Aunt Julie's House

The boys had the exciting adventure of staying with their Aunt and Uncle and cousins while Mommy and Daddy went to New York for a few days. They had so much fun and seem to behave themselves!

Gracie and Bob-O took my hubbie and I to New York for our Christmas present and an early birthday present for me... I'm about to hit the big 3-0! We had so much fun and saw everything that we could possibly see in 3 days. The crowds were amazing since it was close to New Year's Eve. We ate fabulous food, saw the Rockettes and the Lion King and walked a lot. We had so much fun riding the double decker buses and seeing all the sights. We saw the Statue of Liberty from the Staten Island Ferry which was really neat and went up in Rockefeller Center at night and saw the whole city. It was the trip of a lifetime and we had a blast! It was the perfect present and I will never forget it... I am so blessed to have such generous and thoughtful parents!

Meanwhile, back in Georgia, the boys were having fun of their own. N must have learned a lot about Spiderman because he has been obsessed ever since! M kept his aunt giggling over his enthusiasm over food and his loud sound effects while snacking! N has been talking about his cousins a lot since then and always refers to them as "those two boys." When I ask him, he says their names, but in regular conversation when he talks about them he says "those two boys..." He cracks me up with things he comes up with!

Happy Birthday Jesus!

The boys had a fabulous Christmas! N woke to find that Santa had left him a Spiderman bike and M found a motorized little bike of his own. They were both very excited. It was so fun to watch them open each gift because they loved all of it. They were just as excited about a little toy as a big one and the whole experience was such a joy! Both of the boys were probably the most thrilled when they found out what they received from Mommy and Daddy... a spring cowboy horse. N also got a pair of chaps and M a belt and holster set as well as a cowboy hat. They were both so excited and loved riding their horse!

N picked out his Daddy's present all by himself... Between us, I think his Daddy was a little disappointed that he didn't have a cape too!

The sad news of the day was that our Grandfather, Pop, fell Christmas morning and broke his hip. Thankfully, he is doing well and made it through surgery fine, but will still face a long road of rehab and recovery... Alhtough this put a bit of a damper on the holiday mood, we all gathered as planned and celebrated Christmas together with Daddy's side of the family. The boys were so excited to get their gifts from Monniemoo and Pop. They got a train table and lots of Thomas toys to go along with it. Believe me when I say that this will provide hours of entertainment. They love trains!

After MM and Pop's house, we came back to Gracie and Bob-O's and had a nice, quiet dinner and Baby Jesus birthday cake for dessert. N was particularly fond of this part and had insisted from the beginning of the season that we have a cake for baby Jesus.

Overall, the day was a success filled with laughter, a few tantrums, lots of sugar and food, overstimulation, short naps, lots of thank you's, kisses, hugs, oohs and aahs, and fun family time celebrating Jesus' birthday!

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Christmas Eve's Eve

We all met at Aunt Julie's house for Christmas with Daddy's side of the family tonight and had a fun time. The boys opened a lot of Superman toys and got a Thomas blow up ball pit. I know they will love that and have a great time. They had so much fun playing with their cousins and we had a great time seeing everyone. We really appreciate spending time with family now that we live so far away!

Cookies with Gracie!

One of my favorite memories of growing up is making Christmas cookies with my mom. We always had so much fun! Of course, my mom wanted to do this with N while we were home and I think she had a memorable bonding experience of her own. He had a lot of fun, but I think she soon realized that N was much more into having fun than actual baking! He loved to roll the dough and cut out the shapes. Perhaps the most fun for him was putting on the sprinkles... He would put more sprinkles on the cookie than there was dough!

Road Trip

Yesterday, we took another memorable 12 hour trip back home to Georgia. Overall, it was pretty smooth... N has learned that he does not have to stop every 30 minutes to use the bathroom and now is on a more regular schedule.
We had to take Lucy, our dog along which was an adventure in itself. She wanted to sit in between the boys, which is really sweet, but there really isn't any room for her so she constantly fidgets and squirms. She also tries to eat the boys snacks and food and sits right where they have a hard time seeing the DVD player (which is like life support on these long trips!)
Other than the vomiting... didn't I mention the vomiting? About halfway through our trip, we stopped and picked up some fast food. I noticed that M was not eating like normal, but thought maybe he had just eaten a lot at school that day. All of a sudden out of nowhere, he just starts vomiting... ALL over the place. It happened twice, right in the middle of rush hour traffic in Mississippi... It was a little chaotic to say the least, but then cleared right up. The only thing I can think of is that they had their Christmas parties at Mother's Morning Out that morning and maybe he had eaten a lot of junk and then got a little car sick.
We are so thankful to be back "home" in Georgia and with our families... and, SO thankful that we don't have the stomach bug!

