We had ourselves a Merry little Christmas

or four. 

It started in Webster Springs...

A wonderful couple of days spent with two of our favorite people--Debbie and John spoil us and our kiddos. We ate yummy food, played with fun presents, and relaxed!

 Joe sporting his new Spider-man suit

Libby showing off her first creation in her Easy-Bake oven.  

 The BIKES. Can I please tell you that seeing my kids on bikes made me feel really old! They are getting so big-where did my babies go? On another note--Libby was AWESOME. She took right to it. Joe-not so much. He understood the brakes. The pedaling was a different story.

Later that week, we headed to the Bozic's. We had a great night of Mamaw Bozic's punch and cookies-highlighted by Libby's reaction to her presents. With every one she opened her voice got higher and more excited!

Libby and her first La-La Loopsy. 

Aww-they love each other. 

This is about the only hug photo I have that doesn't look like Libby is putting Joe in a choke-hold.

Joe and his new drum pad. He is quite the rocker!

I am missing photos from Christmas Eve at my parents because I forgot my camera--I took some with my Dad's though so I will post when I get them. We enjoyed a yummy dinner with my whole family, and then our little troop headed to the Christmas Eve service. It was a low-key event. Readers shared the story of Jesus' birth while the kids dressed up and played the different parts. Libby was an angel. Scattered throughout the service were songs for us to worship to. It was wonderful to be with our church family to celebrate the tremendous gift God gave us in His Son, and so fun to see our kids participate in the celebration.

Christmas Day meant brunch at our place and then RELAXING for the rest of the day. 

Aunt Casey and Joe playing with the new toys.

Aunt Kerri and Sami eating the yummy brunch.

Libby and her sideways-"CHEESE".  Typical.

I have videos, but Blogger hates me a little. As soon as I figure out what I am doing, I will post.

The light was just right...

A couple weeks ago, the light was great in mom's backyard and I happened to have my camera. SO...I took some photos. I think they turned out pretty great, and captured some great moments and faces of the kiddos.

(Libby was much more cooperative with the camera than Joe

 as evidenced by the number of pictures I got of her compared to him)

Updates:

Libby loves school. She has made friends; she is really engaging with the teachers and activities; she loves to dance and sing; she now wants to play the horn(please pray for our ears); she is weighing in at 34lbs; she eats so slow that Corey has started calling her Wanda (after his Mamaw); she sometimes talks with a British accent, and her stuffed animals must all be from NY given their accents. Libby also loves to bake, purple is still her favorite color, and her shyness has all but disappeared.

Joe loves Spiderman. He has a T-shirt that he wears all the time. He is now in the habit of changing his clothes at nap time. He is weighing in at 42.5lbs. He loves to build things and play with cars. He is especially good at puzzles. He loves chocolate and cheese. He talks much more plainly now and he and Libby have full conversations in the backseat of the car. He can write his name, and his favorite colors are blue and red (although I am not sure that he decided for himself, I am pretty sure Libby told him-"Your favorite color is red!").

Happy Halloween!

From an owl and a skunk.

It has become a tradition that we go to the Smiths house for Halloween. We all have a meal and then get the kiddos ready to go. This year our numbers expanded, and a great time was had by all. Our kiddos costumes were GREAT--thank you, thank you MeMe for making such adorable costumes! Here are photos to show you just how adorable they were!

I have some great pics from Sami's birthday party that I will share soon!

Mountaineers: Rain or Shine

And last night for the Homecoming Parade, it was definitely RAIN. But that didn't stop us from going! Libby and Joe got decked out in their blue and gold rain gear, and mom and I made due with whatever we had.

Pre-parade. It was a misty rain, but not miserable

The parade was not crowded; it mostly consisted of band parents and friends. We got a great spot toward the end of High Street and parked it there for the next hour and a half. I have never seen my kids so excited! Libby waved until I thought her arm would fall off. She would yell at every float or car or group--"Woo, Let's GOOO Mountaineers." The soaked parade participants couldn't help but smile when they saw her enthusiasm.

About halfway through, the mist turned to steady rain

And Joe? Joe ate candy. (in the above pic, you can see he has stuffed his mouth with laffy taffy). With the low attendance, groups still had LOTS of candy left even at the end of the street. Joe would run out and grab handfuls, bring them to me, and shove it all in my pockets. At one point he was running circles around a light post--sugar overload!

But rain or shine, it was so much fun!

What's been happening around here

 We are in a bit of a schedule these days. Libby goes to school Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. She still loves it! Apparently, yesterday she made up a song and led the whole class in it-there was clapping and hand motions too. Her teachers are wonderful, and they love her (which makes us so happy). And she must be enjoying herself because she comes home EXHAUSTED every day. This was after school last Friday.

Joe spends one day with his MeMe, one day with Becki and her girls, and one day with me. I love this photo that Becki took when she had him a couple weeks ago!

It's been fun to spend time with this kid alone. He is developing such a personality (and a bit of a temper). He ALWAYS wants to play ball. I'll walk in the door and he says, "Mommy, you want to play ball with me. It's a good idea!" He also is incapable of smiling for the camera these days. I get this face instead :)

Weekends (and nice days with Daddy) usually involve a park or a walk. Last week-both. The kids love to swing and slide. Joe loves to RUN. 

It's official

Libby loves school!! 

She started the day with enthusiasm and it held on all day. She ran into school without looking back. I had to ask for a hug good-bye. And apparently she played hard all day because she was asleep in the car within minutes of being picked up. When she found out that yesterday was a holiday, she said "Mommy this holiday is nice and all, but when can I go back to school?"

She is making friends. She is having fun. It is the start of a great year for our baby girl!

Joe needed a back pack too-and he looks like he should be going to school too, huh?

growing up...

Deep sigh...Libby starts Pre-K tomorrow. I started this blog to update everyone on her status when she was born and living in the NICU. Now I am telling all of you that she is about to embark on her first school adventure. WOW. Time has flown. And it makes me a little sad. But I'm also a little excited.

She went to her "warm-up" on Monday night. She liked all her teachers and apparently did her "belly laugh" during the puppet show-which made the adults giggle and the other kids a little more comfortable to laugh too. She has a great laugh-it's contagious :) I will post tomorrow with an update on how the first day went, so stay tuned.

kids will play...

Our kids play HARD! They love the park...being outside is a FAVORITE!! And we have been able to be out a good bit. On the flip side, our kiddos also love a chill evening watching a movie or an episode of He-Man (or Super Mario Brothers or Avatar). Here are some new photos of our outdoor/indoor adventures. You can also check out my blog here to see the ins and outs of our month of July.

Milk and snacks in hand, kiddos are ready for a fun family movie night--the Incredibles.

Joe peeking his head out of the pirate ship at the Honi-Honi while Corey played a gig

Libby played so hard that she fell asleep with her hand in the chip bag

Libby has become quite the ham...this is her striking a pose for the camera.

and of course a couple pictures of Libby Lou Lally on her birthday!

5x a miracle

My baby girl turns 5 today. To think she started off this small...

But every year she has grown and developed and changed. This year her personality has really bloomed. She is JUST LIKE HER DAD with a hint of Wanda Marple. She has a crazy sense of humor. She never tires of being silly. She is so caring and mindful of her brother. I love to see her heart for him. If we buy her a treat at the store she will always ask, "What are we getting for Joe?" He is never left out.

Libby age 1

Libby age 2

Libby age 3

Libby age 4

Some things remain the same though...

She is still our miracle baby

Happy Birthday Libby Lou Lally. I love you!!