'Tis the Season, Part 1

Like most families this time of year, we've had a flurry of Christmas activities and parties lately!! The kids are loving it, and really getting into the holiday spirit. (But to be honest, I'm a little pooped!) It really is cute though -this is the first year Abby actually understands the concept of Christmas.....ok well maybe just the Santa & presents part.....but she love love loves the Christmas music and wants to sing all the time, and talk about Santa, etc. I am looking forward to waking up in our new house with the kids on Christmas morning. It will be the first of many many many Christmas mornings here!

But let me back up.

Last week, our first Christmas party was Greg's departmental Christmas lunch. It was on a Thursday, so Abby was out of school and we decided to get Nate 1 hour early from his school. They loved playing in Daddy's office, and eating a delicious holiday lunch with all of Daddy's colleagues. And apparently we didn't get the memo that kids don't usually come to these lunches. Oops! At least they looked cute and didn't get into too much trouble.

 I was obsessed with Abby's red tights and needed one more picture of them, so when we got home, I asked them to pose together. They did this automatically!!! I can't say enough times how much I LOVE that they are best buds. Melts me.

 Last Saturday the 8th, we took the kids to see Santa! We decided to elaborate on this tradition, and turn it into a whole family day. First up, a special breakfast out at the Northport Diner. (Really, this was just a way to waste time before seeing Santa at the mall, since that didn't start till 10 am.) So we got in line at 9:45 to see Santa - and yes, much to Greg's dismay, there was already a line. The kids were so excited and insisted on holding their oh.so.precious letters to Santa:

 Nate wrote every single word on his letter by himself, though it took him nearly 30 minutes. He asked for a barracuda blade (Power Rangers), a stealth sword (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), and some legos. Abby's letter to Santa was for a Baby Alive, books, and puzzles. She's the easy one :)

We weren't sure how Abby would do with Santa, b/c if you remember from last year (click here), she was terrified of him. We knew Nate would be fine b/c he knew he must hand his letter to Santa and be a good boy or he wouldn't get what was on his list :) But, Abby surprised us all and did great with Santa. Daddy helped to ease her up there, and then she was great! (While I stood in the back and acted like a paparazzi of course.) 

And I've always complained that the pictures are SUCH a rip-off at the mall, but when you get one this cute, you just have to buy it! :) 

 After sitting with Santa & letting him read the letters, he gave the kids their letters back, and ask that they put them in his mailbox so he'll be sure to remember their lists. Loved this! (I don't remember seeing this last year, but I could have been distracted by a screaming Abby.)

 Then it was time to ride the train! They got to sit in the front car and ring the oh-so-important bell. I love that the mall/Santa display has this little train b/c both kids remembered it from last year and loved riding it so much.

 We had grand plans to go pick out our (real!) tree as a family, but the rain put a damper on our plans and poor Greg was on tree duty by himself. The kids "helped" me get decorations out at home though, and had fun laying out every one of our 1000 ornaments on the couch. We had to let the tree dry out for a few hours, but we spent the rest of the day - on and off - decorating the tree. (I will post a picture of that once we get more presents underneath it!)

After naptime, we headed to a neighbor's house for the annual cookie decorating party. We were introduced to this neighborhood tradition last year and I love it! The neighborhood kids gather to decorate about 100+ cookies to be eaten the following night at the neighborhood Christmas party. Fun was had by all and many sprinkles were consumed as well.

 That night, Greg & I got to attend an adults-only(!) Christmas party that one of my amazing neighbors, Paige, puts on every year. It gave us a chance to dress up, drink up, and be merry. And - shocker - we didn't come home till after midnight!

 Last Sunday consisted of more parties as well: first up, one of Nate's classmates Alex was turning 5 and had a putt-putt party. Nate had a blast running around with all of his buddies, and probably spent a total of 15 minutes actually playing putt-putt :)

That night, we went to the neighborhood Christmas party, where everyone got to sample the delicious (& beautiful) cookies that the kids had decorated the day before, as well as some other appetizers and snacks. Another tradition that makes me love this neighborhood even more is the horse & carriage rides at this party. (Unfortunately, my camera was broken this night so I didn't get any pictures, but click here to see my post from last year's party with a few pictures.) The whole neighborhood puts luminaries out, and then you can take turns riding in the carriage around the neighborhood to look at them.The carriage holds about 2 families, and the kids always get a kick out of seeing all the Christmas lights and petting the "real" horses.

