Christmas is near!

Our advent season has been fun yet peaceful this year. We try to keep it somewhat simple, remembering that Jesus is the REAL reason for celebrating Christmas. I thought I would share some photos of our Christmas preparations. We went to a great tree farm and John cut down our pine-smelly tree!

Decorating the tree.

Alex loves this "advent calendar." Each day he gets to cut off one "loop" until Christmas. He asks to perform this operation at least twice a day ;)

Alex (far right) some other angels before the children's Christmas program at church.

Alex waiting for his turn to flip his letter at the preschool Christmas program. It was "M" for the manger where Jesus slept. He said the whole thing!

Cassidy checking out the stockings.

We hope all of our family and freinds have a wonderful Christmas!!

Walking with Reindeer

News Flash! Cassidy took her first steps! She's not walking everywhere yet, but it's a fun game for her to walk a couple steps to John or me. Here's the video:

Secondly, we have a rare sneak preview of Alex's preschool Christmas program on Friday:

No new diapers since March

Did Cassidy potty train at 4 months? It would be nice, and I have heard of people doing this, but not us - I'm not that crazy ;) She has been in basically the same size cloth diapers since she was 4 and a half months old. We have saved hundreds of disposable diapers from a landfill and we have saved a significant amount of money, even with the extra water (a renewable resource) used to wash them. (If you are curious about what disposable diapers are made of, click here.) Plus, cloth diapering is a fun obsession, like buying shoes, except way cheaper. The community of cloth diaperers is growing, even though we are still in the minority in most of the U.S. I want to thank my wonderful husband, my mom and my mom-in-law for being huge supporters of my cloth diapering endeavor! If you would like to learn more about how to go about cloth diapering, click here. If you would like to find a cloth diapering store near you, click here. And if you are intrigued by the thought of potty training a young infant, which is called elimination communication, click here! Sorry for all of the links, but there is so much good information out there.

A Balmy December Day

Yesterday, it was in the 50's around noon so the kids wanted to play outside. After a couple weeks indoors, the swings, slides, and sand almost seemed new again!

I am thankful for . . .

So many things. My God who loves me in spite of my shortcomings. My husband who does the same. Our children who forgive instantly. Servicemen and women (like my brother) who are far from their families for the holidays this year. Other people with a servant's heart (like my sister) helping others in far away places. (Incidentally, she is now making her way back to the states as I type.) I am thankful for a roof over my head and food on the table, and everything else is a luxury that I pray I will never take for granted. And finally I am thankful for our entire extended family, all over the nation, for their unconditional love and support.

Whatcha doin' Cassidy?

"Havin' fun Mom," she always seems to say. Whether she's crusing down the hallway, playing hide'n seek, or exploring Alex's toy closet, this girl knows how to have fun.

So we sat in the house all that cold, cold wet day.

Alex loves The Cat in the Hat, so now that I have it practically memorized, it comes in handy now and then. Well, winter did not waste any time getting here. All of a sudden, we have to get completely bundled up to play outside, and when it's wet and cold.....forget it. So, here are some pictures of what the kids do when we are stuck in the house. Yeah, sometimes they play with toys too :)

So, you learned how to write your name, huh?

I think this is one of those parenting moments where you have the conflicted emotions of pride (look, he wrote his name!), regret (shoulda checked the room better for writing utensils before quiet time) and anger (could you have written it on your arm instead?) Pride wins. Way to go, Alex! And P.S., thank goodness for Mr. Clean Magic Eraser!

What would you do with 30 free minutes?

All that playing with Mommy tired Cassidy out so she went down for a rare morning nap. Alex was at preschool (normally I take him and stay in town for the morning) so I had an estimated 30 minutes to myself. I could: empty the dishwasher, clear out the junk mail counter, make a grocery list, clean a bathroom, sweep the floors, check e-mail, or work on the blog. Instead I plopped on the couch with a cup of tea and the Today show which I haven't seen in about...3 and a half years! (and a magazine because even when I'm relaxing I'm multi-tasking) This post would not be complete with out a huge thank you to John for adjusting his work schedule today to take Alex to preschool.

