Highlights of the Season...so far

It has been SUPER busy around here...but we are making it through the season with most of our sanity intact. Thus far in the Christmas season we have learned:

1. Even bears need baths.

2. When you go downtown to the big tree lighting, you can never be too warm.


Or maybe you can.


3. Downtown Cumberland is very pretty at night - especially during the Christmas season.


4. Putting icicles on a steep, slippery roof may not be worth the trouble. But it is alot easier to do it barefoot.


(Which reminds me of the quote of the season by my husband: "I'd rather have freezing feet than die.")

5. A two-year-old would rather decorate herself than the tree.


6. Holiday pictures are a nightmare. It is inevitable that you will have the famous "picker" picture:


A good picture of each child alone:



But experience the torture of trying to get a good picture of both of them together:

Kallie Turns 2!

It's absolutely amazing how quickly time goes by. Word cannot begin to express how much joy and laughter (and mischief and frustration) Kallie has brought to our lives. She is a precious God-sent gift and our prayer everyday is that she will grow up to love and serve Him (and be a good big sister :) Enjoy a few pictures from her little birthday party as well as our (somewhat sad) rendition of Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, sweet Kallie - we love you!

LOVES her new doll stroller.








(Note: Sorry about the jerky camera movement...I just knew she was going to touch the candle flames!)



A couple other random pictures of my cute girl.

Obsessed with shoes at an early age.


Sharing secrets...or tips on how to get by with things.

Randomness

It has been a BUSY fall - here are the latest pictures of the girls :)

Kallie has started to "help" with the laundry:


Her newest trick (which I was greeted with when I went to get her up the other morning):


Our bathtub lover:


Playing hide and seek at an early age. Unfortunately, her inability to move limits her hiding places.


We had a Celebration of Life party at church last weekend as a Halloween alternative. Kallie was a princess (though she couldn't wear her crown as she still has very little hair)...


...and Angelyn was a doctor. We were given a pair of memento scrubs when she was born and they fit perfectly!


Kallie intently studied the pinata to try to figure out how she could get some candy out of it.


My friend, Emily, took fall pictures of the girls last week. Kallie LOVES having her picture made, so she was a happy little chick. Check out Emily's website, www.cerdaphoto.com, to see more of her amazing work!

Angelyn Talks

Don't worry, mom - I'm sure her first word will be "Wheezie."

Bowling with Kallie

Monday morning, we took Kallie bowling for the first time.

(One quick complaint: what happened to bowling for $1.50?? Seriously...$20 for one game of bowling for three people - and one of them isn't even two years old yet!!)

Now...back to the fun stuff. Kallie must be the cutest little bowler ever. As ugly as bowling shoes are, she carried them off with style.



Kallie's bowl rolled down the lane at lightning speed...


Final scores: (I admit...my ball went off the bumpers several times)


And what did Angelyn do while we bowled??


Now for the best part. I don't think I could've gotten a funnier video if I had tried:

Our OCD Child

Kallie has become increasingly obsessed with being clean. A couple of weeks ago, we noticed her studying her feet. It took a few minutes before we could figure out what she was doing...but then we saw. She was cleaning in between her toes. It's nice having a kid who wants things so spic and span, but it can be really, REALLY time consuming cleaning every little speck off of her - especially at meal time. Anyway, here is a video to showcase our daughter's newest talent.



Here are a couple other random pictures of Kallie.

She likes to take clothes off...but they tend to get stuck.




You can't really see it in the picture, but Kallie is so excited because she unhooked her diaper before I got in there to get her up for the day.


One of my favorite pictures ever taken of her.


A recent picture of Angelyn (taken October 4th.) She's doing good - growing longer every day. She is such a good and happy baby. God has surely blessed us :)

Cooking With Kallie

The other night, Reuben and I decided to throw Kallie into cooking. And what better thing to start with than CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES!!!

She was VERY excited to be helping out. Watch out, Rachael Ray!




Mixing it up with daddy with a Kallie-sized spoon.



This girl has her mama's heart. She knows where the good stuff is!

A Long Overdue Vacation

Last week, we took a much needed vacation to North Carolina. Reuben was lucky enough to go back home in July for youth camp. However, due to the pregnancy, I wasn't able to go and had not been back home since Christmas. Nine months is a long time to go without seeing friends!!

So we set out last Wednesday night after church. We decided to drive a few hours to break up the trip so the girls, specifically Kallie, wouldn't have a hard time being bored in the car. Before we got to New Market, VA, Kallie slept about 45 minutes in the car. Consequently, when we got to our room and settled in to go to sleep at 11:30, she got a second bout of energy and refused to go to sleep until about 2:30 am! She finally fell asleep in the bed with us...sleeping completely sideways (unfortunately, I had her feet).

After a very restful 3 1/2 hours of sleep and a not-so-hearty breakfast, we set out for Natural Bridge. The rain nixed our plans for seeing the bridge, but we did visit the caverns, which Kallie loved. The rest of the trip down to NC was good - Kallie was exhausted, so she snoozed away!

Our first stop was to see Papaw so he could meet Angelyn and see Kallie, who he hadn't seen since Christmas. He was amazed at how much she had grown!


Friday night, Reuben and I left Kallie with mom and dad and went to a Bed & Breakfast in Pilot Mountain. It was so nice (and weird) to have some time to ourselves. When we got there, we were greeted by one of the resident fawns that the owners have raised since birth.


This was the beautiful cabin we stayed in:


Children aren't allowed on the grounds, but they let us slide since Angelyn is just a baby and no one was staying near us that she could disrupt. The one stipulation was that we would sneak her in and out of the cabin. Reuben's good, huh?


Really...could you deny this cutie?


This was the view of Pilot Mountain from the parking lot of the B & B. It was just gorgeous!!


I got really slack on taking pictures, but we had such a nice time. We got to see alot of our friends, Reuben got to play some tennis and softball, and the girls got a little more spoiled by Gramps and Wheezie (love you, mom!).

Just a couple of other random pictures:

Kallie & Angelyn with cousin Dylan. Kallie really had a good time with him. She's still not saying a whole lot (that's understandable, anyway), but she said "Dylan" this morning when I was going through the pictures!!


I hate that this picture is blurry. Kallie has the piano master form down, doesn't she?


Just too cute not to include.



Kallie, who doesn't do well with change, was especially excited when we got home. As we turned onto our road, she started clapping her hands and squealing from excitement. Apparently, there's no place like home.