Christmas preparations

We've certainly been busy, I can't believe that Christmas is just around the corner! We have had our Christmas tree up since the beginning of the month and it has been quite the task keeping the boys away from the ornaments. They are better now, but when the tree first went up Jase (and Owen!) couldn't keep their hands off of them! Thankfully, we bought all shatterproof (aka plastic) ornaments last year so at least the kids were safe when they were playing soccer with them. My friend showed me the cutest ornament idea. You stuff a large clear glass ornament (find at a craft store) with your baby's newborn hat and their ankle tag and hang it on the tree. I love how ours came out! I now have two favorite ornaments!
Greg is finishing up with his final grading, we are all looking forward to some down time with daddy after he completes his work. He's had a very busy semester. From teaching three different classes, doing his research, being an advisor to over 50 students, planning and executing a few events, going to several meetings per week to being a husband and a father, I just don’t know how he did it. Thank goodness this semester is almost behind us. He’s such a hard worker and we are proud of him.
Owen is doing very well in pre-school, and he asks just about every day when he is going to kindergarten. He's very excited to ride the school bus. He has a Christmas concert on Monday at school and then he has a little break until the new year. Jase is doing well; he's sleeping slightly better and he is using more and more words every day. I can't believe that he'll be 21 months on the 1st. I've been taking him to story time at the library every Monday morning while Owen is at school. He is really starting to come out of his shell. It's funny how different he is when Owen isn't around.
As for me, I've been doing my best with the boys. I'm really trying to put them first, instead of all of the things I want to get done around the house. I find that when I can successfully put them first we all have a better day: less frustration, less tantrums and less time outs. There's always time to do one load of laundry here and some dishes there. I'm learning that getting house work done with kids around isn't all or nothing; every little bit counts!
I've been getting to karate a lot more in the past few months and it really feels good to be back in the swing of things. We have a few events coming up in the near future so I am preparing for those and trying to get a women’s team pulled together from our club. I am hopeful that we will be competitive for the spring tournament.
We're looking forward to Christmas and the excitement that it brings. Owen is so excited for Santa to come, and Greg and I are equally excited to see the boys on Christmas morning. We are so very blessed and thankful to have each other and our boys. Merry Christmas to all of our friends and family. May God bless you and your family in 2016!

Merry Christmas!

Thanksgiving

We had a busy past few weeks! It’s hard to believe that today is December 1st! Around the 15th of November we travelled back to PA to visit my brother, sister and mom to have a pre-thanksgiving dinner. We all had a great time. Mom came up to visit from South Carolina so we were all happy to have a turkey dinner with her before she had to head back home. After she visited with my brother and sister and their families, she came down to see us in MD. The highlight of her visit with us was taking a day trip to the aquarium! We all love it there. The favorite of the day was seeing the Dolphins exercising (doing jumps and flips and of course splashing the audience) in their pool. Mom stayed for a few days then headed back home. It was nice to have her here! After she left, we started prepping for Thanksgiving! We hosted it here. We had my dad and his wife as well as my brother and his family come down. The little boys had a blast playing with each other. The weather was perfect, about 60 and sunny so they even got to play outside! Greg prepped and took care of the turkey this year, and my brother handled most of the other cooking. I sure got lucky this year :) Our dinner was delicious and we all had a great day.  After Thanksgiving, we headed up to New Jersey to celebrate a little cousin’s birthday. It was a lot of driving for one day, but it was worth it to have the boys see their cousins, aunts and uncles and grandma and grandpa. We were pretty pooped after Thanksgiving and the travel on Friday that we didn’t do much over the weekend. Now we’re looking forward to Christmas!
Here are some pictures of our recent adventures!

Fun in the leaves!

Shark bait with Memaw

Fruit Turkey courtesy of Grandma Sandy

Yum!

On a prayer

Listen, my son, and be wise,
 and set your heart on the right path.
Proverbs 23:19

Weekend fun!

We had a great weekend! Saturday, of course was Halloween and we had a fun day! We went to our neighbor's house in the afternoon for a little Halloween party that they hosted for their nephew who is in elementary school. Owen loved watching all the big boys play in their costumes. They went bobbing for apples, played a white elephant gift exchange game, and then bingo with candy corn pieces. All of the boys had tons of fun! We went home for a quick dinner and then the boys and Greg went trick or treating around the neighborhood. Owen walked along side Greg as Greg pulled Jase in the red wagon! It worked out well. We have such a great neighborhood, everyone was excited to see the boys. Owen typically doesn't do well for trick or treat. He doesn't like scary masks or anything 'spooky' so he only makes it to about 4-5 houses before he wants to come home. This year was different! He did so well! They started at about 6pm and were back around 6:45pm with lots of goodies. Our neighbors welcomed us back to their place to hand out candy together on their driveway. They had a fire in their fire-pit in the driveway and we circled it with our camping chairs. Once the boys got restless, we headed to the little church across the street from our neighborhood. They had a Harvest party from 6-9pm with food, games, candy and a bouncy house! The boys had a great time and the people there were so nice and welcoming. All in all we had a great time on Saturday. We are so thankful for our wonderful neighbors and community.
We were also thankful for daylight savings coming to an end- it gave us the much needed extra time in the morning to get the family up and to church. After church we came home and Greg worked on the house. He sanded and painted the garage and water proofed the roof on our sun room. The garage door's paint was in dire need of a face lift and the roof in the sun room has been leaking. The last big rainstorm we had was terrible- water was everywhere in the newly renovated room. It was a little heartbreaking. We are hoping that what he did this past weekend has fixed the problem..fingers crossed!
Here are some pictures of our adventures:

Before

During...

After!

Apples for everyone!

We had a great weekend! The weather was beautiful, a little chilly, but beautiful! We spent the day Saturday around the house and getting errands done. We needed to replace the kitchen faucet anyway, and we really needed a new sink, so Greg installed a new kitchen sink and faucet! We are so happy with it, and we are thankful that Greg is so handy.
Sunday we went off to church first thing in the morning. Owen really likes his classroom and Jase is liking it much better! Jase has now been playing with the other toddlers in his classroom and doesn't cry too much when we leave him. After church was lunch and then my dad and his wife came to visit. We spent the rest of the afternoon at a local orchard picking apples. The orchard is so beautiful, the apples are delicious and everyone had such a nice time. Now it's time for apple sauce and apple pie! Yum!

Greg's helpers

Old sink

New sink

Ready for apples!

The boys with Bubby and Grandma Sandy

18 months of Jase

Our baby turned 18 months on October 1st, I can't believe it! He is such a funny guy, he loves to eat, laugh, read books, but most of all he loves to play with (aka torment) his big brother, Owen. Jase has no fear. There have been times when I turn my back for a moment and then find Jase sitting on top of the table. He's quite the climber. He has started the process of potty training on his own. I'm not one to force this issue- really it's too soon for me- but when he tells me he has to go, I'm not going to stop him! He loves to take things and put them back where they don't belong. We've found rubber duckies in our pot and pan cabinets and plates in our bedrooms. He's also been known to throw things away-we've lost a few sippy cups and a veggie peeler because he's thrown them out without us noticing...or maybe we'll find them someplace else one day...

Jase was dedicated last weekend at our church! We are so happy that Greg's parents and my dad and his wife could be there for the service. For those who are unfamiliar with a dedication service, it is a time when parents of a child make a promise to raise their child in a Godly manner, with the intention that someday said child will choose to accept Jesus as their savior. It was a nice service. After the service we went home and had pizza and cake! Thankfully, the boys' cousins met us back at the house after the service. They all had a blast playing!

Here's a rundown of the little man!

Jase loves:

Owen

Milk

Food!

Books

Cows

Building block towers

His lovie 'dog dog' (a blue blanket with a dog attached to it)

Any thing his brother has that he can take

Brook, and all other dogs

Exploring the dirtiest parts of the house when mommy turns her back- the toilet brushes and plungers, the bottoms of the toilets, the trash cans. (I caught him putting his mouth on the kitchen trash can once!)

Thomas the Tank Engine

Singing and dancing

Jase HATES:

Fingernail trimmings (I have to sit on him for him to hold still..it's not pretty)

When we tell him NO!

When he doesn't get what he wants

Sharing

Wiping his nose

Dr visits

The nursery at church...he doesn't hate it, but he holds one lady hostage the entire service. He doesn't let her do anything else but hold him and rock him for an hour. She's glad to do it, really who doesn't love rocking a baby?! The only bad part is he comes home smelling like really strong perfume every Sunday!

We are so blessed to have this little guy in our lives...and he's actually started sleeping better! Thank you, everyone, for your prayers! God is good!

Jase's dedication at Lifepoint Church 

9/26/15

Cuteness overload!

Our handsome boys

God has blessed us!

Squishy face kiss ❤️

Busy Bees

We had a busy weekend! Saturday we had a bunch of our karate friends over for a potluck BBQ party. We really had a nice time. We got to debut Greg's uncle's kabob invention- and it worked really well. Essentially it is a box shaped charcoal grill with slots for kabobs to sit in at the top. On the handle of each metal kabob skewer is a small gear that links into what looks like a bicycle chain, which is attached to an electric motor, on the outside of the grill. Plug the motor in, the bicycle chain beings moving and the skewers rotate! It was great, and cooked our kabobs perfectly! We had a nice visit with our karate friends, the weather was perfect and the food was great, what could be better?

We had a busy day on Sunday too. We got to church early, came home and had some lunch then headed to a party for Greg's department at school. It was nice to see everyone again. We came home to watch the Eagles lose to the Cowboys. Bummer. 

