Christmas Part 2

Joe and his PawPaw (see the resemblance?)

The second half of our Christmas adventure was spent with my family. On Christmas Eve, Corey and I hosted my brother and two sisters and all their families-since mom and dad's kitchen is still a work in progress. It was so much fun! We let Libby open her present first-a little house that she loves! And then we ate and opened presents. Some of the highlights were a WVU hat for Joe and Libby's Yo Gabba Gabba guitar. But everything they got was wonderful-to put it in a post would be too long even for me. So if you got a gift for us-trust me we love it and will use it! This is my sister Casey and her gift from me-which I made, I wish homemade gifts didn't take so much time and I would do them more often.

My mom and sisters stayed at the house to watch our sleepy kids so Corey and I could go to church. We were beat, but it was a really great service and we are both glad to have gone. Afterwards, our friends the Allens came over and we sat around the tree until much too late. It was really great to spend time with our friends-just talking and enjoying Liz's Christmas present-a puppy named Max.

Christmas Day took Corey to work and me and the kids to my parents house. It was a day that we all spent in our PJs, eating cookies and opening the rest of our gifts. I got some really great kitchen stuff and Joe got some MUCH needed clothes (all in 12 months or 12-18 months). Libby and Sami looked too cute in their matching PJs and they played with toys together. There was some fighting, but overall the day went off without too much trouble. Libby and Joe took a much needed break with PawPaw and the DVD player. And afterwards, PawPaw took his own break. It was all really great. And being together is always good. Merry Christmas everyone!

Christmas Part 1

These posts will be long, but there is so much to tell! We've had an extra busy holiday season already and it is only Christmas Eve. There have been 2 birthdays, 2 Christmas sessions, 1 anniversary and Joe's 6 month birthday. It all begins with Pappy's birthday. We celebrated with dinner at Meme and Pappy's house. The whole family was there-so lots of kids running around. Libby and Aubree played while Mia and Joe watched from the sidelines. Dinner was great, but I have a sneaky suspicion that Pappy's favorite part was having all his grandkids together. See MeMe's blog to see more photos of that celebration.

After Pappy's birthday, our Christmas journey began. We left for Webster Springs to visit Aunt Debbie and Uncle John on December 20-which in one day was our 5th anniversary, John's birthday (no age disclosed!) and Joe's 6 month birthday. As usual, Webster was a laid back trip. We all rested and enjoyed the company. Libby had a great time opening her presents and Joe's too. He helped on the bags! Libby was tickled to get her first tricycle and also a whole set of baby play things-high chair, bed, stroller! I was tickled by the adorable outfits both kids received. Joe liked the paper, and the keyboard!

Libby was basically attached to John the whole weekend. They put together all the toys and played. As a surprise for all the grandkids, John and Deb bought a set of tents that connect with a tunnel. Needless to say Libby was in it all the time. She even had a picnic lunch in it! Joe even liked it-he crawled through the tunnel with minimal assistance from Mommy.

Corey and I had a great time too. It's always wonderful spending time with people who genuinely love you and your kids. John and Deb wore themselves out playing with Libby and Joe. We left on Monday morning stuffed to the gills with toys for both young and old. We had an ok trip until we got about halfway home. Joe decided to hate the car at that point! No idea why he started crying, but it was basically non stop for the rest of the drive.

We all survived though and got ready for Christmas number 2. We headed back out to MeMe and Pappy's house last night for pepperoni rolls and fun! I love our tradition of Collassesno's pepperoni rolls on Christmas-it's easy and stress free for all of us! So we ate and then geared up for presents again. Libby and Joe entered with adorable outfits that only lasted for about 10 minutes. We couldn't get a good picture, but there is always tomorrow. Libby got an awesome doll house that has entertained her all morning and Joe got some fun toys for boys-baseball and basketball toys and of course some drums. Daddy got his leatherman tool and I got a bunch of really fun stuff-of which my favorite is Christmas music and a beautiful teapot! (Libby called it a P pot).

Afterward, we all sat around and were entertained by the kids. Joe enjoyed wrapping paper in a box and Libby was into everything! My favorite part of the evening was Libby pretending to have hiccups. She would breath out and wave her hands in the air-then say "Hiccups!" Then we all had to have the hiccups as well. It was too funny!

We still have my family get together tonight so there will definitely be more posting!

We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! It is a special time of year to celebrate the birth of Jesus-our Savior! Enjoy!

Traveling near and far

The kids and I headed to Charleston over the weekend with my mom. We visited my grandparents and their newest addition - Pepper.
We also visited my sisters, helped make Christmas cookies and admired Kerri's new kitchen which is beautiful.

Libby and Joe were great. Libby had a sleepover with Claire and she was great. I think Claire could get Libby to do anything-she is so in awe of her. Joe and I bunked up with my grandparents and he slept great. While there he started scooting forward on all fours. By the time we got home it was almost a crawl-here's the video to prove it!

