19 months old!

So yes, Parker is almost 20 months old and I'm just getting around to his 19 month update (He was 19 months on December 2).  I would just skip it, but I did go to the trouble to actually take his picture several weeks ago, so I guess I will do a brief update.  Happy 19 months, Parker!  :)



He was not much for posing on that day, but I did manage to find a smile or two...


Part of the reason I never got around to doing the update is because these kids have been taking me to my limits!  I've been exhausted!  Parker is full speed, all day long.  And he is constantly trying to get into everything he can, particularly the things that should be off limits.  It's a good thing he's cute.  :)  When he is doing something he should not, he is always smiling and laughing devilishly.  

Also, Parker has not been sleeping as well as usual, and I think it can be attributed to his teeth.  In addition to what I'll discuss below, he's had some sleepless nights because his "canine" teeth have been coming in (not sure if that's what they are called on the bottom too, but he's been getting in all four).  I think all four have come through the gum at this point, but he still keeping his hands in his mouth quite a lot. 

Another thing that has kept us busy this past two months has been visiting the doctor.  It took four rounds of antibiotics, but I think we finally outsmarted Parker's ear infections.  Poor guy, he went 18 months with no ear infections, and then couldn't shake this double infection for about six weeks.  At one point it was so bad that he screamed bloody murder when the doctor just tried to look in his ears.  He was miserable.  I'll probably take him back for a recheck one more time, but hopefully it's gone.  In addition, he and his brother also battled a sinus infection and several colds.  It was a sniffly end to fall, and I'm not expecting the winter to be much kinder.  We'll have to hang in there!

One thing I've learned in all these doctor's visits is that Parker is growing just fine.  At his last visit, (with clothes, shoes and possibly a wet diaper) he weighed 30 pounds, 6 ounces.  He is solid.  It took me a while to figure out why my arms kept feeling so sore, but then I finally realized it was from toting Parker around and fighting with him when he tries to get down and wiggle out of my arms when it's not a good time for him to do so (like as I'm walking up the stairs).  He is wearing 24 months clothing and a few 2T things.  I do buy him a few new things here and there, but for the most part, hand-me-downs sure are great.

When we took pictures for the Christmas card, there was so much chasing after Parker and picking him up and putting him back in the spot for the pose that I was totally out of breath and exhausted by the end of it.  He is a monkey...but we love him. 

He continues to be quite chatty and has a wide vocabulary.  Most of his chatter is one word at a time, but he has many, many words (over 50).  One funny thing he is saying right at this moment is "Idunno" -- which is "I don't know."  If we ask him something he doesn't know, that is what he will frequently say.  It's cute.  But my favorite word of his is how he calls his brother, "Poppy."  I don't know why, because he can say words with the "T" sound, but that's what he does.  I'll say: "Say Mommy." He says, "Mommy."  I say, "Say Daddy," and he says "Daddy."  I say, "Say Thomas," and he says "Poppy!"  And he loves Poppy very, very much.  

Parker and Thomas are really starting to play more and more with each other and it's really fun to watch.  Though the bad part is they are also conspiring together.  That is not so fun to watch.  In fact, it makes me feel a bit outnumbered. 

Not much else to share this month...  He eats well enough.  He hates vegetables and will not eat them, at all, no matter how they are presented to him (the only "vegetable" he'll eat is not really a vegetable, but sweet potatoes and sweet potato fries).  If he finds so much as a speck of any vegetable in his mouth, he will find it and spit it out.  We must remedy this some day and I keep giving him a little bit on his plate every night, but for now it's a no go.  He's eating less meat lately too, but he loves cheese, fruit, milk, mac n' cheese, crackers, yogurt and many other regular kid fare.  

Now for a few more pictures...


He is quite the ham, and really is not interested in sitting still and posing next to the bear...


This is what mostly what I get at picture time...


And something like this...


And then I give up and tickle tackle him on the floor...


Perhaps I'll make it to doing his 20 month update before he is almost 21 months, but I make no promises.  :)

Merry Christmas!

Have yourself a Merry little Christmas...


I hope this day has been full of joy and laughter for each of you. 


In the bustle and craziness of all the gifts, we are ever grateful all of them, but reminded of the reason for the season...and the greatest gift of all. 

