Christmas 2010 In Pictures

Christmas 2010 was a sucess!  The children had a great time & Troy & I enjoyed our fellowship with family!
I could go on & on about it but instead let me show you the pictures.

The Christmas Decor on the Fireplace

The Christmas Tree

Hot Coco & Cookies

Apple Cider & Cookies

The Jolly Couple!

The William's Family Christmas

Wesley at Christmas with my Sister & Mom

Tyler & his new bike, helmet, pads, etc

Trever & his new cell phone

Happy New Year

Getting back in to the new year has been BUSY!  We have been getting back on schedule, getting organized and they boys & I made their new sticker charts too!

This week has been very easy around the house with these charts.  I request that we get our teeth brushed before we leave for school and if I am met with any resistance I simply tell them they won't receive their sticker.  The promptly run to the bathroom and brush their teeth.  Its been a great way to dissolve fights as well, reminding them they are expected to have happy behavior to earn stickers as well.  Lets just hope that I can stay committed to the chart because often I start them and then am the first to stop using them a couple weeks in to the process.  :( Oh well this is a new year!!

My new years resolution is to have more daily reflection on the blessings I have been given.  I am at a place in my life where I would like to press pause, go on cruise control, I don't want the children to get bigger, I don't want any life changing catastrophe's, I want to absorb all of my wonderful life while I am living it.  I need to remember we are making the "good ole days" right now.  I am going to work hard at living for the day not living for what needs to be done tomorrow.

Look at these faces, would you want to press fast forward on them??? I don't in anyway, I want to cherish where we are right now. I love the family we have created so much! Thank you Troy for everything.

Happy New Years to Everyone!

Please Come with Me today!

Tyler was adamant to stay home with Daddy & Trever today. However, Daddy needed to finishing up work at the neighbors house & wouldn't be able to keep him at home with him. So to coax him out of the house I made him a scavengar hunt. He had to find a police car, a mcdonalds, teddy bear, & more! He loved it! It helped me avoid major meltdown so Daddy could work!

Family Photos 2010

Here are our favorite family photos taken by our photographer Amanda S Long of http://www.amandalongart.blogspot.com/!

Spooktacular

The Jacksonville Zoo throws a wonderful event each Halloween called "Spooktacular!"  We had a very enjoyable outing with the family there last night.

Pumpkin Patch Fall 2010

We spent Sunday with Aunt Sarah & baby Wesley!  Here are our pictures from the outing.

Outside Halloween Decor

We have completed the outside home decor yesterday.  The boys are super excited to start fall. Living in Florida our weather stays warm for quite a while.  Somedays it will cool down to the mid 70's, but the next day it can be at hot at 90 again, so its hard to get the weather change that indicates fall is here for the children. Last weekend we had the fall festival at the school, complete with derby car races and bounce houses, and it really seemed to set in that fall is here. They see the pumpkin patches adorning the sides of the road and are ready to get in full swing to decorating at our house. Here is the completed yard for Halloween 2010!



Have a safe Halloween!

Cousins!

Trever & Tyler met Wesley this afternoon.  It was love at first sight.  Tyler asked if he could have one! ;)

Halloween Corner

We are getting ready for halloween around our house! We decorated the kids corner to get the decorations kicked off! Stay tuned for yard decorations!!

Wesley James Wiggins

Wesley James made his arrival tonight! My sisters first born. What a beautiful baby boy! 7 lbs 8 oz 20 inches

I love his little face soo much!  Congratulations Josh & Sarah!  You made a handsome baby!

Homework Time

My week day afternoon routine consists of leaving work & picking up the boys from school. I then head home and they get snacks and approximately 30 minutes to unwind. (I do insist however that shoes be placed in bins and backpacks hung up before they start their down time!) I usually begin dinner prep during this time as well.  After some down time, we sit down at the table for homework time. This is a shot of the boys doing homework this evening. Tyler doesn't have homework but insists on "doing homework." He uses a preschool workbook I picked up at the book store.

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Trever Borrowed My Camera Again

I also found these shots on my camera card today.  He's a future facebooker in the making ;).  They were too cute not to share.

 Ignore the unorganized bathroom countertop and mirror that needs to be cleaned please!

 We're in trouble now!!!

