After three attempts to get a decent Christmas photo of the kids, I finally got one. I gave up on dressing them in nice clothes and taking a pretty picture. I was crazy to think that was even possible. The evening after we got back from Thanksgiving holidays we bathed the kids and put on their new Christmas pj's (thanks Mimi!) and decorated the tree. They were having such a good time I wanted to take advantage of it. Sophie was extremely excited to be next to Christopher and wouldn't sit still, but we happened to get one where they were both facing the camera and had smile on their faces. I'm going to wait until the cards actually come in to show you the one we picked, but here are some of the others. You'll see why this was a challenge.

I did it. I can't believe it, but I did it. I packed up most of my baby items and took them to consignment. I've been looking forward to opening up more storage space, but it's strange to think that it's all gone, not just out of sight. I also took my maternity clothes. I let my sister pick out what she wanted and the rest of it is gone. GONE! I'm definitely not going to miss my maternity clothes, but knowing that the bouncer will never be tripped over or the swing playing in the kitchen again is kind of sad in a way. I did it so fast I didn't have time to think about it and dwell over it. I still have a few things, the exersaucer and the jumper, but that's about it. Let's just hope there are no surprises any time soon. Ugh, the thought of that just gives me a headache. I'll keep my fingers crossed. Now I just need to drop off the bags of regular clothes we don't wear anymore...

I'm tired.

I'm tired of waking up at night to give a pacifier that they can reach themselves.

I'm tired of leaky diapers adding to my pile of laundry.

I'm tired of hauling two kids to the store complaining about being at the store to get things that they need and want.

I'm tired of being screamed at b/c I'm not doing something fast enough, right away or at all.

I'm tired of getting milk.

I'm tired of giving baths.

I'm tired of cleaning up.

I'm tired of cooking dinner while kids are screaming.

I'm tired of not finding Christmas gifts. (And I'm not even looking for a "perfect" one, just trying to find anything!)

I'm tired of teething. (waaaaaay tired!!!!)

I'm tired of potty training.

I'm tired of washing my hair.

I'm tired of never feeling human.

I'm tired of literally wrestling my child to put on a diaper and clothes.

I'm tired of being sleepy.

I'm tired of being hungry.

I'm tired of not brushing my hair and teeth until nap time, or worse, bed time.

I'm tired of being frustrated that my wonderful family drives me so crazy.

I love my kids. I love my husband. I love my life. But today I don't. Today, I'm tired of anything and everything. I'm just wish I could be away from home, all alone and it's quiet with a fireplace, a blanket, a stack of movies that have nothing to do with kids and a couple good books.

Tomorrow will be a better day. It has to.

Brandon missed another Thanksgiving, thanks to work. He had to work nights the week before and the week of, so I took the kids up to my parents house at the lake to stay for a little over a week. It's not worth staying home b/c the kids won't stay quiet that long and Brandon can't sleep. I was ready to get out of town anyway. We haven't seen my parents in almost 3 months so they were as anxious as we were to see them. Here's what happened over the week:

Christopher playing on the door of the dishwasher with his new ornament from Grammie, along with the other little diggers he found at her house. He can make anything a road!

Christopher helped Pop load rocks into the trailer to the lawn mower. He adores Pop, playing outside and anything dirt, rock or construction related.


He's really gotten into fishing lately. Maybe this is a little too much, but he thought it was fun.

Saturday, the Khans came up to visit. The boys had a great time playing together and chasing Burt inside and out.

Here's the crazy foursome, Nicholas, Christopher, Joshua and Sophie. Nicholas was smaller than Christopher as a baby, just like Joshua is, but now he's a good bit taller, so maybe the same will happen with the babies.

Grammie had a bunch of pecans that she needed to crack open. Christopher was more than willing to help. He was pretty good too! He let me have a turn and before I started he warned me to be careful about hitting my fingers. So sweet!

My second attempt to take Christmas photos. Was a complete disaster. We tried several locations, bribes and finally gave up. They wouldn't sit still for anything! I did get one good shot of Christopher playing with a truck (imagine that!) and figured I'll just have to use individual ones b/c there is no way I'm going to get one with both kids sitting still.

After the photo session, Christopher and Grammie made homemade ornaments. He was a big help and loved every minute of it!

He had to do it all by himself. He's very independent that way. (I know, it's really b/c he's two.) But he really is good at doing things in the kitchen. He helps us make things all the time.

