Christmas Afternoon At The Park

On Christmas Day afternoon we headed to the park to enjoy the sunshine and let the boys ride, romp and run.  We had tons of rain earlier in the week and getting outside hadn't happened in quite a few days.  We took Ryan's bike and both helicopters (plasma cars).  Ryan decided to ride his bike and Seth took a ride on his helicopter.  It was so fun for both kiddos and this was our first walk without a stroller.  Seth rode his little heart out all around the park like a big boy.  He can really scoot around on the helicopter.  Such fun!

Merry Christmas!!!!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours! 

Making Cookies For Santa

I told Ryan we would make some cookies for Santa so on Christmas Eve day we did just that.  We used cookie cutters to make candy cane shapes and stocking shapes but they didn't turn out perfectly.

Once we cooked them, they all melded together to make a big blobs.  Oh well. He Ryan didn't care and we knew Santa wouldn't care either!

He was so excited to ice the cookies and put sprinkles on them!

Final products!

Catching Up With Friends

I met Jennifer and Jordan for dinner last Tuesday night to catch up.  Jordan's been living in Chicago for a while now and it'd been about a year since we'd seen her.  It was great to catch up, even if it was a short visit!

Christmas in Farmville

We celebrated Christmas in Farmville the weekend before Christmas.  Here's a few pictures from our visit.

 

Daddy's 2 Weeks Being Gone, part 2

The weekend that Lee was gone I flew with Poppy and CC to Georgia to visit our family.  It was my Aunt Elaine and Uncle Bobby's 50th wedding anniversary and there was a party to celebrate.  The boys stayed back in Wilmington with Nana and GG for the long weekend.  I got a break mid two weeks without Daddy and got to visit family too.  Win Win! 
Looking at the Cape Fear River from the plane.

Meeting sweet Tucker for the first time.  It had been so long since I'd held a newborn!

My cousins Heather, Felicia and I.

Back home, FaceTiming with Daddy.  We missed him so much!!

While I was gone, Seth started coming down with a stomach bug.  He wouldn't eat and had thrown up a time or two.  On this Monday, the plan was for both kids to be in their Christmas program at school but Seth couldn't go since he was sic.  Ryan represented for us though.  He did a great job!

Seth's stomach bug turned worse on Tuesday.  He wouldn't eat or drink and had lost a bit of weight.  Seth's doctor thought it best that we head to the hospital Tuesday night for him to get fluids.  So, off we went.  Nana and GG who had left on Monday had to turn around and come back on Tuesday night to stay with Ryan.  They are true sports and really helped us out more than we can say. Seth was sick little guy.  He was quite pitiful and handled the hospital well.  He slept all night and didn't give me an ounce of grief that night.  He got a bit restless on Wednesday when he was feeling better and wanted move around and play.  We ended up staying about 22 hrs total.  Thankful for great healthcare!

Killing time in the hospital.  Trying to entertain this guy in a closed room with very little toys with him connected to an IV proved to be interesting!

When we got home on Wednesday afternoon we came home to a sick Ryan with a 101.3 temp.  Boy, I wasn't ready to handle that too.  Luckily it was just a random fever and didn't amount to any real sickness. 

Daddy's 2 Weeks Being Gone, part 1

Lee had to go to Phoenix, Arizona for 2 weeks for work training.  It was not the best time for him to be gone for our family, (not that it's ever a good time) considering he would be gone for most of the Christmas season.  I was slightly afraid....I mean I was going to be flying solo for almost 2 weeks, with a some help at times.  The kids are both in very demanding stages and the thoughts of handling it by myself for so long were daunting.  But, it went ok! 

Here are some pics from the first week.

Saying bye to Daddy.

Making a gingerbread house with Ryan.

Ryan was the line leader and brought snack the day before his birthday.  It's a big deal at school to be the line leader for the day!

We met up with the Coxs for dinner on Ryan's birthday at Chick-fil-a.

 

One morning the boys were playing and Seth came flying into the kitchen asking me for help and wanting me to follow him.  Ryan had put all of their stuffed animals into Seth's crib and gotten in it.  Seth wanted me to put him in there with him so they could play.  They had a ball!

Impromptu hugs before we left for school. 

Ryan was so tired one day I told him he could nap.  We was passsssssedddd out. 

Practicing Writing Letters

Ryan's been practicing his writing this week.  I think he's doing pretty well for a 3 yr old, almost 4 yrs old.  We do a little bit at a time to  keep his interest and have been slowly working on it for a while.  Y is his least favorite letter so far and I had to do the dots where he could trace it so he would write it.  He can write about 1/2 the alphabet so far without having to trace and I'm hopeful that he'll be able to write the rest in the next couple of month.  The letters that have diagonal marks seem the be the hardest for him (X, Y, V, N, etc). 

Holiday Train Expo

Last night we headed to the Holiday Train Expo. It has become part of our holiday traditions. We have really enjoyed watching the boys get so excited to see the trains and the Christmas display that they have. Last night was so fun and the boys really enjoyed it. They even made themselves at home and laid down on the floor and just watched. We will probably go back before the Christmas season is over and enjoy it again!  I can report however, that there were no tears upon leaving.  When Ryan was Seth's age, just having turned 2, he cried all the way home because he was so sad to leave the exhibit.

There were a couple of hands on things the kids could do and Ryan loved that. He did them over and over.

I tried to get them to both look for a picture but it was a no go. I mean really, did I think they wouldn't be turning their heads all around to see the trains fly by behind them?

Asheville Trip

A few weeks ago we took a much needed vacation without the kids to Asheville.  Lee had never been and it had been 10 yrs since I had been so we were looking forward to seeing the sites.  Upon arrival we headed to the Grove Park Inn to see the beautiful view and have a cocktail.  It was a beautiful day, perfect for sitting on the terrace. 

Friday we decided to check out the Blue Ridge Parkway, although a lot of it was closed due to a rock slide.  We stopped a few times to check to the views.  Sorry there's a lot of selfies, but it's the only way we could take pics of both of us together.

We had tickets to do the Candlelight Biltmore on Friday night.  It was beautiful!!

Saturday we headed back to the Biltmore to see the grounds and gardens, tour the winery and see Antler Village.  We had so much fun just taking our time spending the day at the Biltmore, having so sort of schedule at all.  We had such a fun trip!

Many THANKS to Poppy and CC for watching the boys for us while we enjoyed some much needed time alone!