Welcome December

Today wrapped up my last day of Thanksgiving break, and the last day of November.  Having had a week off, I'm definitely ready for Christmas break and all that December entails.  We've decorated the house, started our advent calendar activities, and are knee deep in the mischief our elf, Pal, brings each day.  The boys are really looking forward to Christmas, and so am I!  It really is so much more fun to celebrate once you have children.  Our advent calendar activity today was taking Christmas pictures, and I couldn't resist putting the boys in front of our tree.  Here are a few I snapped before they crawled in bed.  Until next time, goodbye November, and welcome December!

 

Weekly Update - Thanksgiving Break Edition

Happy Black Friday!  I don't like shopping on normal days, so I've never been one to get out and shop on Black Friday... just seems a bit crazy to me!  I'm spending the day at home with my babies, trying to catch up on laundry.  I've taken a bit of a blogging break this week while on Thanksgiving break, and it's been nice!  We had a great time on our trip to Savannah, but I was very ready to get back home to my boys on Monday night.  I missed them terribly.  Sorry if this post is a little long... I've got a lot to say after my week long break!  Here's a little look back at our week!

• Our trip to Savannah was great.  We were there for 3 days and had weather from one extreme to the next over the course of those three days.  We saw everything we wanted to though, and ate at some great restaurants, including Paula Deen's.  I absolutely love Savannah, and grow to appreciate it's beauty more and more each time I travel there.  I always feel like it's a long way away, but it only took us 6 hours, but it's a quick trip.  Oh, and if you've ever wondered about traveling there in the fall and worrying that it won't be pretty due there being no active blooms, it's still gorgeous.  The live oaks were incredible, even in late November.  
• When I got home Cooper kept telling me over and over "Thank you so much for coming back home Mommy!"  It almost broke my heart... he even thanked God in his prayers that night for me coming home.  
• Once I came home and gave Clark his tin tractor lunchbox full of candy he was over the excitement of seeing Mommy again... all he thought about was candy!  I gave Cooper one too, and they've carried them around all week, full of toys!  I also got them each an ornament.  I got Cooper a peacock (he's obsessed with them since we see them at the zoo) and Clark a crab.  They loved them!
• Andy and the boys bought a live tree while I was gone and surprised me with it on Monday night.  The boys were so excited, and it was so sweet!  Andy does a fabulous job of picking out trees.  We've always bought them at Walmart, and they're beautiful (this is the 2nd year we've bought a real tree)!  We decorated on Tuesday, and I think the boys have rearranged every ornament since about 15 times.  
• We decorated the rest of the house while we were at it, and the boys love it!  Every time I turn around my nativity characters are moved to a different spot, but I didn't expect too much from the boys... it's just too tempting!
• Cooper's become a bit obsessed this week with cleaning his room.  It's great, don't get me wrong, he keeps it spotless, but he's OBSESSIVE about it.  Everything has to be in a certain spot, and if it's not, he literally won't go to bed until it is.  I feel his pain... I was like this and still am to a point.  It's exhausting. 
• I took the boys on a whim this week to get a haircut.  We were out at the mall, so I took them to a place that's just for children.  Cooper had been there before, and Clark was excited about the concept.  They both did great, and their hair is super cute.  
• We had a very busy, but great Thanksgiving.  The first part of the day was spent with Andy's side of the family, and the second part was spent with mine.  The boys ate very little, and played very hard, so they crashed a bit a few times throughout the day.  Andy and I ate too much food, but really enjoyed spending the day with our families.  I love that both sides live close!
• On the way home from Savannah we stopped by Ikea.  I love Ikea, but I have to be in the right state of mind for it.  It's huge, and I was exhausted.  I did find the boys some great gifts for Christmas, so all in all it was a successful trip!
• I'm buying a sit and stand double stroller today off of Craigslist.  I still love our double umbrella stroller, but since the boys are side by side in it they can't last for more than two minutes or so without having a knockdown, drag out.  I still use the single umbrella stroller a lot for Clark when we're out, but Cooper still gets tired enough that he wants to ride in the stroller... and he likes to stand on them as well.  I've had my eye on these types of strollers for awhile, but they're usually pretty pricey.  I found this one today for a great deal and snatched it up!
• We're making our annual trek to the Opryland Hotel and Opry Mills this Sunday to see the Christmas decorations.  We go with my family every year, and this will be our 3rd trip.  The first year Cooper, Clark, and Andy had the flu, and last year Cooper and Andy had a stomach virus.  I'm hoping everyone will be healthy this year!  I'm also looking forward to the new stroller for this trip!
• Thanksgiving break has made me more anxious for Christmas break!  I love the time off with the boys, so I'm really ready for the two week break!  Only three weeks of school stand between us!
• We started our advent calendar today.  It was kicked off by our first visit from our Elf of the Shelf, Pal.  The boys were SO excited when they saw him this morning!  This is the second year Pal's visited us.  Now, I'm not creative by any means, but I did manage to eek out a month's worth of activities last year for Pal.  If any of you struggle like I do with coming up with ideas, here's my Pal post from last year.
• Wednesday we went to the Aquarium with our friends Colt and Jessica.  Colt is Cooper's best friend, and we always have so much fun with them!  It's nice to have a friend the boys love to play with, and a mom that I love to socialize with!  
• Andy and I are going strong on season 6 of Dexter right now.  As silly as it may sound, one of my favorite "dates" with Andy is watching Dexter in our bed at night after we put the boys down.  

