These are from Monday afternoon using the walking toy:
And since then he has taken more and more steps on his own! As soon as I get that video uploaded I'll post it too. :)
Mama got her Christmas wish!!
Thursday, December 29
Little Dude Walking!
For Christmas Little dude got a walking toy and it's actually been just the thing he needed to boost his confidence and get him going on his own!
These are from Monday afternoon using the walking toy:
And since then he has taken more and more steps on his own! As soon as I get that video uploaded I'll post it too. :)
Mama got her Christmas wish!!
These are from Monday afternoon using the walking toy:
And since then he has taken more and more steps on his own! As soon as I get that video uploaded I'll post it too. :)
Mama got her Christmas wish!!
Tuesday, December 27
Christmas 2011
We started off our morning a little rough because Little dude's ear infection spiked a fever in him during the night so mama and he did not sleep much at all. But it was going to be such an exciting day so I got over it as quickly as I could moped around for awhile, had some coffee and decided to choose joy for the day.
We went to our church for the Christmas service. We thought it was really special that it was on a Sunday this year! After we said hello to everyone we headed home and I let the littles open their stockings while everyone else got Christmas dinner ready. We also waited for some more family to arrive.
Once the roast was settled in the deep-covered oven dish, roasting something delicious, we decided to open gifts and then eat after. The first gift that was opened was the baby Jesus from our Nativity scene! It's a tradition we started this year and I hope that it gives them the visual of how Jesus is the gift we anticipate first and foremost. His birth into the world meant our Savior had arrived on the scene and He is the reason we even have anything to celebrate, because of His death on the cross we have the opportunity to spend eternity in the presence and glory of God!
Next we dove right in to opening gifts. Little Dude slept for most of it but he was able to tackle his pile once he woke up. He didn't seem to mind!
The rest of the day was spent playing, eating and just hanging out. We are so very blessed and I'm thankful to have available all that we do. I pray that we don't take that for granted this next year and remember those that need us to give of our abundance and even to sacrifice for others, the way our Savior did, making the ultimate sacrifice simply out of His love for all of us.
Hope you all had a blessed Christmas!
We went to our church for the Christmas service. We thought it was really special that it was on a Sunday this year! After we said hello to everyone we headed home and I let the littles open their stockings while everyone else got Christmas dinner ready. We also waited for some more family to arrive.
Once the roast was settled in the deep-covered oven dish, roasting something delicious, we decided to open gifts and then eat after. The first gift that was opened was the baby Jesus from our Nativity scene! It's a tradition we started this year and I hope that it gives them the visual of how Jesus is the gift we anticipate first and foremost. His birth into the world meant our Savior had arrived on the scene and He is the reason we even have anything to celebrate, because of His death on the cross we have the opportunity to spend eternity in the presence and glory of God!
Next we dove right in to opening gifts. Little Dude slept for most of it but he was able to tackle his pile once he woke up. He didn't seem to mind!
The rest of the day was spent playing, eating and just hanging out. We are so very blessed and I'm thankful to have available all that we do. I pray that we don't take that for granted this next year and remember those that need us to give of our abundance and even to sacrifice for others, the way our Savior did, making the ultimate sacrifice simply out of His love for all of us.
Hope you all had a blessed Christmas!
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| Merry Christmas with Nana! |
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| I made the kids outfits and LOVE how they matched. :) |
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| Saying 'Cheese!' |
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| Listening to her recorded storybook of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' and saying 'Cheese!' |
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| She LOVES her Itty Bitty Baby she got and all of the accessories! |
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| Grammy was very excited about her gift and Little Lady was loving helping everyone open their gifts! |
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| The necklace the kids got Nana for Christmas! She had to open her own oyster to get the fresh water pearl that was inside. :) |
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| Trying on her 'Princess Gigi' outfit. She has worn the whole thing since she got it! |
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| Looking through the 'Jesus Storybook Bible' we got for the kids. |
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| After his nap. He was so excited about this one and of course it was the most twisty tied of all the ones he got... |
Christmas EVE 2011
We had an Ugly Christmas Sweater party at our house on Christmas eve! It was a blast, but apparently ugly Christmas sweaters are a hot commodity so they were hard for us to find.
