Christmas with Ya-Ya

This post is a little out of order.  Ya-Ya (Craig's mom) comes up at least once a week and has dinner and playtime with us.  The Tuesday before Christmas, Ya-Ya let the girls and us open our presents from her.  Leah was super excited to open a few presents EARLY!  Thanks Ya-Ya!!

Play-Doh Competition

Leah received her first Play-Doh for Christmas.  Leah, Craig and I have been playing with it a lot when Anna naps.  I forgot how much fun it is!

Christmas Day - Round 2

Around lunch, we headed to Siler City to Nana & Papa George's house for Christmas fellowship with my mother's family. It is always a lot of fun, as my mom's sisters and Nana are all really funny. Again, lots of great food and presents and fun!

Nana with her five daughters.

These are the (great) grandkids which were in attendance.  We had quite a few missing this year.

Leah and Anna received a trunk full of fairy dress-up clothes.  They were IN LOVE with it!

Christmas Day - Round 1

Craig and I got up around 6 am to get the breakfast casserole cooking to take to my parents' house. The girls got up around 6:45 and we opened presents and played for a while. Around 7:30, we headed to Minnie and Papa's house for breakfast and more presents.

Christmas Eve - Round 2

After lunch, we had enough time to take the girls home for a nap before heading to Greensboro for dinner and my grandparents' home (Nana & Big Daddy).  We enjoyed our traditional Christmas Eve dinner of lasagna, salad, bread, applesauce and a variety of delicious desserts.  We had a lovely time after dinner, opening presents and laughing.  The girls took their baths before we left, so when we got home we just had to brush their teeth and climb into bed....it was a late night!

Christmas Eve - Round 1

For lunch on Christmas Eve, we went to Craig's grandparents house (Granny & PawPaws).  We all enjoyed ourselves.  The food was wonderful and there was a lot of laughter and fun.

Christmas Eve is also PawPaw's birthday!

Anna and Aunt Darlene

Reflections on Christmas 2011

We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, as we did.  Like most families, our holiday celebrations extended over several days and several locations.  We are so blessed to have a large family and be covered in love.  As parents, it is difficult in today's society to keep your family focused on the true meaning of Christmas...the birth of our Savior!  Craig and I prayerfully sought to remind Leah and Anna numerous times over the holidays that we were, in fact, celebrating Jesus' birth above all other things. 

We may be making some changes in the coming years, with regard to how we celebrate Christmas (Sants, presents, etc) in order to better teach our daughters about the birth of our King.  I welcome any advice which can help Craig and I create the kind of Christmas our hearts desire for our family.  We will certainly be spending much time in prayer over the next twelve months, seeking wisdom from the LORD on how he would like us to approach future Christmas celebrations in our home.

Blessings to all for a happy, healthy New Year!

Christmas Lunch at Ollie's

Every year, as long as I can remember, we have made a trip to Sanford, NC to have a Christmas lunch at my great grandmother Ollie's house.  Ollie is my Dad's grandmother.  This has become a tradition we have all enjoyed and I am so very thankful that my girls have had the opportunity to spend time with their great-great grandmother.  Who can say they've done that?? 

Thank you Laney, for coloring with Leah!

Leah also spent some time outside, picking up sticks. 

Anna came outside to join the playtime.  I love the expression on Anna's face, because it shows  Anna's excitement over seeing her big sister.

Dad says he remembers walking on this very same brick wall when he was a young boy.

A Toddler's Gingerbread House

Leah made this gingerbread house at preschool today.  When you ask her about how she made it she says:

"It has crackers and MMs, I like those.  And it has peppermints, I don't like those. And gummy bears, I don't like those. And marshmallows, I like those."

Look Mommy!

Leah got into the baby stuff I had stored away...which included baby headbands.

A Child's Favorite Activity

Most evenings while I am preparing dinner, the girls enjoy playing under the kitchen island.  There's nothing in there that could cause them harm, mostly tupperware, food storage containers, and crockpots.  I have to reorganize this stuff every night, but I do it joyfully because I am so very thankful for the two special girls who made the mess!

Library Time

About once a week, I take the girls to the local public library in our little town.  Leah is allowed to pick two books to check out.  The children's room at the library is always quiet and usually pretty empty of other kids, so I don't fret too much about my hooligans disturbing anyone.  There is a table with wooden puzzles, and that's the first place Leah heads to when we get there.  I am so thankful for this wonderful (free!) place I can take the girls to help instill in them a love of books!  Sorry about the poor photo quality -- I took them with my cell phone.

Today, we are able to talk Aunt Meredith into coming to the library with us.

Anna loves the puzzles too!

Meatball

Minnie and Papa adopted a new dog this past week.  He is a yellow Lab/Golden Retriever mix and his name is Meatball.  He is such a sweet dog and fits right in with the family.  We think he's a great addition!

Thanksgiving

We celebrated a marvelous Thanksgiving this past Thursday.  We have so much to be thankful for, namely the newest member of our family... Anna Grace.  We ate a huge lunch at Mom and Dad's house, joined by Aunt Ellie and Ya-Ya.  After naps, we went to Craig's grandparents (PawPaw and Granny's) for dinner.  It was such a wonderful day, full of good food, fellowship, and thankfulness.

One special thing about this Thankgiving...we were all able to sit together at the dining room table!

One of the dishes I usually make is turnips and rudabegas.  Papa grew these beautiful turnips in his garden this year.  I thought the color was so vibrant and beautiful, I couldn't help but take a photo of them.  It reminded me of how the Lord provides for his people through cultivation of the land.

Horses!

This past Sunday our family went to Stillwater Farm in Summerfield for a birthday party.  Craig's cousin, Nick's, little girl turned 4 years old.  Stillwater Farm is a horse farm which gives riding lessons, boards horses, does birthday parties, etc.  Leah had a blast and we've determined she's a "horse girl."  I know Aunt Brenda will be so proud!

Here she is brushing "Rooster," and waiting on her turn to ride.

Here's Leah riding "Jack."  You cannot imagine our surprise when she got up on that horse without an ounce of fear or apprehension.  (This is the same girl who was scared of the little kiddie ride at Tweetsie)

Cake!

Sleeeeepy girls.  It's hard work having fun!

Anna Grace at 10 Months

Sorry this is a little late, as Anna is almost 10 1/2 months now. 

Here are several facts about Anna at 10 months old:

-She likes you to sing to her

-She has taken 2 steps unassisted, but then falls forward.  I expect her to start really walking in the next month.

-She likes "real food" and would much rather have your food than baby food

-She takes Leah's rough-housing pretty well, but is getting very vocal if Leah does something she doesn't like or if Leah takes her toy

-Anna goes to bed around 7pm and wakes around 6:30am, happy as a lark

-She doesn't have much stranger anxiety anymore, but is still attached to her mommy

-She just got her 7th tooth, on the bottom left

-She really likes bath time

-We have started calling her by her first and middle name more, Anna Grace.  She responds better to that than just Anna for some reason.  Maybe that's what she'd rather be called?

-Her favorite things to play with are books and she can say "book"

-Her words: book, pretty, mama, dada, papa, yaya, bailey, eye, egg, hey, baby, yum, more.  Sometimes she will try to repeat words you say to her.

(Does anyone else think Anna resembles Buzzus in this photo?)