So that catches you up from last week, now onto Part 2 for this week....

Movin' On Up!

Somehow, we have already been in our new house for a week! We love it already, but wow, what a whirlwind week it's been.....

First, let me back up & recap the last 2 days in our old house. We were slated to move Friday (while both kids were in school in the morning), and so OF COURSE, Abby wakes up with a super high fever Thursday at 3 am. It was scary high - 103.5 - and of course all of our medicine & thermometers were already packed. Super Dad ran to the store while I stayed with A and kept a cool cloth on her. She slept in bed with me the rest of the night - Greg got demoted to the couch - and woke up in better spirits but still feverish. We let her have one last sleepover in N's room on Thursday night, and they were happy as can be to be sleeping on the floor :) 

 Since Abby still had a mild fever Thursday night, I couldn't send her to school on Friday and so she was on "moving duty with Mommy." Let me say, that was just SUCH an enjoyable experience. Um, not. She did a lot of playing on the Kindle:

 As well as having a picnic lunch on a mattress and playing on the Leapster. Fun times.

Not only was having a toddler "help" with Moving Day a fun experience for me, but it also put double the work on Greg. Luckily we had a little bit of help for a few hours. We "rented rowers" from the UA Club team and they helped Greg with all the heavy lifting/furniture.

 Moving the furniture & big stuff took all of Day 1/Friday, and a sweet friend took Nate to a classmate's birthday party that night so Greg & I (and Abby) could continue the moving process. We shuttled back & forth from the old house numerous times (thank goodness it's only 14 houses down!) and I didn't get the kids to bed till after 9 pm. Poor Greg worked way past midnight, but at least he got pretty good at driving that huge U-Haul :)

Here is Miss Priss on our first night in the new house, "big girl bed" and all. We finally upgraded her to a double bed and she was THRILLED that all her "friends" fit. 

 Day 2/Saturday started off early, as Greg & I began unloading the U-Haul starting at 6 am. He had brought a full load back at midnight the night before, and just didn't have the legs to unload it. And we had to return the U-Haul by 9 am Saturday, so we had to hustle! To save time, we literally just unloaded everything from the U-Haul to the carport. As you can see, it was quite a mess. (And there was STILL a ton of stuff back at the old house, but this was all that would fit on the U-Haul at one time.)

Sunday was filled with more trips between houses, and I eventually went grocery shopping and got the kitchen unpacked so we could have our first home-cooked meal. (I do love me some fast food, but even I was getting sick of getting take-out for every meal.)

It's been a slow process, and I'm trying not to get overwhelmed with unpacking. But the perfectionist in me has a HARD time with that. For now, I will just leave you with a few shots of my "favorite things" in the house, in no particular order....

1. The entryway & foyer

 2. The living room with built-in shelves and cabinets and a functioning/rolling ladder!! There are 49 shelves in all, and I know that because I cleaned every.single.one.

 3. The sunroom, which was previously used as an artist's studio. We are going to use it as....the craft room! Very excited to have the the kids craft table and my scrapbook table set up in here with all the natural light.

 4. Abby's room....we are going with a very mild "bird" theme, but right now the only thing I have unpacked is that accent pillow!

 5. The plantation blinds in the bonus room, which are original to the house (circa 1950). Love!

 6. The open shelving in the kitchen. This was the first thing I got done in the house and I smile everytime I walk in the kitchen & see this!

7. The chandelier in the powder room downstairs. 

 8. The built-ins in Nate's room

 It might be awhile until I feel ready enough to post any other pictures, so hope this will hold you over for now (Erin)! :)

We have lots of Christmas activities planned for this weekend, so stay tuned for that post! 

(2 neighborhood parties, 1 trip to get our Christmas tree, 1 cookie-decorating party, 2 visits to Santa, 2 train rides, 1 birthday party, and a partridge in a pear tree.... :)

Sneak Peek

We had a friend do some family pictures for us 2 weeks ago. It was such a pretty day and I love most all of the pictures! (Miss Priss was in a bit of a mood - shocker - but Nate/Greg were able to make her smile at least 3 or 4 times.) 