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| {Forgot the flash so it's really dark :( } |
We had fun any way and the winning couple really took it all the way and it made for a fun evening. :)
Our friend and who the kids have named Pops came prepared with a fun game of live Angry Birds! Well, none of the game pieces were alive but there was a real sling shot, pigs and birds to launch.
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| The trophy for who ever could get all 3 pigs down with using just 3 birds. |
We also played White Elephant with old 'stuff' from around the house! The most stolen item ended up being a potty training doll.... Every one brought a delicious Mexican dish to share and we just enjoyed being in the company of some very near and dear friends who are really more like family to us. :)
Saturday, December 24
Friday, December 23
Thursday, December 22
Little Dude {14 Months}
You are my Little man! In many different senses of the word, and I adore you more and more every single day.
I can't believe how much of your little personality has come out these past few months and let me just say that you had your mama fooled believing you were a passive, quiet, laid-back kind of kid during the first year of your life!
You have decided to challenge your mommy and daddy in ways I never experienced at this age with your big sister! Every single day you are fighting to establish your independence and let us know that you want to do things the way you want to do them. Such a strong will for such a little dude!
You have finally tipped the scales at 20 lbs!! The only reason we know is because you had your first ear infection and we had to take you to urgent care on a Sunday morning to get you some antibiotics! Poor guy. :( Other than that you have had a clean bill of health so far, only going to the doctor's office for your well baby check ups.
I'm experimenting with your sleep schedule to hopefully get you on a more do-able one before itty-bitty gets here {in 1.5 months!!!} but so far you are letting me know loud and clear that you have your own plan and you'd like to keep it that way. But mama is desperate for you to sleep later than 5 AM every morning!!
You were waking up at 4:30 AM and while some may count that as progress, I'm still hoping for a little more give from you. That's why I've been taking away your morning nap only putting you down for one nap, when your sissy goes down. {Except when you had your ear infection, you needed all the sleep you could get!} But so far I'm just left with a fussy, sleepy 14 month old most of the day.
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| Resulting in this: falling asleep in your chair during snack time... |
Although you aren't walking....yet {all I want for Christmas...} you have taken an interest in making laps around the kitchen and living room while holding on to mama or daddy's hands! They say practice makes perfect. You love to just stand up in the middle of the room and then just stand there while everyone says "Yay, Bubba!!" and claps. Then we all coax you to take a step towards us, at which point you drop to your hands and knees and take off, usually grinning ear to ear. You are a stinker!! Or should I say Stinker Pot, as your sister so graciously calls you!
Your favorite word as of late is "No" and I wish I could describe in writing how you say it because it isn't just a plain "No" but with a little attitude at the end. The real challenge is to keep a straight face and remain firm when you tell us no to something. Both daddy and I want to crack up and laugh at the cuteness of it. But we can't let you know that, because you are, undoubtedly, testing your boundaries {already?!} and we want to establish with you that you, my sweet little man, are not in charge. :)
The latest trick you are most proud of is taking your dirty diaper to the trash can, crawling of course, and standing up to lift the lid and drop it in. I think you have purposely been filling your diapers more often just for that simple thrill of getting to throw away your diaper. But you are so proud of yourself when you do it and other things too! You love to clap for yourself and say "Eh ob, Bubba!" {Good Job, Bubba} when ever you do something you dub worthy. And of course, we all follow suit and clap along with you. ; )
Another new word in your vocabulary is "elp" {help}, and there are others but I can't think of them right now. You're just at the stage where you understand so much more than you can express in words and I try to figure out what you are trying to tell me but I fail many times. Then we see the very short fuse you have {and admittedly got from your mother}.
Over all, sweet boy, you are a delight to our family. And even though you know just the right buttons to push {and at such a young age} we wouldn't dream of doing life with out you and can't wait to see how you continue to grow and develop into just the little man God created you to be!
Tuesday, December 20
Catching up
Sometimes I have to wonder why I even have a blog....
Just thought I would that out there. The lack of posts this month is a product of our stage of life! But there are so many things I want to record about this stage of life that it simply bums me out to not get it down and documented.
Oh well, not much I can do to change it now. We are in to our third full week of the new job, leaving the kids and I homebound for most of the day all week long. There are some great things about it and we are still working on our finding our groove. Maybe our groove will be to keep changing it up, like I have been ever so many days.
