Movie

We decided on a whim tonight to take the kids to a movie, that's right I said kids-plural! Drake has been going to see occasional movies at the theatre since he was about 2 1/2, but I would have never dreamed of taking him at 18 months. But, we thought, hey let's try it! So, after a yummy dinner, we headed out to see The Tale of Despereaux. And to my shock, Hadley sat on my lap through the WHOLE movie. There were occasional comments like kitty, uh-oh or Bible (when she saw a big book), but she contently sat, ate a cookie, drank some milk and had a sucker during the 1 1/2 hour movie. She's a keeper!

Christmas, Christmas and more Christmas!

We have had a wonderful time celebrating Christmas with lots of family, lots of food, and lots of fun! Our Christmas week started on Tuesday, the 23rd with the arrival of Uncle Eric and (HIS FIANCE!!) Sarah in the afternoon along with Uncle Bart, Aunt Kara, Zane and Annabeth a little later in the afternoon. After a delish dinner at our house, the madness ensued as the boys rough housed and the girls sat quietly watching. Kara and I headed out after dinner and clean up was done to pick up a few last minute details for Christmas and enjoy some leisurely walking of the aisles without one whine! After the kids all hit the sack, we stayed up sipping some decaf coffee and munching away on this amazing caramel chex mix that Sarah taught us how to make! On the 24th, the kids got to play with some new sparkly playdough that Aunt Kara made just for a winter treat!

After some yummy frozen pizza for lunch, Gabe took off for work and the little ones went down for a nap. Shortly after that, Nana and Papa arrived and B,K,Z,A all took off for Lincoln to stay at Grammy's for the rest of the week. We had a nice time at Christmas Eve service that evening and staying up to visit late into the evening. On Chrismas Day, I was up SO early- so unlike me! I woke up about 6:00 and couldn't get back to sleep, so I made some yummo breakfast, got all the presents out and ready to go and then just sipped my coffee and ate my breakfast in silence- it was great! Once the kids were up we let them open the presents from us.




Uncle Josh, Aunt Jacki and Joel arrived just before a fine lunch of fried turkey and lots of other yummy food. Then we let the kids take naps before the present madness. The kids had a great time ripping open packages and the present that was the biggest hit for the little ones was the animal crackers!

A fun time was had by all. We all stayed up long after the kids went to bed discussing our upcoming vacation together this spring. I wish the kids would catch on to the whole sleeping in when your parents stay up late, but that hasn't happened yet. On the 26th, we got to have a yummy brunch, courtesy of Nana and then stayed in our jammies a better part of the day until it was time to pack up and head to Lincoln for Chrismas with Grammy.

We had another yummy meal in Lincoln, sang "Happy Birthday" to Jesus, the boys ate some birthday cake and the present madness began once again. The kids really did a pretty good job waiting their turn for presents. Gabe, unfortunately ended up getting sick this day and the next so he missed out on all of the visiting and wedding planning for Eric and Sarah's upcoming big day! We headed home on the 27th and concluded Christmas 2008. It was so great to spend time with family and we feel very blessed to have such great families.

Prayer

When: bedtime
Where: Drake's bed
Who:Drake and the Big Guy upstairs

"Dear God,
Please help the boo-boo on my arm feel better and please help me not get a hole in my new shirt. And thank you that we can bless the King- that would be you. And thank you that Jesus died for our sins on the cross. And thank you that we can bless God at church. Amen."

18 months

Hadley is officially 18 months, as of yesterday. We went today for her check-up and she checked out A-OK! She was in the 90% for both height and weight and she's got a big 'ol noggin in the 97%! She weighed in at 27 lbs 10 oz. and is 33 inches tall. She's saying lots of words now including mommy, daddy, bubby (Drake), Hadley, pretty, bye-bye, "NO!", mine, papa, nanny, puppy, kitty, blue, purple, Elmo, go, see, "NO!", baby, toes, yummy, apple, Bible, pray, Joel, "NO!", gus-gus (when she wants to watch Cinderella), juice, please, more, ta-da, "NO!", yeah (for yes), pillow, nigh-night, and Wall-E. There might be a few more I can't think of off the top of my head.

