An Angel Gets Her Wings

I've always known Caroline was a little angel, but when I picked her up from playschool on Tuesday, it became official. She had received her wings!

Breakfast with Santa

Saturday morning, we went with Pop and Mimi to have breakfast with Santa Claus. The kids surprised me again and gladly sat in Santa's lap. In addition, Caroline and Will listened to a Christmas story told by Mrs. Claus, played a few games and made an ornament. Caroline even got her face painted for the first time. Afterwards we went to Pop and Mimi's house for a visit. When lunch time came around, I was in the mood for Mexican food, so Mimi and I talked the guys into watching the kids for a while so that we could go enjoy a lunch out together. What a novel concept! We had a good conversation, ate our food slowly (or slower than usual) and got the guys and kids lunches to go. When we returned, we found the kids asleep. Wouldn't you just know that they sleep for the guys but never for me!

Canton's Christmas Festival

On our way to Philly this weekend, we decided to go through Canton to see if they had any pretty Christmas lights. Much to our delight, the entire downtown was decked out to the tee. There was Christmas music playing, horse and buggy rides, a firetruck ride, a carousel...you name it and it was probably there. Even though it was 8:30 at night, Nana twisted our arm to go on a horse and buggy ride around the square. The kids were thrilled and enjoyed every freezing moment of the ride. Unfortunately, the store that sold hot chocolate was closed, so we had to turn up the heat in the car as we made the rest of our trip to see Mammaw and Pappaw. I have a feeling we'll be back to visit the festivities before the season is over, so I'll get my hot chocolate then.

On our way home, I looked around to check on the kids and found this:
I thought it was too sweet not to share. Oh, how I count my blessings!

Our Elf on the Shelf

Meet Speedy, our newest family member. Speedy is our Elf on the Shelf that was a special delivery from Santa. According to his little book, Speedy watches Caroline and Will every day to see if they are good or bad and then provides a report to Santa each night. The next morning, he is in a different place, so you have to find him.

When we first saw Speedy, we knew he needed a name. Caroline first thought of the name Sly, but changed it to Speedy. Who knows where she came up with those names. When putting Caroline to bed, she said, "Speedy is in there just a running around I bet." I agreed and said that we would have to find him first thing in the morning.

Each morning she jumps out of bed and the first thing she does is look for her little buddy. And if you are wondering....the kids have not changed their behavior in fear of what Speedy may tell Santa.

Meeting Santa

During my Mom's recent visit, we made a special trip to the Bass Pro Shop to visit Santa at his workshop. On the way, I asked Caroline if she was going to sit in his lap and she informed me that she wouldn't sit in his lap, but would just stand by him. Since her brother doesn't meet a stranger, Will happily sat on Santa's knee and began to check him out. Caroline couldn't be outdone, so she joined Will and happily sat on Santa's other knee. I was in total shock. I was expecting the Santa visit to go similarly to last year's escapade when Caroline was in total fear of the jolly old man and Will spit up on his nice red suit. Children are just so unpredictable! Thankfully, I took my camera and got a few cute shots of their conversation with Santa.

When she got off his knee, I asked Caroline what she told him she wanted for Christmas and she quickly replied, "a slide". This was no surprise because she requested the slide the 1st time we saw Santa at the Bass Pro Shop on opening night of the holiday season. We, along with hundreds of other families, made a special trip to see Santa light up the store and open his Christmas village. As he was walking throughout the store to turn the lights on, he passed by Caroline who took the opportunity to yell at him as he passed her. She was in Matt's arms so that she could see and I heard him chuckle. I knew she must have done something funny and then I heard, "Santa...I want a slide...I want a slide." Too cute! As for Will, well, after we left Santa, he started pointing and yelling once he saw what he wanted for Christmas. Unbelievable! He can't even talk yet and he already throws a fit when he sees big boy toys with wheels. I forgot to mention that before we went to the Bass Pro Shop with Nana, she also took us to Miskelly's to ride the carousel. Caroline is a huge fan of carousels, and according to Nana, Miskelly's had a nice one. I was a little skeptical because it is a furniture store. Business must be good because the carousel did not disappoint!

Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Oh, isn't Christmas the best time of the year? I absolutely love the holiday season...from the birth of Christ to the decorations to the yummy food to the excitement of my children on Christmas morning. Seeing Christmas through the eyes of a child is so wonderful!




