Saturday, November 29, 2008

Preschool Thanksgiving Lunch

On Tuesday, James and I joined Lily at her school for a special Thanksgiving lunch. 

IMG_3597                    Her place setting was filled with artwork that she had done this past month.      

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Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Fourth Annual Low Country Boil

Saturday night we held our fourth annual low country boil for our Faith Builders Sunday School class.  We pretty much have this meal down to a science now and tag team it very well.  I do the shopping and prep work and James does all the cooking.  Two years ago he decided that the turkey fryer just wasn't big enough, so he bought a pot that is big enough to fit our whole family.  I love how men take cooking to a whole new level. 

IMG_3503                     Cameron is not a fan of candid shots, but I had to include some anyway.  She took hold of my camera most of the night, which would account for the better quality of most of the pictures you will see. 

IMG_3508                    James and Noah deep in conversation.  I bet they are discussing Sarah Ellen's current development.  What do you think?

IMG_3513                    Mr. Jason to the rescue.  Right here Lily is asking for some potatoes and bread.  How could I have possibly not put that on her plate with her corn, sausage, and shrimp?  My girl does not want to be left out on any food servings - that is for sure.

IMG_3516                    Caroline, Cameron and Sarah Ellen.

IMG_3519                    I like it when Cameron takes my camera, because I then appear in at least a few shots and there is some record that I am actually at these events.  Cameron agreed and then demonstrated that this is what she looks like in most her pictures because she has to take them herself.

IMG_3520                    Dana and Suzie

IMG_3521                    Alison manning the children.  Yikes - scary job.

IMG_3522                    Paul and Nancy

IMG_3523                    Noah, James, and me.  Wow, I'm in a picture.

IMG_3525                    The feast.  I didn't get a picture of THE POT.  I'll have to dig up an old one for everyone to see.

IMG_3526                    Nancy, Dana, Suzie, and Emily

IMG_3529                    Chris, Allan, and Jon

IMG_3530                    Alison, Lisa, and Caroline

IMG_3531                    Conley being cute.

IMG_3532                    Lily being cute.

IMG_3528                    Austin being cute.  It looks like our church is the place to be for cute kids!

IMG_3539                    James, Porter, Kim, Drew, Jon, Ryan, and Amy.  Porter cozied right on up to Mr. James checking out what was on his plate.

IMG_3544                    Time to eat.

IMG_3546   IMG_3548                   We stashed Olivia and Sarah Ellen behind a baby gate in our room.  They looked rather like a zoo exhibit, but it kept them safe from the many toddler hands at the party.

IMG_3547                    Lily, Porter, and Hope.

IMG_3549                    Caroline and Allan footloose and fancy free.  They sent Margaret Anne and Abigail to their grandparents for the weekend.  Its rather funny that they considered to be such a break with only Olivia.  Do you think we would have ever considered it to be easy with a newborn the first time around?  Ah, perspective.

IMG_3550                    Blake being his usual serious self.

IMG_3551                    James, Noah, and Steven

IMG_3554                   Matthew and Bailey enjoying dessert.

IMG_3555                    The twins.  Didn't they used to be the babies of the group?

IMG_3553                    The other twins.  Not really, but couldn't they pass for it?

IMG_3561                    IMG_3562 IMG_3582                It took me until the next day to be brave enough to venture into the playroom.  After all, there were eleven kiddos running loose upstairs.  I must say, I was pleasantly surprised.  It only looked like a category one had blown in as opposed to the category five I was expecting.

IMG_3585                    Porter and Chris

IMG_3586                                                                     I wonder who Olivia takes after?

IMG_3592                    Lily and Porter

IMG_3593                    Chris and Jon

What fun would be a tradition if you couldn't look back on years past?

Low Country Boil 2007

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I found a picture of THE POT.  Just look at how it attracts the men.

