, and I'm sure that the mommies will cherish them forever. I know that I will! Needless to say, Ryder is not a budding Picaso. He decorated his in a few seconds and was back outside to play. Thanks Amanda and Aila for such a fun time!

Yea...We're In Charlotte!!!

Ryder and I went back with my parents to Charlotte after Thanksgiving for two weeks. We love being in Charlotte and getting to do things there that we can't back home. I also love having 24/7 help with Ryder, and he loves getting to spend all that time with TuTu and my parents. Usually, we are crazy busy when we are there and the time flies. However, Ryder was sick the entire time that we were there, which made things really difficult. Thank God that my mom was there to help me through some really hard times with him. I don't think that I could have dealt with all the diseases at home by myself.

Charlotte wasn't all bad though. We did get to do some amazing shopping...Nordstroms, J. Crew, etc... Shops we definitely don't have in TLH. We also got to see my good friend Lauren and her baby Kit. On my last night there, mom and I went to the Phillips' house for an all girls Christmas party. I had such a great time seeing all of my mom's neighbors especially Ms. Carolyn, Pam and Megan. Thanks for sitting at the "kids table" with me Megan. I had a blast and look forward to it again next year!

I wasn't very good at taking pics while we were there because I was playing nurse to a very sick baby. I did capture him in my parents' big bathtub taking a bubble bath one night. He soaked the entire bathroom but had such a great time doing it!

A Fair Warning

Happy Holidays everyone! This entry is to warn you that there are going to be A LOT of postings from me today. We have been crazy wild here at the Marks house and I have not had any time to get on the computer and update our lives. We had a great Thanksgiving in Alabama with all of my relatives, and Ryder and I went back to Charlotte with my mom and dad for two weeks! It has been freezing cold here and of course he is sick, but we are enjoying our time. Nate is also doing fine without us since he is cramming for two finals due on Monday. I hope that you all had a great Thanksgiving! Look back for more posts throughout the day.

Happy Turkey Day

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! We had quite a whirlwind Thanksgiving. We started the festivities by visiting my grandparents and family in Alabama. First, we had brunch with Nate's family in Gardendale, AL. This was the first time that we had seen Paul and Shellie's new house and we loved it. Yall have done a great job! We had some yummy brunch, and Ryder got to play with Malic and Koco. We headed back to Slapout for a later lunch with my family. DELICIOUS! Then, we finally got to call it a night...little man was quite exhausted.

Friday morning my dad took Jordan and I shopping. Yes...my dad likes to shop and is really great at picking out good clothes. Jordan and I love this semi-annual shopping trip because he buys us whatever we want. Isn't that the best dad ever?!?! That afternoon, we headed back to Birmingham to spend some time with my dad's sister, Leslie and her family. Ryder loves her children Dallas, Ariana and Zoe (especially Dallas). He had such a fun time playing with them, but LOVED their dog Rufus' metal cage. We couldn't get him out of it! So funny! No...Ryder does not always wear just t-shirts. He was dressed in a cute little J. Crew outfit, but had a major accident in route to Birmingham. Luckily, they had a souvenir tee from one of their trips waiting for him.

Reindeer Painting

When I was in elementary school, I had a great teacher who let us do these reindeer paintings on sweatshirts. Since then I have carried out the idea with little ones that I babysat for or at various teaching jobs. The reindeer painting has now become one of Ryder and my traditions. We did it for the first time last year when he was 10 months old, and I thought that his hand and foot were so big then. However, when we did it this year I was in for a huge shock. His hands and feet are ENORMOUS! Last year he didn't like the feeling of the paint on his little hands or feet, but he was all about it this year and really wanted to paint his mommy, too.

I Wanna Be Like Mack

FYI...Mack is what Ryder calls my dad. Cute, isn't it??? I found Ryder on our bed watching "Melmo" one night before Thanksgiving. He was sitting just like my dad does when he watches tv...relaxing with one foot crossed. Nate doesn't sit like this so I guess we know where it comes from. I LOVE the fact that Ryder is watching and learning so much from my dad. He is such an amazing Christian man and succeeds in whatever he sets his mind to. I couldn't have asked for a better father and grandfather for my child. If this is a sign of things to come in Ryder's life I cannot wait!

