Twas the Night Before Christmas.....

Merry Christmas! What? Christmas was last week?? Oh...so it was. So...it...was. Yeah, I'm a little behind on my blog posting. In my defense, we have been incredibly busy. I mean, it is the holiday season and (insert any excuse you can think of here).......

Christmas is always a whirlwind of activities -- so many things to do, places to go, people to see. But somehow, we always manage to fit everything in. My parents came down to visit the Tuesday before Christmas and I was sooooo thankful. They stayed until the day after Christmas which allowed me to actually get out of the house on my own for a while. Heaven. Pure heaven. I love my children, but I can't even begin to tell you how much easier it is to run errands alone. Ahhhhhhh. Heath's parents babysat the Saturday before, so we were able to do a little Christmas shopping then too. It was a VERY good week. :)

Christmas eve day we headed over to Walterboro to have Christmas with Heath's family. Of course, there was music...lots and lots of music. :) And a little dancing too.

Sing, Annabelle! Sing!!

Believe it or not, the musicians did take a short break to open presents. Actually, one musician (I'm sure you can guess which one) began opening gifts on his own while the rest of us were eating lunch. He walked in, so excited to show us a gift he had opened. Unfortunately, the gift was not his to open. It was one of the presents we brought for Heath's parents. Oh, well. He only wanted to help. I don't think the grandparents were too upset about it. :)

I absolutely love Annabelle's outfit and was thrilled she was able to wear it for Christmas. I've had it since just after she was born. It's a 6-9 months outfit, so I wasn't sure if it would work or not. Lucky for us, she's petite. It fit her perfectly...except for the pants. They were too big!! I had to gather them up with a safety pin in the back!!!

When the "real" present opening commenced, Jacob was ready. He would have happily opened everyone's gifts if we had let him. He did "help out" with a few of his sister's presents.

After visiting a little while longer, we loaded up the car with the new treasures and headed back to our house for Christmas Eve.

I had these visions in my head about how Christmas Eve would be: Kids dressed in their cute, new Christmas pajamas; Christmas music softly playing in the background, Jacob and Annabelle both sitting quietly, listening while Heath read from the Bible about the real meaning of Christmas. My visions were hardly reality:

Jacob and Annabelle were both getting colds...AGAIN...and were pretty tired from the day's festivities. They were whiny and definitely not in a Christmas kind of mood. Despite the crying and whining, we pressed on and eventually Jacob and Annabelle became much happier. I'm not sure what brought on the mood change, but I was very pleased with this 180 degree turn around.

While Heath read the Christmas story from the Bible, I used the Little People Nativity set as a visual, acting out each scene as Heath read. It worked...fairly well. Of course, Jacob and Annabelle wanted to play too.

After a little playtime, we put out cookies and milk for Santa, then tucked the kids into bed; however, Jacob was waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too excited to sleep. He talked and sang, and talked and sang, and talked a little more for almost two hours before he finally gave up and fell asleep.

When both kids were finally asleep, Santa showed up...big time.

In fact, I think Santa may have overdone it...just a little. Note to Santa for next year: Stop at two gifts per child...really. Jacob had so many gifts to open, I think he actually got tired of it. Instead of, "Wow! Another present?!?!?", the look on his face was more like, "Ugh...not another one." We have definitely learned there is such a thing as toy overload. Anyway.....

Young Frankenstein

We have a little Frankenstein in the house -- well, the girl version of a little Frankenstein. That's right. Annabelle is walking. She has been practicing a lot this week and has perfected the Frankenstein walk. She's been cruising around the furniture for months now and has taken a few steps here and there, but last Friday, a "few little steps" turned into several little steps and now, she can walk the full length of the kitchen, or any room in our house, for that matter!

She's still trying to master the art of keeping her balance, but she's doing a great job. When she falls, she immediately stands up and starts over. She's determined to get this. I know she'll be running before we know it. Actually, I have seen her take off in a jog before. She starts walking, then sees something that catches her eye. She tries to walk faster, but ends up falling flat on her face. Poor thing. It really doesn't seem to phase her, though. She brushes herself off and goes for it again!

