Family Fun Minus One!

Brian has always been an avid skier and started at a young age. I on the other hand have always been a beach person. My mother being from California grew up skiing all her life and in fact my parents even have a time share in Beaver Creek, Colorado! I do not know why we did not learn to ski as children, but opted for the beach every summer instead. Growing up so close to the beach it was a no brainer for my sister and I when asked every year where we should vacation? I really did not know much about the west coast or snow for that matter. I was raised in the south my entire life and never really came into contact with the cold, white stuff ! :)

Brian and I have always discussed having an annual ski trip with our family. We want the kids to start early so they will never encounter the issues that an old, beginner like myself have. I have skied before, but by no means would I or do I have any desire to ski blacks!! I am perfectly content to stay on the greens and blues and leisurely take my time down the mountain! There is no dare devil flowing through my veins! However, I am sure there is a heart attack in my future as I watch our children become older and more advance in their skiing abilities! Two years ago we started this tradition when Christian was about to turn two years old. I was pregnant with Henley and terribly sick! We ended up canceling our trip to Colorado due to my misery! Brian was of course disappointed, but I think it was better in the long run for Christian. I think that 3 years old is the perfect age to start the learning process and getting him use to everything. The clothes, boots and weather are all new to little southern boys! However, Christian was a trouper and ABSOLUTELY loved every second of this trip!

Since last year was out, we decided that this was the year to start our tradition! We made plans to go to Utah since I had only skied in Colorado. I was so excited because I had heard how beautiful it is in Park City! We decided to leave Henley with my parents because it is pointless to pay for her to sit in daycare all day long. We knew that she would be much happier in Birmingham with her Grandma and Boppa. We missed her terribly, but it was nice to have one on one time with Christian. I feel that he gets neglected sometimes when I am busy dealing with his sister and we enjoyed giving him 100% of our attention!

We had been talking about our trip to Christian for awhile and getting him ready for what he was about to learn out on the mountains. We watched ski videos on YouTube and he really got excited watching all the skiing on the Olympics! He could not wait to get out on his ski’s and kept telling everybody that he was going skiing!

The first day we got to Park City around 1:00 and immediately got fitted for our ski’s and boots. We got Christian signed up for ski school and picked up our lift tickets. We stayed at the Waldorf Astoria in the Canyons and it was a ski in ski out. Perfect for those with kids and a lot of stuff to haul around! I could not imagine having to pack up all our gear and put Christian in a car seat and drive somewhere to ski! We walked out the front door and there was the Gondola to take us up the mountain! Christian loved the Gondola and was always telling everyone riding with us that he was going skiing! There is nothing cuter than a small child packed in snow clothes and boots! They look like little fluffy, puffy michelin men! I could not help but, laugh every time I looked at him in all his gear! He could barely move! It made me think of the little boy in the Christmas story who could barely walk because his mother has so much clothing on him when he left the house! That was Christian!:)















We were there for five days, but we wanted to do more adventurous things to entertain Christian. We chose a horse and carriage ride with dinner the first night. It was very cold and it was snowing. The scenery was picture perfect and once the snow stopped it was much more enjoyable! The guide was great and even offered Christian the chance to ride up front, but he was being shy. It did not help that he had been up since 5:30am and they were an hour behind central time! We went home afterwards and got some shut eye because the next day was a big one! Christian’s first time on ski’s and we could not wait to see what would happen!

Christian had to report to ski school at 8:30, so we were up early and on the mountain by 8:00am! I joined a group lesson to get a refresher course since it had been awhile for me! Brian met some friends that were in town and everybody did their own thing for the morning. We were meeting back at 11:30 to eat with Christian and check in with him! Christian was doing well with skiing and having fun, but unfortunately he was done with his lesson and wanted to be with mommy and daddy! We decided to take him out of class and keep him with us for the rest of the day. I am sure everyone has seen those parents and their children with the harnesses attached to them? Well, Brian skied with Christian and I  the rest of the day. Brian would just hold onto him and keep him between his ski’s going down the mountain! That should tell you how skilled my hubby is on ski’s because I would of killed both us if I had even attempted something like that! Christian loved this and of course wanted to ski with Brian and I every day! However, Brian would never get to go down the crazy blacks if he did that, so Christian and I had a few semi-private lessons together! We learned a lot, had a fabulous time and came back home all in one piece! Here is some video of Brian and Christian skiing down the mountain!
