Tacky Christmas Sweet Swap

I am so very excited that the holidays are upon us! I know that some of you may think that I am crazy to already be decorated or upset that I skip decorating for Thanksgiving, but you can just get over it...I LOVE CHRISTMAS! So, to kick of the season, I had my best girlfriends over for a Sweet Swap. To make it a little more humorous we dressed up in our tackiest Christmas gear. No...we didn't already own these outfits. They took many hours of shopping and combing through Goodwills to create such wonderfully tacky ensembles. Elaine won the prize for tackiest dresser, which was definitely well deserved. We also got a special treat from Elaine and Edie...maxipad slippers. Who would have thought of something like that? They were HILARIOUS! If you would like to make your own slippers just ask me for directions and I'll get them for you. They were actually quite comfy and non-skid. The treats were absolutely delicious and the company was great. Have a happy (early) holiday season!

GaGa's Visit

GaGa came to visit us for a week at the beginning of the month. We had such a great time, and I really enjoyed the help that she provided. The week went by so fast, but was definitely action packed! We went to the Junior Museum, Destin, the park, and had a lot of girly lunches without Ryder. I so enjoy spending quality time with my mom! We also decorated my house for Christmas. My mom is a very talented decorator so I had to take advantage of that while she was here. Last year Ryder just sat and watched us decorate for Christmas. This year was a totally different story! He had to help and was into everything. I'm sure that this made the decorating take a little longer, but we were laughing too hard at his "help" to even care. My mom is definitely the best mom and GaGa in history! (Promise to post Christmas decoration pics soon!)

For those of you who don't know, my mom is Ryder's FAVORITE person. He was so excited to see her at the airport...ran right over to her and put his little head on her shoulder. Precious! He kind of forgot that Nate and I even existed while she was here. He woke up calling his GaGa and went to sleep calling his GaGa. He only let her feed him, dress him, change him, pick him up, put him down for nap...you get my picture. Like I said, I loved having her here to help! In the past Ryder hasn't really understood that when mom leaves she is gone for good. He was so young that it really didn't matter. However, he figured it out this time. He had a TOTAL meltdown at the airport when she left. It was truly pitiful! I was crying and Ryder was, too. Thank God that Nate took the day off to deal with both of us! We get to see GaGa AND Mac and TuTu next week and we cannot wait! Alabama and Charlotte...HERE WE COME!

What A Difference One Year Makes

I accidentally clicked on last year's Halloween pics instead of this year's pics, and couldn't believe what a difference one year made with Ryder. He also saw the pics and kept kissing the baby on the computer screen. Precious!

Superintendent Marks

Election Update....

Ryder's Gammi is now SUPERINTENDENT of Franklin County Schools! HOORAY! Congrats to Gammi!

Vote for Nina Marks

Nate's mom is running for Superintendent for Franklin County, FL. She has been super busy campaigning this summer and fall. So, we were excited when she told us a few months ago that she wanted us to ride in the Seafood Festival parade with her. She had three golf carts in the parade full of people that support her and her campaign. Some cousins and Malic rode in the back of one of the carts, but we had decorated Ryder's stroller for him to ride in. It was so cute! We were placed in front of a marchind, which Ryder LOVED! He was very interested in the drums and danced along throughout the entire parade. Ryder had a blast checking out all of the other floats...especially the pirate ones. Hopefully, we'll have Superintendent Gammi next year and will just watch it with the boys!

After the parade, we took Ryder and Aunt Janet to the actual festival. Ryder LOVES his Aunt Janet and they had a lot of fun walking around the food and vendor booths. They shared some lemonade, but I think that Ryder drank most of it. He was super sticky after all of that "juice." We also got a delicious funnel cake...one of my fave foods EVER. Can you believe that my child didn't like it? I'm not sure what I am going to do about that! He was pooped after that so we called an end to the festival, but I know that Ryder had a blast.

Don't forget to vote tomorrow!!!