Tuesday, December 30, 2008

TAGGED!

My sister-n-law Meredith tagged me! I am to post the fourth picture in the fourth folder of where my pics are stored and explain it. Then I tag four people. Boy, did this activity take me back! This is a rather blurry picture of Daniel on the Fourth of July at the lake. It looks like he is either really confused or about to pitch a fit! He really was a very good baby, and I think I remember him being a little under the weather at this function! Look at that tiny little guy!

Now, I tag

Shea Crowder
Barkley Busby
Ashley Sellers
Kelly Ellis



Monday, December 29, 2008

Christmas with the Wilson Gang!

After opening Santa and a yummy breakfast casserole and biscuits, we headed over to Gran and Pe Paw's house for more Christmas fun! I think one of the main reasons I married Matt was his wonderful family! :) They were so gracious to invite my family over for Christmas lunch as well. We had a wonderful time! Daniel and Caroline had a blast spending time with their cousins, and Matt and I enjoyed the gathering as well. It makes me so sad to hear other people talk about how they don't like their in-laws--mine are wonderful! Enjoy some pics from the Wilson Christmas!



Friday, December 26, 2008

Hope Everyone Had A Merry Christmas!

I hope that all of you had as blessed of a Christmas as we did. The kids had a blast, and I loved that my family was able to come into town and be with us on Christmas morning. This is an extra special Christmas for me to have with my dad. We came very close to losing him to a heart attack last January, so it really puts everything in perspective!

We started out with the Christmas Eve service at our church and then everyone came to our house for Christmas Eve dinner. It was so nice! Daniel, Caroline, and Cousin Claire made sure to sprinkle the reindeer food out beside the house before they went to bed to wait for Santa to come!

D and Caroline both got everything they wanted from Santa this year. D was so funny--when he was finished opening all of his Santa presents, he looked around at everything and said, "Wow! I didn't know I had been this good this year!" So cute! He got a bunch of big boy toys--I am not really even sure what half of them do or are--Santa just followed directions and got the things he pointed out to mommy! He also got his very first North Face jacket. It matches Daddy's--they are sooo cute! Caroline got a shopping cart with food, a pink pony to ride on, Noah's Ark Little People set, a counting piggy bank, books, stuffed animals and a ton more! Then ofcourse, Paw Paw and MiMi and Gran and Pe Paw had a ton of goodies for them as well. SPOILED!!! :)

My camera had a smudge on the lens that I did not know about, so the pics are a little blurry, but I still treasure them and want to share!


Daniel was so sweet to let C help put out the reindeer food he made!

Uncle Bucky and Cousin Claire


Caroline was very excited about the candy in her stocking. She has a bit of a sweet tooth!

This is D and his new big boy North Face!

Already learning to save those pennies--daddy's girl! :)

Wow! This is just what I wanted! (We heard that a lot!)

C's most favorite things were her suckers and her pink pony!

These are our neighbors--some boys near Daniel's age who came over to play one of the games D got. Notice Caroline right in the middle of things!

Zoolight Safari

Well, we did get to go to Zoolight Safari the other night! It was pretty neat. Tons of Christmas lights and festive Christmas music! As I said in an earlier post, Caroline LOVES Christmas lights, so she walked around the whole time pointing at everything and saying OOOOHHHH! She also likes anything hanging from above, so she really got a kick out out of the large ornaments hanging from the ceiling near the Children's Zoo. Daniel enjoyed having his face painted (a scary Christmas snake, ofcourse!) and pretending to drive the big tractor while it was decorated for Christmas. We are actually going back to Zoolight Safari tonight. Matt's sister and her family are in town, so we thought her kids might enjoy the sights as well. Caroline and D are both taking super late naps, so there is no telling what time we will actually get there tonight. It was quite crowded the first night we went, but maybe things have calmed down a bit by now!

I hope you enjoy the pics from the night. Notice that Daniel has on his most favorite shirt (for now!). I also like it, so it works out well that he wants to wear it so often!



Saturday, December 20, 2008

A Weekend Getaway (10 minutes from our house!)

Friday night Matt and I headed out to Ross Bridge for a much needed weekend escape! Though we did not go far, we felt like we went on a major vacation!
We actually started our night with a delicious dinner at Bonefish. After a nice, relaxing date there, we checked into our beautiful room overlooking the golf course and then headed down for drinks on the balcony area. The weather was absolutely wonderful! There were even a few people out swimming in the super fabulous pool they have there! This morning we woke up and casually sat and drank our coffee (which we never get to do!) then got dressed and headed downstairs for breakfast. After eating we began our awesome visit to the spa! We visited the steam room, whirlpool room, "quiet room," and then had a couples massage. I adore my kids, but Matt and I really enjoyed the time alone. SPECIAL thanks to GRAN for keeping the kids for us. Thankfully, they both went to sleep early, slept all night, and slept late this morning. I guess everyone feels rested and relaxed today! :)
If it does not rain, we are going to ZooLight Safari tonight. I know the kids will love it!

Monday, December 15, 2008

The Rockettes and Brunch with Santa

We had a super busy weekend! Saturday morning, the kids let us sleep in until almost 8 (which was awesome)! We headed to Olan Mills to make a rather traumatic picture with all of the cousins. See, we were told we had the first appointment at 10:00. Well, they apparently decided to take some groups early because we arrived to a room full of people being photographed and waiting (ahead of us) to have their pictures taken. So imagine this: FIVE anxious children ages 7 months to four years old in a perfect mood for pictures at 10:00 (our appointement time) but by 11:30 (the time we go in) tired and hungry. It all turned out okay, and I think they got a decent picture. BUT I DO NOT recommend Olan Mills in B'ham! We will definitely go the independent professional route next time!