My children are my miracles, and I am so very thankful for them.  And I enjoy nothing more than seeing Christmas through their eyes.  Christmas is for children. 


Merry Christmas to all, and to all a GOOD NIGHT!

An old-fashioned Christmas parade

Trey took the boys up to his parents' house this year for the annual Lowry's Christmas Old-Fashioned Christmas parade while I stayed home and got ready for the holidays here. Everyone had a wonderful time (and I had a much-needed respite by myself, and was quite productive for a change).

As you may recall, the parade is not for cars or trucks. Instead, it is for tractors...


And animals...


And some really creative and unique "floats":


And just like any good parade, there is lots of candy being thrown. And from the looks of their loot, it seems that the boys did just fine catching their share:


And of course, at the end of any Christmas parade, Santa must appear:


The boys had a great time with Nana & Umpa...


And Aunt Beth...


And back at the house, the boys had much time to play with Mary D and "B," which always makes them happy. Here are Thomas and "B":


Many thanks to my husband for taking them, and to everyone for taking such good care of them and showing them such a fun time while they were there. I hated to miss it, but Mommy needed a break! :)

Christmas class party

To finish the school year, Thomas enjoyed a wonderful Christmas party with his class. The kids were too cute as they sang their blessing:



Thomas couldn't wait to dig into his bag of cheetos:


Afterward his teachers presented the children with their Christmas gifts, which included a book about New Year's Eve. In it, they included a picture of each child (in his/her own book).


In the back of the book, the teacher's started a sentence: "In the new year I plan to..." Thomas filled in his blank with "run on the sidewalks." :) I thought that was a cute, and safe, thought for the new year.

Thomas has enjoyed his 3s class and loves his teachers.


This was actually the last day for his assistant teacher (pictured on the left), who has to start student teaching to finish her master's degree in the spring. I know Thomas will miss Ms. S, but will adapt easily to her replacement.

I had to giggle about the artwork in the hallway. I have quickly learned that Thomas is the minimalist when it comes to artwork. His teacher tells me it's because he would rather be playing, but he's just not all that interested. When artwork is displayed in the hallway, I can always easily pick out Thomas' just by finding the one with the least amount of drawing.

The kids created beautiful Christmas trees and attached cut-out pictures from catalogs of things they wanted for Christmas. Can you tell which one is Thomas'?


Yes, that would be his, the first on the left. His wish toys were some tree thing and a ladybug tent. I wonder if Santa will come through for him?

Naughty or nice?

We heard Santa was wondering who exactly has been naughty and who has been nice this year. So we sought out to find him and located him at the James Island Festival of Lights. Hopefully this picture doesn't show the answer he found with our children...

Parker is okay with the big guy from afar, but doesn't quite want anything to do with him up close. Thomas, however, promised Santa he is the nice one. Let's hope Parker didn't hurt his feelings too much!

Gymnastics class

Thomas took a gymnastics class as a supplement at his school last semester. We wanted him to take a supplement, and that was about the only not-too-girly class that worked with our schedule. He likes to tumble around at home too so I figured he would enjoy it. Even though he was only one of two boys in the class of 12 children, he enjoyed it very much.

On December 16, parents were invited to come to class so that the kids could display all that they had learned.

First there was "the bridge":



Walking the "balance beam":


Ta-dah!


Preparing for his flip:


Pushing up on the bar:


And then at the end, they earned their certificates and their medals. Thomas was so proud of his medal!


Since there was nothing else that fit our schedule next schedule, he'll be taking gymnastics again in the spring. I think he'll enjoy it just fine!

Santa flies a C-17

Last weekend was the annual visit with Santa aboard a C-17. It's a fun way to see Santa every year, even though this year it was the coldest I ever remember it being! Brrrrr! Luckily, once we were on board, it was warm and toasty.



Santa touched down just after noon in his C-17 (the reindeer are taking a little siesta before the big day!), and taxied down the runway...


See Santa? (This year he didn't open the window and wave his arm outside...you'd think Santa is used to the cold by now!)


Once on board, it was funny to see Trey's former plane, the C-130, just out back:


Then we waited our turn to see the big guy. Thomas had no problem going to sit on Santa's lap.


