Weekend Fun

We went to Florida this past weekend to visit with the Hemphill's. We had a wonderful time watching the kids play, playing Wii, riding bikes, eating, celebrating Sophie's birthday and just catching up with each other. We can't remember the last time we got together, but we think it was October. That's a long time ago. Brittny did a great overview of the weekend so if you would like more details please visit her post. It was great to see them and as an added bonus we weren't breaking up fights every five seconds over toys this time around. There were times of course we did, but not as many which was a blessing. The adults could actually converse, go figure.

I didn't get many pictures, but here are a few (there are some on my new "little" camera, but I have to download them. I will add those later).

Sophie and Joshua enjoying jelly toast.

Rocking out to the Wii.

The beautiful birthday girl. Isn't she precious.

Sophie took her bow out and put the princess crown on instead. Too cute.

After partying hard the kids had to rest and watch some tv.

California Bound

We headed out for our Christmas vacation to California early Friday the 18th. We woke the boys at 5:30am and they were wide awake from that point on. They were so excited to be boarding a plane and heading to Grammie's. Thanfully the first leg of the trip was only an hour and a half and it went fairly well. During our layover we let the boys run around and play in the McDonald's play area they had which was nice. We ate some lunch and then boarded the next plane. By this time, 11:30am, the boys were pretty exhausted. Joshua was getting pretty antsy and was starting to climb on the seat in front of us, but nothing major in my mind since we hadn't taken off yet. However, the older gentleman did not appreciate our little man. He turned around and asked if we could do something with our child because he could not fall asleep. Um, excuse me.....well then.....Nicholas was pretty much passed out already and once we got in the air and Joshua decided to sit on my lap he passed out too. Happiness all around. This lasted for about two hours which was good since the flight was about 2.5 hours or so. We made it through the rest of the flight by giving snacks. Fun times.

Saturday- My mom and I went to do some last minute Christmas shopping. I was able to eat tacos from Jack in the Box and get a Strawberry Banana Julius, yummy. Burt, the boys and my step-dad Jeff went to the playground down the street from their house and the wash where they let Taylor run around. Nicholas ended up getting "lost" for a few minutes in the bushes too.

Nicholas walking Taylor, even though you can't see her.

Nicholas running wild in the open space.

Sunday- We all went to church where Jeff plays in the orchestra. Nicholas went to Sunday school class while Burt hung out in the lobby with Joshua most of the time. My brother Richard and his girlfriend Jaci were suppose to get in this afternoon, but snow cancelled their flight until Monday evening, bummer. So, Sunday evening we just hung out at home and relaxed.

Monday- We went to the mall to see Santa. The boys were very excited to see him, but when it came time to sit on his lap they didn't want anything to do with that. At least they didn't cry. We also let them ride the double decker carousel, the coin rides and race cars around a track. Then Burt and I went shopping while the kids went home for a nap. Richard and Jaci arrived Monday evening. We talked with them for a few minutes before heading to bed. I was very excited to be able to spend time with them for a whole week. (I can't get the picture to scan right now, will add later)

Tuesday- We all packed up and headed to Knotts Berry Farm. We were hoping for warm weather, but not so much. It was sunny, but windy and chilly for my taste, but we survived. The boys loved the rides, but did get cranky by the end of the day since they didn't take a nap. Nicholas went on a "big" roller coaster. He liked the beginning, but once it went down the first hill Burt said his face changed dramatically and he kept asking for it to slow down. Poor little guy. Even though he said it was too fast he still pointed to all the large roller coasters and said he wanted to go on them. Not this time. It was fun to see Joshua be able to go on some of the rides too this go around. He especially liked watching Snoopy on Ice. He was head bopping to the music. Fun times. We ended up leaving early due to Jaci not feeling well, but that was okay since the boys were getting cranky themselves. The downside was that we left during rush hour so it took us forever to get home. Oh well.

Richard, Burt and Nicholas are in the car on the top.

It also would spin at the same time.

This is when Nicholas was probably the happiest.

The cutest thing ever. The boys had to push and pull to make the cart go.

Nicholas working hard. He lapped everyone. Look at that tongue.

Richard and Joshua, so cute.

Nicholas very excited to ride the train.

Wed- Burt and I left mid-morning to head down to my best friend Marissa's house to hang out with her and her precious little daughter Gracie. This was my first introduction to her. She wasn't feeling 100%, but she was still the cutest little thing ever. Her smile is infectious, has the cutest cheeks and she came right to me which was wonderful. I got all the hugs and kisses she would let me steal. I hate that I can't see her more. We were also treated to a homemade Thai meal by Marissa's mom. Burt has never had this privalage so he was very excited. I was happy that I was feeling well enough to eat. It was delicious. She went above and beyond with the spread she made for us. I think there were about five dishes or so, plus soup and the spring rolls. Yummy!!!! After we stuffed ourselves we went back to the house for a little bit before heading to a hotel. Yes, that's right, Burt and I spent a night away from the kids. It was great. We even got to sleep in. What a day.

This was only half of the dishes. Burt took the picture too soon.

Cutie pie Gracie.

