Friday, December 31st, 2010

Well one last little post for 2010. Right now we are trying to put a very sad Landon to bed. He is beside himself that 2010 will be no more. It didn't help that he watched the Velveteen Rabbit right before bed too. It has been constant crying for the last 30 minutes. Ella doesn't want to go to bed too because she said the movie scared her and we have actually had her sleep in her own room for the last 3 nights. Now, Eli is crying because we made Landon leave the room so that Eli could go to sleep but he doesn't want to be by himself. Whew - a little bit different than the way we used to ring in the new year, but I wouldn't exchange it for the world. At least not the whole picture, maybe the crying right this moment but not the kids.

Anyway - a very wonderful Christmas this year and boy how time flies. I am sad to see it leave myself but have so many wonderful memories that will last a lifetime.

November 1, 2010

What is with Halloween at our house??? Last year we had 3 in the family sick. This year Mike started feeling bad after a fall carnival on Saturday and ended up in the hospital early Sunday morning with an appendicitis. I feel bad that he drove himself to the ER but he was certain he didn't want me to bring him and luckily we live less than 1.5 miles from the hospital. He had surgery yesterday afternoon to remove his appendix and is feeling so much better now. He will hopefully get to go home around noon today.

At first he thought it was the chili I made that he had for dinner but soon the pain was just too much. After much pain medicine he seemed a little more himself as he was cracking jokes with the doctors before surgery. My favorite was when the anesthesiologist was getting ready to take him back for surgery and said it was "time for hugs and kisses" and then Mike looked at him and said..."we just met, I don't know you that well".

The kids on the other hand were a bit worried about daddy but more excited about all of the visitors and fun they were able to have yesterday. They said some prayers for dad and made a couple of cards but the day for them started with some Krispy Kreme doughnuts, Ella made banana bread with Ms. Lisa, Pops stopped by and gave out some M&M's, Gammy stopped by before going to the hospital, cousin Kelli came and spent the afternoon playing, Michelle brought pumpkins and carving tools for the kids to carve, they met me, Nannie, Gammy, Uncle Chuck, and Aunt Caroline along for dinner at K&W, then they topped off the day going for a quick trick or treating expedition through the neighborhood. Hopefully they won't start praying for daddy to be sick since their day was so fun.

I hope your Halloween was much less eventful than ours but as fun as Landon, Ella and Eli's day. If you can't tell from the pictures (I will post later) Ella was a pixie fairy, Landon was Iron Man, and Eli was Peter Pan. Ella and Eli did make it to the church fall festival on Wednesday night and they all made it to another festival on Saturday night so candy is overflowing from our candy bowl.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

How long has it been????? I am not even posting a picture right now but was at my computer watching Ella and Eli out of the window. They told me they found a white caterpillar and they quickly went to work building it a house. The had me come out to see it and I saw the large white dead grub worm on the sidewalk with a

lovely leaf and rock house around it. They are still working on it and the next time I went out they told me about the seesaw, a train, and a car that they had built for him. My response, "I am sure he loves all of the fun stuff you have made for

him" and Ella says, "Well I think he's dead but we made it". They are still wandering around working hard to add to the "white caterpillars"

playground.

Oh, how I just love Ella's imagination and the way she has of pulling her little brother into her adventures. Not every dead grub worm gets the treatment like the ones at my house. Hope your house is as creative today as ours.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

June left and July is upon us and finally I am updating. The kids are having a very busy summer which means I am as well. We are having

lots of fun but I could use a rest. Landon and Ella went to a VBS for a week, Landon attended sports camp for a week, we went to the beach for a week, and we have been going to playgroups, the pool, and lots of family activities. We have been to Tweetsie to visit Th

omas the Tank Engine, a bluegrass festival to hang out with some friends, Fairy Stone State Park to swim in the lake, and Old Salem to enjoy learning about how history, and to Waverly, VA to celebrate my grandmother's 90th birthday. My kids seem to be taking it all in but I think we nee

d to slow down a little and enjoy the downtime or at least make some downtime. They think a day at home with nowhere we have to go and no specific friends

coming over is so strange. Where are the days of running around your backyard and free to roam the neighborhood with other kids during the summer? I know times have changed but it's sad to me that I can't let them play outside for 10 minutes without worrying that somehow they have been snatched from our fenced yard hurt themselves and I didn't hear them. Maybe as they get older these

things will change a little but for now we will keep filling our days with too many things to do and places to go and I will love eve

ry minute of them having fun in all of the activities that keep us running.

