This December we have been so blessed to enjoy many Christmas activities. The first weekend in December we went to a country store called ZAKS Mallardtown for their Christmas open house. They have a Santa there, complete with elves. There was a Christmas craft for the kids to make and refreshements too. The best part of all...you get to take your own Santa pictures and you don't have to pay a pricey photographer! I was even able to buy a few Christmas presents while there. This sounds great, right? Well, both of my kids have decided to be scared of Santa this year! At first I was frustrated because I was really banking on getting a good Christmas card picture. But I got such classic shots that I really couldn't be upset for long.
The next day was the Trent Woods Christmas parade. The school I work at pulls some kids from this neighborhood so we had a float in the parade. Abby and I rode in the float. It was a really nice Christmas parade! I really enjoyed being a mini celebrity for the day and spending that time with my Abby. She enjoyed it, but it was during her naptime. She spent much of the time half asleep! Todd and Tyler watched the parade at Garber UMC and were near our friends Sara and David with their cutie kids Jacob and Shannon. When we got to this point, I dropped Abby off with her Daddy so she could watch some of the parade.
Uncle Ryan the firefighter was nice enough to invite Abby and Tyler to the Township 7 Christmas party. It was a fun time for all! They served a yummy dinner followed by a visit from the Big Man himself...Santa! He even had a present for each boy or girl there. We were able to convince Abby to sit on his lap, but definately not Tyler. He clung to me! The firefighters were also given a gift in honor of their wonderful service to our community...a huge flat screen TV!
I'll post more later with our church activities and Tyler's birthday...our boy is one now!
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Monday, November 30, 2009
Our Birthday Princess
On Monday, November 16 we were excited to celebrate our Abigail's 3rd birthday. This is also Todd's birthday, but in his words "I don't have a birthday anymore." He's good natured about it, thankfully! She was his 25th birthday present and I tell him all the time I will never be able to top that present! I cannot believe how the time has flown. It seems like yesterday I was bringing her home from the hospital. Over the last year she has really done a lot of growing and changing. Over the last year she has become a big sister, been potty trained (woohoo), and has had multiple vocabulary explosions. Her time as a two-year old was a wild ride in our family filled with a lot of crying and tantrums, but also a lot of love and laughter. We can't wait to see what this year holds for her!
I think she really enjoyed her birthday party, which we held the Saturday before her birthday. We had many friends and family there for her "Hello Kitty" themed party. She received many wonderful gifts, but by far her favorite was her "Princess Ano." This is Abby-speak for a Princess Musical Lighted Vanity. She saw this in the Christmas wish book about a week before her birthday and just had to have it. We sent Uncle Justin to the Toys 'R Us in Greenville to get it, but they didn't have it. We called Target and Walmart, no luck. Todd and I ended up driving to Jacksonville the night before the party to get it at the Toys 'R Us there. It was so worth it to see the look on her face when she opened that present. We just pray that there are no last-minute Christmas requests!
Not related, but here is an exerpt from a conversation I had with Abby this past Saturday morning:
Abby: Mommy, I'm really tired.
Mommy: Me too. I didn't get enough sleep last night.
Abby: Mommy, you really need to take care of yourself.
Where she got that one, I have NO idea!
I will post pictures soon when I have a few minutes to upload them.
Tyler updates: He is almost walking. He has taken a step or two, but I haven't seen it. Todd and my dad have seen him do it. He is now finally saying "mama" but I think it's just when he's hungry. Funny how he still associates me with food even though it's been 3 months since I've nursed him. He loves cars and likes to "drive" them around. More updates to come on him because his birthday is approaching quickly too!
I think she really enjoyed her birthday party, which we held the Saturday before her birthday. We had many friends and family there for her "Hello Kitty" themed party. She received many wonderful gifts, but by far her favorite was her "Princess Ano." This is Abby-speak for a Princess Musical Lighted Vanity. She saw this in the Christmas wish book about a week before her birthday and just had to have it. We sent Uncle Justin to the Toys 'R Us in Greenville to get it, but they didn't have it. We called Target and Walmart, no luck. Todd and I ended up driving to Jacksonville the night before the party to get it at the Toys 'R Us there. It was so worth it to see the look on her face when she opened that present. We just pray that there are no last-minute Christmas requests!
Not related, but here is an exerpt from a conversation I had with Abby this past Saturday morning:
Abby: Mommy, I'm really tired.
Mommy: Me too. I didn't get enough sleep last night.
Abby: Mommy, you really need to take care of yourself.
Where she got that one, I have NO idea!
I will post pictures soon when I have a few minutes to upload them.
Tyler updates: He is almost walking. He has taken a step or two, but I haven't seen it. Todd and my dad have seen him do it. He is now finally saying "mama" but I think it's just when he's hungry. Funny how he still associates me with food even though it's been 3 months since I've nursed him. He loves cars and likes to "drive" them around. More updates to come on him because his birthday is approaching quickly too!