Coffee Date

Drake has been asking for at least a month to go on a coffee date with me. So, since we had no plans on Sunday evening and Hadley and I had been gone most of the weekend, I thought it was the perfect night. So, Drake and I first headed to Target and browsed the toy aisle slowly, checking out each toy that sparked his interest. We ended up leaving with a Cars wallet from the dollar spot. And we topped the night off at Starbucks with a Decaf Caramel Latte for me and a Caramel Apple Spice for him. It's fun to have a 4 year old that wants to go on a date with his mom.

Fingernails and a Baby

Hadley had two "firsts" this weekend! She got her fingernails painted by Grandma Sugar and got to go to her first baby shower. Hadley and I headed down to southern Illinois on Friday afternoon with Nana. Hadley was a great traveler considering the long drive. Friday night we got there in time for her to show off a few of her tricks to Grandma and Grandpa Sugar (which include finishing the line of this song: l, m, n, o... and Hadley finishes it with "P!", answering the question: how old are you? with the answer "2", while holding up one finger. I guess when June hits, she'll be ready.) After some muffin tops for breakfast on Saturday morning, Hadley got her fingernails painted red before getting ready to head to her first baby shower for cousin Liz. Hadley was a little on the crabby side upon arriving at the shower and was not really interested in performing for the crowd gathered. Soon, she warmed up though, and we ended the time down south with a sweet kiss for Baby Casey. (excuse the crazy, i just woke up hair!)

Museum

Last week we took a trip over to the Children's Museum, where we met up with our "old" next door neighbors. Drake sure misses these kids! We had a great time, spending 3 hours, with the museum all to ourselves!! It was great, the kids got to play and have a wonderful time and it's always fun to visit with people you haven't seen in awhile. I wish I had one of these museums in my backyard, it is so cool! Here are some shots from our fun afternoon...

Decorate

We're on our way to being decked out for the Holidays. After we rearranged the living room and Gabe spent a good portion of the afternoon re-routing the cable to the new TV location, we put up the tree while Hadley snoozed and then decorated it later when everyone could "help". I have been pleasantly surprised at how little Hadley bothers the tree. We just love to have the glow of the Christmas lights in the evening and we really like the new arrangement in the living room. Even though I'm not a fan of the cold weather this season brings, I do love the warmth of Christmas decorations.

Lots of Thanks

We had the opportunity to give lots of thanks last week. We left on Monday evening and headed down to southern Illinois where we were thankful with Gabe's family. The kids also got to have their Christmas with their great-grandparents. Grandma Sugar was a big hit! Hadley got a stroller that she LOVES and Drake has watched his new movie about a million times.


On Wednesday, after a superb lunch, we headed to northern Indiana (after a LONG but surprisingly pleasant car ride!) to be thankful with my extended family. Every year, this celebration grows as the cousins' families grow. This year, there were 8 children 4 years and under. The kids did amazingly well playing together and went to bed nicely so all of the adults could stay up and play Pictionary until way too late and laugh until our bellies hurt! We are so thankful for our wonderful families!

Performing

Last night Drake had his first debut here at West Side. The preschool choir "Joyful Noise" sang several songs before the Children's Musical that the Elementary kids performed. Drake did a great job and even sang loud enough for us to hear him!

