During Christmas break, we spent a lot of time singing Christmas songs and letting the kids bang on instruments. This is a video of "Angels We Have Heard on High" and I like it because you can only see Lewis and Phoebe, but Lewis' face absolutely cracks me up. He was such a serious drummer, beating on a tambourine with his drumsticks. Owen is in the background playing some sort of shaky cymbal thing and Phoebe was trying to participate too.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
crazy holiday events
December started off with Owen's preschool Christmas program. The kids sang some songs and heard a story. We got to have hot chocolate and snacks with the class. It was fun! 
Lewis' class went caroling at several nursing homes in the area, and then to CiCi's pizza for lunch. I was happy to go and help him eat his pizza, which he did slowly. He did not want the brownie I got for him. He enjoyed singing with the class and seemed to like "Feliz Navidad" the best.
Barnes & Noble hosted an Angry Birds party/scavenger hunt. Lewis really got into finding the birds and coloring pictures of them back in the kids section.
It was December 16th when Lewis' class (and all of PBC) performed for their holiday program. Lewis sang with help from his math teacher, Ms. Doolin. Here's a clip:And another:
Lewis obviously was enjoying himself! We are grateful that Ms. Doolin was there and willing to help him participate.
We signed the boys up to make some trains at Lowe's Build & Grow workshops. They really liked these trains.
Lewis also got back into tennis briefly in December. We were out playing tennis in some of the coldest weather we've had. Granted, the cold hasn't been that bad, but I can see why it's a summer sport!
He also went through a phase where he was acting out our church's services with his Noah's ark animals. He really likes to play "church."
Phoebe was a cute monkey last month too.
On the Dec. 17th, some friends had a Christmas party for kids. Lewis really enjoyed the music part with Whitney and Stephen. Owen liked the crafts and snacks.
The boys got a fun new game from Krista, our favorite (and longest running) therapist. It's called Tumblin' Monkeys. It requires a bit of set up, but I have to say that I actually enjoy this one!
Mandy came into town just before Christmas. She stopped in on her way to Glasgow. It was so good to see her!That basically brings us to the actual holidays! We'll get caught up one of these days.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
9 month stats
So Phoebe turned 9 months old on January 20th. We visited the doctor and her stats are:height: 28.25 inches
weight: 21 lbs., 5 oz.
head: big
Her head size has leveled off, but her weight is now in the 90th percentile! Her length was in about the 70th I want to say, so she continues to be "healthy" size. She doesn't miss any meals.
She learned to feed herself on Christmas Day (a month ago). She had been inconsistently eating a bite here or there, but she figured it out and has been munching away ever since on Kix cereal, Cheerios, graham crackers, regular crackers and even had a cereal bar yesterday (which was quite a mess!). Here's a video of her eating.
She has also learned to wave and clap and loves to do both all the time. She is very social and loves greeting people everywhere we go.
She is trying to crawl, but mostly rolls and pivots to get to things and hasn't figured out how to go forward just yet. We hope it is just around the corner. She does have a lot of weight to push around after all.
She has had a couple ear infections this month (or one that has not gone away). But then Owen, Justin and I have all been sick too. Fun times around here. Stay tuned for more pics and video and some final posts to catch up to the present.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
shepherd family christmas
So we went to Shepherdsville for the Shepherd family gathering and I took only a very few photos before we got to the actual gathering. Phoebe had a rare "off" day and cried a lot there so there probably were not too many great moments to capture.
Phoebe with Grandpa.
Phoebe with Owen.
Phoebe with daddy.
Phoebe with Grandpa.
Phoebe with Owen.
Phoebe with daddy.
christmas phoebe
Here are some photos of Phoebe before our first family Christmas event. I had to have her pose with her stocking. She was wanting to play peekaboo with it, which is one of her favorite activities. This video is also of us playing peekaboo very briefly. christmas parade
The beginning of December brings the Bowling Green Christmas Parade. Not only is it our (Spencer's Coffeehouse) busiest day of the year, but it is also a fun very day for the kids. The Veteran's Day parade is good, but the Christmas Parade is awesome with lots of marching bands, Christmas music and of course, more candy (though not as much as Veteran's Day).
