Advent

I really love this time of year, especially with little ones with eyes full of wonder. I never realized how exciting a single strand of Christmas lights could be to a 2 year old. Mary-Michael gets SO excited to see lights on houses, and she asks me every day if we're "going" to Christmas yet. I love that she is old enough to begin to understand why we really celebrate Christmas and that she tells me baby Jesus is in her heart. Such sweet words to a Momma's ears.

 

I love the idea of family traditions, and coming from a split family where it can be hard to keep traditions alive, it's always been important to me to create meaningful traditions for our family. So, to enjoy Christmas and prepare our hearts for the season, we're doing the traditional advent calendar with an activity each day that Mary-Michael gets to discover each morning. Some of the activities are ones I want to make sure we do every year, and others are fun ones where the kids get a little treat. Here's our list (in no particular order, and actually, I move the slips of paper around if we can't do the original one I planned for that day!):

 

Wear new Christmas pajamas
Pick out our family Christmas tree
Decorate our family Christmas tree
Decorate Mary-Michael’s pink tree (for her room)
Make an ornament
Purchase a gift for a child in need for church
Unwrap a Christmas book to read
Have a family Christmas movie night
Unwrap a Christmas CD
Choose a special treat
Write a letter to Santa
Have a Christmas party
Make a birthday cake for Jesus
Make cookies for Santa
Go look at Christmas lights
Read the story about the birth of Jesus
Go to Christmas Eve service at church
Purchase food for the Pilgrim’s Pantry at church
Unwrap a special ornament and put it on the tree
Unwrap a Christmas book to read
Help momma make dinner and Christmas treats
Have hot cocoa
Visit Santa
Unwrap a Christmas book to read

 

And at dinner time, we are doing an advent Christmas paper chain with a lesson through Scripture each day.  

 

Here are the kids last night in front of the calendar and paper chain with day 1: Wear new Christmas pajamas (thank you, Nonnie!).

 

 

 

 

 

And on Friday night, we went to The Diamond (baseball park where our local AAA team plays - the Flying Squirrels). The Legendary Santa was there along with a band and Christmas crafts for the kids. The Legendary Santa is awesome and quite authentic (but he is normally pretty expensive to visit, so we've never been; he was free here!). Mary-Michael was pretty petrified as you can see below, but he kept telling her that Santa loves her, and she calmed down (though still no smile).

 

Tears as the Snow Queen looks on. 

 

A little calmer - this is a picture of the one they took for us.

 

Frazier was pretty neutral about the whole thing. I think he was more curious than anything.

 

May your celebration of Christmas be filled with joy and hope! What a wonderful time of year it is!

Frazier at 11 Months

My little man,

 

We thank Jesus that you are healthy again and back on your way to being your normal, sweet and happy self. The last couple of weeks have been hard, but you have been a real champ with all the doctors. And while I loved your snuggling and desire to be held all the time, I am glad you are wriggling out of my arms again and ready to move.

 

Crawling continues to be your preferred way to get around, and while I've caught you a few times standing on your own, for the most part you have not shown you're ready to walk, and that is totally fine by me. I have realized I'm not so concerned about milestones the second go round, which is evident in the fact that I haven't picked up my baby guide in I don't know how many months! I now understand that you sweet babies grow way too fast!

 

You love playing with your big sister, playing with legos, pushing a ball around and chasing it, wrestling with your daddy and sneaking dog food when I'm not looking. You have a mischievious side that is starting to show. When we tell you "No, sir" or "No, thank you" you simply grin and keep on going to the forbidden activity. You also enjoy being pushed in the swing and playing with toys that allow you to stand like your sister's kitchen and activity center. You play incredibly well by yourself, and I love to watch your curiosity as you discover new things. Discovering new things usually means tearing things apart and unloading all the toys that were put away. As I attempt to clean up from your wrath, in my head I hear "Shoveling the walk while it is still snowing is like cleaning your house while your kids are still growing." How true.

 

You are still averse to most green foods or actually anything that is a vegetable (unless it's a potato, which I actually think the experts now call a starch). You love yogurt, your baby oatmeal, applesauce, bananas and meat. You're ok with clementines, pears, peas, carrots and cheese. We are giving you what we eat for the most part, and it's hit or miss, so we'll keep trying. I haven't weaned you from nursing yet, so you are still doing that 3 times a day. I know the time is coming, so I better get out that baby guide for some help.

