It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

I have always loved Christmas, but it is true that it becomes even more fun once you have children.  This year, Collin really “gets it” and it has been so much fun to see it all through his eyes!

A few weekends ago we took them to see Santa.  I did not have very high expectations, considering that the only way I got a Santa picture last year was to sit in Santa’s lap myself, holding Collin, while 7 months pregnant…not fun.

However, I was thrilled with how the pictures turned out – I actually had 2 smiling children both looking at the camera…a true Christmas Miracle!! 

I will scan the picture and add it to the blog another day, but I am too lazy to go do it right now…in the meantime here is a picture of the 2 munchkins right after they saw Santa.

The preschool where Collin & Grace go a few days a week had the cutest little Christmas program, and Grace even had a little part as the cutest little lamb ever :)  She did great!  I was working helping the 4-year-olds, so I didn’t get a picture of the actual program, but here she is in her costume ready to go!

She really got into her role, and even tried to crawl like a sheep!

I would like to say that Collin James was as excited about the program as his sister, but unfortunately that was not the case.  Lets just say that he was crying so hard I was afraid he was going to throw-up on stage…Son had the video camera in the audience, but Collin was hiding behind his teacher sobbing the entire time, so we didn’t get a video.  I really think he was so upset because Son had come to his class for the Christmas Party before the program, but then left him to go sit in the audience.  I guess Collin didn’t understand how it was going to work because he kept telling me that daddy was supposed to go on stage with him.  Poor baby! 

Tonight we finally had a chance to go down to St. Augustine for the Nights of Lights there.  This is something that we have been doing since Collin was born, and is going to be one of our annual family traditions!  It was fun, we rode the big Red Train, and got to see Santa again.  I am so glad that our first Santa pictures went so well, because Grace was not as excited about sitting in his lap this time!

Grace & Daddy drinking some hot chocolate at Santa’s Village.

Collin LOVES snowmen, but was afraid to get any closer than this to frosty :)

I love this picture of Collin with hot chocolate all over his face…such a happy boy!

Our family of 4 on the train!  So excited that Grace enjoyed her 1st St. Augustine trip!

Merry Christmas everyone!!

Adventures in Babysitting

Somehow we had gone 2+ years without ever having to hire a “real” babysitter.  Thanks to sweet friends who love our children we have always seemed to make it work.  However, I knew it was just a matter of time, and during the busy Christmas Party season we decided to hire one.

Whenever we are doing something new or different I always try to talk to Collin about it in advance and explain exactly what is going to happen.  I have learned that he handles new situations much better that way!  That Saturday morning I told Collin that “Miss Candace” was coming over to play with him & Grace while mommy & daddy went to a party.  I was surprised with how quickly he warmed up to the idea, and he wanted to ask a million questions about her and what they were going to do…it was really cute.

The minute she rang the doorbell Collin was super excited, bouncing off the walls & doing everything imaginable to impress his new friend.  It was hilarious to see this side of him that rarely comes out.  Ya’ll, he was C.R.A.Z.Y!!  He was doing handstands with his feet up on the wall, he was jumping on & off his bed, throwing his stuffed animals at her, growling at her, running all over the place, hiding from her, quoting all his favorite Disney movies…it was hilarious!!

When I asked Collin that night if he liked her he said, “Candace played with me, built me a huge giant tower (Legos), and she has really long legs!”  I would say the night was a big success.

Grace was a huge stinker & refused to eat or drink hardly anything or go to bed, but I really wasn’t surprised considering she hardly ever drinks out of her bottle for anyone.  She also punished me for leaving her by staying up until 2am that night…not fun.

I wish I would have gotten a picture of Collin & Grace with Miss Candace, but I will have to remember to pull out my camera next time!

Our First Ever “First Day of School”

Collin & Grace have recently started attending the Jr. Academy preschool at our church MWF mornings, and I am working there also. 

It is pretty much the best of both worlds & a huge blessing for us to be involved with this amazing school.  I have wanted to get Collin into a preschool program for a while now, however it just wasn’t in the budget.  With me working there we are able to make it work, AND I am able to do something that I love while still only being right down the hall from Collin & Grace!

So here is their first official “First Day of School” picture…snapped as we were rushing out the door so we wouldn’t be late!

Grace’s Baby Dedication

We dedicated Grace at our church on November 11th.

Her Verse: “For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD gives grace and glory; no good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.” – Psalm 84:11

It was a sweet ceremony, and even Collin was on his best behavior.  When the camera put Grace on the big screens I could hear the whole sanctuary “oohhh” and “ahhhhh” at her.  But then I shouldn’t be surprised, I already knew she was adorable!  Even though our family was not able to be there in person my parents were able to watch live online, so I was happy to know they were there in spirit & praying for Grace right along with us!!

I was really looking forward to getting our picture, because the one from Collin’s dedication is still one of my all-time favorite pictures.  This one is okay, but poor Collin & Grace just didn’t want to smile.

