It's Beginning to Feel a Little Like Christmas

We have been extremely busy this December (more about that in another post to come one day soon), and so it hasn't felt very Christmas-y.  This week though John and I agreed that "it's beginning to feel -a little- like Christmas." 

About a week ago I attended my friend Stephanie's annual Cookie Exchange.  We had a great time socializing and trying out all the delicious cookies people had brought!  Here's a picture of our group at the party!

One of our family traditions here in Huntsville has been to drive through the Botanical Garden's Galaxy of Lights every year.  It's a path over a mile long of different Christmas displays.  You drive incredibly slow so we let Dawson get out of his seat and ride in the front seat with us.  He loved the light displays.  This is the look on his face when we entered the Galaxy of lights.  :)

He has not stopped talking about the Galaxy.  When you ask him what his favorite light display was he says, "I like the penguin, nutcracker, tree, Santa, butterfly, other penguin, dino, reindeer...."  And he continues to list them on and on!  Dawson also thought it was special to get to ride with me in the front seat.

Monday night we visited Santa's Village for the first time.  It's in Downtown Huntsville at the Constitution Village.  While there we listened to carolers sing Christmas songs, saw two real reindeer (one of Dawson's favorite parts!), saw Mrs. Claus and elves, enjoyed playing in the snow that they blew every 20 minutes (another favorite part for Dawson), made an ornament, decorated a gingerbread cookie-which Dawson ate almost immediately, and saw Frosty, a penguin, and a Gingerbread Man (probably the very favorite part).  Of course, Santa was there too!  Dawson had a blast a Santa's Village.  It was really crowded but it was a good night to go since it wasn't too cold to be outside for a couple of hours.  Yesterday John said that holidays are so much more fun with Dawson than when it was just the two of us, and I could not agree more!  I love to see how excited Dawson gets over seeing Christmas lights or someone dressed in a Gingerbread Man costume!  The most talked about part of the night was definitely the characters.  No matter where we go if there's someone in costume, Dawson absolutely cannot get enough.  After we had taken more than our fair amount of time visiting with the penguin, Dawson walked around say, "Penguin, come back here please!  Where are you, Penguin?!"  Here are the pictures from Santa's Village.

Above:  John and Dawson at the entrance.

(None of the pictures are wonderful since

they were all taken outside in the dark.)

First we met Frosty and loved him!

Then we were even happier when

we saw this penguin with a bow tie to talk to!

Making an ornament!

Dawson running through the snow

flurries that were falling, although it's

difficult to see them in the picture.

One of the reindeer.

Dawson pretending to be a snowman.

Dawson absolutely loves Nutcrackers, and

he was excited to see this one to stand by.

Our family at Santa's Village.

Santa was there!

Dawson poking his head through

the Christmas tree.

Dawson, an elf, and the Gingerbread Man.

On another note-On Saturday Dawson attended his friend Jude's 3rd birthday party.  I had to remember him going to Jude's 1st birthday party when Dawson was only 6 months old and had just learned to sit up, and then last year at Jude's 2nd birthday Dawson played and had a blast.  This year, I told Dawson on Monday that on Saturday he would get to go to Jude's birthday party. This was a mistake because several times every day leading up to the party, Dawson would ask if it was time to go to Jude's.  I would tell him no, and then he would tell me that Jude's party was on Saturday.  Then Dawson would sing Happy Birthday to Jude.  We probably sang Happy Birthday to Jude at least 20 times leading up to the day of the party.  On Saturday Dawson was thrilled to go to the party, and he had a blast playing with Jude and his other friends!  The picture above is Dawson and birthday boy Jude who was playing dress-up.  Dawson had more fun than is captured from the expression on his face in the photo-I know because he's talked about Jude's party every day!

Dawson's Gingerbread House and Our Pea in the Pod 23 Weeks

On Wednesday, Dawson's Advent Gift was a Gingerbread House.  I knew he was going to be thrilled to put it together because he has been asking to make one every time we go to Target and he sees the sample one in the bakery. 

He sat for almost an entire hour at the kitchen table working on his Gingerbread House, and that's a long time for an active 2.5 year old boy.  He kept asking me to get the camera and take pictures.  He was so proud of his work!

Obviously I helped, but he did almost all of the candy placement on his own!  Now it's sitting in the kitchen, and he goes by to check on it about every half hour!

Here are the pictures from the construction of the house....

Dawson about to get started on the Gingerbread

House.  He was really excited about all the candy too!

Dawson was so proud of the final project!

Dawson's Gingerbread House Masterpiece!

