Will's 1st horse ride

On Sunday, we spent the afternoon with Pop and Mimi. As soon as their house was in view, Caroline said, "There they are...there are the horses." After lunch we bundled up and headed to the barn so Caroline could ride LL (which she pronounces LEL). While Caroline was riding, Will kept pointing at her and saying "ook, ook", which is to be interpreted as "look, look".



We decided to not make Will be a bystander any longer and let him ride with us on a horse. He was mesmerized by the whole experience. It didn't take him long to realize he needed to be in control, so he grabbed the reins as if he had been riding forever. Caroline was proud of her little brother and was so glad she had taught him how to be a cowboy.

Happy Birthday Pop Buddy!

Saturday was Pop Buddy's birthday, so we helped him celebrate it at my grandparents' house. Though he didn't kill the big buck he wanted, I hope he still had a great birthday. My kids love their Pop Buddy and I'm thankful to have such a great step dad. When your parents split, it is never fun, but I've been blessed with two wonderful step parents that love me and my kids as if we were their own.

The kids worked hard making him a card, but unfortunately, we forgot it on our kitchen counter. Instead, he'll just have a nice surprise in the mail this week!
While in Philly, I took Caroline to Williams Brothers to buy her 1st pair of running shoes. She was eager to go, but was extremely indecisive about which pair to buy. She finally decided that she didn't need any, and would just keep wearing her boots instead. I decided otherwise and bought a pair because the child needs a pair of good shoes to run and play outside in. I just can't imagine that running in boots is that comfortable. We'll see if she changes her mind about the shoes. If not, nothing will be lost because I bought a pair that her brother can wear in a few years instead of the cute little pink pair that I was tempted by. Here's a few pictures of Caroline showing off her new kicks!

T-shirt Trauma

Have I mentioned before that Caroline absolutely loves wearing t-shirts? Basically, that is all she wants to wear...morning, noon and night. Thankfully she received a few new t-shirts for Christmas so that means I don't have to wash them every day. Anyway, every time we get ready to go somewhere, it is a huge ordeal to get her changed into something more appropriate (primarily something warmer).

Yesterday as we were getting ready to go to story time at the library, I told her that she would have to put on something else. She instantly balked at the idea, so as I was scolding her, she replied, "Mommy, you are mean!" What? Did I hear that right? I know I didn't....surely that didn't come out of my 2-year old's mouth?

She knew she had messed up (I guess by seeing the reaction on my face), because she made an awkward face and then gave a little chuckle. Well, needless to say, the Mean Mommy did appear after those words came out of her little mouth.

Later as we were all dressed (FINALLY), I asked her if she really thought I was mean. There was silence...absolutely no response...just a look. Okay then, I thought...I get your point. She obviously was not over the attitude adjustment session we just had.

After we got home from our Wednesday night ritual....the library, Chick-fil-A and church, I asked her again if she thought I was really mean. She said, "No, you're a sweet Mommy." Ahhh...that's better!

Mommy's Big Helper

Recently, Will has learned how to help out around the house. His list of chores include helping Caroline pick up her blocks, putting his trucks in the basket, and bringing his shoes to me so that I can help him put them on. When I ask him if he wants to go outside, he runs (well, maybe it is a swift walk) to get his shoes. He loves going outside, so he is very eager to help me find his shoes. Now if I can only teach him how to put them on by himself!

Bubble Bath Fun

Good Sister

From the mouth of Caroline: "Will, you are a good sister, you know that?"

I guess she decided to pass the compliment she had been receiving from Matt and me along to her brother.

Favorite Christmas Memories

As I've stated earlier, Christmas is my favorite time of year. After the hustle and bustle is over and the new year begins, I usually hit a little funk as I'm sure most people do. Unfortunately, this funk has gotten worse since I've had kids. Primarily, I assume, because I enjoy watching them enjoy all of the excitement of Christmas. As I look back on this Christmas, I can't help but smile when I think of how Caroline and Will enjoyed all of the lights and ornaments on the tree. Will just couldn't resist touching them every chance he got. Caroline tried her best to keep him at bay, but he somehow always managed to slip by the both of us to get a quick touch of one hanging just low enough for him to grab. He was especially excited when we visited our family because that meant he could explore new trees with new ornaments. Oh, what fun!

Despite their love for Christmas trees and their shiny, tantalizing ornaments, my kids were most fascinated with learning about the manger scene this year. I should clarify that it was mainly Caroline that really got into identifying all of the characters that surround the Baby Jesus, because at this stage, Will just follows her lead.Although I have a manger that I display at our home, Caroline instantly fell in love with the manger at Nana's. She especially loved the fact that she could actually hold the Baby Jesus. She rocked Him in her hands, kissed Him and took Him for a stroll in her baby stroller. It was precious! The pictures of her adoring the Baby Jesus will forever be some of my favorite from this Christmas season.

