Happy New Year!

Today, Zachary helped me plan a party for tonight. He said guest list was mom, dad and Zach. His menu included cantelope & strawberries, chocolate chip cookies, salsa, cheese dip, shrimp poppers, hot chocolate in our special mugs, ice cream and homemade vegetable soup. He was so excited about being able to stay up late that he willingly went to take a nap at 5pm. What?! I was going to let him go without a nap so he would go to be early. But, I am more than happy to welcome the new year with my three year old angel! Of course, he is wide awake and mom/dad are struggling to keep our eyes open.

Well, Zachary lasted until 12:45am! Zachary and I snuggled in a blanket outside with our hot chocolate and watched almost an hours worth of fireworks. It was a great view from our garage. He was so excited to be able to stay up late like adults. I absolutely loved spending one on one quality time with my little boy! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Will is Walking...

Yesterday and today, Will has been walking. He will almost completely cross a room. Still very unsteady but he will take off very soon!

Alvin & The Chickmunks!

Today, Zachary went to see his first movie on the big screen...and it was Alvin and The Chickmunks. He did great but ate enough sugar for a dozen kids. Thanks Jolene, Elliot and Owen for going with us!

Clemson Basketball Game

Tonight, David and I took the boys to their first Clemson Basketball game. Will sat quietly and Zachary had a blast. Thanks Mariko & Jason for the great tickets!!

Check out those goodlookin' cowboy boots that "Santa" delivered!!

Growing Boys...

Zachary's New Room

Zachary basically had an entire room makeover for Christmas. Santa gave him new bunkbeds, mattress, comforter, sheets, pillows and a new light. Uncle Bryan passed down a dresser that works perfect in his room. Zachary and I made two poster frame collages with lots of his school artwork to hang on the walls. And we moved lots of his toys to his room (in an extremely organized fashion, thanks to mom). I love his new room!

As for the bunkbeds, we had to remove the ceiling fan since I have two daring little boys. Zachary is only allowed to climb to the top bunk with close parent supervision. He can sleep on the top at naptime but on the bottom for bedtime. The nice thing is that the ladder is easily removable so that he can not climb up there easily. Right now, all his stuff animals are sleeping on the top bunk. Zachary says he can not wait until his brother can spend the night in his room!

Christmas With The McIlwains / Pettits

Today, we celebrated Christmas with Mimi & Popi and Uncle Michael. They came over to see what all Santa had brought! Thanks for all the gifts! William loves his new phone, building blocks, V Tech bus and riding Turtle. Zachary loves his Tag books, Police Legos and Lego City. Now, what will mom do with all these toys!!

'Til Next Year, Twinkle!

Our Elf, Twinkle, went back to the North Pole today. We can not wait for her to visit again next Christmas. Zachary tells me frequently..."mom, I love Twinkle!"

Christmas with The Philpotts

Tonight, we celebrated Christmas with David's parents. The boys loved visiting and playing with all their new toys. It is unusual, but I did not take a single picture tonight!

Merry Christmas!

At 6am, Zachary was wide eyed and ready to run downstairs to see if Santa came to visit. We woke up William (who was not at all happy to be awakened so early) and all went downstairs to find...

Santa drank all the milk, ate all the cookies and even left a note for Zachary...

Santa brought the boys bunkbeds and everything to go with them...new mattresses, new comforters and sheets & new pillows. Zachary also got new cowboy boots, new PJ's, a soccer ball, puzzles, games, legos, new tires for his four-wheeler, books, and so much more! William got a personalized book, new clothes, balls, new PJ's and so much more!!

David got a new Keriug coffee maker and all its fixings. Mom got a Wii and several new games (Zachary also got the Cars game and driving wheel).

Zachary trying his new tool set from dad...

The excitment in Zachary's eyes was absolutely priceless! He is so fun to watch! Will just loves playing on boxes and with the wrapping paper! We enjoyed a wonderful Christmas together!

Twas The Night Before Christmas...

Santa came to our house a little early this year since Mom & Dad were both working on Christmas Day. The day before Santa's trip was filled with lots of preparations....

Zachary carefully prepared Reindeer Food with Oats & Sprinkles so that the reindeer would see our house....

We invited our friends Stephanie, Parker, Jolene, Elliot and Owen over to our house for a playdate and to carefully design Gingerbread Houses. We had lots of fun chasing all the boys around after they consumed way too much sugar...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TERESA!

This weekend, David and I enjoyed a weekend get-a-away without our two lovely boys to the Grove Park Inn in Asheville to celebrate David's mother's Birthday. We had a great time visiting with David's family and really enjoyed watching the beautiful snowfall over Asheville!!

New Tradition...The Christmas Pickle!

We have a New Christmas Tradition...."The Christmas Pickle". I went to a Ornament Exchange Party with some friends and received this as my ornament. Zachary loves it and I am happy to start another tradition for our boys!

Here is the story...It is tradition from Germany. The little green pickle ornament is hidden in the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve. On Christmas morning, the first child to find the pickle dets a special present and also gets a year of good fortune! This year, we just hid the pickle from each other and took turns finding it. Zachary loves it and thinks it is the funniest looking ornament on our tree!