Christmas - Part 1

We're back from a long, busy Christmas weekend. We had tons of fun spending time with family. Christmas is such a magical time and I especially loved watching it through Lily and Bear this year. Bear is still a bit young to really understand what Christmas is all about, but Lily was super excited about everything. What suprised me the most is that at her age, as excited as she was for new toys, she still loved to give gifts as well and told everyone that Christmas happens because it is Jesus's birthday. I so hope she continues to remember that each Christmas season!

Christmas Eve was spent with the McWhorter family. We had breakfast for dinner and exchanged gifts with each other. I took tons of pictures all weekend long, but here are a few from the family Christmas Eve festivities.

Jacob and Brodie

Paw and Bear
Lily opens a gift from Mammy and Paw

Bear checking out his new toy
Attempting a McWhorter cousin picture

That evening, the kids (well, Lily) set out a snack for Santa. We then hurried them off to bed so that Santa would be sure to stop at our house. Josh and I enjoyed a quiet evening of watching movies and preparing for Christmas morning. The movie we chose wasn't great, but we had a fun time with each other. We started the idea last year of watching movies and staying up late together and it's definitely a Christmas Eve tradition I look forward to.

Lily on the hearth with her snack for Santa

I guess she thought Santa needed to go on a diet :)

Sisterly love - Bear wasn't asleep - just caught with his eyes shut

Christmas morning Lily woke us up, having forgot that it was finally Christmas morning. When we asked her was she ready to see what Santa had brought, she asked "Is he downstairs now?" She was a bit disappointed when she realized she wouldn't be seeing him. We got Bear up and went downstairs - chaos soon followed! The kids got tons of gifts: Lily got a new baby doll, a princess tent, ColorWonder markers and coloring book and dress-up clothes and jewlry. Bear got a firetruck ball pit, a Sit/Stand Giraffe toy, books, clothes, and a bulldozer truck.

Bear checks out his ball pit

Lily in her princess castle
Lily with her new doctor kit

Bear stayed in his ball pit all morning - he didn't care to look at any other new toys
Bear's other new gifts

Later in the morning, Josh's parents and Nanny joined us for breakfast and to see what Santa brought the kids. We then packed up for a weekend in SC, stopped by the McWhorter's for a quick visit and gift exchange with the Oliver family, and then we were off for SC to visit my family.

Christmas morning breakfast

More posts to come on the rest of our Christmas!

A Baby Changes Everything

I can't believe Christmas is here! The season has defintely flown by and as I reflect today on the true meaning of Christmas, this song keeps coming in to my head. As a mom now, I can't even begin to imagine what Mary thought and felt as she carried the Holy Child. I'm so thankful that this baby, Christ Jesus, did come and change everything!

Teenage girl, much too young
Unprepared for what's to come
A baby changes everything

Not a ring on her hand
All her dreams and all her plans
A baby changes everything
A baby changes everything

The man she loves she's never touched
How will she keep his trust?
A baby changes everything
A baby changes everything

And she cries, ooh, she cries
Ooh, oh

She has to leave, go far away
Heaven knows she can't stay
A baby changes everything

She can feel it's coming soon
There's no place, there's no room
A baby changes everything
A baby changes everything

And she cries, and she cries
Oh, she cries

Shepherds all gather 'round
Up above the star shines down
A baby changes everything

Choir of angels sing
Glory to the newborn King
A baby changes everything
A baby changes everything

Eveything, everything, everything
Hallelujah, HallelujahHallelujah, Hallelujah

My whole life has turned around
I was lost, but now I'm found
A baby changes everything, yeah
A baby changes everything

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Quotes from Lily

1. Lily (sitting in front of our Nativity scene, holding the baby monitor receiver): "Say Cheese Baby Jesus." "Okay, Mary, say Cheese too." She then rearranges the figurines and says "Joseph, smile and say cheese" as she clicks the buttons on the baby monitor. I guess we have a budding photographer on our hands - or she see has seen Momma take one too many pictures.

2. Let me preface this one by saying that Lily has been SUPER loving towards Josh lately. He gets home and she is in his lap, hugging and kissing him. The other night, they had this conversation:
Josh: "Lily, why are you loving Daddy so much?"
Lily: "Because I want a baby doll for Christmas!"
I guess she hasn't figured out yet that Santa makes the Naughty or Nice decisions, not Daddy!

3. Lily (singing): "Up on the housetop reindeer pause. Out jumps good ol' Santa Claus...is coming to town. Santa Claus is coming to town. You better watch out, you better not cry, Santa Claus is coming."
Her Christmas carols are all running together - it's Santa overload!

Christmas Cuties

Just had to share - aren't they cute in their matching outfits! My crafty friend Katie made these for them and they are adorable. I just love dressing Lily and Bear up in coordinating outfits (though Josh HATES it) and these were their Christmas gifts from Katie Anne. They wore them tonight to Cracker Barrel for dinner and we got several compliments! Thanks again Katie!