Princess Cassidy of Rockingham County

Although Cassidy was a princess for Halloween, she probably felt more like a princess this morning. John took Alex to preschool, and I let Cassidy spend the morning however she wanted. She chose to crawl around and play on the big bean bag chair, enjoying my full and undivided attention. Cute baby giggles are the best way to warm up on a cold November morning. She is so much fun to hang out with!

What a difference a year makes!

Today, I was just reflecting on how things were a year ago.

Alex was almost 2 and a half. He was potty trained, but still needed 100% assistance in the bathroom. He could scribble. I still spotted him going up ladders at the playground. He asked for a toy when we got in the car. He rode in the stroller.

Now he's almost 3 and a half. He can go #1 completely by himself from start to finish (thank you sticker chart!). He's starting to write letters. He can climb up the ladder faster than me. He asks me why the sun is following us as we drive to preschool. He rides his tricycle.

Cassidy was 1 month old. She nursed every 2-3 hours. She stayed awake 10 minutes and looked around. She cried when she wanted more food. She grunted. She went wherever you took her.

Now she is 13 months old. She can sit and eat goldfish at the snack table (she still nurses though). She only naps 2 hours a day and plays with everything. She signs "more" when she wants more salmon (yes, she ate salmon tonight!). She says "up," "bye-bye," and a few others. She has an opinion now.

I'm still home with the kids, but life is so different than it was a year ago.

The no TV experiment

It's been about a month now since our TV has been "broken." Alex hasn't watched any TV shows or movies in our house since then. It's not that I'm against TV. I like TV, and I really like some of the shows geared toward preschoolers - they're educational, clever, fun, and I don't mind watching them once or twice. Alex's TV watching was becoming a burden, and not something helpful to allow me to clean up breakfast dishes, cook dinner, or nurse Cassidy. It wasn't holding his attention anymore and that's when I realized we needed to break the habit. The first two days were the tough, but now he focuses on one activity for much longer periods of time. He will look at books by himself and play with his literacy computer by himself. I never thought I would say this, but life without TV is easier and more peaceful.

Halloween Performance at Preschool

Here is a short video clip from the Halloween "show" at Alex's preschool today - he is the first little pumpkin (had taken his cowboy hat off by this time). There are more videos but I need to edit them so they're not so long. It was a great show and I'm so proud of my Little Pumpkin!

The End of an Era

Afternoons as I knew them are over. The end of the nap era. Oh the horrors! At almost three and a half years old, Alex says "but Mommy, I told you, I just can't sleep anymore." I was in denial for about a month. I have now accepted this and we are moving on to "Quiet Time" in his room, which so far has been everything except quiet. The bright side? More books, puzzles, sticker books and snuggles with my little boy. They're only little once, right? (Still wish he would take a little nap!)

Climbin', Crawlin' and Cruisin'

Our little Cassidy is not so little anymore. Her body can go anywhere her mind dreams up, which is usually wherever Alex is going. She has conquered the stairs.

Cowboys Brandish Magic Wands Too

We went to a Halloween playgroup today at a friend's house who also have a cattle and horse ranch. Cassidy dressed as a princess and found a magic wand that she was carrying around (and matched her costume quite nicely). Well, then her cowboy brother wanted it too and forgot all about his guns.

I love these boys.

Yes, all three of them, although just the one in the middle, who feels like a king, is mine. I covet Aaron and Austin, when they come bounding out of their grandmother's (my neighbor's) door to play with us. Their presence is frequent, yet unpredictable, but always welcome. And today, I would venture to say they were downright lifesavers. Not sure whose (mine or Alex's).

Why did I apply for this job?

I really need to talk to my supervisors. Yesterday, I worked a 13 hour shift with NO break. That's right, 6:30 am to 7:30 pm with not so much as even a 15 mintue smoke break. Not that I smoke, but yesterday, I would have if it would have given me 15 minutes of peace.