Colt Man Turns 3!!

I can't believe three years ago we brought home our sweet little Colt Man. I must have been crazy to think I could handle a 22 month old and a newborn. I had no idea what to do with a boy, but I wouldn't trade him for anything in this world. I don't think I could love anything as much as I love my Colt Man. He brings us so much joy. He loves Peppa Pig, trains, and Peppa Pig. He is my snuggle buddy and gets the bulk of my kisses. Did I mention he loves Peppa Pig?

I can't believe either of them was ever this little. A lot of hair has been grown between the two of them in the past three years!

 

We were planning to be in Birmingham the weekend of Colt's birthday, so my mom and I decided to have him a Peppa Pig party with our family. My mom graciously found cute decorations and even an adorable and yummy Peppa Pig cake. We were set!

 

But before we left for Birmingham, we had to do one thing...

 

Put up the big boy bed!!  He loved his crib, so I didn't know how he would take it, but he loved it!! He has done so well at night. I was excited because he can get out of the bed himself in the morning. Both mornings he has woken up and said, "I'm ready to wake up." He won't get out of it by himself...sheesh.

 

 

Isn't this the cutest cake ever?! My mom found a girl on Facebook who made this. I didn't want to cut into it and ruin it!

 

I can't stand the cuteness! He is just the sweetest boy, and I want to eat him up! He got to put his own candles in..

 

and attempt to blow them out. Poor thing. You could see his hair flying up as he tried to blow out. He finally got it done and we dug in.

 

The cake was strawberry, and it was delicious!

 

We opened presents next. I guess when you are that little you don't remember opening birthday presents, and it's a little overwhelming. Everything was so cool, and it was about to blow his mind!! My family did so good, and got him things he loves! We got him this Peppa house, and it is the best thing! Auntie Beth and Uncle Billy got him a Peppa car, and he is set! He sat on the front porch today and played with it forever!

 

Meme found a game of Pin the Cake on the Plate. Everyone got a turn. Most everyone did good and got it close to the plate. However, I think Beth and I should have won. We are the two pieces in Peppa's mouth! But the winner was...

 

Avery!!!! Good thing, too, because her prize was Peeps. They didn't last very long in those little hands.

 

Sweet cousins had so much fun playing. I love Colt's smile in this picture. Pure joy.

 

In everyone's goody bag was a can of silly string. We went outside and tried it out. My poor kids had trouble getting it out, but Jack and Tate were chasing each other around. What a fun night!!

 

The next day was a glorious, warm day. We went to the park before we headed home. We had so much fun celebrating Colt's birthday with my family. My mom went above and beyond to make Colt's day special. We are looking forward to what Colty will learn and do this year. Whatever it is, it will make us laugh and love him even more!



January is almost over!

I can't believe we are already a month into 2016! I'm going to blink and my sweet babies will be in college! Just a couple of blog-worthy moments this month...

Right after the new year Daniel and I took a trip to Chattanooga by ourselves. Apparently I didn't take any pictures of the view from the Incline. I guess they are all on Daniel's phone. We went into the lobby of the Chattanooga Choo Choo. It was still decorated for Christmas and absolutely gorgeous.

The kids got an Olaf waffle maker for Christmas, and it ended up being one of the best gifts! It makes perfect little Olafs, and they are delicious! Even Colt will eat a whole Olaf waffle!

 

We were invited to our first birthday party! Jace is in Avery's class, and he had his fifth birthday party at Chuck E Cheese's...aka hell. Whoever invented that place should be shot. Avery, Colt, and Daniel had a blast! I took Colty around which is why I don't have many pictures of Avery. That's her with the birthday boy in the bottom picture. It sure was an interesting (and expensive) day.

 

And some pictures of the cutest boy in the world. We spend a lot of time together, and I've tried to do more things with him so he's not watching Peppa Pig ALL day long (just most of the day). We went to the mall one day to play in the little play area. I was traumatized when I looked over and saw an 18 month old sucking on the biggest boob you've ever seen. I will never be the same again...Even though my stomach was still churning, Colt can always go for a donut, so we stopped at Krispy Kreme. Avery likes playing Headbanz, and Colt decided to join in. Only he kept telling us what was on our heads. He kept his on while he played the Leap Pad. I can't even with the cuteness. Since he doesn't go to school yet, I guess it's my job to teach him things. I got out the letter flashcards, and he made a train. We said each letter and the word that went with it. He did better than I thought!

 

And then this happened!! We were right on the edge of the snow that was supposed to hit, and we didn't know how much, if any, we would get. The snow started Friday afternoon and we ended up with about an inch and a half. The kids had fun playing in it...for about ten minutes. The wind was ridiculous!!

 

When we tried to throw snowballs, the wind just blew them back in our faces! Colt didn't like that too much.

 

Daniel took Avery out through the fields on the four wheeler. It was so windy on the way back, Avery had her hat over her face. Still a fun day in the snow!

 

Colt didn't last too long. While Daddy and Avery were four wheeling, he was inside watching, wait for it....Peppa Pig.

