Christmas 2011 ReCap

Happy New Year friends!! WE are just getting ourselves together after 3 weeks worth of company at our home! WHEW!!! It was wonderful though...we enjoyed every minute, but we definitely were ready for some downtime. This was the 1st Christmas we have not been in FL...this was the 1st Christmas that we did not wake up at one of our parents homes....this was the 1st Christmas in our own home!!! I am sure you get what I am trying to say. But it was a big deal...I mean in the last 32 years, we have been at our parents house...so for us to do Christmas at our own home was huge!
My sister, Katelynn, was our first visitor arriving on Dec. 15th. She was a HUGE help and allowed me to get lots of things done having her extra pair of hands always ready to assist! She babysat for us so that we could attend JEff's company Christmas party. We bought running shoes and tried them out as we trained for our half marathon we are running together in Feb. We also took a day and did a sisters only visit to Old Salem where we met up with my good friend, Melissa. We toured the town and had a nice little day away from the babies. A week later, my mom arrived. She was here for almost a week, and spent Christmas here with us. We spent more time in the mall in the days leading up to and after Christmas than I care to share, but I guess that is what girls like to do best! We also had fun making Christmas treats and cookies. We went out to see Christmas lights in McAdenville, aka, Christmas town USA....however, the first night we sat in the traffic for 2 hours, only to have to go home because the lights were going off. So we tried again another night, and took advice of going a different route, and voila, we got to see the lights. Connor was enamored!!! He loved it!!!! We spent Christmas Eve at church which was amazing! I have not been to a Christmas Eve service in a long time, as we are usually in FL and are always having to be somewhere other than church...so this time God came first, and it was a great service. I loved the candle light and all the traditional Christmas songs that were sung!
Connor was excited to leave cookies for Santa...as he knew that Santa was going to be bringing him 3 presents. We chose 3....for the 3 wisemen so that we can try to keep the present giving under control ;). Christmas morning was magical!! It is so awesome to see Christmas though your children's eyes!! We were up early, as usual...and we went down to a tree surrounded by presents. We didn't keep presents around the tree all month long....so when he saw them, he was in awe. This is the first time he really enjoyed opening them up too!! Sorry, I have yet to mention Greyson...but you know, he is a baby and is not really into all this stuff just yet. He was a good boy though and loved the bows and his toys he got...as if he doesn't have enough already ;) We made an easy Christmas day meal.....a honeybaked ham and all the fixins...and then just enjoyed the day!
A few days later my mom and sister left, and then Jeff's parents (Mimi and Papa) arrived, straight from Chicago. We did our "Christmas" with them on New Years eve. Woke up again to presents under the tree....and again, Connor loved it! Some of his favorite gifts he received are a massive firetruck, add ons to his Thomas the train set, and Greyson's car....oh, and a few puzzles. Greyson loved his walking activity toy and his car that moved when you shake a rattle or spin the ball on the top of it. Mimi and Papa stayed with the boys and let us have a much needed, night out.....on New Years eve, and what do we do, the crazy party animals that we are? WE go to a movie. But it was a fun time...we went to the epicenter in downtown Charlotte where you can order food and drinks while in the movie. Mimi and Papa left a few days later.... and now our house is just unusually quiet. WE miss everyone, and had a wonderful Christmas! I think we will be spending it here for the next few years...it was nice to be home and establish our own traditions. I would say the only disappointing aspect was that it was unseasonably warm here....and it would have been nice to see a white Christmas (like it was last year when we were in FL).
Enjoy the MANY pics of our holiday memories....Connor keeps saying Christmas is over, as he looks for our Christmas trees....and he asks about George Wilson too (our Elf on a Shelf). I keep telling him, next year buddy.....

