January 2013 Catch-Up

 

January was all about Bruiser turning 6!

No, seriously, he made sure the whole month focused on his birthday and that no one forgot it!

 

 

A little birthday morning trap!

Only he had to go to the bathroom around 11:30pm...oh, well!

 

The big gift that took much longer to assemble than we thought!

 

Birthday dinner!

 

Checking out the hoops!

 

Cake time!

 

 

Then a few weeks later (which is probably why the birthday lasted all month :) ), Bruiser had a bowling party with all his friends.  I didn't have to plan anything but the favors and everyone had a blast.  I love that he chose to invite more girls than boys...my ladies man!

 

And that's January!

 

December 2012 Catch-Up (Warning - Picture HEAVY!)

December?

 

• Mommy was still feeling yucky but we knew we had a lot to accomplish and experience!
• We made a trip to IKEA (just the grown-ups!) to get Bubba's nursery furniture.  Our crib had traveled to PA and was just bigger than we could transport back and fit in our bedroom (where Bubba will reside until he sleeps through the night!).
• We visited Santa (but I have no digital copy of that picture :( ).
• And then we headed to Pennsylvania for the holidays!

 

Our first stop was Pop-Pop and Memaw's, since we needed to go to our first gift that evening.  Aunt Crystal and Uncle Jeff took our whole family to see "Jonah!" at Sight and Sound Theater in Lancaster, PA.  We were super-excited and a tad nervous how Sassy would do through the show.  We also knew it would be a late evening and we had just traveled all day (we might have been more nervous about how Mommy would survive than the kids!).  Luckily all felt amazingly well, there was limited tiredness until the drive back to Pop-Pop and Memaw's, and the show was amazing!  Before the show started we got a bit of a behind-the-scenes tour, since Uncle Jeff works there building the sets.  It was really amazing and I have no pictures to show :(.  It was a fantastic night and the perfect family gift...and we can't wait to take the kids to see "Noah!"

 

On Christmas Eve, we headed to Papa and Mimi's to visit our littlest cousin and wait for a surprise visit from a very special holiday guy!

 

 

Can you tell they are cousins?

 

We know they are not quite normal...but we like them anyways!

 

Ho! Ho! Ho! 

And this was the closest Sassy got to the man in the red suit...she and her cousin decided he wasn't their cup of tea!

 

My brave ones!

 

 

Then we headed back to Memaw and Pop-Pop's for cookie-putting-out, reindeer feeding, and Christmas PJs!

 

Waiting at the top of the steps Christmas morning...

while Mommy and Daddy check to see if Santa came!

Love this family tradition!

 

Reindeer food was eaten.

Santa left a footprint or two...and some wrapping paper!

 

He also built a snowman wearing Pop-Pop's infamous "mowing jacket"!

Love a white Christmas!

 

Sassy was excited to see all the gifts!

 

That's some loot!

 

First came stockings!

 

Then a family gift.

 

The girls' big gift...can you guess what two girly girls got from Santa!

They were thrilled to welcome Caroline and Marie Grace into our family!

 

Sassy was looking at Tater's doll with extreme jealousy...she announced this was the one she wanted the day after Santa ordered the dolls!  Oh, well!

 

Bruiser's race-track build set!

 

Then we got dressed and headed to papa and Mimi's for more gifts!

 

Love this cute boy (and the sweater that his auntie spoiled him with!)

 

Again...that crazy one!

 

Told you his was a little bit crazy...who knows what happened here!

 

We spent a few more days with the relatives, until Mommy was just worn out and feeling pretty rotten.  We headed home to enjoy the rest of vacation relaxing and playing with our new toys.

Then right before we headed back to school and work, we had a bit of snow!  It was time to play!

 

And that is where she stayed and cried!

Sassy is not a fan of the white stuff!

 

And that was December!

November 2012 Catch-Up

November must have not been very exciting because I don't have a single picture!  Ha!  So here's a quick bullet list for memory-sake:

• We pulled Sassy from her day care/school.  This was a big decision but cost and Mommy's health won out.  She started at the babysitter we used last year for Bruiser and all went much smoother!
• We stayed home for Thanksgiving and cooked a meal for our little gang.  It was relaxing and (somewhat) peaceful.
• Mommy was still feeling pretty rotten!  Bubba was doing great but Mommy would have given anything to not feel so sick and tired.
• We found out the newest Sproutlet was going to be a boy!  This was very important to Bruiser who decided we had a pattern in our family (girl, boy, girl...so this one had to be a boy!).  Check out Sassy's response!

And, honestly, that's all I remember!  Poor November!

October 2012 Catch-Up

October found Mommy still feeling pretty yucky, trying to survive each day of a very tough year in kindergarten while trying every medicine the doctor prescribed.  I was (and everyone else in the house!) holding out hope that the 2nd trimester would bring big changes...and you'll soon know how disappointed we all were!

 

We had a little hurricane named Sandy.  We were not complacent and prepared fully...but luckily did not receive the brunt of the storm, unlike others that were much less fortunate.

 

Sassy turned 4...right in the middle of the storm.  Hmmm...seem highly appropriate?  We celebrated at home with just our family...and with a cake Mommy made before the storm started and we lost power (which we didn't!).

 

 

Luckily the storm passed JUST in time for some trick-or-treating!

We were a family of ghosts...and Mommy made the costumes.

Not my best idea for the way I was feeling this year but...live and learn, right?

(next year's costumes were purchased at Target when they discounted their Halloween stuff to 90% off...and there is no theme!)

 

Bruiser removed his costume right after this,

before we even made it to the first house...oh, sensory boy!

 

The yearly neighborhood shot!

They are getting way too big...not sure how many years we will be able to get this picture.

And next year we'll add in Bubba!

 

Can you tell who's missing from the group shot?

Yup...Sassy was being, well, sassy!

I think she was a bit scared of the creepy big boy costumes :)

 

And that's October!

Bubba's Special Quilt

With the birth of every grandchild and the each one's marriage, my grandmother, Nana, created beautiful quilts as keepsakes.  They really are works of art...and lots of love.

 

Then she continued the tradition with my children...her great-grandchildren!  My four are just a few of the 13 great-grandchildren she will have by the end of the year...the family is growing!

 

Here's Bubba's quilt...

 

 

I love that she takes hints on what the nursery will be and makes the quilt fit right in!

 

We will treasure it for ever!