On a grand note - Eli had his cast taken off almost a week and a half ago. The actual event of taking it off seemed to be torture and then after they took it off they noticed that his skin had gotten a bit wet on the bottom of his foot. That meant no walking

for while and no pool for a couple of days. It was very hard since we were trying to keep him e

xcited about the removal of the cast by telling him we would get to go swimming. He was a tro

oper and managed to stay relatively calm for a day or two before we made our way to the pool. H

e is still limping a bit and

still wants to be held a lot but hopefully that will all resolve itself over the next week or so.

For Ella, she celebrated her 5th birthday with lots of fun. She is also on some new medicines for her allergies and for her eczema and seems to be feeling much better. Her skin is really getting better and she seems to just feel better overall. She is enjoying activities that she would have just sat out on before and seems to not be so dramatic about a lot of things. She is really enjoying swimming this year and loved the waves at the beach. She roams around a pool with a lot of confidence and even enjoyed going to swim in the lake at Fairy Stone State Park. Oh how it tickles me to see her having so much fun and feeling well.

Landon is maturing by the minute. He is really grabbing hold of sarcasm recently and we are trying to enjoy it but keep it reigned in so he doesn't go too far. He really has a sweet heart and is having a lot of fun teaching both Ella and Eli new things on a daily basis. He is loving the pool and especially the diving board and the freedom to go anywhere in the pool that he wants. It is our first summer with knowing that one of ours is capable of swimming without being right beside them 100% of the time.

Oh how I love being a mom and spending the days with my family. It fills my heart to hear them laugh and play. Even though it seems that the summer is flying by I am making a big effort to stop and take it all in.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Check out Landon's new smile. The first one came out a couple of weeks ago when Mike pulled out the very loose tooth with some pliers. Tonight Mike pulled the other loose tooth but didn't use pliers (thank goodness). Landon

is excited because last time not only did he get a dollar but he got a coupon for extra Wii time. Ella is now asking if any of her teeth are loose. The second picture was recently when he was just missing one front tooth.

It was very cute when he was trying to go to sleep and he was saying "I can't weep holding a tittue" - funny how those s's need front teeth to say them.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

April has been a blast so far. We had a lot of fun with Lillie's Friends this year and enjoyed the event from beginning to end. We went to Hilton Head for a little R&R and time on the beach. We celebrated Jesus rising from the grave with a wonderful Easter and lots of activities surrounding it. We ended our homesch

ool year with a party and the end of year program. We have had the kids first sleepover here at the house. We have spent l

ots and lots of time outdoors enjoying the spring weather and have survived the crazy amounts of pollen. Landon has started t-ball and is enjoying the game. We have visited with family and friends. I have started participating in a boot camp to get in shape. The list goes on and on it seems.

Landon, Ella and Eli are each growing and changing so fast that I need to take pictures everyday to keep up. I have enjoyed watching Eli become more and more active with Landon and Ella and more and more of the conversationalist. Landon has almost finished all of his school work and is excited about the summer coming so that he can swim more and more.

This is my attempt at uploading a video of Landon. He recited some scripture for church on Sunday, you can't hear the first part where he says Exodus 20: 1-17.

Sorry - never worked. But tried to post some pictures from the month.

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

March has come and gone and here I am trying to post before the clock changes. We have had an awesome month. The kids are very busy with school and lots of activities. We had time at home working in the yard with good weather. We were given a trampoline which has been a ton of fun. We had dinner club at our house and loved catching up with everyone. Ella has been asking to take trips all month to go to Nannies, to go to the beach, to go to a fun place, going to the Atlanta Aquarium, anything that she could ask to go to. Landon has wrapped up a lot of his school, doing extra work so that he could have a good spring break and finishing up a lot of his work for the year. We are starting a few new things but I am so proud of him for working hard to accomplish his goals. Eli is growing up so fast and trying to follow his brother and sister in everything they do. He is becoming more and more independent in trying to do everything on his own.

The last couple of weeks the kids have been practicing their egg hunting. I find eggs everywhere in our house with so many halves that I am about to go crazy. Luckily after this coming weekend I can probably put them all away and wait again until next year before they are requested.