In other performance news, Hadley had quite a performance this morning. For a couple of months now, we've been sitting on the potty before bath time and a few times she has gone, but always provoked by me. Well, this morning, we were having a relaxed morning of reading books on the floor in her room while Drake was at preschool. I had the potty chair sitting in her room. I started to get her dressed but she was distracted after just the undressing part, so she and I were sitting in her room for probably 45 minutes diaperless. She would periodically go sit on the potty, but with no production. Well, I stepped out of the room for about 2 minutes and she came into the kitchen, carrying a new diaper and saying "poopy!". I said, "Hadley, did you go poopy?" She said "uh,huh", so I asked her to show me where, fully expecting a mess on the floor. When we got to her room, she took me over to her potty chair lifted up the lid and to my SHOCK!, there was potty inside the potty chair! I wasn't planning to start fully potty training yet but maybe I shouldn't pass up her interest! I'll spare you the picture of the insides of the potty chair! :)

Fort Rutledge

Since Gabe had to work today, we tried to find something fun to do on a COLD, rainy Saturday morning. So, we built a fort. Who knew 2 kids could have so much playing underneath a blanket? Drake and Hadley played for quite a while under the blanket pretending they were "camping", with a flashlight and all. After the fort was cleaned up, we had a picnic lunch, on one of the blankets, of hot dogs and macaroni and cheese. Then they got to watch a veggie tales movie before it was nap time.

Dentist

Today, Drake had his first dentist appointment. I think I was dreading it as much as he was. I was fully prepared for a meltdown at the office when something didn't feel good or taste right or he just didn't want to cooperate. We had been prepping for it all week, talking about what they would do, where he would sit, etc... This morning started with, "Is today my dentist appointment?" "yes" "But, I really don't want to go the dentist!" So, I decided this was the perfect time for bribery, I mean a reward. I had bought some clearance movies a few months ago to have on hand for such a time as this! So, I showed him the movie he would get to keep if we could make it through the whole appointment without whining, crying and fit throwing. I advised him that I could return the movie to the store if he decided not to cooperate. Well, all this talk and hype proved to be more of an ordeal than the actual appointment. Drake did amazing! He just hopped up in the chair like an old pro. Opened his mouth, kept it open, and did not even gag! He sat perfectly still while she counted all 20 teeth, cleaned them with her special polisher and he even got to pick strawberry flavored "toothpaste" for her to use. He cooperated beautifully and even came home with an A+ grade on his teeth!

I just love it when they get along!

My kids are starting to get to that point where they annoy each other at times. A lot of times they do well together, but there are days where it seems they are just out to bug the other one. This morning was one of those great mornings. Drake had woken up before Hadley and was watching a cartoon when he heard Hadley in her room talking. So, he went in and crawled in her bed with her and they played together, laughing and having a good 'ol time for probably half an hour. I tried to video tape it but I think I waited too long and I had missed all the giggling. It was so cute! Here is a picture just before they both got out of her bed.

Leaves and Pizza

The leaves were getting a little out of control and I knew yesterday was going to be the last fabulous day to do anything about them for awhile. Of course, with the time change and it getting dark earlier, I knew afternoon was going to be my only shot at it. So, Drake was perfectly content to play in the backyard while I mowed/mulched the leaves. Hadley, however, really does not like the mower. So, I either have to hold her while I'm mowing or watch her cry on the deck the whole time I mow. I decided I would try holding her this time and mowed about half the backyard with her on my hip, mowing one-handed. Then, my arm couldn't take it anymore, so I put her in a chair on the deck with her baby and she soon fell asleep to the hum of the mower. I couldn't believe it, she rarely falls asleep anywhere but her bed. I had Drake run in and get the camera so I didn't have to shut off the mower, for fear of waking her up.


Then, later in the afternoon we got a call from some good friends who were coming over for a surprise visit AND they were bringing the fixings for homemade pizza! We had some yum-0 pizza and fun conversation while we waited for Gabe to get home from his late night at work. He got home around 7:30 and then we stayed up late talking and laughing while the kiddos snoozed away.

November?!?