Phoebe even waved at a few of the floats.
Justin got to watch with us for a few minutes.
Aunt Ellen tried to keep Lewis under control.
It was a great time.
Sunday, January 08, 2012
advent
Just after Thanksgiving, we decorated our home and put up our tree. We hung an extra stocking for Phoebe, which was fun. The only crafty thing I've done for my kids has been making them each a stocking. Phoebe's is bright pink, with an angel beside her name. I enjoyed making it!
We are just beginning to figure out Christmas traditions at our house. During a brief black Friday shopping trip, I picked up $1 advent calendars for the boys at Trader Joe's that had a piece of chocolate for each of 24 days before Christmas. Lewis is kind of picky, but generally likes chocolate so I hoped they would enjoy opening the little door each night.
They both LOVED doing this. And honestly, it was a huge motivator for the whole month of December. Any ugly behavior and I threatened to take away the privilege of opening the #5 or whatever day it was. While there was nothing particularly spiritual behind the calendars, it was a nice way to countdown to Christmas. The doors were not in any order so they had to look for the numbers each day which is a good skill to learn. The chocolates were shaped with different holiday related objects and they were excited to see what they got each night. This might be the best $2 we spent all season!
We are just beginning to figure out Christmas traditions at our house. During a brief black Friday shopping trip, I picked up $1 advent calendars for the boys at Trader Joe's that had a piece of chocolate for each of 24 days before Christmas. Lewis is kind of picky, but generally likes chocolate so I hoped they would enjoy opening the little door each night.
They both LOVED doing this. And honestly, it was a huge motivator for the whole month of December. Any ugly behavior and I threatened to take away the privilege of opening the #5 or whatever day it was. While there was nothing particularly spiritual behind the calendars, it was a nice way to countdown to Christmas. The doors were not in any order so they had to look for the numbers each day which is a good skill to learn. The chocolates were shaped with different holiday related objects and they were excited to see what they got each night. This might be the best $2 we spent all season!
thanksgiving
We took very few photos at Thanksgiving! We spent time at my dad's and I guess I forgot to take pics. I did get one of Phoebe grabbing Owen's ear before we ate that day.
The next Saturday, we went to Nashville to see Justin's family. Here is Justin, Owen and Grandpa swinging at a neighborhood play area.
Justin's cousin Ryan is a freshman at Baylor this year, so we were glad to see him and his sister Olivia while he was home for the short break. Lewis is huge fan of these two!!
The next Saturday, we went to Nashville to see Justin's family. Here is Justin, Owen and Grandpa swinging at a neighborhood play area.
Justin's cousin Ryan is a freshman at Baylor this year, so we were glad to see him and his sister Olivia while he was home for the short break. Lewis is huge fan of these two!!
november highlights
November started into the holiday season, and we got super busy. These are photos that are random and didn't fit into any certain post. I had to look for one of Owen though, which seems bad. He's usually pretty photogenic, but this was the best one I had. He loves riding that trike and putting stickers on his jacket.
Many of these have been posted on Instagram with an app on my phone. If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, these may look really familiar! The ones I pull from there are square with interesting filters or borders.
Lewis running in the leaves.
Phoebe loves to swing!!
This was Phoebe and her lion at 7 months old. We take a picture of her each month with the lion.
This is Lewis at a decorating party at school just before Thanksgiving. Here he is interacting with a "friend" from the 2nd grade class. He went through a phase where he talked about this boy all the time! It was really cute to see them talking. Lewis is generally not interested in most kids, so we were really excited that he seemed to like one in particular. I was happy to get to meet him too.
After a month or so of eating solids, Phoebe had gotten really into eating, and she still loves it. This was her "waiting for another bite" pose. It seemed like with every bite she swallowed and opened quickly for her next bite. So cute.
