Sometimes love hurts...

Curious about the title? Let me start with last Monday. I was pushing Noah on the swing when Wyatt zoomed between us and Noah came back, slammed right into the side of Wyatt's head, knocking him totally off his feet. Without a thought, I dove for Wyatt, putting my hand out to stop Noah, picked up Wyatt, turned around and to have my nose smashed by a still swinging Noah- guess I only slowed him down. I heard a horrible crunching sound and was momentarily blinded by pain. All three of us are now crying (Noah, because by big old nose bruised his back!). Noah and Wyatt quickly recovered and returned to playing, while my nose swelled up and my whole face ached. Thankfully, I have a fairly prominent nose and most of the damage was done towards the tip so I did not suffer any black eyes. I'm not sure if I broke it (I could still breath) but it still hurts. Maybe I just smashed up all the cartilage in it. Last night while I was dressing Noah, he swung his arm around and whacked me right in the nose and sent a searing pain through my whole head. The moral of the story: little boys are harder to break than their parents are. Tuesday was Daddy Joe's funeral. Below is the eulogy Greg gave. He did an awesome job and I am very proud of him for how he honored Daddy Joe. We had to take Wyatt with us because he woke up that morning with the beginnings of pink eye. I gave him my homeopathic pink eye preventer drops that work really well if you catch it early. After two doses, though, Wyatt got ahold of the bottle and broke it. By that point his eyes looked okay. Wednesday night I was pulled out of my Bible study at church because Wyatt had fallen head first into the corner of a bookshelf in child care. She said he had a huge goose egg on his head. I told her he already had a small one there from a fall he took on Tues. (picture on the left, holding ice to his boo boo) and asked her if he was upset and needed comforting. She replied that he was fine and went right back to playing but she thought with a bump that big he might need some tylenol. I told her if it wasn't bothering him then he didn't need anything. She looked a little aprehensive. He was fine and that night at home he hit his head on something else and got a matching bump on the onther side. Gotta be even right? By Thursday his eyes were starting to look gooey again but my local store did not have the drops I like. I also began feeling a little under the weather that day too. Did I mention Greg flew out of town immediately following the funeral and was gone until the wee hours of Sat morning? Friday morning I woke up, well I tried to but my eyes were gooed shut. So I took Wyatt to the doctor that morning, got a prescription for $60 drops and used them on both he and I (shhhh, don't tell my doctor). Since then, I made it a point to find my herbal eyes drops. By friday I was beginning to feel really sick. That night I had both boys ready for bed by eight. Noah went running to his bed, tripped and fell face first into the bunkbed ladder. He is much more dramatic than Wyatt and required cuddles, Mr. Bump and a lot of kisses on his purpling cheek. Since then I have been really sick. I think I have some sort of virus I probably got from Noah- the kind that gives a toddler a runny nose for a few days and makes an adult feel like walking death for two weeks. Because of it, my pink eye won't totally clear up. I will post more pictures later tonight when I have more time. So much for more time. Greg and I are watching a movie right now (Facing the Giants - I highly reccomend it) so I thought I'd catch up a little. Today was Cowboy day at Noah's school. The kids dressed western and had a cowboy cookout. Noah was the cutest little cowboy ever. Tonight we went for a walk and Noah wanted to wear his boots and both boys insisted on their cowboy hats. Wyatt looks more like a little hillbilly than a long tall cowboy. Still, he is just as cute of a hillbilly as Noah is a cowboy. This last picture is of Wyatt enjoying his first smoothie. Maybe blueberry wasn't such a great choice... Yesterday Wyatt learned to say 'Godsey'. He is surprisingly clear. He says 'I-ah' for 'Wyatt'. I can't believe how much he is talking already. Noah wasn't saying as much when he was 2. Noah and Wyatt are officially sharing a room now. We bought bunkbeds about a month ago. Advice for new moms of siblings: if they fight all the time- try bunkbeds. Seems counter intuitive but it really changed Noah and Wyatt. Noah was so excited to have Wyatt sleep on the bottom bunk that he has become more generous with all his stuff. Of course, it took a few weeks for Wyatt to prove that he could handle the new arrangement- he would talk and make noise until Noah would get up and ask us to take him out. He finally realized to sleep in the bunk he had to keep quiet. Today I moved Wyatt's stuff from his room to Noah's and turned Wyatt's room in to the guest/'Learning-Fun' room. It's where we can all play games together and the boys have a place to do some 'quiet' play. Most people have a game room for noisy play, but we have one room for quiet play because the other way just seems impossible. So, you can all come and visit (well, no more than two at a time if you want a bed) if you don't mind stayin' in a room with frogs and dragonflies painted on the walls.

