January 5

Clay went back to work today after having nearly 2 weeks off work. I spent most of the morning cleaning the house, doing the laundry, and then running to the grocery store. Kat was out of sorts most of the day. She cried most of the time we were at the grocery store and even quite a bit of the time we were at home. Clay and Julia went to see Tale of Despereaux tonight so Kat and I could have some 1x1 time. She was pleasant the whole time we were alone. Stinker! Today has been one of those days where I feel like I have earned a t-shirt that says "I survived my 2 yr-old".

January 4

Julia got a kid-friendly camera for Christmas, so from time to time I am going to post her pictures on here. We have about 200 pictures of our carpet, but I managed to find some to post.




This morning Nonna left while we were at church. We didn't do much the rest of the day except watch the UK basketball game on TV. I have been reading the 2nd and 3rd books from Twilight today - cannot put them down!

January 3

January 2

This morning Nonna, the girls, and I went out for breakfast and then to a thrift store. After we dropped the girls off for their naps, Nonna and I went to 2 more thrift stores. We had an appointment for Julia to get her 4 year-old pictures made across town, so we went ahead and made dinner reservations over there too. Well, apparently this is a very busy time of year to have pictures made. We were at the photo studio for 2 hours (!!!). We had to leave for dinner and then returned later to pick up the pictures, which were messed up (printer wasn't working right, so Julia was a lovely shade of Oompa Loompa orange). She hammed it up for the photographer, so when/if we get them printed correctly, they'll be great pictures. After the girls went to bed, I finished decorating Julia's birthday cake for her party tomorrow.

Nonna reading the girls a bedtime story

Kat using chopsticks on Nonna's hair

Julia's Dalmation cake

January 1

Happy New Year!

Update:
Last night we went over to Joey and Christy's house for New Year's Eve. We all went in our pajamas, so we were nice and comfortable. The kids all played good together and the adults had a good time playing Wii Fit (see video). The girls stayed up later than they have ever stayed up before (Kat went to bed at 11pm and Julia at 11:40pm), but neither made it until midnight to ring in 2009!

Camryn and Kat working puzzles

Julia starting to crash around 11:30pm

Nice pants!

Happy New Year!

We couldn't keep her off the bottle last night! (Don't worry, it's sparkling grape juice)

Julia and Ethan having their own rock band


This is Daddy doing the Hula Hoop on Wii Fit... hilarious!




Original Post:
Yesterday we stayed home and relaxed most of the day. Aunt Susie & Mamaw & Papaw G came over for a visit yesterday until nap time. The girls enjoyed a visit with Susie and Mamaw, while Daddy and Papaw worked on two of the dripping faucets in our house.

Blog New Year's resolutions:
1 - No more talking about myself (Mommy) in the third person. It's confusing (at least to type it is).
2 - I will do my best to post pictures (especially of Julia, since she's almost 4 years old) of the girls fully dressed from now on - this could be a big challenge, since Julia mostly runs around the house in underpants!

Building a castle with Aunt Susie

Kat and Susie cuddling

Julia working on her Pre-School workbook

Playing Mario Kart

Blessings to you in 2009!

December 31

Hard to believe 2008 is almost behind us! Yesterday Daddy worked and we stayed at home and played games (Kat actually played Hi-Ho Cherri-O and Memory), did laundry, and generally just hung out. Julia (and Mommy) started working on a Pre-School workbook today that she seemed to enjoy. Kat took a 3 hour and 45 minute nap. Usually we don't let her sleep for more than 3 hours, but considering the hectic week/loss of naps, we let her sleep. She was happy all evening, so it seemed to do her some good. Julia, on the other hand, laid in bed for an hour at nap time and then got up to play. It seems that naps are becoming a thing of the past for her.

Kat playing with nesting dolls

December 30

Yesterday Daddy went back to work (he had been off since Tuesday), so life returned back to the usual - except Mommy had about a week's worth of chores to catch up on, in addition to putting away all the Christmas decorations. The girls were very helpful (really) taking down the tree. Kat was especially cranky in the morning, so they both took early naps. After naps we ran a couple of errands, including getting the van washed.

In the car wash. They don't look too sure about it. Kat said her "doggy like car wash".

Last night Daddy stayed home with the girls and Mommy went out with Peggy for dinner and the movie "Marley & Me".

December 29

Happy Birthday Nonna!

Yesterday we went to church and then McDonald's for lunch. Mamaw, Bapaw, and Ma-Maw & Pa-Paw C came over after nap time to visit for awhile. Last night while Daddy and the girls stayed home and watched Kung-Fu Panda (see the video of Julia Kung-Fu fighting), Mommy went to the grocery store alone (!!!).

Playing Polly Pockets

Ma-Maw & Pa-Paw testing out the Tempurpedic bed...

Kat feeding her Baby Belle

Daddy & Kat working on their Circus act (courtesy of Pa-Paw C)

December 28

Yesterday we went to the Creation Museum with friends. It's a really nice museum. Click Here to check out the website. We would recommend not taking little kids to it. The girls behaved pretty well while we were there, but if you plan to really learn and read about the exhibits, it's better without kids. We had a fun day with our friends!

Here we are in the Garden of Eden

The kids (and Daddies) had a good time bouncing on the bridge.

Joseph, Mary, & Baby Jesus

Julia petting a Zorse (Zebra-Horse) and a Zonkey (Zebra-Donkey) at the petting zoo

Kat trying to feed Gomer the Camel

Julia, Clayton, Camryn, Kat, & Christian

December 27

Yesterday we stayed home and the kids played with their new toys. Our friend John (Daddy's college roommate) stopped by for a visit. It was nice to see him. Last night we learned that we had 60 degree weather and we were cooped up inside all day rather than playing outside enjoying it... oh well.

Watching 3-D Shrek - Thanks Uncle Stump!

Playing Hungry Hungry Hippos with John