Christmas Decorating

In true fashion, we decorated for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving. I know that Steve would have loved to have decorated in October, but I made him hold off a bit. Christian LOVED decorating this year. As each item was pulled from the box he said, "Look, Daddy/Mommy, look!" Now that Christian's vocabulary is larger and more clear (as opposed to last year,) it has been so fun to hear and see his excitement. He woke up from his nap the other day and informed us that he wanted to "-rating more" (to decorate more.) This year we thought that it would be fun for Christian to have his very own little tree in his room. Peeking in on Christian during nap time with the tree all lit up brings back the sense of wonder and anticipation of Christmas as a child. So fun to experience Christmas through our children! Lucas is all about the tree (and the extension cord that leads to the outlets.) He is also loving the kitty cat that thinks the tree skirt is a nice place to rest.

Lucas is 11 Months

Month 11 has been a busy and exciting one for Lu Bug! One week after he turned 10 months he began crawling, and hasn't stopped moving since. This momma is in trouble! Lucas is very exploratory so far, getting into the books on the shelves, attempting to press buttons on the computer, and is very intrigued by the electrical outlets (thankfully they are covered.) His little opinions are definitely coming through, as he expresses himself with plenty of "loud sounds" aka screams. Let's just say he does not appreciate it when Christian takes away a toy or when he is not fed quickly enough. Lucas is such a joy and truly is a delightful little guy. Currently his favorite foods include: ALL of them...not too much opposition just yet, although he does prefer to feed himself. Somehow he manages to eat quite a bit with only 4 teeth, and I am still not sure where he puts it! Lucas loves stuffed animals, being outside, Phoenix, and his blankie. He clearly says "Da-da-da" and sometimes something that sounds similar to "Mama." He still wears size 3 diapers and is in 6-12 and a few 12 month clothes. Next month will be the big 0-1 for Lucas, right after Christmas Day! Can't believe how fast this year has flown, and I don't think that time will be slowing down anytime soon with two active little boys!

Compare: Christian at 11 Months

Thanksgiving 2012

On the Monday of Thanksgiving week Christian had a cute Thanksgiving Feast at his preschool. All the classes dressed up (the 2 year old classes were dressed as turkeys) and each sang a little finger play before they each ate their "feast" of chicken nuggets, corn, grapes, apples, carrots, and a turkey cookie. So cute! I think my lil' turkey was the cutest :o)

On Thursday for Thanksgiving we celebrated at our neighbor and friend, Leigh's home across the street. We are so thankful for them! Leigh and her daughter have welcomed us as family since we moved here the summer of 2010. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with their family and relaxed for most of the four day weekend...of course, we had to decorate for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving. Pictures to follow. :)

Bath Time

Christian has gone from "extremely disliking" baths and showers to wanting to take baths with Lucas (he had been taking showers at night) and now opens the shower door every. morning. to take a shower with me. Let me just say, he is a major water hog (which is not fun on these cold winter mornings!) Lucas loves splashing in the water and enjoys bathing with Christian, or really loves any attention from Big Bro.

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Play Time

Christian and Lucas are beginning to really develop a fun play relationship. Christian will often ask for Lucas to play in his room. They make a huge mess, pulling out all the toys, but I love to hear the squeals and excitement as they play together. Christian is good about keeping the small Legos from Lucas and pulls out the Duplos instead. Lucas goes for the puzzles and train blocks almost every time. I am thankful to see this sweet bond growing. :o)

Halloween 2012

Christian really gets excited about holidays, parties, and festivities. Because stores begin to "decorate" so early, it made the anticipation for Halloween even more exciting for him. He loved visiting Michael's and Walmart (I know...we don't have a nearby Target, Walmart is it) to see the "Boos." Originally Christian told me he wanted to be a pumpkin for Halloween, so I searched online and found a good deal on eBay. Of course, Christian wanted to be something different everyday, a snowman one day, a shark the next. But when I brought out his costume last night he was thrilled and to my surprise wore the pumpkin hat the entire night! Lucas was easygoing as usual, and was super cute in his little giraffe costume. It was a wee bit small, but he didn't seem to mind and was probably glad to stay warm since the evening was chilly. In the morning Christian had a party at school, which as it turns out was apparently the highlight of the day. In the evening we attended the huge event at Alice Drive Baptist Church here in Sumter. They had dinner (hot dogs, etc.) a crazy LONG line of tables and cars for "trunk-or-treating," bouncy houses, pony rides, games, etc. Christian enjoyed watching the people, but I think he was overwhelmed because he didn't want to participate. We came home in time for Christian to experience his first trick-or-treating in the neighborhood, where he received a small little stash of candy that he keeps sneaking today.

Pumpkin Carving

This was the first year that we carved a pumpkin with Christian. He really seemed to enjoy digging his hands into the ooey-gooey insides and pulling out the seeds. We read this little book while we carved called, "The Pumpkin Gospel" that talked about the "yucky" sins inside our hearts, and how we are made new in Christ. With all the scary and inappropriate messages that Halloween sends, even at such a young age, I thought it would be nice to put a positive spin on things.

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