Christmas Cheer

The Christmas tree is up and lights are on outside! The kids loved watching Dave do all the work.

 

 

Our visit to Santa included snow falling from the ceiling, which was a nice surprise. Drake knew something was up from waiting in the line and didn't get warm fuzzies from Santa. Lincoln asked for The Rayman Origins xbox game, a Batcave, swords and motorcycles.

 

 The cute town we live in puts on a Christmas parade. I took the boys and they got into the Christmas spirit! Both of them were waving to the parade participants. Lincoln got in trouble for running into the street for candy. To him it would have been worth it to be creamed by a huge truck for that one tiny candy cane! 

November Recap

I'm just going to jump right in, because there is too many other things to do tonight!

My parents and our family spent a weekend at Jellystone Camp Resort in the mountains of NC. It is a great, family friendly camp ground, and we all had a wonderful time!

 Lincoln and his hair enjoyed the sack races.

 

We were lucky to celebrate Thanksgiving with both sets of parents and my grandma. We celebrated turkey day down at Myrtle Beach. It was fantastic to have the Atlantic Ocean be our background music as we ate our dinner outside!

Goodbye October, Hello November

There is nothing like a good dance party at home. We celebrated Halloween morning with a dance party to the Halloween channel on pandora. Lincoln looked on pinterest with me to find a Halloween treat to make. He wanted to make everything he saw, but decided on owl cupcakes with oreos for eyes. They were cute and he felt so proud icing the cupcake and putting the decorations on.

He kept asking all day when we were going to go "all around the city" aka trick-or-treating. We just went around our little neighborhood, so we introduced ourselves to all the people we haven't met yet. Drake and Lincoln had to take turns ringing the door bell: I didn't think Drake would be into it yet this year, but I guess with a big brother, it happens. We let Lincoln eat 4 pieces of candy, since he is 4 years old. Dave and I were thrilled he picked out the not so yummy candy and left some chocolate for us to enjoy!

 We said hello to November with a wonderful visit with some of our favorite people. Dave met Jen and Jeff before he met me, almost 9 years ago. They also have 2 boys, who are the same ages as Lincoln and Drake. Lincoln was so excited to have his buddy come over for a 4 day slumber party. I'm not going to lie, we were all excited about them coming!

 Lincoln and Will playing xbox, following their father's footsteps

 We wanted to give them a taste of the south, so we went to a BBQ place. We also went to the Nascar museum for some really good people watching!

 Rub a dub dub, 4 boys in a tub

I fell in love with Lukie. He is so sweet and quiet. He just minds his own business and when he needs to, can bust out crazy arms!

Fall Fun

We have been having too much fun this Fall, I haven't done much blogging.

Our fall festivities started out with a trip to a pumpkin patch. I got the dates wrong and went a day before it opened, but the owners were extremely nice and let us pick some out. The boys had fun pulling the wagon around the farm.

We started a new tradition of popping popcorn and carving pumpkins. Lincoln wanted a happy pumpkin this year. Dave carved a scary pumpkin for work, which I don't have pictures of.

Dave and I went to my 10 year high school reunion. I can't believe I didn't take any pictures, because I actually had clean clothes on, make-up, and my hair out of a ponytail. Anyway, it was so great to see old friends and catch up with everyone.

Before the reunion, we took the kids to Octoberfest in Hickory. It was so crowded, we just might have to skip it next year. Lincoln had a good time riding some rides, but didn't understand waiting in long lines. The best thing from Octoberfest was the kettle corn!

Dave's office throws a Halloween party every year. We all dressed up as the Avengers; although we didn't win the group prize, Dave did win most original costume. There was tons of candy and each part of the office was decorated.

Because the kids didn't get enough candy at Dave's work party (geeeze), we went to our church Halloween party that same night. I don't think Lincoln was awake by the time we walked away from his bed to turn off his light. Actually, we all slept pretty well.

On a beautiful fall afternoon, Lincoln and his buddies flew some paper airplanes outside. Drake took a great nap, so I was able to play with these cuties and do some different projects with them.

There is a little chill in the air, so when we go to the park or take a jog (which the boys have been loving lately, they probably just enjoy the lollipops they get during the run), they get their hoodies on. I love hoddie weather!

What would be fall without decorating cookies? The Haunted House cookie was the first one gone.

 

 

We hope everyone else is enjoying this time of year as much as we are!


Just a little bit alot about the boys...

Drake is WIDE OPEN! There is nothing stopping this crazy kid. He climbs everything, wants to eat everything, and copies everything Lincoln does. Drake is so tough. I was washing his hands after breakfast one morning and noticed 2 big burns on his fingers. The only thing I can think that happened was the vaporizer in his room was too close to his crib, and he tried to grab the steam. I never heard him cry about it once. They still look painful, but he doesn't notice.

