Just Kid'n Around

Because Christmas was on a Sunday this year, Monday was declared a holiday. Well, because BJ works for the state, he had the day off. After having breakfast, we told the kids that we were taking them somewhere for a surprise family day. We ended up at a place called Just Kid'n Around. What a great place for the kids to burn off all of their pent up energy. Iyana immediately took off for the big slide and to find a new friend to play with while Dayson was so excited that he just danced in place for a while with the biggest grin on his face. It didn't take him long to realize that the big kids slide and play area (which is recommended for ages 4 and up) was a lot more fun than the little kid area. He climbed all the way to the top and was ready to go down the slide himself. They warned us that the slides were recently waxed and were very fast because of that. They weren't kidding. If you didn't sit just right, you ended up being air born for a short bit. Dayson enjoyed going down with Iyana until she ran off with another little girl. Then it was up to mommy and daddy to climb up and slide down with him. I think we got just as much of a work out as he did.

I think the funnest part of the day was watching the kids have so much fun. Dayson always did a happy dance after each time he went down the slide. I did feel a little embarrassed when an older lady decided to go down the slide with her grandson and ended up a little battered because of the latest wax job. Once she made it down, Dayson ran up to her and started clapping. Her husband laughed and she seemed ok with it but still, did he have to go right up to her?

With so many different things to do, the kids had a hard time deciding. Iyana was all over the place with her little friend which made it difficult to find her at times. Dayson couldn't figure out what to get his hands on next. He was so excited that he would run up to random people and start laughing. Most of them thought it was pretty cute, but there was one little girl who kind of got scared of him.

Love how when kids are concentrating on something, the tongue creeps out. Both Iyana and Dayson do this. Maybe it helps them to think about what they're doing better? I don't know, but pretty cute anyways. We stayed for about two hours. The nice thing about this place is that once you pay, you can come back as many times as you want during that same day at no extra charge.

Once we left, we had lunch and then hustled home. Dayson was about ready to drop where he was standing from being so tired and worn out. Honestly, we were all pretty tired and decided that a nice long nap was in order. What a wonderful family day it was, filled with lots of fun and even some exercise.

Here's Dayson showing off his new car seat that he got for Christmas. We were finally able to get him a forward facing seat and he loves it! Most of the time when I look back to see how he's doing, he's staring out the window with a smile on his face. He loves to watch the telephone poles go by.

Happy New Years!!

Praying for God's many blessings to you all!!

Holiday Wrap-Up

We had a wonderful time celebrating Christmas this year. Missed our WA family but at least we were able to talk with them on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I actually took lots of pictures this year so be prepared for a bunch.

Christmas Eve

BJ and I started off celebrating our 11th anniversary on Christmas Eve. Nothing major planned this year other than to relax and enjoy the day off from work. Grammy Sheba (BJ's mom) took the kids for the day and we went out shopping for those last minute items. I never realized that shopping for stocking stuffers could be so hard. This is our first year really doing that so I was kind of at a loss as to what to get. Needless to say, the kids got a lot of snack items and a couple of small toys (Iyana) and new sippy cups (Dayson). After all the shopping, we headed to church for the Christmas Eve service. This year we decided to volunteer as a family in the nursery. BJ's mom joined us and we had a lot of fun. There were only three other children besides Dayson so we were each able to focus on one child.

 After church we all headed over to Grammy Sheba's house for dinner and gifts. I think next year we'll invest in a smaller ham. Even after splitting the leftovers, we still have ham coming out our ears. I'm trying to think of all the different recipes we can use the stuff in. Fortunately, the kids really like ham so that's a big help.

 Dayson was really into unwrapping his presents this year. It was fun to see his excitement when he saw all his new toys, video's and snacks. Of course, convincing him to unwrap more when he was busy playing was a little difficult, but we managed.

After her several years of experience, Iyana had the unwrapping of gifts down pat. Even though she's getting older and starting to show some of the signs of the impending teenage years, she still had that same excitement that always shows up at this time of year. I love watching all the different expression that pass over her face. I especially love the big smile she gets when she's not aware of how she's smiling or who's watching. Any more now days, when trying to get a picture of her I only get a small, half smile. So these times of the true smile are priceless to me.

Iyana was also in to making most of her gifts this year. We received pictures, a hand made stable and a story that she had written in a book. These are the things that we will always be able to look back on with great memories, such a special touch to them.

Sheba even got a present. Her favorite, a moo cow!

Christmas Day

We had a rare treat on Christmas Day. Dayson actually let us sleep in until 7:30am! He's our early bird and so to actually get to be lazy in the morning and rest, it was pure bliss ☺. Upon both children getting up, we let them open their stockings. After that, Grammy Sheba came over and we all had breakfast together then headed to church. It's been about two months since BJ and I have been able to sit through the morning service. With taking care of children's church and then the children's Christmas program, we've been pretty busy. It was so nice to be able to sit in service and soak up God's word.

After church we headed back home while Grammy Sheba went to a friends house. It was a nice relaxing afternoon filled with naps and the kids playing with their new toys. Well, BJ got in on the action too. Iyana was enjoying riding her new scooter and then decided to let daddy try it out. Definitely had to get a picture as he looked kind of silly.