When we got home I pulled out the DVD of Collin’s dedication service and let him watch it.  He really LOVED seeing “baby Collin” on TV.  Also, Collin’s favorite song right now is “Holy, Holy, Holy” and it was amazing to see that song sung by our choir during his dedication ceremony.  Collin was so excited they were playing “his song”!

Happy Half-Birthdays!

 

I cannot believe that my little tiny Grace turned 6-months old on October 13th!  That means we are over 1/2 way to her 1st birthday…this is going by way too fast!

We had her check-up last Monday and she was a tiny girl, weighing  in at only 14 pounds (10th percentile) and measuring 25 1/4 inches (25th percentile).  I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised since my mom is always reminding me that I wasn’t even on the growth chart when I was little!

And if Grace is 6-months, that means Collin turned 2 1/2 a few days later, so of course we had to celebrate both half-birthdays with cupcakes!  I was shocked, but Grace actually ate quite a bit of her cupcake & kept putting more in her mouth.  It was so cute to watch! 

“You are really going to let me eat this???”

“Okay, only if you insist Mom”

“Hey, this is pretty good”

“The sugar comma starting to set in”   

Of course Collin loved the cupcakes too, and was so excited that we got to celebrate their half-birthdays with cupcakes several nights in a row!

Time flies when you’re having fun!

We Love Aunt Becca

We had an awesome visit with Aunt Becca a few weeks ago!  I was so glad that she was able to visit again since her last trip got cut short.

 

We had fun picking her up at the airport & Collin and Grace were sooooo happy to see her!  We had fun all weekend shopping, playing, eating at Barbara Jean’s & we actually made time for a crafting project while she was here!  I made a cute fall wreath for the front door & she made a Halloween one, all from something she saw on pinterest.  They were a little time consuming, but turned out great!

We also made our family Pumpkin Patch visit while she was with us.  The other project we picked out from pinterest was a cute picture idea for Grace where we carve out a huge pumpkin, and sit Grace down in it.  We didn’t end up with enough time to do it while Becca was here, so I made Son promise to help me try it this weekend :)

Becca  noticed how much Grace loved jumping up & down in her arms, so we decided to get out her hanging jumper…and Grace LOVED it!!

Collin also picked out a second Halloween costume while we were shopping with Becca.  However, despite the fact that he begged for the Batman outfit while we were in Dillard’s, he almost started crying when I tried to put it on him at home…that is until Aunt Becca told him that he would be “Super Fast” in his Batman costume & started chasing him around the house :)

The weekend went by way too fast, but I was so glad that she was able to come and see us!!  We love our Aunt Becca & cannot wait to see her again at Christmas!

What Grace Does When She’s Supposed to be Napping

Alternate Title: How I learned the importance of double knotting the bumper pad ties.

 

Peek-A-Boo!

A Big Huge Giant Make-up Post

So, you may be asking: “what we have been up to lately?”  Or maybe it’s more like: “where the heck has she been & why isn’t the blog updated?”  Here is the answer…in picture form :)

Family Zoo Days!

Grace is sitting in the high chair for meals now!  BTW, this is her hair-do whenever I take the rubber band / bow out at night.  It stays just like it was styled :)

Grace doesn’t believe that certain toys should be for 3 & up only.  She also doesn’t understand the difference between “girl” toys and “boy” toys, and is perfectly content playing with Buzz Lightyear, Dinosaurs, and trucks.

We took a road trip to Ocala to see some good friends.  I LOVE Collin’s expression in this picture!

Grace turned 5 Months Old!

Mommy started sewing again – I had to make stocking #4 for Grace’s First Christmas!!

Collin is such a handsome big boy :)  He makes me smile every single day.

We make up silly games to entertain ourselves – like making a spaceship out of an old diaper box & pulling them around the house in it.  They both think this game is HILARIOUS!!!

We made our 2nd road trip to Pensacola & got to meet our nephew, Lincoln.  He was born in July, but is already bigger than Grace!

And, to top it all off, we found this AWESOME buggy at Wal-Mart!!  I can fit BOTH kids up front, and have an entire buggy to fill up with groceries!!  GENIUS!!!

I still hate Wal-Mart, but you really can’t beat their prices, and finding this buggy makes it just a little more bearable for me.  And now I am the crazy lady who circles the parking lot 20 times trying to find one of these :)  Oh well, Collin thinks it is hilarious trying to help me find “our special buggy”.

Stay tuned for other upcoming posts such as:

• What Grace does when she is supposed to be napping
• Aunt Becca visits again!!
• Grace is 6 months old

“Look Mommy, I’m Washing My Hands”

While driving down the road Collin is talking to me from the backseat…

Collin: Look Mommy, I’m washing my hands!

Me: That’s great (thinking he is pretending to use hand sanitizer)

At the next red light when I turn around and actually look, he is spitting on his hands and rubbing them together, by this time his hands are soaking wet…guess I should have looked sooner!

