Christmas Continued

Our Christmas didn't end on Christmas Day. On the 27th, we went to Rough River to spend time with my immediate Alexander family. We met at Little Dave's. It was nice to see my cousins as some of us live out of state and most of us are scatter across Kentucky. Gehrig enjoys playing with more cousins, especially Joey - who he talks about all the time.

On Sunday the 28th, we went to Stone Hearth to have brunch with my "extended" Alexander family. As you probably figured out, the Alexander's are a "big" family. I got to spend a 2nd day with part of my immediate family that I don't see a lot and my extended family of Great-aunt, Doris and her family, Uncle Sonny and his family and Aunt Jean's family. Gehrig loves playing with cousins, Jay and Katie, as well as Meg and Kate, who were visting from Tennessee.

Christmas Day

I was up bright and early anxiously awaiting Gehrig's reaction this year to Santa. He was quite funny and at first upset because a stocking was in his rocking chair and he couldn't sit down! We had to coax him to open the gifts and he was very meticulous in removing the wrapping paper. He did love his gifts from both Santa and Gran and Gramps.

We loaded up rather early and headed to Aunt Alma's house for country ham breakfast. Aunt Alma makes the best country ham and red eye gravy that would rival anyone. We got to visit with my Uncle Jim, Aunt Nean, cousins Darlene, Randy, Terry, Colin, Renee and Brett. Gehrig, who is usually shy in different places, was right at home from onset. He talked and talked to each of them. The family was quite surprised at how much he had grown in 2 years - they last saw him when he was only 4 months old.

Then, it was back to Etown for lunch with at Aunt Linda and Uncle Lon's house. Cousin, Mitch and Becca Galvin got Gehrig a Thomas train set, which he absolutely loved! I couldn't get him to even eat - he was so excited about that gift. I enjoyed talking with Leanne about her and Mark's upcoming wedding in July in which Gehrig will be the ring bearer and John is a groomsmen. Grandmother is always entertaining to me and I enjoy talking with her.

From here, we were on to Gigi's. Gehrig really loved the "old" time toys that Gigi got him. He also like the "cars" wrapping paper that the gifts were in. We missed cousin Olivia not being there, but we were very happy that she got to go home from the hospital that day.

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve, our first stop was to Aunt Beth and Uncle Jim's house. Gehrig always enjoys playing with all his cousins. He received lots of nice gifts. At this point, he still didn't quite understand the present thing. We had a visit and ate some great food!

Our second trip was to Hardinsburg to my parents house. We got all our gear settled in and decided to travel around the town looking at Christmas lights. This has always been a tradition of parents to look at lights. We went to come and go communion at church - Pastor Janet does such a lovely job - it was so pretty and serene! We then enjoyed a really nice supper. I made cookies for Santa while Gehrig and Gramps watched Polar Express. It was an enjoyable evening!

Snow Day

Just like everyone else, we got outside for a bit and played in the snow. It put all of us in the spirit of Christmas. Pictures of Gehrig and Olivia playing. They had a big time.

Polar Express

Sunday night, December 14, we went on the Polar Express train ride at the Ky Railway Museum in New Haven. It was a lot of fun. We got to wear our PJ's, eat cookies, drink hot chocolate and sing Christmas carols. Santa boarded the train half way through the ride and visited with the kids. Santa took pictures with all the kids after the ride. Gehrig had lots of fun!


Gehrig with Santa after the Polar Express ride.

Gehrig and I getting ready for the train ride.

John and Gehrig in Santa's workshop.

New Daycare

Monday, December 8 was Gehrig's first day at Memorial United Methodist childcare. It was a rough week for both him and mommy as he stated to me over and over he wanted to go to Missy's and "no school"! Gehrig, as well as John and I, loved the babysitter, Missy and her family. The move to the new daycare was necessary due to my new promotion at work. In this picture, Gehrig was all smiles about going to "school" as he calls it for his first day. I think he will adjust and enjoy it very much.

Weekend Full of Events

John opening his birthday present with a lot of help from Gehrig!
My dad, posing as the Red Baron, and his friend, Bob, wearing a wig when he is completely bald, rode in the Hardinsburg Christmas parade and passed out candy.
Gehrig with Cousins, Corey and Mason. He had such a good time playing with them.









