Christmas in pictures

It was a wonderful Christmas, and it was especially fun having Nana and Granddaddy here to celebrate with us. Colby and Miller soaked up all the extra attention.

They loved having Nana and Granddaddy read them books...

Granddaddy took his reading very seriously.

Colby loved telling Nana about his favorite cartoon...

I told you it was funny, Nana!

Christmas cookies were made and decorated for Santa.

Of course, this means lots of sprinkles...

and even more frosting. (even if it's blue)

Colby wanted to make sure it tasted okay before giving it to Santa.

The final product...I hope Santa didn't go into a sugar coma.

Later that day, I baked two pies. Lee could not believe it...maybe because I've never baked a pie in my life. He took many pictures of me in an apron pulling pies out of the oven. (I also made my mom's "Christmas morning" casserole and Miller's cornbread dressing...it was truly out of character)

We saw a couple of children's concerts while Nana and Granndaddy were here, one being Rocknoceros (Colby's favorite). We also went to a children's Christmas eve service where we made the big mistake of sitting on the front row (with nothing blocking Colby or Miller from walking up to the front of the church). Thank goodness the threat of Santa was still looming over Colby's head...it helped a little (tiny) bit.

The tree was in the front room, so we spread out Santa's loot in the family room. This was Miller's side...

and this was Colby's side.

Colby woke up early Christmas morning and he was soooo excited...

Oh, the anticipation...

He went straight for the saxophone and trumpet.

I'm pretty sure Nana and granddaddy had their fill of trumpets, saxophones, and marching bands by the time they left.

Eventually, Miller came down to see what all the fuss was about.

She went straight for her tricked out princess coupe from Nana and Granddaddy.

She tested out her new chair and gave lots of love to her baby doll...

But wasn't about to give a bottle of something possibly delicious to anyone but herself.

The super-duper cape was a big hit.

I was really worried about Colby fighting with Miller (who inevitably would want to play with his new toys) but he did really well. He had so much going on that he let Miller play with his things, and they even bonded over similar interests.

The first being their super-duper capes...

Whheeeeeee!

and the second being their cars.

After a long fun-filled day, we had a nice Christmas dinner (again, Lee was shocked and took pictures).

The day after Christmas, we took Colby and Miller to another Rocknoceros show. Colby is truly in his element at concerts and spends the entire hour rocking out on his guitar. The band commented that he had some amazing moves and that he was trying to steal the guitarist's job. Yeah, that was probably his goal.


As the show went on, Colby started facing the audience and performing for them. He craves being in the spotlight...I cannot believe I gave birth to this child.

Coming soon...

There is so much to update on the blog that I'm procrastinating. I keep waiting for a good chunk of time, and that's not happening....but hopefully I'll get to it soon.

I will say that we are almost 24 hours into potty training (again) and it's going much better this time. We are allowing him to put a diaper on for #2 when he needs to go, but so far, he hasn't. PLEASE GOD don't let us run into the horrible c@nstipation issues again. (don't want anyone googling that word and getting to my blog) I'll post an update soon- wish us luck. Many Christmas pictures to come!

Even more snow on the grill....a total of 21 inches! I'm pretty sure that's the most snow I've ever seen.


Miller fit perfectly into Colby's old snow suit. (Only downside...I have to remind strangers that he's a she)


Not sure about the snow...


What is this stuff?


On the way to go sledding and VERY excited.


He loved it!!


However, Miller did not...we were there for 5 minutes.

Last attempt at a nice family photo (minus dad)...not gonna happen.

Let it snow

We have 18 inches and it's still going strong. (don't let this picture fool you- this was after 3 hours of shoveling!)


Georgia is not sure what to think (or where to pee).


Guess we won't be using the deck furniture anytime soon...


Or grilling out tonight.


We've had a day of indoor activities, but tomorrow we will venture out into the snow!

SNOW!!!

It's not even Christmas and we are having our second snow! We have about a foot right now, and they are calling for 16-20 inches!!! Sweet baby jesus, please don't keep us trapped in this house for too long...

This and that

I am very sad to announce that I think we are seeing the end of nap time for Colby, which is why I find it so difficult to update the blog. After about 30 minutes in his bed, he always ends up crying and not sleeping. I'm trying something new where after the 30 minutes (I'm still going through the motions of putting him down....hoping he will fall asleep) I give him some books to read in his bed. All of this back and forth lasts about an hour, but I REALLY miss my 2-3 hour window of silence and alone time!

Here are some topics in no particular order:

We spent Thanksgiving in Richmond again this year, but we were so busy that I didn't take very many pictures. (ok, maybe I was just lazy) Colby had a wonderful time playing outside with his cousins (Cooper, Zach and Braden), and he was old enough this year that we didn't have to be out there with them. It was so much fun for Colby and a nice break for me and Lee, and the boys did such a great job of including Colby in everything they did. It makes me sad that we don't live closer and see them more often.

Luckily, they came up this weekend for a football game, so Colby got another big dose of playtime with the big boys. They played in the basement for a good 4 hours and only came up for a dinner break.


About 10 times a day, Colby asks us random questions like "Do Cooper-Zach (which is his term for all 3 boys...he's still confused about who's who and finds it easier to shorten it) do this? Do Cooper-Zach pee on the potty? Do Cooper-Zach eat spaghetti? Do Cooper-Zach wear coats? Do Cooper-Zach wear a seat belt?" I wonder if they realize they are Colby's hero.

We got 4 inches of snow yesterday! We didn't get to play in it though because we were at a birthday party in the morning, and then the boys came over after nap time.

Earlier this week we took the kids to a Christmas concert at a local high school performed by their marching band. There was Christmas music along with lots of characters: Dora, Winnie the Pooh, elves, Cookie Monster, Santa and his reindeer. To say Colby enjoyed it would be a huge understatement. He could not contain his enthusiasm and spent the entire hour dancing in the isle. (he was actually the only child in the entire auditorium dancing in the isle) He marched, sang, danced, and conducted the band. Miller, on the other hand, wanted to be down so that she could run up on stage. We spent the whole time pinning her down while she struggled and cried to get free.

Miller is talking up a storm. She says new words every day and there seems to be no limit. Some of my favorites from the past few days: Elmo, apple, get down, basement, vitamin. Miller has also started having mini-temper tantrums, which Lee and I find hilarious. She will throw herself on the floor, lay down, and cry, looking up to make sure we see her. We find this so funny only because Colby has never done such a thing. I think it's a sign of things to come.

On Colby's Christmas list this year:
Super duper cape, trumpet, saxophone, drum set, turn table (what!?), headphones with a microphone, a drill that makes noise

I think that's all I've got for now. More soon...