Pinch Me

Pinch me, is it true?

Can Eli really be TWO?!

It seems like just yesterday he was learning to walk,

now he can run, jump, and (sorta) talk.

He has wonderful manners and says 'please' and 'thanks,'

but climbing on the coffee table has earned a few spanks.

Riding in the tractor is Eli's favorite thing to do,

along with eating oranges, spaghetti, and cheetos too!

He knows all his shapes and colors as well,

and when it comes to his name, Eli can spell!

I'm so excited to celebrate him turning two,

but I can't believe its been a year, can you?!

So happy birthday to our sweet little boy,

You've been a blessing and bring us so much joy.

Whether you've seven, nineteen, or fifty-four,

We'll love you each day a little more and more!

I can't believe a year ago I posted on this little guy turning one!

Hibernating

Well our polar vortex/snowmegedon is still going on, so we are just hibernating for the day! Starting to get cabin fever, and Seth must be really antsy because he has been cleaning out his office among other projects! We have yet to see a plow go by besides our kind neighbor who pushed some snow with his backhoe. Looks like we are stuck here for a while but I'm planning an escape Wednesday so I can go to work and get out of the house. Hope everyone is staying safe and warm and enjoying this extra time with your families!

Eli and Seth watching Randy clear our lane...thanks neighbor!

Isaac has exactly the right idea on how to handle a day like this! 

Seth's project of cleaning out his office produced a few treasures for Eli...like all of these farm magazines! 

Ending the day in camo Pj's of course!

Snow Globe

So apparently what's happening outside is called a polar vortex...but whatever it is, it sure is pretty!  I'm sure it's going to make a mess of thing for the next few days, but we're enjoying a day at home to relax and play outside. Unfortunately one of our neighbors works at the hospital in town and is probably stranded there for the day/night so be thankful for all of those who braved the roads and cold so they can take care of others and our furry family members too! 

Anyway, before it got too cold we took Eli outside to get some play time in the snow and break in his new snow boots from grandma and grandpa!

So glad his snow suit still fits! 

Catching snowflakes!

I think its safe to say Bristol LOVES the snow! The barn cats, not so much, but we have
a nice little bed for them in the shed so they're snuggled in and cozy

so pretty!

Stay safe and warm everyone! Happy polar vortexing!

Resolution

I've never really been into doing the whole "New Year's Resolution" thing.  I'm a pretty goal driven person already, plus I feel like Lent is always just around the corner once January hits and I have to be disciplined then.  However, this year I feel like I want to make some changes and why not start now!  Mine are probably not the usual "lose 10 pounds, diet, exercise" thing because I've pretty much been doing that my whole life.  These are just things I want to do for myself, my family, and for fun. Who says New Year's Resolutions need to be boring and strict, I think they should make you look forward to diving into a new year. Anyway, here goes!

1. Take pictures with my camera once a week.  I love my DSLR camera, and I used to use it all the time, and once the kids came along, I found myself getting it out less and less because just snapping a picture with my phone was so much easier.  However, its a hobby I love, ever since being a photographer for my high school yearbook and newspaper, and though I'm no professional, I really like learning new things about it.  Plus, I have adorable models. I also want to make the effort to use my DSLR because I think its so easy to use my phone and the instagram filters, but using my own camera is more challenging and a fun process to edit.  It so fun to hang pictures up in our home that I knew I took!

Here's a photo from my "photo shoot" this week, and why not have it of my family?!

2. Be more personal with others.  For example, for people's birthdays send them a message or give them a call rather than just writing "Happy Birthday" on their Facebook wall.  I am so blessed with wonderful friends and family, and I don't want starting my own family to be an excuse to lose touch with them. I love giving compliments, hugs, and writing letters to people and sometimes I don't do it out of laziness which is too bad because doing all of those things ALWAYS make me feel better!

3. Go to the dentist…twice. Okay, if you don't know me this will sound dumb. If you do know me, your mouth is probably wide open in shock.  Obviously this is NOT the fun type of resolution I was talking about earlier, but I think by making this public, it will hold me accountable. Plus, its just kinda wrong that I haven't been in four years. I hate going to the dentist, its not like I pass out or get scared, I just hate the feeling of someone digging in my mouth, stretching out the sides of my lips, and then to make it worse, the polish. UGH! I love my actual dentist, she is a wonderful family friend and very sweet lady. However, if I'm going to make my kids go the dentist, I should probably practice what I preach. It's been a good four years of not going, but its time to stop being a baby. In fact, "making a dental appointment" is on my to do list for tomorrow on my super cute personalized year planner that my sister-in-law got me (its from Erin Condren https://www.erincondren.com/classic-life-planners)

4. Focus on being well.  I know this sort of goes along with diet and exercise, and like I said, that's always been something I've maintained pretty well, but my focus has always been off. Instead of being focused on doing it to "look good" I want to do it to just be well so I can live healthy and long! I'm turning 27 in a few days and I have two kids, so let's be honest, I'm not going to be spending much time prancing around in a bikini so making that a goal is just silly. I would rather have a goal of being in shape enough to play hours of hide and go seek and Red Rover for the next 15 years! Having these two kiddos has given me so  much more reason (and fear of not) living a long life. My maternal grandma is 93, in amazing shape, lives on her own, and has a better memory than I do. I love that she has seen all her children and grandchildren and now great-grandchildren and I want to be able to do the same. I also want to try a few new fun things to spice out my exercise regime like maybe a new trampoline in the backyard? Seth, are you reading this?! My birthday is right around the corner!!! :) Haha just teasing, but I do want to try some new things even like doing the monkey bars at the playground next time I take the kids or playing volleyball (if the neighbors will let me play, I always sit out because I'm so bad and they may not want me on their team!)

