Month: December 2015
We left Collierville this morning and drove to Paducah to spend the evening at B’s. Due to our short time in town, we decided it would be fun to have Harper and Mackenzie stay at B’s house too. The kids couldn’t wait to feed the dogs (crazy, right?) and then they happily posed for a picture before we sent them all off to the room with the bunk beds (and then three hours later they were finally asleep – or something like that.) They had a blast together!
This was the most relaxed Sunday morning I have had in a long time. There were lots of people up and moving and entertaining my children.


Uncle John and Aunt Louise stopped by to say good-bye and we had one big group photo before they got on the road and the rest of us left for church.

Then we got down to the business of Christmas presents. (The boys were more than a tad excited. Kaitlyn is very into the “unwrapping” part of gifts. She happily walked to whoever had a turn and helped them open their gift before moving on to the next person.)
That moment when you realize your son can do multiplication – and nobody really taught him….
Wade got the boys calculators for Christmas – probably their favorite gifts. The calculators will also do math quizzes. I was sitting in the back reading with Alex and he asked me if the calculator would do a multiplication quiz. I said probably so but did he know multiplication. He replied yes and then I proceeded to quiz him. He got every single one right – including some hard ones like 3×3 or 3×4. I finally asked him how he was doing it – (just to make sure he hadn’t memorized something). He said he used other math and explained to me how to use addition. When I asked him who taught him he said he had heard some older kids talking about it and figured it out. (I’m not sure if that part is true but they definitely aren’t teaching it in his class.)
We spent a long day in the car, but finally arrived in Memphis a little after dinner time. We put Kaitlyn to bed but the boys had both napped in the car and were good for a little visiting. Judy suggested we open stockings and everyone thought that was a great idea.
Most of today was spent in our pajamas. We went downstairs a tad before 7 am and the boys were immediately full of squeals and yells. Kaitlyn was a little confused by all the chaos and definitely preferred her brothers’ toys to her own.
My Mom was supposed to fly in on the 22nd, but weather proved to be a problem and she finally arrived late last night. The kids were so excited to wake up and find Gram in the guest room! We got the day started with a yummy breakfast and then some family pictures.



My family has always had their Christmas on Christmas Eve so we decided to continue that tradition (and the kids didn’t seem to mind). Alex is finally old enough to read the names on the tags so we let him do all the work on handing out the presents.
Monkey doesn’t always sleep with Teague, but most nights. He has been the only stuffed animal in which Teague has ever had any lasting attachment or interest. I hope I never forget how sweetly Monkey fits in the crook of Teague’s arm and how Teague will carry him everywhere for a day or two and then not need him at all.
Basket presents begin!
Do you see those mittens? She picked them herself.
(We have come such a long way – October!)
Today was Teague’s Christmas program at school. Wade, Kaitlyn, and I dropped Teague at his classroom and then went to the sanctuary to wait for the performance to begin. His class (and the other pre-K class) sang the cutest songs and put on a short skit.
We decided to try some new things today. First I decided to let Kaitlyn try to feed herself yogurt (her first time using a spoon). Then I thought this might be a good time for her first ponytail.










When she was done (i.e., I was tired of taking pictures), there was no yogurt left in the cup and she hadn’t tried to stand up in the high chair once. Kaitlyn got an immediate sink bath and then we a nap. After her nap we continued our hair experimenting and decided to try pigtails for the first time.
