Samuel is TWO

Yesterday my sweet little buddy turned two! It's awesome to see how much he's grown and changed. He's very independent and so sweet & loving. He can count to ten, he talks a lot (his favorite phrases being, "What you doing now?" and "Hannah did it!") and he's got great motor skills. He loves playing outside and could spend hours jumping on the trampoline with Hannah. And speaking of Hannah, he is her shadow. He follows her everywhere and if she's not around he constantly asks, "Where Hannah?" They are very sweet together and Hannah is forever hugging & kissing Sammy.

We celebrated Samuel's 2nd birthday with a small party consisting of family & friends, chili, cards overflowing with money, and a cake that my sister & Dad were sweet enough to buy for him. It was a great day and Samuel definitely had a blast! HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY SAMUEL!! WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!

The balloon that Hannah so thoughtfully picked out for Samuel.

What is it?

It's money!!

Samuel blew out his candles without any help!

Some delicious icing!

A rare picture of me & Hannah. Normally I'm the one taking the pictures!!

Our Days in Durham

Shortly after Hannah's birthday we traveled to Durham to visit David & Karen. It was a fairly short trip but we had tons of fun none-the-less.
Dave was off while we were there so we spent our time shopping (I love that Barnes & Noble has a Starbucks inside - two of my favorite stores in one!), going to the movies (The Squeakel) and playing Super Mario for the Wii (playing with three players is quite interesting to say the least!)

The kids loved spending time with their Aunt & Uncle and they really enjoyed playing with Heidi. Heidi has mellowed out a little and did a lot better with the kids this time.

Enjoy the few pics that I managed to take while we were there.

The guys waiting for me so we can continue playing Mario.

Bobby & Sammy are waiting to eat one of the delicious meals Karen cooked for us.

Dave, Heidi & the kiddos.

Happy Birthday Hannah!

Okay, so I'm fourteen days late in posting about Hannah's party but better late than never (which seems to be the theme for my blog lately!)

On the 1st of January Hannah turned 4. It's so hard to even type that!! She's quickly grown from a tiny fragile baby into a beautiful, witty little lady. She's incredibly smart and soaks up information like a sponge. She's very funny and makes me laugh every day. She's an excellent big sister to Samuel. And she's a wonderful helper in the kitchen because she loves cooking and cleaning.

We had a party for her on her birthday and she chose a 'My Little Pony' theme. I didn't think we knew a lot of little girls to invite (most of our friends have boys :-) but I was surprised at how many people we knew to invite. There were 5 little girls there besides Hannah. I wish I could have taken a picture of Hannah's face when she woke up on her birthday and walked into the kitchen. While she was sleeping I put up the decorations, Bobby had brought home her cake and we had bought her flowers (because she looks at them every time we go grocery shopping.) Her face lit up and she jumped around looking at everything.

All the little girls had so much fun, the pinata was a success and the cake was delicious.

Happy Birthday to my sweet little Hannah-Boo!!

Here are pictures of the cake and decorations. Sorry the lighting is weird but it was so bright that day and my camera was being obnoxious.

This is the gorgeous cake that June made for Hannah. June makes the most beautiful cakes. Of course Hannah's favorite part was Scoot-a-Loo on top.

The flowers and pinata.

Christmas & Some Thoughts on Death

We had an amazing Christmas this year. Bob & Tommy spent Christmas Eve with us and stayed the night. In the morning we went to my parents house for a delicious breakfast and afterwards we opened presents. The kids got a ton of presents and they've played with everything. Hannah got a kitchen set from my parents & sister and a bicycle from Bobby & me. Sammy got a remote control truck from my Dad and a Cars mini-four-wheeler (that only goes 2 miles/hr) from Bobby & me. They got a lot more but those were the major things. I'm going to post pictures but I wanted to get some shots of them enjoying their toys so it might take a few days.
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Today my mom took the kids & me to Wal-Mart. While shopping I found some of those little fat Coca Cola bottles on sale for $0.50 each. I was telling my mom that I wanted to get one for Hannah & Samuel but all they had left was Diet Coke.
Hannah was standing beside me listening to our conversation. After a second she looked at me and asked, "Why does it make you die?"
My Mom & I laughed so hard!! From the mouths of babes!!

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TOMORROW IS NOT ONLY THE BEGINNING OF 2010 BUT IT'S ALSO HANNAH'S 4TH BIRTHDAY!!

Christmas With the Cows

Last week the kids and I went to the Cow's Christmas Party at Chick-fil-A (just like last year). There were no door prizes this year though ... meaning no huge cow Pez Dispensers. We still had a great time decorating cupcakes and making Christmas cards. Of course Hannah had to have her picture made with the Cows. That's about it so enjoy the pictures!!

I'm thinking we should buy stock in Chick-fil-A considering how much time we spend there!!

Sammy enjoying his cupcake.

Hannah & the Chick-fil-A Cows.

Sammy taking a turn with the cows.

Delicious

Gorgeous girl!

Sorry the color is slightly off in this picture but...
Merry Christmas!!

Rocking Around the Christmas Tree...

One of my favorite holiday traditions is picking out a Christmas tree and decorating it. I love the smell of fresh pine, I love the way the lights look with the silver garland, and I love reminiscing over the ornaments as we put them on the tree (I have several ornaments from my childhood and Bobby & I have bought a new ornament every year.) It's even more special now that we have Hannah and Samuel. They've got their own ornaments and they loved decorating the tree this year.

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We bought our tree last Wednesday and had a 'Tree Decorating Party' on Saturday. I cooked some delicious food (if I do say so myself!) and we invited our family and neighbors. It was such fun!! I really enjoyed spending time with our families - just sitting around eating and talking. What could be better?

My sister paid for Hannah & Samuel to have their pictures taken with Santa. Hannah was excited and actually talked to him but Samuel started crying the minute we put him on Santa's lap. Don't really blame him.

I have the most beautiful family ever!!

It was so windy the day we bought our tree! Our tree was one of four that was still standing.

Not only was it windy but it was also freezing cold!

This is the picture we took of the kids for our Christmas card.

Hannah & I relax after our party Saturday. Hannah looks like some 80's Rocker with her sequined head-band around her forehead.

Our beautiful tree!

Around the House

Here are some of the fun things we do throughout the day...

Two of my pictures wouldn't load - one of Hannah washing the dishes and one of Sammy rinsing. Here he's putting the dishes in the correct spot without me telling him what to do!

Hannah & Samuel really enjoyed mixing up the batter for Gingerbread Cookies. We recently made Gingerbread Cookies from scratch. It was a fun way to spend a Thursday afternoon.
They took turns adding the ingredients and then they took turns mixing.
*Thanks for the aprons Lindsay!! Hannah wears it every time she cooks or washes dishes!*

I always let the kids lick the beaters... You can see Samuel really enjoyed the cookie batter.

Hannah & Samuel had a blast cutting out their Gingerbread Men. Sam's came out missing a few arms and legs. Hannah's came out really looonng b/c she had a hard time picking them up once she'd cut them.

Their beautifully decorated Gingerbread Men.

We spent Thanksgiving at my Granny James' house. I'm lovin' Grannies facial expression.

Most afternoons the kids jump on the trampoline while I walk on the treadmill. I can't believe how beautiful they are!!!

We spend a lot of time snuggling. I walked into the kids room this morning & found them snuggling in Sammy's bed.

"I want to take the picture!"