Thur- After we got up and ready we went to Starbuck's to pick up some breakfast and headed back over to see Marissa and Gracie. Adam had to work. We hung out for a couple hours, played and talked some more and then got back on the road to head back to Santa Clarita. When we got back we tried to take a little rest. We then had dinner with everyone before heading to church for Christmas Eve service. Nicholas fell asleep right when the music started and Mom had to take Joshua out since he was being so antsy. However, the rest of us enjoyed a very nice service. Their new preacher gave a very good sermon and the music was great too. After the service we got the boys to bed and hung out with Richard and Jaci a little bit before heading to sleep ourselves. Oh and by the way, Richard proposed to Jaci on Wed, so now she is his fiance. That is just so weird to think about, but we are all very excited for them.

Okay, I will end this post here for now and continue later with Christmas festivities. This should hold everyone over for awhile.

Happy Birthday Joshua!

I can't believe our little baby boy is now 2. He definitely doesn't seem so little with all the things he does, but at the same time I can't believe he is not a "baby" anymore. Joshua has learned how to do many things faster by watching Nicholas and is picking up every word we say these days. He is a character that's for sure. He makes me laugh all the time with his funny faces and little quirks he has, but at the same time has an independent, strong-willed (or stubborn) streak that is undeniable. Oh and by the way we haven't changed his bed yet as he hasn't climbed out again since that first night. Here's hoping. I look forward to seeing what lies ahead this year for him. It is sure to be an adventure and I will love every minute of it. We love you Joshua. Happy Birthday!

Christmas in Alabama

This was the first of many celebrations we had this Christmas season. We decided to hold our own family Christmas the weekend before we left for California. The boys loved opening their gifts and stockings, or "socks" as Joshua called them. It was fun. Here are a few pictures from this event. Oh and we decided to go see the lights at the zoo after opening gifts. Fun filled evening.

Don't peek

Waiting in anticipation

This was not posed at all. Brothers????

Escape artist

While we were in California for Christmas we had Joshua sleeping in a pack n play. He actually did fairly well in it until the sixth night. The next morning he walked into my mom's room. How you might ask....well, I guess he figured out how to climb out of it. So from then on he got out on his own during naptime and in the mornings. Thankfully there was only one night that he got up at 3am instead of 7am. Now, this brought me to wonder what would happen when he got back into his crib. He has been trying to figure out how to get out of it. When I would see him attempting it it looked really awkward so I wasn't too worried about it. However, sadly, I was wrong. Yesterday morning, our first morning back, he appeared in our room and he got up from his nap on his own too. I guess we will be changing his crib into a toddler bed this weekend and have some long nights ahead of us until he transitions. Fun times. He is too smart for his own good and a climber/daredevil that's for sure.

13 weeks

Okay, so I am way behind on posts and don't think I will ever catch up, but I thought I should post about our exciting news. Many of you know this already, but for those of you that don't we are expecting our third child in June 2010. We were a little surprised, but are very happy and blessed to be adding to our family. I am still not feeling completely well, but am hoping to turn that corner anytime. Really I am hoping by next week as we will be traveling to CA and I want to enjoy all the yummy food I don't get to eat in AL. Here's praying. From the title I am around 13 weeks currently. I go back to the Dr. next week so I will try to get an official due date from him then. As for now, all is well. The first ultrasound looked great and the baby was moving quite nicely.

Now, on to a funny about the baby. We have asked Nicholas and Joshua what they would like the baby to be, a baby brother or sister. Nicholas is pretty adament about it being a brother and it kind of sounded like Joshua said sister. Nicholas thinks this means a brother for him and a sister for Joshua. Nope! I only saw one baby, really. Then the other day I was eating some popcorn as a snack and Nicholas asked why I was eating it. I told him I was hungry and the baby said it wanted popcorn. He then replied, "wow, my baby brother can already talk." It was so cute. I then had to inform him, not really, but kind of. And he still said brother. Fun times. We will see who wins out, him and Daddy or the rest of the world who wants us to have a little girl. Only time will tell.

A Birthday Prayer

Burt brought home a wonderful dinner tonight for my birthday, plus a chocolate molten lava cake. Nicholas was very excited about it being my birthday as he knows you usually have cake. When Burt came home Nicholas immediately asked if he brought cake home. One track mind for sure. He said he did and that he could have some after we ate dinner. As we sat down for dinner Burt asked if Nicholas wanted to say the prayer this evening and he agreed. This is how it went.

"Thank you God for Mommy's Birthday. Thank you God for Daddy bringing her a birthday cake. And thank you for it being closer to my birthday. Amen."

I was smiling from ear to ear and trying not to laugh. He knew what he wanted and what he was thankful for. His friend at school had a birthday Thursday so he is eagerly anticipating his. Little does he know he has six more months, his daddy's bday, his brothers bday and many more friends before that, but each time he will get cake and can be thankful it is closer to his birthday. Too precious. I love this boy. All four of us gathered around the cake, on one plate, with four spoons, and dug in. Joshua mainly played with it. Boy was it good. Happy Birthday to me :-)