Wordless Wednesday: snow tubing at Jonas Ridge

Youth Group Sweetheart Dance

Our church youth group had a Sweetheart Dance Saturday night of the weekend before Valentine's Day.  I was a lucky lady, because I had a wonderful date!

P was "so a'cited" to get to stay up late and take me to "a dance with the big kids".  He wore his tuxedo from Aunt Tiffany's wedding with a red bow tie, and he was very handsome.  He loaned me his red heart necklace, since it was a Valentine's dance.  His dance lessons are paying off, because he was tearing up the dance floor.!

I'll confess, I was doubly lucky, because this guy was my date, too.

When P was busy doing solo dance moves, Daddy A and I had a chance to dance.

Lots of the girls danced with P, and he even posed for a picture with Amanda.  He was quite the ("a'cited") gentleman all evening.

This picture has got to be one of my favorite parts of the dance.  (I'll save this one to look at when P is older and thinks he's too cool to dance with his mommy.)

We left a bit early so P could get to bed at a (semi-)resaonable hour.  Sunday morning he woke up and we got ready for church.  When we arrived, he asked me, "Mommy, is the dance gone?"  He was disappointed that it was over, but he suggested that C might be old enough to come next year so our whole family could dance together.  I hope so, buddy.  I'm looking forward to that!

Winterfest

Every year, the boys' preschool holds a spaghetti dinner fundraiser called Winterfest.  Besides the spaghetti, there are table centerpieces made by each class and live performances from the three year old and four year old classes.

C's group performed a song called "Busy," and the kids all dressed up as different community workers.  There were doctors, moms, policemen... and C wanted to wear a princess dress.  "C," I said, "that's not the best choice for this song."  "Mommy," he replied, "you said to dress like what we want to be when we grow up.  When I grow up, I am going to be a princess!"  I asked him what princesses do, and he replied, "They spin in circles!"  At least he's going for a career path that will make him happy.  :)



C's consolation for the lack of a princess dress was his blue blankie... which he wrapped around his waist like a skirt.  Just call him Linus.  At least he's resourceful!

P's group performed "Tooty Too," a very popular song with his classmates and friends.  It was hard to get pictures from the stage, so this is the best one I have.  The four year olds were happy to sing for the audience, and it was fun to watch them enjoy themselves.

I can't believe how much my boys are growing every day - annual events like this give me opportunitites to reflect on how much they have changed from one year to the next!

WNC Nature Center

While Grandma Paige and Poppa Fred were here visiting at the end of Jaunary, we made our first trip to the Western North Carolina Nature Center. It was a big hit! There were lots of animals to see, and the boys loved going down the "otter slide".

P was quite taken with this "baby turtle", and we stayed by the tank for several minutes visiting.

Among other animals, we saw these two adorable cougars.  :)

The boys also enjoyed playing on this old Farmall tractor.

I enjoyed watching the boys play in the chicken exhibit.  They took turns "hatching" from these large eggs.

Eventually, the boys were worn out from all of their exploration.  C literally couldn't keep his eyes open any longer!

We all enjoyed our trip - this is worth a repeat visit in my book!

Happy (Belated) Birthday, C!

I realize that I am about six weeks late in posting happy birthday wishes to my youngest son on the blog (poor second child!), but better late than never.  (You can rest assured that I verbally celebrated with C on his birthday - and try to celebrate daily - the blessing that he is in our lives.)

I have known for as long as I can remember that I wanted more than one child... Daddy A and I both wanted our kids to grow up with a sibling, and we were thrilled to welcome C into the world three years ago!

P was 22 months old when his younger brother was born, and he jumped right into the role of big brother.  While he has eagerly taught C how to roughhouse and wrestle with the best of them, he is also very considerate of his brother and does his best to look out for him and include him in whatever fun activities he can.

From the time he was born, C has been a voracious eater, and he has a far more adventurous palate than his older brother.  He approaches all of life with great enthusiasm and energy.

In the last few months, C's flair for the dramatic has become more obvious.  We love to see what expression he'll come up with next, and he is so bold in almost every proclamation that he makes!  He has a penchant for dressing up in costume, too.

C, you have made our lives richer than we could have ever imagined.  We love you!

Chase's family birthday celebration

After his Bubble Guppies party with his friends, C opened his birthday presents from the family and then the four of us headed out to a local restaurant for dinner and cake.

C was so excited about his Let's Rock Elmo piano from Grandma Paige and Poppa Fred that he started playing with it before we had it out of the box!

P chose a birthday gift for C this year.  He went to the store and selected a princess snorkel, because "C loves princesses and he loves my orange snorkel, so he will love this!"  He was as excited to give the present to C as C was to open it.  I love watching special moments like that one between my boys! 

C chose our dinner restaurant because he thought it would have "good cake".  He wore his new "mermaid coat" and was more than ready for cake after he ate his pizza.

I got to enjoy another sweet brother moment when C offered to share his cake with P.  For C, offering to share food is an especially big deal!

We had a nice day together.  Watching my boys grow up is a blessing every day!

C's 3rd birthday party!

C is still in his mermaid and princess phase.  He also really really really likes a TV show on Nick Jr. called Bubble Guppies.  For his third birthday party, he requested a Bubble Guppies party, which also satisified his desire for a mermaid party.  Nick Junior had some printable Bubble Guppies party supplies and clever ideas on their website, which was very helpful for quickly pulling things together for a birthday party just a few weeks after Christmas!

Daddy A dropped C and P off at school and headed back home to prep for the party.  When school was over, C and his classmates (and their families) headed down the street to our house for sandwiches on goldfish shaped bread, goldfish, vegetable "sea snacks", and Bubble Guppies cupcakes.

C and P had Bubble Guppies shirts made by Sew Glitzy Studio.  Elizabeth, who runs the shop, was able to get the shirts to our house in time for the party (even though I was way behind in my planning and ordered them later than I would have liked), and they looked great!  The appliques were well done, and she was so pleasant.  I would use her again in a heartbeat!  (She didn't ask me to say any of this; I was just that impressed with the service and the product.)

C had a blast at his party, and I think his friends all had fun, too.  He is such a special boy, and I'm so glad he enjoyed his special day!

Art Show!

One of the really cool features of P's LeapPad is the ability to upload the pictures he takes and the art he creates with the LeapPad to our computer.  It's a paper-free way to document his artistic style over time!  P helped me choose some of his artwork from December and early January, and we've decided to host a virtual art show on the blog.  P provides some insight into each picture.

"This is just where I wrote my name.  I needed to write it so I could put it into my LeapPad book I was writin' about me.  I used red a'cause red's my favorite color."

"I call this 'Train'.  A'cause I drawed a train here.  Trains are somethin' I really like.  When I grow up I will marry Morgan and be a train driver AND a Daddy.  Those will be my two jobs."

"This is a boat train.  It's red 'cause red is still my favorite color."

"This is a worm that got burned by a volcano.  He's black 'cause the hot lava burned him.  He used to be red.  Now he is black but don't worry.  When he goes to the hospital they will fix him an' he will heal and be red again.  He's gonna be okay."

"This is Mommy.  Well, it's Mommy's face.  That's all though.  I didn't draw her body."



"This is the worm.  See?  He's all better so he's red again."

Thanks for stopping by today!  I hope you enjoyed P's virtual art show!