grumps

 

for the most part, G wakes up pretty happy from his afternoon nap. on the days he wakes up b/f 4, we usually go in to find him bouncing like tigger in his bed or lying on his back swinging his legs in the air from side to side.

but today i was shooting lucy's 5 month pic (a few days late!) in her room & i could hear him talking/whining from his room. when lucy & i went in to get him up, i asked G to show L his bed & put her in his crib beside him. but that little monkey wasn't happy. @ all. about anything. no idea what his grumpy trouble was but he was simply ill. poor baby. he didn't care that L was laying there w/ him. but he just didn't want to get glad.

all week, though, he & L have been spectacular w/ afternoon naps. i am still suffering through a nasty cold/sinus/yuck thing & have needed two days of naps myself! so i can't complain about one irregular afternoon of sleep...or level of crankiness! more than anything...i had to laugh. these two have made me smile so much this week - despite MY own crankiness! :-)

christmas'd

 

felt like we christmas'd for a week this year. which i suppose we nearly did...by the time we did christmas here, then in NC w/ my family & then in TN w/ brian's family. & in reality, not all of the decorations are down in our house...G's still wanting to read christmas books & see christmas movies (DD's as he refers to them - for "DVD").

& while christmas is rarely made up of anything it's portrayed as in movies or songs or stories to be...this christmas i just felt extreme peace & calm that i know comes from christ alone. on christmas eve, we sat in church & were reminded to seek our savior. to know the child that was born & placed in a manager. & we were challenged as we move forward into a new year, that we begin to look more like Him...just as a child resembles their parent.

our christmas day here, w/ our babies...was just special. special b/c our lucy lynn was here. last christmas we knew she was coming, but i couldn't wrap my head around what having 2 babies by the tree would be like. now we can't imagine this SWEET little girl NOT being wrapped around our hearts. we are ridiculously blessed...ridiculously so. christmas day night, i didn't even want them to go to bed...i did NOT want our special day to end! i am also thankful that we were able to then share in the season w/ both our families. lucy & garrett LOVED being around their big cousins & G just played his heart out (despite a nasty upper respiratory & ear infection!).

thank you, God, for the gift of your Son. & for the gift of our earthly family!

(shot above taken just b/f we headed out to christmas dinner...chinese! brian & i have done that every christmas day that we've been in atlanta, even b/f kids - so fun!)

he's doing just fine

 

if you knew brian & i 7 years ago, you know that we turned into "dog people" (ok, i did). you know, those people who obnoxiously ;-) think of their pet as their child & talk about the pet, photograph the pet, send pictures of their pet to their parents who really are just thinking "when the H*&^ are you going to give me a REAL grandchild already?". right, we were them - or i was them, rather. & then we had a real kid. right. poor huckleberry got pushed to the side.

after G was born & i was working, it seemed ok w/ H. once i came home, though, i was done w/ him. i know, it's HORRIBLE. i used to never believe it when people said that after kids, their pet started playing second fiddle. i also used to never believe that having a baby would change you from the inside out in ways that are nearly unspeakable b/c they are so deep & raw that you are literally NEVER the same again.

so...after much deliberation b/w brian & me...we decided our 95-pound first born doggie should go. but only to someone we knew would love & care about him the way we...well, the way we USED to. :-) my parents live on a few acres & i called my dad & basically begged him to let H come live w/ him! it was perfect timing...so in april, H relocated & became a carolina coonhound! he loves chasing the deer, squirrels & all types of "varmit" that wander through my parent's yard. they have invisible fencing, so he has his run of the entire place...which you would think would help in the *exercise* department but he's actually fat & happy - probably put on 15 pounds (@ least!). & my parents other dog, sophie, finally accepted him - H finally learned that she's the boss - & they've been happily sharing the territory ever since.

this trip G LOVED being able to run around w/ "huppur-bur-ee" (as G calls him). in the photo above, we were going up to the road to check the mail & huck is waiting well b/f the line (since he doesn't want to get *shocked* for going too far!). he really is SUCH a gorgeous dog & i am so glad that he's adjusted to being treated so royally @ my parent's! (you think we spoiled him? you should meet my dad!!!)

pictures with see-tah

 

today we took the babies to sit on *see-tah's* lap. brian prepped me before we went in to not freak out if the line was long. he did not prep me for the "you're not going to make the cut before santa's lunch break" scenario. fortunately after L had her bottle, B took G to play in the soft play area. another providential break...*KayJo* happened by & offered to get G some Chik-Fil-A (thank you, thank you, thank you!!!) so that also killed some more time & staved off a potential meltdown.

we did indeed make the cut b/f santa took a few minutes to himself...the photographer only allowed one shot & you were out of there! so...the above is what we got. they both just look stunned, quite frankly. B didn't even have time to get both of G's shoes on as he was coming back. hahahahahaha!

*see-tah = santa
*KayJo = Kelly Jo
*Lucy's outfit courtesy of B. Kidd! :-)

just one picture

 

that was all i wanted just one shot. of me. with my babies. with their reindeer antlers on.

do you know how difficult it is to hold approx 46 pounds of wriggly babies? garrett decided not to look @ the camera, whipped his head around & his antlers caught my hair in the process. the above photo is the best we could do. and these, THESE, are the days of our lives.

it was fun listening to garrett talk about the reindeer. we walked up & he yelled so loudly, "hi, reindeer!" he really wanted to touch them & when we said no, we couldn't, he asked if he could hug them. :-) no, sweetie, we can't do that either. we had lunch @ wendy's after & he told all the people around us that he just "see reindeer!"

hope that you & yours are enjoying the magic of this christmas!

freestylin'

 

raining cats & dogs.
brian suggested b/f he left this AM that i push furniture to the side of the rooms & let G go all over the house on the little 4-wheeler he got for his birthday. mind you, i have to walk behind G & actually turn the handlebars. our little guy knows how to push the red button to make it go, but mastering turning handlebars? why that is for another day.

so we have a wreck of a downstairs but this monkey's had the time of his life this AM. i mean, look @ the smiles on his face!!! for some reason he loves inspecting the 4-wheeler - will just lay down on the floor & look it over. but the best part yet? the way he will freestyle on this thing - so far he rides a) the correct way, b) side saddle, c) standing w/ feet on feet rests, d) knees on the seat, e) feet on seat basically standing (RIGHT!) and f) the best one of all...laying his belly on the seat while grabbing the handlebars & holding his feet up in the air (so he becomes parallel to the ground) while pressing the 'GO' button!!! we couldn't help it - B & i were both just laughing so hard watching him do it today!

my baby loves

 

ah. i just LOVE them.

one of G's favorite things to do is pull the cushion out of the glider in his room. he proceeds to pile books in there & climb up to read. OR more likely, he jumps hard on the springs of the seat & rocks (yes @ the same time) the chair.

this AM he pulled the cushion out & climbed in w/ books while i was changing the bean's diaper. when i lifted her up he said, "mere, baby!" w/ his arms stretched out towards her. so i plopped her down so she could sit w/ him. he started reading christmas books to her.

i quickly grabbed my crappy little camera & fired off a few shots. the bottom left shot is blurry, but i can see the pride in our little man's face (i was praising him for reading to her).

we have a 12 days of christmas book that goes through the nativity scene. each time he'd turn the page, he'd make up a # & then say the name of the animal/people (ie, five doves). shocking @ times to see how much they absorb from what we read/say/do to/with them.

i'm thankful for my little loves. regardless of where this day is headed, i'm grateful that i had those two minutes with them this morning.