Yes, Annabelle's shoes are squeaking. The squeaky shoes that Grandma gave her are still a little big, but now that she's actually walking, I couldn't resist trying them out. Aren't they cute?!?!

Annabelle takes a brisk walk around the living room to the Christmas tree on a daily basis...more like hourly basis. I purposely hung several soft, unbreakable ornaments around the bottom of the tree because I figured both Jacob and Annabelle would be trying to pull them down. Well, Annabelle has succeeded in breaking all the "unbreakable" ornaments. She ripped them off the tree and the twine hooks came apart. The funny thing is, Jacob has been pulling those ornaments down ever since his first Christmas, but somehow, they survived. Annabelle totally destroyed them. So, now our Christmas tree is essentially bare around the bottom, except for the lights, with which Annabelle is also infatuated. She wants to eat them...or at least get them into her mouth.

Jacob's favorite thing to do is rearrange any ornament he is able to reach. Every time I turn around, I notice another ornament that has "miraculously" moved to a different branch on the tree. He was a tremendous helper this year in terms of decorating the tree. I asked him to hang ornaments all over, but he preferred to focus on one specific area instead. He did a great job, but, unfortunately, all those ornaments had to be moved up several branches...much to the dismay of a little Frankenstein. :)

Dear Santa, I want a ________ for Christmas.

Remember last year's Santa visit? No? Here, let me refresh your memory. CLICK HERE

Pretty pitiful, huh? Jacob was terrified. Annabelle was too tiny to realize what was happening. She slept through the whole thing.

This year was completely different. This year, as we stood in line waiting to see the jolly old man in the bright red suit, Jacob could hardly wait. He was so excited to tell Santa what he wants for Christmas -- a Handy Manny workbench. This request is proof that my three year old son has fallen prey to slick advertisers. The only TV shows he ever watches are on Playhouse Disney in the morning. Playhouse Disney doesn't have commercials, but they do have "sponsors." Starting several months ago, I noticed a new "sponsor" -- Fisher Price, who was promoting their new Handy Manny workbench. What a coincidence. Christmas is coming up and now, all of a sudden, this toy is being promoted. What are the odds? Now, anytime Jacob sees this workbench, he gets really excited about it. He loves it (or at least he thinks he does).

As we stood in line waiting to talk with Santa, Annabelle was becoming quite irritated. She didn't understand why I wouldn't let her crawl around on the ground. Compound that with the fact that it was pretty late and she hadn't eaten in several hours -- not a good situation. I wasn't sure how she would react when I sat her down in Santa's lap.

When it was finally our turn, Jacob marched right up and climbed up on Santa's knee. Santa asked him what he wanted for Christmas and he immediately said, "A Handy Manny workbench.....and a Wall-E!" So cute -- a complete 180 degree turn from last year. After he and Santa talked a bit more, I took Annabelle up to join her brother.

Looks like the epitome of happiness, right? Hahaha. She was anything but happy. She screamed and screamed and screamed some more. The photographer was eventually able to stop the tears by flipping a little, toy duck into the air in front of her. Several pictures were taken. This was the best one (also the last one) -- number 11!

Annabelle didn't tell Santa what she wants for Christmas; although, Jacob will tell you she wants a keyboard and a baby doll.

On your mark. Get set. GO!!!

Christmas is just a couple short weeks away and the race is on. Actually, the race began the day after Thanksgiving. Shopping, wrapping, sending Christmas cards, baking, attending parties -- it's all part of the season. While these tasks can be fun, they can also be a little stressful. December is, without a doubt, the busiest month of the year.

I have always loved looking at all the black Friday ads in the Thanksgiving day newspaper -- seeing what kinds of bargains and steals are up for grabs to anyone who chooses to wake up at some ridiculous hour and go shopping. I have never been one of those people. I have been shopping on black Friday, but it was well after the sun came up. So what if I missed some great deals? I got a lot more sleep than the rest of those crazy shoppers. :)

This year was different. This year, I was one of those crazy shoppers. My plan was to be at the outlets at midnight, when they opened. Of course, I can't be on time for anything, so I was about a half hour off of my schedule. I wasn't sure what to expect in terms of how many people would be shopping along with me. To be honest, I didn't think it would be that busy. Boy was I wrong. On my way over to the outlets, I found myself stuck in traffc...at 12:17 AM. The cause? Crazy black Friday shoppers (myself included) all headed to the same place at the same time. I couldn't believe it. Erika and I met at the outlets, but both of us ended up parking two shopping centers over. Wow. We might as well have parked in East Bolivia. It felt that far away, anyway.

