December 2010~~trip down memory lane

Time to look back through the pictures...time to remember the fun of having a 5 month old, and 3 year old...soaking up all the Christmas fun, creating memories and starting traditions..  

And so goes our story...

The days of December, 2010 were filled with laughter, smiles, fun..and yes, pneumonia right at Christmas for both William and Griggs.  But, first, I want to remember the excitement of the month...before getting sick right at Christmas.  

With all his 3 year old excitement, William could hardly contain his joy over the upcoming Christmas!  He kept telling Griggs, who was 5 months, how much fun Christmas would be.  He talked a lot to Griggs about all the decorations we were seeing, all the keepsakes we were making and how Santa came to bring tons of toys and surprises, but best of all, he started telling Griggs about Baby Jesus and how we love Jesus and that He was for Christmas.  At 3, William loved talking about Jesus and Mary and Joseph and how God made Christmas for us.  It will forever echo in my ears, that sweet little 3 year old voice, talking of Baby Jesus to his little brother.  Such a treasure!!  

Other favorites of the month...
Griggs loved baby foods..especially squash!!  He would giggle and kick his little feet when it was time to eat.  We would take turns feeding him, even William would help.  I loved sitting with him in his bouncy, and spooning his food in his adorable little toothless grin.  He took right to the foods, and was such a great eater. Such a blessing!  William also loved to help out by making his own peanut butter sandwiches.  Special to watch him grow and tackle new things.  Since we are always up for new foods, we decided to make sweet potato waffles with William one morning.  It was a hoot!  We had such a mess, but so fun to cook together.  William loved waffles so we thought we would "sneak" in the yummy sweet potato!  He liked them!  And he helped mash the sweet potatoes up and add in and didn't mind at all trying the new waffles.  Sometimes, as with all 3 year olds, we have moments where we are picky and not to willing to try, but if he helps with the cooking, he's more likely to try it!!  So... open up your kitchen, and bring out the fun!!  

We made our little road trip to Dothan to visit my family for a few days and had a great time.  It is always special to me to see my babies in my old crib at my parents.  I am so thankful they saved that crib!  I slept in it as a baby, then Hunter and then Holden!  So, I love piling my boys in that crib and getting fun pictures.  I also love going home for a few days around Christmas.  Seeing my boys around my family, around the Christmas decorations I grew up with and remember.. it's a favorite!!  We also love to drive around Dothan, enjoying all the Christmas lights around town.  I'm happy to spend time doing little things like this with my family.  

One of our family traditions is the annual Tree Farm to cut down our Christmas Tree.  Philip and I started this before we had William, and it is one of our highlights of Christmas.  We bundled up our boys, and drove up to DeFuniak Springs to Strickland Tree Farm.  It was such a fun day!  William was so cute, running from tree to tree, saying "this one, no this one, no maybe this one" before we found our tree.  Griggs was along for the ride, and was our little angel!  He slept most of the time.  But we did get some great pictures together at the tree farm.  Those pictures are some of my favorites...watching us grow through the years with each visit to the tree farm.  It was also a special time, having William help decorate the tree while Griggs snuggled nearby on his lounger pillow.  He was amazed at the lights.  He'd stare, kick his legs and giggle.  I loved the decorating time!!  

We also had fun making little Gingerbread houses together, somehow getting icing everywhere!  We used graham crackers, icing, and gumdrops.  It was fun watching William discover how to stand the crackers together and how the icing made everything stick.  And I of course had Griggs on the hip, keeping him in the process!  William had fun painting ceramic tree ornaments for us and his grandparents.  He really took to the crafts and keepsakes this year.  I love these early paintings, the messy, and unique ornaments.  I love capturing moments through handmade projects!  