4 Days Until Christmas

The count down is on....Christmas will be here in just a few days. Connor loves counting down the days on our advent calendar! We hadn't had a chance to post since Thanksgiving because of all of the holiday festivities...so here is a quick one. Enjoy the pictures of our December full of all things Christmas! We hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Turkey Time

We had Thanksgiving here at our home again this year....and boy was it a busy busy weekend!!! We had both families here....Jeff's parents (mimi and papa), my mom (oma) and my sister, Katie. We were only missing Jeff's sister, Stephanie and her husband, Rob....which would have made us complete. We still had a full house, and a packed weekend agenda but it was wonderful!
Thursday was a full on cooking marathon...although I began in the days prior with the baking, prepping, etc. Mimi was in charge of the turkey. She makes the best turkeys and her gravy...lets just say that I could drink it ;) it is that good. My mom did her green bean casserole and Katie completed the mashed potatoes. Everything was homemade except for the rolls....we just had too many things needing to be in the oven (yes, I should have gotten that double oven option). So we made it work, and we sure did have a delicious spread of food!! Despite a few snafus...the oven magically shutting itself off and derailing our dinner time a tad...we ate and drank and enjoyed everything! We browsed the shopping ads that evening and planned our next day shopping adventure, while we ate our pie.
So, Friday came early....3am to be exact. Katie insisted we get up super early to snag the Black Friday deals. We shopped until lunch time. We all grabbed lots of good buys...no super terrific deals to mention...but it was still worth going out!
Saturday we went to pick out our Christmas tree. We headed to Latta Plantation and Equestrian center at the referral from a friend who said they do carriage rides, etc. So we thought that sounded like a fun christmas tree experience other than just going to a lot! Connor loved the horses and riding at the front of the carriage. I have to be honest and say that I was a little disappointed in the tree selection. None were small enough for a tiny boys tree and none were big enough for what I like in our living room (yes, I like them tall!)....so we had to settle but they turned out to be pretty little trees. The experience was worth it though...Connor had a ball with the horses! Saturday night we made a big pot of chili with all of the fixins and then Katie, Oma, and I snuck off to see the Twilight movie. (I was totally disappointed, and liked the others much better).
Sunday was another busy but very special day too. Greyson was baptized at First United Methodist Church of Charlotte, the same church Connor was baptized at as well. It was a lovely service. Greyson was on his best behavior despite skipping his morning nap in place of a catnap in the car on the way to the church. His Godparents, Drew and Jessica Bedard, came from Tennessee to share the special day with us too! Just a little explanation, because I found it interesting....Methodists justify infant baptism by the principle of 'prevenient grace', which is divine grace before a human's decision. Methodists believe that an infant baptism is God's promise to the infant that calls that infant to eventually believe in God's Word for salvation. The way our pastor put it....it signifies God’s initiative in the process of salvation, prevenient grace, is the grace that works in our lives before we are aware of it, bringing us to faith. Then when the individual believes in Jesus they will profess their faith before the church, often called confirmation. We are so thrilled to share this spiritual journey with our children!
So, that pretty much wraps up our Turkey weekend....as if it wasn't busy enough ;) It was memorable and unforgettable...here are lots of pics from the weekend....

Boys and their Quilts

Wanted to share these pics of the boys and their quilts. Jeff's Aunt Wanda is an avid and very talented quilter. She makes many quilts every year and donates them to military service people, children, and also cancer patients. She just sent us one for Greyson that is an adorable cowboy/texas theme. It is just perfect and we know he will love it for many years to come! Also in the pictures is Connor's quilt that she made for him when he was born...boys on their special handmade quilts from Aunt Wanda!!! These are priceless gifts!!! Thank you Aunt Wanda!!!

Family Photo Shoot in Blowing Rock

So we finally had our session with Jody G, our beloved photographer since Connor was born. She is magical the way she captures our family and in particular, our boys! I leave the sessions hoping we got at least 1 good one....and when I see the proofs, I am always blown away. I am in love with every picture!!! As far as location....Jody is willing to go to a location or your home. We have had the last few session in our home and I was wanting a change of pace. So we chose one of our favorite NC mountain towns as the scenic backdrop for our session. Blowing Rock holds many memories for us....and Bass Lake, well, it is just a beautiful lake surrounded by trees....and in the fall, these trees are in just about every shade of the rainbow! This was technically Greyson's 6 month pictures (a month late ;) and it is also the pictures we use for our annual holiday card. If you have never been to Blowing Rock, it is a MUST VISIT...so put it on your bucket list!
Above is a flier promoting Jody G with a few from our session. You can also find a sneak peak of our session with many more photos on Jody G's blog here, you might have to scroll down a bit to 10/22/2011:
http://jodygphotography.com/theblog/