After our brisk walk over to the outlets, I still couldn't get over all the people. It was so exciting -- the crowds, the FANTASTIC deals...and it was the middle of the night! How fun! Erika and I were so thrilled with our outlet deals, we decided to hit Target next. We got to Target around 4:15 AM (I think), but the store did not open until 5:00. We passed Starbucks on the way over and it must have been open all night because the drive-thru line was wrapped around the building. The line to get into Target was super long as well -- backed up to the end of the building. It was freezing outside, so Erika and I decided to hang out in the car and look through the sale ads for a while. Around 5:00 AM, just as the doors were opened, we took our place in line. By this time, the line was starting to wrap around the parking lot, back towards Starbucks. I couldn't believe it.

When we walked through Target's doors, the place was a madhouse. I couldn't help but laugh, watching people race toward the electronics department. Looking around the store, I noticed everyone was pushing a buggy loaded down with at least one TV and several other items. It was so funny! I mean, how often do you go into Target and see every single customer buying a TV? Erika and I weren't really searching for any particular item. We were there, mainly, for the experience; but, don't worry. We didn't leave empty handed. Both of us took advantage of a couple great deals.

I got home at 6:20 AM, just as the sun was thinking about coming up. I shopped all. night. long. Yes, I was pretty proud of myself (I know...I'm such a dork), but then my thoughts turned to sleep, or more specifically, the lack thereof. I knew I wouldn't be getting much. Jacob usually wakes up a little before 7:00 AM. As I opened the front door, I prayed really hard that Jacob wouldn't be standing in the foyer to greet me. After all, it was 6:20 AM, and this was totally possible. Thank goodness, he was still sound asleep in bed. Surprisingly, I was able to get a few hours of sleep, thanks to my wonderful husband. He got up with the kids and took care of them until I rolled out of bed around 11:00, still sleepy and dreary eyed.

Conclusion: Black Friday shopping is fun and there truly are some really great deals to be had; however, if I hadn't begun my shopping spree at midnight, I don't know if I would have actually gotten out of bed at 3:00 in the morning. I do better with late nights than early mornings, if that makes any sense. I'm already gearing up for next year. It's too bad the sale ads don't come out a year early. I could already be devising my plan and penciling in my shopping schedule -- 12:00 outlets, 3:32 Old Navy, 4:45 Target. Just kidding. Seriously, though, I am definitely going out again next year...maybe a little earlier. It would be nice to have a better -- much closer -- parking space!

Thanksgiving 09

When you take a few moments out of the day, attempting to count your blessings, it hardly seems right to reserve only one day as a day of thanksgiving. God has blessed us so much and no matter our current situation, we all have plenty to be thankful for. We need (myself included) to thank God every minute of every day for who He is...for all He has done, all He is doing, and all He is going to do in our lives. God is so good.

The night before Thanksgiving, I realized I was missing several key ingredients to prepare my holiday dishes, so Jacob and I headed out to our favorite place, Publix. I took that opportunity to explain to him what Thanksgiving is and why we celebrate. He listened intently and even asked several questions, but obviously, all my teachings were forgotten by Thanksgiving morning. Check out Jacob's Thanksgiving hair -- compliments of a good night's sleep. :)

Annabelle isn't exactly sure what Thanksgiving is all about either, but she had a happy morning, nonetheless.

In honor of the holiday, I got crafty and made turkey shirts. Jack's mom gave me all the needed supplies. Thanks, Ansley! I admit, I had to search the internet to learn how to properly sew on a button, but the shirts turned out pretty cute, don't you think?

Yes, those are Jacob's and Annabelle's handprints.

