Date Knight

Last weekend I had the honor of introducing Ryan to the world of gentlemanly manners on a date. :)

Chick-fil-a has hosted a father/daughter date night for a few years and I have always loved the special time that Chris has had with Anna-Kate. However, I've always been sad that there is nothing for moms and sons (as, you know, I will have three of them and all. And, boys seem to need a little more instruction on the ways to treat a lady...). So, I was thrilled to hear about "date knight". We got dressed up, heading to our local Chik and were seated at a table with a table cloth, "rock" (plastic) walls, shield shaped placemat, (with crayons to draw/color the animals we wanted our family to symbolize--Ryan chose a mouse for trust and a lion for bravery) balloons and flowers. 

Handsome little man! So excited to wear his tie. :)

They gave all of the boys roses to give to their moms. He was so excited to give it to me. Precious. It was very special one-on-one time with my Ryan. We sat and talked, (there were even some suggested questions/topics on the table--like, "if you had to choose between never eating icecream or never eating candy again, what would you choose?" (Ryan and I both agreed we could give up candy before icecream!) and ordered off the menu to a server dressed in knightly attire. He got to choose anything he wanted, which included his own lemonade, kids meal with fruit--I shared my fries, and an icecream sundae (notice the chocolate on his shirt and the missing tie in the last picture? Lol.). I got to help instruct him on how to act on a date, like taking a shower and putting on nice clothes before heading out, not jumping on the seats, looking his date in the eyes, answering her questions and asking some of his own.

So, in conclusion, your welcome, future daughter-in-law. :)

The tradition continues

Ahhh. I love the Christmas season. I generally even rally and blog every day in December (clearly, not the case this year...). I love the decorations and freshening up of spaces that stay the same all year. I love the wonder and excitement in my childrens' eyes as we put up our tree and they see their ornaments from years past and gleefully see lights around the neighborhood (we have awesome neighbor's who go crazy all out with lights...like a whole cul-de-sac of Griswolds!). I love the parties, decorating gingerbread houses, as much as it beyond stresses me out, buying and wrapping presents and sitting at home on the couch with Chris after the kids are in bed quietly enjoying the lights and the tree. In short, December is a month of very special memories and traditions, and I am just the kind of sap that lives for that! :) I love the teachable moments of things eternal that the constant talk of giving, sharing, and Jesus coming to earth afford me.

So, last night we continued our tradition of attending the Nutcracker. We were blessed by a friend who had access to some free tickets (yes, free!) and shared some with us. It's a pricey tradition I've started, so I was very thankful. Leigh-Ann and Lydia drove with us and my mom and Aunt Julia drove up to meet us for our traditional dinner pre-show. Side note, I kicked myself all night for getting something new and not my absolute favorite, the shrimp and grits. O well, I have the recipe from the restaurant that is part of our Christmas morning breakfast line up (yes, another tradition!)! :) Anyway. The show was beautiful, as always, but even more special this year as Anna-Kate was able to read (and was so proud of herself) the signage, as well as knowing the story so well that we whispered what was coming next and talked about how it was different from last year. I swear, I am watching that girl grow up before my eyes...and it ain't watching grass grow, it's happening fast!

Ladies Night Out! (which the girls told a couple of older gentlemen at the restaurant-ha!)

{And yes, I'm in that horribly awkward, "absolutely nothing fits me so I try and not look indecent as I wait for maternity clothes to fit" stage. Lovely.}

Fun out of the mundane

In an effort to establish fun {sometimes silly} traditions, I attempt to make a big deal out of even the smallest holidays. :) Anna-Kate had been learning about St. Patrick's Day at school {and woke up every day for a week saying, "I have to wear green today or I get a pinch!!!" Ha.}. So, I woke up extra early that Thursday (and was quite thankful that no one happened to be sick on that day in March...) and made a special breakfast. I made green banana pancakes, dyed their milk green and green eggs {and ham}. I felt like Dr. Seuss as I was making it as all I heard was, "I don't like green eggs and ham, just yellow eggs" from a certain almost-five-year-old, but when I served breakfast, there wasn't a bit of food left. I'd call that a success! :)







Only green thing Jack owns (can you tell I don't do "gender neutral" clothes...especially given people's confusion over his pretty little face?) and the first time I've ever put jeans on Ryan. Sniff, he's growing up.

Happy New Year!

The tradition continues...we went to the same local pizza place for our annual new years eve dinner with our friends. This year was their turn to host so we headed over there after dinner. After the kids were down we ate and ate and ate chocolate fondue and chips and guacamole. The diet coke and "jingle juice" were flowing. It was such a fun time, as always. We turned the tv on about 11:50 and watched poor Dick Clark ring in another new year. Leigh-Ann and I sat out on her front porch and watched neighbors shooting off fireworks. We are so blessed to have such dear friends--they are truly like family.

Last family picture of 2010



All boy, just like his brother. First thing he did was find a sword and then attempt to scale the stairs with it.



Then he took a short break from trying to sneak past me up the stairs to go visit his girlfriend, Sadie.



Cheers to 2011!



With my dear friend, Leigh-Ann



Chris is such a goofball he had us rolling trying to get a decent picture. :)

It just wouldn't be mid-December without one of these...