I can't believe it is November- not only can I not believe we're in the 11th month of 2008, but the weather is also amazing for November! Today, after church, we did away with our normal routine of eating a quick lunch so we could get home for naps because the day was too good to pass up outside. So, we grabbed some lunch at a yummy sub shop and took it to Washington Park. This park is breathtaking right now with so many big, old trees with amazing colors. We had a picnic on a blanket at the park and let the kids run around and enjoy the awesome weather. I just had to take some pictures of this perfect fall day. After we finished at the park, Hadley was sound asleep within seconds of getting in her car seat and Drake was saying he was ready to lay down when we got home. I think the fresh air did everyone right.

Hadley's usual "cheese" face!

Warning: I'm Advertising for Uppercase Living!

That's right, I'm doing my own free advertising!

As many of you know, I have started selling Uppercase Living. If you haven't checked it out yet, you really should. It's an amazing product, if I do say so myself. I have put many around our house and love them! They are vinyl expressions that you can apply to just about anything: glass, walls, wood, mirrors, etc... AND they are removable without damage to your wall! Anyway, I have been working on a few giveaway items and Christmas gifts and wanted to share them. (Hopefully the recipients are not reading this.) The gifts I have pictured below are very inexpensive to make and you can personalize them which makes it even more fun! If you are interested in ordering anything, orders to be received by Christmas must be placed by December 2nd! You can check out the link above to see the whole catalog with hundreds of phrases, word or embellishment expressions or go into MyDesign Tool to design your own sayings or initials.

This one is in my living room. It says HOME in black and "where your story begins" in mocha brown. That's right, you choose the color(s) for every expression you want!

Glass blocks from Menards= $3.24/each
4 inch ornament embellishment in soft gold=$4.00

(all embellishments are $1.00 per inch)
Spool of ribbon =$1.00-$3.00
Letter P made on MyDesign Tool=$1.25
(4.5 inch, Chocolate Box Font)
Total for ornament block= $8.24 plus leftover ribbon
Total for letter block=$6.49 plus leftover ribbon

These 4x4 tiles below are from Lowe's. I made them into coasters by adding cork pads from the Dollar Tree on the bottom-on each corner. Then, I added a personalized look by creating a 3 inch M in MyDesign Tool and a 3 inch embellishment, both in chocolate brown. I made a total of 4 coasters, 2 with M's and two with the embellishments to make a nice set as a gift.
Total cost for the entire set= $9.30

Quick trip

Last Wednesday, Hadley, my mom and I headed down to Nashville for a few days. We stayed with my sister and she graciously hosted an Uppercase Living show while we were there. I also attended a Regional Conference for Uppercase Living and saw some really fun ideas. We had a fun time and the littlest cousins got a little playtime in. Drake got to stay home with Papa Ken and Nana for a day and then got some good daddy time. These are a few shots from the week.

Celebration

This morning, I told Drake that we were going to go to Lincoln because today was the day that Papa died last year so we were going to go take Grammy out for lunch. He said, "So, you mean we're going to celebrate Papa with Grammy?" I said, yeah that's a great way to put it. Then, he said "Let's have coffee at Cracker Barrel because that's what Papa and I liked to do." That really made me smile because that is a perfect picture in my head. However, our plan kind of back fired because I thought we would make this a surprise to my mom and just show up. But it seems some of her friends had already made plans to take her out for the day so we missed her! So, instead we made a trip by the cemetery and then went and had a little play date with the Stuckeys. Drake did get to talk to Grammy on the phone this evening though and we found out that Kara and Bart made an honorary trip to the donut shop today in memory. I'm so glad my dad liked to eat fun things!

Drake-o-lantern

We took advantage of our Monday off by carving a pumpkin. This was Drake's first attempt at carving. He was very excited about it before hand and really wanted to make a pumpkin pie with it too. However, as you can see from his face, after Gabe got the top of it off, the insides really grossed him out. So, we just baked up the seeds and made a nice looking Jack-o-lantern. Drake also planted two of the seeds in the back yard and checks every day to see if there are pumpkins yet.