Carson's First Birthday



Boy, I'm alittle behind, here, that can happen in a hurry.

The birthday boy had a great birthday, although it was a strange one. Poor guy was sufferring the ill effects of a new type of antibiotic since he had just broken out in terrible hives due to being allergic to penicillin. Anyone there will attest that he just seemed loopy, and really had no interest in walking around and playing like his normal self. Nonetheless it was a cool day.

It was especially nice to have Nanny, Aunt Pat, Aunt Paulette and Angie there. The Kogers made it, Tom & Alex, and of course grandparents Gramma Marie and Ma'am and Pap. So it was a special crowd to celebrate his birthday.



You can just tell from the pictures that he just did not seem to be himself that day. I also included the last of the monthly pictures from the first year. I am now ready to put it in the month by month collage hanging in our hallway. Getting good ones sure do get increasingly difficult for months 10, 11 and 12, as I easily recall from when I did it for Jackson!

CHRISTMAS EVENING & THEN A SURPRISE!!



We had the opportunity to spend Christmas evening with Mom and Dad, as we have for the past several years. Of course Tom and Alex were there, apparently this was the fourth time that day that Alex got to have Christmas, so what a day it was for him! Wonderful presents were exchanged and it sure is a treat to see the youngsters open up their gifts. We got to spend the night, but left fairly early on the 26th because Jackson got sick. It seemed to just be a 24-hour thing or something because after the 26th he felt fine. Here are a few of the better shots of Christmas evening.







Then, we got word on Tuesday the we would be getting a surprise visit from Aunt Pat, Aunt Paulette, Angie, and Nanny. This was a huge surprise because Nanny had gotten really sick just over Christmas weekend and just did not sound well when we spoke to her on the phone Christmas night. They arrived Wednesday, and were able to stay until New Years Eve. We were all relieved to see for ourselves that Nanny was feeling much better. Here is a good picture of Nanny and Carson Jase, followed by a four-generation picture of Me, Mom, Jackson, Carson and Nanny.

Here are the 3 shots that I was not able to include on the previous post....MW

SANTA VISITS WHITED'S

(I have tried three times to post the pictures here after writing this - no luck, no clue what the problem is, but it's late and I am going to bed 1/8/06 - MW)

Once again, Christmas morning brought a big surprise for the Whited family. Jackson woke his mommy and daddy up with cries of "Santa's been here!!! Santa's been here!!!" at 6am. Bleary eyed, we all woke up and checked out the living room, where Santa had definately been not long before. Jackson ran into his little brother's room half-shouting/half-whispering, "Carson, Santa came!!". Carson was actually quite startled, as he has never been awoken in the fashion before. Next thing you know, we were all sitting on the living room floor, just checking out the great things that had been left there. Let's see....He brought Jackson a skateboard, a Star Wars lego tie-fighter with Vader, the "Thing" motorcyle from Fantastic Four, some Lincoln Logs. and the Shrek 2 video game, and a few other cool surprises. Carson started his first Christmas off with some awesome gifts from Santa, as well, including a "Busy Ball Popper", a pull along elephant thingy with blocks, a Leapfrog learning drum, and these cool little cars - just right for a one-year old. Santa ate every single cookie left for him, leaving only a few crumbs. One of the most awesome things was that Santa had hidden under the tree in the back, a very small package stating: To Jackson, From Mr. C. Jackson did not find this treasure until after we had opened up the gifts from each other that were under the tree, so it was certainly a surprise. Inside was one single sleigh bell, with a red ribbon. Jackson knew immediately that it was from the sleigh - as he had recently watched "The Polar Express." That was the icing on the cake. Jackson officially proclaimed it as the "Best Christmas Ever."

As you can tell from the following shot, Carson was trotting around with a sparkly bow on his head, and he was getting the biggest kick out of it....The picture pretty much sums up what Christmas is about for the young ones.

WHITED CHRISTMAS

The traditional Whited Christmas was held this past Saturday at the home of James and Juanette Whited in Cloverdale, Indiana. Although the number of family members in attendance was a little smaller than in previous years, the amount of joy and festivus in the air did not dimish at all. This occasion marked the first Christmas for Spencer Gene Pruit and Carson Jase Whited, and they both seemed to enjoy the event tremendously. A delicious meal was prepared by Juanette Whited, which featured the traditional holiday ham, macaroni and cheese, and Jim Whited's famous chili. As always there were some very special gifts given, and although none of the gifts were puppies, it did seem that all members of the family enjoyed the gifts that were received. Some of the more notable gifts included X-ray glasses for John Whited, animal placenta for Mary Wilson, and Kelsey's nuts for several members of the family. Although the Publisher did not receive a damn potato this year, he did receive some Vienna sausages and a genuine Texan stained-glass window decoration. Tom Whited was proud to show off the recent dental work that he had done over the last few weeks. His smile just lit up the room (see photo below).

VISIT WITH SANTA

These were taken this morning when Santa made his annual trip to Cloverdale. Carson was facscinated by the big man in red and surprisingly Jackson was considerably nervous at first and was not going to go sit with him. As you can see in the picture, Carson gave the big beard a few good tugs and it worried Santa a bit. Jackson admitted to being "a little nervous" but after Santa spoke some kind words and a gift bag was offered Jackson climbed up on his lap. Jackson asked Santa for "The Thing motorcycle and a Shrek 2 video game and some surprises." Santa encouraged Jackson to mind his Mommy and Daddy and he told Jackson that he would see what he could do.