Daddy Joe's Eulogy

Here is the eulogy Greg gave at Daddy Joe's graveside service. Some of you requested a copy. I know how hard it was for him to do it, but he did an awesome job and just the way Daddy Joe would have wanted it.

Like Joe, let's get right to the point.
We believe Joe Godsey knows Jesus Christ as his personal savior the way the Bible describes. Let me read John chapter 3.
(reading)
... But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God. (Jn 3:21)
If you believe the words of Christ, then you may know Joe is with Jesus now, in heaven living as the young man many of you remember, the young man I've always wanted to meet. We know Joe lived by the truth and was in the light and we could plainly see God's work through him.
Knowing his life is eternal with Christ, let's celebrate his time on earth, where he made decisions for himself and his family that affected eternity.
90 years and a few months on earth.
66 years with the love of his life, Ann.
Joe Godsey tenaciously sucked the marrow out of life.
Did he ever tell you how he proposed to his wife? He once told me. He said he had had his eye on this girl who was coming to see him once in a while. At some point, without a great deal of discussion with her, he decided he wanted her to be with him until the end. In his recounting the story he asked her, "I'm going to see and travel the world, do you want to come?" Ann, in her equally direct approach, asked "as your spouse or chauffer?" We know Joe's answer...
Joe and Ann raised 3 children. One West Point graduate and one Fightin' Texas Aggie. I remember him as my Daddy Joe. Working on his giant RV and building furniture in his workshop. I remember an old man with a young heart. Many of you remember a young man with an unquenchable zest for life. Never lazy, never tired, never negative. Always courageous, always true, always fair, always giving, always intentional, always decisive. A man driven by a purpose.
Joe didn't miss a moment. He lived 90 years and a few months fully self sufficient and in good health right to the end with his wife by his side. I figure if I'm lucky enough to get 90 years on this earth and it goes about like Joe Godsey's story, that would be alright with me. Let's live that we may be remembered the same way as Joe. We miss you here Daddy Joe- we'll see you soon.

A New Look!

I am creating a new look for my blog. It may change a few more times before I get it right. The boys and I had a fun week playing, working in the garden and running errands. Friday, Noah's friend, Taylor, turned five. We went with her and some of her family to Gattitown. It was our first experience with a Gattitown but even though it is a little loud and wild, we had a lot of fun. Noah and Taylor had a blast. They ran from game to game and loved eating pizza in the 'cartoon room'. Taylor's little sister, Skylar, is about the same age as Wyatt. Skylar and Wyatt were a little overwhelmed by the arcade but were more than happy to chase each other and chow down on bread, pasta, cottage cheese and peaches. Yum. As you can see, Taylor and Noah visited the photo booth. I think these pictures are hilarious because they made the same spontaneous face in every picture without any coaxing from us and no planning on their part. There was a big indoor carousel that we all enjoyed. Wyatt rode the elephant and did his elephant impression the whole time. Monica and I decided to have a little fun too and handed the little ones over to Matt while we paddled a virtual raft and went crazy on the bumper cars.
Greg and I made Saturday family day. All four of us actually slept in. We had pancakes, went for a big family walk around the neighborhood, went to Sears for more carpet cleaner (as important as milk around here) and had a fun lunch at Red Robin. It was a really good day with the boys. Today is church day. We are at church from 9-12, eating lunch with the youth leaders from 12-2, and doing our own dicipleship classes and youth activities from 3-6. Sunday is always so hectic. The boys actually love it. They both enjoy Sunday school, playing with the other youth leaders and their kids, and then going to evening childcare with church ladies that shower them with attention.

In Loving Memory...

Joseph Daughety Godsey
9/26/1916 - 2/15/2007
We will miss you Daddy Joe!

Happy 4th Birthday Noah!

