I love the end of year holidays. Thanksgiving is such a wonderful time to be with family and Christmas is a million times more magical and wonderful with children in the house. We spent Thanksgiving this year in Sulphur Springs at Aunt Kobie's house. We decided to limit traveling this winter since it's so tough to travel with an infant and a toddler, and we've missed the Vestal side of our family quite a bit. Thankfully, Andrew hasn't forgotten any of the family he loves and can still be heard early in the morning talking about Uncle "Ma" and PawPaw. This Christmas, we have a lot of family coming to see us, and we're very excited to celebrate with all of them. We'll be at our house on Christmas Eve & Christmas Day (DD is coming to spend some time with us), and then the Price family is coming to celebrate with us on Friday (the 26th). PawPaw and Grandy will be back in FtWorth to see us the following week and we'll celebrate Christmas with them then. We'll definitely miss seeing Uncle Matt & Aunt Kim and our cousin Lexi and Uncle Mark.
The boys have been lots of fun this holiday season. Our Elf on the Shelf arrived with Grandy this year! Andrew is loving finding his elf in different spots in the mornings. We're also using our very special Advent calendar that Grandma Lil made for Tim many years ago. Andrew has absolutely loved getting all the sweet animals out of the pockets each day. It's been so sweet and heart warming to have this in our home to remind us of our special grandmother and how much she loved to make these sweet things for her grandchildren.
Charlie continues to be the most flexible and easy going baby. He's easy to tote around and generally patient when his schedule is off during the day. Andrew is still a very sweet big brother. He has his moments of jealousy, but when Charlie is upset, Andrew is still the first to bring him his paci and all the toys that Andrew knows are his favorites. He's a big boy and is wearing Andrew's 9-12 month winter clothes from last year - thankfully they are getting lots of good use! He loves to eat most of the time, but is never excited about eating peas. He loves sweet potatoes and corn and all fruits. He's a happy loving boy and an easy baby.
giggling during our bath time
5 months old!
At the museum with brother and Amanda. Charlie wishes he could get out and play too!
Sitting with his Great-Grandmother
Andrew is growing and changing so quickly. The latest "Andrew-isms" have been his love of choo choo trains and fire trucks (and the fun noises they make), and how he is always holding his hands behind is back (most often when he's nervous or being extra thoughtful about something). We've had so many meltdowns at home due to his frustration with not being able to communicate well yet... but our hearts have melted watching him interact with other kids. He's showing us that he's caring, thoughtful, generous, and a fun playmate. He has his moments of jealousy, but they are few and far between. He can often be seen watching a friend become sad/frustrated (Andrew will watch with his hands behind his back), then Andrew moves in with a toy or a pat to try and make them feel better. He loves to hand out hugs and kisses to the friends he knows best. He's also recently started nodding "yes" very dramatically when he either agrees with you or is responding with a yes to a question. It's such a simple gesture, but it's made our lives so much easier and has helped us make huge strides to communicating better.
Andrew loves to EAT!
A combo of favorites right here.. Snowmen AND balloons!
Must put our hands behind our back to think....
Decorating cookies with Yaya (which Andrew just decided to call Lilah now)
Baking cookies with Amanda, so fun!
Showing off our Elmo slippers from Amanda... these have to be worn all day every day.
Here are a few more pictures of what's been going on with us lately...
Watching the TCU game with Dad, Robby, Courtney, Virginia, Grandy & PawPaw
celebrating cousin Mimi's 9th birthday!
Riding the Train at the North Pole of Texas!
The best xmas tree pic we could get
Cookies & Castles!
Decorating cookies with Mom
Holding Amanda's parents' new puppy
Eating dinner with our Small Group family!
Enjoying a sunny 70 degree day in December
Charlie enjoys the day on Mommy's back
Charlie loves to laugh and smile!
Our 2014 Santa pic!
Waiting to meet Superfrog and decorating cookies with Yaya
Well, once again Charlie has decided to surprise us. He's had a tough week with a runny nose and cold that has kept him awake at night and made him feel just yuck. He's continued to have multiple night wakings that are just very unusual and unlike him. And then, on Thursday evening during his bath, he decided to reveal that he has two bottom teeth! So, this whole week the poor baby has just been teething. Just a little earlier than his brother, who didn't get any teeth until he was 8 months :)
Andrew has also had a very tough week. We didn't pick the best time to do this, but we felt it was time. We had to start the process of breaking up with our wubanub paci (bear, or as Andrew says, "Beow"). He had a very tough first night without it. He was frustrated, and continued to try and hand the broken Beow to his Daddy and I to fix it (we cut the end off). He was so confused and it was pretty heart breaking. I will miss my sweet boy walking around with his paci. We were ok with him having it at night, but after Charlie was born, he started needing it more and more and we became concerned about his mouth and dental issues. Sometimes he can seem like such a baby, and other times, he seems like such a toddler. We were pretty sure he was ready to move on, but we're still struggling at night to fall asleep without it.
