Christmas Program

This morning is what Christmas is ALL ABOUT!  Let me explain...  To see so many little preschoolers performing their favorite Christmas songs on the alter of their school church in front of their loved ones was enough to warm anyone's heart and soul.  Their excitement, their nerves, their Christmas Spirit, and their Christmas Joy illuminated the entire sanctuary.  It was magical.  It demonstrated the true meaning of Christmas.  Sometimes we get so wrapped up in the business of Christmas that we stop and forget what Christmas is really about - Hope, Peace, Love and Joy.  And that's what these kids brought to us this morning.

The life of a 7 month old...

So our Grant, is already 7 months old.

  This babyhood of his is going by entirely way too fast.

  Let me give you a glance at what his day looks like. 

Ahh, the sweet life of a 7  month old......

First up - breakfast of champs!

He is able to put his FOUR teeth to good use.  He has 2 teeth on the bottom and now two teeth on the top.  He starts off his day with some scrambled eggs and a buttered english muffin.  Yum.  More of the food ends up on the floor, in his hair, and in the crevasses of his high chair.  But he is happy as a clam.

Next up - some play time.....

 

He and his brother like to play on the carpet and even partake in some unnecessary rough-house.  Grant is starting to get in the position of crawling.  I give it another week or so before he can crawl on his own. 

Oh boy.....

The rest of his day is on repeat - eat, play and sleep.

Then finally - a bath....

He can bathe in the kitchen sink now.  He loves this.   He likes splashing around and being able to see everything going on still in the house.  He usually has an audience watching him bathe.  Below in a video of just that....

This boy is in pajamas and in bed by 7pm and will sleep a solid 12 hours or so until 7am.  It's total bliss. 

Aw, the charmed life of a sweet 7 month old boy.

You don't say!?!?

Who knew a 3 month old would have so much to say, already?  Boy, oh boy, our little Grant is a talker.  He babbles and babbles away.  He has such a happy & fun loving personality at such a young age.  He is rarely without a smile and has the most expressive eyes.  Currently his hands are always in his mouth, he loves his excersaucer, the dog has caught his eye, he is losing interest in nursing and is preferring a bottle now, he is sleeping much longer stretches at night but it's still very unpredictable, loves stroller rides, and he went swimming in our neighborhood pool twice this past weekend too.  He's a busy baby.

Also, in case you haven't noticed - our baby has beefed up.  Loving his little fat rolls.  Oh, and his eyes are still blue!!!  Loving that too!  (there's not much I don't love about this baby of mine!)  Just in case you didn't know - he's pretty much perfect!  To us, anyways!



Grant has discovered his hands & they are always in his mouth.  Here's a new meaning to double fisting!

Still working on rolling over.  He is gaining so much neck strength everyday.

a Jack kinda day

This is what you call a "Jack-kinda-day!"  Our two year old has become so fascinated with horses.  A true cowboy at heart, you could say.  You will laugh, but he insists on wearing a Polo shirt everyday - even to bed.  Not because he is already into fashion, but because he loves having that "horse" on his shirt.  He is always on the lookout for horses in fields when we are in the car.  Santa brought him a barn full of horses for Christmas.  You get the picture...  Horses are adored over here.

While we were in Hilton Head for vacation we planned out a day trip to the Sea Pines Horse Stables - just for our boy.  It was beautiful.  A very memorable experience that we vowed to do every Spring Break from now on.  Walking the fence lined stables that were lined with Spanish Moss trees was gorgeous.  And touching the horses and seeing the petting zoo was over the top for our kids.  We even ended the day with their very own pony ride.

petting a Clydesdale horse

Look at the excitement on this little boy's face! 

He is holding his red ticket which buys him his very own pony ride!

one very sweet little 2 year old!

What a lucky little boy....

  With a painted turtle tattoo on his arm and waiting in line for the pony ride.

a little nervous, a little overwhelmed and a lot excited!!!

.......and he's off!!!!

6 weeks

Grant is 6 weeks old today!  We've survived!  We can't seem to decide who he looks like quite yet..... 
But, we can all agree on one thing - we sure do think he's awfully handsome! 
Still waiting on his first "real" smile... I have a feeling it's coming soon.

Father Daughter Dance

Olivia had a very special date Sunday afternoon!  A date with her very own Prince Charming, also known as her Daddy!  These two attended their very first Father/Daughter Dance that was hosted by her wonderful Preschool.  Great memories were created by these two.  It was so sweet to tap into her excitement for the dance.  Just like any girl - half of the fun was in the anticipation....just like a Princess getting ready for the Royal Ball.  Anticipation always brings out the most genuine excitement.  We painted her nails pink, we curled her hair, picked out her dress that would have the best twirling capabilities, she borrowed one of my old purses to carry her lip gloss and the tickets to the dance, and she wore her beaded necklace that she made herself.  She felt pretty and was glowing.  She repeatedly asked me to take her picture.  Vein?  No.  Just feeling very special like any 3 year old girl would.  Her dad bought her a beautiful corsage with pink roses for her to wear on her wrist.  That was the icing on the cake for this girl.  We all went over to the Burns' house so they could double date with Lillie and Zach to the dance.  Just like any homecoming dance, we snapped pictures of the couples on the front porch.  Then off they went to the dance and Jen and I were lucky enough to hang out the rest of the afternoon on her deck to enjoy the spring like weather.  After the girls came back from the dance we had a pizza party with both families while they dished the details of the dance.  It was so sweet....