 

You make a lot of baby noises, and you love to wave at people. I make you dance an insane amount (with me), and you love to dance by yourself. You continue to be a really happy baby. I was worried after this sickness that you were going to lose some of that, but each day you get back to the normal you a little bit more.

 

Your daddy and I are so proud to be your parents, and we are so thankful that God has allowed us to be your parents - the ones to love you unconditionally, teach you and raise you up. What a joy you are, Frazier.

 

Love,

Momma

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Sick Baby Boy

Well, it's been almost 2 weeks since I've posted anything. Shame on me! Sweet Frazier has been sick for over a week (and on and off for a good month) with a high fever, viral symptoms and a very lethargic spirit, which is so unusual for our energetic boy. We have had 2 long doctor visits and 2 trips to the ER over the last week. We are now at St. Mary's after being admitted last night to treat a kidney infection. Apparently, kidney infections are unusual in little boys, which is why it wasn't their first thought to get a urine specimen when this started earlier on. The nurses have attempted to get an IV in him 3 different times since we've been here with no success, so we are trying to keep him hydrated with Pedialite and breastmilk. So far, it is working okay, but we will stay at least one more night to make sure he is hydrating well and that the antibiotic is treating the infection. It is hard to see our little man get so upset with the prodding and poking, and everyone tells me its harder on the parent than the child though his screaming doesn't indicate that. 

Losing my husband or my children has always been one of my greatest fears that I've spent a lot of time praying about. I know that incessant worry will do only harm and will not control anything, but it is hard to keep that in perspective when I can't get in touch with Geoff after I expected him to be home or the doctors are unsure of what's wrong. The unimaginable goes through your mind. I am thankful that God has given me a lot of peace through this situation - He is really helping me through my fears! And I am thankful to be in a place where I feel like he is getting good care, especially after having the perspective of how different a situation like this would be for a mother in Africa.

Thank you for your prayers for him, us and the medical staff (they are working!), and a special thanks to our friends and family who are taking care of our little girl and all our creatures back at home.


Tuesday evening after a trip to the pediatrician and the ER. 


Snuggling with Grandpa at Thanksgiving and still not feeling well. 

Second trip to the ER. 

Admitted to the hospital and napping with Daddy.

In his jail-like crib at St. Mary's. 

Can't forget about our sweet girl who went with Daddy to the store to pick up Frazier's prescription (before we knew we'd have to come to the ER). Yes, she is in a Hokie outfit. Sorry, my UVA friends. At least she chose the winning team that day!

Growing Herd

We had a new baby calf (boy) join the herd last week. Geoff just missed the birth as Dan and Doug had to pull him out of his momma. The other 2 mommas are expecting (we think), so hopefully, he'll get to see the action in the next few weeks. Here's the little cutie.

 

We are also hoping our 2 pigs are pregnant now that Richard (the male) has joined us. I can't wait to see some sweet baby piglets!

Mommy's Little Helper and Big Jumper

 

 

Daylight Savings Time

The individual that created daylight savings time clearly did not have young children on schedules. I am an early riser, but I largely do that so that I can have a few moments of quiet time with God and uninterrupted conversation with my husband. When I don't have those things I can get cranky. So, here's hoping my little ones get back on track soon!

In the meantime, here's a fun picture from yesterday. Grandma and Grandpa came to visit to help with some farming stuff and be with the kids. 

Trick or Treat

We had a fun evening trick or treating in my mom's neighborhood (if you've been to our house, you know trick or treating here would be pretty impossible) with Emily, Hunter and Micah. We also visited Great Mimi (my Mimi) to show her our dressed up crew.

 

Frazier was a tourist and our sweet girl was a butterfly. She LOVED trick or treating and couldn't stop talking. She was so excited and didn't get scared of creepy things at all (though we did avoid the homes where it looked like someone might jump out at us).

 

 

 

 

 

Hope y'all had a good evening, too. M&M is already dressed in her Christmas pajamas and ready for all the joy that the next season brings. I love it!