New Year

For the new year, Corwin has decided to take up newspaper reading. My resolution is to smile more and give more hugs, Alden's is to do more crafts (hm, is that really a resolution for him or for me???), Rhianwen's is to go to the State Fair when it comes around again, and Wally's is to read through the Bible in a year.

My family came for a visit for New Years and to help us finish our deck. We ate delicious food at the Twisted Noodle.

Corwin's first Thai food. He loved it.

My parents gave Rhianwen some Clemson cheer, but sadly, this did not provide any luck whatsoever in our bowl game. I don't even want to think about that game. It's a good thing there is more to life than football.

Jenga, the perfect way to ensure you win...add a baby.

Hangin' with Grandpa.

We do have a girly girl. No doubt about it.

Oh, don't you just want to kiss that face? He's going to be one in a week!!!

Earlier in the month, the weather was beautiful. We went to the NC Botanical Garden for a walk and picnic.

Fun in the children's area. A woman pointed us toward this area. I do have to say, she did this BEFORE our kids climbed all over a marble sculpture. I guess she thought it was inevitable, which it was. It's amazing how impossible it is to carry on a conversation with another adult AND manage kids at the same time.

Thank you, Uncle Christopher. We use the easel every day. Corwin has even tried stamps, but sadly, he only managed to surround his mouth with a very blue halo.

Corwin has more and more wanted to be a part of the action with Rhi and Alden. This was an introduction to dress-up.

Daddy date for January: a trip to Disney's Beauty and the Beast 3D. Note to self: do not let Rhianwen look forward to something like this, it will result in a fever and near hyperventilation. Next time, just surprise her.

A Very Belated Christmas Post

I think I'll just use the excuse that we didn't finish Christmas until this past Saturday. That's right. This has been the longest Christmas celebration ever! We do have our reasons. Corwin came down with a nasty cold and fever Christmas Eve, so we did not go to York as planned. Our trip was delayed until Grandmama's birthday (Wally's mom) this past week. SO, we just finished our final gift exchanges. Now, should I put almost a month's worth of pictures all in one post? Hmmmm.

These Christmas ornaments came out really well. They are made from cone-shaped cardstock, cloth, glitter, and sequins.

We, of course, did our yearly Christmas nativity. I was the angel...YESSS, finally! I remember when I was little always wanting to be the angel in the school production, but I think I was usually a shepherd. We used Handel's Messiah (Glory to God) and a flashligh, aka the glory of the Lord, for my debut appearance.

Thank you BeBe! We love advent calendars!

Hanging the stockings.

Christmas morning...ah yeah...puffs.

Happy birthday, Jesus!

What's in there?

Ah, yes, an environmentally friendly vehicle. Just what I wanted.

A Fwashwight! Yay! Alden has actually been working on saying his L's. It's making me a little sad because he's getting it. Instead of hearing, "I wuv you mommy.", I am now hearing, "I love you mommy." Truthfully, I am relieved that we won't be hiring a speech therapist, but it's sad too.

Christmas hugs.

We caved. She got dance lessons for Christmas. One unexpected positive benefit from ballet lessons is the desire to listen to only "classical" music. So, at the very least, they are instilling a love for good music.

A train table. Everyone loves this, even daddy, although he might not admit it, I think it gives him some satisfaction to redesign it every couple of days.

Carpooling even further decreases our carbon footprint.

I think I'll end my Christmas post here. We love staying at home and celebrating as a family. They also were able to attend church, without me, sniff sniff, (I had been really looking forward to celebrating with everyone else at church).