I do not want to make this blog forever long, so here are some of the other fun things we did while we were there. The pool was heated to 120 degrees and of course the saunas were a must for our sore muscles! Christian was not sore and enjoyed hopping back forth between the two of them!

We took a dog sledding trip which was so much fun! Brian and I got to ride on the back of the sled for a different prospective and Christian got to yell, “Hike”! This is what made the dogs take off running! He loved it and in fact told many people that this was his favorite activity!







We went snowmobiling, had snow ball fights, made snow angels and Christian’s personal favorite eating snow! Yep, you read that right...eating snow. Christian loved eating snow every chance he got! We had to keep telling him to eat the white snow!  I kept waiting for him to get his tongue stuck to a pole or something because every time you would turn around he would be licking the snow! Yuck! I know, but what can you do? He would say, “ I love eating snow, it taste like ice cream!” Well if that is all it takes to make you happy, I  will shave you some ice every day! :) That is healthier than ice cream and if he does not know the difference it should not matter! Right?

We had a wonderful time and we can not wait to go back next year...if there is not a brand new addition to our family...  :)

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Being the Irish girl that I am...I could never let this day go uncelebrated! Here is a little history for those that do not know. In Ireland Saint Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland as he was the one who brought Christianity to the Irish.


According to the legend, St. Patrick used a shamrock to explain God. The shamrock, which looks like a clover, has three leaves on each stem. Saint Patrick told the people that the shamrock was like the idea of the Trinity_ that in the one God there are three divine beings: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The shamrock was sacred to the Druids, so Saint Patrick’s use of it in explaining the trinity was very wise! No wonder it is such great luck to come across one of these! :)


Although it began in Ireland, Saint Patrick’s Day is celebrated in countries around the world. People with Irish heritage remind themselves of the beautiful green countryside of Ireland be wearing green and taking part in the festivities! What festivities will you take part in today to celebrate?


I am around 3/4 Irish so obviously our children have a good bit of Irish in them too! I want to teach them some fun ways to celebrate this day so here are some things we did this morning.

We made some apple cinnamon muffins and made them green! Henley loved taking part in this because she loves to help cook and eat too!






















We are all wearing green today, even Brian who forgot and had to go back and change his tie! He did not want to get pinched by all three of us this morning! :) We told stories about leprechauns and maybe we would look and even try to find the pot of gold he can leave behind! There is so much fun and imagination that can be had from this day! Later tonight with dinner, I think we will have some green beer to celebrate! Happy St. Paddy’s Day Everyone! There is another new blog after this one in case you do not check!

Doggie Door News!

Well...if you know our house and you know our son than you can only guess what I am about to tell you. Christian, the little clever fellow that he is learned at an early age that if mommy would not let him go outside, well he would just follow the dogs out their door! :) We use to have to lock the dogs in or out according to what he was trying to do. Christian loves to be outdoors and if given the chance would live outside in his play set! How fortunate we are that our second child, Henley has turned out to be the same exact way, but to a worse extent! I have never seen a child throw a tantrum as Henley does every time she wants to be outdoors playing! Lately it has been a little cold. Due to the fact that we are going skiing at the end of the week  I have been being cautious about letting the kids play outside for long!
 
I would hate for Christian to get sick and not be able to ski! Anyway, to make a long story short I took the garbage out and got the mail this afternoon. A little girl followed me out the door and begin to immediately play with whatever she could find. Once I finished what I was doing I grabbed her up and headed inside! Henley does not go easily when being forced to do the opposite of what she wants to do! Kicking and screaming with tears and all I took her into the house. She stood at the door crying for a few minutes and then seemed distracted by something or maybe it was mommy? One minute I was reviewing our mail and the next...no Henley? Where did she go? I swear she was standing right here! Then out of the corner of my eye I see it...little legs running around the back porch! The little stinker finally figured it out! Henley was free, loose, gone and able to play outside! She went out through the doggie door in the kitchen! I believe she had a smile ear to ear until mommy opened the door and ruined all her fun! She tried to run, but she is no match for mommy! Now, I have to go and dig out the lock for the door! I hate doing this to the dogs, but she loves Christian's swing set and climbs the ladder constantly to go down the slide! This is not exactly the safest thing for her to do unsupervised! She will be at my parents while we are out of town and here is to hoping she forgets!!! 

After the great escape I put their jackets on and took them out to play! I figured if she wanted to be outside that bad I would oblige her and do just that! The weather was not that bad with a coat on them!