This past weekend we took a tour of TCU with our cousin "Ray Ray" as Andrew calls her. She's applying to schools all over Texas and we wanted to share our local campus with her. It's such a beautiful school and looks so different from when we were there over 10 years ago!
Enjoying some activity mat together
Andrew & Charlie enjoying the last few days of warmth and sun before winter
I haven't had much time to actually sit down and write about what's been going on in our lives, and my goal is always to become better at that. I feel like not much has been going on, but there's so much at the same time. The boys are growing and changing so quickly, and I never feel like I can possibly adequately capture the treasured moments from our days in this blog or in pictures. It all just goes by so quickly, and I'm often reminded of this when looking back just a few months ago at pictures of Andrew. He's grown and changed so much even from when we brought Charlie home from the hospital a short 4 months ago. Andrew has gone from barely walking to running everywhere, communicating so well, and becoming increasingly opinionated and head strong. Charlie has seemingly gone from such a tiny tiny babe to a giant rolly and jolly baby boy. He is so easy to get to smile and laugh, and he truly brings a smile to everyone he encounters. He and Andrew look and act so much alike (as babies), yet so very different at the same time. I'll attempt here to capture some of my favorite memories from the past several weeks:
Charlie:
You are such a joy. This is the only & best way to describe you. Admittedly, we had some hard times in the first few weeks getting to know you and meeting your needs. You've been both incredibly laid back and incredibly ferocious with your temper at times. However, it seems your laid back attitude has taken over now and you feel much more comfortable in your new environment outside in the world. You can be so easy to get to cackle and laugh. You search people's faces seeking it seems to connect with them so that you can both smile together. Your eyes are such a wonderful shade of blue and you have the tiniest of dimples on your right cheek. Your little legs and belly are delightfully chubby and I absolutely love squeezing on all your rolls. You like it too :) Even though you are generally laid back, you are not one to be ignored, and you make sure people are aware when you need something. You have sadly taken your fair share of hits on the head, eye pokes, and toys thrown at you from your big brother... but you've also had some sweet hugs, kisses, searching gazes, and loving head pats from him as well. He's often searching the room for things you might like for him to bring you, like your paci, your bottle, your toys or your lovie. He wants so badly to help and to make sure you're happy. He frets over you when you're mad and will look to me or your dad for help when you cry. You are generally sleeping like an angel. You fall asleep so easily at night, almost as if you just know when it's your bedtime. We all read stories together and you finish your bottle. I can lay you down in your crib on your tummy and you will listen to the last story, our bedtime prayers and put yourself to sleep in the process. In the mornings, you like to roll over on your back and watch all the silliness of your brother and will smile at the one who comes in your room to get you up. You are growing and changing so much and so quickly, and every day, I truly thank the Lord for the sweet and joyful surprise we received from Heaven when your arrived into the world.
Andrew:
Andrew, you are melting our hearts. You want to understand and learn and communicate so much, and you're becoming more and more of a parrot each day. You quickly make associations and listen astutely to what's being said around you (unless Sesame Street or Curious George are on TV). You are inquisitive about your surroundings and not afraid to go exploring on your own. You are still somewhat cautious when it comes to things you know might be dangerous, but you are becoming increasingly more bold as you learn to climb and jump better. You are compliant in giving good hugs and kisses when requested, and on occasion, you will give wonderful hugs without being asked. You save some of your best hugs for your daddy, because you love him so much. Your daddy is incredibly patient with you and tries so hard to make sure you and he have lots of time to play together. The end of each day is time for you and Daddy, and this is always your favorite time. You wrestle with your Dad and sit on him and laugh every day. If you get to see him in the mornings before work, you are quick to give him your most affectionate hugs. You are thoughtful about new experiences, but once you've decided you like what you see, you give out a passionate laugh and ball your hands in fists for emphasis. This makes everyone around you laugh too. You are not too picky about your food and are willing to eat and try new things. You don't like vegetables too much, but if they're in pasta or hidden in smoothies, you'll enjoy them this way. Your favorite person right now is Mimi, your cousin. You talk about her often and when we say our prayers at night, you make sure she's not forgotten. You also love your Uncle Matt, and even though you've only gotten to be with him a handful of times in your life, he has made an imprint and impression on you. You point to his picture and will find anything else in the house that reminds you of him or something that he did or wore while he was here. You love to get it and talk about "Ma" (and when you say his name you have to stick your tongue in your bottom lip, which makes it even more adorable).
Here are some pictures from our Halloween and our trip to Sulphur Springs to see the family. The boys were a train conductor and a pumpkin, and neither were very happy about their costumes :)
