Christmas in Hickory

The final stop on our “Christmas Tour” was to Hickory to see Oma & Opa, Aunta, Uncle Mark, Madeline and Audrey. We had our 3rd Christmas morning and the kids opened presents carefully scattering each individual piece of every game and toy from one end of the house to the other!

Madeline got her first bike from Oma & Opa (we brought Isaac’s from Wake Forest). We took a trip over to the high school to try them out. Both kids did great riding all by themselves!

And here are the two reasons they couldn’t ride their bikes at home in the driveway. These two thought they needed bikes too!

Their new favorite game…Don’t Break the Ice!

Isaac also enjoyed playing store with Madeline’s magnet girl and her clothes. But who wouldn’t want to play after Oma decided to draw a clothesline in marker on her refrigerator door. (Aunta and I both agreed we’d have been grounded for a month for writing on Oma’s refrigerator when we were kids….my how the rules change for grandkids!)

Two best buddies (although I'm not sure if that's a hug or if she's choking him)

 

Lucas was excited to eat breakfast at the big kid bar with his big brother! This was also the day that Isaac decided to wear his pajamas all day.

Here are the boys at a visit to Neenie’s house.

I have a picture of Isaac that looks just like this from when he was a baby too. They love to watch the cars out her front door!

And just some brotherly love and hugs!!

The kids played hard and slept great on the cots Oma brought home from her school. The adults even found some time for Jenga and Euchre before they passed out from exhaustion every night! We had a great time with Oma & Opa and the gang in Hickory and can’t wait to visit again soon.

Christmas 2011

When I was a kid, I remember my little sister waking me up at the crack of dawn on Christmas morning. So when I woke up this Christmas to find all of my boys were still asleep at 7:30 I couldn’t believe it. I waited a half hour before I couldn’t stand it anymore. I went and woke Lucas up for his first Christmas and then put him in bed with his big brother so he could do the little sibling honors of waking up his big brother on Christmas. My two boys went full steam ahead from that point on.

Lucas and Daddy opening his stocking

Isaac and his headlamp

Isaac helping Wripley with her stocking

Lucas opening Super Grover. He looks so excited!

Our little fireman

The boys with the train table that Santa brought them.

After opening presents, we headed down to Aunt RaRa and Aunt Cindy’s for breakfast.

Wripley got to spend some time with her friends Cooper and Griffin on Christmas too!

The rest of the day was spent playing with toys, visiting with neighbors and just relaxing. It was pack full of fun, family and friends. Just the way a Christmas should be.

Christmas Fun

It was another very busy day in Fayetteville with Nana and Boppa. This morning, Isaac helped Nana decorate a gingerbread house.

This does not look like decorating you two!

Down to business…

The finished product…

If you haven’t figured it out yet, Isaac is a little obsessed with the garbage truck and garbage men. So much so, that last week we gave Christmas treats to the garbage men that collect trash in our neighborhood and we don’t even get trash service! Evidently Isaac has been watching them much closer than I thought. Today, he and Boppa played garbage man on the golf cart. I love how he stops to give Wripley a kiss! As you watch the video, make sure you notice that Isaac stands on one foot every time he gets back on the “truck”. He says it’s how they do it, and he’s exactly right. I love that he pays attention to the little details!

It was a fun and busy day. Lucas even had to get a quick nap in before dinner. They both went to bed without a peep tonight. I’m sure they’ll be ready for another fun day bright and early tomorrow!

Calling All Cars

Nana and Boppa gave the boys a sweet new ride for Christmas! They got to open it a few days early so they could enjoy it in the 70 degree NC Christmas weather. They ran the battery dead on the first day. 

Isaac got better at driving too (in the video he drives like mommy and daddy in first gear in Aunta's saturn), so Lucas no longer needs a hans device to ride with his brother!! 

Christmas Lights

It was 65 degrees in Fayetteville, NC last night. Not really Christmas feeling weather, but we decided to have some Christmas fun in the nice warm weather! Nana and Boppa took us to Arnette Park to see the Christmas light display. They had a huge walk through display that the kids loved!

We rode the train…

Walked along the decorated trail…

and enjoyed the Christmas music while the boys danced around.

No Santa here!!