Unexpected!

I believe that sometimes the most unexpected things can be the most fun of all.  Last night Julie, Steve and the kids all came over for dinner. We have all been trying to be better and proactive in doing things together at least once a month. It is silly not to because we live in the same town and some people are not as blessed to have their loved ones in the same city! The kids have so much fun together and are so stinking cute playing with one another. Henley and Preston just play, but Christian and Bennett are just so interactive with each other. They might not be the best at sharing, but they are getting better! I LOVE listening to their conversations and the things they talk about! They are inseparable! Which brings me to my point...Last night when everyone was leaving, Brian was telling Bennett (who already did not want to go home) that next time they played she could spend the night. Brian continued with visions of crispy cream donut trips and ice cream running through her head! Well, that did it! Bennett was absolutely, 100% not leaving our house! :) Fine with us, but she was not prepared to stay the night. Bennett sleeps with blankies and they did not have them. Christian however, sleeps with lovies and he has many of them! Mommy learned her lesson once by leaving them at Grandma's, so we have extra on hand! Christian told Bennett that she could sleep with one of his lovies and proceeded upstairs to retrieve it for her. Bennett eagerly agreed and we also picked out some blankies of Henley's for her to sleep with too. I went upstairs and they both followed me up to get pj's on and Bennett's bed made...right next to Christian's! I knew that trundle would come in handy one day and it has! Bennett had her pj's on and blankies in tow and was ready for bed! They were so excited to be together that I had to tell them to go downstairs and say goodnight to mommy and daddy (Aunt Julie and Uncle Steve)!

Well, to make a long story short we thought the kids would go to sleep because they both spoke of tiredness a little earlier! Nope, they were so happy and excited to keep playing and I think the cupcakes and brownies after dinner helped just a little! We put a movie on for them to watch and they stayed up and watched it! In fact, neither of them were asleep until 10:00pm or later! That is alright! It is not to often they get to enjoy each other's company that much! They behaved and were quite the little angels! We adore our niece and nephew and they can stay at our house anytime!

Christian is such a stinker and sneaks down to out bed quite often and I use that term loosely! :) When Bennett woke this morning I think she was a little scared because she was upstairs alone. I heard her crying for her mommy around 6:00am. I went upstairs to get her and discovered that she was indeed scared. I took her down to show her just were Christian was and that seemed to soothe her right away. Now, I think this is where we get into trouble. Christian is a horrible, picky eater, so you can imagine that I have everything under the moon to eat in my house. I want my kids to eat healthy, but sometimes it just is not happening! Christian loves oatmeal and in fact eats it four to five days out of the week for breakfast. Bennett too eats oatmeal. I knew Brian was taking them all to Crispy Cream that morning, but I thought I would try to feed her something because it was so early. Henley in the meantime had woken up and so her and Bennett were playing sweetly together. I asked Bennett if she would like some oatmeal and she told me no. She had said that she was hungry, so I was trying to find something for her to eat. I gave her and Henely some of those miniature blue berry muffins, but after a bite..nope that is not what they wanted. Bennett told  she wanted cereal, but she wanted to pick it out! Alright, go ahead. We have cheerios, fruit loops and apple jacks in out house. Easy enough...so I thought. Bennett picked out the fruit loops and told me she wanted to eat all the pink ones! I did not find out until later that she has never had any of those sugar type cereals! Sorry Julie! :( I had no idea! However, she really seemed to like them...Brian then took them all to get donuts where they loaded up on more sugar! Aunts and Uncles are family like grandparents...are we not supposed to spoil them too???

We had a great time with Bennett and her unexpected stay was the best kind of all! Here are some pictures and video I got of them last night and this morning. They all got in our bath tub and played in the bubbles earlier today. They are all so precious and we love them so much!

Big Heart!

There are some days when I look at Christian and wonder who is this little person and how did he grow up so quickly? He has definitely developed into a defiant, quick witted, smart little boy with the biggest heart a mother could ask for in a son! There  are some days I want to squeeze and kiss him all day and then there are those other days...where I think DHR might come take him away from me if I yell at him again! 

I do not think that his behavior is that different than any other 3  year old boy. He is trying to find his boundaries and testing them every minute of every day! I mean, how many times can you tell a child something before they actually listen to you? Do I need to get his hearing tested or is he just ignoring me? I have always known men have selective hearing...does it really start this young? :)

I wanted to post a blog of some of the adorable things Christian is doing right now because he just melts our hearts all the time! Lately, he has this thing were he just will walk up to you, kiss you and say, " I  wuv you mommy/daddy"! We just love it! When you have had a bad day it can make it the best day ever to hear those wonderful words!