She couldn't take her eyes off that beautiful corsage!

and they're off.....

Olivia danced the night away with her girlfriends.  Justin said at one point, she told him to go sit down so she could dance with her friends.  This sounds awfully familiar - I think I did the same to my homecoming and Prom dates.  The girl is social - what can I say?!?  She has a blast!

Birthday weekend...

Whoa!  What a weekend of celebrating birthdays!  Jack and Justin's birthday weekend was filled with fun, food, friends and family!  Just the way we like it!  I love winter birthdays!  It really gives you something to look forward to during some long, cold, and sometimes boring months.  Here is the weekend re-cap...

Friday morning we woke Jack up with some balloons, some singing over cinnamon rolls and he opened our gift - his first scooter.  Him and Olivia rode their scooters all morning long in the house.

Saturday night - was his Dinosaur Party - roarrrr!!!

Getting ready for our guests to arrive!  The excitement is in the air!

Caught!  Found him and Olivia swiping the cake!  That's okay - we did it too!

His incredibly awesome Grandmas (Mimi and Nana) joined the fun!

My college besties and their kids helped us celebrate!  We had a house full of children!

Getting ready to light the candles.

And...he swiped the cake again.  That little booger.

Yay for Jack! 

 He loved every minute of his special birthday attention!

Our family shot.  Jack loved being sung too. 

 We had to re-light the candles so he could blow them out again. 

Here is a video of us singing Happy Birthday...

Sunday was Justin's 33rd birthday!  We ate left over cake and the kids helped him blow out his candles over some ice cream cups.  Bonus - we were able to sneak away for a nice steak dinner at Embers later that evening (sans kids).  It was a great weekend.  Thanks to everyone who helped make it so special.

 We can't wait to celebrate another "birth" day here soon....  I'm ready!

Christmas Program

Olivia's preschool had a small Christmas performance yesterday.  And by small, I mean three little songs.  Here they are right before the program was to begin.  You can see the butterflies in their eyes.  It was cute.  She forgot to sing on stage though.  She would count to three to start the song - then lips sealed.  There were a lot of parents, grandparents in the church.  Maybe it was stage freight.  Who knows?  She finally sang to We Wish You A Merry Christmas.  I have a video below.  The whole thing was super cute, and super festive.  Her school does some really amazing things - and this is an example of one of them.

We Wish You a Merry Christmas....

Afterwards, we went downstairs for some punch and cookies.  The room was filled with very excited little three year olds.  I am so proud of my little school girl.  Hate to see her grow so fast - but these little events make it so very exciting.

Santa Baby

Our good friends, The Merchants, host a Santa party every year for our small group of friends.  We look forward to this every Christmas Season.  It's our favorite party to attend!  So many laughs (and tears) when Santa arrives!  A lot of mixed emotions - but pretty entertainning to say the least.  He shows up at the door midway through the party bearing gifts for all the kids.  Every one is always so surprised he KNOWS their name and what they want for Christmas.  Santa is so magical that way!  He brought Olivia a Beauty and the Beast ornament and Jack a Lion King ornament.   We can't wait to see what he'll leave under our tree.....

Tiny Dancer

Here she is - my little Ballerina!  She had her very first Ballet Class this morning.  It was so endearing to watch from the window.  She took it so serious.  All the warm up activities, the stretches, the new dance moves she learned.  She was all eyes and ears.  It was so sweet.  I am going to bring my good camera to class next time and maybe even the video camera.  It needs to be captured!  I got a mobile upload below of her with her classmates doing their thing!

Thirty-Two

I turn 32 this week.  I am actually excited about it & am learning to embrace aging.  Last year on my birthday, I literally pouted all day.  I hated the thought of turning 31.  That meant I was actually in my thirties.  I was such a sourpuss that day.  I look back now and laugh at myself.   I am trying to view birthdays as celebrating another great year with my family, friends, and health.  You can't ask for more than that.  So what if I notice a few more wrinkles on my forehead, or a slower metabolism?  Life is sweet and birthday's should always be celebrated - no matter what age you are turning...

We celebrated this past weekend.  There will be more celebrating this Thursday too!

My family singing Happy Birthday to me.

I even had my very own marching band in my honor...

Birthdays are a great reason to count all of your Blessings.  And I am Blessed beyond measures.