Welcome to the World, Caleb!
On November 4, 2009 my good friends Kara and Christopher welcomed a sweet baby boy, Caleb Hadyn to the world. He was a teeny guy, weighing in at 6lbs 4oz. After my two chunky babies he seemed especially tiny. I went up there to visit and get my hands on that precious boy the following Sunday. Here are some pictures from my trip!
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Halloween...a bit late!
Here it is, almost a month late, and I'm just now getting to our Halloween post. October was a busy month for us. It seemed as if we celebrated Halloween quite a bit! The weekend before Halloween, we took the kids to a great family-friendly party, hosted by a friend from my school. Abby had a blast! She had several kids to play with. We enjoyed a pot-luck dinner and a pumpkin carving contest. Todd was ambitious and found a template of Mickey Mouse and so this year we had a Mickey pumpkin. It was really cute!
The weekend of Halloween proved to be pretty busy as well. That Friday night, Todd and I actually had a grown-up Halloween party! We got together from some friends at my school and had a blast. It was the first time we have left either child with a babysitter for an evening out. Tyler did great. Abby did well, but was still awake at 1 am when we returned home. Guess we will have to work on that one next time. The day of Halloween, we had a wedding to attend. Our friend Jennifer got married and the wedding was so cute! It was completely a Halloween theme. We had to leave between the wedding and reception so that we could go Trick or Treating with the kids. This year Abby was a very pink princess and Tyler was Winnie the Pooh. They were both so cute! Thanks to Aunt Jessie for the pictures...we actually forgot our camera that night. By the way, we did not carve the awesome pumpkins. They were just so cool that we had to take a picture. The carriage in the picture just happened to be driving around downtown New Bern that night and the driver was so nice to let the princess have her picture taken with it. Every princess needs to travel in style, right?
The weekend of Halloween proved to be pretty busy as well. That Friday night, Todd and I actually had a grown-up Halloween party! We got together from some friends at my school and had a blast. It was the first time we have left either child with a babysitter for an evening out. Tyler did great. Abby did well, but was still awake at 1 am when we returned home. Guess we will have to work on that one next time. The day of Halloween, we had a wedding to attend. Our friend Jennifer got married and the wedding was so cute! It was completely a Halloween theme. We had to leave between the wedding and reception so that we could go Trick or Treating with the kids. This year Abby was a very pink princess and Tyler was Winnie the Pooh. They were both so cute! Thanks to Aunt Jessie for the pictures...we actually forgot our camera that night. By the way, we did not carve the awesome pumpkins. They were just so cool that we had to take a picture. The carriage in the picture just happened to be driving around downtown New Bern that night and the driver was so nice to let the princess have her picture taken with it. Every princess needs to travel in style, right?
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Pumpkin Time
Lately around the Williamson household it has been Pumpkin Time! This past Saturday, the whole family took a trek down to Mike's Farm. We took a hay ride out to the Pumpkin Patch where Abby and Tyler took a turn as professional pumpkin pickers! While we were there we made a trip around the farm to see all the animals. Abby enjoyed feeding the goats and donkey and Tyler just enjoyed the day hanging out with all of us.
Earlier today Nana and Granddaddy took Abby and Tyler back to the pumpkin patch, this time right here in downtown New Bern. Christ Episcopal Church has a pumpkin patch each year and some of the pictures below are from their trip today. Tyler and Abby took a wagon ride, went swinging, and hung out with the pumpkins. Uncle Ryan is excited about Tyler's shirt: Farmer in Training.
The final piece in the Pumpkin Puzzle is the Mickey Mouse Inflatable Pumpkin that Grammy Nan got for Abby and Tyler. Hopefully we'll get it blown up to get us in the real spirit of Fall and Halloween! Enjoy the pictures!
Earlier today Nana and Granddaddy took Abby and Tyler back to the pumpkin patch, this time right here in downtown New Bern. Christ Episcopal Church has a pumpkin patch each year and some of the pictures below are from their trip today. Tyler and Abby took a wagon ride, went swinging, and hung out with the pumpkins. Uncle Ryan is excited about Tyler's shirt: Farmer in Training.
The final piece in the Pumpkin Puzzle is the Mickey Mouse Inflatable Pumpkin that Grammy Nan got for Abby and Tyler. Hopefully we'll get it blown up to get us in the real spirit of Fall and Halloween! Enjoy the pictures!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Back to School!
Todd and I have been back in school now for a few weeks and we are trying to get back into the swing of things. We are both dealing with large class sizes and other effects of the budget crunch. Todd's team of 7th graders has 100+ students and my group of 1st graders is at 24, the legal cap for 1st grade in North Carolina. It has been a hectic opening of school, but we are surviving! The hardest part is not being able to spend as much time with Abby and Tyler as we would like.
