Winter Summary

Mr. C shows off the new football he received for Christmas.

MomE and Aunt A dressed up in reindeer antlers and elf hat on Christmas morning

Our cousins came for a fun visit right before Christmas.

What a treat! Aunt B and Cousin K came for a visit over New Years!

We projected the National Championship Game on our family room wall.
The boys had fun making shadows before the game.

We cheered for the Crimson Tide while munching on chips!

Snow ball fight! Little I challenged everyone to a battle.

Mr. C was just glad to be outside in the snow!

We were very excited to cheer on Bama at a couple of basketball games this season.

I wanted to catch you up very quickly on all our winter fun! Stay tuned for signs of spring!

Gingerbread Houses

I am hoping that we have started a new Christmas tradition this year. We invited our good friends from And Baby Makes Three over to decorate gingerbread houses although this year it was really graham cracker houses (gotta wait until the kiddos are old enough to appreciate the work that goes into real gingerbread houses!) Considering the children are all under 4 I think we had a good showing for our first attempt. Most of the candy went on the houses (at least initially) and some real creative juices were flowing (at least in the female gender).

Little I, Mr. C and Bubs stare down the houses. This is the only time Bubs had anything to do with decorating. In exactly 30 seconds after sitting down at a table FULL of candy he darted off to play at the train table. Gotta hand it to him- real self control around sugar!

Bubs favoring Thomas over decorating gingerbread houses.

The Bean hard at work decorating her house. Unfortunately she decorated her roof so well that by the end her roof line was a bit flatter but tasted just as good!

Mr. C probably would have been playing with Bubs except he was strapped into his booster seat and he has a real sweet tooth. He was a bit more into un-decorating than decorating.

MomE puts one on and I take one off and put it in my mouth...

...or put it in my house for later!

Little I did a great job decorating and to my surprise did not eat much candy.

Carefully considering which color next.

Cheese! I am done and am wearing the chocolate mustache to prove it!

Both moms decided that the trial run was a success and we hope to try it again next year so stay tuned!

Little I turns 3!

Little I celebrated his third birthday this month. He of course wanted a Thomas the Tank Engine birthday so everything was decorated in blue (for Thomas), red (for James) and green (for Percy).

Little I's friends enjoyed hot dogs, all the juice boxes they could drink and of course cake!

His cousins drove over from Georgia to help celebrate.

Mr. C and Cousin JDH battle it out in balloon vs. sword!

Little I blows out the candles on his Thomas Cake!

A Look Back at Autumn

Sorry for the delay in posts but we have been busy as you will soon see! This past October we moved out of our townhouse and into a larger home with a wonderful backyard. The boys have loved the room to run and even have a treehouse with a slide. It is a wooded lot with trees holding more than 30 large bags worth of leaves- after 30 we have stopped raking them up! I sure hope Santa brings a leaf blower!

DadD, Little I & Mr.C went trick-or-treating and met some of our new neighbors. Mr.C was a friendly dinosaur while Little I was a ferocious lion complete with a growl.

The boys enjoying the backyard

DadD's proud new ride.

Mr. C hard at work!

Reflections of Summer

Last year we had a beautiful fall. I expounded on the glory of fall and football in the South--the best time of year down here. Well, this fall has not been so glorious. It has been rainy, drizzly, and rainy. But, we've tried to make the best of it.

Already it appears that cold weather has set in for good. Where'd our beautiful fall go with its crisp cool nights and moderate days? Where are the bright shades of sunrise turning in the autumn leaves? Muted? Hidden? I don't know but it's been awfully dreary here recently. Perhaps it is time for a little reflection back on the summer of 2009.

Reflection #1--Enjoying being outside. While fall has been rainy, summer was surprisingly cool, which just means it was not unbearably hot. Whether feeding the ducks (above) or playing at the park (below), it's just nice to just get of the house.

Reflection #2--Pennsylvania Lake House. We were fortunate enough to be invited to some family friends' lake house at Crystal Lake in the Poconos in August. We enjoyed one beautiful day at the lake--just enough time to get wet, get sunburned, and capture some great photos--before heading back to GG and Papa's house.

Reflection #3--Hilton Head. In September, my parents and grandma came to visit. My sister and her family had a gift certificate to use for a condo in Hilton Head, South Carolina, and invited my parents, grandma, and us to join them. Fortunately for Mom E, Little I, and Mr. C, there was room enough for them. Unfortunately for me, there was no way I could get off of work, so I had to sit the trip out. By all accounts, the boys loved the beach and loved playing with their cousins. We may have to make the trip a regular event.

Apologies for not updating the blog as frequently recently, but as you can see we've been busy. We're also in the middle of a move--more updates on that to come. In the mean time, enjoy these parting reflections.