5.  Do 27 new things. I turn 27 this month, and I'm not excited about it at all. Each birthday is just a reminder life is going by way too quickly and that I'm getting older.  I'm not really a big birthday person, so I decided to make it positive for myself by challenging myself to do 27 new fun things this year. So far on the list are: make a trip to Sky Zone, try a new ice cream flavor once Charbett's is open and venture away from butter pecan, maybe learn to drive one of the tractors I've never driven, take the kids canoeing, take an online course in photography, and dive off the platform at the pond. 

So there you have it! Do you have any FUN resolutions to do this year?!

A White Christmas

Creative title, huh?

This year, Christmas came roaring into our lives and was over before we knew it! With Thanksgiving being so late in November, it felt like Christmas Day snuck up on us so quickly.  This year was totally different from last in the kid department. For one, the Christmas tree went from a beautiful tree with ornaments evenly spaced out to looking a little haggard with the ornaments only on the top half, and some underneath as well that a certain little somebody enjoyed taking off.  Also, because of this, we decided to not put gifts under the tree until Christmas Eve once Eli was in bed….a tradition I think we will maintain because it will definitely help the Santa effect! 

Christmas Eve we attended a very packed mass, and Isaac and I camped out in the back since he wanted to be rocked.  It was a pretty sweet moment though to be singing "Silent Night" holding my sweet little boy as he snored thinking thousands of years ago Mary was doing the same thing with baby Jesus. 

for the record I didn't take this during church, this was taken a few days later,
but wanted to use it so you all got the full effect of how seriously cute this kid is when he's asleep

 I definitely got teary eyed and then Eli started to "sing" and those tears quickly turned to laughter. These boys are angels, I swear! (Check back with me in 15 years to see if I'm still saying this!) After mass we headed down to my mom and dad's to have our traditional Christmas Eve meal.  We usually get pretty dressed up and mom puts on a spectacular meal along with party crackers and paper crowns.  I don't think Christmas Eve would be right without seeing all my family wear paper crowns! We had a wonderful time with my side of the family and Seth's folks joined us too, which is so great how well they get along with my family, I love it.  

Isaac gave us a pretty awesome Christmas gift which was sleeping about 9 1/2 hours Christmas Eve night…not even Santa coming down the chimney could've woken up that little guy!  Eli had so much fun opening his gifts, however, we had to plan for it to take about a half hour or more per gift with opening, assembling, and then of course playing.  

Eli must've heard Santa's jingle bells in the
night, because he came downstairs so excited!

Christmas morning with my boys!

My folks and sisters (who drove all the way up from Florida to spend time with us) came up Christmas morning and it was so much fun to be in our Christmas PJ's and relax and enjoy the time together.  Isaac enjoyed it all, mainly just being passed around lap to lap.  Eli got a special gift for his grandpa Stanforth, a toy backhoe.  Dad never got one when he was a little boy, and always wanted one. Mom hinted to me that Dad wanted one, but didn't want to get one for Eli because he wanted the backhoe to stay at HIS house.  It was so cute watching Dad and Eli open it together, and of course Eli immediately began saying "tractor! tractor!" over and over again and danced around at his grandpa's feet.  Heartwarming memories!

Dad's backhoe is going to get a lot of hours in on the days I work!

Later in the day we headed over to Seth's parent's house where Eli was spoiled even more and of course we were too! Mamaw and Papaw White got Eli his very own little basketball hoop and we've been practicing every day…but I think Seth and Papaw Ted have a higher field goal percentage so far than Eli. He also got a little musical set from his Aunt and Uncle and I can't wait for when they have kids so I can get their little toddler a set of cymbals too :)

Slam dunk!

Speaking of spoiling, my stinking husband went above and beyond and got me some amazing gifts even after we said we didn't want to spend a lot on each other and save it for the kids.  My favorite gift was a new tripod for my camera. I'm definitely not a professional photographer, but its my favorite and only real hobby.  I've been wanting one for a while and he had it set up first thing Christmas morning so we could take family pictures. Every year we attempt a family picture with my camera and since I don't have a tripod we usually rely on stacking up all the gift boxes and then end up with a really awkward family picture! Not this year! He is so good to me, but I don't think he realized he was going to have to become one of my models.

My family: Lisa (left with Isaac), Mom and Dad and Michelle, and May (the dog)

With Seth's family: Grant and Brenna, Taylor and Boiler, Seth's grandma Monica, Ted and Vicki with the boys, and even Bristol the pistol made the photo but if obviously distracted by something outside!

I hope all of you had a very blessed Christmas!