The perfect picture

Now that almost all of my Christmas cards are out, I thought it would be fun to show some of the more typical pictures that I have. Yes, I am still living in the film age, so I had A LOT of "priceless" pictures to keep and smile over... We took 2 separate trips to the park to take pictures. One with Daddy and one where I lost my mind and thought that it would be really easy to do by myself!... guess which one made the card? Ha Ha... It was definitely a memory!

"Baby" Dedication

I put "Baby" in quotations for the obvious... M is no longer a baby. However, since we moved while he was so tiny and then it took a while to find a church, we realized that we had better hurry up and have our "baby" dedicated. We kept trying to figure out a time where we could do the dedication when some family would be in town, but unfortunately, it has not worked out. Our church only does it each quarter and since it is so large, you have to sign up a few months ahead of time. One time this summer, my mother in law was in town and they had a dedication, but we had not realized and did not sign up in time... this would have been a perfect chance, but when I called to get the next spot... it was the December dedication. J and I decided to go ahead and do it as he was already 18 months old!

M was dedicated on 12/16/07 and did very well. Daddy had a supply of snacks in his pockets that kept M occupied. He was really busy before the ceremony and was running all through the waiting room and the halls. Of course, all of the other babies were sleeping or laying around! Once we got up on stage though, M was awestruck and was very well behaved! It was a sweet ceremony and although we did not have any extended family there, it was still special. After all, the commitment is between the parents and the Lord anyway, so that's what counts! Our pastor sent us this picture and also a video of the dedication which I am trying to figure out how to put in the blog...

Giving vs. Getting

J and I decided that it was important to teach the boys that Christmas is not just about getting presents, but also about giving presents. We have been talking to N a lot about this, but we also thought of a neat way to have him participate. The firestations here were having a toy drive, so we decided to take the boys on Saturday to the firestation and let them take a toy to donate. In addition, they would also get to see the firestation and the firetruck as an added incentive.
The present that we picked out to donate was a blue bike. N was very excited about going to the firestation and giving the bike... until we actually got there. We met the fireman and although M was all smiles and hopped right into the firetruck, N wanted no part of it. He was very content and happy to look on from the safety of our arms. He was fine with giving the bike, but then decided that he also wanted a bike like that and talked about it for quite a few days. I kept reminding him that we were giving the bike to a child who was less fortunate than him and that Santa was going to bring him something special of his very own. The whole concept confused him a little bit, but I think we finally resolved it. He kept asking me how Santa would get the present from the firemen and I think we finally figured out that the firemen were Santa's helpers and helped collect presents for the children who didn't have mommy's and daddys since Santa was so busy in his workshop... whew!
N then told me: "Mommy, Santa is so bizzy cuz he makin my toys!"
Oh well, hopefully the "giving" concept sunk in somewhere in his little head!

Shy

We definitely have the Christmas fever bug around here! This year has been a lot of fun because it is really the first year that N understands about Christmas. As a mother, I have really been trying to emphasize the true meaning of Christmas this year and not just focus on Santa Claus and presents... This of course does not mean that N isn't excited about presents! He has a hefty list and we are trying to focus on just a few things.

N's list this year is:

Spiderman bike

Spiderman toy

Thomas toys

A cowboy horse

These are the things that he lists off, but of course he has told me about a thousand other things as well!
The funny thing about N is that he has cried... no, bawled the past 2 visits to Santa, so we have been talking to him about the whole experience and going over what he would do and say. Yesterday, I helped host a Santa event at our church and J brought the boys. N was very excited and of course M was all smiles. However, when it came time for N to shine and tell the big man his much rehearsed list, he froze up. He did not cry, he just got shy. When he got down, he ran to his Daddy and told him that he wanted his Daddy to go back and tell Santa his list. Since we were at church, and it was very laid back, N's wonderful Daddy went back and let Santa know what N wanted for Christmas... just in case he did not know already! :-)
It was really cute... N was "berry pwoud of my daddy for tawkin to Santa Cwause dor me!"