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving with your families!  I'm off to enjoy the rest of my break with my babies... it's gone by way too fast!

Weekly Update

Happy Friday!  Today is my last day of work before a long week off for Thanksgiving.  I leave out for Savannah this afternoon until Monday evening, and I'm excited!  I'll miss the boys and Andy terribly, but I know they'll be in good hands and have some fun boy time.  Here's a look back at our busy week!

• Cooper had a great week of celebrating his birthday.  He got a lot of great toys, and he's still playing with them, which is great!  A lot of times he'll play with new things for a day or two and then forget about them.  
• Poor Clark just didn't understand why Cooper got all of the new toys and he didn't.  Cooper's been fairly good about sharing with him, but let's be honest, they're 4 and 2, so they're having a lot of fights over everything too.  I foresee a lot of similar gifts for Clark for Christmas.
• I'm ready to get our Christmas decorations out and on display.  We're buying a real tree again this year, so I've got to hold my horses a bit until Andy can help us get one, but I plan on getting everything out as soon as I get back from Savannah.  
• I haven't been feeling too great the last few days.  There's all kinds of stuff spreading around work, so I don't know if I've caught a virus or what, but I'm hoping I'll start feeling better soon!
• Christmas is just over a month away, and I still haven't bought the first gift.  I usually don't do any of my shopping until December, so that's not out of character for me, but holiday shopping always stresses me out a bit.
• I was asked to give a presentation to parents at our school about Common Core ELA standards.  I felt like it was a big honor to be asked, so I agreed, even though I hate public speaking.  It's after Thanksgiving break, but I went ahead and knocked out the presentation so I wouldn't have to worry about it over the break.  I sent it in and was told it was perfect, so I'm glad that's one thing off of my plate before my time off!  Now, when return I actually have to present it, so that'll be a different story!
• Speaking of Thanksgiving break, it couldn't have come any sooner.  I desperately need a break, and so do the kids.  My students just turned in a huge essay today, but they'll sit on the corner of my desk until I return on December 1st!  I have no plans to do any kind of school related work while I'm on break with the boys.  Once I get home I plan on taking them to the zoo, the Aquarium, maybe the Discovery Museum, to do some Christmas stuff, decorate, enjoy Thanksgiving with both sides of our family, and watch lots of TV!  I don't know that I'll get all of that accomplished, but that's my goal!

I'm off to Savannah, so I hope everyone has a great weekend!  

2014 Advent Calendar

Every year I put together a little Christmas advent calendar for the boys.  It gives us some fun things to do leading up to Christmas, and some things to do to kill time while we're waiting on Andy to get home from his late nights at work.  This year's advent calendar is very similar to last year's, but I didn't try to put date specific things down this year.  I know of some parades and things like that that I want to take the boys to on certain days, but sure enough, if I put those down, something happens and we can't go.  
 

I used the same premise as last year when making the calendar.  I typed up a Word document, printed the dates/activities out, cut them up, glued them onto construction paper, put the dates on back, laminated them, and put it in a vase for the boys to grab them from every day.  There are a million, much cuter, DIY advent calendars on Pinterest, but I wanted something quick, simple, and efficient.  This worked last year, so it'll work this year!  

 

We start our advent activities the day after Thanksgiving, we the arrival of Pal (our Elf of the Shelf) and go through Christmas day.  I'm really looking forward to it, and I know the boys will love doing it.

 

Friday

November 28^th

Look for Pal’s arrival

Saturday

November 29^th

Watch a Christmas movie

Sunday

November 30^th

Take Christmas pictures

Monday

December 1^st

Listen to Christmas music

Tuesday

December 2^nd

Write a letter to Santa

Wednesday

December 3^rd

Look at Christmas lights

Thursday

December 4^th

Read a Christmas book

Friday

December 5^th

Make a Christmas craft

Saturday

December 6^th

Make a Christmas dessert

Sunday

December 7^th

Make an ornament for the tree

Monday

December 8^th

Make hot chocolate

Tuesday

December 9^th

Drive to a different neighborhood

to see Christmas lights

Wednesday

December 10^th

Have a Christmas music dance

party

Thursday

December 11^th

Read a Christmas book

Friday

December 12^th

Watch a Christmas movie

Saturday

December 13^th

Buy a gift for your brother

Sunday

December 14^th

Make someone a homemade

Christmas treat

Monday

December 15^th

Deliver our homemade treat

Tuesday

December 16^th

Get milkshakes and look

at Christmas lights

downtown

Wednesday

December 17^th

Read the Christmas story

Thursday

December 18^th

Read a Christmas book

Friday

December 19^th

Watch a Christmas movie

with the fireplace on

Saturday

December 20^th

Buy Daddy Christmas

presents

Sunday

December 21^st

Go to the church Christmas

play

  

