Christmas Travels

This year we decided to spend Christmas with both sides of the family. We drove to Grammy and Granddaddy's house first, spent 2 nights, then drove to meet Grandma and Grandpa in Florida, spent 4 nights with them, then drove back to Grammy and Granddaddy's house to spend a week before driving home. Whew.

At first, I was excited about taking a road trip, but then I started to get a little (okay, a LOT) apprehensive about sleeping arrangements, if Oliver would take a nap, if Oliver would keep Buttercup awake the entire time, etc. I prayed about it and talked to Dennis about it, and I am very thankful to say that God took care of all of my worries and things could not have gone better. God is just awesome! He takes care of us, provides for us, and also listens to our tiny little requests!

While we were in Florida at the beach house, Oliver and Buttercup played in the sand, went looking for shells, and Oliver "fished" from the pier. We also made lots and lots of Play Doh hamburgers with Oliver's new Play Doh maker. :-) Now that we're back at Grammy and Granddaddy's house, Oliver has been spending most of his time outside with Granddaddy-- cutting down banana plants, digging holes, shoveling rocks, building fires, picking vegetables, and just having the time of his life. Buttercup has been having a good time watching Max (the dog) and playing with her new toys.

Pictures to come in a different post!

Crafts and Christmas Ornaments

These are the ornaments that the kids picked out for themselves this year. (Well, Oliver actually picked out Buttercup's ornament, because she was too busy smearing graham cracker residue on herself and the stroller) It will be fun to see how their tastes change over the years!


































Yesterday afternoon, we decided to all sit at the table and work on a project for Dennis. Buttercup colored (and ate crayons, too), Oliver cut out paper scraps and glued them together, and I helped with the coloring and tracing.

Static Electricity and Tic Tac Toe

This morning Oliver and Buttercup were playing with a box of old bottles in the kitchen, and Oliver found that he could make Buttercup's hair stand up if he brushed her hair with the bottle brush. I told him it was static electricity, and he couldn't quite understand how the electricity was in the brush since it didn't have a light switch. :-)




























After breakfast, Oliver asked to write on the dry-erase board. He wrote his name and did a very good job! (I didn't get a picture because he erased it too quickly) Then I taught him how to play tic-tac-toe (he drew Os and I drew Xs). That time, I was much faster with the camera. :-)

Playtime

Buttercup ended up sleeping in until 8:30 this morning, so Oliver and I had a lot of fun together! First, he watched a little bit of his favorite show, then he and I ate breakfast together, and then we made a loaf of banana-orange-oatmeal bread.

After the bread was in the oven, I gave him a small mixing bowl, the funnel, and some seasonings of his own, and he went to town pouring ingredients from one container to the other.













































It kept him entertained for about 15 minutes, so Buttercup got to watch him "cook" while she ate her breakfast. :-)

















Oliver's new toy, AKA "The Best Five Dollars I Ever Spent"





























And, last but not least, a video of the kids from yesterday. It's long (and probably a little boring!) but you can hear Buttercup's language as she "talks" to Oliver's tools. ("Gungh gungh? Onkbwha guwngh. Gongh nghn ongbuhnghgn?")

Messy Faces

These pictures speak for themselves!
































































And just for fun, here's one of Dennis' and Buttercup's matching hairstyles after their naps on Saturday. :-)

Snow and videos!

We actually had a little bit of snow last week! Oliver and I were so excited about the possibility of snow. Earlier in the week, Oliver prayed several times that God would make it snow. Unfortunately, it snowed during naptime and melted by the time he woke up, so he didn't actually get to play in it. :-( But hopefully it will snow again soon!

See those white fluffy things floating above the fence? That's Texas snow, folks!













Here is the cutest Buttercup ever, in the history of the entire universe. She will melt your heart with her hugs and cuddles!

















And this guy is the hardest working 3 year old ever, in the history of the entire universe. Seriously, this boy works on his projects all day long. He's just like his Granddaddy, always working. He even told his friend Nathan the other day, "I'm sorry, I can't make it to your birthday party. I have to work. Maybe next time!" Ha ha!














Here are a couple of recent videos.

In this first video, I'm asking Buttercup to make the sounds for truck, chicken, cat, and dog. She'll usually make the appropriate sound if she's paying attention, but she was pretty distracted that morning. :-)



This next video is pretty interesting. Buttercup and I were playing the piano while Oliver was taking pictures with my digital camera. Somehow he switched the settings on the camera, so he ended up taking a short video! You can hear me playing the piano, then Oliver says, "I can't find my elephant," then "I have to pee." It's pretty cute. :-)

It's Been a While!

It's been a while since I last posted! Our laptop finally died a couple of months ago and I just never got around to posting from our desktop PC. Now I have a new laptop and it's more convenient to type this way, so hopefully I'll keep our blog updated.

Both of the kiddos are just growing and learning so many new things every day. Strangers comment all the time about Oliver's vocabulary and how he really must be 4 or 5 because he's so tall and talks so well! :-) He is growing up to be a very smart, sensitive, rambunctious, curious, independent (but not too independent!) little boy. And Buttercup . . . she is such a sweet, happy baby girl. She just loves to snuggle, hug, cuddle, and kiss. She's also getting stronger and stronger and one of these days she is going to take off running! I just can't believe how great God is to give us such wonderful, healthy, beautiful children. I just love Him and am so thankful for my family. :-)

Here are some recent pictures and I hope to post more over the next couple of days!


Christmas Party at our house (in this picture: Cade, Heather, Oliver, Jana, Jaxon, Devin, Ignacio)















Buttercup being silly!




















In front of our newly decorated Christmas tree















Making gingerbread cookies















Mmmm!