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Low Country Boil 2006

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Low Country Boil 2005

low country boil low country boil 2low country boil 3 

Thank you to our church family for such a great night.  We are thankful to be a part of James Island Presbyterian Church.  We are truly blessed to have each of you in our lives.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Bedtime Routine

When it gets close to evening time, I begin to long for that eight o'clock hour of child free time.  In order to get there, though, we have get through putting the kiddos to bed first.  Sarah Ellen is pretty easy.  It takes about 60 seconds to bathe her and then one of holds her or feeds her her last bottle while the other one tackles Lily.  Our typical routine for Lily is to coax her into the bathtub where she pulls out fifty toys and then "swims" all around them.  Next, we have to clean up the fifty toys and then coax her out of the bathtub to dry off with one of her "shiny towels."  This is really just a beige towel set that was given to us for our wedding, but Lily loves them and insists on using the shiny towel most nights.  Next, we head to her room (or sometimes Sarah Ellen's if she is eating) and pick out pjs, put on a diaper, and slather on the current cream or ointment we are experimenting with to cure her excema.   We then brush her teeth in which we recently had to switch back to the baby toothpaste that can be swallowed, because Lily just can't seem to master the art of spitting out the toothpaste yet.  I'm also testing a theory that maybe toothpaste can cause constipation.  Then its back to the bedroom to read books.  Most nights this consists of reading Richard Scary.  She absolutely loves this book.  Next comes prayers, then water, then hugs and kisses, then closing her closet door, then turning on her fan, and then several repetitions of night-night.  Are you getting the picture yet?  She is the master staller.

Although bedtime can sometimes be rather tiresome and mundane, there are many nights that Lily keeps us very entertained as the following clips demonstrate.  Enjoy.

Hokey Pokey

Lily's current favorite song happens to be the Hokey Pokey.  I am very fortunate to get to listen to it (track number ten) in the car over and over and over.  Check out this performance.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Sweet Sarah Ellen

This little munchkin is growing way to fast.  It seems as if she is doing something new everyday.  She is a very easy-going and happy baby.  I truly feel sometimes as if I could eat her up.  Just a little nibble out of her ear wouldn't hurt, right?  Just look how stinking cute she is.

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Mimi having a little fun.  This was cute until Lily wanted to push her around.IMG_3453

Sarah Ellen is pretty content to be down on the floor playing.  She can roll both ways now, but isn't great going from her belly to back yet.  I usually hear a loud thump and then a loud cry. 

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She does really well holding her head up, but still gets frustrated easily while on her tummy.  The baffling part is that as soon as she is on her back, she rolls right back to her tummy.

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She is really enjoying her toys these days.  As soon as she gets a hold of something, it is heading straight for her mouth. 

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The exersaucer has to be one of the greatest inventions.  She loves this thing, and I love the freedom to do things around the house while she is pleasantly occupied.

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She often has a big sister to keep her entertained as well.  Lily is so sweet to Sarah Ellen.  As soon as she hears a toy hit the ground, she is running over to give it back to Sarah Ellen.  Lily hasn't quite learned the concept of personal space yet, but so far Sarah Ellen doesn't seem to mind too much.

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She does well with bath time.  She's gnawing on her thumb in this picture, and I wish she would just go ahead and suck on the thing.  She neither sucks her thumb nor takes a paci.  Many of you might think this is a good thing, but not when she is still getting up once a night.  Lily slept soundly for 12 hours as soon as she found her thumb around 4 1/2 months.  Sarah Ellen has yet to master this great habit.  It really isn't so bad getting up with her at night though.  I am literally back in bed in under 15 minutes.  We put her down around eight and she will wake up anywhere between four and five and then sleep until eight.  I know I soon have to break this middle of the night feed, but I am giving myself until after Thanksgiving.  In the meantime it is just easier to get up and feed her and hope that she will learn it on her own before my deadline.

I promised videos, so here they come.  I love my new video gadget.  It is ridiculously easy to use.