You can't help but to smile...
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
A House Full of Booby Men
Uncle Craig brought over his new "stress reliever" to show us...which was in the shape of a breast! Landon thought it was the greatest thing, which he referred to as a balloon, and played with it all night. He was curious about the pink thing that stuck out from the balloon, and we informed him (incorrectly) that that's where they filled it up with water. And Carter was so excited...feeding time!!!
Yes, it is so juvenile of us to watch them play with it and take pictures...but you can't help but laugh, or even chuckle (just a little bit?).
Yes, it is so juvenile of us to watch them play with it and take pictures...but you can't help but laugh, or even chuckle (just a little bit?).
Letter From Santa
Landon received a letter from Santa in the mail...postmarked from North Pole!!!
It read:
Dear Landon,
Snakey the Sneaky Elf has been telling me how good of a little boy you have been this year. He also told me that you wanted a new kitchen set to play with. I have put it on my list. Keep being a good boy - listen to & obey your Mommy & Daddy and keep being a nice boy at school.
Ho! Ho! Ho!
Love,
Santa
PS - Tell your Daddy that I have my eye on him!!!
It read:
Dear Landon,
Snakey the Sneaky Elf has been telling me how good of a little boy you have been this year. He also told me that you wanted a new kitchen set to play with. I have put it on my list. Keep being a good boy - listen to & obey your Mommy & Daddy and keep being a nice boy at school.
Ho! Ho! Ho!
Love,
Santa
PS - Tell your Daddy that I have my eye on him!!!
Monday, December 21, 2009
Snowed In
We headed up to Blacksburg, VA Thursday night for Ashley's graduation from VT.
We bundled up and rode the bus to campus on Friday morning - Landon enjoyed the bus ride.
When we arrived on campus, we visited the memorial in honor of the 32 killed during the April 2007 VT massacre - 32 pieces of Hokie Stone laid in a semicircle at the drillfield, each labeled with the name of a victim. It was very saddening for me to have to explain to Landon why those "rocks" were there. His response: "Mommy, that is so horrible."
We proudly watched Ashley walk across the stage and earn her B.S. in Human Development, with honors.
Note to self: always, always, always charge the camera battery before important events!!! (This will explain the lack of pictures at graduation.)
As we were on the bus returning to Ashley's, the snow began to fall. Within 15 minutes, the ground was covered. And the snow continued to fall, and fall and fall until we had 14 inches! The roads leading back to NC were shut down, so we were officially snowed in! We filled our time by eating, playing games and watching movies. Landon enjoyed playing in the snow: making snow angels, snowball fights, getting in a "cave" dug out by Uncle Mike, & making a snowman. Even though we all got a little case of cabin fever (10 people in a small townhouse, including a sick 5 month old, a cooped up 3 year old boy & 2 dogs that fight over food is rather interesting), I am glad Landon could have some fun in the snow. We don't see that much in Cary, NC.
We were able to attend a FREE VT basketball game on Saturday night. So we all loaded up in our 2 4WD trucks and made it over to Cassell Coliseum. It was a lot of fun!!! Landon really enjoyed his first VT basketball game...but I think he enjoyed dancing and singing to the music played during time-outs even more! And Carter enjoyed watching most of the game, but fell asleep for most of the second half.
We were able to get on the roads and head home on Sunday. It was fun, but there's no place like home.
We bundled up and rode the bus to campus on Friday morning - Landon enjoyed the bus ride.
When we arrived on campus, we visited the memorial in honor of the 32 killed during the April 2007 VT massacre - 32 pieces of Hokie Stone laid in a semicircle at the drillfield, each labeled with the name of a victim. It was very saddening for me to have to explain to Landon why those "rocks" were there. His response: "Mommy, that is so horrible."
We proudly watched Ashley walk across the stage and earn her B.S. in Human Development, with honors.
Note to self: always, always, always charge the camera battery before important events!!! (This will explain the lack of pictures at graduation.)