At church Dawson worked with one of his favorite

Sunday School teacher, Ms. Dianne, to make

this sweet Christmas book.  I love the cover-a

tree made out of his hand prints!

Page 2:  A manager for Baby Jesus.

(I can tell Dawson enjoyed using glue to

put all these little pieces of paper on!)

Page three:  Angel.

Page 4:  The star.  They rolled a marble

around in a box with paint to make the cool

design around the star!

Page 5:  This is a birthday cake for Jesus.

John and I have a tradition of picking out a

new Hallmark ornament every year for our tree.

This year John had the great idea to always let

the kids pick out one fun ornament for the tree too!

This year since Carter didn't have much input :)

Dawson picked this John Deere ornament for our tree.

He loves to look at it on the tree and talk about how he

picked it out!

23 Week Update

At 23 Weeks Carter is becoming more and more active-if that's even possible!  We can now regularly SEE his movements, rather than just feel them.  It's hard to believe we're only 17 weeks from the due date!  We cannot wait!

Dawson wanted to be in the 23

week picture, but he looks like he's

hiding behind Carter just a little!

23 Weeks Pregnant with Carter.

Our wonderful friends, Josh and Cassandra, sent us the

first gift we've received for Baby Carter.

Is this baby blanket not adorable!?!  It's

so soft, and, of course, I love the most that

it has his name on it.  I'm already envisioning

a picture of him curled up sleeping on this blanket

as a newborn!  Thanks, Whites!  We love it!

Our Pea in the Pod: 22 Week Update

As of Wednesday I reached the 22nd week of my pregnancy with Carter.  I have not updated since week 18, so I have four of the weekly pictures to share-and there's no worry that Baby Carter is growing in there, as you'll be able to see!  We've had a couple of doctor's appointments since I last updated, and everything seems to be going well.  The doctor did tell me that Carter is measuring 4 weeks ahead.  When I was pregnant with Dawson he measured ahead from week 28 on, so this time I was not too surprised at all!  My doctor also said it's not a big deal. 

Carter seems to be following exactly in Dawson's footsteps already because he moves CONSTANTLY just like Dawson did.  Some of his movements are already visible just by watching my stomach move, and of course, these strong movements can be felt.  Dawson likes to put his hand on my tummy and wait to feel Carter move-so sweet!

Speaking of Big Brother Dawson, the other day at Dawson's swim lesson I was in the pool trying to convince Dawson to get his entire face wet.  Suddenly, Dawson looked down at my stomach and asked, "Is Carter in the water?"  I told him yes, and then he started getting his face wet!  Hah!  Also, sometimes when Dawson wants to sit on my lap leaned against my tummy, he will say that he wants to sit beside Carter.  :)

As far as planning for Carter's arrival- A few people have asked me about the nursery theme for Baby Carter, and it will be sailboats like Dawson's nursery.  I have picked out the cloth diapers we will be using, but we haven't started stocking up on them yet.  In January after we get settled in Tennessee, the more extensive planning for Carter's arrival will begin!

We are so excited that we're now only 18 weeks from the due date, and we can't wait to hold our little pea in the pod!  For now, here are the "Watch Baby Carter Grow" pictures! 

19 Weeks Pregnant with Carter

20 Weeks Pregnant with Carter

21 Weeks Pregnant with Carter

22 Weeks Pregnant with Carter

The Zorio Family Update: End of November & Beginning of December

It's been about three weeks since I last updated our blog, so I decided to do an update on everything from the end of November through the beginning of December complete with pictures!

In mid-November we were invited to

a bonfire at our new friends, Chad and

Anne's house.  We told Dawson it was

going to be very cold outside, so he

got to wear his moose hat for the first

time.  He loved it.  At the bonfire one of his

friends, Caroline (age 4) asked if he would

chase the other kids and pretend to be a

real moose.  He got a kick out of this!

Some of the kids and adults at the bonfire.

It's hard to see, but Dawson is in the very

middle.

Dawson hanging out with more friends at

the bonfire.  We all had a good time and ate

some yummy food.

Dawson showing off one of his new

bow ties I made for his "winter collection."

:)  This is his Christmas bow tie.  He now thinks

he cannot go to church without wearing a bow tie,

and if I don't put one on him he requests it!

Toward the end of November we were

invited to Dawson's friends Jordan and

Jayden's 3rd birthday party at their house.

It was a rocket theme, and everything was

adorable!  During the party they even launched

a little rocket in the backyard.  This photo

is Dawson watching the rocket in the air.