I am quite frankly a get out and do things kind of person. While that is a good thing for my most often melancholy disposition, it can be a way for me to 'run away' from the things I need to get done. {Enter over flowing laundry hampers, floors hidden by toys and toilets not fit for guests...} Not that I've just snapped into the roll of super-house-cleaner since our housebound lifestyle has begun. But it's easier to motivate myself to do productive activities that show for my day.
Although from the outward appearance my life doesn't look more organized that it was before, but I definitely feel a peace about our schedule and house hold. Not to mention the money we have saved! I am guilty of boredom/ "feeling down" shopping. I go to stores with every intention of "just looking around" but knowing full well that I am completely incapable of doing just that.
This Christmas season has probably been the most enjoyable that I've had in a long. I haven't been stressed about gifts or plans or expectations. Just going with what we feeling like doing when we want to and if we don't do something it's really going to be alright.
I'm looking forward mostly to my mama coming into town later this week, a Christmas eve spent with some friends we love and then Christmas day celebrating the birth of Jesus and experiencing the joy of the through my littles.
Hope you have a Merry Christmas!
Just thought I would that out there. The lack of posts this month is a product of our stage of life! But there are so many things I want to record about this stage of life that it simply bums me out to not get it down and documented.
Oh well, not much I can do to change it now. We are in to our third full week of the new job, leaving the kids and I homebound for most of the day all week long. There are some great things about it and we are still working on our finding our groove. Maybe our groove will be to keep changing it up, like I have been ever so many days.
I am quite frankly a get out and do things kind of person. While that is a good thing for my most often melancholy disposition, it can be a way for me to 'run away' from the things I need to get done. {Enter over flowing laundry hampers, floors hidden by toys and toilets not fit for guests...} Not that I've just snapped into the roll of super-house-cleaner since our housebound lifestyle has begun. But it's easier to motivate myself to do productive activities that show for my day.
Although from the outward appearance my life doesn't look more organized that it was before, but I definitely feel a peace about our schedule and house hold. Not to mention the money we have saved! I am guilty of boredom/ "feeling down" shopping. I go to stores with every intention of "just looking around" but knowing full well that I am completely incapable of doing just that.
This Christmas season has probably been the most enjoyable that I've had in a long. I haven't been stressed about gifts or plans or expectations. Just going with what we feeling like doing when we want to and if we don't do something it's really going to be alright.
I'm looking forward mostly to my mama coming into town later this week, a Christmas eve spent with some friends we love and then Christmas day celebrating the birth of Jesus and experiencing the joy of the through my littles.
Hope you have a Merry Christmas!
Wednesday, November 30
Christmas Decorating 2011
'Black Friday' was anything but that for us this year. Actually we haven't even participated in the up before dawn festivities. There has never been anything that I want or 'needed' that badly. And I hope there never is!
Our Friday following Thanksgiving was, in my opinion, much more enjoyable! My mama was here and I wanted her to be a part of our setting up and decorating for Christmas. Holidays have been hard for her with both of her parents passing away in recent years and she is an only child. I'm so glad that she has our kids to give her things to look forward to! They are her future. :)
We set up our tree, village and Nativity scene and pondered what traditions we would like to start with our family. I always remembered doing an advent calendar when I was growing up. Maybe you know the kind, that has the doors for each day and you have to find the right one for that day. Behind each door was a piece of chocolate! Every kids dream. I wanted to do an advent calendar with my littles but I wanted it to have a little more to it.
We also, when I was growing up, would do a different activity with the my mom that had to do with the Christmas season. Nothing crazy, just simple and a way to savor the holiday each day! I like that idea and wanted to do that with my littles. So I did what any 2011-itching-to-craft mama would do and searched through Pinterest for ideas of a calendar I could make for our family to use this year and in years to come!
I settled on this one:
And after adding my own twists and ideas into the pattern here's how it turned out:
Our Friday following Thanksgiving was, in my opinion, much more enjoyable! My mama was here and I wanted her to be a part of our setting up and decorating for Christmas. Holidays have been hard for her with both of her parents passing away in recent years and she is an only child. I'm so glad that she has our kids to give her things to look forward to! They are her future. :)
We set up our tree, village and Nativity scene and pondered what traditions we would like to start with our family. I always remembered doing an advent calendar when I was growing up. Maybe you know the kind, that has the doors for each day and you have to find the right one for that day. Behind each door was a piece of chocolate! Every kids dream. I wanted to do an advent calendar with my littles but I wanted it to have a little more to it.
