Twas the Thursday and Friday before Christmas

We have had a BLAST at the Bledsoe house the past couple of days!

On Thursday, one of my clients got sick, so that meant that I got off of work early!  We headed down to Southaven, picked up Ally Bug, and headed out to do some Christmas shopping.  (I won't ruin the surprise of what she bought for her Mommy, Daddy, and baby brother, but I will say that she did an AWESOME job staying under budget!)  We were all pretty tired from fighting the crowds, so we headed home.  We played video games, ate hot dogs and french fries made by Uncle David, and then we had SMORES for dessert.  YUMMY!  It was a really fun night--I cherish times like this with Ally (and so does Grayson).  :)  He is always so happy when she is around!

On Friday, Ally helped me get Grayson up and ready for the day, and then we just hung out for a bit.  We ate breakfast, played some more video games, and laughed, laughed, laughed.

I thought it would be fun for Ally and I to make some Christmas cookies together, so, after we put Grayson down for his nap, we got to work.  I didn't get any pictures of us actually decorating the cookies because it was messy work, but I thought they turned out pretty good!

We headed to the hospital to take Ally to meet her parents around 2:00pm, and I was secretly hoping that it might work out for me to see Jarrett.  Guess what!  I got my Christmas wish!  :)  I didn't get to hold him or see him up close and personal, but I was able to sneak a peek at him through the window while my brother held him up.  That is enough for me!  It's been 23 days since I've held the little guy--can't wait for him to come home!  (And, Becky and Jason told us today that Jarrett has been doing really well at getting the hang of eating milk.  So, according to the doctors, if he continues to do well, he could be coming home in 6-10 days!)  Oh, what a party that will be!  Santa even stopped by to see Jarrett yesterday:

We said our goodbyes to Ally, Jason, Becky, Jarrett, and Becky's mom, and then headed home to get ready for church.  

We were a little nervous about how Grasyon would do at church because there are SOOOO many people there on Christmas Eve (over 25, 500 people were at services on Thursday and Friday), and there is just so much going on.  Well, let me tell you, he did GREAT!  He smiled and laughed at everyone walking by.  When it was time to eat, he ate his bottle, listened to some music, and went right to sleep!  :)  He slept for almost the entire service and woke up in time to say hello to our friend, Lauren, and then head to the truck.  What a big boy!  :)  

One of my favorite parts of the Christmas Eve service is the candlelighting while we sing Silent Night.  

The pastor told us last night to use the song as our prayer for our Christmas...well, sitting there, holding the candle, and singing while Grayson slept in my arms was the most amazing feeling in the whole world.  What an amazing night it must have been when Jesus was born!  Going to church last night really got me into the Christmas spirit (which I hadn't been at all until then).  

We headed home, and got things ready for Santa.  You can't forget the milk and cookies!

David put Grayson to bed.  He was just exhausted, and I can understand why: You will notice that Grayson's cheeks look a little rosy in his pictures.  Well, that's because he got an early Christmas present: his first tooth!  That's right!  We first noticed it was starting to break through his gum on Wednesday night, and it has been sticking out more and more every day!  I am so so so so so proud of Grayson because he has not been fussy at all!  He hasn't cried or anything--his cheeks get rosy and he wants to be loved on a little more than normal (and he is making some HILARIOUS faces), but no teething nightmares here!  I haven't gotten a picture of it yet, but I will do my best to get one soon.  Every time I try to take one, he sticks his tongue over it.  :)

Anyway, Grayson went right to sleep, and Santa went right to work wrapping presents and getting everything ready for Christmas morning.  David and I decided not to exchange gifts this year (since us moving into a new house in the next few months is our gift to each other), so all the gifts under the tree are for out little boy (although, upon closer inspection, you will see that we didn't go as crazy buying gifts as it appears--we left the craziness up to Grandma, Pap Pap, and Gammi)!  :)  

As my dad always says, "Santa was good to us this year."  

We hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!  We love you!