Changes

Well, I'm sure that you can imagine a few things have changed since Halloween. I'm surprised it's been that long since I've posted, but not super surprised. The beginning of November begins the busy season for our family (as with a lot of families). Between November 1st and December 31st, my side of the family has 8 birthdays and 4 wedding anniversaries, not to mention Thanksgiving (which is sometimes Leah's birthday), Christmas (which is also someone's birthday), and New Year's Eve thrown in for good measure. It gets just a little nuts around here. That's my excuse, anyway, and I'm sticking to it for now. ;-)

Leah is now 5! It's really hard to believe. This age has really struck me hard for some reason. It's probably because she's now in preschool and seeming so much older by the day. I'm starting to wonder what it's going to be like to have a kid in kindergarten. I'm feeling stubborn about turning her over to the public school system, not because I'm morally opposed to public education, or anything. I just can't believe how short my time having her all to myself has been!

Leah (and us, of course) got to have a nice visit from her birthmom, Kellie, the week of her birthday. We did a lot of fun stuff like the children's museum and birthday party stuff that week. We hadn't seen Kellie for about 4 years, so it was a great time to catch up. Leah had her very first "friend-only" birthday party. It was a blast! I was so glad that we were able to have fun with some of her new preschool friends.

My brother Eddie and his family also visited that week (since it was also Thanksgiving), and it was fun to have them staying at our house. Kelly (my sister-in-law), was sweet enough to make Leah some awesome cupcakes for her family birthday party. Grandma and Pop also came into town for a few days, so we had a house full of guests for about a week. :-D

Christmas was fun, and we had some more family with us during that holiday. Grandma and Pop came a week early and celebrated with us so that they could be with Jaci on Christmas (and then head down to SC for their annual visit with John and Mary Lou). My sister Becca and her husband Dave stayed with us for a few days, including Christmas day. My sister Rachael was also home from college and hung with us for a bit before heading back to school. We certainly did make a lot of family memories during this holiday season!

Jeff and I celebrated our 20th anniversary of knowing each other and 13 years of marriage on December 30th. It's hard to believe we've known each other that long! He surprised me with some great gifts (namely, some diamond earrings and an awesome mix disc/video compilation). We went out to eat while my sister Rachael watched the kids. Pretty laid-back, but still enjoyable!

The new year has been pretty quiet after all the family and celebrations, but it has brought some changes in our family, mostly for David. He finally "graduated" from nursery at church into primary. He did great the first couple of weeks, but we experienced a few problems yesterday. He spent a fair amount of the time upset because "primary is just so different." I'll admit I'm having a lot of trouble figuring out what is so different (they still give the sunbeams snack, but there is no play time; I guess that could be the issue). He hasn't been very specific about what is bothering him. :-/ Hopefully, this is just a small blip and all will be fine. He also started preschool at Leah's preschool this week (though on opposite days), so it's been a big week of adjustment for him. He seems to love preschool, so hopefully that continues to go well.

I think that pretty much brings us to now. Things should stay quiet for a little bit as we get used to the new schedule with both kids in preschool. Looking forward, I personally hope to get a little more organized this year. I have already begun this process and hope to keep chugging along with it. We, of course, also hope that this is the year we get to add another child to our family. :-D

Halloween 2010

Halloween is my favorite holiday, and Leah and David are my favorite kids. Put the two together, and this is what you get:

If you're unfamiliar with the children's show Yo Gabba Gabba, Leah is dressed as Foofa (described in the theme song as "pink" and "happy," a pretty good description of Leah anyway) and David is dressed as Plex ("a magic robot"). If you haven't seen the show, you should tune in sometime. It's an acquired taste for some, but the four of us appreciate its good values and quirkiness.

We now have enough candy to last us until next Halloween (unless we do something creative like regift it to other unsuspecting trick-or-treaters or try to pass it off as Christmas candy for the stockings).

God Bless America!

We had a great time with family over the weekend. We had lots of goodies at Mawmaw and Pawpaw's house, including a birthday cake for my sister, Aubrey (her birthday is the 4th of July). The kids (and some of the adults!) had fun playing frisbee, bubbles, t-ball, and soccer. At dusk we all packed up in our vehicles and headed to a local church for a fireworks display. It was rather impressive, especially for a small operation. David eventually decided he'd rather sleep on Jeff's shoulder, though I'm not sure any sleepage actually ever occurred. Leah "oohed" and "awwed" over the fireworks. She commented on how colorful they were and mentioned that she liked purple the best because it was the most colorful. ;-) We all went home that evening smelling of sunscreen and bugspray! A good time was had by all.

Mother's Day

I feel blessed every day to be a mother, but it was nice to have a specific reason to celebrate today. The absolute highlight of the day was getting to hear Leah sing in church today. I was afraid she was going to miss the opportunity because she announced that she needed to go to the potty right before (or at least what we thought was right before) the children were supposed to go up for the performance. Thankfully, she said she could wait for a little bit. I normally don't make her wait, but there were clues that she was just bored and trying to get out into the hallway. ;-)

The kids first sang "Mother, I Love You" in Spanish. I know her Spanish wasn't perfect, but Leah sang out loud and strong, without hesitation. The sincere look on her face is one of the most precious things I've ever seen. The children moved on to "Mother, I Love You" in English. Leah didn't miss a beat. The children finished up with "A Child's Prayer." For those unfamiliar with the song, it has two parts. The first part serves as the first verse; the second part serves as the second verse; for the third verse, both parts are sung together (the children's choir split in two groups to do this). This type of song can be challenging for children, but Leah held her own. I could tell she was very focused on singing her part just right. It brought me to tears. I just couldn't believe that I am the mother to such a precious, talented little girl! After the song finished, a lady from two pews back said loud enough for us to hear, "Anna, you have a star there!" I couldn't do anything but giggle at that point because I am so happy to be Leah's mom.

In other Mother's Day news, the kids made me some lovely gifts. One was a flower with a tootsie pop in the middle of it and Leah's little handprint attached to it. Leah informed me that the flower and the handprint were for me, but the candy was for her! :-P David thought the tissue paper flower arrangement he made for me in nursery was a toy for him, so we had a bit of a tantrum on our hands when I explained it wasn't a toy at all. I guess we need to have a little lesson on sacrifice and giving cheerfully! ;-)