...the ol' gingerbread house.

If you'll remember from years gone by, I have let go of my need for symmetry and just take the pictures now.

Intent on decorating. (Sidenote, I got a tip from a friend about hot gluing the house together the night before decorating. I had ever intention of doing this and opened the box to discover that Wilton's house is already assembled. Be still my heart.)



Love that she hears me adjusting my camera and automatically smiles for me {my husband, on the other hand, is a total goofball!}



"cheese, canthispleasecountsoIcangobacktoplayingwithcandy?"



Focused and determined to squeeze as many pieces of candy into as small of a section as humanly possible {shudder}.



Working on a pattern. She got highly frustrated when she ran out of a color and it messed up her pattern. :)



This picture is a small miracle for me--Ryan is both smiling and looking at the camera.

The tradition lives on...

...only by my fierce determination.

Today we visited Santa. I don't know what I was thinking, waiting until the week of Christmas, it was a zoo. Chris and I "divided and conqured" (though, I believe by the end of it, we were conquered, but whatever). I took the kids to wait for Santa while he waited in the line for the pink pig. I was very happy with the smiles (I will do a year by year comparison of Santa pictures soon...should be fun.) I asked Anna-Kate what she was going to ask Santa for (gotta make sure we're all on the same page, afterall) and she said, "mom, I am asking for a Rapunzel dress, I've told you like twenty times!". Ryan couldn't decide between Cranky the crane and Henry the train. The big kids giggled when Santa asked Jack what he wanted--it was cute. (Bonus, no tears!)

My girl smiled the whole time (I may or may not have told her she couldn't ride the pink pig if she didn't smile...)



I love how intently she is telling him about the princess dress she wants.



Hugs for Santa!



We then headed up stairs to join Chris in the insane chaos line. All told, we were in line three hours (with Chris being there for almost all of it except when he left to bring Chick-fil-a back to the line!!) to ride that blasted pig! Part of me wanted to leave (so very much of me, in fact) but I knew we wouldn't make it over there again (it's so far!) and I knew I'd be mad at myself if we didn't have this tradition continued. So, I present our memory for Christmas 2010. Priscilla, the pink pig.



Anna-Kate was crying because I told her she could choose any of the seats that were left for us (she wanted the front, naturally). We got the last seats, in the middle.



I about lost it when they weren't going to let Jack ride because we hadn't bought him a ticket and only two people are allowed to a seat. I calmly and rationally told the man exactly what I thought about that. Thankfully, the kind people in front of us offered to move up a row so we could all fit and the guy let Chris ride with Jack, (next to him, not on his lap) Ryan in the middle by himself, and Anna-Kate and I last. Ugh.

See how little he is? No nap, sitting on his own, and still smiling! Love that boy!

The first day of Christmas

...as defined by me. As we drive away from Thanksgiving dinner, the Christmas season begins {queue the "Hallelujah Chorus"}.

Last night we brought down all of the boxes from the attic. I spent this morning hanging garland and shopping the black Friday deals with my MIL while Chris got the tree up. We hit Kohl's then went out to a yummy lunch at a local deli, and on to Costco. We came back for the kids to nap and worked on the decorations some more.

Anna-Kate, Ann and I met my mom at a local tea room downtown for a yummy dinner (shrimp and grits, fried green tomatoes, fresh applesauce, sweet potato souffle, pot likker {with cracklin bread}, brunswick stew, greens, sweet rolls, and of course, the table wine of the South--sweet tea. YUM. We enjoyed our meal, (and I especially enjoyed my mother in law enjoying the Southern cuisine!) and then headed up a few blocks to our local theatre to take in The Nutcracker.

Here's the backstory on that: My mom and I had been wanting to go this year, but tickets are pricey and it's such a busy time of year we just hadn't scheduled it. My friend {Shout out--and HUGE thanks--to Tamara!!) called me on Wednesday to see if we were in town Friday. I said we were and she asked if I wanted some (FREE) tickets to the dress rehearsal performance. I don't think I could get the words "yespleasecanIhavefourticketsthankyousomuch" out fast enough. So awesome!

Anyway, we got there early since there were no seat assignments and it was first come first serve. We ran into friends and ended up sitting on the first row in the center, behind the conducter (much to his chagrin, I think). It was amazing. We were all wide-eyed to watch the inner workings of the show and to enjoy the facial expressions on the dancers' faces (something a bit difficult to do from a million yards away our normal seats!). :) The dancing was, of course, amazing. Equally as enjoyable was watching the conductor and the muscicians. It was like we were attending the symphony--so fun!

Some of my favorite quotes from Anna-Kate tonight...

{during the intermission time the dancers were practicing on stage.}
Anna-Kate: (whispering into my ear) "Mama, he's not very man-like", while pointing to a dancer with only his tights and no shirt on.
Me: "Umm, what did you say?"
AK: "He isn't man-like. You know, like we are lady-like. He isn't man-like without his shirt on. Oh, and aren't you glad I whispered this to you?"

***

Sighing loudly in frustration during the dance of the snow faries, "They keep moving! Now I'm gonna have to start my counting over!"

