Christmas Dress

Mimi is super excited to have a little girl in the family - especially because she gets to make some pretty little girl dresses!! I am glad to have these special & unique heirlooms made by her. Here's the very first holiday dress handmade by Mimi -

Christmas Party #2

Zachary attends a little "child's morning out" preschool program a few days a week at our church. He had his Christmas party last week. It was so cute!

This first picture is my favorite. He kept making this face when he first noticed I was in the classroom.

We got to watch the children make gingerbread houses. His teacher is very creative!

Yummy snacks!

I love watching Zach interact with the other kids. This little girl brought him the giraffe and they were laughing together. So cute!

Christmas Party #1

Todd's company had a really nice family Christmas party at a nearby Italian restaurant. They even invited Santa to stop by!

Zachary LOVES Italian food (just like mommy!). This is his face as they brought out his Spaghetti. He couldn't contain himself. Allie was still recovering from all her sicknesses, but she looked pretty!

Zachary, plowing through his meal. He cleared his plate.

This Santa is a client of Todd's. It was pretty neat to have Todd's client be Santa for the Christmas party that hosted the whole region! Zachary told me that he asked Santa for a car. I'm not sure if he meant a play car or an actual car. We laughed about that.

At the beach

Long story short...My dad was at our house early this past week. The day before he was headed back to his house (in sunny Florida), I convinced him to cancel his first-class plane ticket and drive with me & the kids down to their house to surprise my mom. (Originally, Todd & I were planning to drive down next Monday for the Christmas week).

So, my dad & I left before 4:00am Thursday morning and got to my mom's store around noon. SHE WAS SHOCKED. Perfect surprise!! Of course, these few extra days in sunny Florida have been fun for the kids too. Beach, pool, lizards, 75 degrees outside, a baby store full of toys & clothes...so many fun things!

I know Todd will be so disappointed that he has to take a 1-hour flight next Tuesday morning (instead of the 9-hour drive we originally had planned), and I know he's disappointed that he'll have 3 uninterrupted sleep-ful nights & a FULL day of golf on Saturday. And I know he's really upset that he'll have to watch the Dallas Cowboys play LIVE without any distractions. Oh, the sacrifices! Of course, we're missing him these few days, but I have been glad to be down in the salty air - it's been good for all those stuffed noses we've had for months. Here are some pictures from yesterday on the beach. We love you Todd! Can't wait to see you Tuesday!

Zachary & I would run through the flocks of birds. SO fun!!:
After a few hesitant moments, I convinced him to get in the water. Right here, we are watching a bunch of surfers:
So cute:

Loving the warmth!:

Catching the waves:

One for the grandparents -

This is a clip from Zachary's Preschool Christmas program. He's on the back row, in-between two little girls. After the first song, he finally sees us in the audience. Listen to what he says. SO cute!!

So pretty!

This is Allie's gorgeous new winter coat. I love love love her in it. She is so pretty. The second picture is so sweet. She just laid her head on Todd's chest - relaxed and content.

Sick Days

I think we are finally starting to see the end of this "Festival of Illness" after a week of yuck. We've been in our jammies for 6 straight days. Saturday, Todd & I were feeling so worthless that we laid on the couch while the kids crawled all over us. I think even Zachary is sick of watching movies! Here are some pictures from our week.

This was Allie's sweet little face when she finally became coherent:

I guess Zachary learned to check Allie's temperature (just like mommy!):

There were a few times where both kids just wanted me to hold them at the same time. We'd just sit there together. It was kinda sad, but really sweet!

Another first!!

With our gene pool, Todd & I were convinced Zachary wouldn't intentionally draw something recognizable for several years. Yesterday, he proved us wrong. While I was cooking dinner, Zachary was drawing in his notebook.
I glanced at his work and thought I saw something familiar. I didn't say anything about what I thought I saw. But I did say, "Tell me about this picture you made." He looks at me and (with sheer excitement!) says, "Mommy, it's a happy face!" I have to admit, I am SUPER excited that he is drawing HAPPY FACES!!! I LOVE IT!!And this one has EARS!!!! SO FUN!!:

This page has FOUR happy faces (although it may be difficult to see b/c he had drawn on the back side...and the paper is really thin). Anyway, I was just silly with excitement when he showed me this page:

I know this is so silly & simple, but I just can't help myself. I love watching him learn & have all of these "firsts." It is very interesting & exciting!!