Poor Grammie, I had so many projects for her to do while we were there. Only one of them was needed before we left, but she never wants to disappoint and worked hard getting all of them done. Even made a new outfit in one day that she had never made before, while having a bad cold. She is so sweet! Sophie enjoyed sitting at her feet and playing with whatever she could find.

Christopher wanted to color on the kitchen floor while Grammie and I were working on dinner and when we turned around, this is what we saw...

Funny thing is, she didn't even care! She just sat there and let him color her face, hands and feet.

Off to the bath they went to get cleaned up and we started playing a fishing game. I put the fish outside the tub and Christopher had to throw the line over the side to see what he could catch. Sophie, well, she does everything her brother does.

Again, Christopher finds ways to dig, or pretend to, practically anywhere. By the end of the week he discovered tiny rocks in the fireplace. They fit perfectly in the tiny diggers he'd been playing with so he'd back the dump trucks up to the edge (while making a "beep, beep, beep" noise), fill it up, drive forward and dump it for the tiny diggers to use. He did this until we left.

Sophie finally warmed up to Pop. The only man she will go to is her daddy, who she adores. But she finally fell in love with another man.


Pop helped Christopher make his own tool catalog. They traced their hands on the cover and then cut and paste photos of tools out of one of Pop's numerous tool catalogs. It was very cute! In case you can't read the sign, it says, "A man and his tools, it's a powerful thing."

Sophie took off up the stairs the first day at the lake. Then she just stayed at the bottom and would dance and laugh, then one day she decided to try again and she wouldn't stay put. She was so proud of herself, it was so cute! This was taken the day we left.

The day before Thanksgiving we went to my in-laws to stay until Friday b/c it was their holiday. Brandon's sister and her family were unable to come b/c the baby came down with RSV and they were afraid Sophie would catch it. We missed them terribly and it didn't really seem like a holiday b/c everyone wasn't there. The kids ate early so it was just the four of us around the table. We didn't make everything we normally would b/c we knew the four of us couldn't eat it all. Lisa and I had planned to hit the stores early Friday morning with Sophie and drop Christopher off at his friend Nicholas' house to play, but Christopher and I didn't wake up until almost 7:00! Sophie had woken up before 6, but I never heard her and John went to get her for me. I really needed the sleep, but felt terrible that I was so tired I never heard her crying. Odd b/c I didn't have a problem hearing it at 1:00 in the morning! We had some success at Toys R Us and Target, but didn't feel like doing much else after that. I needed to get on the road with the kids before it started raining anyway. We made it home in time to see Brandon for about 2 hours before he had to go back to work. I got to run to the store to get milk and a few other things and learned the day after Thanksgiving is the absolute BEST time to go grocery shopping! Nobody is there!!! (duh, I know) The kids were so happy to be home and Christopher happily crashed in his bed, while Sophie was so tired of being in different beds that she couldn't sleep at all. I don't think it will take long to get back into our groove again. It's nice to go away, but even better to come home!

Can anyone tell me how they made the really cute blog banners that everyone has? I can't seem to figure out where to find them to make them. The first place I found it was going to cost money and I knew that people weren't paying anything, or at least not as much as these people were asking, to add them to their blogs. Would someone please help me? Also, if you are looking, I'm going to post photos from Thanksgiving once I get a chance to go through the many, many photos!

Today Sophie is 10 months old. The last 6 months of the first year seem to go by the fastest and I can't believe she will be a year old in just 2 months! She crawling faster than ever and walking along every piece of furniture she can. Her hair is getting thicker and longer and looks really cute when she lets me put a bow in it. She's starting to slim up a little, but still has her lovable, kissable chubby cheeks. She loves making Christopher laugh and playing peek a boo with anyone. She is most definitely a momma's girl and would just sit on my hip all day if I could hold her that long. Happy 10 months, baby girl!

I thought I'd get the blog in the mood for some turkey! I'm headed back to Montgomery this week with the kids for Thanksgiving. Brandon is working nights for 2 weeks, so he'll miss another holiday. But we get to spend a week and a half seeing friends and family, which I am psyched about!!! We are going to spend Thanksgiving with my in-laws and we can't wait to have the kids together again. Christopher and Cameron are always silly and the babies, well, we will just have to see what they think of each other! We will also attempt to brave the "day after Thanksgiving" shopping crowd. I did this two years ago with my mother-in-law and we had so much fun, but we also didn't have any kids with us. This year we'll have Brandon's sister and at least 2 kids joining us, hopefully not all four or we won't get anything done. But it will be fun regardless!