He seriously asks to eat every 15 minutes, so he is filling out like a football player. I am amazed at his motor skills: he stood up on Lincoln's scooter, held the handle bars, and pushed off with his foot. What?!? I screamed, which scared him and he got off, but I never thought a 16 month old could do that.

Drake can say quite a few words now: mama, dada, ikies (lincoln), tei ber (teddy bear), more, all done, bye bye, nigh nigh (night night), papa, shoe, amen (he folds his arms during prayers). He gives Dave the best send offs for work with kisses and waves.

Lincoln has grown a ton: it seems like all of the sudden he is so tall. I have probably written this before, but I love 4 year olds! This age has been really fun. Here is a conversation I overheard last week:

Lincoln (handing a lego he built to his friend): Here you go, cause I'm da bomb.
Tristan: You are a bomb?
Lincoln: Yea, and my daddy is too!

He also cracked me up when he asked me to build a "Lincoln Punch" out of blocks. I started with the legs and then the body and neck, but Lincoln stopped me and said, "Mom, you forgot to build a business." You can imagine what he calls business and where he put the block.

Lincoln has been living in his Halloween costumes (the one from last year still fits and I already scored a good deal for next year). Everywhere we go, he is either Spiderman, Iron Man, or a Power Ranger. When his friend came over and asked if he wanted to play dress up, Lincoln said, "Ewwwww, dress up is for girls."  I had to tell him, when he put on his costumes, he was dressing up.

Typical Thursdays

If I don't answer my phone on Thursdays, this is why:

I watch 3 other little boys, so that makes 5 boys 4 years old and younger. There are 2 year old twins and another boy Drake's age. You would think it would be complete chaos, but the (other) boys are very well behaved. The twins love nothing more than playing Thomas trains, and we have plenty of those!


I never seem to get pictures of us doing our normal "stuff" throughout the week. We had a play-dough morning one day last week. It was Drake's first time playing (eating) with it.

Do you notice the chairs on the table? It's because Drake figured out how to climb the stools and get on top of the table. I discovered this after helping Lincoln in the bathroom. I walked out into the kitchen and saw Drake sitting on top of the table shaking the powder sugar shaker.

Party Express

Lincoln turned 4 on Tuesday and we celebrated by having a train party on Saturday. We combined our efforts with Tristan, since his birthday was so close to Lincoln's.

I sewed the train hats and made the cake, Tristan's mom made the trains and some of the snacks, and Dave made the cool train that held the food. It truly was a combined effort!!

The party continued on Lincoln's actual birthday. We went to Toys R Us, so he could pick out a present from Giggi. He felt like a boss, being able to pick out whatever he wanted. He decided on a T-Rex Hot Wheels track, that he loves!

Next we hit up Monkey Joe's. It was Drake's first time, and he had a lot of fun. I put the most slick pants on both the boys, so they went flying down the slides.

(Of course they aren't looking at me, they are too busy checking out where to go first!)

 

(Lincoln Punch coming at ya!)

When Dave got home we went to Best Buy. Whoo-hoo, right?!? Lincoln has been begging to go, since they have the Xbox Kinec demo there. He went once with Dave and has been wanting to go back for a while. I'm fine with free entertainment, although it seems weird!

We finished up the night with stopping at Ben & Jerry's. Dave wanted to walk out as soon as he saw the political signs that they have up there, but I'm so glad we stayed. Look at this cute picture! It was totally worth staying.

Drakie Boy

Look at who can sleep through the night now! Ever since we got home from Oregon, he has been a sleeping champ. Here are some other facts about this handsome little guy:

1. He just got his 5th tooth.
2. When he gets mad, he makes this pirate face, where he scrunches down his right eye.
3. His feet are so chubby, crocs don't even feet him.
4. He lights up when he sees Lincoln, and Lincoln can get him to laugh more than anyone else.
5. When you tell him to jump, he bends his knees and straightens them.
6. He is listening to commands like: Give Lincoln a kiss or Show this to daddy.
7. His kisses are kind of toothy.
8. He throws things to get attention.
9. He loves the end of the bath, when there is just a little water left in it, so he can do belly flops.
10. He is such a climber. He has already mastered climbing Lincoln's slide bed, which terrifies Dave.

Alter Ego

I have blogged before about "Lincoln Punch" but now it is a full alter ego. Lincoln snatches the kid knives from our silverware drawer, swings them around, and becomes "Lincoln Punch." Today I couldn't find something so he told me, "Don't worry, Lincoln Punch combined with the power of Star Wars [he has NEVER watched the movie, so how does he know about it?] will find it." Later today he told me I could be "Lincoln Mommy Punch." How thoughtful!

