2011 in Review

I love to take this time of year to reflect on where we've been and where we're going. So without further ado:


Cody Family Year 2011 in Review


In January Brett got his first senior pastorate at Newton Grove Baptist Church, in a town about an hour south of our current home.

In February Brett and I had a little getaway in the Outer Banks while Mom & Dad watched the kids. We spent the night in an amazing beach house in Cape Hatteras and saw 3 different lighthouses.




In March Andrew was 8 months old and started crawling. He was instantly into everything-- a very active little boy! We were busy working on getting our home ready to sell.

April brought Easter, which we celebrated by dying Easter eggs, an Easter egg hunt at church and a visit from the Easter bunny for Leah and Andrew.

In May I turned 30 years old. Brett threw me a surprise party and we had another getaway to the mountains, where we visited the beautiful Biltmore Estate.

Brett and I also celebrated our 5-year wedding anniversary. We took our annual pictures at the Seminary with both kids.

June brought summer in full swing. We had VBS at church (even though the kids and I only went two nights), followed by a Beach Day with our young couples Sunday School class.






We celebrated the 4th of July with a week long visit to Mom & Dad's in the Outer Banks. Later that month, our sweet baby boy turned one year old. We celebrated with family and friends at our house.

In August, after less than a week on the market, we sold the first home we owned together, the home where our kids were born and grew up. Then our sweet firstborn turned three years old. We had a simple party, just our family, all-about- Princesses!







In September, we closed on our first house and moved out of our first home into a great rental house in the place we now call home, near to our new church. Leah also began some preschool activities at home.

In October, we had tons of fall fun. We went to a Corn Maze with a group from church where we rode a hayride, slid on a big slide and had a bonfire. I took the kids to the State Fair and, for Halloween, we carved jack-o-lanterns.





In November Brett turned 35 and we had a small party at home. We also had Thanksgiving dinner at our house-- my whole family got to come.

Of course December means the Christmas season. We had tons of church functions, family fun times, and all kinds of goodies and treats to celebrate the holidays. We got to celebrate 3 times this year-- once in the Outer Banks with my mom and dad, once at home, just our family, and again in Texas with Brett's family. It's the first time we've gotten to travel to Texas in 2 years.



We are looking forward to seeing what God has in store for the coming year. I know it will have its ups and downs like every year and we'll learn lots. My resolution for the upcoming year is the same as I usually make: eat healthier, exercise more, get more organized...

Christmas in Review

Last year I posted a review of Christmas: "Things we didn't get to do that I would like to do next year." I'm so excited to see we did every one of them! So here's what worked this Christmas and what I'll do differently next year.


- We went to a Christmas parade (actually we got to be IN one, even if we didn't SEE it). Next year I'll make more of an effort to take Leah to SEE the rest after we're done on our float.

- Pictures with Santa (still didn't really get ones like I wanted, but at least we got to talk to him this year). Next year I might like to see him in the mall.

- We read the Christmas story on Christmas Eve & opened one gift

- We did an Advent Calendar with family activities. Leah didn't really appreciate it that much this year, but then I didn't really work to build up excitement toward it. I'll probably do it again next year the same way, just add some excitement.

- We saw a Christmas light show AND Leah got to be IN a Christmas play.

- We made a Gingerbread Tree and several different Christmas crafts. Next year I'll plan a few more CRAFTS and a few less SCHOOL activities-- just one thing per day. I tried to plan 3 or 4 school-type activities for every day this year and it just didn't happen, so I wasted a lot of planning time. The crafts are what Leah (and I) both really like anyway, so we'll do more of those and less "work."

- Next year I'd like to add a little more focus on giving. I wasn't sure how Leah would understand something like Operation: Christmas Child or some other donation type thing, so I just skipped it, but I feel like we didn't do much at all this Christmas to give to others. I really want my kids to understand that Christmas isn't just about getting but giving back. Even if we just go out caroling or give gifts to our neighbors, that will be better than this year.

- I'd also like to try to find more crafts and more of a focus on Jesus' birthday. I think we did a good job this year and I think Leah understands a lot, but I'd like to spend more time reading from the Bible and less on Santa.

Christmas #2: At Home

Since we're traveling this year and Christmas falls on a Sunday, we pushed everything forward a day and celebrated Christmas Eve last night. We started some new traditions and had a great time just our little family. This was probably the quietest night we've had in awhile.

Leah kept putting her blanket on her head and saying she was Mary. Then she wanted Andrew to be Joseph. So we wrapped up her doll to be baby Jesus. This was so precious! We also did a little puppet show out of some Nativity stick puppets I made. While Brett read from Luke 2, Leah and I went behind the couch and held up the puppets. Andrew got to watch and he loved it. I'm so excited to see both of them start to understand the Christmas story this year. Andrew will point at a Nativity Scene and say "Jesus!" when he sees it. Leah can tell a lot of what happened in the Biblical account and last night when we asked her what's the true meaning of Christmas, she said "Jesus' birthday." We were so touched.

We started the tradition last year of the book What God Wants for Christmas. We open one box each day 7 days before Christmas. Each holds a character from the Nativity account. We put each figure into our empty manger scene on the mantel as we open them. Leah loved opening the boxes and looked forward to it each night like they were presents. Andrew liked opening and closing the boxes and he got to put them up on the mantel with Daddy's help.