Lastly, we are very excited about this Saturday. Lillie's Friends Foundation is having the 2nd annual Lillie's Friends event. This year we will be at Tanglewood with a 5 K starting at 9:00 AM and the festival starting at 10:00 AM. Come out and enjoy this free event if you can and have fun with all of the activities, music, and egg hunt. All donations and proceeds will go to fund research for a childhood cancer called Neuroblastoma. We love you Lillie!!!

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

What a weekend. We had so much fun last weekend that I requested an extra day or two but somehow didn't get it. Friday night some little friends came over and played with Ella and Eli while Landon went to his taekwando testing. Landon tested for his purple belt and did well. Chuck, Caroline, Kelli, and Sam also came over and watched the opening of the Olympics with us. It snowed that evening and stopped after 1.5 inches so it was a pretty but not overwhelming. Saturday Ella and Eli's pajama party was cancelled so we were able to have a relaxed morning with homemade waffles. Later Mike took Ella to the daddy/daughter dance at the Children's Museum. She was so very excited to get dressed up and go on a date. They played, made crafts, ate dinner and danced. While dancing Ella realized that he date was almost over and began to fall apart. After coming home Mike quickly switched from his suit into ballgame gear and took Landon to the Wake vs GT game. They had a blast watching Wake take out GT. Sunday was another full day with church, lunch with lots of friends, Landon's friend Jason coming over to play and then cake with the kids. Once the kids went to bed Mike fixed me a wonderful dinner with Alaskan king crab legs, roasted red potatoes, white wine and then a special icecream parfait with blueberries and strawberries and homemade whipped cream. Quite fancy it was!!!

I couldn't have asked for a better birthday. Might I also mention that Mike gave me a macbook which I am still trying to completely figure out. It's been since college that I used a Mac. It's pretty cool but I think it is going to take me a while to really get the grip of it all. If anybody has any tips please pass them along.

On another note, tonight Eli went to bed without a pacifier at all. He started having issues with it on Sunday when we thought he left it outside. Mike went and bought some new ones that were bigger than the old and he wouldn't have anything to do with them. Then we found his old one and tried that and he didn't want them at all. Eventually after a late night he finally fell asleep. Since then it has been a battle trying to get him asleep without them and we have even tried to get him to use his old one. Today he didn't take a nap at all so he was especially tired. We laid him down and never heard a fuss. I am hoping that this means that he won't be using it anymore. Wow - they are growing up. Moving to the big bed and getting rid of the pacifier in less than 2 weeks - can mom handle it???

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Our little boy is growing up so fast. Eli has been talking so much lately and often says things I didn't even know he could say. He likes to repeat anything Landon and Ella say as well. Yesterday, he had his first big loss. He was leaving the grocery store with Ella and I, and carrying two balloons (one for him and one for his big brother). As you have probably already guessed, one went up in the air. As he became alarmed at the balloon fastly rising out of reach he let go of the second one. Then immediately he started screaming. A mom and her teenage daughter were coming through the parking lot and the young girl went back in and got Eli the very last balloon in there. Eli screamed a thank you but continued to cry for about 30 minutes overwhelmed with disbelief that the balloons were gone. He kept repeating two things...."balloon fly away" and "mommy can't reach it". I felt horrible as if I had let him down somehow. If I could have flew up in the air I would have saved those two balloons without a second thought. He then decided that he didn't like the balloon and didn't want it and gave it immediately to Landon. After giving it away he still continued to cry saying "balloon fly away". I know we all wish we could fix things like this but it reminds me that he now understands the feeling of losing something outside of the realms of losing it in the house.

After we regrouped and had dinner Eli had calmed down. I think he really wore himself out crying. We put him to bed in the pack'n'play that he has been sleeping in since we started remodeling. Even though we are finished we hadn't transitioned him to the big boy bed for good. Last night after we put them to bed Landon came out and told me that Eli climbed out of the pack'n'play and is in other bed. He sweetly went to bed with no problem and was still sleeping hard when I woke him up at 8:30. Mike went in and put up the rails in the middle of the night so he wouldn't fall out. This afternoon he took his nap with no problem in the big boy bed and tonight same thing. I guess tomorrow I will take the pack'n'play down, all the while I am sure I will be shedding a tear or two. They don't stay babies very long.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Who can believe this weather??? Here we are with snow still on the ground and we are under another winter weather warning. This time they are calling for ice so not as nice but we can deal. Luckily we have people outside cutting down a tree today that is near a power line which will hopefully keep us from downing the line that runs directly to our house.

