Throwback: Halloween 2015!

We love to celebrate on Halloween because it is SUPER fun for us to dress up in costumes and eat lots of candy for one day every year.  And maybe read a scary story or two. These were the low key festivities from this past year...

Stuart worked the night before Halloween day, so to let him get some rest early the next morning, I went out with the little boys to the farmer's market.  All the vendors were in costume!  Reasons #4,547 that I love our downtown Durham farmer's market.

That evening, we got dressed up (3 of us in the same costumes as last year... don't fix what's not broken!).  Samuel was a Nintendo Gameboy, James was a dog (again per his request, only this year with face paint!), Stuart was a pirate (again) and I was a witch (again!).

Our favorite friends Wen, Casey and Ezra (dressed up as a DONUT!) joined us for pizza and trick-or-treating. (We may or may not have enticed the Reagans with the promise of hot cider and donuts that one house down the street hands out every year to parents of trick-or-treaters... only to be disappointed by no donuts or cider in sight this year!  Sad face.)

Trick-or-treating is exhausting.

Post-candy snuggles between the Game Boy and Aunt Case.

Lately: not yet Christmas...

Every day, James asks me if it is Christmas day yet!  Not yet, Jamers, but soon!  Instilling a sense of longing and waiting patiently... Advent!  Here's what we've been up to lately.



For our last Side by Side meeting of the semester, we met to decorate Christmas cookies.  Thanks to Kayla for organizing and making dozens and dozens of delicious sugar cookies!  The last few years I have thought a LOT about the traditions I want my family to have, and I think in the end I landed in trying to make the most of the everyday-seemingly-small moments, and taking every opportunity to make or do festive things, but not at the expense of peace and rest in our family (and I think this threshold looks different for every family, and even in different seasons within that family)!  So this year, I made a wish list instead of a to-do list (much less pressure for this recovering perfectionist mama), and decorating cookies with James was on it.  So glad for this opportunity to do it with Side by Side!



Casey had a work meeting and no childcare available one morning, so Ezra came to hang with us on a morning nature walk.  #BFFs





Because of our Christmas tree moving into the space in front of our front window in the living room, this toddler table got booted out into the kitchen.  At first I was really annoyed by the space it took up in the middle of the kitchen, but now I sort of love it in there!  The boys have a great place to eat, snack or work (the hard work of coloring with markers or cutting paper) while I work in the kitchen (which is a lot these days - not only meals (in fact, rarely meals, ha) but a lot of baking and experimenting... and I'm loving it!).  The table may end up staying in there for good.



Some painting to pass the time on a rainy day.  This was Samuel's 1st time finger painting (he didn't love it because he couldn't eat the paint).



Spending some time at the Museum of Life and Science on another rainy day... Snakes!













We've all had some sort of cruddy virus for about 10 days.  Poor little Sam doesn't handle colds well.  He gets wheezy and a croup-y type cough that is just pitiful.  At the peak of the cold, he was sleeping almost 20 hours a day between night time and naps.  I think we've almost kicked it, though!

Captured this most beautiful sunrise one morning.  When James sees a sunrise or sunset, I tell him that God painted the sky for him, and "LOOK!  He even chose your favorite color."

Some photos from James' 3 year check up - they did vision and hearing testing and James thought they were super fun games!  He did pretty great at following instructions and they were even able to get reliable results (our sweet nurse said that often they start at 3 years, but kids aren't able to understand or follow directions).  Proud mama :)



Lots of fun around here lately (if we could just kick this cold...)!

Throwback: AR trip of fall 2015

I haven't posted as much these past 6 months and I would have liked, but looking back through some photos, I don't want to forget all the fun we had!  So, I'm hoping to work on a few "throwback" posts to catch up... First up, our trip home to Arkansas from this past fall!

We decided to drive with the boys for the first time now that we have to buy more than 2 plane tickets (and it's just easier to just toss all.the.things into the van and go!).  There and back, we split the trip into 2 days of driving by staying the night in Nashville with our loveliest friends, Chris and Jill Merrick.

Sam on the patio in Hot Springs

Cousins fishing off the dock, Hot Springs

Aunt Beth helping James get his fishing pole untangled

Sam's 1st boat ride

James drives the boat with Pop!

Stuart making music at the Middle America Museum, Hot Springs

James with Pop

Samuel with Nana

Pop and Stuart, Middle America Museum

Cousins!  Will and James

Abigail, Samuel, Cole and Aubrey

With Mema and Grandad, who made a day trip down to Little Rock to say hello!

Cousins

#tradition

Another tradition, dinner at Colonial Steakhouse with some of the Pierces (this is where Stuart's phone got stolen and he later found it in the dumpster behind the restaurant.  What a bizarre experience...)

Our sweet Jill and Chris with James, during our stop over in Nashville on our way home from AR

And then this happened about 20 minutes outside of Nashville (8 hours to go until home!)

Stuart doing his thing (as it started to rain...)

Thankfully one of these was just around the corner!

And this was next door to the tire shop, God's grace for Stuart's sanity!

And then Stuart let me stop here for #tradition's sake... and my sanity :)

Home sweet home!  We always love our trips home to Arkansas... but they are exhausting with our two little people in tow!  Hopefully see you again in the spring, AR!

James: 3 years!

Yesterday was the three year anniversary of 12/12/12, the date that James chose himself for his birthday!  We had a pretty low key day since we had already had his little party (another post to come...).  I asked what he would like to do, and he said go to the donut shop and go to the pet store to buy a goldfish :)

Cantaloupe and watermelon with a birthday candle for breakfast



Scoping out the birds at the pet shop (we didn't buy a fish, but we did go look around!)



James decided to stroll through Target with me for a few things while daddy and Sam waited in the car



At Target, he picked out some Sweettarts candy canes, which he promptly ate, resulting in a blue tongue that he thought was hilarious



Included this photo for a reality check - he is a handsome, smart boy with strong opinions, the makings of a POTUS someday!



We love you and are so proud of the little person you've become!

3 Year Stats! >

Nicknames:  Jamers, Baby Bear

Weight on 12/15: 25lbs 9oz (exactly 1lb heavier than Samuel)

Height on 12/15: 35.5in (almost 3ft!)

Favorite color: orange

Favorite book:  all books, especially new ones from the library, and especially long ones that take forever to read :)

Best friend:  Ezra Reagan

Favorite foods:  pizza, sprinkles, bread, fruit (especially melons)

Totally into trains, cars, arranging things in rows by color (like matchbox cars or blocks), playing in the dirt/leaves, adult music (like normal music that we listen to, not kiddie albums), "riding" his bike, being a "big helper" (which means not riding in the shopping cart at the store, but walking and wreaking havoc), talking in full sentences (or paragraphs!), coloring with markers and really trying hard to color inside the lines!

Totally hates bedtime and eating anything that I want him to eat :)