Christmas 2009

What a wonderful Christmas we had this year. So different than last year. Last year we had one little guy and a little girl that was still in my belly. Grady did not totally understand what was going on. This year we have two little ones who are so active and busy! As much as Grady "got" the whole presents thing... so did Finley. She was more than happy to rip presents and grab at the toys.

Ya Ya had spent the night and Christmas Eve and was waiting with us to watch Grady come down the stairs and see all of the wonderful presents that Santa had brought the night before. When I was growing up my Grampa and Grama were always at my house when I woke up and I love having that memory. I'm so glad that Grady and Finley can have that with their YaYa.

The hit of Christmas for Grady was Elmo Encore Live. One of my favorite gifts that Finley got was the Madam Alexander Baby Huggums doll. It's just like the one I had while I was growing up. Good ole Ya Ya.

O Christmas Tree

We went and picked out our Christmas tree today! I cannot even begin to tell you how happy I am that we are getting it so early!

Grady was very intrigued by the whole process. With two little ones in tow, we decided that it was too difficult to cut down our own tree this year. So, we went to a local garden center and picked out our tree. David said it was worth every penny. In a couple of years we will go back to cutting down our own tree, but for now this method worked just fine!

And in true typical Finley fashion ... she slept through the whole thing!

Helping DaDa

David spent a large part of the day working outside trying to get our leaves under control. There are MILLIONS of leaves in our yard.

Grady went out and helped David for over an hour. David even let Grady try to rake the lawn.

After a little while Finley and I joined the boys outside. It was such a nice morning spent outside as a family.

More Family Pictures

Here are a few more pictures from our family photo shoot.

All I Wanted...

So, all I wanted while we were on vacation is to have a nice family picture taken. Of course, we waited until Friday afternoon to take pictures so we basically only had one shot. Needless to say, we did not get one good shot of the entire family. So, here are the pictures that we did get

My Boys

What a wonderful joy it was to watch my two boys play on the sand at the ocean. It filled my heart with joy! To hear Grady squeal with delight was worth the 13 hours in the car and all of the anxiety that came along with traveling with two children under the age of two!

First Time

David took Grady into the ocean for the first time shortly after we arrived at our Topsail house. He loved it so much. He squealed and giggled. He had no fear and would have ran into the water if we would have let him. I hope he always loves the ocean like he did this year.

Daddy's Boy

I love this picture I took of Grady while he was cuddling and playing with David. He has just started wearing David's hats around the house for extended periods of time. It's so cute! He always puts them on backwards! He's just too cute for words!

Grady's First Hair Cut

Today, we took Grady for his first hair cut! It was long over due. I kept making excuses why we had not cut it. I was afraid his curls would go away, I did not want to cut it until Mathias got to see it... but ultimately, I could just not handle it.

So, in preparation for our vacation at the beach and for the start of school, I bit the bullet and had it cut.

David met us at the salon. We were both really unsure how Grady would do. He tends to be a bit of a character... and then again he does tend to surprise us. This was definitely one of those times. I had been been talking to Grady all day about how he was going to get his hair cut and that Kaylee was going to take scissors and "snip, snip" his hair. Maybe that helped.

We put David in the chair and Grady sat on his lap and he did not move a muscle. He was so good and never fussed! It was as if he had had his hair cut 10 times! What a character my little guy is!

His hair looks great! His curls are still there... it's exactly what I wanted! He does look much older now... but what should I expect... he is almost TWO!

My Boys....

These boys make my heart melt! I love these two boys... and I love watching them together. I know that my life is more complete because of my family and because of these two boys.

Pictures by the Lake

While at the MCS Class of 89 reunion with Mathias, we took a few minutes and went down the water to take a few pictures. I love the picture of David walking towards the water with our two babies.

Camp with Two Kids ...

We packed up the family and drove down to our friends cabin in the southerntier. What an adventure that was. Poor David. I'm not sure if we could have fit much more in the truck. I packed probably 15 outfits for each of the kids plus, diapers, blankets, toys, etc.

Finley was an angel. She slept great and really enjoyed being held and spoiled during the weekend. Grady had so much fun with the four other kids that were there! Unfortunately, he did not sleep well at all. David spent a lot of the weekend laying down with Grady and trying to get him to sleep. Grady is our child who NEVER sleeps in our bed... well he was so tired that he slept with us both nights. How fun was that? The two of us and Grady in a full-size bed! There were many times when David and I took elbows and feet to the head and ribs!

What an adventure it was... can't wait to see what NC is going to be like.

More from Strong Museum

Here are a few more pictures from Strong.  

Strong Museum

We met up with some of our friends yesterday at the Strong Museum.  This was our first time taking Grady (and Finley) to the museum.  

What a great time we had!  When you first enter the museum they have a giant aquarium that covers a wall.  Grady loved it.  He could have stayed there all day.  

We spent two and a half hours there and after that we were all pooped.  

Finley slept for part of the museum, but she did wake up and give everyone  a few smiles.  

What a great place. I'm sure we are going to be spending a lot of time there over the next several years.