As we were on the bus returning to Ashley's, the snow began to fall. Within 15 minutes, the ground was covered. And the snow continued to fall, and fall and fall until we had 14 inches! The roads leading back to NC were shut down, so we were officially snowed in! We filled our time by eating, playing games and watching movies. Landon enjoyed playing in the snow: making snow angels, snowball fights, getting in a "cave" dug out by Uncle Mike, & making a snowman. Even though we all got a little case of cabin fever (10 people in a small townhouse, including a sick 5 month old, a cooped up 3 year old boy & 2 dogs that fight over food is rather interesting), I am glad Landon could have some fun in the snow. We don't see that much in Cary, NC.
We were able to attend a FREE VT basketball game on Saturday night. So we all loaded up in our 2 4WD trucks and made it over to Cassell Coliseum. It was a lot of fun!!! Landon really enjoyed his first VT basketball game...but I think he enjoyed dancing and singing to the music played during time-outs even more! And Carter enjoyed watching most of the game, but fell asleep for most of the second half.
We were able to get on the roads and head home on Sunday. It was fun, but there's no place like home.
Beer Cake
I saw this at a wedding as a gift and decided to make one for a friend graduating from college. Yes, those cans are full! (I bought a 24 pack, but only 23 ended up on the cake!)
Great wedding, graduation, or birthday gift...
Great wedding, graduation, or birthday gift...
Squash!
Carter tried baby food for the first time last Monday (12/14). He enjoyed his squash!!! I think we'll move on to carrots next. (Stay tuned for more messy face pictures!)
I was debating on whether to make my own baby food this time around, or just buy it like I did with Landon. As a working mother of 2, I opted for store-bought. Landon seemed to have turned out just fine!
I was debating on whether to make my own baby food this time around, or just buy it like I did with Landon. As a working mother of 2, I opted for store-bought. Landon seemed to have turned out just fine!
Monday, December 7, 2009
Elf Yourself
Who doesn't want to be an elf? My latest addiction (besides blogging) is making myself and loved ones into elves and busting my sides open laughing while watching them dance disco, hip hop and country. Christopher doesn't understand why I find this so hilarious. Try it...you'll see.
Things You May Or May Not Know About Me
I usually blog about my boys or the goings-ons in my crazy life. I am feeling very reflective today and am full of thoughts. Here are some things about me that I wanted to share...
~I am very sensitive.
~I loathe litterbugs.
~I cry often.
~I want so badly to be eccentric & bohemian but I am too much of an organization & neat freak.
~I feel sexy in my black ankle boots.
~I love open-air markets.
~I want to live in Portland, Oregon.
~I am a tree-hugger at heart.
~I love people, human nature and emotions.
~I fight self-esteem issues every day.
~Christmas tree lights make me happy.
~I wish I were a bird.
~I love to sing...loud, off-key and usually the wrong lyrics.
~I don't watch the news because I feel physical & emotional pain over the bad stuff.
~I miss my Bubba every day.
~Fall is my favorite time of year; the colors, the smells, the crispness of air.
~I love my life. It is a beautiful gift.
~I am very sensitive.
~I loathe litterbugs.
~I cry often.
~I want so badly to be eccentric & bohemian but I am too much of an organization & neat freak.
~I feel sexy in my black ankle boots.
~I love open-air markets.
~I want to live in Portland, Oregon.
~I am a tree-hugger at heart.
~I love people, human nature and emotions.
~I fight self-esteem issues every day.
~Christmas tree lights make me happy.
~I wish I were a bird.
~I love to sing...loud, off-key and usually the wrong lyrics.
~I don't watch the news because I feel physical & emotional pain over the bad stuff.
~I miss my Bubba every day.
~Fall is my favorite time of year; the colors, the smells, the crispness of air.
~I love my life. It is a beautiful gift.
Chiles Family Christmas
We went to Northern Virginia this past weekend to celebrate Christmas with the Chiles family (Christopher's mom's side).
