Merry Christmas!

Christmas Festivities...

We have had a fun Christmas Season around here! Cooper has had a blast, and he seems to be grasping the true meaning behind the season (as much as his 3-year-old brain will allow). He has played with several nativity toys (with one he nicknamed Joseph- Joe), and the other day had the funniest question for me. As we were driving down the road, he asked how Jesus was born in a manger if babies were born in hospitals. He wondered if Mary went to the hospital to "get under the cutter thing" like I did when I had Reese Ann. Since I did not want to describe to my little boy how else babies are born other than c-sections, I said that Joseph must have helped Mary birth Jesus.


A more commercial Christmas tradition that we started this year was the Elf on the Shelf. In all honesty, I thought it might help get strong-willed Cooper to mind a little better- not sure if it worked but it has been fun! Cooper named him Jack, and one morning Jack brought Cooper and Reese Ann a treat from Santa.



Cooper had his first-ever Christmas program at school. The director of the program warned that sometimes the 2-year-old class will be scared of the crowd. Luckily, Cooper was the opposite- he hammed it up the entire time!



the whole crowd of kids



and Santa was there too!

Surprise Birthday Getaway!

My sweet and thoughtful husband wanted to make my Christmas-time birthday special this year, so Friday morning he told me to pack my things and the little ones things for an overnight getaway. My wonderful mother-in-law kept the little ones, and Dan took me to Memphis to stay at our favorite hotel, The Madison. He did his research on a different place for us to have dinner, and Flight did not disappoint- in fact it was wonderful, and I highly recommend it! We forgot our camera, but I didn't want to forget about this fabulous getaway! Thanks, honey!

Thankful!

We are very thankful parents today! We had a horrible household accident on Sunday when- under my supervision- Reese Ann fell off of a changing table onto a tile floor and fractured her skull. Dan encouraged me to blog about the experience to document its place in the story of our lives.

The first thing that I am thankful for is mother's intuition. Reese Ann showed no signs of a skull fracture except for a bump on her head, but Dan and I both felt led to take her to the ER.

The second thing I am thankful for is the kind, compassionate people the Lord placed in our hospital ordeal. We had to be transferred via ambulance to Memphis to Lebohner Children's hospial because there is not a pediatric neurosurgeon in Jackson, and every single nurse, doctor, emt, etc was so nice. Almost everyone of them had a story about how their son or daughter had fallen and hit their head- they were trying very hard to comfort this upset, guilt-stricken mother.

The third thing I am thankful for is our amazing family and friends! We have been so loved-on and cared for by sweet friends and our wonderful families. We are truly blessed!

There are many, many more things that I am thankful for, but the last I will mention in this post is for Reese Ann's health. She has done as well as she possibly could have throughout this ordeal, and is recovering very well. We had an ultrasound today to confirm her progress, and we see the pediatric neurologist again in a couple of weeks. I have been so thankful for her life since my horrific pregnancy ended, but the Lord has made me even more so after this ordeal!

Three Months

Reese Ann is three months old- my how time is flying by! She continues to be a wonderful baby! She has been sleeping through the night for the last three weeks or so which has changed this mama's life! I am sleeping well for the first time since last December! She has rolled over several times, is quite the babbler, and is grabbing things. She loves to watch her big brother and is a really good sport when he gets a little rough with her! We are all three really enjoying our time at home together, and I am thankful that maternity leave will take us through the winter months! We can't wait to see what this next month of Reese Ann's life will hold!


first bumbo experience


patiently dealing with Cooper

Turkeys, Trains, Trees and Tinsel!

We are in the Christmas spirit around here these days! We had such a great Thanksgiving, but since our computer crashed, I didn't blog, so here is one picture of Cooper and one of the many "feasts" (his word from school) that he enjoyed.



Now, onto Christmas! Our first project was a gingerbread train for our train-obsessed son! It was a kit from Bed, Bath, & Beyond, and it was really fun and turned out pretty cute! Here is before:



and after:



My mom thoroughly enjoys all decorating, and she has extended this to trees for Cooper & Reese Ann's rooms. Reese Ann's tree is baby-themed and looks so cute in her room-



and Cooper's is a transportation-themed tree with fire engines, buses, etc, but many of the ornaments have been transferred to our tree downstairs.



here are a few more pictures of some of our decorations. Because of my love of bright colors, I adore our house decorated for Christmas-







and while this little girl has not totally decided what things in life she adores, taking Christmas card pictures is probably not high on the list (she sure does like to stick that lower lip out, though)!

Sis-sis is 30!

Happy Birthday, Sis-sis! I can't believe you are 30! We are looking forward to celebrating with you tonight!