Christmas in Savannah!!!

Thursday we headed to Savannah to celebrate Christmas with Nonna, Da, and the rest of the crew!! It was fun, fun, fun! Thursday night we headed to Dee Dee's and Paw Paw Landis's in our jammies for Bingo, Breakfast, and gifts! The kids had a great time and we loved visiting with everyone. We left with lots and lots of stuff!! I have no idea where we are going to put everything. Currently it is all lined up in front of the fireplace:)
Friday we had Christmas with just us at Nonna's house. Again, the kids received a ton of things and had a great time! Turner and Sophia played great together. I overhead Turner telling her that he wanted to play "Momma Baby" (a game that he and Maddie play a lot at home). Turner told Sophia she could be the baby and he would be the momma:) My funny child!
New Years Eve, Kevin and I actually went to dinner alone and left the kids with Nonna and Da. It was nice to have an hour to ourselves!!! When we got back, fireworks were going off and Maddie was having a fit. She normally likes them....not that night. I will say all of us were asleep way before midnight and I don't feel as though I missed a thing!! The kiddo's went to church Sunday with Nonna and then we packed up and headed home.
It was a nice trip and Christmas is now officially over:(
***Yes Maddie had been crying in our family pic. I can't remember why....when the kids go 90 to nothing several days in a row without much sleep, it results in a crying spell or two.

Kids New Rooms!

I do want to share pics of the kids new bedding sets. Turner now has a big boy room and I love his dinosaur bedding!! Maddie's room looks so much better now as well! I was over the princess theme, and now it looks like a cute little girls room! There are a few more accessories I hope to add to the rooms over the next few months. Turner has done well moving into his big boy bed, although he is now afraid of dinosaurs. All he wanted for Christmas were dinosaurs! So he got several to play with and that is the theme for his bedding. Well....Christmas night I had to remove the dinosaurs from his room because they scared him! Now he says he doesn't like his bed because it it is scary!! Poor kid, hope he changes his mind quick:) Here are some pics!
---We have to still buy a box springs and a different set of rails for Turner's bed so that we can add the headboard and footboard. Always a work in progress:)

Christmas at Mimi and Boo Boo's

We headed over to Mimi and Boo Boo's around noon! We had breakfast casseroles to eat and some leftover food from the night before. The kids were wound up and ready to open more gifts. I tell ya these kids are spoiled, I mean loved:) The kids received new bedding from Mimi and Boo Boo!!! Turner is now in a big boy bed! They also got pillow pets, a building set, and a jewelry maker from them. They also received an animated Jingles with 2 books. Mom couldn't believe I didn't know who Jingles was, but apparently it is a show the kids watch with Mimi. Megs and Bubba got Turner a dinosaur and movie, and Maddie a fairy and movie. Too fun!!
This year Megs and I went in together and bought our dad a new camera and mom a kindle! I think they were both excited and we were glad to get them something that they will really enjoy and can use. Kevin and I received a new video camera!!! I am so excited and can't wait to take a ton of home videos:) Kevin also got a new edger, clothes and money. I got several shirts/sweaters, money, and fun stocking stuffers. We were all excited by the time we got done.
After that the kids decorated gingerbread men that Mimi made from scratch. They made a mess, but had fun. It was a relaxing afternoon. We are heading to Savannah tomorrow to celebrate Christmas with the Wilkes crew, so Christmas posts aren't finished yet!! More to come!
Happy Birthday Jesus!!!!

Christmas Morning!!

I was so excited on Christmas morning that I woke the kids at 6:30. Kevin got so mad at me!!! We never have to wake up the kids and he couldn't understand why I didn't just let them sleep. Sorry....I knew fun times were ahead:) We got the kids rounded up and headed to the living room. I love the picture I got of the kids running into the living room! Pure excitement:)
Santa brought Maddie a wishing wand (which she later said was just a toy and not a real wand), a vtech Innotab, and several other small toys. Turner received a tool bench, a superhero dress up trunk (which Maddie hasn't stopped wearing the costumes, and several other things. They received a puppet theater to share with several puppets. They had lots of goodies in their stockings and several gifts to open from us.
Megs, Bubba, Mimi and Boo Boo all stopped by to see what Santa had left. We played at home for a few hours and then headed to Mimi and Boo Boo's. That will be the next post:)

Christmas Eve 2011!!

I really wanted to do a post on the kids and I baking cookies, several playdates with the Arwood crew, and my birthday. But the more I put this off, the greater my list of posts becomes....so I am skipping ahead to Christmas and will try to post on the others later!
We have been singing Christmas songs, laughing about Bubblegums antics, and preparing for Christmas for a month. It has been so much fun and the kids have been so excited. This year did not disappoint!! Christmas Eve morning was spent making cookies and tracking Santa. We were told Santa would be here between 8:30 and midnight. Maddie told Turner when we got home that night that had to go straight to bed-no snack, drink, or show!! It was hilarious and she was true to her word. We headed to Church for the candlelight service and it was great! I am so glad we went.
After church we headed to Mimi and Boo Boo's where the fun began. There was tons of family, great food, and lots of excited children running around. Turner and Ellie were too cute together and Maddie and Gracie had a great time as well. The kids opened up all their gifts, the adults played dirty santa, and a ton of pictures were taken. I love my family and hate that we don't see each other more often!!
We put the kiddos in their pjs before heading home. Ellie, Maddie, and Turner matched-not planned, but too cute!! Maddie immediately went to sleep when we got home and Turner finally fell asleep at 11!!! He was SCARED of Santa coming and didn't want him coming into his room. This kid cracks me up. He was over it though when he woke up the next morning and saw what was left for him:)

Preschool Christmas Program!

