Lessons from Dad

Learning to dunk oreos in milk . . . a classic rite of passage

Christmas 2009

Pictures from Christmas morning . . .



It's amazing how excited a two year old can get over a package of stickers!















Hiding in his new tent

Merry Christmas!

"I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord."

Luke 2:10-11

Praise God!

Christmas Eve

Making cookies for Santa












Ready for tomorrow morning!

Rockin Down the Highway

A few days ago, the whole family went Christmas tree shopping at Lowe's. They had just received a new shipment of trees that afternoon and we found the most beautiful tree I think we have ever had. It is, however, slightly too large for our den, but I have moved some furniture around to accommodate it. Jack had a big time at Lowe's. He, like his mother, loves to walk up and down the Christmas aisles looking at all of the decorations. I was walking around and kept hearing the same song over and over coming from one of the villages that they sell. I peeked around the corner and sure enough, Jack had found a musical toy at his eye level and was absolutely taken with it. It was the Chevrolet Dealership that is a part of their American Classics Christmas collection and it plays "Rockin' down the Highway." He would press the button and start dancing in the aisle . . . he must have done this 30 times at least! I wish I had my camera to take a video because he was really groovin'. So when we went to Lowe's today to pick up a few more strands of lights, I remembered my camera and was determined to catch it on film. He was a little less enthusiastic today and easily distracted by things going on around him, but you can at least catch a glimpse of his newest dance moves.



-Paige

The Seven Hills Fire Station

While in Mobile, Daddy arranged for Jack to meet a volunteer fireman (a friend of his) at the fire station to see their new ladder truck. Once he got over his fear of the shiny red engine, Jack had a great time! We opened up all of the doors and looked at all of the buttons and lights. John and Jack even took a 10 minute ride in the front seat of the engine. It is fun to have connections! Fireman Jay promised to let Jack spray the water hose when he gets a little bit older. I am sure we will take him up on his offer.

Thanksgiving in Mobile

We spent all of last week in Mobile for Thanksgiving and had a wonderful time. In the midst of all of the usual holiday cooking and last minute runs to the grocery store, Jack managed to find all of our old toys Mother had been saving for her grandchildren. He was overjoyed to find an entire Fisher Price Village! Over the course of a decade of buying toys for us, Mother and Daddy had unknowingly produced a collection of Fisher Price including a house, a farm, main street, a school, a zoo, and an airport--everything you need for a booming metropolis. It was an impressive sight to behold!

Halloween Weekend

As you can tell from the following posts, our favorite photographer spent the weekend with us! Aunt Lulu brought her camera and, once again, captured some really sweet moments on film. What would we do without her!

Thanks Laine!

House to House (as John used to call it)

We had a big time trick-or-treating last night. We met up with our friends Kasey and Eric and their little boy Anderson. At first, Jack thought he had to trade in one piece of candy to get another one. Once we explained that he got to keep all of them, he was all about it! Every time we got back in the car, he would reach for another piece of candy and say "Open candy?" Needless to say, it took him a while to wind down last night. I don't think I've ever seen two happier little boys!

Jack the Fireman

Pumpkin Carving

One of my favorite things to do for Halloween is carve pumpkins. Jack and I went to work yesterday morning carving two pumpkins for our front porch. One was a traditional Jack-O-Lantern (for Jack, of course!) and the other was a scarecrow. He was pretty pleased with the results.

Cell Phone Conversation

Due to my increasing frustration with my computer, I have been neglecting Jack's blog! I have had this video for over a month so it is a little outdated, but it was too cute not to put on the blog. Jack has been watching us talk on our cell phones and does a great imitation. His vocabulary has exploded over the last month and is now saying three word sentences . . . this from the child who we thought would never start talking! His favorite phrase right now is "I have to? ok" and "be right back." His favorite consonant is "g" and if he is ever in doubt on pronunciation, he uses a "g." For example:

paci is pagi

waffles are waggles

bubbles are buggles

apple is aggle

Mommy is Maggi

I can tell this stage will be fleeting. Degan is now Megan and T Gee is now T.V. Every day he is learning to say his words correctly which makes him seem more like a little boy and less like a toddler. Time flies!

Fall is here!!!

FALL is here!!!

It's a girl!

John and I found out today that baby Frame #2 is a girl! She is due February 5th and we couldn't be more excited.

Let the sewing begin!

-Paige

Jack is TWO today! Part 1

Happy Birthday Jack!

What a day this has been! Pancakes for breakfast, a fire truck Happy Birthday balloon, a haircut, and lunch at Borrum's. Jack has been in the best mood all day. I told him this morning that it was his birthday and we were going to spend the whole day doing fun things together. I think he knows that this is a special day. He has been walking around saying Happy Birthday to everyone he sees and he has acted like everything we've done has been one big adventure. While getting his haircut, he carried on a long conversation with Leslie, the hairdresser, which is something he does not normally do. On a side note, Leslie told me that she was cutting off the last of his baby hair today . . . it made me a little sad but I guess it was appropriate seeing as how he is no longer a baby. We decided not to have a party for Jack this year, but instead we are having a day long celebration. No laundry, no chores, no errands, just fun for Jack. After naptime, we are going to find some puddles to splash in, eat ice cream, and play until John gets home. I am fixing one of Jack's favorite dinners tonight and we'll open up some presents afterwards.

I'll post more pictures tonight, but until then . . .

So you think you can dance?

Until recently, dancing for Jack meant moving his head back and forth and kind of bouncing up and down while seated. He has since moved on to throwing his whole body into it. I'm not sure where he has picked up these new moves, but he is definitely giving it all he's got!

Random Thoughts

While I have been updating this blog and reading some others, Jack has been asleep on the couch. About 1 hour into his nap, he woke up, slid off the couch, made one lap around the den, crawled back onto the couch and went right back to sleep. He didn't look at me or say anything. It makes me wonder . . . do we have a sleepwalker on our hands? The toddler bed transition scheduled to happen soon might be more interesting than I thought.

Summer 2009

These are some of my favorite pictures taken by Laine the last time she was here. She has a great talent for capturing the most wonderful expressions!