Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve, We were traveling to Gulfport. So, W and L were able to 'open' (nothing was wrapped) a few things on the morning of Christmas Eve. W and L both loved their kitchen. They opened and closed the doors to the refrigerator, washing machine, oven, microwave and dishwasher (yes, all that in one little kitchen). And I later found out that W stored his jammies in the pantry. But, the big hit this morning was Elmo Live. L wasn't real sure what to do with him but, she really enjoyed touching him, dancing with him, grabbing his eyes, and putting her finger in his mouth.

Christmas morning

My sleeping children anxiously (?) awaiting the arrival of Santa.

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(click image to see larger)

Oh what fun Christmas morning was starting at 5:30 a.m.! W was excitedly opening all of his presents hoping to find the one and only Stanley with controller and freight cars (a train from the Thomas series and highly desired by W) while L was happily playing with all the wrapping paper as empty boxes as her gifts piled up unwrapped. Her gifts eventually were opened--mostly by William who could no longer stand wondering what was inside.

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Lauren's favorite thing was, by far, William's marvel super hero figures. She would carry the box around, ask to have lid removed, and then systematically remove and replace each figure.

Feeding the Vacuum

Well, I gave L her very own popcorn the other day. It was her first taste of the treat she has so often seen her brother eat. But, I made the mistake of giving it to her in a bucket like I do W. L managed to, so nicely, sprinkle the popcorn all over the floor. So, I pulled the vacuum out and started to clean it up. I think to L it looked like the vacuum was eating the popcorn. So, she then started picking up pieces to "feed" the vacuum and was so thrilled when the vacuum "ate" what she gave.

Christmas 2008

Look at my BIG boy. I am so amazed at how much he continues to change. You think (I least it was my way of thinking) that the changing starts to slow down after infancy--but, it really doesn't. W is constantly evolving.
This is, by far, my favorite picture from this photo session. I love the expression of L's face--as if to say "Whoa, who is this guy?"

This is also a particular favorite as story time is such a big part of our everyday lives. Since I am always participating, there are no pictures of us reading together.

Snowy Chaos!

The small town of Perry, GA has a big schedule full of family friendly events for the holidays. One of these is a Snow Day. Snow is trucked in from somewhere and covers the lawn of the courthouse--thus, snowy chaos. The lawn is packed from edge to edge and corner to corner with kids building snowmen, sledding on Rubbermaid container lids, and throwing snowballs everywhere (nobody is safe). L was excited about it for the first few minutes. Then, she slipped and fell on her bottom--she was sort of over it after that. She did like watching her brother. It took W a few minutes to warm up to the snow. Once he was warmed up he was running his races as usual and throwing snowballs.

Outer Space!

William loves to play "travel to outer space". It goes like this--we get under any blanket available and countdown from 10, at the end of the countdown, we blast off--of course. We visit whatever planet we land on and see the martian (also known as, L). Afterwards, we blast off and return to earth. Well, these pictures were taken while we were in space--there's no gravity there.

They sacrificed for us...

Soldiers sacrifice time with their families, being there for the birth of their child, watching their babies first steps, watching their sons first home run--whatever it is, soldiers sacrifice their lives for our country, for our freedom. This is an e-mail that circulates for remembering those injured soldiers at Walter Reed. Will you let them know they are appreciated and remembered?

Subject: FW: Great idea to do!Folks, Let's spread this! When doing your Christmas cards this year, take one card and send it to the address listed below. If we pass this on and everyone sends one card, think of how many cards these wonderful, special people who have sacrificed so much would get ? When you are making out your Christmas card list this year, please include the following:A Recovering American Soldier c/o Walter Reed Army Medical Center6900 Georgia Avenue, NW Washington , D.C. 20307-5001

Callaway gardens

Callaway Gardens has an event every year called "fantasy in lights". It is about an hour long drive through light show choreographed with music and narration. There are several themes including toys, the twelve days of Christmas, winter wonderland, Santa's workshop, and Tinkerbell vs. jack frost. The animation through the lights in spectacular. You go through the light show by car, trolley, or foot--W, L, Tracy, Lindsay, Jillian and I went by trolley. This is the group of children when we arrived--they were ready to get out of the car

W and Lindsay took L to look out the window of the discovery center

These pictures are from a small garden outside the discovery center. L was a little bit of a hooligan. She kept pulling the garden flower labels and information signs out of the ground. W had fun leaping from the walls.

