Rainy Day Fun!

Well, we are on Day 3 of rain and loving every minute of it! Today's fun activity was a trip to Chuck E. Cheese. Crazy? Yeah, I thought so too and was prepared to leave there with a few more gray hairs. Nope, they weren't busy at all and we had a great time! Peyton got to play with his best friend Carson, and Jayden got to play with his big brother.  The four year olds enjoyed the toddler area just as much as Jayden (if not more).  Jayden had the chance to race cars and ride in seats with his big brother, too! There was a virtual reality ride that made the kids feel like they were flying... Their faces were priceless! I caught it on camera because it was so cute.  All in all, we had a good time. :-)

Say What?!

This past 3-day weekend has been huge for Jayden's vocabulary!  He has popped out so many new words and gestures - we have really enjoyed being home with him to experience it!  Our little buddy must have decided that he's done listening and ready to start talking.  Here are some of his latest expressions...

Mommy
Daddy
Brother (bah-ber)
Apple (bapple)
Hat
Ball (bo)
Cracker (cack-er)
Peyton (Da-deh)
Jersey (jer-cee)
All Done (ah-do)

Jayden is a 'Whale'!

Today was Jayden's first day in the toddler classroom. He has graduated from the Crawley Crabs to the Wobbly Whales.  In his new classroom he will get to eat at a table sitting on a chair, sleep on a mat, play outside for recess, go to chapel on Wednesdays, and play with "big kid" toys.  While it is bittersweet that our baby is getting bigger, it is so exciting that he is doing so well! He made a very smooth transition today and we couldn't be happier!

Happy New Year!

We would like to wish all of our friends, family, and followers a very Happy New Year!  We hope that 2013 brings you health, happiness, blessings, miracles, safety, and prosperity.  A new year means new beginnings and new opportunities.  Here's to a great year!

As we wrap up our Christmas celebrations, we have so much to be thankful for!  I am most thankful for Jesus and the eternal life we've been given in exchange for His.  I am also thankful for my two beautiful boys and my husband.  After the year we've had, God has been so good to us that we can celebrate together as a family!

However, as I read through everyone's Facebook posts or email updates it saddens me that the focal point of Christmas for most has changed to the material side of things.  I realize this has been a long time coming between the "Black Friday" deals slowly creeping earlier each year and the new wave of technology that has everyone mesmerized.  Nevertheless, I keep reading posts about how good the kids made out with their presents and how fun the new video game system is and it's a good thing their kids have all their new toys since they aren't feeling well, etc etc.  Very few people said anything about Jesus' birthday and the real reason for Christmas.  The whole point of my little rant is that I couldn't wait to post pictures from our Christmas celebrations until I realized that most of them involved opening presents.  We have worked very hard for our kids to enjoy the hope and wonder of Santa and Christmas while also knowing that Jesus is the real reason for the season.  Therefore, I do not want to fit into that mold that so many have fallen into.  I have posted a few pictures below for all of you, but also limited them as to not fit into the commercial aspect of "Presents, presents, presents!"

We hope everyone's Christmas was wonderful!!

M & M's!

Jayden usually looks just like his Daddy, but I think he

looks like Uncle Jarrod in this picture!

I'm ready to say something...

Yuck, bugs!

Wayne was reading to the friends but we had to prep him

to head back to the North Pole with Santa 

Getting Ready for Christmas!

While we technically started celebrating Christmas over Thanksgiving break at Grammy Pammy's house, we officially kicked off this Christmas on Saturday night by having a party with some friends!  Of course, we were too busy having fun with our adult white elephant gift exchange and chasing the wild kids around the house to take any pictures.  Some of the highlights were Michelle's amazing coleslaw salad made with Ramen noodles and the grill light gift that everyone wanted.  The kids each got to open a character cup as gifts, and Carson brought books for all of his friends.  Prior to our friends arriving, we took some family pictures that turned out pretty well!  You'll be able to see that Peyton's Christmas spirit clearly arrived in the form of the sillies.  :)

Me and my two little boys!

Me with all of my boys!

Hubba Hubby!

Update on Wayne...

Wayne has been quite a busy elf... Peyton wakes up every morning so excited to look for him!  He's gotten quite a kick out of what our elf is going to do next, and we can't wait for him to see some of the shenanigans that Wayne has in store for him. 

This was the first morning... I wonder if Wayne moonlights with the circus during the off season!

I made brownies Thursday night to have a sweet treat for the weekend.  Wayne wanted to "test" them out before everyone else woke up!

Saturday morning, Wayne was just "hanging around" when we woke up

Saturday night, we wonder if Wayne needed a ride to the North Pole and asked Mickey for a ride on his magic Choo-Choo.  Either way, they were having some fun!

This morning we woke up to this... We are thinking that Wayne would like to be our tree topper instead of the star!