On another note, Landon just let me pull his tooth out. It had been barely hanging on for about a week now and he had been having trouble eating. When I looked today it was soooooo loose I just asked him if I could pull it. He stood there like a champ and let me take it out but it didn't require much pulling at all. He was very excited and immediately asked me "is the tooth fairy imaginary?". Don't you love those fun questions? I was selfish in wanting him to let me pull it as the first tooth he lost he was at Nannie and Pops house and they never found it (hmmmm think he swallowed it) and this was his second. He is going to spend the night at Nannie's tonight to await the snow so I wanted to at least see it gone. Wonder if the tooth fairy will visit Nannie and Pops house?

Hope you all have a nice snowy or icy weekend.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

February is here already????? I can't keep up. January was fun and we had a great start to the year. All of the remodeling was done and we have thoroughly enjoyed the house being back to normal for the most part. We have also loved having another big snowfall. The kids had a blast playing in the snow and sledding was great again. Eli had fun playing in the snow with a bucket and shovel. We had icicles on our house that were about 15 inches long. It was a beautiful picture. Landon and Mike have been going to several of the Wake Forest games and having a lot of fun. We have also had several play dates since the New Year and looking forward to a lot more.

Landon has almost finished his Geography book and his Math book for the year but we have decided to push forward to the next year's books so that we can keep him going. He has also been talking about t-ball and excited for the spring to get that started. Ella still has a love hate relationship with preschool. It doesn't help when we have 3 days off a week for snow. She loves her class once she is already there but doesn't ever want to go in the mornings. Outside of that she has enjoyed doing lots of crafts since Christmas and is still drawing and coloring all the time.

Eli shares his sister's love hate relationship with preschool. Although he only goes twice a week when we have extended time away (as we have for the last 3 weeks due to holidays, teacher workdays and now snow) he doesn't adjust to going back. He is growing up a storm and talking so much now that it amazes me. This morning he was up at 5 and while Mike and I were still trying to catch a few z's he was randomly counting 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 17, 18, 19, 20. He was very bright eyed for 5 in the morning unlike his mom!!!!

Looking forward to February and 6 more weeks of winter. Planning on going skiing some and taking Landon and Ella for their first attempt. Landon is also counting down the days until my birthday even though I was thinking about skipping a birthday this year and waiting until next year to count it.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Wow, it has been a long time since I have posted. Where to even start. We had a wonderful Christmas even though the decorations at our house were very limited. Our house was in complete chaos with remodeling so we didn't have a big tree, lights, candles in the windows or a real wreath. My mom put up a few decorations for us and Mike hung a few lights in our basement. However, the kids were full of Christmas joy. We watched many Christmas movies and sang many songs. We loved looking at cards and riding around seeing the lights. Eli just about went hoarse a on a couple of trips through the neighborhood just loving all of the lights. We decided to go to Stuart to spend Christmas with Mom and Frank and the kids were overwhelmed with gifts. We are still opening things that we haven't had a chance to even do yet like some of the many crafts that Ella and Landon got.

I am glad to report that our house is almost completely finished with the remodel. The only items left are a little painting (should be done by end of week) and putting up the closet system in Mike's new closet. Last night we had our first official dinner in our new kitchen and everyone was so excited. It was amazing to sit together at a table that wasn't covered with light fixtures, tiles or plastic covering.

The kids really did adjust well through all of it and didn't mind changing the living space around. Yesterday (before we could eat in the new kitchen but we were using it to cook and clean) I asked Ella to clear her plate from the dining room. Later I found it sitting on the washing machine when I went to do laundry. Our laundry room was our temporary kitchen so it made sense but after informing her that we could take it to the "new kitchen" she had to spread the news that the new kitchen was able to be used to both of her brothers. Also, on Saturday we finally moved the refrigerator out of the foyer and into the garage since we had the new one in the kitchen and stocked. Landon was away at a playdate when all of this was moved around but upon his return he shed a few tears that there was no longer a refrigerator there, just as he shed many tears the night that he learned the contractors wouldn't be here in the morning. So sweet.

We are really enjoying the changes throughout the house but still have quite a few things to get back in order. We hope to have everyone over at some time or another in the New Year. Hope so far your year is a blast!