We are using a few of the pictures on our Christmas card, so I don't want to post many on here yet. But for now, here's a sneak peek!

For any local folks, please consider using my friend Jennifer Waters for your photography needs. She is great! She can be reached at jenniferwatersphotography@gmail.com.

So Much to be Thankful For!

We had big plans to host Thanksgiving for my family at our house this year. But when our dream house unexpectedly fell in our lap, and our closing date was set at November 30th, we decided that was just not going to happen. Some of my family members had to cancel flights (Sorry, Bec!), but my parents still decided to come even though we said there would be no home-cooking. So sad! Instead, they just watched/entertained the kids while Greg & I got a lot of packing done.

Nate & Miss Priss were happy to see Nanny & Poppy arrive on Tuesday morning, and I sent them off to McDonald's for lunch so I could pack in peace! :)

Nate couldn't wait to have a "bubble gum-blowing" contest with Poppy

Wednesday, N&P again took the kids out of our hair and headed to a local park for lots of playtime and a picnic lunch. The afternoon included lots of moving boxes (for Poppy) and bike rides and rocket balloons (for Nanny).

Thursday was not only Thanksgiving but Poppy's birthday, so Nate & Greg headed to Krispy Kreme for a special delivery for breakfast! (Yes we let N go there with his pjs on. Don't judge.)

Before heading out for a late Thanksgiving lunch, we stopped by our new house (the family was at Disney this week!), to take a few pics. To say we are excited to move is a huge understatement!!

We were a few minutes early to our lunch spot, so we took a few pics but Miss Priss was NOT in the mood....

....that is, until Nanny got her hands on her!!

Our Thanksgiving meal spot - The University Club! Beautiful atmosphere and delicious meal. And the kids did pretty good, considering it was during their naptime.

Poor Poppy, everyone was so stuffed from lunch that we decided to skip dinner and just have cheese & crackers (& wine) instead! At least we thought ahead enough to get him a brownie cake!!

Friday was more packing from us and time at the park for N&P and the kids. Greg and I even managed to squeeze in a dinner date night.

And then on Saturday was the Auburn/Alabama game. We tried to tailgate at the business college, but the menu did not sound the greatest, so we headed to the quad to eat instead. Enter: the best hot dogs ever!!! 

After filling up our bellies, Nate & Abby wanted to show off their skills on all the inflatables! It was a chilly day but oh so sunny & perfect!

Before heading home for a late nap, N&P treated the kids to Dippin' Dots. Yes, the kids had to get as close as possible to their cups! :)

We headed out for a delicious Mexican dinner Saturday night (as an early birthday celebration for me), and N&P left this morning. So yes, we've been de-spoiling all day!! :) 

Thank you N&P for such a great visit!!

**As a sidenote, please check out my adorable birthday cards/drawings from the kids this morning!! Love!**

Abby's Thanksgiving Activities

Abby had her Thanksgiving program and "feast" today at school. (I use the word feast lightly because I paid $7.50 for the smallest portion of turkey dressing ever. At least Abby seemed happy...since she ate her weight in cornbread.)

Her class has been practicing these two turkey songs for weeks now. They even sent home the lyrics so we could work on them at home. And oh boy, did we ever. For the past month, Abby has insisted on singing these 2 songs before every nap and bedtime, as well as about 1,000 times in between. Good thing my girl has an adorable singing voice & they are cute songs!

The program started at 11:30, so Nate was in school and Greg couldn't come. I got there 20 minutes early and the Fellowship Hall was already pretty packed! I managed to snag a single seat at a table right up front though. And I knew the kids had been working on some turkey shirts that they painted, but the turkey feather hats were a surprise and oh-so-cute!! Abby saw me as soon as she walked on stage and could.not.stop grinning & waving!

I was really proud of her because she sang loud, knew every word, and did all the "motions" she was supposed to. Too bad her teacher didn't get the memo that she was blocking everyone's view! Click here to watch the first video.

After the first song, the class sat down and the other 2 year old sang a song. Then both classes sang a song together. Click here to watch that video, which is my personal favorite because she has to literally push her way to the front to be seen. Love my little star!!

 We had to hurry through the feast a bit to get to Nate's school on time, but I enjoyed spending the time with my girl!!