L liked watching the ducks and fish and W liked feeding the ducks and fish. They really enjoyed running across the bridge. I enjoyed the magnificent scenery--it really is beautiful.

Can you find W among all the nutcrackers?

Finally on the trolley. L loved the lights for about the first 30 minutes, after that she had other things on her mind. She pointed at all the lights and tapped her hands to the beat of the music. She also kept trying to lean her head out the side of the trolley. William was glued to the other side of the trolley, seldom looking away from the lights. He really liked then end of the light show when the elves were "throwing" snowballs at us.

L's many expressions

This little girl is not a big talker, she has plenty of words for now but is more of an observer. But, what she lacks in conversation she more than makes up for with facial expressions. These few expressions hardly cover her complete repertoire of expressions.

W playing soccer

William finished his first team experience and got his first trophy. He was so proud--as was I; I even got a little teary over the whole deal. He played Smart Start Soccer with the Youth Center on base. They don't ever play any real games but, start learning technique--things like power kicks, side kicks, dribbling, throw ins, hitting the ball with their head, passing, and stopping. Occasionally, they played little games against each other. This was particularly amusing because they were so use to doing drills one at a time that when one of them started a "game" by dribbling the ball towards the goal, they all just stood and watched. Finally, they got the hang of running and kicking the ball all together but, never really understood in which goal to put the ball.

In this series of videos, you see W doing a power kick then working to get the ball in the goal. It is pretty standard W. He runs, he falls, he runs, he falls--typically he wanted to just roll around in the grass but, was easily coaxed to get back in the game.

This video is W doing a throw in. Coach Scott encouraged the kids to use his bald head as their target. Needless to say, they were all more than happy to throw the ball directly at his head. He was really great--his son is on the team so he knows a thing or two about the 3 year old mind.

This video is a small clip of some real "game" action.

waiting for Tricking or Treating

This evening, we went trick or treating (actually, all treating) with William's friend Lindsay and her mom Tracy (friends from my time in FL). These pictures are of all the children waiting for the action. Do you think I could have gotten a picture of W and L together?--Yeah right, they are constant motion next to each other. However, W will stand perfectly straight and still taking a picture next to his friend--go figure. L is a lady bug--she had an antennae headband and a ladybug wand, but she absolutely refuses to wear anything on her head and depending on her mood will act like you are ruining her life if you insist on any type of head piece--so, no headband. W is a modified speed racer driving his race car. He has been wearing his helmet, almost everywhere, for about 2 weeks now. Lindsay is a jellyfish--fabulously crafted by her mom. While we were waiting to go, L so delicately beheaded the scarecrow in their yard and stole the witches broom. Poor Lindsay worked diligently to replace the scarecrows head. Lauren also spent some time dancing, you will see a video next. The backwards stepping is her signature move.

(by the way, clicking on the picture above will allow to view larger photos)

Trick or Treating

L, W, and Lindsay went to several doors. Lauren wanted to go into everyone's house. I think she thought if they are going to give her candy she was going to stay!
This house was funny. That mummy in the background lit up and made spooky sounds. W could not take is eyes of the thing, not even to walk down the stairs--he nearly fell on every step.

Oh, the world is my stage--according to L. She did not want to leave this porch. It was the perfect location for her monologue.
W was always lacking about an inch to reach the doorbell and his knock was just not loud enough. So, he had to rely on Lindsay (who is a year older and has that extra inch) to ring the bell.

by the end of the evening, W was in the stroller and L was walking. W declared that he had "plenty of candy" and was "ready to go back to Lindsay's house". L was more than happy to walk and what big girl carrying her treat bag.

After Trick or Treating

W wanted to taste all of his candy. He wanted to open one piece, lick it or take a bite out of it, then move on to the next piece

Poor L. She was so made that this bag of gummies wasn't getting opened fast enough. All was well after I opened it for her.