Then we ended the night with a roasted marshmallow treat!

Lucas Meets Santa

Let’s just say he wasn’t a big fan…

We went to the mall last week and Isaac didn’t want to sit on Santa’s lap. Today, I resorted to bribing him. His instructions, “sit on Santa’s lap with Lucas, don’t cry, tell him what you both want for Christmas and then you can ride the carousel”. Next time, I’ll add “smile for the camera”.

For the record, he followed his instructions to the letter. So he got to ride the carousel.

Lucas liked the carousel much better than Santa!

Silly Puppy

Wripley has gotten used to having us all at home during the day. She’s finally adjusted her nap schedule and she’s no longer dragging around the house by the end of the day. The first week or so she kept looking at me like “why are you people still here? It’s my “me” time!” Now she joins us for our daily routine!

Her friend Lucas make sure to drop her some snacks at every meal. We didn’t realize it until she went to the vet and had gained 5 pounds!

Last week she claimed Isaac’s chair for story time before naps.

I think she’s starting to like having us around!

My Town

During Lucas’ naps last week Isaac and I rolled out the long paper and made a town for his matchbox cars. Some of the places he has me draw in his town: the dump, McDonalds, Harris Teeter, Chefanese (what he calls the Japanese Restaurant where the chefs cook at your table), a gas station, and a police station.

He would play for hours with his town, but “Little Godzilla” wakes up and takes over.

So we build a new town almost every day!

Comedian

Evidently no one is funnier than daddy...

Pullen Park

It was 72 degrees and cloudy today in Raleigh. We decided to take full advantage of the warm December day and check out the new and improved Pullen Park. Shannon and our newest little friend Charlotte came along and we had a great time.

The boys enjoyed climbing around like Spiderman…

We took a ride on the carousel…

Lucas thought he was big stuff too…

We also took two trips around the park on the train. Doesn’t Charlotte look excited about her first train ride?!?

Isaac and Lucas got to experience a “first” too…a tire swing. They thought it was pretty great. This picture also tells you a lot about little Lucas. He’s 11 months old today, but don’t let that fool you. He can do anything his big brother can, and as you can see from the picture he can do it better!

Not caught by the camera….the duck that chased Isaac out of the grass. I don’t think I’ve laughed that hard in a long time, and I know I’ve never seen a duck chase a kid like that until today. It was just like the cartoons. That duck straightened his neck, put his head down and pointed his beak straight at him like a spear and came running! Isaac did good to follow Shannon’s directions without question, “run Isaac, run!” He turned and ran immediately…and it appears he has some pretty good speed in those little legs because that duck was on a mission. Isaac thought the duck chasing him was funny (thank goodness) and he was right it really was!

We had a fun time hanging out at the park today making the most of the warm weather while it hangs around! Thanks Shannon and Charlotte for joining us!

Trash Heap

The boys and I have done a little exploring during our first few weeks at home together. This week, we ventured over to the North Wake Landfill District Park. Yes, I said Landfill Park.

I’d seen it listed online so when we drove by the sign last week I decided we should check it out. Once you get past the fact that you’re technically in a landfill (I will tell you that I didn’t let Lucas eat the mulch here), it’s really a great park! The boys and I went on Wednesday, and we had so much fun we decided to take daddy back on Saturday.

Isaac and Daddy on the spider web at the playground…

Lucas’ favorite part is the bells. He likes to play them loud, and to no surprise Isaac likes to help!

Today we noticed a sign that led to the top of the landfill hill that said “overlook trail”. We decided to check it out and made the hike to the top of Mt. Trash. It was a nice walk and the view from the top was amazing!

Smoke free parks…my favorite!! Don’t mind the fact that you’re walking on who knows how many years of trash, just stay on the trail folks!

This just shows the first hill. You round the curve and keep going. Isaac walked the whole way up and back!

You could see downtown Raleigh from the top.

Isaac brought his “binoculars” so he could see extra far…

Yes, it’s a bit strange, a park in a landfill. But what a great use of space. Beautiful, peaceful, and a fun place to play…all on top of a heap of trash!!

So far we’ve managed to find play space in a cemetery and now in a landfill. Who knows what the weeks to come will bring!!