Last Saturday we celebrated Noah's 4th birthday with a small birthday party. Of course the theme was the movie Cars. Mama G made an awesome Lighnting McQueen cake. Between transferring my pictures from the camera to the computer and doing some editing, I somehow lost the really good picture of the cake. I have the worst camera luck. The party was a lot of fun. He and his friends played like crazy. Wyatt, Skylar and Ben are all about the same age and had fun playing too. Noah now has nearly every Cars item ever made. He loves every one of them.
This past week we just did our normal thing. Noah's actual birthday was Tuesday which was a school day. So we took cupcakes for his class, they sang Happy Birthday to him during Chapel and he got to wear the birthday crown all day. Now, the first thing he tells everyone is that he is four. He has decided this is a turning point in his little life. Tuesday he promised to be nicer to Wyatt from now on and help with him everyday. With the exception of punching Wyatt in the face today, he has actually done a pretty good job at upholding his promise. A few days ago I took the boys down to the San Marcos River for a fun walk. Instead, we spent an hour throwing rocks into the river. Boys are so funny. They only stopped out of hunger and because they wanted to go check out a huge standard poodle playing near our car. This past weekend we tore up our veggie garden and got it ready for the spring. I felt like I planted things too late last year so I started early this year. On Saturday we amended and turned over the soil, added compost and planted lettuce, potato, broccoli and kale. The lettuce, spinach, carrots and peas we planted in the fall actually survived the freezes and are still thriving and producing. This last picture is the morning after Noah's party. Wyatt's hair always looks charged and these balloons clung to him all morning.

First day of Preschool!

I just read Christie's blog about our day at the zoo. It's great, be sure to check it out.
Tuesday was Noah's first day of preschool (this is the corresponding scrapbook photo). He has been on the waiting list for our church's highly esteemed (at least that's the word in the yuppy mommy group) program since last summer. I was impatient, but God timed it perfectly. This week just so happened to be 'transportation week' and they are learning the letter 'N'. How perfect is that? Least to say, Noah Loves it and now, instead of waking up in the mornig and the first words out of his mouth being 'I'm hungry', he asks 'is it a school day?!' Of course the teachers love him. They were immediately impressed when he marched into the room, sat down with another little boy and played cars without even a glance back at me. His teacher told me she was a little nervous about adding another boy to a class of only 11 boys and only 4 girls, but that Noah fits right in and needs very little instruction. Such a good boy.
Here is a picture of his second day of school with his super cool lunch bag. I randomly decided to match the boys today. Notice they even have matching shoes. I was looking forward to the couple days a week I would have with only Wyatt in tow, but I have come to find out that it is not any easier, even harder in some ways, when the one boy is the more 'challenging' of the two. I almost feel like I am being less efficient because I now seem busier and I only have one kid. And, because I have to pick Noah up right about Wyatt's naptime, it looks like there will be days when Wyatt will not get more than just a nap in the car. Fortunately today I was able to transfer him from the car and not wake him. But Wyatt was crazy today. The only releif was the lack of intense disagreements he and Noah often get into. Wyatt wouldn't eat today, was cranky, mopped the dining area floor with his mop and dog water (I was on the phone- briefly), destroyed his room, and made a mess of my tubberware. When Noah was Wyatt's age we went on walks all the time. Sometimes he would walk along and sometimes he would sit peacefully in the stroller. So, I decided to take Wyatt on a fun little walk today- just me and him. Well, he got tired of the stroller after about 5 minutes so I let him walk. He wanted to push Riley by the behind, making Riley very nervous and getting me all tangled in leashes and an unused stroller. When I finally freed myself, tied the dogs to the stroller and got Wyatt to take my hand, he broke free in a mission to touch every trash can in the neighborhood and declare 'trash!'. Mental note- I should never take Wyatt for a walk on trash day. I was okay with this, I just walked slower. Then he preceded to pick up dog poop from a yard so he could put it in the trash. This stems from one of his favorite hobbies: helping Greg and I pooper scoop the backyard. Except on the walk we did not have the scooper. So that was gross and my only option was to wipe his hands as much as possible on my jeans. At that point I forced him in the stroller and took off as fast as I could so he didn't have a chance to jump out. Instead, he decide to wiggle out of the straps and stand- which turned into jumping. So now I'm bookin it through the neighborhood smelling like poo, pushing a stroller containing a jumping toddler and scolding two poor, tired, tangled, stressed out dogs just trying to stay out of the way of stroller wheels. My relief came in the form of a garbage truck making its way down our street which captivated Wyatt allowing me to slow down and make it home with no more incidents.
All that said, Wyatt is really a sweetie and all he really wants is someone to always play with and give lots of 'huggies'- as he calls them. I'd say he is fully talking now. He will repeat anything I ask him to and say two word sentences. He just won't talk much around other people. The last hour before it was time to go pick up Noah he walked around the house sadly saying 'Noah gone' and 'Noah school'. Finally he stood in the entry hall saying 'Car? Noah?' over and over. I was surprised to see how much he missed him. But he was asleep less than half way into the drive. He also learned two colors today- red and blue- while we were playing with play-doh. I think he knows yellow too.