Many of these have been posted on Instagram with an app on my phone. If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, these may look really familiar! The ones I pull from there are square with interesting filters or borders. 
Lewis running in the leaves.
Phoebe loves to swing!!
This was Phoebe and her lion at 7 months old. We take a picture of her each month with the lion.
This is Lewis at a decorating party at school just before Thanksgiving. Here he is interacting with a "friend" from the 2nd grade class. He went through a phase where he talked about this boy all the time! It was really cute to see them talking. Lewis is generally not interested in most kids, so we were really excited that he seemed to like one in particular. I was happy to get to meet him too.
After a month or so of eating solids, Phoebe had gotten really into eating, and she still loves it. This was her "waiting for another bite" pose. It seemed like with every bite she swallowed and opened quickly for her next bite. So cute.
winery tour/8th anniversary
On November 8, 2011 Justin and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary. We found a Groupon for a winery tour/bed & breakfast stay in Hampshire, TN (about 2 1/2 hours south of Bowling Green) at Ridgetop Bed & Breakfast. The couple that owns Ridgetop also owns a winery called Natchez Hills Vineyard.
The cabin we stayed in from the outside.
And on the inside it was very cozy, with a real 1800s charm.
Our first stop on our tour was the Natchez Hills vineyard. It is going on 3 years old, so the vines have not started producing grapes, but should next season. It was very interesting listening to the process of growing grapes, tending vines and harvesting the fruit. Not to mention that it was really beautiful and peaceful there.
I took a self portrait with some scenery!
After that we visited a couple of other local wineries and got to do some wine tastings. Another couple was staying in the other cabin at the bed and breakfast, and we really enjoyed their company too. They knew a little more about wine and also had a small son they had left behind with family, so we had quite a bit in common. I always thought I didn't like wine much, but as did the tastings and went from dry to sweet wines, I discovered that I liked more than I didn't and enjoyed the ones in the middle the most.
Justin and I took a quick photo before we departed. It was a lot of fun and we recommend getting away like this! The couple that own the bed and breakfast were so kind and interesting. We really enjoyed talking to other adults without the responsibilities of feeding several kids, cleaning up etc. It was a lovely break!
The cabin we stayed in from the outside.
And on the inside it was very cozy, with a real 1800s charm.
Our first stop on our tour was the Natchez Hills vineyard. It is going on 3 years old, so the vines have not started producing grapes, but should next season. It was very interesting listening to the process of growing grapes, tending vines and harvesting the fruit. Not to mention that it was really beautiful and peaceful there.
I took a self portrait with some scenery!
After that we visited a couple of other local wineries and got to do some wine tastings. Another couple was staying in the other cabin at the bed and breakfast, and we really enjoyed their company too. They knew a little more about wine and also had a small son they had left behind with family, so we had quite a bit in common. I always thought I didn't like wine much, but as did the tastings and went from dry to sweet wines, I discovered that I liked more than I didn't and enjoyed the ones in the middle the most.
Justin and I took a quick photo before we departed. It was a lot of fun and we recommend getting away like this! The couple that own the bed and breakfast were so kind and interesting. We really enjoyed talking to other adults without the responsibilities of feeding several kids, cleaning up etc. It was a lovely break!
Thursday, January 05, 2012
veteran's day parade/beth's birthday
The annual Veteran's Day Parade in downtown Bowling Green coincided with our celebration of Aunt Beth's birthday this year (in early November). Dad and Martha came and met us to watch the fun. There was a lot of candy thrown by those in the parade, and this is dad/Grandpa trying to open a piece while holding Phoebe.
We ran into our friends the Cahoons, whose kids collected a TON of candy. There are five of them so it is not too hard to imagine. There was much sugar consumed that morning. Lewis was picky about which candy he wanted, of course!
After lunch at Mariah's, we returned to Beth's place for cake.
We tried to capture the essence of Beth in the style of this one.....but that's no easy task.
Candles aglow.
Lewis was eager to sing and help blow out candles.
Martha posing for a shot with the birthday girl and the baby girl.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