Gingerbread Houses

We had a fantastic surprise the other day as we received a huge box in the mail from my Aunt Sissy. She always sends the neatest gifts and this year was no exception. She sent the boys a Train Gingerbread House! Tuesday morning, I told N that when he got home from school, we would put M down for a nap and he and I would decorate the train together. He was so excited and told his teachers all about it! Now, those of you who know me well know that I have a few perfectionist OCD tendencies... so, I had already talked myself into the fact that I would put the train together and do most of the icing, but that I would let my 3 1/2 year old go to town with the decorating. However, I soon found out... N may be a clone of his daddy, but he is my child after all!!!

N was very organized with the decorating. He put all of the same kind of candies in rows. He put all the candy canes in the corners, he even studied the box very intently to see what he thought it should look like... (which is exactly what I would have done!) Now, it's not perfect, but it is pretty organized for a 3 1/2 year old genius!

*Notice the smudge of green icing on his lip!

We taste tested as we decorated!

-This pictures is after a little nibbling by the boys!

Cowboy!

N has embarked on a new adventure lately... that of a cowboy. After Halloween, when it started getting a little cooler, his Daddy took him tot he cowboy store and bought his some new boots since he had outgrown his boots from last year. Ever since that wonderful father/son shopping adventure, N has been really interested in cowboys. (it couldn't possibly be because we see a lot of them out here!)

The week of Thanksgiving, we went down to my Uncle's house with my parents for the holiday. As usual, I took enough clothes for 10 days for our 3 day trip. Well, needless to say, I only needed one outfit... his cowboy outfit... he wore it almost every day we were there! While we were there, I went out and bought him his first holster and six shooter set. N is thrilled with his "cowboy bewelt" and wants to wear it everywhere. Thanks to his cousin, R, we were already well equipped with some good cowboy hand-me-downs. N wants to wear his cowboy pajamas, cowboy shirts (which are t-shirts with something cowboy on them or red button ups... I'm not sure why they must be red, but that's the way it is!) cowboy jeans (which pretty much just means that they must have "yoops" in them for his belt!) and of course his boots. He also has a bandana and hat which he wears quite often. My mom even went and got him an old "Lone Ranger" DVD with a bunch of old black and white episodes and he absolutely loves them!

Last week we went to the grocery store (minus the guns of course!) and we saw 2 men in cowboy hats (which is pretty normal around here.) Both times, he said really loudly, "Mommy, yook at dat man! Him a cowboy jush yike me!" The men loved it of course!

Little Man

I have come to realize lately that M is no longer a baby. Weighing in at around 30 lbs., he is such a little boy! He thinks he is as big as everyone else and is not as timid as N was at this age. He is not interested in age appropriate toys, but only what big boys have. Although he is extremely strong willed, he is still such a happy go lucky little guy and has a really pleasant and happy demeanor. Tuesdays, when N goes to MMO, M and I have a day to ourselves and I have enjoyed it so much. He is such a mimic and has such a mischevious side. He is very giggly and quite a flirt! I have had to tell N that he is no longer his baby brother and N told me confidently the other day, "Mommy, M is a yittle boy now. Yater, he will be a big boy yike me!" I smiled and thought to myself... "Don't remind me!"

They grow up too fast!

Halloween II

M's 1st house!

M's 1st Trick or Treat was a success! He had no fear and walked right up with all the big kids. He loved his candy and wouldn't let go of his suckers!

Fireman N handing out candy at the nursing home... as hot as it was, N would not take off his outfit!

I had some more film developed today and realized that I had more Halloween pictures, so I wanted to share!

Sayings to Remember

N has been talking a lot lately. He has some funny things that he says that I want to remember and share.

He will ask me who gave him something (like a shirt that he hasn't seen before) and I will tell him who gave it to him. His response is, "Oh, dat nice sweet ov him!"

He has started saying, "I have a gweat ideya!)... the funniest thing about this is that he says it while holding one finger up in the air!

He taps his pointer finger on his chin when he is contemplating and says, "Hmmm. tink, tink, tink (think, think, think.)

Perhaps the most amazing thing of all is that the past three nights he has told us that he is ready to go to bed! This is the same child who for the past 3 1/2 years has never been tired in his whole entire life... This may be a phase, but we are enjoying it!

Halloween

We had a great halloween yesterday! N was a fireman and M was a dalmation. They were so cute and had a great time. They both enjoyed trick or treating and fearless M walked up to houses on his own and then took his time selecting candy from the families... it was so funny! Everyone couldn't get over this "little" guy with such a big opinion! N got to wear his costume to school on Tuesday and they had a costume parade. The teachers said that he didn't take off his hat or jacket all day! (He must have been roasting!) Then, yesterday morning, I took the boys with some other girls from my church to a nursing home to pass out candy to the residents. They seemed to enjoy this and while N was a little cautious, M walked up and down the halls and would go right up to the residents and put candy in their laps. Last night, we went over to some friend's and had chili dogs and went around their neighborhood. We had a lot of fun and wore the boys out! N even told me that he was tired and ready to go home... I about fainted! They had a wonderful holiday and N was very upset this morning when he couldn't wear his outfit to school again!