While at the birthday party he got

to spend some time playing with his

friend Matthew too.  Don't they look

like they're cooking up trouble together?

My 26th birthday was on November 26th.

We had fun spending the day together

as a family, enjoying some Moe's (yum!), and

spending some time outside playing.  Pictured: Dawson

sitting with me on my birthday!

At the beginning of December

we decorate our Christmas tree.

Dawson loves everything Christmas

this year, and he had a blast decorating

the tree--and undecorating it and

redecorating it every day since! Haha!

I think Dawson is looking like such

a big boy these days.  John

took a couple pictures of Dawson

acting like a big boy!

Dawson started standing like this

on his own.  So big!

On Saturday afternoon we visited

Santa who stopped by John's work

for a while.  Dawson LOVED Santa,

and he cannot stop talking about him!

Santa asked what he wanted, and he said

he wanted a sucker.  That shouldn't be

too much work for Santa!  Haha  :)

Our yearly family photo with Santa.

This year with Dawson, Daddy, Mommy, Santa,

AND CARTER!

On Sunday afternoon my friend, Kelly,

hosted a greenery party.  We all brought

greenery clippings, berries, pine cones,

and similar "treasures" from our yards.

I made a wreath, and other people made

table swags, mail box decor, vase fillers, etc.

It was really fun and such a great idea.

Here are some of the girls at work!

Me and my friend Kelly-the hostess.  We

are both expecting boys!  Kelly is due in February, so Carter will

only be about 6 weeks younger!

This was our attempt at a photo with our baby bumps in the center of

the wreath!

This is our elf on the shelf.  Dawson has

gotten really into finding Charlie each morning

and checking on him all day long.  This is one

of the many fun places Charlie has been when we've

gotten up in the morning.  He made this swing from the

ceiling fan in the living room...silly Charlie the elf!

Dawson's favorite spot so far has been when Charlie

was riding the piggie bank!

This is slightly out of order, but on Saturday night

we went to our annual Sunday School Christmas

Party.  It was SO much fun!  The kids had their own

pizza party at another house with the baby sitters,

while we had our Christmas party.  Dawson apparently

had a great time with his friends playing because he

talked about it the rest of the weekend.

At the adult party we had yummy food, chatted,

played Christmas pictionary, and Christmas Minute-

to-Win-It.  John & I were the champion couple-team

of the Minute-to-Win-It game!  Before the end of the party

we took time for a group picture.  We had a great time!

That wraps up The Zorio Family Update for now.  Check back tomorrow, and I will have an update on Baby Carter who is now only 18 weeks from his due date!!

Dawson Update: Two and a Half

Up until the time Dawson turned two, I did a monthly "Dawson Update," as you may remember.  After he turned two, I decided that I would only do an official update every six months.  Dawson is now two and a half, so it's time for an update!  John and I cannot believe we have such a big boy!

Dawson continues to be a lot of fun, and, honestly, I think he is getting more and more fun every day.  His personality is definitely showing.  He loves to play, but he is also sensitive, loving, compassionate, and silly.  He has a good sense of humor already, and he will say nonsensical things and watch to see if we laugh. 

We continue to be amazed at everything Dawson has learned and how quickly he can pick up on new things.  A little while back Dawson and I started doing school (which he usually refers to as "classroom") every morning Tuesday through Friday.  We determine the day of the week, the month, date, and the weather.  Of these the weather is always his favorite because he can do it by himself since I usually have to give him help remembering what day comes after Thursday, for example.  During our "school time" we also work on learning the alphabet, recognizing letters (he can pick out the letters A-G now), counting, and recognizing numbers (he always recognizes 1 and 2, but beyond that is always iffy), shapes, and colors.  We've been doing a curriculum for two year olds which is perfect.  It includes a different Bible story for each week that is really broken down.  For example, one who week was spent on God creating the heavens and earth.  It also includes song and nursery rhyme suggestions to memorize.  Dawson LOVES his "classroom time," and he frequently asks to do it again in the afternoon.

For obvious reasons his favorite letter is "D," and we cannot drive anywhere in the car without Dawson pointing out D's on signs.  He loves to sing right now.  I asked him what his favorite song was, and he said, "Jacob's Ladder" which I am not surprised because it's the song he sings most.  Other songs he randomly starts singing and knows A LOT of the words to include "Fishers of Men," "Peace Like a River," and "Who Built the Arc."  I love to hear his sweet voice sing these songs.  He loves to memorize nursery songs too.  His very favorite is "The Itsy Bitsy Spider."  His memory amazes me.  If I'm reading him a book and stop at a random spot, he will usually finish saying the words on the entire rest of the page.  After reading the books just a few times he has them memorized.  One line from his favorite book, "The Perfect Nest," says, "And then a goose lumbered by!"  Now when we read this book, HE has to say this line, and randomly when we're playing he will just say, "And then a goose lumbered by!"  We get a kick out of this because it's so random.  Since he loves his books, he continues loves to go to the library for story time and to pick out books. 