This year our family began decorating our house for the holidays on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Caroline and Will really enjoyed getting all of the ornaments out of the box because usually I tell them to leave everything in the box. When Caroline would get something out, she'd ask if it was breakable. I guess she thought she would be extra careful if it was after her recent spill at Mamaw Kat's house. Will, on the other hand, could care less if it was breakable or not...he was going to touch it, toss it, throw it...you name it, he tried it. Despite many warnings, he had to learn the hard way (with a slap on the hand) that you do not touch the ornaments once they are on the tree. (Grandmothers....there was no blood shed, so don't get distressed about the picture of him crying. It was short lived.) So far he has been better about keeping his distance. If he decides to be hard headed, I guess I'll have to pull out my play yard to protect the tree from Demolition Man like my friend Laura did. Anyway, I'm one of those people who likes to decorate almost every room of the house, so needless to say, I have lots of Christmas decor. While most of the house is decorated, I still have a little more to do. When we're finished, I'll put a Christmas Open House on the blog!

The Perfect Christmas Card Picture

If you've ever had toddlers, then you know how difficult it can be to get a good picture of just one child. Well, multiply that by two and you can imagine how my recent photo shoots (yes, I said shoots) have gone. I'm trying to get that "perfect" picture for our family Christmas card and have just about given up. Just check these out to see for yourself:

Happy Thanksgiving!

This Thanksgiving, we spent the holiday with Matt's family in Louisiana. For lunch, we went to Aunt Charlotte and Uncle Roy Glen's house in West Monroe. The kids enjoyed playing with Mick, Mason and their dog, Duke. As for the adults...well, they enjoyed eating and then taking a nap afterwards. I decided to skip the nap and instead challenged Mamaw Elsie to a game of Checkers. Mamaw Elsie and I have played each other in Checkers ever since Matt and I began dating and let me tell you something...this 91-year-old is serious about her Checkers game. I cannot believe what I am about to say...but Mamaw Elsie beat me! I could make excuses about how I really wasn't concentrating too hard on the game because I thought it would be an easy win, but I'll not go there. No, she beat me fair and square. She is so deliberate in each move and therefore takes a good bit of time between each play, but it obviously worked for her. She'll be so pleased that I am admitting my defeat and putting this on the blog, but her victory is only for a little while. Come Christmas, I'll show her who the Checkers Champion really is!

After we left West Monroe, we went to visit Aunt Clay and Uncle Richard and all of the other cousins. Despite being stuffed, we managed to eat a little more and the kids enjoyed playing with Mary Clare, Ben, Andrew and Daniel. Pappaw even volunteered to be a horse for a little while. We were thrilled to discover that Daniel has learned how to do "The Michael Phelps"...just check him out!


I hope everyone had as good a Thanksgiving as we did. It is always fun to spend time with family and eat 'til you just about pop!

Happy Birthday Matt!

On this Thanksgiving Day, I am especially thankful for my husband because it is also his birthday! Matt is a wonderful husband and an even better Daddy to our two little blessings. Growing up, I was probably like most other little girls that daydreamed about who they would someday marry. Thankfully, God had the perfect man in mind for me, and I am so thankful.

Because we had so much food on Thanksgiving Day, we waited until Friday to celebrate Matt's birthday. As is our custom, we celebrated his special day with a red velvet cake, his favorite. Caroline helped me and Mamaw Kat make the cake and enjoyed taste testing it during the process. Unfortunately, by the time we were ready to partake of the cake, Will had gone to sleep. That explains why I don't have a family shot around the cake. Happy Birthday, Matt!

Shopaholics

When Nana comes to town, Caroline knows she to get her purse ready because she and Nana are bound to go shopping at some point during her visit. This time, the dynamic duo were on a mission to buy Will a Christmas present. Of course they also had to make a stop at Chick-fil-A, their favorite place to eat!

Professor Willgy

In case you're wondering, Willgy is a nickname Caroline came up with for her brother. And let's just hope his infatuation with Mardi Gras beads is just a phase he's going through right now....

Pre-Thanksgiving Fun

We went to Philly this past weekend to celebrate Thanksgiving early with my family. During our visit, my kids entertained themselves with an air mattress and a set of drums. Who needs toys when you can talk your grandparents into letting you jump on an air mattress and play a real drum set?