Oh the weather outside is frightful but the outdoors are still delightful!

We had a warm day here in Raleigh this week. The boys and I decided to go to the park and also go swimming at our indoor pool. They had a blast, they thought it was amazing that the pool was covered with a giant bubble. It is colder now but we still decided to play outdoors. Today I took them to a real baseball field and we played a few games together and worked on their batting skills. I am not sure I am the best person to teach them proper baseball techniques but I tried. Trace can hit the ball pretty far and Kaden has good aim, never misses. Trace starts soccer and t-ball this Spring, he is pretty excited about it. Batter up! Here are a few pics! **An added milestone, Trace read his first word and even sounded it out. Drumroll please, his first word was t-o-y, toy. Go figure. He can read Mom, Trace, Kirby and other familar words but this is the first one he has worked out on his own**

Christmas Videos

Trace's Christmas Performance

Trace had a Christmas performance Sunday, it was beautiful. He stopped singing after the 3rd song though, then he put his hands over his ears and sat down, it was funny, I guess every performance can't be spectacular. Still it was funny and special in its own way :) At least he made it through the majority of the songs. He also had a first, his name was in the program. I also had a first as a Mom, my name was it it too, under the thank-you section for being the photographer and such :) I snagged a few extras for grandparents and his scrapbook, it was crazy to see his name there in print, it seemed like a milestone. Enjoy the videos and photos, he had a tie on but took it off straight after the performance so I couldn't get a pic of it! (he is in the bottom right corner of the videos, you can see him waving, sitting down, moving up and down, basically figiting all over the place) The older kids put on a small musical play, the younger ones played bells and sang. I am not sure if I am going to post the video of him playing bells, it is very loud and the sound quality on my camera isn't great. If you want to see it email me!

Fuquay Varina Tree Lighting

We went to the town tree lighting celebration. The Grinch was there, along with Santa. The boys even got to ride in a horse drawn sleigh. We even got to pet the horses, they were HUGE. Kaden actually sat in Santa lap, but wouldn't speak to him, The Grinch was to much for him though, he just waved at him from a distance. Trace, again, enjoyed seeing Santa and repeated his list for him. Afterwards he told me, "that was a different Santa". He knew the it wasn't the one from the mall, what a smart kid! I guess this means he will be one of the kids that figures out the Santa deal early, bummer. Here are some photos, enjoy and HAPPY HOLIDAYS! (If anyone wants me to email all the photos I took let me know, there are tons of good ones)

Trip to see Santa

We went to the mall to see Santa the other day. Trace ran with open arms and told Santa all the goodies he wanted. His list included a dinosaur, a pink dinosaur, a Hulk body, a T-Rex, a Triceratops, a man for the dinosaur to eat, and a robot. Kaden did not trust the man in red, he wouldn't go anywhere near him. I am going to take them back next week to try again. Here are some photos of our mall trip.

Kee's Visit

After Turkey Day we had a special visitor, no not Santa, Kee. I think she is better than Santa personally, she gives better gifts and candy. Seriously though, we had a blast, ate salad and steak, Mexican, and just relaxed and enjoyed her company. Trace and Kaden had a wonderful time with her. Trace slept in the bed with her and put on her makeup for her. He also helped her with her rollers. The best part was meeting with Kathy, Owen, and Griffin to pick her up and drop her off. She got to see all of her grandchildren and great grandchildren. Trace and Owen were the best of friends. I think that Kaden and Griffin will buddy up in a year or two as soon as Griffin can run with the pack. Enjoy the photos!

Happy Turkey Day Everyone!

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We had the usual spread of a turkey, stuffing, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, asparagus, and rolls. Trace and Kaden made the mashed potatoes and they were wonderful, they added garlic and parmasan cheese. After dinner the ice-cream man came through the neighborhood so I let the boys get ice-cream for dessert. Trace picked out Spiderman and Kaden ended up with Dora because the man thought he was a girl, that happens often. I guess people aren't use to seeing such a pretty boy :) HAPPY TURKEY DAY EVERYONE!