The only not fun part of the trip was the drive home. We drove my friend Melissa home so I sat in the back with the kids. Libby watched DVD's but Joe was less easily entertained. He cried a good bit, but we made it home without too much trouble. Now we are all just gearing up for Christmas-it's almost here! This is Libby in her zippy PJs. She wouldn't let me take them off!

Today was a nice day. Corey had to work, but since the kids and I had nowhere to go, we stayed in PJ's all day. Libby has been walking more-she thinks it is a game, but that's ok for now. She got her new splints and they are pretty great. At the moment she wears them for about an hour a day, but we have to start increasing the time gradually. She calls them her special blue pants and wants to show them to Daddy as soon as she gets them on. It is such a relief that she likes them. Her last braces were not a hit and she threw a fit when she had to wear them.

This is a video of Libby walking. Her onesie is buttoned over her pants in an effort to keep them up so she won't trip over them. She's pretty amazing.

The rest of the fam is good too. We had kind of a crazy weekend-we went to our niece's birthday party on Saturday and passed 9 accidents. The bridges were all frozen! The party was fun-and belated happy birthday to MIA who turned 1 last week! The drive home was fine-the roads had been treated and were no longer slick.

When we got home, we got ready for Mountaineer football and our friends Candace (Candice ??) and Josh and their son Noah. The 7 of us enjoyed watching the 'Eers win (well only 3 of us were awake to see it, the kids+Candace were snoozing).

Sunday was a nice day to regain lost energy. Corey and I watched football and played with the kids. All in all a nice way to start the week. This week will be busier. Wrapping and finalizing gifts. Getting ready for the traveling to begin!

Our low key holiday

We had a very low-key Thanksgiving this year. I definitely missed the hustle and bustle of having fun with lots of family, but I loved the fact that I survived a holiday without either child melting down. Libby's first Thanksgiving was great and AWFUL because it was her first big stimulation and we ended up in a dark room away from everyone, trying to get Libby to calm down. Joe's first Thanksgiving was spent at home with my parents and brother-in-law, Will. Corey had to work (yuck!) his parents were out of town, my sisters were in Charleston and my brother went to his in laws. I don't know that I have ever been to a Thanksgiving meal with 3 other adults, but it was nice and there were plenty of leftovers to enjoy.

Joe drooling... I just think it's hilarious that babies don't care about drool or spit-up.

To make up for not having Thanksgiving, Corey and I had two shopping trips planned. One to the Tanger outlets to Christmas shop and one to IKEA to birthday shop for Corey-belated! We had a great time and are thankful to both his parents and my mom for making the babysitting happen for those events!

Me and the kiddos-neither of which will smile for the camera!

Saturday was less low-key than Thursday for us. My mom watched my nieces while Kerri and Casey shopped the sales in Columbus so Claire and Sami spent the day with us. It was a lot of fun. We made cookies and played Sorry. We got into the Christmas spirit by watching Elf! By the way, Libby LOVES the Christmas tree. We told her she can touch anything she wants as long as she touches it with one finger. So she'll look over and say "One Ginger?"..."Like This?" It is so cute to see her ring all the snowmen bells with one finger. She has managed to get some of the ornaments off with only one finger. She especially likes Corey's Joe Montana ornament and a random skiing snowman. We have also started singing Happy Birthday to Jesus which is really cute!

Unfortunately, I have very few photos from this weekend because I had to hide the camera from Libby. She can now turn it on and take pictures.

This is one of Libby's lovely photos!

Adding some cheer

I am well aware that it is not yet Thanksgiving, but I also do not care. We decorated our house for Christmas on Saturday and it is so fun and festive. Why not enjoy the Christmas season as long as you can? Libby loves it. She loves the tree and the lights. She loves her Little Peoples nativity. She dances to our musical ornaments and plays with the Joe Montana ornament that keeps mysteriously "falling" off the tree. Joe does not notice much, but I think he likes the lights.

He's doing great. He turned 5 months old last week. By our scale he is 20 pounds and 28.5 inches long. He fits nicely into 9 month clothes! He is rolling EVERYWHERE now. Gone are the days of laying him on the floor to go grab a drink or take a bathroom break. If I do, I come back to find him under a table or stuck on some piece of furniture.

We have all been moderately busy-Corey with work and me with the kiddos. My friend Shawna and I have been making time to get our kids together lately. Elliott and Libby play nicely together and Addy and Joe mostly sleep. I took this pic mainly as blackmail-notice the lovely pink gloves! They finally got tired and sat together in the chair to watch some Yo Gabba Gabba. I could not get both of them to smile nicely, so this is them making funny faces! That's all for now. We will have a Thanksgiving post later in the week-we definitely have a lot to be thankful for!