Let me set the stage (all in a small car):
~a 4.5 hour drive
~a sick 5 month old
~a 3.5 year old that (a) talked and talked and talked and talked (I don't know where he gets that from!), (b) wanted to eat and play with things that were packed in the very back of the car which led to whining and crying (and Mom about to vomit from looking backwards so much) and (c) wanted to listen to Big Green Tractor (the whole way)
~a dog panting and whining in the back seat with a bad case of halitosis (poor Hokie)
~a decaf Hazelnut latte that I was really looking forward to, which turned out to have no Hazelnut flavoring
~rain, rain, and more rain (which equals crazy, bad drivers)
About 45 minutes from our destination, the rain turned into this...
It was a beautiful winter wonderland, which trumped all travel stress and discomfort!
We stopped by Grandma's homeplace before heading over to Uncle Gary's house.
It's always great to get together with the aunts, uncles, cousins, and Grandma Chiles. Landon had fun building a snowman with Matt and learning all about snowball fights (we had plenty, and I still have a mark to prove it!). Thank goodness Aunt Beth came prepared and let Landon borrow her boots! And Carter got lots of TLC...just what the doctor ordered!
The highlight of the weekend for the "grown" boys was Matt's brand-new, GORGEOUS Camaro.
But the highlight for Landon was getting to climb up in cousin TJ's big rig! He thought he was big stuff!
Let me set the stage (all in a small car):
~a 4.5 hour drive
~a sick 5 month old
~a 3.5 year old that (a) talked and talked and talked and talked (I don't know where he gets that from!), (b) wanted to eat and play with things that were packed in the very back of the car which led to whining and crying (and Mom about to vomit from looking backwards so much) and (c) wanted to listen to Big Green Tractor (the whole way)
~a dog panting and whining in the back seat with a bad case of halitosis (poor Hokie)
~a decaf Hazelnut latte that I was really looking forward to, which turned out to have no Hazelnut flavoring
~rain, rain, and more rain (which equals crazy, bad drivers)
About 45 minutes from our destination, the rain turned into this...
It was a beautiful winter wonderland, which trumped all travel stress and discomfort!
We stopped by Grandma's homeplace before heading over to Uncle Gary's house.
It's always great to get together with the aunts, uncles, cousins, and Grandma Chiles. Landon had fun building a snowman with Matt and learning all about snowball fights (we had plenty, and I still have a mark to prove it!). Thank goodness Aunt Beth came prepared and let Landon borrow her boots! And Carter got lots of TLC...just what the doctor ordered!
The highlight of the weekend for the "grown" boys was Matt's brand-new, GORGEOUS Camaro.
But the highlight for Landon was getting to climb up in cousin TJ's big rig! He thought he was big stuff!
Friday, December 4, 2009
Updates on the Boys' "Issues"
Landon & his personal space issue - Landon hasn't pushed a friend in the past 2 weeks. So maybe it was just a phase?
Carter's weight - 3 weeks ago, he weighed 14 lb, 11 oz. When I took him today, he weighed 17 lb, 2 oz. He's fattening up nicely!
Carter's weight - 3 weeks ago, he weighed 14 lb, 11 oz. When I took him today, he weighed 17 lb, 2 oz. He's fattening up nicely!
Boo-hoo, My Baby Has An A-choo!
Another milestone...but this one doesn't make Mommy very happy. *sigh* Carter has his first cold. He's got a cough, really snotty nose, won't eat very well and is pretty cranky. If Carter is crying, there's gotta be something wrong! He just looks so pitiful - it breaks my heart.
I took him to the doctor today just to make sure it hadn't gone into an ear infection. Not looking forward to starting that again (Landon had 1/month...even after tubes!). His ears looked fine (but did you know that ears can go from looking fine to infected in a few hours!) and the doctor said he has a virus. He recommended saline nasal drops, suctioning his nose, vaporizer, propping him up to sleep, Tylenol if he seems uncomfortable and TLC.