***

After the Sugar Plum Fairy finished her dance (which was amazing) she leans over and said, "Well, we haven't learned that yet in ballet."

***

With her Nana and Mimi at dinner.



Sure love being able to make special memories with this girl!



Anna-Kate was delighted to get to sit by her friend Hannah!



Group shot in front of the tree in the lobby.



Standing applause at the end. I know it's dark, but literally two feet in front of Anna-Kate is the orchestra pit.



And there they were...



I so wanted a (good) picture of the two of us. Alas, she was done. Here she is smiling with her eyes closed being silly. :)

Fair, take two

We went to visit my parents and see my grandparents last weekend. My grandpa is in an inpatient rehab facility, so we wanted to visit and encourage him, and I was dying to see Mana and their new home!

My dad, Mana and the kids:



Papa, with his namesake:



While we were there, we went to the national fair happening near their home. My kids talked about it incessantly. :)

We scored an a-maz-ing parking spot (closer than handicap, under a tree!). The weather started nice, but rose to a toasty 91 that afternoon-blech. We saw a miniature horse show, cows, (and were given free chocolate milk!) Anna-Kate rode a pony, we saw a 1 week old miniature donkey, visited the "exotic" pets, bounced like kangaroos, and Jack and I visited the nursing station they had set up (with piped in AC!!) while my parents took the kids to ride a couple of rides. SUCH a fun time! :)

Nana, Poppy and the grandbabies:



Ryan really was happy. Sadly, this is the best I can do for pictures with him lately.



We spent a loooong time trying out every.single.tractor.



Anna-Kate's first pony ride (well, technically, I put her on a pony last year, but her hysteric tears and death grip persuaded me to take her off after about 3.1 seconds.). So, her first successful pony ride--she loved it, and asked when she could ride another one! Yay!!





Checking out the "exotic" animals--giraffe, (named Jack) toucans, camels, zebras, baboons, various sheep from around the world, goats, (not so exotic, but whatever) some longhorn looking animal (seriously, its horns were wider than my kids are tall!).



I was SO mad. I tried (and clearly failed) to get a good picture of the giraffe and Ryan. He was crazy about it, and he was so close! I had one great shot where Ryan, Dad and the giraffe were looking and smiling, pushed click, and realized my photo card was full. Of course it was. Sigh.



Jack and the llama



Ryan and the goat (not a fan of petting the animals, surprisingly)



Love how prissy she looks in this picture--ha.



She loved petting all of the different animals, but, in typical first-born fashion, asked permission before touching each of them (every single time).



Thanks, Mom and Dad, for a fun day! My kids loved it, and I so appreciate the sweet memories. :)

A tease

Life has (yet again) gotten away from me (though, a good bit of that is out of my control--well, techinically, I believe all of life is out of my control, but I digress...). Any-who. I'm taking my kids to my parents' house to celebrate my dads' brithday (late) and visit Papa, who's recovering from knee replacement surgery. We continued our annual tradition of going to the pumpkin patch with our friends, (Leigh-Ann, Jonathan and their kids) but this picture is all I have time for right now.

Enjoy the sibling sweetnes:



Oh, and please be praying for Papa's recovery--it's been a long week and he isn't doing really well right now.

State Fair, 2010 edition

This week we went to the state fair. It is always such a fun time! Anna-Kate had so much fun last year that she has regularly been asking when we could go back again. She was beside herself with anticipation for the rides the whole day we went! We continued the tradition of going with our best friends, Jonathan and Leigh-Ann and their kids (sidenote, love family traditions and am so thankful for "kindred spirit" friends to share these child rearing years and memories with!).

The husbands rode in one car there and Leigh-Ann and I thought we would brilliantly beat the system by cramming all 6 kids, and us, in the van. We must have looked like a clown car as we pulled kid after kid out (hers were all in the back and had to be lifted over the seat to get in). Maybe not the brightest idea as it took us 30 minutes to get everyone in, but whatever. The parking attendant took pity on us and let me park for free and score a close spot!

We sprang for the unlimited ride passes for the 2 big kids and the moms and we let the kids choose what they wanted to ride. We fed the babies while the daddies took the big kids to see the animals and the elephant show, then it was more rides for us! Ryan's favorite was the "pirate ship" and we rode it twice. Anna-Kate loved the knock-off Dumbo elephant ride and the caterpillar roller coaster.

Family picture



Waiting to ride our first ride!



Lydia and Ryan on the fighter planes.



Sweet Jack...he is such a trooper. Poor 3rd kid. I would never have done this to my first two!! :) (Sidenote, see how laid back I'm getting in my old age?)



Ryan and Anna-Kate on the fish.





Family picture with Jack not in the stroller. :)



This is the caterpillar roller coaster that Anna-Kate had such a hard time with at age 2. And, they're off!



I told him if he got a little scared to hold Anna-Kate's hand. So sweet.



Finally loving it!



The husbands took the kids home at 9:15 and Leigh-Ann and I were like footloose and fancy free teenagers...we rode every ride and had a ball! Though, I will say it was weird being amidst so many highschoolers...we were certainly feeling old (and imagining how old and lame we looked to them).