We also, when I was growing up, would do a different activity with the my mom that had to do with the Christmas season. Nothing crazy, just simple and a way to savor the holiday each day! I like that idea and wanted to do that with my littles. So I did what any 2011-itching-to-craft mama would do and searched through Pinterest for ideas of a calendar I could make for our family to use this year and in years to come!
I settled on this one:
{Photo and idea credit here}
And after adding my own twists and ideas into the pattern here's how it turned out:
I used burlap instead of linen and I love the effect it turned out to have!
Once I had the holder I needed to figure out how to fill it. I came across this advent calendar and activity set for little ones and can't wait to use it with the littles!
Click here to buy it for yourself!
It comes with a little word/picture card for each day's activity and scripture reading. Each day has a scripture reading and an ornament to make that goes along with that part of the Christmas story. After going through the whole calendar we will have read and talked about the Christmas story of Jesus' birth! I also alternated a chocolate kiss or candy cane in each day. :)
There are also a few traditional {and a few new ones} activities that I wanted to include so I made my own cards for those and put them on the days I think they will work best for us. For example, driving around to see Christmas light displays, Zoolights, making goodies for gifts, writing a letter to our Compassion International child, and having a birthday party for Jesus!
Tomorrow is our fist day of our advent calendar and I can't wait to dive in with my littles!!
We also started a new tradition this year with our Nativity scene. Growing up we always kept baby Jesus out of the manger until Christmas morning! I got an idea from here {love this blog btw!} that we are going to start doing each year:
We wrapped baby Jesus in wrapping paper {I debated poking wholes for his nose so he could still breathe} and we'll open Him as our first and most important gift on Christmas day!
Little Lady helped me wrap Him up and reminds me He's there everyday. What joy!
Friday evening hubby and I left the littles with their Nana for some quality time and we went out to have some of our own. After a lovely dinner together we headed over to a local Christmas shop that is very popular locally because they have anything and everything imaginable for Christmastime! We picked out our family ornament and one for each of the littles, another tradition we plan to carry out each year. Here is our family ornament this year:
It's SO perfect and displays our family just way we see it, minus the baby bump of course!
And I just had to share my thrift store find from yesterday, as it makes an adorable addition to our Christmas decor!
I have been wanting and looking for a child's wooden rocking chair forever it feels like. And I finally found one yesterday for $10!! And the littles both love it as much as I do! Little Lady's feet don't even touch the ground yet so I know we will get many years of use out of it. I hope to pass it on to their littles some day too!
What are some of your Christmas traditions, old and new?!
Monday, November 28
Funny Little Lady
Just a few of the sweet and funny things that have come out of my two year old recently and on a daily basis:
* She loves for us to read Dr. Suess books to her and lately Green Eggs and Ham is her favorite. Hubby was fixing her lunch and put her plate of food in front of her at the table. She responded with "Thank you, Sam I am!"
* Hubby was taking her to the potty. On their way down the stairs to go to the potty she was taking her time (she has shiny object syndrome real bad). He told her she was a huge dilly dallier. She replied "No I'm not! I'm Evalyn!"
* She was playing with some of her toys in the bath tub. She has a plastic giraffe she is currently very fond of and as she was playing her attention drew away from the giraffe so it started floating away. It caught the corner of her eye and she turned to the fleeing mammal and said "Hey! Come back here you little stinker pot!" Wonder where she has heard that...
* The other bath toy that is a currant favorite is a tiger and she was playing with it by setting it up on the ledge of the tub and I would knock it in. After several times of this she said "Owie! The tiger bit me." I suggested she tell the tiger that isn't very nice to bite people. After telling the tiger that she said, "You bite me again you get a spanken. You want a spanken?! Ok!" as she proceeds to spank the tiger on the bottom. That was a sign of what our day had been like!
* Hubby was taking our darling daughter to the bathroom when she looks at him without hesitation and states "Bubba is a stinker pot and I am a ballerina."
