Christmas Preparations

BeBe waited to decorate her tree until we arrived in SC.  Boo had a great time putting the ornaments on the tree and throughout the Christmas season, he would often go into the room where the tree was and just play with the ornaments by taking them off and putting them back on after taking them to PawPaw to tell him what each ornament was. It was really sweet. He loved it! Here are some pics of tree decorating.

Lil Bit fell in love with Santa. Not a bad choice.

Trying to get a pic of them in front of the tree...

...

...as good as it gets. Lol.

Earlier this week, we went over to C's house to for a cookie decorating get together. Boo had so much fun decorating his cookies! We kept them so that we could leave those cookies out for Santa. You know the drill...picture time!

Our hostess with red icing all over her face! Lol!

Bit mostly played with toys.

Beth helping Boo decorate. Boo said he wanted to use green M&Ms because his Dad likes green (melt my heart).

I caught him eating sprinkles! ;)

Sweet girl.

Taste testing the cookies.

Messy kiss for Uncle Russ!

Enjoying the fruits of his labor.

Thanks Calgirl for having us over for a fun night!

A Christmas Program With Children...

...never disappoints!

Our wee angel and big boy shepherd donning their costumes.

Making friends with the angels.

Happy Shepherd with his stick!

Angel falls right out of the gate.

She's up again!

...and toddled down the aisle as cute as she could be!

Shepherd checking in with Mom on his way down the aisle.
"Hi, Mama."

Shep and the wise men.

And, the hit of the night...dueling shepherds. SO funny!

A special visitor for from the North Pole showed up as well!

Um, do I know you?


We had a great night at the Cypess UMC. I've been participating in and attending these programs since I was nine years old! The little ones always provide comic relief. I'm so happy that our little ones were able to participate this year! It really warmed my heart. I loved every second of it!

We're settling in our home here in SC. As of yesterday, we have cable and internet! Woohoo!!

B-man is settling in his temporary home as well. Trying to get everything set up for him as well.

I have more pics to share, but I'm off to get my hair cut! Thank you Granny & Grandpa and company!!

Update

Just an update to let you all know where we are.
B-man is deployed and the children and I are back home with family.

It was utterly heartbraking to say goodbye to B-man this time. It's never easy, but watching him say goodbye to the babes was just heart wrenching. He's going to war and that element of danger just underlies everything. I hate it.

The kiddos and I made it after several long flights and an overnight stay in Atlanta after a missed flight. That was almost the straw that broke this camel's back. I cried, and then forged ahead. Boo was EXCELLENT on the flights. He really has grown up so much. I'm so proud of him. Bit was a typical baby on a plane. She flirted with the passengers and then cried/screamed when she was tired b/c she didn't want to miss a thing. And then she would crash in my arms. So interesting how they go from wild to peaceful in mere moments.

We're trying to get on east coast time and get settled. I think the little ones are handling it better than this tired mama. But, we're getting there. The temps have been balmy, which has been so refreshing coming from the cold temps in AK.

Just wanted to touch base with you all.

Happy 1st Birthday Lil Bit!

Our baby girl turned one year old today!! It's so funny how time flies in some ways and goes so slow in other ways. I mean, this year has flown by! It seems like just yesterday we were walking the neighborhood trying to spur on labor. And now, our lil girl is ONE! And this next year that B-man will be gone, will go by sooooo slow. Time is funny that way.

We had a huge party for Boo's first bday, but took a different approach this year since we are currently living without furniture, etc. The movers came last week and moved our stuff into storage and we've been camping out in the house this week. We're moving into a hotel tomorrow. So, we just had a quiet family day, played in the snow, and enjoyed Bit enjoying her cake and bday party banner.

Here are some pics from her big day!

I did make her cake! Two nights before the movers arrived I feverishly worked on her cake...as if I didn't have 84,000 things to do to prepare for the packers. But, I just had to make her 1st cake! Don't you love Mom guilt?

She's the only one in the house with a chair! ha!

Hmmmm....

She mostly just liked getting it on her hands. She ate a tiny bit, but didn't really care too much for eating it.

Presents!

:)

Happy Birthday to my sweet baby girl!!!

" Happy Birthday to you..."

She had her 12 month well baby check last week and weighs 22lbs 6oz and is 29" long.  She only wants to eat finger foods, but doesn't enjoy quite the variety that Lil Boo did when he was this little. She's a very happy girl and loves to be out and about. She can be quite fiesty too when she's got her eyes set on something. We're still working on the sleeping issue, and the nursing issue. We introduced cow's milk this week, but she hasn't really taken to it yet. At this point, I'm just doing what I have to, to keep us eating and sleeping until we get settled in SC. Then, we'll get serious about the sleeping thing! I know, how many times have I said this already? Lol.


We're so in love with our Lil Bit and feel super blessed that God has chosen us to be her family. She makes me smile everyday! And I'm so grateful that B-man has been home through both pregnancies and both of our babe's first years. That's huge! 

Last Day of Swimming Lessons

...before going back to SC.

We're Gonna Miss This