Monday

December 22^nd

Make Jesus a birthday

cake

Tuesday

December 23^rd

Christmas movie and

PJ night

Wednesday

December 24^th

Go our the church

Christmas Eve service

Thursday

December 25^th

Cook a special breakfast

and open presents

Happy 4th Birthday to my Sweet Cooper

 Newborn

 One

 Two

Three

Four
 

Today my baby boy turns 4 years old.  I feel this way every single year, but I really can't believe he's this old.  So much joy and blessings have been squeezed into the past four years, but it honestly doesn't feel like it's been that long ago that we were at the hospital, 6 weeks early, awaiting his arrival.  I found my true purpose when I had Cooper, and I don't think I'll ever be able to thank God, or Cooper, enough for all the joy, happiness, and meaning he's brought to my life.

I have learned SO much from Cooper, more than I've ever learned about any other aspect of life.  He's a tough child to figure out sometimes, so I'm still learning multiple things every single day about how to be a mother.  Like I said, he hasn't been the easiest and most laid back child to raise, especially this past year, but I would never trade his little personality for anyone else's.  He's extremely strong willed, but that's what makes him him, and that's what brings so much excitement out in him in all the things he does.

He really does have one of the sweetest personalities I've ever seen, despite the fact that he can pitch a royal fit anytime the mood strikes.  He's very loving, very affectionate, and very kind.  He gets excited over the sweetest things, and tries to help his baby brother calm down when he's upset.  He still prefers me over Andy when he's tired, sick, or in trouble, but he loves playing with his daddy the minute he wakes up.  He still loves the iPad and watching TV, but he also loves creating new things with his toys.

He's learned so much this year, including potty-training himself.  His vocabulary growth and development has been incredible this year, considering he's really only been talking for a little over a year now.  He's also become so much more independent, needing Andy and me less and less for help with little things.

Since we celebrated his birthday over the weekend, we had a pretty low-key day of celebrating.  Andy and I both had to work, we had Christmas play practice at church tonight, and it snowed off and on all day.  We gave him the rest of his presents (a bike and easel) when Andy got home, then we took him to Chick-fil-a to eat and play before play practice.  It may not seem like much, but we've enjoyed celebrating this sweet boy the last few days... he's definitely worth the celebration!

Happy birthday, sweet Cooper!  We love you more than you'll ever know!

Christmas 2014 Bucket List

How is it almost Christmas time already?  Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas and all the fun things leading up to it, so I'm excited.  Christmas is so much more fun with the boys, so I love coming up with our annual Christmas bucket list.  I've used last year's list to help me compile our list for this year, but as always, I've added and deleted some things for this time around.  Once again, I tried to make our list simple so I could accomplish the items on my own (due to Andy's crazy Christmas work schedule).  Lots of these items coincide with our advent calendar... no need to make it any harder than it should be, right?  

Alright, without any further adieu, here's our bucket list for this year! 

• Go to a Christmas light exhibit 
• Have an "Elf of the Shelf"
• Have a Christmas movie/PJ night
• Have an advent calendar
• Go to a Christmas parade
• Go to a Christmas party
• Visit Santa
• Christmas date with Andy
• Family Christmas date
• Get a special Christmas ornament for our family
• Watch the classic Christmas movies
• Write a letter to Santa 
• Make holiday desserts
• Buy a real Christmas tree
• Decorate our Christmas tree
• Make holiday crafts
• Special Christmas Eve presents for the boys
• Read through the Christmas story in Luke
• Cook a special Christmas morning meal
• Read special Christmas books
• Go Christmas shopping with Andy
• Go ice skating 
• Attend our candle light Christmas Eve service
• Take Christmas themed pictures of the boys
• Listen to Christmas music
• Have a Christmas themed family dinner

Cooper's 4th Birthday Celebration

Today we celebrated Cooper's 4th birthday.  His actual birthday is this Tuesday, but we celebrated this weekend for schedule purposes.  Before I get into all my mommy, ooey gooey, mushy mess on Tuesday, I'll share some pictures with you today. 

We had his party at the YMCA pool, splitting the party with my nephew, Sawyer, who turns 7 at the end of the month.  We split the cost, and even though I always feel parties are stressful to plan, this one went off without a hitch!  Both of the birthday boys had a lot of fun, and most importantly, Cooper absolutely loved it!  He thanked me at the very end of the party for bringing him to it... so sweet!  Here are some pictures of his big day!