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While watching an episode of “The Cat in The Hat” all about animals with tails, and the different types of tails, the characters start doing a dance and shaking their tails…

Me: Collin, can you shake your tail?

Collin: No, I don’t have a tail.

Me: You can pretend, shake your bootie.

Collin: Oh, I do have a tail right here!!!  (pointing to his front-side)

Of course I was dying laughing, so Collin thought it was hilarious too & the rest of the day went around saying “here is my tail!”

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Me: Collin what are you doing?

Collin: talking to Buzz Lightyear

Me: What are you telling him?

Collin: You need to listen, get spanking Buzz, when I say no that means NO!

…I wonder where he gets this stuff from :)

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Collin is also becoming quite the little helper lately, and has even started taking out the trash for mommy…or at least dragging it out into the garage.

And he also helped daddy mow the grass.

I am so proud of this little guy!

Grace Anna is 4 Months Old

My baby turned 4 months old on August 13th!  Here are her latest stats:

Height: 24.5 inches

Weight: 12 lbs 2.5 oz

Eating: She nurses about every 3 hours during the day.  She measured 50th percentile for height, but only 15th percentile for weight…so even though I am not ready, our doctor recommended starting solids!  (It was either that or feed her more often, and the thought of getting up in the middle of the night again did not sound like fun!)  We started last night with a few “tastes” of cereal mixed with milk…she seemed about as interested in it as I did :(  But she sure did look cute while doing it!  Since she’s not big enough for the high chair yet, daddy held her.

Sleeping:  At 8 weeks she started sleeping every night from around 8 or 9pm until 6 or 7am.  However, once she hit 4 months, she apparently decided that she wanted to start waking up in the middle of the night to eat again…hopefully the solid food will help with this also :)  Mommy is not ready to try “cry it out” quite yet.  She is taking 2 naps a day now, with each one being 2 hours.  She does so good going to bed on her own.  I can just put her down with her paci and she falls asleep on her own – I still am shocked every time it happens, since it would take me FOREVER to get her brother to go to sleep.

Milestones:  She is sooooo close to rolling over, and can get all the way over on her tummy, but her arm is still stuck under her.  She can’t get the arm out yet, so she just goes back over onto her back.

She is such a sweet little girl, and we are so blessed to have her!  She is so happy to just play with her toys, but she like to be in the same room as everyone else.  She also likes to be talked to, and she LOVES watching Collin run around.  She loves to laugh all day for daddy, but makes mommy work really hard to get one out of her sometimes.

She has been having a hard time in the nursery at church, but her sweet teachers are willing to love on her & put up with it until she (hopefully) gets used to it.

It’s Not Okay to Pee on Your Sister

Collin loves his baby sister.  The first few days after we brought her home I wasn’t so sure it was going to work out, but now I think he truly is glad that she is here.

He loves to lay on the blanket with her and show her how to crawl or roll over.  Here he is showing me how well he can hold his head up off the ground :)  What a good Big Brother!

 

Another thing that he likes to do is show her how he can go pee-pee in the potty.  He will say, “Look Gracie I pee-pee in the potty and get candy.”  Or he will say to me “When Gracie gets older she can pee-pee in the potty and get candy.”  As I have said before, my child is a genius!

Anyway, as we are still potty training at our house usually the potty is in the living room since that is where we spend most of our time. 

A few days ago Gracie was laying on the blanket and Collin decided he needed to go potty.  We are still working on getting him to “point it down” so that it goes in the potty & not all over the floor…I guess he was trying to “point it down” but somehow ended up pointing it up.  I felt like it was moving in slow motion while I watched a very large stream of pee shoot straight up in the air, across the room, and right down onto poor Grace’s face!

She got soaked!  Poor baby girl!

Of course Collin thought it was hilarious…and Son & I were both trying not to laugh while telling Collin that it’s not okay to pee on your sister.  Grace had this surprised look on her face like, “what just happened here?”  Fortunately it didn’t upset her, and I just put her in the bath a little early that night :)

“This One is Not Good, Mommy”

Collin continues to surprise me each and every day with the new words and phrases that he picks up.  Personally, I think he is brilliant.  Here are a few of my favorites:

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While eating a bowl of blueberries, Collin hands me one with the stem still attached and says, “This one is not good, Mommy.”

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If he is about to do something that he thinks may either get him in trouble or make me laugh, he will look at me first and ask, “Is it funny?  Is it a game?”

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If he is trying to get my attention he will put one hand on each of my cheeks and say, “look at me mommy!”  I wonder where he learned that?

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He likes to jump…everywhere!  Out of bed, off the couch, into the elevator, down the steps, over the curb, and on and on.  When he jumps he will usually reach out his arms and say, “To Infinity and Beyond!”

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When he wants to watch Toy Story 2 he will say, “Hey mommy, Buzz Lightyear flying in the sky and Bullseye and Jessie, please!”

When he wants to watch Toy Story 3 he will say, “Choo-Choo Part and Lotso and Ken, please!”