My poor, poor Carter.
I took him to the doctor today just to make sure it hadn't gone into an ear infection. Not looking forward to starting that again (Landon had 1/month...even after tubes!). His ears looked fine (but did you know that ears can go from looking fine to infected in a few hours!) and the doctor said he has a virus. He recommended saline nasal drops, suctioning his nose, vaporizer, propping him up to sleep, Tylenol if he seems uncomfortable and TLC.
My poor, poor Carter.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Santa Sighting
Santa has already been sighted in the Bagley household...and he looks an awful lot like Landon. Landon walked around the house last night saying "Ho! Ho! Ho! I am Santa Claus!" while pulling his sleigh (Carter's car seat). His sleigh had a bag of "toys" for Mommy, who I was told had been a good little girl this year. The "toys" included a plastic spoon, a mini whisk, peppermint candy, a baby toy, & a Matchbox car (not really what I meant when I said I wanted a new car).
He also informed me that "the bad boy is upstairs and wouldn't get any presents this year". Poor Christopher!
He also informed me that "the bad boy is upstairs and wouldn't get any presents this year". Poor Christopher!
mmmm...Rice Cereal!
Milestone Moment! My baby tried solids for the first time last night (sniff, sniff). He was a little unsure about what his mama was shoving in his mouth at first, and really was more interested in holding the spoon. After giving him his own spoon, he started getting the hang of it.
There's nothing like napping in front of the TV with a full belly!
There's nothing like napping in front of the TV with a full belly!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Trimming The Tree
I am very adamant about not celebrating Christmas until Thanksgiving is over. There are no decorations, Christmas music, etc. in my house until we have celebrated turkey day. Well Thanksgiving is over...and Christmas is on!!!
We have always had real Christmas trees, from birth until Christmas 2005. We went to Disney for 10 days and wouldn't be home to water our tree so we had to get a fake tree since Christopher is super-paranoid about the tree bursting into flames. It was either a fake tree or no tree and I wasn't having that. Even though I was resistant to the fake tree (plastic just doesn't look or smell the same), it has definitely saved me some heartaches and headaches - I don't have to water it every 5 minutes so it doesn't spontaneously combust!!!
Daddy and Landon put our tree together while Carter supervised.
We have a few family traditions when it comes to Christmas, some when we are trimming our tree (okay, not really trimming since ours is plastic, but you know what I mean).
One is listening to Christmas music and eating squirt cheese (known to non-rednecks as Easy Cheese) & Ritz crackers while decorating the tree. Yummy!
We always give each other an ornament every year (that is opened on Christmas Eve). I love unwrapping each one carefully, looking at the ornament, reading the dates and to/from that I have carefully labelled each one with and just reflecting back to that time. Meanwhile, Christopher and Landon are impatiently throwing them up on the tree. Here's the method to their madness: Landon hangs them all on one branch (especially my nice, expensive ones that I have told him not to touch) so they can be knocked off every time you walk by or put a gift under the tree and Christopher is hanging all of "mine" on the back of the tree while "his" are all on the front. It's so relaxing! :) It does make me laugh to think about all of this. I love my boys!
After all of the ornaments are hung, we each have a pickle that goes on the tree last. We hang our pickles up at the same time. People have given me pickles over the years since I love pickles so much, but there's actually history behind it. In old world Germany, they would hide a pickle deep in the boughs of the tree. The child who could find the pickle first on Christmas Day would be blessed with a good year, and an extra gift from Santa.
Our tree...loaded with memories.
And our new tradition is our elf. If you have not heard of The Elf on The Shelf, go buy it! It is an awesome tradition for a family.