* She is very much into practicing her mommy skills these days and we find her mothering EVERYthing from her brother to her toys to the Christmas tree! Last night she was concerned that the {artificial} tree was thristy. She found her sippy cup and gave several branches sips from straight from the straw! After sitting on an imaginary chair next to the tree for several minutes, she excitedly hopped up stating asking the tree, "You have to go potty?! Ok!" and pretended to pick the tree up and carry it to an imaginary potty by the front door. And she was very proud of the tree telling her it had to go potty. :)
* And while in the bath tub she had a ball and had wrapped it in a wash cloth saying, "You done? Ok, dry you off." "You want to go in bubbles?" and after shaking the ball as if it were saying 'no' she said "Ok, you go to bed?" The ball nodded yes and she set the ball up on the ledge to go night-night.
* This morning I woke to "Mommy... Mommy..............KATIE! KATIE! KATIE!" over the monitor.
* Last month we went to the pumpkin patch and they had a corn maze there. Upon asking Little lady if she liked the Corn Maze she replied with "It's Cornmazing!" Gotta love that girl!
* The other day around nap time I was putting Little lady down for her nap. Over the monitor I could hear her talking and what not... her usual routine before she falls asleep. It went on longer than usual so I went back in her room to remind her that it was nap time and not play time. Upon entering her room I found clothes on the floor and a half naked 2 year old in her bed. When I asked her why she took her clothes off she replied. "I need to go to the swimming pool."
And that is all for this installment of Funny Little Lady!
* She loves for us to read Dr. Suess books to her and lately Green Eggs and Ham is her favorite. Hubby was fixing her lunch and put her plate of food in front of her at the table. She responded with "Thank you, Sam I am!"
* Hubby was taking her to the potty. On their way down the stairs to go to the potty she was taking her time (she has shiny object syndrome real bad). He told her she was a huge dilly dallier. She replied "No I'm not! I'm Evalyn!"
* She was playing with some of her toys in the bath tub. She has a plastic giraffe she is currently very fond of and as she was playing her attention drew away from the giraffe so it started floating away. It caught the corner of her eye and she turned to the fleeing mammal and said "Hey! Come back here you little stinker pot!" Wonder where she has heard that...
* The other bath toy that is a currant favorite is a tiger and she was playing with it by setting it up on the ledge of the tub and I would knock it in. After several times of this she said "Owie! The tiger bit me." I suggested she tell the tiger that isn't very nice to bite people. After telling the tiger that she said, "You bite me again you get a spanken. You want a spanken?! Ok!" as she proceeds to spank the tiger on the bottom. That was a sign of what our day had been like!
* Hubby was taking our darling daughter to the bathroom when she looks at him without hesitation and states "Bubba is a stinker pot and I am a ballerina."
* She is very much into practicing her mommy skills these days and we find her mothering EVERYthing from her brother to her toys to the Christmas tree! Last night she was concerned that the {artificial} tree was thristy. She found her sippy cup and gave several branches sips from straight from the straw! After sitting on an imaginary chair next to the tree for several minutes, she excitedly hopped up stating asking the tree, "You have to go potty?! Ok!" and pretended to pick the tree up and carry it to an imaginary potty by the front door. And she was very proud of the tree telling her it had to go potty. :)
* And while in the bath tub she had a ball and had wrapped it in a wash cloth saying, "You done? Ok, dry you off." "You want to go in bubbles?" and after shaking the ball as if it were saying 'no' she said "Ok, you go to bed?" The ball nodded yes and she set the ball up on the ledge to go night-night.
* This morning I woke to "Mommy... Mommy..............KATIE! KATIE! KATIE!" over the monitor.
* Last month we went to the pumpkin patch and they had a corn maze there. Upon asking Little lady if she liked the Corn Maze she replied with "It's Cornmazing!" Gotta love that girl!
* The other day around nap time I was putting Little lady down for her nap. Over the monitor I could hear her talking and what not... her usual routine before she falls asleep. It went on longer than usual so I went back in her room to remind her that it was nap time and not play time. Upon entering her room I found clothes on the floor and a half naked 2 year old in her bed. When I asked her why she took her clothes off she replied. "I need to go to the swimming pool."
And that is all for this installment of Funny Little Lady!
Friday, November 25
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