Lions, Tigers & Bears... & Mimi!

Last week Greg and Papa were out of town all week so Mimi drove down for a visit. We had a great week of shopping, playing, eating at all our favorite Austin resturaunts and driving around looking at pretty houses just for fun. This first picture was taken on National Red Day. It really was, but we actually did not plan the outfits knowing that. Here is Wyatt with a busted lip. After about 5:00 in the evening the boys transform into little beasties (as my friend Christie would say). I guess that is nearing the time they are used to Greg getting home and playing with them- the dad way. Well, by the end of the day Mimi and I did not have the energy (or the flexibility, volume and strength) to involve the boys in intense physical activity. So they would just go wild every night and all we could do was try to keep up and prevent them from hurting themselves, the dogs or us. We survived- barely. Last Saturday Christie and Che invited us to go to the zoo. We had a blast. The Austin zoo is very small, but perfect for the kids to freely run around and there are so many animals they can really interact with. They even sell food you can feed many of them. The boys loved feeding the goats- well, Ben enjoyed watching Wyatt and Noah feed the goats, sheep, llama and deer. He was not keen on long tongues and llama slober. I don't blame him. Twice a goat snatched Noah's feed sack from him and ate it- bag and all. He fed the pigs some of Ben's banana that fell on the ground (and some that Che gave to him thinking he wanted a snack). Since most of the animals were rescued from neglect or abuse, they are a little... quirky. Like the llama with the severe underbite jutting out of his mouth, and the goat with only one twisted, knobby horn and the prematurely neutered lion with no mane. Ben and Wyatt really liked running around with the loosed chickens, roosters and peacocks. They got to hear first hand what rooster really sounds like. Wyatt made sure to point out every trash receptacle and anything that looked like one. Noah loved it all and got to ride the little zoo train. Afterwards we went to the Salt Lick for some ribs. They were so yummy I only left the bones for Wyatt to gnaw on. Not really, I gave him beans too, which he decided to wear from head to toe. By the end of the day, the boys were filthy, tired and perfectly content. I will try to get most of the good pictures Christie and I took posted on my Flickr as soon as I can.

Hmmmmm.... Where to Begin?

The last time I wrote we were in the middle of the big freeze, so I guess I will begin somewhere in there. My pictures are mainly just fun shots in our day to day routine. I know the second picture is a little gross but I think it is funny. Wyatt had fallen asleep in the car and, obviously, had a diaper malfunction somewhere along the way. I brought him into the house and laid him on the floor to change him and he continued to stay asleep, which is not like him. I just thought it was funny because he looks like he just passed out. Wyatt is getting so big. I walked into his room after naptime the other day and he suddenly looked huge laying in his crib. Like someone had come in while he slept and switched my baby with a kid. Noah is also growing at an incredible rate. Lately, his growth is most notably of his mind. I can't think of any examples (I should be writing these things down as they happen), but he is constantly surprising me with the phrases he uses that show he understands some pretty complex concepts and feelings. Many times I have to laugh because it is so funny to hear it coming from someone so small and he still has some unique toddler pronounciations. Anyhow, he is wonderful. He came in the room the other day, looked at me and said 'mom, you're lovely.' Of course I became weak in the knees. He is definitely a sweetheart, but as smart as he is, he is figuring out how his words affect people. Greg and I are going to have to really teach him to use his words and personality to be honest and uplift people and not be a schmoozer. In this picture he was telling me something very serious and I just had to get a shot of how expressive he is when he talks.

Brrrrr!