Visiting Daddy at work!

Thomas

The boys with the Lego Thomas

Last weekend we took the boys to see Thomas the Tank Engine at a railroad station about an hour away from us. We had the best time and the boys loved it! N is really into Thomas and had a great time playing with all the trains and seeing the "real" Thomas! They had a lot of activities for the boys and the weather was perfectly fallish.

Happy Fall!

We went to a Fall party hosted by some of the families at N's preschool Saturday and had a great time. N dressed as a fireman and loved his outfit! M's outfit had not come in the mail yet, so he just dressed in a Halloween jon jon. He was so patient as they painted his face and did not fuss at all! The boys went on a hayride, ate cupcakes, jumped in a bounce room, and played with friends. They had a good time (except that the wind kept blowing N's fireman hat off!) One of the hosts of the party took this picture of us and although we are not all looking our best, it is the first picture in a while with all of us in it. Happy Fall!

More Grandparents

We had another exciting week this week with more grandparents! Gracie and Bob-O came this week and we had a wonderful time! We went to the zoo one day, played outside a lot, and had a lot of fun. J and I had to go out of town for the weekend for a business meeting, so Gracie and Bob-O babysat. They took N to his soccer game and watched him mope around the field and stare at the ground...(we don't think N really likes soccer!) They also got to spend the afternoon with one of my mother's friends that lives nearby and her daughter and grandson.
This has been a fabulous past 2 weeks filled with fun grandparent time! Today is back to reality and what I like to call "Mommy Boot Camp." This is always our routine after everyone leaves and reality sets in. No more La-La land where N and M get what they want and rule the roost! Today is a cold, rainy day so it has been a great day to stay at home! N put on his galoshes (sp?) and rain jacket and went outside for a few minutes, but it was even too yucky for him... I have been trying to sort through winter and summer clothes and M loves to help me unorganize all that I have organized!

Grandparents

We have had a great week. Jean Mommy and Papa Nelson came in last weekend to stay and we had so much fun. The boys really enjoyed playing with them and entertaining them! They went to soccer practice with us and watched N sit under a tree and pick leaves most of the time. They took both the boys to the park and out to dinner while Mommy and Daddy had a date... which was a treat for us (and quite adventurous of them I thought!) They also went to N's soccer games last Saturday and missed some of the day's college football games... a big sacrifice, but I know they did it gladly! We really had a nice visit and it was a lot of fun for all!

Cousins

We went to see my Uncle this past weekend for the night and had so much fun. N and M had a blast with their cousins and it was so warm at their house that they actually got to go swimming! We had so much fun and it was so nice be with family!

Soccer Game!

N had his first soccer game 2 weeks ago and another last week. I was waiting to get all the pictures developed to post about his superb athletic ability. We think he has touched the ball once in each game so far, but he has a lot of fun! He runs around with the little pack of kids and occasionally, one of them kicks the ball in the right direction. It is a hoot! Last week, N found out that if he kicked the chalk on the field, it created a lot of dust... this was much more fun that soccer! Of course, he is quite fond of the uniform, shin guards, and shoes... and the treat that he gets afterwards from the team mother's. It is fun to watch him play and thankfully noone takes it very seriously!

M had so much fun watching the big kids play!

Watching soccer is an exhausting sport!

Pictures

Curious George!

M playing dressup!

M is my climber!

Even Superman needs a nap sometimes!



I got some film developed this week and there are some funny pictures... I thought I would share them with you all!

Lazy Hazy Days of Summer

Our evenings have been filled with a lot of outdoor time lately since the weather has been a little more bearable... meaning of course that it is only in the 90's vs. the 100's! The boys have spent a lot of time in their sandbox and on their slide. The slide is teaching them a lot about taking turns and waiting which has been a great learning tool! The sandbox is a blast, but is always immediately followed by the bathtub (especially since M is now quite fond of doing bodyslams in the sand!)

Texan?

