Where we are...

I went down to see our house last week, and it's coming along... (there's snow on the roof so it's kind of hard to see the roofline)


It should be done in 2 months- WOW! It's getting very exciting. I did not enjoy the first few months of building (it was torture, actually) but now it's getting fun. ( All I have left to pick out are the towel bars and bathroom accessories.)

Colby and Miller have just hit there half birthdays, so here's a little bit about them right now:

Miller at 2 1/2
-OBSESSED with puzzles and easily completes 24 piece jigsaw puzzles on her own. If given the option, she will do puzzles all day long. (She loves to put one leg up on the table while she works on them.)
-Favorite food is greek yogurt with honey and anything sweet
-very carefully and skillfully climbs out of her crib (and back in)
-knows all of her letters and numbers 1-10
-still attached to her binkie and 2 bears (asks for "binkie bear", which means all 3)
-favorite song is "This Old Man"
-insists on having music playing all night while she is sleeping....and if you forget, she will let you know.
-loves to look at books
-often tries to clean up her own messes after she eats
-can catch a ball and do a forward roll
-favorite toy is her doll and stroller
-loves swim lessons and can go "up and under" for 6 seconds

Colby at 4 1/2
-very into creative play, giving his toys voices, creating action scenes, etc.
-spends an hour in "quiet time" each day where he plays with his favorite toys
-Favorite toys: Imaginext toys (fire station, bat cave and batman toys, toy story 3), army men, planes, fire trucks, etc.
-loves "story time" at night with his dad where they make up a story together.
-favorite foods are salty things
-favorite show is Scooby Doo
-doing very well in school; is having more good days than bad (took us 3 years to get there)
-Favorite friends at school are Jack and Lucas
-only needs a pull up at night- hooray!
-can write his name and knows all of his letters
-Dress up clothes are BIG- he loves to pretend he's a marine....or a pirate...or an astronaut.
-Can swim freestyle and backstroke unassisted
-extremely social and loves to play with friends.
-Sleeps with his ducky and fire dog (from Santa on the fire truck)
-likes creative projects with his dad, such as making a pirate ship out of a diaper box, etc. (mom does not do this)
-Has weekly playdates with the other 4 year olds in our neighborhood: Sophie, Lori, and Megan

Colby, Lori, and Sophie having a picnic


He's a little bit of a ladies' man....


And just for fun, here's Miller giving her classic side eye...

Snack time

Yesterday, I cooped in Miller's class, which is so much fun. I love to see what they are doing, singing, playing, and learning.
At snack time, they all sat down and had 4 Ritz crackers and a small glass of water. After snack, as we were headed outside, I looked back and Miller was under the table on her hands and knees. The teachers told Miller to get up, and then they told me that every day after snack, Miller tries to go under the table and find any crumbs or crackers that were dropped. They said they have to keep a close eye on her. LOL! I find this hysterically funny....the poor girl is the size of a 4 year old with her father's metabolism, and she's being given a tiny snack appropriate for a small 2 year old. She's resourceful, I'll say that!

NO MORE DIAPERS!!!!!!!

WOOHOOOOOOO!!!! I think it is safe to say that Colby is now 100% pooping in the potty! Praise GOD!!!! There were times we were sure he'd be packing diapers on his honeymoon, but sure enough, it has really happened. (We still have the night time diapers, but that's pretty normal for a 4 year old boy.)

As we've been promising for a year now, Colby got the drum set of his dreams. He is loving it, and he's surprisingly good.


I will say that Lee gets full credit for convincing Colby that the potty is the way to go (no pun intended). He was home a lot more over the Christmas break, and he was able to talk to Colby about it in a way that I obviously was not.

Another highly motivating factor is the "Diaper Stomp", which Lee does each and every time Colby does the deed....I think it's pretty effective. Take a look for yourself.

The year in review

Wow, where has the year gone? Time has flown by in some ways, but in other ways, it has moved at a snail's pace.