Snow in Austin!! Yes, we got actual snow today. The frigid weather began Sunday night and it has only gotten colder and wetter. This morning we woke up to a sheet of ice over everything. Then it began raining which turned into freezing rain which turned into sleet which became snow and then the cycle reversed itself. Now it is steadily raining outside. Our gutters have frozen and, as I type, Greg is out there trying to... do something... so the water will stop pouring into our deck. The grass, with so much snow and now rain, is a sea of ice- it has to be two inches thick. I have serious cabin fever. I haven't left the house since church Sunday morning. Ahhh! Greg worked from home today which was good and bad. I had to keep the boys from bugging him. Wyatt would stand at the office doors and point and say 'dad' or just make funny faces at him. Noah's friend across the street, Ezra, was home from school today so they ran back and forth playing at each other's houses and outside. They had a ball throwing 'snow' (more like Sonic ice) at each other and knocking icicles off everything they could reach. We pulled down our winter bag and put Noah in his ski pants. Those paired with his bomber jacket and ski cap made him look just like the bully's little sidekick in the movie Christmas Story. Wyatt wanted to go outside but it only lasted about two minutes. Greg was supposed to travel on Monday and has had to move his flight three times because of weather. The ariport completely shut down. Tonight we had artichokes for dinner. Noah, who won't even look at a carrot, loves them. Here he is sharing Greg's artichoke. Crazy kid.

Big boys & Little boys

This weekend was a little crazy. It was our church's Disciple Now weekend. This is where the 7th-12th graders in our youth group are divided up by grade and sent to 'host homes' for a weekend of Bible studies, worship and service projects led by a visiting college student. Well, we were a host home for the tenth grade boys. That meant a whole weekend of living with 8 fifteen to sixteen year old guys and one college student. We packed them in like sardines. We actually had to turn on the air conditioner Friday and Saturday. But really, it was a lot of fun. The guys were great and I think the weekend had a really positive spiritual impact on them. Greg had a blast staying up until 2:30 in the morning Fri and Sat doing boy stuff like pull-up contests on the deck and front yard wrestling matches (our poor neighbors). In this picture they are all taking videos with their cell phones of Greg and Wyatt playing. They thought Wyatt laughing and bouncing around on Greg was hysterical. Noah and Wyatt couldn't get enough of the 'big kids'. The guys couldn't sit on the floor (though they didn't have much choice) without the boys climbing all over them and showing off their favorite toys. And, if the weekend couldn't get much better, the church provided us with donuts and other goodies for the weekend. I don't think we have ever had donuts in our house. Noah could hardly contain his excitement. Speaking of goodies, last week Noah and I made some homemade granola. I had to idea what I was doing- I saw some lady making it in the background of a tv show and decided it looked easy. It was and it turned out pretty good. Noah accidently spilled the vanilla so the flavor was a little over powering. The boys love it so we will try a new mix again soon.

Our Little Family

Family bike ride! This is how we look on our frequent family bike rides. Not the most flattering picture of me, but your looking at the boys, right? Both boys love these outings. The boys can last about an hour and our neighborhood has some very challenging hills. Of course I get the best workout pulling 50 lbs. worth of trailer and kid. Sometimes we just go around our neighborhood and the one next to it and sometimes we go to a nearby jr high where Noah practices riding in the dirt (because he will be a mountain biker someday) and making tight turns. It is a lot of fun. I just wish we had some cool dirt or country roads we could really go for a good ride on. The other pictures our taken in our backyard. Wyatt and I were playing peek-a-boo through the pea fence. He will play peek-a-boo with just about anything and the way he says it is just too cute for words. Noah is actually the one who taught him it one day while we were in the car. Today we made a pop-in visit to Christie and Che's. It was last minute but a lot of fun. We had Chuy's takeout becuase we did not want to endure the craziness of taking three energetic boys out to dinner. Tonight was the first time for Wyatt and Ben to really play together. They started by Ben teaching Wyatt how to climb up the side of his crib. After a little practicing Wyatt then figured out, and taught Ben, how to complete the trick by climbing all the way over and in to the crib. When we got home and put him to bed and the first thing he did was stand up and throw his leg over the side of his crib. Guess that wasn't such a great game even if they did bond. They also played 'peek-a-boo' and 'where's Wyatt?' with Noah in Ben's closet. Due to the impromtu nature of the visit I did not have my camera with me. Christie was shooting a few pictures so check her blog in the next couple of days to see if any pop up. Sorry to pressure you, Christie! Mom informed me she was having trouble viewing the recent pic on the blog. I just converted to a new verson of Blogger, so let me know if any of the rest of you are also having problems.

