Nothing much

We have been pretty boring lately. We've been hanging out as a family, staying in our jammies for most of the day, and just enjoying being together. We've had swimming, dinner at Nona and Papa's with the fam, church, and a few things here and there thrown into the mix, but that's about it... and it's just fine.:) Although, I will say that I am counting down the days until Spring. I can't wait for more playdates, meetups at the park, late night bike rides, and warm days at the pool. I can't wait! Right now applying greasy, gooey sun lotion even sounds wonderful!

The kids were playing around...



Of course Addie had to start "modeling"...



And this was the pose they came up with all by themselves... I'm sooo proud.:)

Belly Laughs

Brendan has had almost two weeks off and it's been great to have him home. We have gotten sooooo much done around the house. We really haven't done much... We've been total lounge lizards which is unusual for us, because normally we're on the go, go, go. It's been nice though and the kids have kept us laughing each and every day...

Oh Addison...


Addie has started to potty train herself. She is sooooo much like her brother~ She does and says everything Chris does, and she's following right in his footsteps with potty training. She is wearing big girl underwear all day, except for when she has to poop. She asks for a diaper, we put it on, she poops, and wants to be changed immediatley. This is the exact same thing Chris did and it drove us nuts!!! We're not stressing this time though, because one day Chris just woke up and said he wanted to poop on the potty. He did, and never had one accident. Let's just hope Addie does the same thing... and sooner rather than later.

Addie loves having her nails painted... and it's so cute, she blows them dry by blowing on them. The other day, we saw this amazing house built out of legos. Chris and I were admiring it and Addison said, "I built that all by myself," in a snotty little voice. I said, "No you didn't." She then shot back, "Well, maybe Daddy helped me. She's also added a new line to our prayers at night. She came up with it all by herself... "And God bless ALL the princesses." HA!

Oh, and Chris... is just our Chris. He's a walking comedian. The other night, he told us that "Sometimes when I'm around people I start talking REALLY loud so they don't hear me fart." Such a smartie! My brother, Todd, is going to grad school at UVA and has ditched Tech. He claims he's still a Tech fan, but I beg to differ. We went to Fuddrucker's last night with Todd, Sarah, and the boys (Ummm, hello- they have a deal where they feed a family of four for $25!), and Chris asked Uncle Dave if he was cheering for Tech during the bowl game. Todd said, "Yes," and then Chris said, "But my mama said you broke up with Virginia Tech." HA! Also, when the kids were picking out their free cookie at FRuckers, I was drooling over the German Chocolate Cake. I told Brendan to look at it, and that's when Chris shouted out loud in the restaraunt, "Hey, you can't get that. We hate the Germans!" It was so embarassing. He's been really into World War II, and I guess we haven't told him that things are different now.

We let Chris stay up until midnight to see the ball drop last night. He was passing out at 11:15, but Brendan and I kept him up. He was sooooooooo excited! After the ball dropped, we watched Travis Pastrana do the longest car jump... Chris said, "Wow, Isn't this guy being an idiot!" This little boy picks up on everything!!!! What are we going to do with him...

These are just a few stories... if you ever need a good laugh, come on by!:)

Christmas at Smith Mountain Lake

We changed plans at the last minute and decided to drive down to Smith Mountain Lake to celebrate Christmas with the McCullers. We decided to make the drive because Brendan and I wanted to furnitue shop where it's much cheaper... and because to be honest, I was stressing about entertaining- I don't come anywhere close to how Joanie cooks and takes care of everyone. We had a great weekend spending time with them. We opened presents, ate great food, watched football, and just had a wonderful time!!! It went by way too fast! Maybe we'll visit again soon- for the first time in a long time, the kids were great during the car ride on the way there and on the way back... that's a miracle in itself!

Christmas Morning

The kids were sooo excited about Santa and his reindeer this year. We had a wonderful Christmas morning at our house... We stayed in our jammies until late in the day and played with their toys all day long. It was such a fun day. As usual, the kids got waaaaayyyyyy tooooooo much... and like I always say, we're cutting back next year. We think Chris is allergic to dogs and cats. To this day he still prays for his fish Bubba that passed away last year. When he's having a bad day, he cries for Bubba. He has had serious issues about that fish! Santa brought him a new fish... Bluey... The fish is blue- we're so creative around here. At first, Chris didn't seem that excited about it, and I thought he would be over the moon. Then I noticed he was asking questions like when is Bluey going to die, etc. Now he's over it and Bluey is the coolest thing in this household. Chris and Addie take turns feeding him every night... and I've even gotten over my OCD'ness and let the fish stay in our family room- I've come a long way!



We'd like to say a special thanks to everyone that helped make our Christmas so special. And we'd like to give an extra special thanks to Uncle Lou for helping make Chris and Addie have such a great visit from Santa... We really appreicate how you hooked them up... and Yes, we did put some in savings so they'll appreciate you when they are older, just like we do now!:)

Christmas Eve

This year Christmas came and went sooooo fast. We celebrated Christmas Eve like we always do- We started at my parents house and then headed over to Nanny and Pappys. Besides the week at the beach, this is always my next favorite day of the year...

We began the tradition of making the grandkids line up in order to walk into where the presents are like we do at Nanny and Pappys.

Off they go...

Chris was soooo excited because he finally got his Wii. But don't you know he still asks to go to Dean Alex's house all the time to play the old school sega. I will say that I'm sure this Wii will provide us many hours of fun family nights.:)

And of course Uncle Eric didn't stop the tradition of giving the kids something crazy. This year it was jock straps. Chris just couldn't understand why Uncle E would give him funny underwear and is still talking about it.

We all hung out at Nanny and Pappy's to do our gift card Christmas.:) Of course we had to line up youngest to oldest. Somewhere Brad and I are in there. It's kind of funny- even my cousin Brian who is near 40 has to line up... and we never complain. We love it every year!

For some reason, Paige still thinks she's the baby and makes her way to the front... don't you go behind Ave Paigie K.?

It was such a fun night hanging out with the fam...

and I'm so glad my kids are getting to celebrate Christmas Eve just as I did growing up!

Snow...

The snow is much more fun when Daddy is home to play in it. Brendan got home and we still had a ton of snow. He and the kids made a cute snowman and then made this igloo... The kids LOVED it!

Always and handful...

Chris always keeps us laughing... and on our toes. This year in school, he has learned to write all of his letters... and has been learning to spell- little words like mom, dad, Chris, and Addie. He snuck into the bathroom with a pen, and came out laughing. He thought this was hilarious. Why do I get the feeling he's going to be the class clown in school?

P.S. Thanks Uncle Dave for teaching Chris to write on his hand.