Christmas Day

On Christmas morning, Brenton and Thatcher woke to discover that Santa had brought gifts. Brenton's favorite was a Wiggles guitar, which he played with all morning on and off. Thatcher got a play mat for the floor. Brenton also got a Wiggles DVD which he was excited about (notice the "wiggles fingers" in the picture). We had a busy holiday, but were able to spend a lot of time with family!

Christmas Jammies and Letters to Santa

As is tradition in Michael's family, everyone opened new jammies on Christmas Eve. Of course, we got the boys matching ones and they were so cute. After we got dressed for bed, Michael helped the boys write letters to Santa, before tucking everyone in for the night. Brenton was so excited about doing all of this, although he really didn't understand why we were doing it!

Christmas Cookies with Luke and Lily

On the Monday before Christmas, Michael's cousin Trish brought her twins, Luke and Lily, over to decorate Christmas cookies. Although the kids weren't very productive, they had a lot of fun and a lot of sugar. Maybe next year they will have a long attention span:-)

Thatcher's One Month Old

We can't believe that Thatcher has already been with our family for an entire month. We are continuing to adjust to life with 2 boys and with limited sleep. It is definitely harder to get an extra nap with 2 babies. Thatcher continues to grow and is quickly outgrowing his newborn clothes. He is on medicine for acid reflux and is doing better, but still having some major spit up at times. He is making eye contact and beginning to start to "talk" to us. He is holding his head up pretty well and loves to be up on our shoulders or sit up so he can see. We snapped these pictures last night as Michael was holding him up (the only way he was happy).

A day with Nona and Popa

On Saturday, we spent the day with Nona and Popa. We started with breakfast at the Pancake Pantry. Then to a little shopping at the outlets. Next we went to the Bass Pro Shop, where we took a picture with a lovely moose (just like our family-right?). Brenton loved the Bass Pro Shop, because there were a lot of "pish." Finally we ended with an early dinner at a yummy Italian place. We had a great time and it was great to be out of the house for nearly an entire day! Thanks Nona and Popa for a fun day!

Making Cookies (or a Mess)

On Friday, Brenton and I made gingerbread cookies. He was so excited about measuring and stirring. I was impressed by his ability to do these things (with my help). His favorite part-turning on the mixer, especially when he turned it on a pretty high speed before I could stop him and sent powdered sugar all over the place, including the 2 of us. Later, he helped his Daddy ice the cookies, which mostly ended up in his belly!

Mr. Fix-It

Another piece of evidence about Brenton's love of tools. While playing he lifted up his four wheeler and "fixed it" with a piece from his Elmo lego set. I guess to him it looked like a good tool. I wonder if Santa will bring Brenton some more tools this year ;-)

Big Brother

Brenton has really embraced his role as a big brother. He loves Thatcher (although sometimes that love gets a little rough). He wants him to play so bad, and even brings him toys. The last few days he has wanted to read him a story (one of his favorites, Go Dog Go) and has been singing Thatcher songs with his guitar. It is so cute! We love to watch him!

Dixie Stampede

Last night, we went to the Dixie Stampede. It was the first time for Brenton, Thatcher, and myself. The food was good, despite eating with our hands, and the show was great. Brenton loved it! He could not keep his eyes off of the action. Thanks Granny and Papaw for a fun night!

2 Little "Jesus" Boys

Last weekend, the Worship Arts Ministry at church put on "JOY" and we were asked to be Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus, and toddler Jesus. We could not believe how good both boys did. Thatcher slept through 3 of the 4 performance and Brenton loved to go out on stage. Michael asked him every time if he wanted to go out and he would shake his head "yes," every time. After Sunday night's performance, he ended up wearing the wisemen's hats, which are as big as he is. Although we were very tired after the weekend, we feel that God was truly glorified and we were blessed to be a part of it!

Handy Man Brenton

Brenton loves tools, so when his Papaw came over to put up some hooks to replace the coat rack that we continue to break, he had to help. He is also really into hats, so he needed to wear his baseball cap to work. It was too cute!

Oh, Christmas Tree!

On Friday, we picked out our Christmas tree in the cold weather. We have a bigger place for a tree this year and we picked out one that seemed like a decent size. When we got it home, it looked really big, but it still fits nicely in our den/playroom, since there is not much beyond toys in the room. Brenton loved to decorate the tree and has several ornaments that he looks for every time he walks by. We always find that it is fun to decorate this tree as we reminisce about the ornaments that have come from the last five years of our marriage. I can only imagine what it will be like in 20 years!

Fantasy of Trees

Every Thanksgiving week since Michael and I have been dating, we have been involved in the Fantasy of Trees. For the past several years, Michael's mom has been in charge of the Decorate a Cookie booth, which means we usually spend a lot of time decorating and working the booth. This year with Thatcher's arrival, we were not able to work, but Michael and Brenton were able to visit the Fantasy of Trees on Friday. Unfortunately, (and sadly) I was unable to attend because I needed to stay home with Thatcher. Brenton had a good time making a cookie, riding the carousel, and looking at the trees. I was sad to have missed this time, but I called several times to get updates on how things were going. Brenton visited Santa, but was not very crazy about having to sit on his lap.

We are Thankful

This year we have so much to be thankful for, mostly our 2 boys!

New Football Gear

For a big brother gift, Brenton's Granny, Papaw, Nona, and Popa got him a full UT football uniform, including the most exciting football helmet. Brenton was so excited to open the gift and was even more excited to see the helmet. Now he has enough helmets for all of us to wear, which makes for some funny scenes around our house, as we are sitting around all wearing helmets.

Thatcher's First Bath

On Thanksgiving, my family (or part of it) came over to have lunch with us. Being our first day at home, we were not all ready when they arrived. In the middle of getting lunch prepared, we gave Thatcher a bath, which he could not decide if he liked.