Our Abby is growing up so much! We have been practicing on her big girl bike, and she is finally getting the hang of pedaling. Now we just have to work on the steering part! She really seems to enjoy it and she's really cute with her little Ariel helmet. We are having a new challenge with her...sibling rivalry. Now that Tyler is mobile, he is finding her toys. We are trying to teach her constructive ways to deal with this rather than the typical 2 year old responses of snatching and pushing him away. We're working on it! We have also noticed that the more tired Abby gets...the more clumsy she gets! Just the other week she got a black eye from running into a table on my mom's deck. Thank goodness that has faded! She also made her singing debut at church on Sunday singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. She was able to sing a few lines before she realized she had an audience and got embarrassed!
Tyler is doing a lot of developing lately and will turn nine months on Thursday. He is becoming such a big boy, although he's starting to thin out some. I can't believe that in a few months we will have another toddler on our hands! He's been scooting on his belly across the floor for a while now, but just Sunday he starting crawling on all fours. He's pulling up on furniture and finding all sort of cool things he shouldn't have! My baby is now waving bye-bye and saying "da-da" when he does it. I really think he means bye bye! He also loves peek a boo and pat a cake!
The pictures on this post are from a variety of things. There are some of Abby playing on the McDonald's playground on the way to Sanford on Labor Day weekend. There are also a couple of Tyler taking in the mariachi band at a new Mexican restaurant in town. He was mesmerized! And of course, I put in a few of Abby riding her bike.
On a more serious note, I need all of you to add a little girl named Rachel Smith to your prayer list. She is the great-granddaughter of Abby and Tyler's babysitter. She is 4 years old and has been fighting a disease called Blackfan Diamond Anemia all of her life. She's had a bone marrow transplant to counteract this disease, but is now having complications and may not make it. Pray for a miracle, and also keep her parents in your prayers too. They really need strength during this difficult time. Here is a link to her website through the Children's Organ Transplant Association.
Rachel's COTA Site
Our Abby is growing up so much! We have been practicing on her big girl bike, and she is finally getting the hang of pedaling. Now we just have to work on the steering part! She really seems to enjoy it and she's really cute with her little Ariel helmet. We are having a new challenge with her...sibling rivalry. Now that Tyler is mobile, he is finding her toys. We are trying to teach her constructive ways to deal with this rather than the typical 2 year old responses of snatching and pushing him away. We're working on it! We have also noticed that the more tired Abby gets...the more clumsy she gets! Just the other week she got a black eye from running into a table on my mom's deck. Thank goodness that has faded! She also made her singing debut at church on Sunday singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. She was able to sing a few lines before she realized she had an audience and got embarrassed!
Tyler is doing a lot of developing lately and will turn nine months on Thursday. He is becoming such a big boy, although he's starting to thin out some. I can't believe that in a few months we will have another toddler on our hands! He's been scooting on his belly across the floor for a while now, but just Sunday he starting crawling on all fours. He's pulling up on furniture and finding all sort of cool things he shouldn't have! My baby is now waving bye-bye and saying "da-da" when he does it. I really think he means bye bye! He also loves peek a boo and pat a cake!
The pictures on this post are from a variety of things. There are some of Abby playing on the McDonald's playground on the way to Sanford on Labor Day weekend. There are also a couple of Tyler taking in the mariachi band at a new Mexican restaurant in town. He was mesmerized! And of course, I put in a few of Abby riding her bike.
On a more serious note, I need all of you to add a little girl named Rachel Smith to your prayer list. She is the great-granddaughter of Abby and Tyler's babysitter. She is 4 years old and has been fighting a disease called Blackfan Diamond Anemia all of her life. She's had a bone marrow transplant to counteract this disease, but is now having complications and may not make it. Pray for a miracle, and also keep her parents in your prayers too. They really need strength during this difficult time. Here is a link to her website through the Children's Organ Transplant Association.
Rachel's COTA Site
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Tea Party
One of Abby's favorite thing to do it play tea party. She has a few tea sets and it's one of the few things that can keep her occupied for an extended period of time. She even has one in the bath tub. For months my mom has promised Abby a real tea party. So in memory of my precious Nana (Abby knows her as Nana Carol) we had a tea party. We invited our favorite New Bern ladies, dressed up, and had a fabulous time. Nana Hix, Grammy Nan, Auntie Dot, Aunt Elaine, my aunt Dot's friend Sally, mama, Abby, and I were in attendance. Nana Carol was watching over us as mama and I wore her hats! Mom had her kitchen decorated with a lace table cloth, pink plates, and bright orange daisies (Abby picked these out). We had hot tea, lemonade, and iced tea and ate some yummy fancy food. A good time was had by all, and we will definately make a habit out of it for Abby. A big thank you to my mom for organizing it for my girl!
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