Goof Ball

Amanda Plays Betty Crocker

Since Harry was sick we decided not to go to Memaw's in El Dorado. Chad was very very bummed, he was ready and eager to see Memaw and Aunt Annie but, it just wasn't meant to happen. We really miss them, and hope there will be a time soon we can get some QT!
Instead we spent a very productive weekend by turning our guest room into a play room. It was time, the basketball goal was not fitting with the living room decor! I am going to try to decorate the play room on a low budget. I am in the process of pulling out the ole' paint brushes, to be continued.
To make Chad feel better, I did some baking! I am a slave to the crock pot so, this is a special occasion. I make all his favorites; Paula Deen's Sweet Potato Bake, Grandmother Georgia's Rice Pilaf, Whole Hawg's pulled pork, and last but not least Chocolate Pecan Pie (pie not pictured, it was in the oven at the time); Oh and don't forget the sweet tea! It is true that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, see the smiles! I took pictures just for fun, Chad thinks it is so so cheesy!
Harry entertained himself with the aluminium foil and pulling everything out of the cabinets and drawers! He is feeling much better! Besides having a sick baby, we have really enjoyed the quiet family time! Tis' the Season!

Harry at One

I have not had the time or urge to sit down and write about Prince Harry's personality until now! I need Chad to help me because I always forget! Since I am around a plethora of babies his age it is easier for me to decipher what all babies do and what is unique to Harry.

Jobs Harry will be good at if he stays the way he is at one:

• Stuntman: he loves to jump back and forth on the couch and even throw his body over it (luckily he has been caught); he gets hurt and doesn't stay upset or even get upset at all; he wants to stand on anything that is higher than the floor (presents, stools, baskets, toys, etc..); he loves to climb and will make a quick break if you don't pay close attention; he is not afraid to go where he has never been before or anyone for that matter; he likes to try to climb out of his stroller; pull anything that dangles (clothes for store racks, ornaments, etc: he has started reaching for door knobs (he does not like for you to shut the door from outside).



• Musician: he wants to carry his drum sticks with him EVERYWHERE; he loves to dance (the video from one of the previous posts will prove that) and will usually do it when you sing, play music or simply cheer him on; music on any toy will get him dancing or smiling; his guitars have always been the most popular toy in the house; if he is sick of the car seat, I can put the Little Tykes drum(not so little)in his lap and he is good the rest of the way home; everything is a maraca; everything is a drum; he still will calm down from being tired when I sing to him (that in its self is a miracle, i do not sing well at all); Chad has a great singing voice and is pretty good at the guitar, Harry LOVES this; the musical gene must have come from the Ware side!



• Wal-Mart Greeter: Harry enjoys going to Wal-Mart and most of the time cruising in the cart, but he likes to be looking the direction we are moving. He enjoys smiling at people we walk by and loves trying to grab items off the isle!



• Hair Stylist: Harry has loved hair and texture since he was tiny. Heather at day care will even comment about how Harry goes to sleep pulling her hair. He loves to stoke my hair and rub on Chad's head. He is a fan of the hair dyer too!



• Food Critic: He is very quick to spit out anything you give him to eat. He loves anything with sugar and all of you "Miss Healthys" out there who say "if you give your kids sugar of course he will only eat things with sugar" that bugs me, you tell me snacks at Wal-Mart that do not have sugar that are fast! Cereal bars, oatmeal packets, yogurt, fruit, get my drift! He does like a few vegetables but, Harry is not the best eater like he was with milk! I was given some Barnes and Noble gift cards this year and bought Deceptively Delicious and a Toddler's Menu cook book. I sure do hope it works out.



• Leader: Harry walks to his own drum, at day care he doesn't follow other kids who finds what he wants to play with and goes straight to it. I sure do hope he stays this way, his mom and dad do there own thing quite often, maybe he will inherit this trait.


• Doctor: Harry has been to the doctors office his fair share, and let me tell you, the kid loves a stethoscope!


• House Cleaner: He enjoys watching us vacuum; he tries to get into the cleaning cabinet every chance he gets; he has always loved the Swifter(remember Mr. Clean); and his favorite toy is the talking broom he got for his birthday.

I am sure I will think of more later!

These were the only pictures I could get. He is showing his stuntman skills, see how he likes to stand on anything! We missed out on Memaw's house this weekend because Harry has bronchitis and just started his antibiotic. You can tell a bit how pitiful he looks! Poor Guy!

Kim, notice the toy in his right hand. He loves that thing!

