Christmas Ornaments 2011

Every year since LeGrand and I were married we have picked out a new ornament for the tree. Our first year we got these cute snowman snow globe ornaments, but most years we went to Hallmark to pick one out. Well this year is a little leaner than most because LeGrand is back in school full time, meaning he can only work part time. So this afternoon Wesley helped me make some ornaments for this year! I got a recipe for cinnamon dough off Pinterest and we went to town making tiny gingerbread men, snowmen, and angels. It smells amazing! It will be fun to look back on these ornaments in "fatter" years and remember how we improvised. My parents still have some of those improvised ornaments from early years of their marriage, and they are some of my favorite. We are so blessed right now to be able to make this whole school thing work, and I'm so proud of my genious husband who is rocking his accounting classes!

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Saying Grace

This morning Wesley volunteered to say the blessing on the food at breakfast. This is roughly how it went:

Wesley, "Father Heaven, thank thee for day, please bless the waffle, please bless D.J., Guido, Luigi, Francesco, Lightning, Mater hook broken, name Jesus Christ Amen."

It took all of my willpower not to bust up laughing when he started blessing all the cars in his toy box. I thought it was kind of sweet though that he asked for help with his broken toy (as you can see in the picture poor Mater's hook has indeed broken off). Funny boy!

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I don't pick my nose

There Was a Boy Who Turned 3 in Radiator Springs . . .

 Wesley is Three. My sweet, little peanut Wesley who was so, so tiny has grown up into a big three year old boy. He talks up a storm, always wants to say the prayer by himself, goes potty in the potty chair (with the right incentives), can count almost to twenty, and finds new ways to impress his parents with his remarkable wit and intelligence every day. My recent favorite exchange; Daddy: Wesley, don't pick your nose. Why do you pick your nose? It is icky to pick your nose. Wesley: Daddy does it! (Mommy may have been laughing so hard she was crying in the background as daddy turned red and walked away).

Wesley was geared up for his birthday this year. For a few days beforehand we had been counting down to his birthday. He understood that it was a special day just for him (originally he had been willing to share the day with Baby Fwedweek until we explained it was a day just for Wes) with cake, presents, and fun. He woke up to find lots of racecar balloons Daddy had brought home the night before . . . 

 . . . and then he may have gone to the doctor for a birthday shot. Mommy felt really bad about that one. Sorry Wes! But then the fun continued with lunch at Red Robin . . .

 . . . where Fredrick was so hungry he stuffed his face with soda crackers before the food even arrived. Here he is shoveling in a mouthful:

They even sang to Wesley and brought him ice cream, much to his embarrassment. He ate a few bites, but he takes after Mommy and isn't much for ice cream. 

   Fredrick on the other hand, was quite willing to pick up the ice cream burden for his brother! (Mr. Chocolate Face)  

Then it was back home for presents! His gift from Mommy and Daddy was a Lightning McQueen blanket that Mommy made for his big boy bed. We got him a Twin bed this summer, and some Lightning McQueen sheets. So this (along with Grandma Johnson's pillow) completes the set!

Grandma Weatherspoon made him some aprons--one for our house and one for theirs. One says Papa's Helper and the other says Mama's Helper. He loves to help Papa wash the dishes and cook! (He loves to help Mommy too, when she lets him help. Sometimes it is just easier now that Fredrick is walking to do the dishes after they are in bed!)

Wesley got several new cars to add to his collection. Lucky boy!

Fredrick thought that birthdays are fun too!

Wesley's three! Ready to blow out the candles on his Cars cupcake. 

Notice little brother peeking around the chair. He knows there's cake somewhere.

I knew it! Cake!

Happy birthday, my handsome boy. We love you so much. You have such a sweet spirit about you, and bring so much love, joy, and laughter to our home. Thank you for being Mommy's helper and holding Fredrick's squirrelly hands while she changes his diaper. Thank you for giving me the best hugs when I tuck you in at night. You are such a good, patient big brother to Fredrick. You are a loved, loved boy.

A Year of Fredrick

First Moment

First Day

First Week

First Month

Second Month

Third Month

Fourth Month

Fifth Month

Sixth Month

Seventh Month

Eighth Month

Ninth Month

Tenth Month

Eleventh Month

Twelve Months!! 

Happy Birthday sweet, funny, dimpled, stubborn, adorable, chubby-legged boy!! You are a very loved boy.

And just as a spoiler, here's a more recent one of the two partners in crime . . . 

And yeah. The little one is walking :)

Fredrick's Big Day!!

In September my littlest man turned 1. He is getting so grown up, and it is getting more and more ill-fitting a title for him to be called Baby. We were able to have a little party with big brother, Grandma and Papa Weatherspoon, Mom and Dad. 

My grown up boy got his very own grown up car seat just like brother. It was so cute because he knew just what it was for, and was ready to stake his claim!

What a lucky boy to have a big brother who can show him the ropes of present opening . . . 

 . . . and then have so much fun playing together! 

 Birthdays are super fun Mom and Dad!

Can you tell this boy loves his cars?

I think his presents were a success! Now on to the cake . . . 

If you recall his animal theme was the elephant. So I thought after Wesley's monkey cake, Fredrick deserved something special too.

The tentative first tastes. This isn't a trick? I can eat all this yummy sugar? And make a mess?

Why have you been feeding me that tasteless mush all these months? This is great!

Baby bliss.

Look how handsome the birthday boy is! And in his own little corduroy Tom's as well (Thanks Grandma Johnson!)

Baby Blues

I haven't been blogging for a long time. I was talking to my sister in-law a while back, and I admitted to her that I'd been hiding a bit. I had been a bit wobbly since giving birth to Fredrick--nothing dramatic, just wanting to stay in my pajamas all day and eat lots of chocolate mostly. Finally it came to a crisis point for me where I knew I didn't want to live like that anymore. I hadn't lost the baby weight, I felt sluggish, and I was just disappointed with how I was treating myself. So as cheesy as it may sound, I turned to my faith to make a life change. Faith not as in Ecumenical organization, but faith as in the concept that with divine help people can alter their circumstances. That we can overcome habits or ways of life, even ruts of depression. Because change is hard! And my yoga pants and over-sized sweatshirts were really comfortable. And I like chocolate.

So after six weeks, I am back. I exercise and hour a day, I have been watching my calories with an android ap, but those are just the outward manifestations of the real change. I'm not hiding out in my sweats anymore. I have been organizing play dates with girls from church. I am more proactive with my family. I am more at peace with myself and who/what I am. And most of all, I know that (with help) I can change.

I have a lot of catching up to do, and I am well aware that pretty much no one else cares about what we have been doing since March. But I would like to keep this family record for us to look back on, and the fun/hard/crazy/wonderful times we have experienced.

Oh, and a small shout out to Tracy Anderson and her crazy Metamorphosis workout dvd's. So far I've lost a total of 7 inches and 8 pounds. I had absolutely no muscle mass after two rounds of bed rest and two c-sections, so I didn't lose any weight for awhile as I gained muscle back while losing fat. The metamorphosis program is 90 days of workouts, which I will end in mid January. I'll let you know what the final tally is at the end!