Catching up

Since the funeral, the whole family has been playing catch up. Trying to catch up on sleep-still not there yet. Catching up on work and bills and everything. In the midst of all of this, Corey celebrated his 28th birthday. We're planning a trip to Pittsburgh, but for his actual birthday, we had dinner with his parents. Libby sang Happy Birthday, which sounded like "Appy Dirtay oo oo." She also blew out the candles on his cake and enjoyed it just as much as everyone else.

Her present to Daddy was taking a whole bunch of steps. In a single go, she took 24 steps. That is the most by far she has taken in a row and now she just gets up occasionally and walks across the room.


Joe has also mastered rolling. He's eating like a champ and giggles alot. But he's a homebody for sure. Away from home and his own bed, he is an unhappy camper. That means that I stay home more often-but it's worth it if he sleeps well.

Libby reading big girl books. This is one of her new favorite things to do. These books are a lot longer, but she will sit through you reading them.

Libby climbed into the chair. I found her sitting there when I came out of my office one morning!

Another way to remember

Yesterday we lost our Mamaw (Corey's maternal grandmother). It was quicker than any of us expected, but I think that is probably a good thing. Mamaw to us and Gigi to the kids was an awesome lady. Her house was always a place you could be sure to get a good meal and a rest from the world-it is by far the best place to sleep I've ever been. Mamaw wasn't able to do as much as she would've liked to the last few years, but she always kept up with her family. She loved hearing about the kids and Debbie always made sure that she knew when we updated our blog. So she would have been thrilled to hear that Libby is reading books to herself now-mostly ones she has memorized-especially since Mamaw was a teacher and an avid reader herself. She also would have been excited to hear about Joe trying food and almost rolling over.


I am so glad I got as many years with her as I did-I'm glad she got to be a part of our kids' lives (she was the first nonparent to hold Libby in the hospital.) I will miss her - her stories and her laugh-her constant inquiry as to whether or not we were hungry. I will miss her beautiful PJ's and her sharp wit. But we will remember her with pictures and stories, by the cardinals she loved and the meatballs Corey makes by her recipe. But we will still miss her so much.

Our Family is growing up.. and in Joe's case-just growing

Today is Joe's four month birthday- and we celebrated with a trip to the dock and vaccinations! His stats are as follows:
Weight: 17.5 pounds (90th percentile)
Height: 25.25 inches (60th percentile)

He is a good kid-he sleeps through the night, he eats every 3-4 hours and he smiles. Given that, he also cries in the evenings and sometimes just because. He spits up on EVERYTHING and we do at least 4 loads of kid laundry a week. He loves a bath and has peed on Libby 3 times while they were bathing together-I just laugh and Libby looks at me like I'm crazy.

Libby has really grown up in the last couple of month too. She is talking ALL the time and singing songs. She learned "Jesus loves me" at Sunday School and has gone around saying it. She is a coloring queen and loves to play pretend. She wipes her baby's face because she "spit up" like her brother does. Some other fun words she says are "kink" for pink, "pray" for gray. She is constantly asking "What are you doing" and "What's that" which I will definitely take over "Why" (which I think starts in around 3). She knows her alphabet and her colors and her numbers. She knows "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." But if the 2's are fun, they are equally hard. She makes me laugh and makes me mad. She throws fits and fake cries. She is refusing to eat foods that she formally loved. And her favorite phrase at dinner is "I don't want it." But God gives us good and bad... so I'm enjoying the good and dealing with the bad.

Libby and I read books alot and Joe has started joining in on the fun. Corey snapped some photos of our latest book fest (there is never just one). It's fun to see them interact a little bit.

Changing as always

With kids nothing stays the same for very long-sometimes in a good way and sometimes not. In our world, Joe is sleeping 12 hours at night (a VERY good change) and taking 3 naps a day. Libby can say just about anything but throws fits (not a good change). The most recent change in our house is trying to potty train Libby. This is HARD work. She knows when she poops and pees, but she is still not great at letting me know. And our first day (yesterday) she would sit on the potty for a bit and as soon as I put a diaper back on she would pee. I am easily discouraged, but I'm learning. Today she is sitting on the potty in front of the TV until she pees. We'll see how it goes. I know if she just pees once in the potty that then I'll be able to talk to her about it.

Last post I mentioned that now the doctors are talking about bracing. She went up to UPMC last week for a second opinion and this doctor said that we should try Dynasplints first. He wants her to stretch as much as possible before they do surgery (if it even comes to surgery). I was slightly disappointed. I don't want Libby to have to have surgery, but I want her to be able to walk. But if these will help her walk, we'll try them. He said try them for 4-6 months and then we'll reevaluate. We still are waiting to hear back from her original doctor-so things may change after that. I'll keep you posted.