Carols, Naughty List, and Crawling

We recently watched Preston's video from his school Christmas performance last year, so he wanted to act it out for us again this year. (No program at school this year- BOO!) Here are some songs he wanted to sing. Love the made up words he throws in there...and all of the W sounds instead of R sounds crack me up. I also like how he stops mid-song to tell me how Santa comes in the chimney. Love when he is my sweet boy! (He was a very sweet boy today- must know Santa will be here soon!)

Preston got a special video message from Santa the other day. He got one of these last year, too, but he was on the nice list then. This year it is questionable. Does anyone actually not give their kids gifts on Christmas for being naughty? Doubtful.  Am I mean for putting him on the naughty list for this video? Probably. But he definitely knows he needs to try harder!

Don't want to forget about Callie- she is a wild woman and all over the place at all times. Preston is learning how to distract her from HIS toys by offering her something he doesn't want to play with. Let the sharing lessons begin!

A Christmas Dance

You don't need a shirt to feel the Christmas joy...

Santa Visit and Claps

Preston got to go visit Santa this week at our neighborhood tree lighting ceremony. Santa read the kids a story, listened to their long lists of 'I-wants', and then dazzled the crowd with his sleigh. Not just any old makeshift sleigh...his super-duper-rocket-booster sleigh! Preston was a sweet and patient boy while in the same room as Santa. He literally sat still for over 10 minutes waiting for his turn- you can see a small part of this in the video. Now if we could only transfer that perfect behavior into our everyday lives! We had our magic Santa Cameras installed this week to see if that will help. They are inside the smoke detectors and he has been talking about them frequently.

"Mommy, I see a wed light up thewe."

"That means it's working."

"I'm scawed of the light, Mommy."

"Don't be scared...just be a sweet boy and Santa will be happy!"

Thank you, Christmas, for giving me some leverage over my child at the moment. Stellar parenting? Probably not. But I'll take what I can get.

 

<>

 And here are some claps from my sweet girl. YAY! 8 months old and full of energy. Crawling everywhere (still almost exclusively army style), laughing, clapping, climbing up stairs, cutting two teeth, putting any and everything in her mouth, pulling up on the couch, following big bro around, and trying to escape from her crib are some of her latest milestones. Sleeping completely through the night is a milestone we're still waiting for. Desperately waiting.







Thankful

We had a great Thanksgiving week with Mimi Mary, Papa Joe, and Cousin Kevin! Preston decided to be on his best behavior...or not. He was a bit of a disaster all week (and that's putting it mildly), but he loved spending time with them. Kevin was tons of fun, and the boys played together very well. They even took a trip to the bouncy house and went swimming at the hotel pool! Kevin was super sweet with Callie, and she enjoyed watching the boys play. We all ate too much a Mima Ceese's house on Turkey Day.  Well, I did at least.

Preston was asking for them today...hopefully we'll get to see them again soon!! Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of everyone together, but here is a super long video to make up for that. We're thankful that they endured the LONG drive to get here and back home to spend time with us.

 

Super Boots

Did you know Superman wears rain boots? Me either.

Lots of army crawling and rockin' from Callie lately. She'll be for-real crawling in no time, but I don't think it will make her any faster. She's a quick little squirt! I like the part of this video where she talks to Preston. And the second part with the monitor is from this morning. Thank you, Daylight Savings, for the early morning wake up call. "It's wake up time! It's wake up time! It's wake up time!" He probably said this at least 75 times (no exaggeration) before I finally went up there. I miss the days when we got an extra hour out at the bar as a result of the time change OR an extra hour of sleep! Ahhh, sleep. I miss you.



Halloween 2011

Some nuggets of cuteness in this video...a little long, but worth it. Hope you ate as much candy as I did!  

Sorry for the lack of photos lately. Still haven't bought a new camera, and the phone camera just isn't quite fast enough to get a non-blurry picture of a 3 year old and a 7 month old. Here are a few from the Cider Mill last weekend and playing in the leaves. 

Family Photos

A BIG thank you to Molly and Betsy for doing a little family photo shoot for us this weekend! The weather was perfect, and they did an amazing job.  Of course, Preston got a big 'ol rug burn on his chin the morning of the pictures, so we'll be doing some photoshop work before we print any. But I think they do a good job of making us look like we have it all together! Those who know us know the truth. Here are a few of my favorites!

 

  





Our First Kids

5 years ago, our first kids were born...MC and Phoggy! Such sweet little ladies they were. 

 Sadly, they are now somewhat neglected by us/terrorized by our children. They sleep all day, and talk to us incessantly every morning/night when it is time to eat. They DO still like to cuddle when Preston and Callie aren't around. Actually, MC is very tolerant of both kids. (I learned this today when Callie army crawled over to MC and yanked on her fur.)  And she always lets Preston pet her. He told her today, "MC, you're my best friend." Phoggy is a little bit jumpy, so she doesn't like to be out around them much. But we love them both and will shower them with attention tomorrow!

Ch ch ch changes

A few changes around here lately. Preston is now in a REAL bed! Thanks to the Wilsons and Briscoes for the mattress/box springs, and thanks to Mima for the Spiderman sheets! Here's hoping he doesn't fall out tonight and crack his head open. (Yes, I even worry about him when he sleeps.) He has also been spending a lot (and I mean A LOT) of time in time-out at school and home.  We're trying some positive behavior supports and hoping it helps. Forever a teacher- already implementing a behavior plan with my three year old. Sigh.  Luckily he is still cute and can still be quite sweet.

Our little Callie Rose turned 6 months this past week. Seriously? Seriously. She's changing so much each day and is truly on the verge of full-on crawling. (See video below.) She has the army crawl down pat, and I really can't leave her alone on the floor for more than about 10 seconds. Time to baby-proof the house again. This could prove to be a challenge with the amount of toys (not for babies!) Preston has around here. She is a happy girl and loves bath time, eating, bonding with Mommy in the middle of the night at least once (still), watching her big brother, putting anything and everything into her mouth, and squealing(see video).

Stats:

Weight- 15lbs 11oz (50%ile)

Height- 26.25 inches (75%ile)

Head- 16.75 inches (55%ile)

Cuteness- unmeasurable (100%ile)

 And here are a few pictures from the Velvet Creme Popcorn Festival today- beautiful day for a walk down the street!

 

Video footage from today. Enjoy!