A couple of weeks ago, we attended our neighbor's wedding.  Although we had not planned to, they encouraged us to bring Dawson.  We decided to give it a try, and he was GREAT!  This was the first wedding he has attended where he has gone to the ceremony.  He was a good boy and sat in his seat (we did give him a sucker near the end, though).  After this John and I wondered why we didn't take him in "big church" with us occasionally.  So we've started taking him in the service with us some.  Dawson loves getting to come with us, and I love having him with us too.  He enjoys the music and, and of course, the part where we shake hands, but during the sermon he usually draws or plays with a quiet little toy.  We're not doing this every Sunday but occasionally to get him used to it.  Then while we're in Sunday School he still gets his time with his friends in his class.

Speaking of church-related things, Dawson loves to pray!  I love this.  When we ask him who he wants to pray for his answer is his friend Matthew most of the time!  So sweet!  And most of the time when I ask him what he wants to thank God for he says, "tattoos."  We recently got him some little tattoos to put on his hands, and he thinks it's a big deal and so fun!

Dawson is really a wonderful helper.  Anytime I want him to pick up his toys, he happily starts singing the "clean up" song and puts them back where they go.  The other day John was helping him clean up and accidentally put something in the toy box that goes in the closet, and Dawson pulled it out and told his Daddy, "Uh oh!  Doesn't go there!  Put it in the closet!"  Dawson also still loves to clean, after we do playdough he knows the routine that we use the little hand broom to sweep under the table and his chair.  Now he does a great job sweeping it into the dustpan himself.  I was surprised, but he gets 90% of the playdough crumbles that have been dropped!  I have let Dawson help me cook so much that now I can't even reheat anything in the microwave without Dawson pulling a chair over and asking to help cook.  I love that he wants to help me cook and clean so much, and I hope he always does!

He doesn't just help me, though!  Every morning before John gets up Dawson asks to "get-uh-tha mail" meaning get the newspaper.  We go down to the street and get it, and Dawson takes it out of the bag and puts it on the table for his Daddy.  He is always so proud of doing this for John. 

Last week Dawson started swim lessons at the YMCA of Madison.  His class name is the Turtles, and his friend, Jude, is in his class along with another boy Dawson's age.  Dawson loves to talk about swim lessons, he loves to play in the water and jump, but when the instructor wants them to get any part of their face wet Dawson is not so thrilled.  Dawson's comfortable in the water until his face gets wet up to his nose, and then he panics and clings to me. He loves being in the water, so I'm hoping that over the next 5 sessions of this class he can conquer the fear of getting more of his face wet.  He loves to demonstrate to John exactly what we learned in his swim class, which is really cute considering he's demonstrating it out of the water. 

One final thing that I want to remember from Dawson being 2 and a half is his love of motor graders.  I'm pretty sure I didn't know what a motor grader was until a few months ago, but now I talk about them at least 20 times a day!  It's Dawson's favorite piece of work equipment and it's used to level ground.  We got him a small matchbox car-sized motor grader and that thing has "made roads" all over the house!  When we're out driving and see a motor grader working, it's a huge deal.  I think it's so funny, especially because John was obsessed with motor graders when he was little-and even had a motor grader birthday cake one year!  Like father, like son!

I know this was really lengthy, but since we haven't had a Dawson Update since May it was necessary.  Also, because I shared all the recent pictures of Dawson in yesterday's blog with his baby, I just have a few to share.

Some of our "classroom" stuff.  (Obviously

I took the picture a few days ago.)

The letters and numbers Dawson always

recognizes.  He can also usually always

put the letters back on this board in order...

if anything E and F get mixed up which isn't bad!

Our "counters."  He can count to 10, but

he prefers to count to only 8-such a stinker.

So here are 8 of his counting lizards we

use to practice pointing to and counting.

We've worked on colors a lot and sorting.

Dawson can tell me all of these colors, and

he sorts them as you can see.

I wanted to get a picture of Dawson really

quick before nap since I knew I would be

putting this on the blog during nap, but he was

tired and just laid on his panda.  So here's my

sleepy boy at 2 and a half!