I know, I'm a dork

Maybe it's because I've been cooped up in this sick house too long, but these cartoon things make me laugh so much! I made 3 funny ones of Zachary & his grandparents. (Just click on the words below & let the page load. It should play automatically). They are just too funny!

Z & grandparents - Disco
Z & grandparents - Country
Z & grandparents - Oldies

Weird noises & such

As Zachary turns the corner towards being a 3-year old, he's starting to show more of those "boy" traits that you hear about. His energy level is astonishingly high, his mess-making is over-the-top, and now he's randomly started making really strange noises. One in particular has become the most annoying. It's almost like the sound a sea gull makes. Here's an example:

Mommy: "Zachary, how was school today?"
Zachary: "Michael threw the ball and we were laughing."
Mommy: "So you & Michael were playing with a ball?"
Zachary: "GAAWWKK"

Another example:
Zachary, singing, "Silent night, holy night, all is calm, all is bright. Round young virgin, mother and child. Holy infant so tender and, GAAWWKK"

Zachary, counting, "1,2,3, GAAWWKKK"

Zachary, reciting, "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic, GAAWWKK"

As you may notice in previous posts, when I mention a new stage of Zachary's, I speak with a warm heart and even use words like, "So sweet, so cute, endearing, melts-my-heart, favorite, love, etc..."

You will notice none of those descriptive words used in this current post. Nothing ruins the scriptural version of the Christmas story from Luke 2:4-14 like a loud "GAAWWKK."

The uninvited houseguest

As of today - Allie has mild pneumonia, Zachary has an ear infection, mild pneumonia and pink eye, Rebecca has pink eye, a throat & sinus infection. Where this bacteria came from, we do not know. Why Todd has not been affected, we do not know. Rebecca, Zachary & Allie are currently taking a combined 13 medications and breathing treatments 4 times a day. UGH!

More funnies from Zach

After digging in his ear, Zachary pointed his wax-covered index finger at me and said, "Mommy, look what I found in my ear!"


He spent one morning searching for his blankie. I suggested he look upstairs in his room. To which he said, "No, I can't go upstairs, it's too dangerous."


The Orkin man (Nicolaus) came last week for his monthly visit. Zachary followed him around as he sprayed around the house. That night, during his bedtime prayers, Zachary said, "Thank you God for mommy, daddy, baby Allie & Mr. Nicolaus."


We were in the car and, for some unknown reason, it was quiet. Zachary says, "Mommy, talk about something."


Todd & I were talking about Zachary. He interrupts Todd & says, "Daddy, are you talking about me? Don't talk about me."


I put his dinner in front of him at the table. He says, "Mommy, the carrots & potatoes are not my favorite, but I'll eat the applesauce."

Thanksgiving in VA

We drove to Virginia to celebrate Thanksgiving with Jason & Meredith & Mimi & Grandad. We had a good time. We ate a huge meal with some basketball players and we were able to see Uncle Jas coach his basketball team to victory!

Road trip:

Allie & Mimi at the basketball game:

Allie has started sucking her thumb during non-sleep times. I think this is super cute:

Zachary knew when to cheer. He especially liked the "fire"... in the gym, they have a flame that shoots up whenever a 3-point shot is made. He's still talking about this.

Little snow bunny & daddy:

Grandad enjoyed his little granddaughter. So sweet:

We're letting Zach's hair grow out...it has a mind of it's own:

Allie loves Aunt Meredith:

Mommy loves when Allie laughs through her thumb-sucking:

The kids were EXHAUSTED at the end of each day:

Amazement Square

Over Thanksgiving weekend, Aunt Meredith took us to the best educational museum I've ever seen. It was such a great place for Zachary. He loved it.

He got to...
Pick some corn:Milk a cow: (seriously, liquid came out into the bucket!)

Play with one of those walls that has all the pegs that can be pushed into the wall. I loved watching him put his belly & head on it. So funny!:

Crawl through tunnels & slide down them (this was his favorite part):

Float a boat down the river & watch it rain over the city:

And...my favorite part...He got to paint the windows. See daddy's hand?:

This was such a fun morning for Zachary. Thanks Aunt Meredith!!