While I was cooking in the kitchen (squash casserole and pumpkin chocolate chip cookies), Jacob was playing in the living room and watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade -- a must see at our house. I've always loved that big, goofy looking turkey with the blinking eyes. Jacob had been drawing pictures on his Magnadoodle all morning. His pictures are getting better and better. Instead of a bunch of circles and scribble scrabble, his drawings are beginning to look like exactly what he says they are -- animals, etc... Anyway, while The Rockettes were performing, Jacob was doodling away. When he finished his drawing, he called Heath and said, "Yook, Daddy! I drew a picture of dem!" Sure enough, this is what he drew:

Jacob's interpretation of The Rockettes. This provided us with an entire day's worth of laughter. Well, this and one other thing......Jacob has been pretending to perform concerts lately, each one ending with confetti falling from the ceiling (just like the Imagination Movers). During one of these concerts, he stopped singing and said, "Now, I'm gonna do a special song for all the ladies." Ummmmm....I don't recall ever hearing those words on Playhouse Disney. Where does he get this stuff????

Later that morning we headed out to Heath's parents' house to visit and celebrate the day with family -- fabulous food, great company, and good times. It was a wonderful day.

And of course, we were all thoroughly entertained by the musical stylings of Papa Larry and his sidekick, Jacob. I hear they're taking their show on the road....just as soon as Jacob can teach Papa a few of his awesome dance moves.

When Jacob put his banjo down to "get down," I could not stop laughing. Now, watching this video, I think I'm laughing even harder now than I did then. It's like, all of a sudden, he felt the spirit or something. Although, I was not aware that "Hot Potato" was such a "spirit feeling" song. :) In any case, this is absolutely hilarious.

Both Jacob and Annabelle enjoyed playing with Grazie, Uncle Philip's and Aunt Michelle's seven month old Basset Hound. Grazie followed Jacob all over the house and Annabelle seemed to enjoy all the dog kisses. What a great dog!

Pictures, Pictures, Pictures

Annabelle had her one year pictures taken last Friday and I couldn't be happier with the results. Take a look! Check them out HERE!

She was loving the camera that day -- all smiles. And the fact that she kept the flower headband on for most of the pictures is amazing in itself. :)

New Baby In The House

Mornings are a little different at our house now, as we have welcomed in a new baby. Some friends of ours had their first baby back in July and I have started watching him for a few hours in the morning while his mom is at work. This is day four of having three children under my care. So far, so good! Jacob has taken a special interest in caring for baby Jack and is especially interested in introducing him to "his music." He asked me the other day, "Does baby Jack want to listen to Baby Einstein music?" I said, "I bet he would like that." Jacob replied, "Mmmm...I bet. Can he listen to my music, too?" By, "his" music, he means anything from his cd collection which consists of Imagination Movers, Veggie Tales and a couple Disney collections. Jacob loves his music. Besides listening to his music, he also enjoying singing.

Annabelle can't keep her hands off Jack's toys. She thinks they are all for her. I mean, she is still a baby too, right? Why shouldn't the baby toys be for her? One of the first days Jack was here, Annabelle grabbed his pacifier and immediately put it in her mouth. I think that may have been the first time she ever had a pacifier, but she knew exactly what to do with it. I, then, tried to sanitize it in a microwavable steamer bag, and ended up melting it...just a little. Oops. I guess with three children in the house, if a pacifier is our only casualty, that's not so bad. :)

Another funny pacifier story: The word "pacifier" doesn't get used much at our house since both Jacob and Annabelle began sucking their thumbs soon after they were born. When Jack spit out his pacifier the other day, Jacob tried to give it back to him, saying, "Here you go baby Jack. Here is your ampwifier." Amplifer. Ha! Now that is funny!

Where Do I Begin?

Wow...where do I begin? We've been so busy lately and I haven't had one free second to post an update. Now I have all these pictures and events to blog about and can't decide which one to talk about first. Ok, here goes.....

We headed out to the fair a couple weekends ago for some fun and deep fried deliciousness. I love the fair, mostly for the food. Granted, I usually leave the fair feeling like I've just eaten a pot of grease, but boy, is that "pot of grease" ever good. I was on the hunt for deep fried Oreos, but alas, this fair had none. So, french fries had to suffice. Can you believe that's all I ate? I even passed on the funnel cake....only because we were going to Macaroni Grill for dinner and I really wanted a piece of their chocolate cake. Otherwise, the funnel cake would have been mine. Anyway, we had a great time.