Girls Morning Out

On Saturday, Lily and I had a morning out with friends. We went to Pottery Lane for Christmas craft fun and lunch with Natalie & Emma and Katie & Katie Anne. Katie, Natalie, and I always have fun Girls Nights Out, and we all decided it would be fun to get the little girls together for some fun memories as well.

We started at Pottery Lane, where the girls carefully picked out an item to paint. There was so much to choose from - miniature Santa Clauses, plates, mugs, and all kinds of Christmas ornaments. They all decided (with mommas' help) on the same Christmas ball ornament to decorate. We got settled at a table with red and green paint and the girls got started painting.

It was so cute to see the girls working so hard to paint their ornaments just right. Even Katie Anne, who's about a year younger than Emma and Lily did a great job. We moms also did a good job resisting the urge to "fix" their projects! The finished ornaments won't be ready for a few days, as Pottery Lane bakes and glazes them so that they will have a pretty finish. I can't wait to see how they turn out.

After painting, we went out to lunch at a yummy Mexican restaraunt and got to catch up for a bit. The girls were so cute together - they giggled for about 10 minutes straight about absolutely nothing and loved making silly faces for each other. I'm so grateful to have such wonderful friends and love that Lily now calls Emma and Katie Anne "her friends" too.

Christmas Cookie Fun

On Saturday, Lily and I decided to get into the Christmas spirit of baking. My shopping is almost complete, but I had not started baking any fun Christmas treats yet. I love to bake, especially during this time of the year. I thought it would be fun to get Lily involved in the fun this year.

I took her to the grocery store with me to pick out sprinkles and frosting colors. First, we made chocolate covered pretzels, which she decorated with red, green, blue, and yellow sugar sprinkles. We also made a batch of Heath Bar brownies - she didn't enjoy these as much, as she has decided that she doesn't like chocolate.

Later that evening, we rolled out sugar cookies, cut them with cookie cutters, and decorated them with frosting and sprinkles. She had such a fun (and messy) time painting the frosting on her cookies and dousing them with colored sugar. We had several dozen when we were done and she loved them. We packed up a few to give to her Sunday School teachers and her babysitter. She was so proud of her creations. We had quite a messy kitchen when we finished, but it was so wonderful to spend some time helping Lily with her own project. I look forward to this fun tradition for many years to come.

Visiting Santa

Gas to get to the mall - $15

Picture package purchased of photo op with Santa - $25

New Christmas outfits for the kids - $50

2 hours in line with 30 crying children for a picture with Santa - Priceless

We took Lily and Bear to Town Center on Sunday afternoon to get pictures with Santa. I wasn't prepared it all for how busy it would be. We got in a line that looked long, but manageable. It was much more slow moving than I imagined. We made the best of it, with Josh taking Lily for potty runs and chicken finger purchases, while I tried my best to entertain Bear. After about a hour of waiting, we began to make progress and were within the roped section of the line. Little did we know that Santa's reindeer would get hungry and he'd leave for 30+ minutes to go feed them. We had waited so long and were so close - so we decided to wait.

We finally got to see Santa and the kids were precious. They both sat with him without crying. Bear was mesmerized by his long beard and white hair. Lily told him she wanted a baby doll and that her Bubba needed a puzzle. The wait was long and a bit stressful - but oh, how I love these sweet memories with my babies.

Christmas Tree....Toddler Proofed

We've had our Christmas tree up for a few weeks now, and slowly it has become "toddler proofed".

Lily did a great job helping to decorate it and for the most part has left it alone. When she was younger, we never had a problem with her bothering the tree. On her first Christmas, she had just started to crawl and pull up, so she really wasn't mobile enough to get to the ornaments. Last year, she was so wrapped up with her new little brother that she didn't pay much attention to the tree.

Bear, on the other hand, is a completely different story. He has decided the tree is his new toy and we can't keep him away from it. Every afternoon when we get home, he makes a beeline for the tree. He sits and looks up at it for a while and then begins grabbing for ornaments. First, it was just the stuffed animal ornaments that I purposely placed along the bottom of the tree. Then, it was the "non-fragile" ornaments that were a bit above the stuffed toys. It wasn't long before the balls and garland were being tugged at. We've tried the stern "No Bear", hand poppings, and removing him from the tree area - nothing is working. He doesn't seem fazed by any of it and goes right back the tree.

So now are tree looks quite sad - all of our ornaments are bunched together at the top, and the bottomw looks neglected. The garland is falling down and the branches are no longer neatly spaced apart. Maybe there's hope next year!

The top of the tree

The bottom of our tree

Precious Moment

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Our Christmas decorations are up - I'll try and post some pictures later this week. Lily had tons of fun helping hang ornaments on the tree and placed the star on top of our tree.

A weekend of firsts

Bear had a long weekend full of firsts:

First Thanksgiving: We had a great Thanksgiving Day lunch with Steve and Carol and the rest of Josh's family. Bear had his first taste of dressing, sweet potato casserole, and turkey. He is still having a bit of trouble with table food, but seemed to like everything but the turkey. I would post photos, but I was a bad mom and forgot my camera. Lily, Josh, and I also enjoyed our Thanksgiving day festivities. We ate much more than Bear and had fun spending time with the extended family.