The big excitement of this weekend was that Owen now rides his bike (with training wheels.) For the longest time he refused to petal it and now he won't stop! We are so proud of him and we are excited for this new way to play. We get out there at least once a day, weather permitting. I walk Jase in the stroller and Owen rides next to me. We were out riding on Sunday night and our neighbors invited us in to watch the remainder of the Ravens game. We had a nice time with them. We are blessed with such great neighbors. They have a boy who is in grade school who took to our boys so well. He showed Owen and Jase all of his toys and they were in heaven. 

Jase was doing really great with his sleep! Hooray! But now he is back to his old antics. He’s getting some teeth in right now so hopefully they cut soon. Prayer request for sleep, please! This momma and her hubby could really use it! 

No TV Tuesday!

This morning, for no particular reason, I wanted to watch TV while I drank my coffee. Usually this isn't a problem because I watch PBS kids cartoons along with Owen and Jase. But this morning I didn't feel like watching kids' shows and it was met with much resistance. Owen was just about crying when I wouldn't put an 'Owen show' on and Jase was just confused. Instead of getting upset, I let the boys know that since we couldn't agree on what to watch, there would be no TV for anyone today. Owen was immediately upset (a sign that he really should watch less tv!) and I reassured him that we would have more fun without the TV anyway!

..and mommy was right! We spent the morning coloring, playing playdoh and modeling foam, and playing together in the play room. When it was time for Jase's nap, Owen and I listened to music, danced and read some books. Once Jase woke we had some lunch, ran an errand and then landed at one of our favorite places: Baughers Orchard! We went into the store, got some apples and then played the day away! The boys love playing there and seeing the animals at the petting zoo. Jase loves to swing on the toddler swing as well as climb all around and follow his brother. 

All in all it was a great day- without TV! They were both so well behaved, its amazing how TV really rots their little brains. I've never let them watch too much TV but lately I've been letting them watch more and more so I can get 'stuff done' around the house.  Today reminded me that I should really spend more time with them and less worrying about what chores need to be done. There's always going to be dishes to wash, laundry to fold, and shelves to dust, but these boys won't be little forever. They won't always want to play with me, to color with me, or to hold my hand. At the end of the day (or the beginning) I need to remember that I am here for them, and they are here for me, right now. Those dishes can wait.

R is for Routine

     

       

       TGIS! Thank goodness it’s September! We are all so happy to be back on our ‘normal’ routines! Don’t get me wrong, we had a fantastic summer! We played with friends, we went to the beach several times, went to the aquarium, went to the sprinkler pool and had some great family time around the house.

September is back to school for Greg! He was on research sabbatical last spring so he hasn’t taught since December. He is excited to embark on a new semester. He’s teaching a night class this semester, we’ll see how that goes ;) Maybe it means more time for me to do some blogging!  He is in his 5th year of his tenure track position, which means it’s crunch time. He’s teaching three classes, volunteering on various committees and working on research papers to be published..not to mention being a husband and a daddy! He’s doing a great job and we know he’ll do well! He works so hard for us; we are very blessed!

It’s back to school for Owen too! Owen starts school tomorrow, he’s in pre-k, and he goes three times per week. I can’t believe it! He is very excited. His teacher this year was actually his assistant teacher last year so he feels very comfortable with her. Many of his classmates from last year are in his class again this year, even his favorite buddy! I’ve already looked over his schedule and he will be busy. It looks like they will have about one field trip per month, those lucky kiddos! They are going to Gettysburg, a farm and an orchard all this fall!

Jase is so much fun.  He is running, climbing, jumping, and loves to dance. He and I will be hanging out solo while Owen is in school. I hope to get him into a regular routine of library story times and other adventures. Owen and I used to do that and he loved it! Jase is doing well with his words and his signs, now if we could just get him to sleep through the night! The little stinker still wakes frequently at night…this too shall pass, right?! 

As for me, I am settling back into the stay at home mom thing. It’s such a blessing to be able to take care of my hubby, kids and home without the additional stress of having to go to work in the morning. I am looking forward to the fall and the arrival of some new babies! (not mine!) I can't wait to hold those little babies; my heart is overfull with joy for my expecting friends. Other than adore the babies, I have grand plans to organize and clean the house, host a party or two, get back into a church routine and start serving in a ministry, and to do a lot of karate. Phew, that's a lot! I'd better get to work!

Happy fall everyone! 

Down South!

Check out our pictures from our recent trip to see Memaw (my mom) down in Enoree, SC! The boys had a blast riding the horses, feeding the chickens, going to the children's musesum, the orchard, mining rocks and hanging with Memaw and Paw!

 Jase's first flight! 

 Owen, Memaw and AnnaLeigh

 Jase, Memaw and AnnaLeigh

 The boys & Hero

 The boys & hens!

 HUGE marshmallows

 Exploring at the museum  

 Jase Deer ;)

 Cow hugs

 Big helper!

 Loving their boots!

 ..and perhaps each other!?

 Our plane! Bye-bye SC!