Construction Party for G.

We were finally able to celebrate Grant's birthday with a party. Nothing big just family but we had fun celebrating the little man and his first year of life. 

The theme was construction, as you can clearly see. :) 

Dirt Cake

Little Man and his cake

A Big Bed for C

(This post should be dated about the 4th but I hate to post a bunch at a time so here it is)
C finally got his big boy bed!

He wasn't overly excited about it but with only 10 minutes of crying before falling asleep the first night I would call it a success. He did not have an afternoon nap that day so he was extremely tired by bed time which helped.

He now thinks it is cool and likes his new bed.

He is growing up so fast and is such a big boy.

* On a side note, for the past 3 mornings I have found him in Grant's crib. He climbs in there in the morning after Grant is awake. I think it is cute but at the same time, it may need to stop. 

Praying Scripture for my Children in 2013

As we begin the new year we start to think about resolutions and how we can 'improve' ourselves or habits in the new year. One 'habit' I would like to improve is how I pray for my children. I read this blog via Pinterest a while back and really relate to her when she says, 

" . . . wanting so desperately to be one of those “prayer warriors” that I was always hearing about, but never able to focus in and really, specifically talk to my Heavenly Father . . . especially as I prayed for my children.  

I wanted to pray for their safety, their hearts, their dreams, their future spouses . . . I just didn’t know how.  Did I sit around and list out to God what I wanted for each of them?  Should I just lift up a general prayer of “you know what they need?” Pick an item for prayer and make some sort of chart with one for each day? Nothing seemed right.  So, usually I ended up with “Dear Lord, please keep this one safe, and let that one go back to sleep!”While I’m sure God could use that, I wasn’t really giving him much to work with!"

SO me! I admire prayer warriors and strive to be one. I feel like my prayer life for my kids is stale. 

She goes on to talk about how a Bible study changed the way she prayed. You can read about it on her blog but basically at the start of the new year she picks a Bible verse to pray for her children each year, traces their hand and write the verse on it and prays it each day. What a wonderful idea right?! I thought so, so I have chosen a verse for P, for C and for G to pray over them over the course of the year. At first I was wondering how I would ever chose but God revealed them to me as I searched and I am confident these are exactly the verses He has chosen for my little ones for 2013.

I will be praying Proverbs 3:5-6 for P.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." 

Colossians 3: 12-15 for C.

"Clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other's faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful."

  

And Matthew 6:33 for G

"Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need."

Because they are so little I didn't know if they would be relevant but the way I see it is laying a foundation to build and raise Godly children.

1 Year - G.

G -

Yup, that's right little buddy, you are 1! You love being a big boy and doing things P & C can do. This past year you have filled our lives with so much joy and a little more mischief and we have loved every minute of it.
I feel like you have really 'grown up' over the past month. You seem much more like a toddler than an infant now. The main reason for this may be because you learned to WALK! You love this new found talent. Your first steps were so out of the blue. We were in the living room watching a TV episode for wind down time before bed. I had just put something away in Payton's room and was rounding the corner when I saw you stand up out of Charley's Anywhere Chair and start walking across the room! I am not sure who you shocked more, us or yourself. Of course it was only about 4 steps and you refused to do it again for a while but you did it and giggled about it for a while. I would say about a week later is when you really took off. Although you do crawl around the house, mainly because it is faster, you do walk quite a bit too.

Sleep -Nothing new here. Still two naps and bed at 7:30/8. We did switch cribs however because Charley got his big boy bed. You don't seem to care too much, which really, there isn't a difference because you still have the same mattress.

 Eating - I don't know if I said this in the last post or not, I can't remember when we started but you are drinking whole milk these days with only 'toddler' formula before bed at night. The switch was easy and you like having it in a sippy cup throughout the day and at meals.

Diaper Size -4's.

Clothes  - 9 Month clothes are officially too small. You have moved into 18 mo which are still a little big.  12 month is what fits the best but there are a few jammies I noticed that were looking a little on the small side.

Activities - Like I said, you started to walk this month. You also had your first Christmas. It seemed really odd to me that it was your first Christmas because you are so much bigger than C and P were when they celebrated their first Christmas'. You enjoyed yourself it seemed and liked pulling tissue paper out of bags which most kids your age do. The Christmas tree was a little issue but for the most part you did really well with it. We couldn't put gifts under it of course because they would have been destroyed for sure. 

You often are found exploring the house or playing in the playroom by yourself. I just think you like to discover things and it's easier to do alone. We call you silent but deadly because you are so quiet about leaving that we often don't know where you are until we hear something or go looking for you. If the bathroom door gets left open we are sure to find you with your hand in the toilet or unrolling the toilet paper. Mischievous for sure, maybe even a little naughty. When we do find you doing something you are not supposed to do we are always greeted with a big smile and a giggle or two. It's hard to get mad at that!

You keep us on our toes Little Guy and there is no where else I would rather be. We love you to pieces and more.
Love always, Mommy

1 Year of G!

Birthday Boy.

Amma & Papa were out of town so the big party will wait until they return. We did get a small cake to celebrate though.

He liked it...shocker!

Stats: Weight - 23 lbs 12.5 oz (85th)
Length - 30 inches (50th)
Head Circumference - 47.2 (75th)

Critter Barn

Waiting for the live nativity to start.

One happy boy.

In Awe!  Love how her face.

Baby in a manger.

Charley, Lewis, Payton, Adi, Tyler & Grant. (Travis was there too but he didn't want his picture taken. :)

Christmas Celebrations 2012

I don't need a lot of words to describe Christmas at our house. It is our favorite time of year. We get to celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and get to bask in the joy and hope that comes with it. 

There of course are parties and gifts which are fun as well. I love seeing and hearing the excitement of our kids as they await Santa coming and as they hold a wrapped gift waiting for me to take their picture so they can ripe it open and find out what is inside. P is very into it as she is four. C was into it this year too which was fun. 

I will stop the rant and let the pictures tell the rest.

Before B's work party.

New jammies for Christmas Eve. Ready to snuggle and watch a movie.

Christmas morning.

New Hallmark ornament.

I think he liked it.

So excited about his new garbage truck!

P and Auntie J.

G with GG

Me & my girl. I got a special pair of earrings she picked out. She did a really good job.

Art box from Mimi

Mr. Big Shot in his new chair.

New dinosaur from Auntie J.

Big Wheels = Big time!

Family pic

My parents and the grandkids. Up 3 from last year. :)

Sleepy.

Chirstmas Lights & Visiting Santa

A few of the highlights of the week before Christmas were our traditional drive around town to see the Christmas lights. We got the kids all in their jammies, made some hot chocolate, packed some marshmallows and the buddies and blankies and drove around to a few different neighborhoods to see all the Christmas lights. It is one of my favorite traditions and I know it's one of the kids.
Another tradition is of course going to see Santa. P was excited but said to me, 'Mommy, I'm a little nervous of Santa. I don't remember him'. I reassured her he was a nice guy and all was well. She was able to tell him she wanted a pink haired dolly (Barbie doll that is). Grant had no problem sitting on his lap or course. Charley on the other hand was so excited about going and said he was going to sit on his lap and be brave, which Daddy & I were skeptical of, but when he got up there he freaked and refused to go sit by him. Maybe next year. :) Although he did tell him what he wanted from a far...a truck.