 

We got our snow for the year. Now I'm ready for summer! If I could talk Daniel into it, I would definitely move to Miami. January has been fun. Now we are looking forward to February and celebrating Daddy and Colt's birthdays. Can't believe my baby will be three. Anyone want to potty train him for me??



The Birth of a Savior

Before our world got turned upside down, we had a wonderful time celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior. We are blessed with lots of family to celebrate with, but I really enjoyed being with my people on Christmas Day and staying in my pjs all day. We had a busy week or so leading up to Christmas. Here's a recap...

A couple days before school let out, Avery had Polar Express Day at school, and she got to wear her pjs. Notice the adorable Peppa Pig slippers courtesy of Meme. So cute.

 

The next day Avery had her Christmas program at school. I didn't know people got there super early to get good seats. We ended up in the very back on the bleachers. Each class sang a song. Avery did so good. Where I come from every little girl wears a bow bigger than her head everywhere she goes. I'm pretty sure Avery was the only kid with a bow (much smaller than her head).

 

We went back to Avery's room and had some cookies before Christmas vacation officially began. Avery's sweet teachers gave her a board game and a book. I was happy to give our old nasty version of Candy Land away.

 

We had one more dance class before the break, and when we got done we went to see Daddy at his first stop at the good ol' Fayetteville Walmart. The kids had fun climbing up into the cab of Daddy's truck. It's amazing how big those things are!

 

Saturday night we went to my dad's house. We played Dirty Santa with As Seen on TV gifts. For the most part they were pretty good gifts. We got an awesome can opener and a one second slicer that sliced my finger open in one second flat. I was so excited about Colt's gift from Peepaw and A...we don't have any Peppa Pig toys, and these are so cute! Avery got some nail polish that actually shows up on your fingers. Even Colt got his polished. We don't see Peepaw, A, and Sarah Grace enough, and it was fun to catch up and laugh.

 

Sunday afternoon Daniel's family came over. We ate more food than we possibly needed, and I was glad I had on stretchy pants (or as Joey calls them, Turkey Pants). With Daniel's family opening presents is a free-for-all, so I didn't really see anyone in particular open their gifts. We had lots of fun fellowshipping (is that a word?).

 

My mom and Tate were planning to visit on Monday, so Tate just stayed with us on Sunday since he was already near us. We went for donuts in our pjs Monday morning before Meme got there. And here are the kids sitting on my new rocker Papaw gave me for my birthday. Isn't it great??!!

 

Christmas Eve came, and we all pulled out our short sleeves. I loved it! We went to the mall to finish up any shopping we had left. The kids played in the astronaut play area, then we went to my favorite, Baumhower's, for lunch. Nothing like sitting outside on Christmas Eve eating a royal rooster with your favorite people in the world. Can't think of anything better.

 

We came home and got ready for Santa to come. We made some cookies that turned out edible, but not pretty, and left some with milk by the front door so Santa would be sure to see them.

 

I snuck a peek at what Santa brought before the kids woke up. He did a good job, as usual. Santa was smart not bringing Colt much more than the train table because that is all he cared about. That boy is in love with this table and all his trains.

 

Avery got a Frozen scooter that she loves. This Hello Kitty art kit was also a big hit. Notice Colt wearing shorts. Another warm day! We feel so blessed to be able to share Christmas with each other. What a great day we had.

 

So Avery has been wanting this Wubble Bubble ball thingy forever, and luckily Santa brought her one. Daniel filled it with helium, and it started out big. It floated for maybe ten seconds, and about two minutes later it was the size it started out as. Another As Seen on TV product bites the dust.

 

Christmas night we made Jesus a strawberry birthday cake. We finished our advent with some words of praise and sang Jesus Happy Birthday. Opening gifts was fun, but celebrating the birth of Jesus was icing on the cake (no pun intended). Without Jesus, we would have no hope, no grace, no mercy. We are so thankful for the suffering Jesus went through so that we could live forever. Especially now, in the aftermath of Christmas, I can't wait get to heaven and live eternity with Jesus.

 

The day after Christmas we went to Birmingham to celebrate with my family. Our first stop was sweet Memaw's. We love visiting Memaw, and she always gives the best gifts. Avery and Colt got their own bumble bee pillow pet, which has always been a favorite toy at Memaw's.

 

I guess I didn't take any pictures of us opening gifts at Meme's, but this is the kids playing with a gift from Anne. It's a croquet game with jungle animals. It is the cutest thing. And the weather was perfect for playing outside.

 

Yes, these pictures were taken at the end of December. We were playing outside and heard the ice cream truck! What a fun treat in the middle of winter!

 

The next day our world was shattered, but we are relying on God's Word to get us through. He has shown us an abundance of mercy and grace, and an unconditional love that can come only from Him. I hope our faith through this time will show those unbelievers around us that God works everything for good, and He is the only reason we have comfort in this terrible situation.

 

"My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life."

Psalm 119:50

 

"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us."

Romans 8:18