This little retro elf comes to visit every year after Thanksgiving. He carefully watches over your children during the day to make sure they are being good little boys and girls. He flies to the North Pole at night to report back to Santa. He then flies back and lands in a different spot in your house each morning. Landon has enjoyed trying to find the elf every morning (so far he has been spotted on the mantle, on top of the pie safe in Daddy's plants, and on top of the fridge). The first time the elf comes to your house, you get to name him. Landon named ours Snakey (like snake - with a e on the end), naturally. I mean, that is a common elf name, right? Snakey is not allowed to talk to Landon, per Santa's orders. And Landon is not allowed to touch Snakey or he will lose his magic and won't be able to fly back to Santa. We bid him farewell on Christmas Eve, and wait for his return next year. The first day we met Snakey, I asked Landon if he wanted to tell Snakey what he wanted for Christmas. He went in the kitchen and came back with a piece of my old, beat-up kitchen play set, showed it to Snakey, and said "I want a new one of these".
If you don't have a tradition of your own, start one. It's never too late. When all is said and done, memories are all you have left. I cherish them every day as I see my boys growing up right before my eyes.
We have always had real Christmas trees, from birth until Christmas 2005. We went to Disney for 10 days and wouldn't be home to water our tree so we had to get a fake tree since Christopher is super-paranoid about the tree bursting into flames. It was either a fake tree or no tree and I wasn't having that. Even though I was resistant to the fake tree (plastic just doesn't look or smell the same), it has definitely saved me some heartaches and headaches - I don't have to water it every 5 minutes so it doesn't spontaneously combust!!!
Daddy and Landon put our tree together while Carter supervised.
We have a few family traditions when it comes to Christmas, some when we are trimming our tree (okay, not really trimming since ours is plastic, but you know what I mean).
One is listening to Christmas music and eating squirt cheese (known to non-rednecks as Easy Cheese) & Ritz crackers while decorating the tree. Yummy!
We always give each other an ornament every year (that is opened on Christmas Eve). I love unwrapping each one carefully, looking at the ornament, reading the dates and to/from that I have carefully labelled each one with and just reflecting back to that time. Meanwhile, Christopher and Landon are impatiently throwing them up on the tree. Here's the method to their madness: Landon hangs them all on one branch (especially my nice, expensive ones that I have told him not to touch) so they can be knocked off every time you walk by or put a gift under the tree and Christopher is hanging all of "mine" on the back of the tree while "his" are all on the front. It's so relaxing! :) It does make me laugh to think about all of this. I love my boys!
After all of the ornaments are hung, we each have a pickle that goes on the tree last. We hang our pickles up at the same time. People have given me pickles over the years since I love pickles so much, but there's actually history behind it. In old world Germany, they would hide a pickle deep in the boughs of the tree. The child who could find the pickle first on Christmas Day would be blessed with a good year, and an extra gift from Santa.
Our tree...loaded with memories.
And our new tradition is our elf. If you have not heard of The Elf on The Shelf, go buy it! It is an awesome tradition for a family.
This little retro elf comes to visit every year after Thanksgiving. He carefully watches over your children during the day to make sure they are being good little boys and girls. He flies to the North Pole at night to report back to Santa. He then flies back and lands in a different spot in your house each morning. Landon has enjoyed trying to find the elf every morning (so far he has been spotted on the mantle, on top of the pie safe in Daddy's plants, and on top of the fridge). The first time the elf comes to your house, you get to name him. Landon named ours Snakey (like snake - with a e on the end), naturally. I mean, that is a common elf name, right? Snakey is not allowed to talk to Landon, per Santa's orders. And Landon is not allowed to touch Snakey or he will lose his magic and won't be able to fly back to Santa. We bid him farewell on Christmas Eve, and wait for his return next year. The first day we met Snakey, I asked Landon if he wanted to tell Snakey what he wanted for Christmas. He went in the kitchen and came back with a piece of my old, beat-up kitchen play set, showed it to Snakey, and said "I want a new one of these".
If you don't have a tradition of your own, start one. It's never too late. When all is said and done, memories are all you have left. I cherish them every day as I see my boys growing up right before my eyes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)