Lincoln Punch has become a huge fan of soccer. He loved his first day of practice and didn't want it to be over. Dave and he kicked the ball around some more when we got home. I seriously would fear for his opponents if "Lincoln Punch" showed up for a game though!

This very active boy can be very sweet. Every night I tell him I love him more than all the stars in the sky and all the sand at the beach. I end with telling him "...and that's a lot." I have asked him before how much he loved me, and he would always say, "3." 

When we were in NJ, he finally understood what I was asking him. After waking up really early and wanting me to get out of the bed to get him milk, he told me "I love you more than all the tall buildings when we are on an airplane [we had just flown over NY city] and all the water at the beach, and that's a lot." After wiping the tears from my eyes, I quickly got him the milk he wanted. Worked like a charm!

Beach

Before we left for Oregon, we took a quick trip to a lovely beach in South Carolina. I am still jet-lagged so I can't remember the name of it. Southbrook, or Seabreeze...something like that. Anyway, we met the Edwards and my parents down there, and we had a very nice weekend. Both boys loved the ocean. They were so fearless, jumping in the waves. Drake just kept walking out, like he could swim. I'm glad they like it, because I am big beach fan. Just let me stay out there all day, and I'm a happy girl. Swimming in the ocean is so refreshing! Oh, we also saw 3 dolphins swimming together one morning. They were only about 50 feet away from us.

Cousins, Aunts, and Uncles Oh My!

The only thing that was good about coming home from Oregon, was that Dave was waiting for us. There were lots of tears leaving Grandma and Papa's house, waiting in the security line at Boise airport, and during the plane ride home. We had the BEST trip!!

Dave was able to spend a week with us. We started off the week with a mini-Shinsel/Huntsman/Wright reunion at the water park in Boise. Andy's family in Alaska were so missed! Reed and Chelsea were able to make it to the park. We hadn't seen these cuties since their wedding, so I wasn't sure if Lincoln would feel comfortable with them. As soon as he saw them at the park, he flew into their arms. It was so cute! I can still make myself cry if I think about it!

Of course, Lincoln LOVED playing with all his cousins. Like most little boys, he thinks big kids are the coolest. He also had fun playing/taking toys from/teasing his younger cousins Kaylee and Mya too!

Barry's family also stayed at the Shinsel's house. It was great for Lincoln and Drake to have a friend the minute they woke up. It was also great for me: I got to have a friend too! Amy and I went to some garage sales, played with the kids, and just got to hang out.

We spent lots of time outside at Grandma and Papa's house. Drake didn't really like the hot tub, but Lincoln and Mya did! Drake preferred to scare the heck out of me by climbing up the tree fort and walking towards the open edges. He also had fun going down the slide and swinging.

Some of the Huntsmans met us at Riverside park. I love this picture of Kaylee and Lincoln: it emits pure joy!

We also learned some news that we will be gaining a new niece the beginning of October. Emilee Jiao is a beautiful 4 1/2 year old from China. We can't wait to meet her at Christmas!

Lincoln and Papa made some fun memories together: they built a boat. It doesn't look like much from the picture, but it means so much to Lincoln, plus it floats!

I really am so lucky to have such a wonderful family on Dave's side. Actually, I don't even feel like it's Dave's family, they are definitely mine too!

New Jersey Adventures

My mom grew up in such a great place. Kinnelon, New Jersey is a small lake community in northern Jersey. Just right down the street from my grandma's house is a huge lake with a large sand beach, playground, kayaks, tether ball, paddle boats, etc. My Uncle and his family also live in a lake community about 20 minutes away from my grandma, "Giggi."

Lincoln had so much fun there last year, we decided to go again. This time I went alone with the boys. We stayed for 9 days: here are some of our adventures:

 Cousin Graham. He was so nice to share his big boy toys with Lincoln.

Drakie getting some good kisses from Uncle Barry.

My Aunt watches a 4 year old, Robert. Lincoln and Robert became good friends and excellent wrestling partners.

 Hanging out at the cousins' swim meet.

 Uncle Barry and Abby take Lincoln for a quad ride.

We went to Turtleback zoo. My gorgeous cousins with Giggi.

Lincoln and Robert in front of a real dragon!

Lincoln's lip out because we had to wait for another train to come.

 

Aunt Cheryl with Lincoln on the caboose.

Despite banged up knees, ear infections, and bruised hands, I'm proud that I got both kids back home safely. Even after a horrific day at the Newark airport, I managed to get them back to daddy. It was a great reunion!!