Embellished Nativity

Thomas decided that the nativity scene Lily got from Aunt Les last year was too small for her to have in her room. So, he asked to have it on his dresser for just this one year. While I was dusting the other day, I discovered that Thomas had adorned the wisemen with some extra decoration. If you look closely, one is wearing a spider ring on top of his crown; and, the other is sporting a blue reindeer ring.

Our Baby Girl is Growing Up

Lily has been eating some of her meals in Thomas's booster seat lately. She also loves to feed herself now. She is so proud when she sits in the booster seat. Check out that proud smile...

Christmas Doughnut Party at Jackson and Isabel's

Paola had some of us over to make snowman doughnuts before they left for the holidays. The kids were definitely not afraid of the icing or sprinkles! Check out these excited, messy faces....










Don't you love kids? What a treat!

School Christmas Program and Party

Sorry these pictures aren't great. I was too busy watching everything. We do have a great video of the concert. I will try to post it soon.

We took this picture outside of school after the program. These boys are such great friends! Luke, Thomas, and Jackson...



Lily got to sit at a special table during the party. She decided she didn't want to eat alone, so she found a friend to join her.

Quantese is a Boy

Thomas decided that he would adopt one of Lily's baby dolls, name it Quantese, and declare it a boy. He went on to inform me that Quantese is a boy, and would always be a boy because he was born a boy. I love the way his little mind works. Then, he tucked Quantese and Lily's diapered frog in bed (under a blanket on the couch), and sat next to them so they wouldn't "roll out of bed".

Love it!

Decorating the Tree

Here are some pictures of us decorating our first artificial tree. I couldn't convince Jeremy and Thomas to move out for the month of December, so their allergies won out. I do have to say that I miss the great smell of a fresh tree, but it is nice to have a pre-lit tree that is symmetrical and doesn't need watering. Thomas and Lily both loved putting ornaments on the tree. Lily had to stand in a chair to hang her ornaments since I did! She still pushes the chair up to the tree, stands in it, and pretends to put ornaments on. Sometimes she is just saying, "Hello, Mistmas Tee" or "Hello, Melmo and Tooktie" (Elmo and Cookie Monster).

Some of my favorite ornaments....


Thomas made this one at school.




I am so excited to open this gift from Thomas on Thursday!

Abi Turns 3 on the Farm

Abi had her birthday party on a farm in Darlington. It was cold, but so much fun! Lily was sick, and didn't get to go. Thomas had a blast! He rode a horse for the first time, saw a four-day-old miniature horse, pretended to drive the Honda ATV, and fed the goats with Isabel.






Check out this great cake that our friend Christy made!



Thank you for sharing your 3rd birthday party with us, Abi.

Christmas Card Attempts

So, we thought we would throw the kids on our bed with their coordinating pajamas, favorite stuffed animals (Bear for Lily and Pokey for Thomas), and sweet smiles. Why do we do this to ourselves? It was fun, but a little frustrating. Here are some outtakes....

Nudey Day for Lily!!

Lily usually wakes up around 7:00 or 7:30 and plays in her crib for a while before we get her up. On a normal day she just hangs out, talks to her bear and lamb, and stands up and greets her room.
So, imagine my shock when I walked in her room after she was awake for ten minutes, and found her completely naked! And her only concern? "Uh-oh. Bear." Translation: Mom, can you please get my bear that I threw out of the crib and into the rocking chair?
I asked, "Lily, where are your night-nights and diaper?!"
Her response? "Ummmm..."

I couldn't do anything except laugh, get Jeremy so he could see, grab the camera, and be thankful that her bed was dry!

Nudey Magazine Day for Thomas!!

I rounded the corner into the den the other day to see Thomas looking at a magazine -- turned sideways!!




Thankfully, they were just cars :) Still too funny not to take a picture of!

Pottery Painting at Wink!

So...Lily was not a fan of painting her hand and Thomas wanted to paint everything in sight. What you don't see here is the Matchbox truck Thomas managed to coat in paint (blue, of course), or the front and back of the left hand Thomas painted. Lily eventually picked up the paintbrush and enjoyed painting the backside of her plate, but wasn't about to allow her hand painted. Thus the monkeys...
Don't you love my little hippie?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thomas had a Thanksgiving party at school. They even made pumpkin bread and ate chicken nuggets!



The basics of cooking a turkey written by a four-year-old...

Go Dawgs!!

Another picture of my three bulldogs...

Pumpkins ---> Jack-o-Lanterns

Thomas loves decorating pumpkins with these foam stickers...then he gets to call them jack-o-lanterns! Sorry the pictures are a bit fuzzy, but it is getting very hard to convince both kids to sit still for pictures.

Check out Ms. Thing with her new boots....