Brian has always told Christian they were best friends. Christian will also tell you on a regular basis you are his BEST FRIEND...depending on if you are giving him what he wants at that moment. The cutest thing by far is he has discovered a version of bribery. Christian will come to me and will want something and of course I will tell him no. He will look at me with this adorable face and say, " I'll be your best friend"!!! Well, who can resist that? Ha Ha...I can! I laugh and tell him God put me on this earth to be his mama, not his best friend! I do not think he understands that, but it makes him mad to not get what he wants! However, daddy is not so strong willed when it comes to Christian and his requests! In the same sentence he tells you that you are his best friend he will also retract it! When he does not get his way he says, " I not be your best friend no more." I have to tell you that it makes me smile and giggle every time because it is just so cute!

Some other cute things that he does is talk to Henley! I could listen to him talk to her all day because it is just the sweetest thing and the voice he uses is priceless! Julie and I have talked about this before because Bennett does it too. I guess they here the way we talk to the babies and they just repeat it too, but in their little voices. I call Henley "little missy and cutie pie" all the time. Christian will talk to her and say, " what are you doing little missy, don't you do that mommy be mad at you!" He also will squeeze her cheeks and say, " hey there cutie pie, whatcha doing cutie pie!" I do not pinch her cheeks, so I have no idea where that one comes from? The two of them have gotten to the point where they play so cute together. They run around the island in the kitchen and Christian chases her all over the house saying, " I gonna get you Henley, I gonna get you, you better run!" He can be mean to his sister, but also very sweet. He hates to hear her cry! The other day she was exhausted and I put her in her crib. Henley slept maybe thirty minutes and then woke up crying. Well, I was letting her cry until she fell asleep again. Christian heard her and came to let me know Henley was crying and we should go get her. I told him no and that she needed to go back to sleep. The next thing I hear is Henley had stopped crying? Then I hear Christian on the baby monitor! He was saying, " it's ok Henley mommy is coming, don't cry, it ok." Are you kidding me? Is he seriously upstairs in her room?  Christian watches out for her more than I realize sometimes. The other day I was back in our bedroom and Henley started crying because she could not find me (which is not unusual). Then Christian comes walking in the room with Henley in toe and the whole time he was saying, " there's mommy Henley, here she is I told you!" The whole time he is telling me that Henley has been looking all over the house for me! :)

We are so blessed to have such a sweet, loving little boy! He honestly has the sweetest heart sometimes and I just want to hug on him all day! There will always be sibling rivalry, but right now I enjoy the moments...few and far between as they may be that the kids do get along! 

Future Gold Medalist!

A few weeks ago I finally convinced Brian to let me sign Christian up for Gymnastics. He is in that stage were he needs an activity, but not really old enough to participate or get anything out of sports. Anyway, I signed him up to start the end of March, but when we went the the gymnasium he loved it! He wanted to start right then and there! Christian was out on the floor jumping around and playing on the balance beams. Anyway, to make a long story short there were three more classes for this semester, so we signed him up. Christian has had gymnastics for the past three Thursdays and had a blast! I do not think that it hurts that his best little friend is in the same class! The class wears him out! They start off doing warm ups and running around, then they go to the obstacle course. The course consists of rolling, climbing, jumping and balance. They then go over to the balance beams ( there are a number of them at different heights) and walk across those. They climb up ladders, they swing on the bars and they jump on trampolines and jump into the foam pits! Christian has a blast and just runs around most of the time! I am not sure that he follows instruction to well because he is just having fun. When the next class starts after we get back from skiing, hopefully he will learn more! Everyone I talk to tells me how wonderful this is for his balance and agility going forward in other sports! Right now we are just having fun and getting all that energy out of his system! Here is some video of him...it is only his second class, so don't laugh too hard! I am pretty sure he thinks this is a big play place to have a free for all! I loved gymnastics as a child and you never know with his little body...he could be in the running for a gold medal one day! :) No pressure!

Anyhow, the video quality is not that great because I was trying to coral a one year old too! Henley wants to be out playing in the middle of all the other kids! They do not like the little ones running around...so I did not have an easy job holding onto her and the camera! Enjoy!