Today was our Christmas Day. We had such a good time! Leah and Andrew love their gifts. I love the wonder in their faces in every picture. Leah really got Santa this year, too, and I think is convinced that tomorrow when we get on a plane we're going to the North Pole. She kept talking about how he's coming down the chimney and he's going to bring her presents, and she was in awe when she saw that he'd eaten the cookies and milk she left for him last night. Every time she opened a gift she would yell out what it was: "Look, Daddy! A Princess coloring book!" She would get so excited with every gift. She even got excited to see what other people got.



Andrew was a little more laid back about his gift opening.

But he really did like his gifts. Well, at least the ones he got to play with before his sister got a hold of them.

They had the chocolate in their stocking eaten before I could even blink.

Andrew's favorite may have been his toothbrush. He really does love to brush his teeth. He kept trying to eat the brush in the package, saying "teeth!"

Andrew's stash: He got Leapfrog My Pal Scout (Leah has the girl version), a Melissa & Doug Take Along Tool Kit (which is great since he loves the set he got from grandma & Grandpa-- esp. the hammer), a backpack, jammies, a toy gun, and a remote control car. He got a toy drum from Brett's brother, but Leah claimed that as her own.

Leah's haul: Her big gifts were a VTech Write & Learn computer (which I probably like more than she because she can trace the ABC's), a mini Princess coloring book, the movie Tangled, a backpack, a set of play food (to go with the kitchen set she got from Grandma & Grandpa), Princess paper dolls (magnetic), and some puzzles.

I got Brett Toy Story 1 & 2 on DVD, tickets to see the Rembrant Exhibition at the Museum of Art and some foot lotion. He got me a blender and toaster (I know, they're really for the family, but I really did want them), plus some body washes & candles.

We've spent the rest of the day playing with new toys, relaxing, and getting ready for our trip. Everyone's been in a great mood, but all over the place with toys! I will be glad when we can settle back into our normal routine and actually enjoy all we got!

Favorite Toys for Kids

My list of favorite toys for kids of various age ranges-- in case you still need Christmas gift ideas. (We may may not have the exact toy on the list but we have something similar and my kids both enjoyed playing with them.)

Newborn- age 1





Age 1-2







Age 2-3

A Gingerbread Tree & A Dollhouse

Yesterday a HUGE box arrived at our door. After waiting forever for Daddy to get home, we got to open it. We found a giant, handmade dollhouse sent to us from Uncle Brian. (He didn't make it, a friend of his did.) It is of giant proportions! The wood is so delicate and several pieces of the furniture fell apart in the shipping. Leah wasn't quite sure what to think. I'm not sure she even realizes its for her. She played for a few minutes with her Princess dolls in it, but I think she may be a little too young to appreciate it's beauty. We put it up on her dresser and we'll get it down every once in awhile for her to play.

They both had way more fun playing with the packing styrofoam that it came in! What a mess.

Then, today we made a Gingerbread Tree. I wanted to make a Gingerbread House, but this seemed much easier. Brett's mom sent a cool stackable star cutter set. When you cut the stars out of the gingerbread dough, you can stack them alternately to make a tree. It turned out so cool and it was a lot of fun. It was much easier to do this with a 3-year-old than a house would have been.

Andrew @ 17 months

My 17 month old:


- Still has only 4 teeth on top and 2 on bottom. He's going to have some strong teeth when he finally gets them!


- Is finally sleeping reasonable amounts of time. For the most part he's very easy to put down for a nap or bedtime (and has even fallen asleep in his high chair before) and he'll generally stay asleep as long as he's supposed to (2 hours at nap time and 11 hours at night). He's even starting to wake up some talking rather than screaming!




- Currently is taking antibiotics for a sinus infection-- he's had this cough/ runny nose for weeks! He's still sleeping well, thankfully, and acting mostly normal, just a little whinier. This is really the first time he's ever been truly sick!


- Is still obsessed with the vacuum and brooms. He will literally cry if I get them out and don't let him play before I put them away. He would probably be perfectly happy if he got a vacuum and a step stool for Christmas.

- He loves music and dancing. He loves to hammer things or hit things. He is really getting into driving little cars around on the floor. He will sometimes play with his sisters dolls, but usually it is just to beat them against the furniture. He loves pushing buttons or making things do stuff. He also loves to chase Leah around the house. He's getting very fast at his walking!

- Doesn't really say a lot of new words, but will mimic many things he hears. Lately he will "sing" Happy Birthday right along with his sister when she sings-- sounds just like it! He also pointed at the baby Jesus in a nativity scene and said "Jesus!" We were amazed! (Of course he also said the donkey was a "doggie", but that's really the only animal he knows right now.) Basically I can say, "Andrew, say.... [whatever]" and he will repeat something that sounds like it!

- He's really going through a separation anxiety/ "Mommy Only" phase right now, but it's not so bad. I've found if I want to leave him in the nursery it's best if someone else takes him from me and takes him in there-- as if he's leaving me, not the other way around. When Brett & I are both home, he always wants me. (Except when we were at my parents' house and he only wanted Grandma or Grandpa!) However, Brett is much better at getting him to sit still than I am. When he sits with me, he generally wants to squirm his way down.

- He is finally starting to get interested in books. He will bring me a book, then turn himself around to plop down on to my lap. He might not sit and hear the whole book (except at bedtime, he will listen to a whole one) but he will get up and go get a different one. He especially loves to look at books with pictures of his family.

- He can be sweet and cuddly at times and he loves to give out kisses, but most of the time he is all rough and tumble, full of energy and on-the-go. He has no fear and loves to do things that might get him into trouble. Yet at the end of the day, he still wants me to rock him to sleep.