Parker, however, could not be convinced. Eliza, my niece easily went to Santa's knee. We didn't even try to make Parker go this time. I still need to share the picture of the boys on Santa's lap at the Festival of Lights. Talk about "Naughty and nice"! Or maybe "Happy and Sad!"

Anyway, after that we stepped up to the cockpit. I'm pretty sure this is what trouble looks like...our two boys at the controls of a plane that costs a number with more zeroes behind it than I can count...


"Trouble? Who, me?!?!"


The boys and their Daddy...

One last picture, the inside of the plane as seen from the little window up in the cockpit (well, in the bunkbeds up there):


We were just about the last people off the plane! At one point, that plane was completely packed. I think I heard someone say there were 100 kids receiving gifts from Santa this year. It was a good time.

Of course this week, every time Thomas sees a C-17 flying around Charleston (which has been quite a few times this week!), he hasn't been saying his usual, "That's a plane like Daddy flies!" Instead he keeps saying, "I think Santa is on that plane." :-)

Stringing up the lights

We had a little problem with the tree and its stand and it took me until yesterday to fix it well enough to feel like we could start decorating the tree. So finally tonight since Thomas took a nap I let him stay up a little later than usual to help me put on the lights. He was most excited!


Unfortunately two strands of lights no longer work, so we'll have to head out tomorrow and buy replacements. Thomas has already requested that we have colored lights next year. Oh, and I should note that he is wearing his new favorite pajamas. I got those pjs (and a matching pair for Parker) a couple weeks ago and ever since, Thomas has asked to wear them every night! I have washed them every other day so that he can at least wear them every other day and that seems to keep him happy. It's so funny because he has never been that way about any article of clothing, but he loves his new railroad train pajamas. Funny.


I love extreme happiness that only costs about ten dollars. :)

3s Christmas program

Last Friday I was so excited to attend Thomas' very first school "program." I did not know what to expect. Part of me worried that he'd want to run out and sit with me (he told me all week he was going to do this), part of me thought he'd sit up there and refuse to sing along, and part of me hoped he'd just be himself and do fine! In the end, he did great. He did tire of it and spent the second half of th performance yawning and looking at something on the seat beside him, but it was a lot of fun to watch him and all of the other three year olds perform.



When they first came in, they walked in with the most confused and bewildered look on their faces, not quite sure why the auditorium was full of faces and cameras. The kids took their places on the stage. Thomas scanned the audience and eventually found me. He waved his hand and said aloud, "Hey Mommy!" After the first song, he found his Aunt Beth and yelled out a greeting to her and then did the same for his Nannie. And then at one point he said, aloud, "Mommy, you told me Nannie & Aunt Beth would be here!" He certainly wasn't shy!

This event made me wish we had a fancier camera. All of my pictures came out fuzzy and full of red eyes. It could also be somewhat due to the fact that I was simultaneously holding the video camera and catching every second for Trey, who unfortunately was on his way back into town that morning but was unable to make it in time.

This was Thomas (far left) from about the middle until the end...yawning!


There were four classes of three year olds participating.


And Santa made a surprise visit at the end to tell the children what a wonderful job they did.


I recorded the entire performance with our video camera, but I made this tiny clip from our other camera (while holding the video camera!) for your listening pleasure (I haven't figured out yet how to make clips from the video camera). So enjoy the acoustic beauty (ha!) of a bunch of tots making sweet music. :) Oh, and this was toward the end of the program (it was only about 20 minutes long) and you can see that many of the natives are restless (Thomas included!):



It was a lot of fun and I look forward to the next performance.

A week of dusting

*dust* *dust*

Okay, okay, I'm going to try to do better in here! My resolution this week is to make a new blog post every day. We'll see if I can do it (seeing how I also need to find time to get Christmas cards out, finish Christmas shopping, create Christmas gifts, and generally keep my house and kids in line!). But hey, I've got tons of free time!

Just in case anyone forgot, including myself (the one is who constantly worn ragged by these two little Energizer bunnies known as my children), the boys that should be the subject of this blog are still cute and adorable. :) They are just keeping me on my toes more than ever. But lest anyone forget, here's the firstborn son, giving his best "I'm innocent!" look...


And here's the other one...the one we affectionately and appropriately have begun to refer to as "the bad mammajamma":


Believe me, lately he is, indeed, one bad mammajamma, but we love him all the same. :)