Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve and morning at home and then traveled to Birmingham and Hamilton to see our families. We went to the candlelight service at church Christmas Eve and then the boys went to bed early in anticipation of Santa's arrival. Tate prayed that night that Jesus would have a good birthday the next day. The boys had a great time in the morning playing will all their new loot. At lunchtime we headed to Birmingham to celebrate with the cousins and Grandma, then on to Hamilton to see G-Ma and Pop. Travis' sister and brother-in-law joined us there with the rest of the boys' cousins. It was a gift, food and family overload and we loved every minute of it!

Holiday Festivities

We have had a whirlwind of activities going on since Thanksgiving. Tate and his class went caroling at a nursing home and had pajama day at school. Miller also had a Christmas party in his class. Then we took the boys to Botanical Gardens to check out their Christmas lights. Now we are ready to slow down, spend time with our families and celebrate Jesus' birth.

Roommates

When I was pregnant with Miller, we bought bunk beds for Tate's room with the intent that the boys could someday be roommates. Well, these days Miller is attempting all things "big boy", like potty training, so he decided he wanted to sleep in Tate's room. The first night they both slept in the bottom bed (which has a full size mattress). Tate told me the next morning that he would try to roll over and then remember that Miller was with him. Sleep is sacred in our house, so I have since suggested that Tate sleep on the top bunk and Miller on the bottom. So far it is quite a hit and if we could get Miller to do all of his "business" in the potty we would really be making progress:)


Oh, and notice Miller is sleeping in a Spiderman costume. He loves dress up more than any other boy I know.

Thanksgiving in O-town

Travis and I decided at the last minute to trek down to Orlando for Thanksgiving. My sister and her family were going also so we figured it would be fun to all be down there together. I had not been home for Thanksgiving or Christmas for 9 years and Travis had not been to Orlando in almost 5 years, so we figured we would take the opportunity and go:) We stuffed ourselves with two Thanksgiving meals, and spent Friday at Disney. The crowds were somewhat big, but not unbearable. The boys enjoyed every minute of it and it was an extra bonus to be able to share the fun with their cousins. On Saturday Travis and I were able to see some of our childhood friends and catch up with them. It was certainly worth the 22 hours in the car!:) Not to mention we left the sunny Florida weather to return to snow in Huntsville!







Miller surrendered at 9:30...he just couldn't go anymore:)

Pilgrims Pride

Tate and Miller had their Thanksgiving Program at school Thursday night. They were both pilgrims, as opposed to Indians. Miller was not too enthusiastic about his costume, but Tate seemed to be a little more in the Thanksgiving spirit.

Veterans Day

The boys did not have preschool yesterday, so we decided to make the most of it and go to the Veterans Day Parade downtown. We sat on the curb and they were both mesmerized by the marching soldiers, military vehicles, fire trucks and marching bands. I even got a little teared-up when the older veterans rode by in vans from the veterans home. The parade was a great follow-up to election day last week when Tate and Miller accompanied me to vote, there were a lot of lessons in what it means to be an American.

Tate's Birthday Celebration

Tate turned five on Wednesday which kicked off a four day celebration. It began with cookies at school with his pals, followed by visits by his Aunt Gracie (Travis' sister), and his cousins, and then Grandma. It had been entirely too long since Mary Grace had ventured to see us, understandably so since she has a new baby. So, we got to love on Sadie and have fun with Neely, too. My mom also came for the weekend for Tate's birthday party. We had the party at his gymnastics gym, so all the kids ran and bounced around. It was quite a hit!


Tate's new ride

Aunt Gracie and Sadie


Riding the carousel at our new outdoor mall

I rode in this little teacup with Miller...made me feel like I had had one too many:)


Grandma loves the fall leaves


The whole gang in the pit

Soccer Trophy

Tate's soccer season ended about a week ago, so they had their celebration party last night. Tate received a new trophy and is very proud of it. Miller wanted one too, of course, but I told him he would be old enough to play in the spring (which is hard to believe!)


Coach Robert and Tate

Halloween

We had a great Halloween yesterday! It was kicked off by the Halloween program at preschool. Both boys did a great job singing their pumpkin songs and doing the coordinating hand motions (who knew there were so many Halloween and pumpkin songs?) Then we had block party at our next-door neighbors house last night, followed by trick-or-treating. The pack of kids that we were with seemed to be the majority of trick-or-treaters in our neighborhood, so they got tons of candy! It is fun to have a group of neighbors and children to celebrate with!



Travis is always our masterful pumpkin carver

Fall Festival

Last night the Halloween festivities began with the fall festival at our church. They had big inflatables and fun games. Tate jumped right in, but Miller wasn't too sure at first. It was so fun to see everyone dressed up in their costumes, and now the deluge of chocolate and candy can begin!


Tate boxing with the big gloves

Tate, Hayes, Miller and Caroline

Addie Grace and Miller