101st Post!!!

According to Blogger, this is my 101st post. That is pretty exciting. So on to the New Year! We spent New Year's Eve with some of our closest friends. Matt and Monica hosted a little party at their house. We ate lots and lots of Tamales, chips and dips, and, most importantly, Bunuelos. If you have never had one, go find somewhere to get one. It is a fried tortilla with cinnamon and sugar. Yum. Matt and Monica have two little girls about the same age as Noah and Wyatt and our other friends have two boys also similar in age. So we had six little ones 5 and under, mostly boys. It was rowdy. All the big boys stayed upstairs play some crazy board game about world domination all night. Here is Noah trying, with all his might, to get a noise maker to make noise. It being New Year's Eve we had to have some fireworks. The kids had fun with the sparklers and little poppers.We had fun almost setting the neighborhood on fire with some bigger whizzers. My camera did not take very good pictures that night. This is awful of me, but Monica looks good and it is is very festive.

Christmas - Part Two

Late, late Christmas night we arrive in Dallas. We stuff stockings for the adults (the rest of the family was kind enough to wait and do them when we arrived- thank you, Dori!) and went to bed. The next morning we had a big breakfast and hung out until Dori and Jay arrived. We opened more gifts. Noah's favorite thing from that round was his Cars (the movie) city. It is made up of several stores from the movies and they fit together with streets that he can drive his Cars cars on. We finally retired Greg's tired old Hot Wheel city and set up the new city on Noah's 'train' table. Mom gave Wyatt a 'cleaning caddy' with a little vacum, a mop, a broom and other cleaning supplies. Here Greg is helping him open it. Dacy also received some cleaning equipment. They opened these gifts early on and spent the rest of the day cleaning Mimi's house, taking short pauses to glance at the other gift Dori and I were opening for them. Dad suprised Mom, Dori and I with matching necklaces. They are gorgeous white gold, diamond and saphire necklaces. He is the best dad ever! Once again, I did not take as many pictures as I would have liked. I see Dori and Jay taking them and figure they are getting better ones anyway. Visit Dori and I's Flickr sites to see more pics. That evening we had wonderful dinner. Mom decorated her dining room in a beautiful 'snowy' theme. We stayed in Dallas for a couple more days. Mom, Dori and I escaped for a few hours to go shopping while the babies slept, the boys played and the big boys installed Jay's new speakers. It doesn't seem like much, but I think it is the first time since Dori and I started having babies that we have gone anywhere without them. Greg was able to visit and ride with a buddy of his from Alabama that was visiting his Dallas family. Friday we loaded up and headed for the lakehouse. We had both the Rav and the 4Runner packed from floor to ceiling. It tooks most of the day to make the trip, but the boys behaved even though the weather didn't. On Saturday we had the annual McDanel shindig. At this time of night, I don't have enough brain power left to calculate how many people were there. It was a great time even with our meager, Charlie Brown-like decorations. Take a look at Dori's pics to see what I mean.

Christmas!

First, we will start with our Christmas in Lago Vista. Sunday evening we met Greg's parents at their church for the Christmas Eve service. It is a beautiful church and the service was pretty elaborate- complete with fake snow. Which was really just tiny bubbles that seemed to stick and not pop in the big, oversprayed hair of some of the women. I had to walk around with Wyatt in the foyer through about half. He settled down once we lit the candles. Of course, Noah was an angel. We went back to Mama G's house and ate Christmas cookies and drank hot chocolate- oh, and had a little dinner on the side. Wyatt learned that the best part of a Christmas cookie is the icing. Here he is licking it off the top. I read the Christmas story from Luke before we put the kids to bed. The next morning we opened stockings and presents with the boys. Mama G got Noah a new Herbie. The Herbie we got him last year was his best friend but after a hard year of going everywhere with Noah and taking some pretty hard falls, old Herbie became undriveable. Noah has promised to take better care of this one. Just in case, we are keeping the old Herbie for spare parts (not that there is much left of him). He got all kinds of stuff, mostly car related, and disappeared for the rest of the day content to play with it all. Wyatt had a great Christmas too. Between the rideable zebra, wheel barrow, ball popper and shopping cart he was very busy making the most of the large echoing cavern of Mama G's tiled living area. By lunch his noise was drowned out by all the family that came over. It was a crowd. There were four toddlers- Noah 3, Carlton 2, Trudy almost 2 and Wyatt 15mo. They were all very good and kept us old people entertained. Here is a picture of Carlton. He has the world's cutest dimples. We had a big lunch and a white elephant gift exchange (we got a gift certificate to Chuy's which we have already used!). Late that night we packed up the car- when I say 'packed' I mean to the top, dogs cannot move, kids cannot see out their windows and I have a lap-full and just enough room to squeeze my legs in- and headed to Dallas for Christmas #2.