Jacob's favorite part of the fair was seeing and petting the animals. He especially liked the baby chicks. I knew he would. Out of all his little farm animals that he plays with, he likes his baby chicks the best. He was so excited to see real baby chicks and he even got to hold one in his hand. Very fun. Unfortunately, I hadn't charged my camera battery before we left, so I don't have any pictures.

He fed the animals in the petting zoo and I was a little grossed out. He fed goats, ponies, and camels. Those animals don't just eat the food out of your hands, they slobber all over you. Yuck. The petting zoo also had animals we were not allowed to feed (or pet for that matter) -- a baby tiger, panther, lion, and several monkeys.

Jacob rode a couple rides -- a caterpillar roller coaster and a circus train. He'll be quick to tell you that he had fun on the caterpillar, but he bumped his head on it somehow. While on the rides, for the most part, he sat there emotionless, as usual. I was able to get a few smiles out of him...just not on camera. As we stood in line for him to ride the train, he sang "Choo-Choo Boogie," a song from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. He's so funny. When the train ride ended, I had to walk over and pull him out of his seat. He loved it and was determined to ride a second time.

I used to ride fair rides. Not anymore. It's not that I am afraid of them. I just don't want to throw up. I look at some of these crazy rides and think, "I can't believe I actually got on something like that. What was I thinking?" I remember, years ago, my best friend and I waiting in this extremely long line to ride "The Wipeout." We should have known better than to ride that thing. The reason it took so long to get on was because people kept getting sick and it had to be hosed down and dried off (and I hope, sprayed heavilly with clorox) each time the ride was over. How disgusting is that?

Anyone remember this one? The Gravitron. It isn't called The Gravitron anymore, but it's the same ride. You know the one -- it spins you around so fast that your body sticks to the wall and your cheeks are stretched back so far that they touch your ears. Yeah. My days of riding The Gravitron are definitely over. Sounds fun, huh Jacob?

One of the funniest things we saw at the fair was a pig race. I had never seen a pig race before, so I had no idea what to expect. The first group of pigs came out running pretty fast. The announcer kept saying, "If you think these pigs are fast, just wait until you see the third group." The second group of pigs came out and they were a little faster. Again, the announcer warned us that we hadn't seen anything yet. As the third group of pigs was about to be let out, we were told to make sure all small children were behind the ropes because these pigs were going to tear through there like nothing we had ever seen. The joke was on us.

These pigs were so fat, they could barely move. It took them FOREVER to even get down one side of the track, much less around the whole thing.

Annabelle hung out in the stroller most of the afternoon and did a lot of people watching. The fair is always a great place for people watching. :) She begged us for a corn dog, but happily settled for Cheerios.

Good Things Come in Small Packages

At Annabelle's one year well visit last Monday, we found out she weighs 17 pounds, 15 ounces and measures just a little over 27 inches. Those stats put her in the 5th - 10th percentile. She is a perfectly healthy (except for that annoying cold), petite baby girl. Good things come in small packages, right? :)

We're still waiting for that first step. She walks all over the place with her new walk behind toy and walks down the length of the couch and various other pieces of furniture, but just hasn't taken that first step alone. It will happen soon enough, I know. Believe me, I'm not pushing her. Annabelle, there is no need to rush.

Annabelle is definitely into everything these days. She especially loves to aggravate her brother by playing with his toys and attempting to eat his puzzle pieces (among other things). Her drama queen status has reached new heights lately as I am constantly removing said items from her mouth and her tiny, little hands. She screams like you wouldn't believe. Today, after I snatched a half-eaten piece of paper from her hands, she gave me her best angry look and yelled, "Duh!!!!" (When she gets mad, she makes the "d" sound. I'm not really sure how to spell the "d" sound.) She then threw herself back onto the floor in protest, crying like I had ruined her life.

Don't even think about messing with my balloon.