We were busy! We went to two dinners on Thanksgiving - first the Galvins and then the Moores. Gehrig and I went Black Friday shopping and then we were off to Breck County for Thanksgiving dinner with my family. On Saturday, Gehrig and I went back to Breck County to watch the Hardinsburg Christmas parade and also participate in hanging of the green ceremony at church. On Sunday, we celebrated John's birthday. I cooked a steak dinner for John, Gehrig, Gigi and myself. It was eventful! In this time, I managed to put our 4 Christmas trees! Gehrig is really loving Christmas this year.

Breakfast with Santa

This morning, Matt, Brittany, Reese, Heather, Gigi, Olivia, Beth, Gehrig and I went to Breakfast with Santa at the State Theatre. This is mine and Gehrig's 3rd trip. A friend of mine from highschool, Dana Beth, coordinates the event. Gehrig and Olivia were hestitant about Santa. But to my suprise, Gehrig sat on Santa's lap! And we even managed to get a picture of him and Olivia with Santa. It's a nice event for charity and the Santa is wonderful! Gehrig and I enjoyed having the family to share the event with.

Our Surprise Visit

Gehrig and I went to Hardinsburg for our monthly hair appointment. To our suprise, cousin Alex was visiting from Lexington. He and his daddy, my cousin, Todd had come down to deer hunt. Gehrig enjoyed visiting with Alex and his sister, Lauren last year in Lexington. They had a big time playing together at the beauty shop. Alex has gotten so big and was certainly a big helper on Saturday.

Gehrig 2nd Birthday Picture

Our Fall Picture

Happy Halloween

This year, we took Gehrig trick and treating at a few relative houses (Aunt Beth, Aunt Linda and Uncle Lon and Aunt Sharon). He got to trick and treat in Gigi's neighborhood with cousin Livvy. Gehrig was a "oftball" player as he calls it as he wears the babysitters son's U of L helmet everyday. He is dressed in the U of L and the UK jersey and most folks thought he was the perfect politician!

Pumpkins and Halloween

I love Halloween. It's one of my favorite holidays as I like the fall time of the year. We took Gehrig to Wooden Farm to pick more pumpkins and also get some more great pictures. I also bought him a Mickey Halloween shirt. Gehrig and I have enjoyed this fall and I look forward to trick or treating.

Gehrig and Reese

Brittany and I had Gehrig and Reese pose for a picture during Olivia's birthday party since they were dressed alike and were so cute together! It should be noted that the kids were as eager for the picture as the moms were!

Olivia's Birthday

Sunday, October 19 was Olivia's birthday party. Her birthday was October 17. Olivia was beautifully dressed as "Belle" from Beauty and the Beast. She received lots of presents and especially enjoyed getting a new bike from mom and dad. Gehrig had a big time playing with the kids. We received exciting news that Gehrig will have another cousin as Heather announced she is expecting! We will anxiously await the arrival of our new niece or nephew.

Our Weekend!

We had a busy weekend. On Friday evening and Saturday morning, we visited with Mak, our friend from Japan. Mak was on a business trip to the US and added extra days to visit his "American" family. We enjoyed visiting with him and seeing pictures of his new baby due in December.

Saturday, we had our monthly haircuts with Tracey. Then, Gehrig, Gran and I went to Hoedown Days. We got to see lots of family and friends. It was a lot of fun. Later that evening, Gramps took Gehrig for a ride in his street rod. At first, Gehrig didn't like it. The car doesn't have a top and Gehrig didn't like the wind blowing in his face. But by the end of the ride, he didn't want to quit. He later told Gramps he wanted "the racecar"! HA! We all had to laugh at that.

On Sunday, we went to church with Gran. We came back to Etown and had lunch at Beef O'Brady's. Gran had never seen Gehrig's picture on the wall. Gehrig got his picture taken and placed on the wall of fame under the U of L sign when we watched the UL vs UK basketball game last year. Gehrig visited with Gigi, Aunt Heather and Cousin Olivia. Later, we ventured to Cousin Reese's house to take clothes for baby Ramsey and return Reese's wagon. It was a short visit, but a nice one. We had a most enjoyable weekend!

Our Trip to Hubers

Gehrig enjoyed feeding the ducks and seeing a helipcopter and lots of Harley Davidson motorcycles. Bonnie, David and I enjoyed the wine tasting. I had to buy my winter supply of Spiced Apple Wine. John and Gehrig sampled the pumpkin ice cream. It was a beautiful day!

Like father, like son! HA! They look so much alike now!

John, David, Bonnie and I took Gehrig to pumpkin patch to let him pick his own pumpkin. He found two that were just perfect for him! Gehrig has been watching "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" everyday since I introduced it to him. He kept asking if we were going to see the Great Pumpkin! Too cute! Charlie Brown is my absolute favorite.