Tis' the Season for Hot Chocolate!

Last weekend I got my camera back! I wish I could say that I have a bunch of new and exciting pictures, but I can't. Things have been pretty 'quiet' around here. That doesn't refer to the actual noise or energy level of the house- it just means no big news. Wyatt is still a little parrot. He has too many words to list. He is also developing his animal sounds. Goat and cat are my personal favorites. Wish this was a blog with sound. His noises and ramblings are hilarious and almost nonstop. Today he is pretty sick. He is running a super high temperature. Other than to take naps and a 20 minute trot around the living room (during which he managed to partially unwrap a couple presents, tear up some mail and terrorize Noah) he has been laying in my lap all day with his bottle in one hand and his quilt in the other. It is so sad. A super high fever for a day or two seems to be the way his body fights even the most minor bug. I am not medicating him and letting his body burn out whatever it is so he will be feeling better for the upcoming festivities. If you look back at my blogs from this time last year I'm sure there are some entries about a fever or two. This time I know that is how he gets sick and I am not going to put him through any traumatic doctor's appointments.
Last weekend Greg's parents watched the boys and Greg and I visited Waco. We attended Uncle Blair and Aunt Regina's church's Christmas presentation and then stayed the night and part of the next day with my cousins, Dan and Amanda. We had a great time visiting with family and it was incredibly relaxing. I wish the boys had been with us to play with their cousins and feed chickens. But of course they had a blast with their grandparents and didn't even pause when they saw us come in the door. I think Noah only got in the car with us because we told him that we were going to be back in a week for Christmas.
This weekend we are going to have some quality family time, just the four of us, before setting out for the grandparents'. This may be the last update for awhile, but I will return with Christmas pics. I am determined to get more and better pictures than I did last year.
My pictures do not match my text very well. Sorry. The first one is me enjoying my hot chocolate the same way every mom with toddlers enjoys everything! The next one is Noah sliding down the new firepole Greg added to the swingset. As you can see, Noah has it mastered. Most kids that come over are too scared to try it. It is ten feet high. The last picture is our lettuce. Our summer garden was somewhat prodcutive but always looked on the verge of death. However, our winter garden this year is beautiful. I wish I had planted more. Right now we have lettuce and spinach and the peas and carrots are coming along. Much to Greg's delight, and my bewilderment, we have cilantro popping up everywhere. I think Wyatt may have spilled some seeds. This has been perfect winter weather for fast, robust veggies. I even have tomatoes ripening on my widowsill that I got off my last tomato plant just before it melted in the last frost. Homegrown tomatoes in December! Gotta love Texas.

Ho Ho- Ahhhhhhh!

The past couple of weeks have been filled with lots of friends, family and Christmas shopping. Last Friday the boys and I visited Christie and Ben way up in Cedar Park. We took the boys to go see Santa. Noah almost got sucked into an elevator (mostly my fault), we had to wait in a really long lign for Santa and then Noah peed in Santa's lap (only because we were next in line when Noah told me he had to go and I didn't want to lose our place and made him 'hold' it). Luckily, it was a frontal accident and I don't think Santa even noticed. Ben and Wyatt were both terrified of Santa. He managed to soothe Wyatt with a book long enough to get a picture. Christie and I were not going to pay $20 for a 5x7 from a guy with a digital camera and a printer, so we took pictures for each other. Our screaming baby Santa pictures are just as good as his were! After the mall we went back to Christie's house and the babies napped, played and ran amok. I managed to leave my sunglasses and my camera at Christie's house. So that explains why there are no pictures from this weekend. Christie, who loves to show off pictures of her kid as much as I do, emailed me the pictures we had taken so I could have something to blog about. But I still haven't gotten all the pictures off my email so hop on over to Christie's blog to see more from that day.