J and I were sitting in the kitchen when we heard this mysterious language being called from the playroom... "Mommy, Heyulp me! Heyyyuuulp!" We walked slowly in wondering what that strange noise was to find N needing our assistance with his button. Daddy said, "N, do you need our help?" "Yes, Daddy I need you to heyulp me." J and I couldn't control our giggles... and I have to admit our dismay! We know he didn't hear that at home, so we are wondering... what is this strange new accent... hopefully a phase, but could it be? Is he... a Texan?

Rascal!

I have been trying really hard to get M to talk. I try to ignore his grunts, groans, screams, points, tugs, etc... as best I can in an effort to get him to say his words. Tonight, he came to me and grabbed my shirt and started pulling me as hard as he could. I got up, took his hand, and let him lead me to where else?... the kitchen. From there, he pointed to the refrigerator and grabbed the handles and started pulling on them and grunting. Well, you get the picture... eventually, we were back on the couch with a bowl of grapes. He ate a few and then N had a few. When N was done, he handed them back to M who pushed the bowl away. I said, "M, do you want any more grapes?" Did he answer me? Yes! ... He shook his head from side to side (no) with a huge teethy grin on his rascal of a face! Oh well... I guess that is better than nothing!

Soccer practice

N had his first soccer practice on Monday. I am sure that 3 year old soccer will be quite humorous, but the practice was actually very organized and fun. They did ball drills and really practiced! The team is all 3 and 4 year olds and I think N was the one who had the least "experience." He did a great job and followed directions wonderfully! Here are a few pictures: (Notice that we had to keep M entertained with a little ball the whole time too... he really wanted to play with the big kids!)

Chatterbox

N's vocabulary is really expanding lately. He has become quite the chatterbox! Yesterday, Daddy came home for lunch and we sat at the table to eat. N wasn't eating his food, so Daddy told him that he needed to eat instead of talk. N said, " I wait and eat yater, Daddy. Now, I jush wanna talk." That pretty much sums up the past few days of living with Mr. Talkative! He has some really cute things that he is mixing up lately. He mixes up being excited and being proud. Today, when I picked him up from MMO, he ran to me and said, "Mommy, I miss you. I so pwoud you heuh!" He also mixes up times and thinks that anything that occurred in the past happened "yast night." I will tell him he needs to go brush his teeth and he will tell me..."I alwedy bwush my teeth yast night... don you membah?" He also finishes a lot of his statements with "don't you remember?" He is really trying to figure out when things occur. He told me earlier today that he wanted to go take a nap "yater nex week." His newest saying is "I jus wanna tawk you bout somtin." Isn't it just wonderfully amazing how their little minds work?!

Errands

Yesterday I absolutely had to go to the post office. Normally, I try to do these things without the boys, but this was one of those times that it could not be avoided. Thinking I would be clever, I went to the remote, "country" post office which is about 10 minutes from our house. The boys were very well behaved for the first minute we were in there. N stayed next to me and M let me hold him, but they are both pretty independent so this did not last long. N got a little antsy so of course, M joined in. Before I know it, N is singing a beautiful rendition of "Da Issy Bissy Pider" and the spider is crawling all over the post office. M thinks this is hilarious and starts to try to climb up the tables with envelopes, etc... with the spider. I quickly tell N that although his singing is beautiful, we need to stay away from the displays, so to please go stand in a particular designated spot that was clear of anything. N and M were obedient and N decides that since I enjoyed his singing so much (which I do!) he would continue and still be obedient by staying where I told him to. (He's so smart!) Much to everyone's enjoyment in the post office, the boys start singing "Rindy Roundy Rody"... (Interpretation: Ring around the Rosie) And of course, before I can get out the sentence, "Now boys, let's not fall down on the post office floor..." They are both ROLLING on the floor laughing hysterically. It was really cute...albeit a little counterproductive since we had just gotten out of the bathtub, but cute. A lady next to me said that she never dreamed she would be so entertained at her trip to the post office!

24 / 7 Fun!

Whew! What a week and weekend we have had! Gracie and Bob-O came in town for a few days. We had our first day of preschool and Mother's Morning Out and then to top it all off... Uncle J came in town! This was by far, a highlight in N's week! N adores Uncle J (or "Unc Vamie") and, as you can see in the picture, even did his best to dress like him! I think by the time Uncle J left yesterday, M was pretty enamored as well! After all, Uncle J is 24/7 fun. They played baseball, had wrestlemania all over the house, went swimming every day, played at the park... you get the idea! We had a blast and it was so much fun having him here. They just built this neat sprinkler / splash park near our house and we went to that. It has a playground and also a sprinkler area that is perfect for younger children. I am not sure who had more fun: N, M, or their Uncle!