Happy Halloween.....I mean, Moooooo and Oooo-Oooo Aaaaa-Aaaaa

What a fun holiday to share with kiddos...considering we haven't dressed up for Halloween in years....probably since college, even though I love a good costume party ;) It sure is more fun seeing your kids enjoy the fun of Halloween. We had been talking to Connor about it for months. Trying to come up with a cute costume idea.....i dabbled with making them a pair of something....or at least coordinating their costumes. Connor decided after much questioning, that he wanted to be Pooh Bear. Mind you, I am not sure the child really knows anything about Pooh Bear. Pooh is definitely not in the round of shows or movies that he watches....he had seen the trailer for the one that was just in the theaters but didn't see the movie. BUT despite all of this....I ordered him a Pooh Bear costume and thought Grey would look adorable as piglet, except that piglet is pink and he would be mistaken for a girl, so we decided on Tigger for him. When the Pooh costume arrived Connor was VERY reluctant to try it on. After a few bribes, nothing that a few m&ms can't solve, we got it on him. He looked like 32 pounds stuffed into a 5 pound bag. Lol....literally it was WAY too small....so I boxed that puppy up and sent it back. So much for the cute idea of coordinating them....I was so over it...saw an email from PB kids about sale costumes and free shipping, so I went on and decided right then, that Connor was going to be a cow. He likes cows....he sees them as we drive home on most days....he can do a really good "mooooo"....so I knew he would be thrilled. Once it arrived we had a replay of the above trying on scenario....so I knew what to expect....at least this one fit! Grey was getting a hand-me-down costume...Connor's first Halloween costume...a monkey. Figures! The child is always in hand-me downs :) So there it was...not nearly as cute and coordinated as I had thought I wanted....but it will be fine and they will never know or care anyways!
So this weekend we had 2 opportunities for dressing up. Our church hosted a Trunk or Treat on Friday night. We looked at this as Connor's practice...since he is new at this whole thing and we saw how trying on costumes went....we weren't sure how wearing it for an extended period of time was going to go. But once he saw Grey in his money suit....Connor was like, Game ON! Let's do this!!!! He was a champ....he rocked his cow outfit and even jingled the cow bell that Mrs. Cindy let us borrow. Trunk or Treat was a success....and Connor was happy to actually get some candy!!!! So Monday night, on Halloween, Connor did great again. Had a ball knocking on peoples doors and saying Trick or Treat. He was such a good big brother, getting 1 piece of candy for Greyson and then 1 piece of candy for Connor! Grey was, as always, a trooper. He didn't mind his little monkey suit. Thankfully it was chilly weather, otherwise these boys would have sweat in their heavy costumes!!
Long story....but hope you enjoyed it. Here are the pics of our Halloween weekend!



And a few short videos....the first 2 are from the Trunk or Treat in the church parking garage and the last is in front of our home.

Hanging with the Highlanders

Jenny, Josh, and Colton Highlander came to the QC for a fall weekend get away. The Highlanders live in Gainesville, FL home of the University of FL and the infamous FL Gators!! Jenny is a friend of mine from college, and also my little sister in Tri Delta! We have always been close, so this was a wonderful weekend that we had been talking about doing forever! Josh and Jeff get along great....probably because they have already bonded over our countless trips to Gainesville during football seasonsll! Colton, their almost 2 year old, and Connor became the best of friends immediately....if they weren't bickering about who's toy was whose :) they were laughing and chasing each other around. They were great, and really enjoyed each other's company. Connor asked for Colton for days after he had gone home. Other than a few snafu's along the way...a missing backpack (Josh, I swear it has to be hidden in this house some where :) and a bunk NC BBQ fest, we navigated nap schedules and peanut free snacks...and had the BEST time!! Since the HIghlanders are getting ready to be a family of 4 too (I'm sure they took notes from us, on what not to do) we were sure happy they made the trek!! Enjoy some pics of their visit!