Blackberry

Last night while talking to my grandparents on the phone, my grandfather asked me what I knew about a blackberry. He said he had seen a good deal of commercials about them and was just wondering what all they did that his cell phone didn't do. I tried to explain as best I could to him before it was time for him to hand the phone to my grandmother for her turn to talk. As soon as she got on the phone she asked me, "Do you want to know what to do with a blackberry?" "I 'll tell you two what to do with them...you pick 'em, wash 'em and bake a pie out of them, that's what a blackberry is for," she explained. We both chuckled for a while after her joke. She may struggle to get around these days, but she sure hasn't lost her wit!

Ring pops, tea time and UNO

Last week, the kids and I packed our bags once again and headed to Nana and Pop Buddy's house for a short visit. Since Matt has been working a good bit lately and Nana was out of school, it gave us the perfect excuse. While we were there, Caroline enjoyed "tea time" with Nana and learned how to stick out her little finger in order to look prissy. (This is a very old tradition in my family. My grandfather always kidded my grandmother about going to her ladies' club to have coffee. He said that in order to go, you had to learn to drink tea while sticking out your little pinky finger. So...the tradition continues...) Anyway, Caroline also participated in her first UNO game. She really seemed to enjoy it and was actually rather good at it. I fondly remember playing UNO with my grandparents and cousins on the weekends when I was a kid. It seems like just yesterday. I can hardly believe I'm teaching my daughter how to play already. Boy, time flies.Anyway, Will's highlight of the trip was when Pop Buddy brought him a ring pop. It's obvious that Will loves Pop Buddy because he was willing to share some of his ring pop with him. Unfortunately, just as he was getting good and nasty, he dropped it and it broke all to pieces. I bet next time Pop Buddy will buy a back up in order to avoid the tears that followed.

Does it get any sweeter than this?

Louisiana Christmas

The day after Christmas, we continued with our Christmas travels and headed west to Louisiana. Needless to say, Mamaw Kat, Pappaw and Aunt Erin were eagerly awaiting our arrival. The biggest surprise (well, maybe not a total suprise) of the evening was when our family received matching pajama pants made especially for us by Mamaw Kat.

Caroline gave Mamaw Kat a homemade painting also and you can tell by Mamaw Kat's reaction that she loved it as well.

By this time, Will had plenty of practice at opening presents, so he finally got into ripping the paper to see what was inside.

On Saturday, the kids enjoyed riding on the 4-wheeler with Mamaw Kat and Pappaw, and Caroline and I finally got a chance to bake the gingerbread men we had prepared the dough for a few days prior.

Later that evening, we headed to Aunt Clay's and Uncle Richard's to visit with the Fisher clan. Alison, Matt's cousin who lives in Africa with her family, sent all of the kids drums made in Africa. They were beautiful and are perfect to play Drummer Boy on.

Sunday, we packed everything up to head back home. On the way, we made a planned stop at Aunt Charlotte's and Uncle Roy's to have a Christmas lunch with the Mamaw Elsie and all of the cousins.

As custom, Mamaw Elsie and I picked up where we left off on our Checker game. This time I meant business and won 2 of 3 of the games we played. The kids were running around us during our first 2 games (which I won), and then went outside right before we started our 3rd game (the game Mamaw Elsie won). This helped me figure our her weakness...noise. Mamaw Elsie can't concentrate when it's noisy. Since I'm used to noise, I thrive on it and play better. When I pointed this out to her, she laughed and rolled her eyes about all of the noise that had been bothering her. I hope I'm that cute when I'm 90+. I guess all is well that ends well because we finished up the year tied in our 2008 Checker game series.

As we got into the car to head back home, Caroline began telling us that she did not want to go to our house. Instead, she wanted to go to Mamaw Kat's, Nana's, Mamaw and Pappaw's or Mimi's house....anywhere but our house. When we finally did make it back to our house, Caroline asked, "Is there were we live?" I guess she got a little confused with all of our Christmas travels. As usual, Christmas with our families was a blast and I'm so thankful to be able to spend time with them as we celebrate the season.

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

Christmas evening, we had a wonderful traditional dinner (all prepared by my Mom which made it even better) and then topped it off with a birthday cake to celebrate Jesus's birthday. Afterwards, the kids had a few more presents to open from Nana and Pop Buddy, and Caroline gave Nana her the homemade present she and Will had made for her. Of course Nana loved it and Caroline was thrilled she made it for her.

Later in the evening, Caroline and I took Mammaw and Pappaw to look at Christmas lights, something they had been wanting to do all season. Caroline made sure I played her favorite Christmas songs (Drummer Boy by Mercy Me and Joy to the World by George Strait) for them as we rode along. We timed our little outing just right because when we returned, the kitchen was clean. That was the best Christmas present ever to me...a home cooked meal I didn't prepare and dirty dishes I didn't have to clean. With everything in it's place that meant only one thing....time to finally sit down and RELAX! I guess we were so busy that we forgot to take the traditional family photo by the tree, so the best group shot I have is when we were all waving bye to KK on Friday morning. Thankfully, the goodbye tears hadn't started yet.