Banner Elk

Before Tom had to start back to work, we decided it would be fun to take a trip to Banner Elk with our friends Michael, Julie and Benjamin. We did some skiing at Beech Mountain and had a great time. We took the boys sledding one day. Quaid had a big time. He was even brave enough (the no fear thing again) to go down the hill all by himself. He, of course, loved the snow and looked so adorable in his little snowsuit and snowboots. Hopefully this time next year, we will have him skiing with us. Now that will be a fun time!!

Stitches

The night before we were supposed to leave to drive back to Charlotte, Quaid decided it would be a good idea to headbutt the coffee table. Needless to say, there was lots of blood, however he only cried for about three minutes, and a trip to urgent care was in order. After having his eye examined, it was determined that he needed about four stitches. He took it like a champ. Tom thought he looked so cool with his Spider Man band-aid. Quaid seems to have no fear so I am sure this won't be the last time that stitches are needed.

Alabama trip

Tom had the last three weeks off during the month of February. We headed to our Alabama home for a mini-vacation. Quaid loved playing in the field behind our house and spending time with his Alabama grandparents and family friends. He fell in love with being outside and it was a daily ritual to spend at least a couple of hours playing outside. Quaid really started running while we were there also. It is always so amazing what can happen in a short amount of time. We also learned that we have a little climber on our hands. Tom and I were shocked when we looked in the kitchen to find Quaid on top of the table. He really is our "little monkey".

Playing in the snow

Towards the end of January, we had a few inches of snow fall here in Charlotte. Quaid thought it was the greatest thing that he had ever seen. We bundled him up the best that we could and headed out to play. His favorite thing to do was pick the snow up and eat it. Tom and Quaid attempted sledding on a cookie sheet. It would have worked, but the snow was getting too slushy. I think that Quaid would have stayed out all day and played. He just stood at the door and looked at it for the rest of the afternoon. He truly loved it.

Christmas

We all spent Christmas Eve in our traditional fashion by attending a candlelight service at church. Quaid behaved as well as could be expected, but he got really excited when the candles were lit. All he wanted to do was touch them which proved to be interesting and a constant battle.

Christmas morning was spent at our house with my family coming over for breakfast and to open presents. Quaid didn't quite grasp the idea of Santa, but he did really enjoy playing with the wrapping paper and empty boxes. He loved everything that he got, especially anything that made noise. Quaid stuffed himself at Christmas dinner. He loved sampling everything, loving the sweet potato casserole most of all. We all had a wonderful and exciting Christmas!

Cutting down our Christmas tree

Our family went on our annual Christmas tree hunt a couple of weeks before Christmas. All the men, including Quaid, were dressed in their overalls and ready to chop away. He was a big help by holding the stick that measured the tree. He loved wandering around all the trees and exploring. We all had a great time!

Oh no, not the measles!

Quaid had a very interesting reaction to one of his shots that he had to get at his one-year checkup. It scared us all to death. It started out like a little rash, but quickly turned into something scary. He apparently had a mild form of the measles from his MMR shot. We spent the weekend at Urgent Care and the local emergency room. He was quite the spectacle. It took a couple of weeks for it to go away. We were under house arrest for a while, but by the time that Christmas rolled around, Quaid was good as new.