Johnson City Lights

We took a trip to Johnson City last week which is one of our favorite places to look at Christmas lights.  This was Connor's 2nd year to go.  Looking at last years post made me realize how much he has grown up.

 This year the puppy dog train was his favorite!

 Carson stayed warm and cozy in the Baby Bjorn.

 We were so glad that Nana, Poppa, and Mimi were all able to join us again.

After we looked at the lights by the court house we headed over to PEC.  Carson slept the entire time.

 There are so many lights on the trees that it looks like the middle of the day.  Connor thought the open grass area was a perfect place to play hide and seek.

 He is one lucky boy to have so many grandparents that love him.

I love that this has become one of our Christmas family traditions and look forward to many more years to come.

Gingerbread Cookies

Here is a short video from our "Gingerbread Day."  Sorry I can't figure out how to get the video centered on the blog.

Gingerbread Fun

I had been wanting to do some fun holiday activities with Connor this year now that he is old enough.  After trying to decide what we should do I set aside a day to do all things gingerbread!  Needless to say it was a hit!  We started the morning coloring pictures of gingerbread men and gingerbread houses.  Then we read one of my favorite Christmas children's books, Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett.

Before lunch we rolled out our gingerbread dough...

 ...and cut out our gingerbread men.

 Then off to the oven they went while we enjoyed some lunch.  Carson was not to be left out on the fun day and had a front row view from his bouncy seat.

 After lunch I put Connor down for a nap and went ahead an assembled the gingerbread house so it would be ready to decorate when he woke up.  I bought our "ready to make" kit at Target and it was SO easy to use!  This was definitely the way to go.  Connor must have been so excited that he forgot to sleep so after a few hours I let him out and we got busy decorating.  It was a team effort, but he did great!  I put on the icing and he picked out what candy to add.  

He is concentrating really hard on getting that peppermint just perfect. :)  If you didn't know, sticking your tongue out allows you to concentrate even more!

Our finished product!

We finished the day by decorating our gingerbread men with icing and red hots.  Yum!

The rest of the story...

Since it has taken me so long to blog about this I can share a funny story that happened after our gingerbread day.  While I was getting ready one day I hear Cole ask Connor what he has in his mouth.  I knew Cole was holding Carson so I hurry in to see if I can help.  Y'all... he took a gingerbread man ornament of the tree and was attempting to take a bite. "Sprinkles"  ALL in the mouth!  You may notice the left arm has a few less sprinkles. :)  And I thought I was keeping it safe by leaving the glass ornaments off.

He Learns Quickly...

For a 2 year old, Connor has got me figured out.  He knows that if he announces "I need to feed baby Carson!" as Cole carries him off to bed that I will say "Ok Connor, come sit on the sofa."

A huge smile spreads across his face because he knows he just scored at least 5 more minutes of staying up.

The best part of the night (which just shows you how well he knows me) was when he yells out to Cole "Daddy, go get the camera!"

Giving him 5 more minutes was definitely worth watching these 2 together. :)

We have been busy, busy, busy so I am way behind on updating the blog.  Lots more posts hopefully coming soon!

What Brings Me Joy

Between decorating for Christmas, trying to clean, and a last minute decision to rearrange the playroom my house looks like it got hit by a tornado, but I have decided to just enjoy being with my two boys on this Monday morning.  Amazingly they are both taking naps right now so I am going to share a few things that I am thankful for today.

These sweet smiles I get to see everyday...

The fact that Carson has been such a good sleeper and sleep from 11-6 last night.  Yay for 7 straight hours of sleep!

Christmas music and especially this new Praise Baby Carson received yesterday from Nana and Poppa at a family Christmas get-together.  We all LOVE it!

I am thankful for the small reminders that God leaves me while picking up Connor's toys.  Even in his own way, Connor understands where our focus should be.

I am thankful for listening to Connor "read" a book to me before his nap that he has memorized because he loves it so much. (Hopefully I can get a video up soon)

For Cole, who is such an amazing husband and father to these two little boys.  I love watching how much Connor adores his daddy.

For my mom, who is one of my best friends and has always been there for me.

...and for this little guy who will let you snuggle with him all day long!

"The LORD is my strength and my shield;
   my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
My heart leaps for joy,
   and with my song I praise him."

Psalms 28:7