One of the biggest things that happened in 2010 was our decision to buy a lot***. It's hard to believe that in October of this past year, Lee and I made a little trip to Charlottesville to look at neighborhoods, and we ended up totally taking a chance and buying a lot. We had no idea how we'd end up moving there, but we decided that only with great risks do you ever get great rewards. I remember that day so vividly....we were standing on the lot looking out towards the mountains, and I looked at Lee and said "What if we just buy it? Is that totally crazy?" We both just fell in love with the area and decided that, although crazy, it was a risk we wanted to take.

From there, we started planning and designing a house in hopes that he would find a job. Luckily, he found a job pretty quickly, we started to build in July. We put our current house on the market 2 months ago, and a contract was finalized yesterday exactly 3 months before we will be moving (assuming things stay on track...PLEASE let things stay on track!!) We are able to close on this house and rent back until it's time to move, so it has really worked out perfectly- we will be able to move door to door without the stress of selling this house and then moving into a rental. Wow, it's amazing to think that a year ago, we had no idea we'd even be moving!!

Colby and Miller have had a wonderful year, but also a challenging year together. I think there has been a lot of jealousy on Colby's part, but things are getting better, and he's turning into a wonderful and loving brother (most of the time). Our days are not without challenges, but it's nice to see those moments when the kids are playing happily together.

I am really hoping that 2011 will be the year of potty training! Colby pooped on the potty twice yesterday....this is big news. (He and Lee are out buying a drum set as we speak- that was always the prize promised) Let's hope the trend continues. Miller is showing some interest in the potty and has peed on it 3 times, but she's still a little confused and not always interested. She is supposed to be potty trained for her new school in April, so we've got some work to do!

We had family pictures taken in November. These are not good quality because I do not have the digital copy and they cannot be scanned, but I wanted to include them on the blog anyway. Here they are in no particular order:












We had our first snow of the year right before Christmas. The kids loved getting outside, and I don't think Miller remembered the snow from last year.



Colby had a great time running around, falling, and rolling in it.


On Christmas eve, we baked and taste tested cookies for Santa....


and Colby tried to finish the year strong by being extra nice to Miller (in hopes that Santa was watching).


Granddaddy read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" to the kids over our Mac computer.


I swear, this is the last year we will have an artificial tree- I am ready for the real deal! And I'm ready for some real shiny glass balls, which we have avoided since Miller still loves undecorating the tree.



Santa did not disappoint this year.


Colby's loot


Miller's loot


After an incident one day at a friend's house involving a princess dress and heels, we decided that it was time to get Colby some boy dress up clothes. This was his big year!

We had Soldier Colby....


Astronaut Colby (still saluting)...


Pirate Colby....


and fighter pilot Colby.


Miller loved her princess umbrella...


but her most favorite gift was her new Bitty Baby and pram stroller. She has decided to name her baby "Baby".


The 4 person tent was a very exciting surprise for all!


The day after Christmas, we drove down to Richmond. We had a great time with Nan and Pop, Peepie Miller, Uncle Homer and Emily, Chip and Jen, and Cooper, Zach, and Braden. We did a white elephant gift exchange and had fun visiting and hanging out with everyone. Unfortunately, I only took a couple of pictures.

Me, Miller (not wanting her picture taken), and Peepie Miller.


Colby and Miller with their cousins....and a surprise belly shot.


Let's try this again.


For New Year's Eve, we had our good friends Virginia and Jed over with their girls. We only lasted until about 9:30, but it was a lot of fun. The kids put on a "show" for us in the basement. (Miller was already in bed)


Actually, that first picture was photoshopped. If I've been anything on this blog, it honest....so this was the real picture. Haven't you ever had so much fun you just don't want to stop for a necessary break?


We didn't know it had happened until we saw it on film illuminated by the flash of the camera. Like I said, 2011 will be the year of potty training! Happy New Year!

****UPDATE: Granddaddy just pointed out that we bought the lot in October of 2009. Oops- he's right.