The rest of the night was filled with movie watching and having dinner over at Grammy's again. Iyana read the Christmas story out of Luke in the Bible. Think we should make this a tradition every year. There's just something about hearing scripture being read by a child that fills your heart to overflowing.

The past two days had worn Dayson out and well before his normal bedtime, he was ready to go home. Kept going to the front door and crying until we finally packed everything up and headed home. Once there, he played for a few minutes and then crashed for the rest of the night. It wasn't long before the rest of us soon followed. All in all, it was a wonderful Christmas. Hard to believe that it's over and a new year is fast approaching us. Looking forward to what Christ has in store for us in this coming year!

Merry Christmas!

11 Years

Happy Anniversary!!

Just a quick little post. I wanted to say Happy Anniversary to my best friend and husband. BJ, you are the love of my life and I'm so glad that God has blessed me with you. Looking forward to all that God has in store for us in the coming year. Love you!!!

Christmas Tree, Eating and Sunrises

I've been wondering when this day would come. Dayson has finally figured out how to use a spoon. Of course, now all the fun really begins. Eating with his hands and fingers have been messy, but nothing like it was today when he started with the spoon. He had cereal not only in his hair, but all over his face, jammies and the chair itself. It's been fun to watch, especially since he gets so excited when he actually gets a mouth full. Still not sure if he's going to be a lefty or righty. He uses both hands for everything so far.

This is the after shot. Doesn't show everything but gives you an idea as to how things went.

The sunrises lately have been gorgeous! As much as I don't always like living in an apartment, the views from the second floor first thing in the morning have been worth it. God gives us a beautiful gift each morning and I'm so glad I'm awake to witness it. These were all taken on different mornings over the past couple of months.

I finally got a picture of my camera shy daughter. It seems that she's starting to take after me in not always liking her picture taken. I realized that it's been quite a while since I had gotten a picture of her. When I asked if I could take one, she was actually happy about it and wanted it in front of the Christmas tree. The lighting was really bad but I'm so glad that I have this picture of her. Iyana is growing up so quickly. As she likes to remind me, here in the next couple of months she will be 10. I don't know how I feel about that. It's amazing to think that God blessed me with becoming her mom that long ago. Love you sweet girl!

If you want a different kind of picture for your Christmas tree this year instead of the standard one, here's an option that I found out about. Kind of neat looking with the lights looking like beams. If you want to try this shot, the best way to do it is with a tripod, a good zoom lens and a dark room. You want to make sure your shutter speed is slowed way down. With the camera on the tripod to prevent jagged lines, make sure all the other lights in the room are turned off so it doesn't interfere with the picture. As you take the picture, slowly zoom out. The more you zoom out, the longer the beams will be. This is the final product. What do you think?

Teething and More...

It's been quiet around this blog of late. With busy schedules and then dealing with THE sickness of the year, I just haven't had much time to update things. Unfortunately, we didn't get passed by the stomach bug this year. Little Dayson was the first to get hit with it. Poor guy, we were at the pet store when he got sick the first time. I was hoping that it was only something that he had eaten, but soon found that was not the case. I'm always amazed at how quickly certain bugs spread. Needless to say, within a very short amount of time, the rest of us had it. Fortunately, while I was sick, Iyana was doing just fine and did a wonderful job of taking care of her brother. Not only that, she decided to do some cleaning around the apartment so that I would have less to do when I was better. She was such a trooper! By that night though, both her and BJ were sick. Trying to be a mom and nurse at the same time while dealing with being sick myself is so hard. I'm so thankful that God gives moms the extra strength needed to care for her family. My mother-in-law was also such a blessing during this time. She left the needed hydrating items and some movies on our doorstep (we didn't want her coming near us and catching what we had). After quarantining ourselves for the weekend, Dayson, Iyana and I were able to get well. BJ thought he was doing better but ended up sick for another couple of days. He has since improved and we're all glad that it's behind us. It's been nine years since we've been sick like this and I'll gladly wait another nine to go through it again.

On to the teething. Dayson has been struggling to get his last set of first year molars in. My nights have once again returned to broken sleep patterns and time out on the mat in the living room. As of last night, both bottom molars decided to finally break through...on the same day. No wonder he's been miserable. At least for the next couple of months, I'm hoping to get some better sleep again until his next set of teeth decide to move in.

I finally took the plunge and got my haircut. It's been something I've been wanting to do but just kept putting it off. Since my hair has recently decided to get a lot more wave in it, I was a little concerned about what it might do when cutting it short. Since I didn't wear my glasses while getting it cut, I couldn't really see what it was doing. The gal then dried it and straightened it. I was unsure if I really liked it but decided to play with it when I got home. After getting home, I rewashed it to get rid of all the little itchy hairs that like to stick around after a haircut. To my surprise, it went really wavy/curly. Had Iyana take a picture for you all to see. I'm slowly learning to like it better, it just takes some getting used to.

So, that's what we've been up to lately. Hoping to do some Christmas pictures with the kids soon, but we'll see what time allows. If you don't hear from me until then, have a wonderful and blessed Christmas!

15 Months