First Birthday: Though we had his party last weekend, Bear's real birthday was Friday. I still can't believe he's one!

First Alabama/Auburn game: The first of his many Iron Bowls was victorious for the Crimson Tide. Bear wore his jersey to watch the game with daddy and Alabama remains undefeated!

First Haircut: I took Bear today for his first real haircut. I've tried to trim his bangs a bit, but did a horrible job. Josh said he looked like Lloyd Christmas from Dumb and Dumber after I finished. I decided that it was starting to look bad and I was scared to try again so I took him to Fantastic Sams for a trim. He did a great job, much better than I expected. He looks like such a little boy now, not a baby! Before the haircut

Getting ready to start
First Snips
Patience is wearing down

Up Close

Finished Product

Thanksgiving Belated

Thanksgiving has come and gone, and it was so nice to be able to celebrate with family and reflect on all the many blessings I have in my life. I have many reasons to be thankful this year, but here are 8 for 2008:
1. Josh - Josh is truly my best friend and I am so thankful that he is my husband. It's hard to believe that we've been married for 5 1/2 years. It seems like just yesterday that we were falling in love at Furman - now we're settled into a wonderful life here in Georgia. He is a wonderful provider for our family and is always willing to pitch in and help with things around the house. His outgoing and carefree personality balances my reserved and cautious nature. We definitely have our disagreements at times, but I can't think of anyone else I'd rather spend my life with!
2. Lily - Lily is my little fireball. I love her curiosity and free spirit, though at times it does drive me mad! I am so thankful that she is happy, healthy, and so full of love for those around her. It definitely makes me feel like Josh and I are doing something right in raising her.
3. Bear - Bear has stolen my heart this year. He is one of the most content, easygoing babies I've ever known. I love the way he squeals with delight when I come to pick him up in the afternoons after work and how he is learning to blow me kisses and play patty-cake with me.
4. Friends & Family - We depend on our friends and family so much and are so blessed to have them all in our lives. Our parents have had a huge impact on who we are today and are now such great grandparents to Lily and Bear. Our brothers and sister-in-laws are so supportive of us and also are a huge help with the kids. We also have wonderful friends - from footballs games to girls nights out, our friends add so much to our lives.
5. Jobs - In this time of economic uncertainty, we are blessed to have good, stable jobs. Though my dream would be to stay home with my babies, I really do enjoy what I do. Children's is a great place to work and they are so accommodating of my need to balance work/home. I'm fortunate to have a great team of co-workers that makes going to work much easier.
6. Home - I am thankful for our beautiful home. We bought it about 3 years ago, before we knew we were having Lily. It's changed a bit since then, but worked out great because we've got tons of room for our family and are in a fantastic neighborhood. I love that we are making memories in a home that we can be so proud of.
7. Laney - Laney is our "1st child" and often gets overlooked. She is, however, such a sweet loving dog. She puts up with the torture that Lily puts her through on a daily basis and has never snapped or bitten the kids. She's a little quirky, but we love and are thankful for her.
8. My precious Savior - All the blessings I have are from Him alone. I can't begin to show my gratitude for all that He has done and continues to do in my life.

!st Birthday Fun

Today, we celebrated Bear's 1st Birthday with his party. His real birthday isn't until Friday, but with the Thanksgiving holiday next week, we figured it would be better to have his party this weekend. We had lots of fun celebrating with family and friends. Josh has really gotten in to grilling Boston Butt, so we had that along with macaroni and cheese for the kids. Our family, friends, and many of Bear and Lily's friends got to come to the party, including Katie Anne, Emma, Brodie, Ellie, Eliza, and little Lauren. Bear loved his cake, which was such a drastic change from Lily's 1st Birthday. She cried and wouldn't touch her cake, but he devoured his and loved the attention. He really didn't seem to get the concept of opening gifts, but that's too be expected. He got lots of fun new toys and clothes. Lily is loving having new things to play with as much as Bear.

The yummy cake

The Big Girls (Lily, Emma, andEllie) having their picnic
Bear and Katie Anne playing - Bear really wanted to keep up with her!

Eating and Visiting
The "Before" Baby Cake

Blowing out the Candle Just a taste

Digging in
Momma and Baby
The "After" Baby Cake
My sweet girlfrinds Katie and Natalie
Opening gifts
What a fun day!!

I'm having such a hard time believing that Bear is turning one in less than a week. It seems like just yesterday that I was snuggling with him as a newborn - now he is on the verge of being a very curious toddler, reluctant to sit still in my lap. Growing up, you always here about how fast time goes by. I never understood that until I had kids, but now I totally see it. Every new stage with Lily and Bear is so much fun, but I really sometimes wish I could just freeze time with them. Moments like today remind me to cherish every moment with my beautiful little blessings from God!