Thanks

I just wanted to thank everyone who sent a Christmas card this year! We have a collage of pictures on our fridge of all the people we love and I tell you, it's just makin' me happy. So thanks!

A Christmas Miracle

While playing with Connor the other day, I discovered how to play "Far, Far Away on Judea's Plains" on the piano pictured. Is anyone else impressed? We're calling it a Christmas Miracle around here.:)

The Tale of the Christmas Stockings

So, I LOVE Christmas. I don't know what our parents did special to make Christmas such a wonderful and magical time for us three kids, but we all love it equally. We found out a few years ago that our then 18 year old brother could quote a poem that was on the advent calendar my mom had cross stitched and we had hung every year for Christmas. My sister still gets teary eyed when someone mentions, "believe" this time of year. Are you starting to get a picture here? We LOVE the Christmas our parents created for us--it was magical! One of the things we loved were the Christmas stockings our Mom made for each of us. They were each unique and we would dance around them with Christmas music playing and talk about who's was the best. This is serious people, no joke. I think since the day Byron and I got married, I've been thinking about the Christmas I would like to create for our family and the special stockings I would like to make. This year it finally happened. I created the patterns, I bought the fabric, I embroidered the names...they are complete! I know they're not as great as some that could be bought, but I just hope our kids know how much thought and love went into each of their stockings and I hope some of the magic of the season has started to sprout in our home! Merry Christmas!

a Parade, a Surprise, and a Party

A Parade

While Byron was studying this morning for finals, my friend Christine and I took Connor and her little girl Jordan to the Chapel Hill Christmas Parade. What a great time! We made a whole adventure of it by taking the bus first since we knew parking would be an issue. The kids loved that. We didn't know what to expect crowd wise since this was our first time to the parade and were pleasantly surprised to find low crowds and a festive atmosphere. (It seemed maybe most people in Chapel Hill were participating in the parade.):) We got great seats on a stone wall and the kids were totally mesmerized for the first 30 min! Some of the highlights were some beaded necklaces, balloons, and Santa and his Reindeer to finish the festivities. The kids had a great time running around the open grass area, and most shocking of all...Christine and I actually got to have a lively conversation! A Christmas Miracle!:) We finished the morning with lunch at a Deli and a little more playing. Byron was so sad he had to miss and we're hoping we can all go together next year.

A Surprise

While Connor and I were gone at the parade, some friends of ours, the Maxwells, brought over their son Harrison's car garage for Connor. Can we say early Christmas? When Byron was getting Connor up from his nap I heard him tell Connor he had a "surprise" for him. Connor was so thrilled and kept on calling it his "prize".:) Thank you, thank you Maxwell's for giving this to Connor; it's really a gift for all of us!

A Party

Tonight was our ward Christmas Party and it was such a fun time! I was a little concerned how Connor would do because I knew the night was based around musical performances and I didn't think Connor would be into appreciating all the music offered. I was very surprised and pleased to see Connor entertaining himself with the leftover cups and pop caps from the drink table. He and his best bud Jaxton had a great time stacking, hording, and spinning the caps. Good job boys!

What a Saturday! I'm pooped!:)

What's Connor Up To These Days?

Whenever we talk to family or friends, they always ask, "What's Connor up to these days?" Here are a few things our little buddy's been doing recently.

1. Connor loves Christmas and Christmas lights in particular. He calls Christmas "Ha, ha, ha" meaning "Ho, ho, ho" which to him represents Christmas. We know he's spotted Christmas lights while we're in the car because we'll hear an enthusiastic, "Ha, ha, ha!" from the backseat. He also calls the Christmas trains we see at Target "Ha,ha T." We're the only two people in the world who up until now, knows that means "Christmas train".:)

2. Connor is repeating more and more of what we say. I've discovered I say, "neat" and "nice" a lot because those are two new words he mimics a lot. Cool mom, huh?:) Tonight we were having Sugar Snap Peas with our meal and Connor was mostly interested in getting the peas out of the pod. Byron was calling the peas, "little guys". When Connor didn't want to eat them anymore, just play with them, he would get them out of the pod, hand them to me calling them "guys". That cracked us up!

3. Connor loves stuffed animals right now. He keeps on asking for more to be pulled from the shelf and put into his bed. We hear him talking to them, he gives them kisses, he wants one to be tucked in next to him at night, and he even wants one to sit with him in his highchair at times and "feeds" the animal before he feeds himself. We find all of this very very sweet.

Hope you enjoyed our update, I'll try to keep them coming!

Ushering in Decmeber

I'm not quite sure what I've been up to since Thanksgiving but I know I've been busy and tired. I'm an avid exerciser and I haven't worked out in over a week. If you know me well, you'll know that's unusual. My eyes have also been burning and weird things in my body have been aching. I took a nap today and feel oh so much better. Sorry for no blogs recently, you just read my excuse.:)

So tonight, Byron and I had a date! On this date we spent a hefty hunk of change (thanks to Christmas money from parents and grandparents) at a local toy store. Can any one guess what we bought? Think hard, Connor asks for it every day, multiple times a day. We read books about them, we watch videos about them, we even go to a store to play with them about 5 days a week. Any guesses? If you guessed Thomas the Train then you are right! We are so thrilled with the purchases and brought them in and set up the track. I wonder who's more excited about Christmas morning, Connor or the two of us? Considering Byron had a dream about setting up the track with Connor, I'm guessing us.:) Way to kick off December with a bang!