Andrew turned 3 in September! We celebrated with a big Sesame Street birthday party in the gym at our church. I cannot believe that this baby is 3 years old! I love this boy more and more each day! It is such a joy to watch him grow and see him learning so many things!
We celebrated Grandma Horn's 90th birthday and got a chance to spend some quality time with the Horn family. We are anxious to spend more time with them in the coming year!
Little Sister had her first birthday in November! I am amazed at how time flew by! She is just the sweetest little one and has such a kind and gentle personality- with a great determination to do what she needs to do! I love watching her grow into a "little girl"!
Oh yeah, I turned 29 in November...but, no one remembered seeing as it's the day after M's bday, so I'm actually going to forever be 27 since that's the age I was when she was born and no one remembered my bday last year either! Except for the nurses at the hospital who had it on their computers! Ha!
Jason and I also took a trip to Washington DC. It was great to get away by ourselves!
We celebrated Thanksgiving and had many blessings to be thankful for!
Jason got a promotion at work! We were very excited about it! God's timing is perfect! Jason has enjoyed his new responsibilities very much. We are so blessed to each have jobs that we truly enjoy.
Oh, and the kids both got tubes and Andrew got his adenoids out. November, I think, could have been a year in itself!
And here we are on Christmas Eve! What a fun month December was, filled with Christmas programs, parties, and activities! It was great to get to see our family that we don't always get a chance to see. I loved watching Andrew enjoy the Christmas season and learn about baby Jesus! It was so exciting to hear him tell us about baby Jesus and the nativity. I loved hearing him sing his Christmas songs about going to Bethlehem and performing in the preschool program. I can't wait until next year for Madelyn to understand what Christmas is all about and see her response.
As I am typing this, I'm realizing just how fast this year has gone by! I am amazed at how much Andrew and Madelyn have grown from January until now. I am proud of the changes that they have made and the milestones they have reached. My heart is filled with such joy to see them growing up knowing and loving Jesus! I am also pleased that we made it through this year without many difficulties and that I kept my sanity...for the most part! Having two kids this close in age is really a challenge! I have such high expectations for myself as a mother and sometimes it comes down to just appreciating life as it is, instead of as I think it should be. I'm also re-thinking the title of this post, because all of my resolutions totally contridict the aforementioned statement! Ha!
I will leave you with my-lengthy-list of new year's resolutions. Please remember, these are coming from a perfectionist who has a TOUCH of add and ocd! Ha!
1. Be On Time (maybe this one should be in all caps!)- I am never on time for anything anymore. I used to be on time, if not early, all the time. Now, I am always 10-15 minutes later than I should be. I've even convinced myself that it's alright to be this late. Andrew has started saying "are we late, mommy?" every time we get in the car!
2. Decorate/update my house- I have several projects that I want to complete around the house. I have a typed up list for each room and what I want to do in it. Along with a list of what I need to buy to accomplish my goals and an estimated timeline and budget (note the ocd & add). I know that we're going to be in this house for quite a while (which is fine, because I love this house) and I want to make it feel more homey!
3, Be smart with our finances- budget better, pay off anything and everything, put more into savings, etc. etc. etc. This one is boring, but it's also necessary- in my opinion!
4. Teach Andrew to be obedient- reward his good behavior, give him a "chore chart" with responsibilities that he is able to do and have him earn an allowance when he does those things. I want him to understand what it means to obey and why we do it. I also want to be consistent and fair in disciplining him.
5. Read 1-2 books a month- I just enjoy reading and I think it's important for me to do something that I enjoy. I feel like a lot of times I am just engulfed in what the kids are doing or want me to be doing for them. Granted, this is my job (and the greatest/hardest job I'll ever do), but I need to have some sort of something that is just for me!
So, those are the goals for 2011! If it goes as fast as 2010, you'll have an update on how this went in no time! I hope that everyone has a great year!
Andrew got a new table and chairs for Christmas and he and Madelyn have enjoyed eating breakfast together in the mornings!
Madelyn is officially only eating table food. My grocery bill has been much nicer! Here she is eating some spaghetti. She couldn't get it fast enough!
On New Year's Eve I made a cake for dessert to take to the Hinds' house. Andrew insisted on having candles on the cake and singing Happy Birthday, so we did!
Little Miss Madelyn! She loves to push this shopping cart. It is almost twice her size. She also is a very difficult child to get dressed. I have to put her diaper on while she is standing up. She refuses to lay down and stay still.
Andrew showing off our first snow!
Madelyn at 14 months. I was trying to get a decent picture, after 20 attempts this was the best I could do!
Still loving her bath!
Enjoying our second snow! It was much bigger this time and we got two days off from school. Andrew loved rolling around in the snow. He and Jason did try to build a snowman, but it didn't work out too well.
Miss Madelyn today at school. She just hates it when I leave her classroom. She throws herself to the ground and screams! It's so nice to feel loved! Ha!
