A Meaningful Christmas

Two posts two days in a row??? What is going on??? I really do want to be better about blogging more than a couple of times a month.  This is my main record of our lives during the early kid years and I know I will forget a lot of these things down the years. 

A few weeks ago a lady in my church invited me (and 22 other ladies) to participate in A Meaningful Christmas.  The idea is that 24 ladies get together and make 24 ornaments based on a Bible verse in the Christmas story.  I had to make 24 ornaments based on Rev. 22:13 Alpha and Omega.  I searched online and in many craft stores for Alpha and Omega symbols but I couldn't find any, so we improvised. Jay was definitely very helpful in making my ornament!

The first thing I did was cut all the paper to 2" x 3" and mod podge them onto the wooden ornament bases.  The last time I used mod podge was when my high school friends and I made each other scrapbooks for our 16th birthdays, so needless to say it had been a while!

The Jay wrote Alpha and Omega in calligraphy on the white papers and I mod podged those to the ornaments. 

Before we had kids we made our own Christmas ornaments because, well, we had a lot more time on our hands :)  The snowflake cut-out is leftover from cards we made our first year married.  We had to dig in the basement, but I knew we had the snowflake punch somewhere! 

Here are most of the ornaments tied and ready to go.  I say most because I was about 7 ornaments short with the ribbon so Jay had to run out to Walmart Monday afternoon before the party and get some more ribbon! I think I mentioned earlier how helpful he was during this entire process because crafts are not really my thing.

Last night I got together with all the other ladies and we had an ornament exchange.  Everyone's ornaments turned out so cute and I love how unique they all are.  This would be something I would love to make for my family, but I would never actually get around to doing it so having this set up and organized was a huge blessing.

 I also got a devotional book to read one devotion each day with the kids and then hang up the ornament that goes with that day's devotion.  It starts on Dec. 1 and ends the 24th.  I think this will be a really fun tradition to do together and I am hoping to find a good deal on a small fake tree after Christmas that we can use each year just for these advent ornaments.

Playing Together

The kids are old enough now to play together and really interact.  Before Charlotte would just copy everything Trey did, but now Trey suggests an activity and they do it together.  So far their favorites to play together are cars, read books, any type of craft, hide and seek, puzzles, tea party, and bedtime.

Holding hands together outside. 

Sometimes Trey will ask Charlotte to play with him and she will say no and keep playing on her own.  We try to explain that Charlotte wants to play by herself right now and maybe she will play with him later.  Charlotte loves to ask him to read because she can't quite reach the books on the bookshelf and he will point to each one and ask, "This one Charlotte?" and she will say no usually 10 times until he touches just the right book, then she will say yes.  To be honest, Trey has an extreme amount of patience in dealing with her!

Drawing together on the chalkboard.  Charlotte couldn't reach so they both had to get step stools!

Trey cheesing up the picture!

Charlotte also adores Trey and gets very upset if he isn't when her.  If he has to go play in his room because he isn't being nice she cries and yells, "Bey!" until he comes back down.  Often we have to keep her from climbing up to his room to be with him.  And just like any good sibling relationship they try to be the boss of each other and tell each other if they are doing something incorrect.  Tonight Trey told Charlotte, "No, Charlotte, you need to be in your seat now to eat dinner." If Trey forgets to carry his plate into the kitchen Charlotte will say, "Bey, plate!" until he comes to get it. 

Trey is pretending to sleep in the princess sofa.  He brought down his batman pillow to add just the right touch.

Having a tea party together.  Trey even lets Charlotte hand feed him the goldfish and she loves to do it!

I know they will have their share of sibling disagreements and fights, and they still have some now, but I am so thankful that they love each other and enjoy playing together!

22 Months

It is hard to believe that Charlotte will be 2 in just a couple of months! She is definitely acting all toddler these days.  She loves to be around people and talks to anyone and everyone.  When we leave church she waves to every person and car on way out and says, "bye, bye!"