This is the Olan Mills pic we finally got!



The afternoon was much better. Caroline took a long nap and D and I had some down time. Then we got all dressed and ready to go see the Rockettes! They were amazing! Beautiful ladies dancing in perfect sync, a flying Santa, exploding streamers, the show had it all!
Sunday morning we went to church and then ate brunch with Santa and Mrs. Claus at the Country Club. I will have to post the pictures later. I wish that our visit with Santa at the mall could have gone as well! I don't really like the pic we got at the Galleria because neither of the kids are really smiling. We got some great ones at the Club. Caroline just loved the Santa there, and she did not want to leave his lap! I guess everything is better with a belly full of brunch!

Sunday, December 14, 2008

A Star Is Born!

Daniel had his preschool Christmas program Friday morning. He did such a wonderful job! His class were the elves. They wore jeans, white turtlenecks, green elf collars complete with jingle bells, and cute little Santa hats (which D claimed were extremely itchy!). A sweet friend of mine at school, Frances Patton, watched my kiddos for me so that I could attend the big show! Matt took the morning off, and Gran and PePaw came too. He did such a great job that he earned a happy meal for lunch! I tried to load a movie, but they take FOREVER, and as all my busy mom friends know there just is not time to sit and wait on technology! Maybe I will get a chance to try again later. Until then, enjoy the pics below!

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Thankful Thursday

So, through linking from one person's blog to another, I have come across so many blogs of women I don't know (families, really) who have lost babies before birth or shortly thereafter. I never realized how lucky I am.
I have known many close to me who have struggled to get pregnant. Matt and I got pregnant (twice) with such ease. I never realized how lucky I am.
This morning started out rough. Daniel would not cooperate, and I lost it. I just wanted him to get dressed--is that so much to ask? I yelled at him, in a mean voice. I know that we have all done this. But today, I feel extra bad about it. I should just be happy I have a healthy little man who can ask for "just five more minutes, mom."
I stress about the fact that neither of them will cooperate for our Christmas card picture. They are both all over the place! I should be thankful for children who can run and play, and busy themselves with things other than having their pictures made.
Lord forgive me for being so shallow.
Thank you for my children.

Monday, December 8, 2008

Polar Express PJ Party

Sunday night Matt, Daniel, and I went to see the Polar Express on the IMAX screen at the McWane Center. It was a pajama party for the kids (and some parents had theirs on too!), and we had a wonderful time! It was kind of our special time to be just with Daniel. For those of you who have more than one child, you know how you can feel like you are not giving them each enough individual attention. Caroline requires constant supervision and attention at this busy age, so we like to take Daniel out on special "dates" as much as possible. We are so thankful to Matt's mom for watching Caroline for us so that we can do things like this. Matt's favorite part was the "before" music. They played Sweet Child of Mine on recorder and AC/DC on xylophone (seriously!). (Jason, you should have been there!). The IMAX is sooo cool! The clarity, sound, and overall experience is awesome! And the popcorn is good too!!





Decorating the Tree!

Friday afternoon Matt, Daniel, and I went to Home Depot and picked out the most wonderful tree! We thought it was absolutely perfect! After stringing on the lights (Caroline's most favorite part), Daniel and I added the finishing touches--our beautiful ornaments. It was so much fun looking back at his and Caroline's first Christmas ornaments and all of the adorable hand-crafted specialties that Daniel (or his teachers!) has made at school over the years. See our before and after pics below!


So proud of our sweet tree!


Sissy just loved the brilliance of the Christmas tree lights!



Notice the toy closet has been opened during the decorating process. This was after the third glass ornament had been dropped! Ah, the joys of decorating with a toddler!! :)




With beautiful Christmas carols playing in the background and a great fire going (and ofcourse red and green pjs on)--it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Always An Adventure

So, Daniel has always LOVED popsicles. No matter when, where, what flavor, he loves them. He has passed this love on to his adoring Sissy. The two of them are so cute! Daniel always makes sure to get a popsicle for Caroline when he gets one for himself. He also insists that she get a "girl" color like pink or purple. Caroline is very good at sharing things, and I know it is because Daniel does such a good job sharing with her. For those of you that know Daniel, he can be quite a live wire and is certainly a handful. But those he loves, he loves with everything he has. His sister is certainly the apple of his eye!




Every afternoon when we get home from school, we unwind with a cartoon or two. It is usually Daniel and me on the couch and Sissy playing on the floor. Today she decided that she wanted to sit up on the couch with us. She started beside me, barreled over Daniel, and finally made it to the other side of him. She loves being close to him! However, this cuddling on the couch with Ba Ba lasted about 90 seconds, then she was climbing off the couch to play! The camera just happened to be on the table next to me, so I was able to capture this series of events (notice Daniel never takes his eyes off of the tv!). See below!




Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Playing Outside While We Can!

This afternoon, the weather was actually pretty nice! After picking the kids up, we played outside until it got dark. Daniel played with some of the neighbors, and Caroline and I played in the back yard. I bundled her up in the most adorable white sweater that I bought while we were in Brewton. I absolutely love it! I think it makes her look like a snow princess. Check out the pictures of her below.
The weather report says that rain is on the way, so I am glad we took advantage of the beautiful weather today!

Monday, December 1, 2008

Hanging of the Greens

This past Sunday was the Hanging of the Greens at our church. This is a beautiful service where all of the different choirs sing and we light the first of the advent candles. They also light the two huge trees on either side of the pulpit. We love this time of the year, and this service is really the kickoff to Christmas for our family. Before the service, Daniel, Caroline, and I baked cookies and then when Matt got home we all went out to dinner. Caroline showed interest in coloring her menu picture for the first time. She did a really good job! She did hold the crayon at the very end, but managed to create some very nice rainbow streaks.