Birthday Celebrations

Last month we celebrated Neal's 5th birthday!    Five years ago Neal joined our family and made Tyler and I parents for the first time.  What a joy and blessing he has been to our family over the past 5 years.

We celebrated on his actual birthday at home with some fun little spiderman cupcakes and gifts from us and the Grandparents.

Then a week later we all got to celebrate again with some of Neal's friends with a small birthday party.   Neal chose the theme of Transformers for his party this year and we all had a fun time playing and celebrating together.  

Neal also chose to have his party at the TWR lodge, which is where we first lived when we moved her while we looked for a house.  It was fun to decorate the lodge and celebrate somewhere different then our house.   One of the great things at this age is there was no organized games or activities needed.  The kids had so much fun playing with the balloons at the party, coloring and building with legos that all the parents were able to visit and relax while the kids played together.  (we were all having so much fun I forgot to take many pictures.)

Neal is growing up so quickly and there is a lot about his personality that Tyler and I recognize in ourselves.  It is fun to hear his imagination grow and to listen to his stories and watch him play with his sister and friends.   Neal loves to play with anything that can be a robot, transformer or that he can have a battle with.   He always wants Gwendolyn to be right beside him playing along.  He loves to read books and really likes to have us read him chapter books with him before bed at night.  A few of his favorite books that we have read so far are "Charlotte's Web" and "The Mouse and the Motorcycle".  He loves to listen to Adventures in Odyssey and is always up for almost any activity that can be done with Mom, Dad or Gwen.

Neal 2010

Neal 2015

He has changed and grown a lot in the last 5 years and will be starting school the end of this summer. The phrase, "the days are long but the years are short" seems so true, especially with little ones around.

From Four to Six

Well things have been changing quickly around our house.  Our big news is this...

Yep, we are doubling our kid count and expecting TWINS (2 boys to be exact)!   We were surprised with the news of this pregnancy being twins but are beyond excited for these two new additions to our family.   There has been lots of morning sickness but that is finally going away and now it's just battling feeling tired all the time.  I can't tell at this point that there are two babies in there moving around, except that I'm showing way more then I was with one and I actually feel like I can feel my stomach growing.  The other night my stomach so tight and it felt like my skin was just being stretched, a weird and uncomfortable feeling that I never had with our first two.

Between keeping up with the two kids and trying to keep our house in order there isn't much that really gets done quickly around here these days.  Tyler is great at helping out and we have simply decided we don't mind living with a little chaos and mess.  It's only gonna get crazier around here with 4 kids age 5 and under (3 who will be under the age of 2) right?

Anyway, this is what has been keeping us so busy the past few months.    Lots of changes taking place for our family in the months to come.  The 2 new boys are due to arrive sometime in June and then shortly after their arrival Neal will be starting kindergarten so life will look quite different here this summer.  Plus Gwendolyn and I are gonna have to stick together since we will be out numbered with all the boys in the house.

We are praising the Lord for his abundant blessings and the gifts of these new kids and we look forward to embracing whatever lies ahead for us as we transition from a family of 4 to a family of 6.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!   2015 is already underway and once again it is hard to believe another year has come and gone.

It's been awhile since we last updated this blog and that is just 'cause life seems to be busy, as always. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas here in NC.  We enjoyed celebrating Thanksgiving with some close friends from church and then had a quite and wonderful Christmas celebration with just the four of us here at home.

It is different being apart from family during the holidays but we have enjoyed the opportunity to create our own traditions and enjoy the family time as we quietly celebrate the holidays here at home. We love that we have the chance to Skype with all our family over Christmas and share in the joy of the Holidays a little together.

There is so much that we did the last few months that's it hard to write it all down so I'll mostly let pictures share about our time.  

Right before Thanksgiving we got to see Gigi and Grandfather who came down to TN for a few days, along with lots of our TN family...we loved our time together.  

Gwendolyn was so fun to see this Christmas and Neal was eager to help her open any and all of her gifts, she didn't mind.  

A few holiday traditions we have started here are a Christmas puzzle the week leading up to Christmas, new jammies to wear Christmas eve and sleeping under the tree and watching a Christmas movie. 

Merry Christmas and Happy new year!  We hope your holidays were filled with lots of great memories, friends and family.  (This was the Christmas of superhero shirts for our family, Neal was thrilled to be able to pick out a superhero shirt for both Tyler and I as his gift to us)

A First Birthday Celebration!

Out little Gwendolyn has turned one!!

We are so thankful for the great blessing and joy God has brought our family in this little girl.  She is such a joy to be around, always full of smiles and laughs.  She loves to play with Neal and actually likes to snuggle at times, which we love.