Her favorite place to be is outside.  She doesn't need a lot of toys, just running around is her favorite thing.  She is talking so much and it amazes me the new things she says every day.  She is very polite and says please and thank you and excuse me whenever necessary.  She knows what she wants and will often say it and if you don't understand than she will take your hand and guide you to what she wants.  At night she will pray for "Daddy, Mommy, Bey,  Mamaw, Mampa, Nana, Papa, Cooper, and cookies.  Amen"  The cookies line she threw in a few nights ago and has kept it every since!

 She is still a really good eater and will try most anything.  Her favorite foods are milk, applesauce, bananas, yogurt, beans, bacon, spaghetti, mac and cheese, oatmeal and goldfish.  She also loves to dip foods in ketchup. 

Charlotte sleeps from 7 pm- 7 am every night and takes about a 2 hour nap in the afternoons.  We put her to bed at 7 pm but she takes about 30 minutes to wind down and you can often hear her singing to herself in the crib.  We haven't made the transition to the big girl bed yet, but she is very content in her crib and most mornings doesn't want to get out.  She will sing Jesus Loves Me, The Itsy, Bitsy Spider, Deep and Wide, Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes, The B-I-B-LE, and the Wheels on the Bus to name a few.  She picks up songs really fast and loves to sing and do motions. 

Charlotte loves her brother and he is by far her favorite person.  She sometimes has to go to timeout because she will not stop climbing on him! As she is getting older they play really well together and she will pretty much do whatever Trey tells her too, but if she doesn't want to she will gladly tell him "NO!".  She watches everything he does and has learned a lot from him.  

Charlotte's favorite toys would have to be her books.  She will get a pile of books and sit on the sofa and read to herself for quite a while.  She is still obsessed with shoes and bags.  If you come in the house with your shoes on she will take them off for you and put them your cubby for shoes in the mudroom.  Sometimes she will bring you shoes to put on. Charlotte loves to be helpful and will help you clean up, take her plate into the kitchen, and put things back where they belong.

 It is so much fun watching Charlotte get bigger and take off on her independence! She will gladly snuggle in your lap for a story, but when she wants to do her own thing- watch out! Her sweet voice loves to say, "okay" when you tell her something to do and I am enjoying that so much because I know it won't last! Charlotte also has a mischievous side to her.  She knows she is not supposed to stand on the sofas or chairs, but she if you tell her to sit, she will sit and then stand up as soon as you look away.  The other day she stood up on the sofa and when I looked at her she got down and put herself in time out! I don't know if that is a good thing or not- she is disciplining herself but not just staying sitting in the first place! 

Charlotte is so full of life and loves to play at home and go places.  She is a very content toddler and as long as we stick to her nap and bedtime routine she is a happy girl.  We love you so much Charlotte!

Playing Catch Up

Last weekend Trey and Charlotte enjoyed the visit from their cousins.  I didn't want to drag my camera around on Saturday, so Jay was in charge of using his phone for pictures during the day.  They are a little blurry, but show how much fun we had!

Charlotte and her cousin Chandler

Charlotte and her cousin Jacob.  Poor girl could hardly see with her hat, but at least she was warm!

Charlotte is throwing food to the ducks at the duck pond.  She kept getting really close to see the ducks and I think she would have gotten in with them if we had let her!

Trey and Charlotte running down the path at the duck pond.

Two boys looking for some trouble. 

Trey and Chandler about to take off!

Chandler was Charlotte's trusty captain at the park.

Trey loves to go down slides, especially really big ones like this!

He also loves to swing.  He would swing for hours if somebody would keep pushing him. 

More fun at Caboose Park in Blacksburg

My Happy Place

I think everyone has a great fondness for their college years.  For me, when I think of those precious years of undergrad, my heart yearns for Blacksburg and that carefree life.  Granted, I thought I was busy and stressed then, but I was only responsible for myself and could come and go as I pleased.  I could invest my time in relationships and in quiet time with no interruptions.  I felt an undeniable sense of freedom and at the same time a heartfelt sense of belong.