This morning was Maddie's Christmas program at school. It was so sweet watching all the kids sing their songs about Jesus-the Real reason for the season!!! My parents got there an hour early to get seats on the front row. Such a supportive Mimi and Boo Boo. It was definitely not necessary....Maddie was on the back row, she wasn't smiling, and didn't appear to be having much fun. That child must not like being in front of a crowd. She continued with the eye rubbing habit that she has and never cracked a smile. Poor thing looked sick. I think everytime we go to a program my mom and I debate about whether or not she is getting sick. She isn't though....she just doesn't enjoy it. We told her she did a good job anyway and she appeared much happier once it was over. Turner behaved and was begging to play the piano that was in front of the stage:) I don't think performing will be an issue for him!! You can tell in the pictures just how fun she had!!

A Farewell Dinner!!

Last night we had Nay Nay, Tyler, and Tucker over for dinner. We were so sad Bubba had already gone to St. Louis with his Daddy and they weren't able to join us. We had a breakfast casserole, pineapple surprise, bacon, eggs, and biscuits to eat. There was a lot to eat!! It was a great night! They are leaving today to start their new journey in St. Louis. We are going to miss them....a lot! Nay Nay always gives my kids the best gifts. She and I were in Maddie's room last night and I was looking around, I saw so many things she had done for her. Maddie's pillowcase, bowholder, and the mats we use for movie night were all done by Nay Nay. So even though we aren't going to see her very often, we have lots of reminders of her all over our house:) For that I am so thankful! Last night she gave them the best gift of all. She bought them the recordable "Goldilocks and Three Bears" book. You push a button and Nay Nay reads the book to them!!! We have already read it several times today and at the end Nay Nay tells them she loves and misses them and for us to come visit soon:) It was such a perfect thoughtful gift, and I know that we will be hearing Nay Nay's voice often!!

I hate that I did not take a single picture! I did take one this morning of the kids listening to their book. I talked to Nay Nay this afternoon as they were pulling up to their new house. So thankful they made it their safely and so thankful for our friendship!! We might not see each other as often, but Nay Nay is going to have to move further than four hours away to get rid of the Wilkes bunch:)

Maddie's Christmas Party!

Maddie's Christmas party at school was on Wednesday. I took Turner to Mimi and Boo Boo's, picked up 120 nuggets from McDonalds, and headed that way. My favorite part of not working is the freedom to be involved in everything!! The kids had a great party. For lunch we served them nuggets, grapes, apples, and a cookie. The kids are so quiet at meal time. They were too busy shoveling everything in their mouth to take the time to talk:) After lunch there were three crafts for the kids to do and then they played Christmas Bingo. We are really enjoying this year and I love her teachers Mrs. Pat and Mrs. Lea. I was so pleased with Mrs. Amy last year, I thought that this year would be a letdown. I am so glad that it hasn't been and Maddie has had wonderful teachers again! BBPS has been a real blessing for us and I am looking forward to Turner going next year. It was a fun party and after her Christmas program Friday, we will have 2 weeks at home with the whole famiy!! Looking forward to it:)

Smiling with Santa!

Tuesday we met up with Santa Claus twice!! Tuesday morning the kids and I went to the mall for pictures with Santa and lunch. My parents just happened to be shopping there so they were able to help out and even got a picture with the kids and Santa themselves:) Both kids love him this year. I figured since Turner ended up loving everyone at Disney World, Santa wouldn't be too scary for him. It was great getting two smiling kids sitting on his lap. Turner was quick to tell him he wants a dinosaur and Maddie is wanting a wishing wand. I am not really sure what she is picturing in her head, but I do know that she thinks this thing is going to work! She is going to be so sad when she receives her wand and when she wishes to fly.....it doesn't actually happen. I have tried talking to her about it, but she insists it will work-she has seen it on TV!!!! Now that is a scary thought....my 5 year old believing everything she sees on tv. This is why you monitor so closely what your children watch and why we keep it on the Sprout channel when they are awake!!!! That is a different post for a different day though:)

We got cute pictures with Santa, ate at the food court, tried to shop for myself at JC Pennys and headed home. My mom thought I should pick out a few things for them to give me for Christmas. Doing that with the kiddos in tow is nearly impossible. Turner acted a fool, but I did manage to grab a few things first:)

That night we headed to Bass Pro to meet up with Treybug and fam. As always, kids had a great time and we were able to chat. They sat with Santa again, held hands throughout the store, colored a picture, and did the remote control train. We love this free outing and I think this makes the third year we have gone with the Gaines. It was fun fun fun!!!