Posing after a delicious meal at Hubers Family Restaurant!

Our Visit to the Thomas'

Sword fight - intermission for a picture!

Gehrig and Jaxson all smiles!

Of course - I'm talking in this picture as usual!

John, Gehrig and I went to visit with my friend, Susan and her two boys, Jaxson and Dekker. Dekker will be three months old tomorrow and we had not seen him since he was at the hospital. He has gotten so big! I felt like I had forgotten how to handle a baby! Gehrig enjoys playing with Jaxson. Jaxson teaches Gehrig new games like sword fighting each time we visit.

Gran's Birthday

Gran's birthday was Friday. Gehrig and I went to Breck County today to visit with Gran and celebrate her birthday. We went to church and enjoyed seeing cousins, Joey, Jill and Adam as well as Aunt Nancy, Uncle Joe and Brent and Kim. We took Gran out to eat at Dexter's. Gran enjoyed playing with the matchbox -Lightning McQueen and Sheriff cars that Gran had bought.

In this picture, Gehrig is giving Gran a hug and birthday kiss.

My Favorite Big Cousin

My cousin, Tracey is by far Gehrig's favorite big cousin. This past Saturday, Tracey gave us our haircuts. Tracey being the BIG UK fan that she is - I decided to dress Gehrig in his UK football jersey to impress Tracey. Gehrig's hair grows as fast as mine and we get haircuts with Tracey religiously every 4 weeks.

More Like It!

Gehrig got a gift card from cousin Reese for his birthday - so we decided a new UL shirt was in order. Gehrig just loved the shirt and had to put it on immediately! He has been yelling Go Cards! Continually - now I've got him on the right track to his daddy's dismay!

Etown vs Central Game

The Galvin clan is all dressed and ready to go to cheer the Panthers on as they take on Central Hardin - the cross county rival. Not growing up in Hardin County myself - I sometimes get tickled at these Hardin County rival games. Rival is defined a little differently in these parts. We enjoy the football games a lot and are looking forward to an exciting game!

UK vs UL game

John, Gehrig and I went to cousin Mark's house for a UK vs UL party. It was a sad evening for mommy due to the way UL played the game. Of course, Daddy was in heaven! There were lots of kids there and Gehrig got to make some new friends. He enjoyed playing cornhole and football. In the picture, of course, mommy has to dress Gehrig evenly in UK outfit with UL shoes.

Hayride

On Saturday evening, August 30 - John, Gehrig and I went to a fish fry and hayride at Charlie Phillips. We enjoyed spending time with our friends. Gehrig and mommy took the hayride. Gehrig really enjoyed that. Gehrig is dancing with Sarah Buchanan later in the evening during karoke time!

Heartland Festival

Gehrig, John, Heather and Olivia went to the Heartland Festival parade while mommy painted the living room! First picture is before the parade, 2nd picture is Gehrig watching with cousin, Reese and 3rd picture is naptime afterwards!

Bats game

I won tickets to the Louisville Bats in May and we finally got to go last Tuesday! The weather was wonderful! It was also a late Fathers Day gift for Pops. Gehrig really enjoyed the game.

Football Season Is Beginning

Tomorrow night, football season begins! John is working the chains this year for Etown and we are members of the Quarterback Club - so we'll be at the Central Hardin field ready to go! I'm anxious to see how this season will be with Gehrig able to run around! Could be interesting.

Sunday begins college football season. The Galvin's are a house divided! John has got Gehrig saying "Go Cats" which is driving me crazy! I'll have Gehrig alone most of the weekend so I'm going to work on changing that! I'm praying so hard that my alma mater -WKU will beat UK on September 27!

We love football -- probably best of all and are all geared up and excited!

Gehrig's Birthday Week

Gehrig's birthday was Monday, August 18. We decided to celebrate the week with different events. On Monday, Gehrig shared cupcakes with his friends Aidan, Teyton, and Karissa at Missy's, the babysitter. On Tuesday, we took Gehrig to his favorite restaurant, Los Napoles. We asked the waiters to sing. They gave Gehrig a sombrero to wear. Gehrig was quite embarrassed. John and I got tickled as they tried to sing Happy Birthday in English instead of Spanish! It was just like the Christmas dinner scene in Christmas Story! On Friday, we had a BIG party at Freeman Lake with family and friends. The theme was Cars - from the Disney movie. All the children enjoyed playing in the sand, especially Gehrig and cousin, Reese were dirty beyond belief! It was wonderful week and hard for mommy to believe her baby is two!