The other night while I was giving Jacob a bath, Heath and Annabelle were spending some quality time together playing with her new birthday toys. All of a sudden, I heard Annabelle begin to cry. This wasn't just an ordinary cry. It sounded like the "I'm hurt" cry. After several seconds, the crying stopped and Heath walked her back to the bathroom to explain what had happened. Judging from the cry, I expected to see a bump on her head or maybe a red mark. Perhaps she had closed her fingers in a drawer -- something she's done a couple times lately. No. No bump. No red marks. No pinched fingers. No injury whatsoever. That pitiful cry was all over a baby doll. Heath picked Annabelle up and walked across the living room. She spotted a doll on the couch that she wanted. When he didn't stop to get it for her, she turned on the waterworks and began to wail. As soon as Heath gave her the doll, she stopped crying and flipped on the happy switch. She is something else, I tell ya.

They Really Do Love Each Other

I realize, if you've ever been on the phone with me and heard the whining and screaming resounding loudly in the background, you might beg to differ, but Jacob and Annabelle actually do get along for the most part.

Although Annabelle does enjoy taste testing her brother's toys, she and Jacob are playing together more and more. One of their favorite things to do is chase each other around the house in Jacob's own version of hide and seek. He runs to another room in the house and yells her name until she crawls in and finds him. As soon as she peeks her head around the corner, he cracks up and that makes her laugh too. I love watching them play together.

And then there are those other brother /sister moments like yesterday morning when I got Annabelle out of bed and Jacob looked at her, smiled, and said, "Good morning, Poopypants!" I think, in this case, "Poopypants" was meant as a term of endearment. :)

Birthday Girl

One year old. Annabelle is one year old and I can hardly believe it. Where does the time go?

When Annabelle woke up Friday morning (at 11:00!!!!!!), Jacob and I went in to sing Happy Birthday. After we sang, Jacob got right in her face and yelled, as loud as he could, "HAPPY BIRT-DAAAAAYYYY!!!" He did this randomly throughout the day. I guess he didn't want her to forget that it was her special day. Annabelle didn't seem to mind...all that much.

Her birthday was a day filled with all kinds of fun events. Ok...not really. I had a lot of last minute errands to run since her party was the next day. So, I loaded everyone up in the car and headed out for a few hours.

Even though I procrastinated and didn't do a few things until the last minute, I was proud of myself for getting an early start on the cake. I was determined to go to bed at a decent hour the night before the party. No more of that 3:00 AM stuff. I baked the cake Thursday afternoon and Erika and I started decorating later that night. However, even though the cake was finished long before 3:00 AM Saturday morning, I still didn't make it to bed until 3:00 AM. Oh well.

About the cake: When I was little, my mom made me a cute green dress with a doll to match. I always made fun of this doll because I thought it looked funny, but my mom made it and I loved it. When I was decorating Annabelle's room, I found this doll and sat it on a shelf on the wall. Several months ago, Annabelle spotted this funny looking doll when I got her out of bed one morning. She smiled the biggest smile ever and reached out for it. I walked her over to the doll and she became so excited, I thought she was going to hyperventilate. When I handed her the doll, Annabelle grabbed it and held it close to her like she was giving it a big hug. She smiled the entire time, clutching it as tightly as she could. I couldn't believe she didn't try to eat the doll's hair. She didn't bite its arms or legs. She never even put it in her mouth. Annabelle puts everything in her mouth, so this was definitely interesting. I don't know why, but she LOVES that doll. I decided at that moment, for her birthday, Annabelle would have a baby doll cake.

As much as she loves that little doll, Annabelle loved the cake even more.

Here, Daddy. You taste it.

Annabelle was a little more interested in eating cake than opening presents, so Jacob helped her out with that part. He opened most of her gifts and has actually been playing with them ever since. You'd think it was his birthday.

Annabelle loves her new toys too.

The party was so much fun. It was a wonderful day, full of presents, cake, friends and family. I know Annabelle enjoyed herself. She's already been asking me when we can do it again. :) Hold on Annabelle! Birthdays only come once a year and I'm praying time will creep ever so slowly toward that next one. Can't you just stay one forever?? :)

Is the party over?

Tickle, tickle!

I'm so glad you came to my party!