[Editor's Note - Our camera has been out of commission for over a month, so we haven't posted much. It is getting repaired and we'll be sure to make up for it with good pictures of Christmas, Wintertime hats, and other fun stuff soon.]
A rare Daddy/Daniel Post: I think christmas is a good time to look back at how far the kids have come, and I thought this would be a fun (and tearful) post to update every year. Below are the pictures of the kids with Santa each year, and also the christmas cards from the last couple of years. If you didn't get a card, let us know and we'll be happy to add you to our list.
I don't know what it is about Santa that brings out Caroline's blank stare.
2011 - Are we done yet? (Note the same dress for Caroline as 2010 - she doesn't grow much)
2010 - still not too sure about this guy / I think I see some chocolate over there
2009 - Why aren't you saving me?
2008 - Not too sure about this guy
One of the best parts about having kids is not having to appear in your own Christmas Card. We'll update this when we find the 2009 card.
2011 - They're getting so big. (Note the same shirt/tunic on James as the 2010 Santa picture above - dad is cheap.)
2010 - Who's the new guy?
2009 (A few favorites until we find the card.)
2008 - Our precious tiny one Happy Holidays and much love to everyone. We'll get some Christmas pictures posted soon.
Those of you who know my mom are well aware that she lives for Halloween. She's been known to carry a carload full of costumes year round... just in case there happens to be a need for one. And there has been... on more than one occasion. She usually starts pestering us about what we want to be for Halloween sometime around June. She waits a few weeks to make sure we haven't changed our minds and then she starts all the planning and preparations for a fabulous month of fun. Here are some of the things we did to make this month special.
We painted pumpkins... on at least three different occasions.
This is how an arteest holds his hands. It's very refined.
We visited the pumpkin patch with our friends Olivia and Tyler.
At the pumpkin patch we watched some pig racing. You just can't get away from racin' here in Charlotte.
We took a hayride...
to find the perfect pumpkins.
And the perfect profile shots.
We posed for pictures.
And more pictures.
We took the hayride back to the farm.
We went on a ride made out of old steel barrels and pulled by an ATV. It was even more fun that it looks.
We fed the animals.
We played in the corn box.
We tickled our own toes.
We tamed this wild horse.
We posed for the obligatory family picture.
I can't believe they made me be the pig.
We went for another ride.
I insisted mom paint my face like a kitty for a couple of days.
This was picture day at school. Don't worry, the paint went on after the pictures were taken. I wore this outfit in honor of Aunt Muihrienne... cute dress, tights and tennis shoes. Mom says this used to be her uniform for kindergarten. Aunt Muihrienne... we'd love for you to look through your baby book and find a matching picture. Are you up to the challenge?
I'd also like to add that this dress is a size 18-24 months. Poor Granna bought it for Caroline exactly 2 years ago (when it should have fit her according to her age) and it finally fits now... just in time for preschool. It's the perfect preschool dress so it all worked out fabulously.
Mom made my costume... I'm Goldilocks. I've been checking out her books from the library lately and I really love them.
I must say... I've really outdone myself this year!
James was Baby Bear. Mom and Dad were Mama and Papa Bear but our camera malfunctioned before we could get any good pictures. Aunt Leesee took a few so we'll try to get those up soon.
These pictures really don't do justice to how cute James was in his costume.
Alise... will you second that?
Giddy and Excited. My favorite emotions.
Chocolate Face
Goldilocks with Mama Bear's ears.
Sugar High
Sugar Low
Additional Pictures Taken by our Aunt Leesee:
We thought we would save the best news for last...
Aunt Leesee had baby Olive Evelyn (isn't that a great name?!) on October 22. She was born Saturday afternoon weighing a teeny tiny 6 lbs. 4 oz. and measuring 18.5 inches long; a beautiful healthy baby girl. She's continuing to grow and eat and already promises to have a wonderful sense of humor. She also wins hands down in the precious hairdo contest.
Well, usually we wait for some BIG event to post any news or happenings in our family, but since we don't have any one big thing to post, we'll just post some of the smaller events in our lives.
Daddy ran a race in Mooresville. First he ran a 1 miler and then he ran a 5K back to back. It was really fun to watch him and he was super fast. Mom searched all over craigslist to find us this super fancy double stroller. It goes with us everywhere and we love it.
Usually Daddy doesn't like the pictures we take of him running but since these came out so great we decided we had to post them.
Jamie's uniform lately: brown blanket, socks, and shoes (only).
Caroline had a rare moment of silliness so we felt compelled to document it and let the world see a different side of her.
I was going through some of our pictures and I don't even remember taking this one... but I love it.
Any Leggat Lady knows the joy of pink foam rollers. Of course, I have hair like Mama's so within 5 minutes all the curls are gone. It's fun to try though.
Caroline's uniform lately: this crown... it goes everywhere. Sometimes we add a tutu for extra flair.
Aunt Leesee and Uncle Porter took us on a boat ride to thank us for letting them stay at our house for a month. I have no idea whey they were the ones thanking us, but who are we to decline a ride on a boat? Could I be any cuter?
Who's the real captain here?
Me, that's who.
Doesn't Aunt Leesee look great?
Must be all that relaxing.
And now for the gratuitous pictures of our kids for no particular reason at all...
Mom has been doing a lot of sewing for her Etsy shop lately. I get to reap the rewards of being her guinea pig. This little number was created late one night and early into the next morning for Orange Day at school.
What can I say? I'm my mother's daughter. Plus, what three year old girl has lots of orange in her wardrobe? Certainly not my fair skinned blonde.
One of my favorite pictures EVER!
Man that boy loves a camera... Caroline was pretty much over the photo shoot before it began. But she's a good sport.
After Daddy's last race, Caroline has been begging to run a race of her own. In particular, she's asked if we can find one in which she will get all muddy or all sweaty. We finally found a race for her, but it was unlikely that either of her wishes would come true. It was a 50 yard fun run in Cornelius, she literally had to run around two sides of a grassy town square.
Here are a few pre-race photo ops.
And they're off... Caroline and Daddy had an interesting strategy, start slow, continue slow, finish with no one else around and get better pictures than any other kid there.
Mission Accomplished!
Caroline's running form is more of a prance/skip than the normal jogging stance. Take a look at this kiddo in action.
October 8, 2011
Phew, that was a tough race. Everyone knows that fast runners definitely need their bananas and water at the finish line.
We're also including some long lost video footage we somehow never posted. Enjoy!
July 21, 2011- A Surprise For Caroline, Caroline gets a surprise for her birthday from Aunt Leesee. Aunt Leesee is on speaker phone but thanks to Mama Caroline has no idea what is in one of the packages.
July 28, 2011- One Of Jamie's First Words, I'm sure it comes as no surprise to anyone that knows us that this is one of Jamie's first words.
August 5, 2011- Water Bottle, One of the reasons I love my husband so much is his ability to come up with creative and inexpensive games to play with the kids. This is no exception.
August 13, 2011- Jamie Does Too Walk, James was taking steps back in May, but he hated every second of it. There was no opportunity to get good footage to show the world so we figured we would wait until he really enjoyed walking to show everyone. It took a while, but here is James walking with a smile on his face.
August 25, 2011- Animal Sounds, One of my favorite things that James used to do was meow like a cat. The sound was more like "m-ow" with a southern accent. This video caught it just before James decided that the sound was really "meow."
August 26, 2011- Dancing With Her Eyes Closed, Caroline does all her dancing with her eyes closed, this should prove interesting at this year's dance recital.
July 21, 2011- Stuck, Another favorite of mine is that James used to go around and intentionally get stuck and call for help. Here is one of those moments.