  He learned to take a picture of himself in the mirror and not get the camera in the shot.

 Gotta love the pin curl clip on his nose!

Wolverine rocks!  Too bad he has to hand down this shirt to his cousin now.  Its getting to tight.  :(

Tyler's Soccer Game through Trever's Lense

I uploaded the camera card tonight and found all these great shots that Trever took at Tyler's soccer game 2 weekends ago.  He has a good eye!

This angle is my favorite by far!

Trever lost his first tooth!

Trever has had an adult tooth growing behind the baby tooth for weeks now. I was getting concerned that I would have to have the dentist pull the baby one since they weren't budging. Tonight I asked Trever to let me check and see if one was wiggly at all. I tugged at the tooth and then it was out. Just like that, in a split second, my first born lost his first tooth.  He is super excited jumping around the house saying "I finally lost a tooth!" He is looking forward to the tooth fairy tonight!

Trever Started Soccer

Trever's soccer season started yesterday. It's Tuesday's and Thursday;s with games on Saturday's..and dare I say even with late evening practices its still Florida hot out there! Putting the heat aside, its a pleasure to watch him play out on the field.  He appears to be in his element. I think he's going to be a pretty good player!

We had to put tennis aside this summer due to our hectic schedule.  I assumed he would pick it back up in mid August when school began again.  However tennis and soccer practice fall on the same day. :(  So the decision was Trever's to make...tennis or soccer?? Trever made the decision to try something different and play soccer.  This choice is bittersweet because he really enjoyed playing tennis and being with his cousins. I look forward to the rest of the season and seeing it unfold.

Wow, does this make me a soccer mom?  Umm ok this just hit me...And this makes me feel older somehow..I always imagined soccer mom's as old mini van driving people.  OMG what a revelation as to where I really am in my own life!  Yea yea I have a mini van and take my kids to soccer, school, etc but I am still young at heart and most certainly am not OLD!  Who care's I turned 30 last month right?  30 is the new 20 right?? RIGHT?  No its not?? I am 30?? Okay I am a 30 year old mom who drives a mini van and takes her kids to soccer..thanks for the reality check. Its worth every minute of the aging to be a wife and mother, even if it makes me a stereo typical soccer mom..

Sarah's Baby Shower for Wesley James

My sister, Sarah, is expecting her first child in October.  Shortly after the beginning of her second trimester she had a sonogram that revealed a little boy was growing in her womb.  Sarah and Josh have decided to name their first born son, Wesley James Wiggins.  When I found out Sarah was expecting I was super excited to know that I got to hold a shower to celebrate the arrival of her first baby!  My sister has been my biggest support system in raising my boys (aside from their father of course!).  She was Trever & Tyler's first baby sitter and has done a wonderful job of being my go to girl.  You know the kind of person you can call in the middle of the night and would drop everything she was doing to help you.  She nursed my children to health several times when I needed to work.  She was there for every tear and oh my gosh's.  All the look at what he's doing and can you believe he said that's.  She has been a wonderful sister and friend.  And in some ways I really wanted my shower to be my big Thank You to her for all she has done. 

Sarah's nursery colors are tan, chocolate brown and light blue. I decided I would continue the color scheme over to her shower. My Mother In Law Connie Williams volunteered to assemble and put up the clothes line for the shower.  It came out beautifully!!!  I love how it turned out!  It added so much to the decor of the shower.

A mutual friend of Sarah & myself, Sandra Felty helped me with all of the decorations.  This is one of the centerpieces we did.  Its a clear pail filled with rocks and the letter W.  I love how the balloons pulled this centerpiece together.

Our second centerpiece was the infamous diaper cake with our twist on it.  I had ordered extras of the placematts and cut out the corner pictures then added them to the ribbon on the cake.

Here are some shots of the food spread.  My Mom, Josh's Mom, Nicole, Nathalie, Kori, Brittany and so many more contributed so much to this shower.  I most certainly couldn't have done it with out each and everyone of them.  Thank you Ladies!!!!  I know Sarah appreciates your hard work as well.

Sarah Stevenson Wiggins- soon to be mama of Wesley James Wiggins

Congratulations Sarah & Josh!  We look forward to meeting Wesley and giving him the same love and attention that you have shown our children.  There is nothing in this world better than the love of family.