A few weekends ago I went to a Hokie football game with one of my best college friends.  We lived together for 2 1/2 years and spent many a college football game sitting next to each other.  While our amazing husbands watched the kids we walked to the stadium, caught up on life together, and cheered on our Hokies.  It was like coming home.

Then last weekend we traveled to Blacksburg with my bother and sister in law and their two kids.  All four of us are Tech grads, so we took our kids to the duck pond, and then drove around campus and town hoping someone in a car seat would take a nap while we reminisced.  I remembered how I felt when my parents drove away, when I first walked into BCM trying to make new friends, apartment hunting with my roommates, starting to date Jay, working in my first classroom, learning how to cook with my roommates, and ultimately getting engaged, married and starting grad school at Tech.

I lived in Blacksburg for 5 years and I am not the same person because of it.  That place and those people molded me and shaped me into a person that learned how to serve, how to be an adult, and how to do life.  When we first started looking for jobs post graduate school, Jay and I thought God was leading us to stay in Blacksburg.  He was done with school but I had one more year.  The jobs didn't quite open up and God led us instead to a quiet town where Jay grew up.  Now I am thankful.  If I still lived in Blacksburg, I don't think I would appreciate it for what it is to me and to my family.

With one child chatting to herself and waving out the window and another snoring in his carseat, Jay and I had this conversation as we drove around the drill field.

Me: Do you miss it?
Jay: Yeah. Do you wish you could go back?
Me: Yeah. I would do it all exactly the same again.
Jay: Me too.

Halloween 2012

Trey is at the perfect age for holidays.  He understands what is going on and get very excited about any birthday or holiday.  My mom made the kids' Mickey and Minnie Mouse costumes this year for Halloween.  The package with the costumes arrived last Saturday.

The kids have been dressing up at home ever since then! On Halloween we dressed the kids up and tried to get some pictures at home.  Trey wanted to wear his cookie monster hat with his outfit, but there is only so much cooperation you can expect when you have a 3 year old extremely excited about getting treats!

Pre- Trick or Treating snack of cheese and crackers. 

The only way to get Trey to stand still for a photo was like this.  I now understand the phrase, bouncing off the walls, because Trey was so exciting about trick or treating.

 Charlotte did not want to put on her ears or hands, but she loved her dress.  We attempted to take a picture of the two kids together, but shockingly they did not want to stand still and take pictures so we could record their costumes for years to come! I realize now that we have no individual pictures of Trey in his costume.  He wore his costume all night long without complaint and we kept trying to get Charlotte to put her ears on and then take a picture that we totally didn't realize Trey didn't have one by himself!

Since we don't live in a neighborhood, we drove to Jay's parent's house to trick or treat. Charlotte let us finish getting her dressed when she got out of the car, but Trey was off looking for his treat.  They got tons of treats to which Trey kept saying, "Thank you so much for my treats!"

The only happy picture all night of Charlotte in her full costume!

Enjoying the treats at Grandma and Grandpa's. Jay had just put the Minnie ears on Charlotte and she was not having it!  

 After that we headed to our church for Trunk or Treat.  It was extremely cold and windy while we were there so the kids had on hats, gloves and heavy coats over their costumes.  We took no pictures because we were trying to hold bags of candy and Trey's hand.  Plus Charlotte kept trying to walk away from holding my hand (maybe I was holding a little too tightly..) so Jay ended up carrying her leaving no free hands for pictures. 

I was so proud of Trey at church.  Our shy little guy walked right up to each car, looked at the adults and said "Trick or Treat" and then "Thank you" after he got his candy each time! He wasn't bashful, he knew if he talked to them he would get a treat :)  Charlotte did not want to hold her bag of candy or go up to the people, so she mainly just watched from Jay's arms.  She did like waving to other babies in costumes like moneys or other animals she knew.

Next year I definitely want to take pictures of the trunk or treat at church.  There are hundreds of kids and it is so much fun.  I just hope after 2 very cold years, next year is a little warmer!