• 

I was obviously good this year, at least I convinced Santa!

Papa Ware has instilled in Chad some wonderful traits such as being a Christian leader, putting his family first, hard work ethic, but, the very best thing that Chad got from his dad was the desire to spoil his wife at Christmas! I had heard before my first Christmas with the Wares that Sandy is always the last opening presents because Harry gives her so much! I never really thought my accountant husband would be that way, if you know him you know what I am talking about! Chad has given me great gifts the last few Christmas's but, this year he went OVER THE TOP! I am in complete shock that he did this. Do not think I am bragging because all the other holidays of the year, Chad does not go out very much at all. This year was a huge suprise and I never am suprised, honestly I always opened my gifts before Christmas and wrapped them back! This year Chad went overboard to say the least, I doubt this Christmas can be topped! He says he gets me a gift I need, want, and can use. He got me all gifts I want, need, and can use!

Every year Chad gets me a Arthur Court piece. I am a fan of the Grapevine collection, and he suprises me every year with a new piece. I really don't expect it either! This is not the original piece he bought, but he did pick it out. He gave me a deviled egg holder because he thought it looked good to decorate with, I do use my pieces for decor but, I also like to get use out of them. He picked this one out next, and I LOVE it! Below it is my new Bible! I throw my Bible into Harry's diaper bag and it is not looking to hot! Chad gave me this adorable metal cover Bible for my convience! Good job, Honey! This is my FAVORITE GIFT EVER! Chad made a memory book of our family's big events of 2007! He has never really done anything this creative so, it came as another big shock! I could look at it over and over for hours! He is totally running out of future gift ideas! Two weeks ago Chad took me to Express and said, "I want to make it where you can not complain about not having any pants anymore!" So he told me to pick out a few pairs! I chose 3 and a top! I was suprised but, at the time thought it was my only Christmas present from him, so I took advantage! I love Editor pants!

Honestly, I was not really expecting any more, then I look in my stocking! This is what I found! A very sweet letter that insists on having someone come clean out house. I constantly complain about bathrooms and our kitchen floor, it will be nice to not have to worry about cleaning them. Chad is taking on the job of finding someone, I have a friend who stays at home down the street who is interested in the extra cash. Another big hit for CHAD! Just when I thought he could not even possibly give me anything else, I even was assuming that I would not get anything for the rest of the year, he pulled another one on me! He told me he was getting me a lap top! I was baffled, I have wanted one but, didn't think I had to have one so I really didn't push for it! Boy, am I excited! I scored big this year! Santa Baby was good to me! This is motivation to be good next year!

Now for what Santa gave Harry! We mixed a few of Chad's family's traditions with a few of my family's traditions to create OUR family traditions! Harry woke up this morning(super sick, not a tradition) and was greeted by his tool bench Santa made for him! We left cookies out the whole time we were gone so Santa would not leave empty handed, and he left us a note!

Santa's foot prints from the cookies to his new toy! Harry didn't feel very good, so the tool bench wasn't played with that much today! Maybe tomorrow! Thank you Santa for being so good to me and Harry!

I wasn't as prepared this year to give our Santa as many gifts as he gave us, I would have been in big trouble if I had anyway! We love our Santa! We love our Santa if he gave us no gifts at all but, it is a perk!

A Very Grandmother Georgia Christmas

As soon as we left the Dean's house, I talked Mom and Emily into riding up to Grandmother's early with me, Harry and Chad! We had the best drive! We were laughing most of the way! Mom and Emily are my "bestest" girlfriends! Grandmother is no exception!

Emily did my hair! These are my 3 girls!

Harry would not leave the fudge alone!

Grab it and GO
He thought he was hiding!
These Christmas novelties were the hit! Harry was in awe' of them! A little scared of the snowman!
My Grandmother Georgia also has a lot of land out in NEA, so Harry once again had to explore the terrain!Harry found his own walking stick!Dad finally arrived! WHOO HOO! Christmas Eve is when we open our presents! Grandmother always has the most, her Christmas tree is full of presents just for her! Harry helped unwrap! Harry loved climbing on Bobo's and Coco's presents! This is what we do a lot of at Grandmothers and that is Scrabble! Chad has found a new "love for the game"! I won this time, but I know that Grandmother Georgia is usually the winner! Another Christmas favorite is eating all of Grandmother's homemade candy and the "good" stuff sent in! See's and Harry and David have the best chocolates EVER! We were chowing down, but Grandmother does not like for you to bite and then put back for someone else! You take it, you eat it! That really wasn't a problem all of these chocolates were yummy!