William really loved crawling in Griggs' crib with him, to either comfort him and sing songs or bring toys to "teach" him how to play.  I loved watching their little relationship unfold.  I loved how much they both were drawn to the other.  And, when Griggs would be taking his morning nap, William would entertain himself with "trucks on parade" or "farm time".  His imagination was unstoppable.  He played so well and was adorable to watch.  He chatted away to the little people and made the animal sounds.  I snapped pictures, took videos, jotted notes, anything to help capture these sweet moments.  I can remember many conversations of thanks and praise to God for these 2 boys.  God was pouring out his love to me through my sons, and I wanted to capture his love, wanted to shout from the rooftop so all could know.  I loved settling down with William for his afternoon nap, sharing a Bible story and answering his questions.  We would pray together and sing hymns as we drifted off to sleep.  I pray daily they always know God, feel his love and seek his face.  

A huge milestone for us...1st night in the crib, in the nursery...not right next to mommy and daddy's bed...
Yes, from Day 1, Griggs slept in a bassinet next to our bed, and some night, in our bed with us.  He would nap peacefully in his crib, pack-n-play or bassinet.  He would have slept in the nursery in the HUGE crib all night from early on, IF I would have let him.  But, with nursing, and just with him being our little baby, we were content to have him in our room, in the bassinet right next to us.  It what worked for us.  We moved William at 4 months, but with Griggs, I begged for one more month.  So, Philip and I agreed we would keep him our room until December.  I knew it was "time" for the crib, but it was a big step for me.  I loved having him right at my finger tips as we slept. So, finally, about a week before Christmas, I held him and rocked him until he fell asleep.  Then I sang one more song to him and gently placed him to sleep in his crib.  (12/19/10). He looked sooooo tiny in the huge crib.  I sat in his room for a while, praying for a peaceful night and praising God for his beautiful gift.  I watched my little angel sleep...like it was the first night all over again...watching him in awe of God.  I know it may seem silly that I, at 5 months, was so emotional about him being in his crib at night.  But, I love the little infant age of the bassinet, right next to our bed.  He slept great all night in there, or in our bed with us.  I knew he would sleep just fine in his crib.  I was not worried about the transition, just not ready.  God covered me in a blanket of peace, and I felt his presence more than ever that night.  We all woke the next morning and I couldn't wait to cuddle with my snuggle bug!  (side note, while he was in our room, he was not keeping us awake.. if he did wake, I'd just pull him in bed with us, and we'd go right back to sleep).  And on that note, I was also waking with William at night (potty training, dreams, nightmares).  So I'd just rotate through the beds, but not lacking for sleep.  I'm not a fan of "cry it out" or "no babies in the bed" or "sit by the bed" style..  They are young, little babies and they need cuddling and hugging.  There is no harm in my book for co-sleeping when needed.  They will grow up and outgrow it.  You will have nights of totally uninterrupted sleep, with no tiny babies to cuddle.  I made the choice to rock my baby to sleep, cuddle and snuggle.  Yes, my babies both slept with us as tiny infants, and I loved every moment!!  

With Christmas coming, we took the boys to see Santa and capture the "Christmas Santa" picture.  William was quite proud to see Santa.  Griggs just went right along.  It's a fun and sweet tradition to see Santa with kids.  Their little innocent smiles and excitement is priceless.  Keep childhood traditions with your family and share in their excitement.  It's a moment to not take for granted.  I love how William soaks up life.  I can see Griggs is doing the same, and that he loves his brother like no other.  I love watching them together, knowing the lifetime ahead holds so much for them together.  

I decided to start doing a kids Christmas Party for the boys and their friends this year.  It was a ton of fun!!  I love doing crafts and painting and fun activities with kids, and William was so excited to have friends over to make ornaments and decorate cookies!  We set up stations around the house for all the crafts.  We made reindeer prints, gingerbread house cards, reindeer food, angels, noodle wreaths, impression ornaments and decorated cookies!  It was great!!  Especially when SANTA himself showed up!!  Ho Ho Ho!!  All the kids (well most) loved seeing Santa and sharing their wish list with the Jolly Ole Elf himself!  Times like this make me smile, when we open our home to friends to share fun and excitement together.  It is a tradition with the boys I look forward to doing every year.  I'm happy to have friends over and host parties!  So, thank you to all our friends that came to our first Kids Christmas Party!!  


So, as you can tell, our December was full of fun and special times...and this post doesn't cover Christmas with grandparents, and our Christmas Eve and Morning Family time!!  Stay tuned..