We celebrated her birthday a few weeks early, while Grandma was visiting.  It was fun to make some girly decorations and cupcakes and Gwendolyn looked adorable, as always.  

Grandma brought all the birthday decorations and she helped to make some amazing flower cupcakes with me for the birthday treat.

We had a few friends over for dinner to help celebrate the birthday girl and Neal was very excited to help her with every birthday task, like blowing out the candle and opening her presents.  

This last year has seemed to fly by and it seems to have gone even faster then Neal's first year.  I don't know if it is getting older that makes time seem to fly by or if it's just that life keeps getting busier and busier with these two kiddos and so time goes by more quickly.  Whatever it is I wish I could slowdown time.  I have liked every stage of life thus far with the kids for different reasons but I have to say I think the first few years, from newborn to toddler, are my favorite and they seem to be here and gone way to quickly.  

Gwendolyn has her own little quirks and things that she does which make us laugh.  It's fun to see her growing up and to see her personality start to shine through.  She loves to give snuggles and "kisses" (her kisses are leaning her head into you so you can kiss her).   She crawls around with her hands in Neal's shoes, holds a cell phone up to her forehead and pretends to talk, loves to play the kazoo and can often be found with her hands in the air smiling and asking to be held whenever Tyler or I walk into the room.

She makes plane and car noises when she plays with any of Neal's cars and planes and loves to throw herself backwards on pillows. She will throw herself off your lap or the couch if you don't watch her. Her favorite time of day is tubby time and she would choose Neal's superhero toys over her baby dolls.  I think she is going to be more adventurous and outgoing then Neal was at her age and we may have to watch out once she learns to walk on her own.

What a difference a year makes...Happy Birthday sweet girl!!

Busy, Busy

Where has time been going?  The days have seemed to fly by lately and we will be celebrating Gwendolyn's first birthday later this month.  So before our little girl turns one I think I should share her 11 month photos.   

I must mention how crazy it seems to me that Gwen is almost a year old because I can often hear Neal saying, "I can't believe she is already 11 months old, stop growing so fast sweet Gwendolyn".   If you want to know what Tyler and I often say just hangout with Neal for an afternoon, he remembers everything and often repeats phrases and sayings that he hears from us.  

So much has changed in the last few weeks.  Gwendolyn is now pulling herself up on everything, "talking" all the time, and has 4 teeth!  Neal is very excited that she is becoming more interactive with him and the fact that they can actually play together at moments.  

She also loves to play at the park with Neal and can almost always be found with a smile on her face.  

Life with these kids sure is an adventure.  

Beating the Heat

Though the calendar says September it feels more like July to me.  The humidity and heat seam to last forever and it's these hot and humid days that make me so grateful for the option to go swimming.  The way we beat the heat around here is to either stay indoors or, the more fun option, go swimming!   

We have had so much fun hanging out with friends at the pool all throughout the day and sometimes we have even let the kids stay up late to swim 'till the sun goes down.  So many fun memories this summer in the water.  Gwendolyn is in love with the pool and just all water activities.  Neal and Tyler have often gone for a quick swim after dinner, while Gwen and I stay home, and it's so fun to hear the excitement in Neal's voice as he tells me about their time at the pool with just him and daddy.  

The big accomplishment this summer was Neal learning to swim!   He can almost make it across the width of the pool all by himself.  He has turned into quite the little fish this summer.

So if you come visit us, at least for the next few weeks, bring your swim suit 'cause we are practically living at the pool.

A Bit of Everyday Life

Nothing to exciting has been happening around here lately but our lives our never boring.  I actually have been enjoying the fact that we haven't had much on our schedules lately.  I enjoy the days/weeks were we are home and our schedule is open so we can participate in whatever activity may present itself for that day.   So, this is a glimpse of what you might find us doing with our days at home lately...

The occasional photo shoot...this girl is already 10 months!  Plans for her first birthday are already taking place.  

She is crawling all over the place. If not in the living room with Neal she can be found in the kitchen playing with her magnets.  I think a few new magnet sets are in order 'cause it keeps her busy and happy.  

We go to story time at the library once a week but during the month of August there is no story time.  No worries, Neal has stepped up and started his own story time for Gwen and I.  With a puppet show and everything. 

Grocery shopping has turned a whole lot more fun, with new car carts at the market and Gwen who is old enough to join Neal in the "drivers seat".  It's grins and giggles and a way to have a fun and productive outing. 

An evening fire outside is one of our favorite family activities.  It's been nice to have all of us home (no traveling for Tyler lately) and so we have been taking advantage of lots of family time.