When we woke up Caroline and Olivia were there! Harry also woke up with a little cold too. We had a dance party! It was quite a trip! Harry had a private one on Christmas Eve with Bobo, Coco, Me, Chad, Emily and of course, Grandmother! The video of him showing one of his moves is way below!Caroline and Harry are crazy about each other, it is so funny how they follow each other! Harry also adores Olivia! Harry and Caroline go on their own adventures together!
They needed a little fresh air, Harry was the first to let them know that!Then Harry let us know he was not feeling the best! He was tired and just wanted to cuddle!

I know it is not secret that I am partial to Grandmother Georgia's house! It is my very favorite place in the world! We have most of our Christmas traditions here and it is where I must be every Christmas Eve, although I did miss the last 2 years. Grandmother is the best cook I have ever met, and I know some of the best! She sent out her Christmas card this year with a picture of her on an Alaskan glacier! She gets around! For 89 she is sharp as a tack, and let me tell you, me beating her at Scrabble is no piece of cake! If quo was not a common noun(Chad's phone said it was, but even blogger says it is not)...I would not have won! I am crazy about this lady, words can not describe the adoration and appreciation I have for her. It is just not Christmas Eve with out being at her house with her and her tree! Harry was "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree"

A Very Dean Christmas

Sunday after church services we headed to Grandmother and Granddad's house! This is my Dad's family! It is always a zoo at Christmas time and I have missed out the last 3 Christmas's because I was engaged and with Chad's family, sick, or a new mom! I was ecstatic to be back in on the action! Opening gifts only too about 10 minutes with this crew! Harry racked up on toys and Hannah Anderson PJs! Harry is so blessed to have so many cousins! We even got to meet the new twins! They are so precious! Harry busted his lip and I had to give my holding privileges up! It didn't take long for Harry to recover, just step outside!

There are 5 boys in the family, Stone and Slade (twins) 2 years older than Harry; Cooper and Dean (twins) 1 year younger than Harry! The rest are all girls and so much fun!

Do you see the gray jacket Emily has on, it is my next purchase if I can find it...I went nuts over it, maybe she will get tired of it soon! Yeah Pajamas! Actually, Harry is eyeing his new toy train!
Uncle Babe had to be the gate keeper, Harry wanted to help everyone else unwrap!
Matison and Dezi loving on Harry!

We had thought we were not going to see the girls on Christmas Eve so we gave them their gifts! Chad decided we need to spend Christmas Day at Grandmother Georgias' so we did see them all night and all day! That is the next post! We gave the girls tutus for Christmas and of course a few other gifts! Grandmother and Granddad have a lot of land that Harry insisted on exploring! It was a very action packed never a dull moment Christmas at the Deans! Harry says he can't wait to see them again very soon!

Merry Christmas To You and Yours

Harry Holidays!
Some of you recieved this picture of Harry and some this picture of Harry. There was no rhyme or reason to who got what! Chad wanted me to put the top picture in all the cards and I liked the bottom, so we compromised! We decided to cut our Christmas card list this year, so unjolly, I know! I thought I had bought enough cards and sure enough realized there were 2 more sheets of labels I had overlooked...and the store I bought them out was out of MY cards, so we sent out half gold and silver cards and half blue Peace cards....then we sent another 20 out of random.....because we started feeling guilty for cutting the list! Anyhow, I will be prepared next year! It is such a blessing that God has given us a day to celebrate his birth by being with friends and family and recieving that one gift you have been eyeing all year and to give the gifts you had so much fun shopping for....and those who are harder to shop for...so they got a gift card!!!

A Very Ware Christmas

We were able to all get together before Christmas this year! We will be spending next weekend together in El Dorado, but we just couldn't wait for a Ware Xmas!

Harry was ready to open presents! He had a big time playing with all of his toys, we learned another lesson on sharing! Brook even gave this toy to Harry and he does not want her to have any part of it! They were hilarious together! Harry liked giving her hugs and kisses!Can you see what there favorite gift was? Mimi and Papa gave them each there very first red wagon! I think this one will get plenty of use! They have seat belts and we obviously need to use them!

Miss Brook was not feeling up to par but, you couldn't tell with all the smiling she was doing! I never am able to get a picture with her because I am usually the one taking them but, we got one today, although she is not in the smilin' mood....it was bed time!

The Wares always over do it at Christmas, they shower us with generosity! Thank you for a wonderful Christmas with a wonderful family! We are so blessed.