3 Years Ago...

3 years ago today, our lives changed forever. We found out we were pregnant with our first child. Things haven't been the same since!

White [Day After] Christmas

We may not have had a white Christmas, but boy did the snow really come down hard the day after!! We must have had 6 or 7 inches! It was snowing when we woke up & kept coming down most of the morning. Church was cancelled so we got to go out and play. Andrew seemed to enjoy his first snow, as long as he didn't have to sit in it! Leah absolutely loved it!! She is really into Frosty the Snowman this year, and kept talking about making Frosty the whole time. She had no problems walking right into it, picking it up & helping build the snowman!

Here's a fun video of the day:

Christmas, Round 2

Christmas Day was just the four of us this year, quiet and calm. Andrew was so excited about Christmas he woke me up at midnight to welcome the day! He was up for good about 6:45. Leah got up about an hour later and was so excited to see the presents. We didn't really put any presents under the tree until the day before Christmas, and then we didn't put many, so when the gifts from Santa were under there, she was amazed. She seemed to really get it this year-- we kept telling her all week how Santa would come and bring her presents under the tree and she kept talking about "presents for Leah!" (In fact, for the past week she has been telling everyone "I have a tree in my house!")

Her favorite part was the actual opening of the gifts, rather than the gifts themselves. She would rip into one, exclaim over it for a minute, toss it aside, and move on to the next one, even starting into some of Andrews' and our gifts. We let her do her thing, and then Andrew opened his afterward. Actually, he seemed to almost get it, too! "Santa" got him several different types of trucks & toys with buttons & knobs at a consignment sale a month or two ago. He may not be able to really enjoy them until he can sit up, but he did seem to enjoy the steering wheel! He also got a couple outfits from Nana & Papaw and Uncle Brian, and Baylor jammies from Uncle Johnny & Aunt Karen.

We were pretty excited about what Santa got Leah this year. I think she will be, too, once she has time to play with them and process all that went on! Among the favorites this year: a set of Disney Princess figurines, and a set of Princess books, a "laptop" computer with several games, and a few coloring books. She also got two pairs of jammies, some big girl panties, and two new sippy cups. From Nana & Papaw, she got a piggy bank and some other clothes. Uncle Brian got her the Snow White DVD, which she immediately wanted to watch!

Brett and I decided not to spend any money on each other this year, but we did get some nice clothes from Karen & Johnny (and of course the other gifts from Mom & Dad), and thanks to a generous donation from a church member, we went out on a date Thursday night-- dinner & Starbucks, and we bought ourselves a few things we were wanting. I really can't think of a lot of things I actually wanted. It was so much more fun for me this year to buy things for the kids, especially since Leah understands so much more this time around. I had to restrain myself from buying too much, because I kept seeing more I thought they'd like.

It was such a fun year, seeing the reactions of the kids and enjoying time as a family! We are so blessed to have all that we have.

Things we did this year that I would like to continue doing:

- "Christmas Decorating Day," complete with the hunt for our tree, Pizza Dip & a Christmas cartoon while putting up decorations

- making sugar cookies

- "What God Wants for Christmas" nativity set (one piece of the nativity is placed each of the 7 days before Christmas)

- family photos by the Christmas tree

- Watch the mandatory Christmas movies: The Grinch, Rudolph, Elf, White Christmas, and National Lampoons Christmas Vacation

Things we didn't get to do that I would like to do next year:

- Go to Christmas parade (it was rainy & freezing on the day we were going to go this year)

- Pictures with Santa (we were going to do that at the Christmas parade)

- read the Christmas story on Christmas Eve & open one gift, like pj's (Brett had to preach at the Christmas Eve service & I didn't want to venture there with 2 little ones)

- advent calendar (probably the kind you can make with activities to do as a family each day leading up to Christmas)

- See some sort of Christmas play, concert, or light show (although we did see a small light display at my parents' over Thanksgiving)

- Make gingerbread houses and some other Christmas tree ornament crafts

Christmas Photos 2010

I found adorable matchy-match outfits for Leah & Andrew at Dillards when I was out looking for a Christmas dress for Leah. Since I had a gift card, I couldn't resist! And we couldn't resist the photo opportunity! Thanks, Dad, for taking all the family ones-- what great memories! (Leah really WAS having fun, even if she doesn't ever smile in a picture!)

Jesus Loves Me

A priceless moment caught on camera. How can you resist this girl?

Christmas, Round 1

My mom & dad came the weekend before Christmas to celebrate early. Of course there were tons of presents, so Leah & Andrew were spoiled before Santa even had a chance to come!





Mom & Dad came around lunch time so we spent a whole day playing and talking. BJ & Chela came over for a nice dinner Friday night, and then it was time for presents!

Andrew had this awed look on his face pretty much the whole time.



And it didn't take him long to figure out what to do with those wrapped things. Although apparently it is also necessary to taste the paper.

And of course Leah had no problems unwrapping gifts, and wanted to unwrap everyone's! Although she loved unwrapping, she also wanted to stop and play with each thing she got. She wanted us to read her her books, and wanted crayons to immediately color her coloring book. She especially loved Andrew's toys!

Thanks, Mom, Dad, BJ & Chela for all the great gifts!!

Andrew @ 5 months

At 5 months, Andrew is developing quite a personality. He has certain "looks" that always make me laugh. Like when he's eating if someone sneezes or makes a loud noise, he'll look up at me as if to say, "Excuuuse me? You dare interuppt my meal??" He is very much into his toys and concentrates on things very hard. As I write this, he is incredibly focused on kicking hard enough to get his socks off. He also feels he must communicate by screaming. At the top of his lungs. Apparently that is how he hears US talking??

Every so often, starting the last day of November, he has slept through the night. By that I mean from about 8 until 4 or 5 am. It's still not every night-- some nights he'll only make it until 3, some he'll get up at 1. But he had a week-long stretch where he slept all night. So I know he can do it. I tried letting him cry it out-- I know he doesn't need t0 eat in the middle of the night-- but when he cries, he CRIES-- as if someone is in his bed trying to strangle him! So it's easier just to get up and feed him and then he goes right back to sleep. I can tolerate 15 minutes, as opposed to an hour of crying.

His daytime schedule is also starting to take place. Although many days we're out and about so he sleeps while we're on the go, when we're at home, he will take a short nap in the morning, then a longer, sometimes 2 hour nap in the afternoon (some days at the same time as Leah, oh, bliss!), and then another short nap at some point in the evening.

He has been doing pretty good with solids. He doesn't seem to like the plain cereal so much, so I moved quickly to sweet potatoes, then carrots and bananas. He still doesn't open his mouth well and he's still getting the hang of where to put his tongue, but he does seem to really like the tastes, especially the carrots. Lately he's been wanting to nurse every 2 or 2 1/2 hours-- perhaps a growth spurt?

He rolls over all the time, but it seems as if he can only go from his back to his tummy. I usually find him on his tummy in his crib in the mornings even though I laid him down on his back. I'm not sure he can turn back over but he doesn't seem to mind being on his tummy.

He's getting to that really fun stage I remember with Leah, where's he's not quite mobile, but still pretty interactive. He giggles and smiles and flirts with anyone who talks to him. He always has a big grin for me as soon as I get him up in the morning. And even though he's not always very cuddly, he still loves to be sung to and rocked at night before bed-- a stage I know doesn't last long!