Home Again, Home Again

They are "fighting" over the new InnoTab

This is how we spent our day!

He loves these little trucks!

Painting one of the trucks

Well, this day wasn't as I planned at all.  Katherine woke up in the middle of the night with a high temperature. She was on fire.  I gave her some Motrin and put her in bed with us.  I went ahead and got up and started getting ready for work.  After I thought about it I decided we needed to stay home today hoping she will be well enough to go to school tomorrow.  Fridays are rough at work and I knew it would be better for me to be off today instead of tomorrow.  Katherine didn't have a temp all day today.  Luke insisted on staying home from school since K wasn't having to go.  So, we got an extra day together!  They both slept until after 8 this morning which is unheard of!  They both had long naps today, too.  I still think they are just exhausted.  We played and played today.  The toy of the hour seems to be Luke's new InnoTab.  Both kids love it and do not like to share it.  Probably won't be long until Katherine has her own.  It is a really neat toy.  It is like a tablet for kids.  We went with it instead of the LeapPad purely based on cost.  We got a great deal on it at Sam's.  So far, the love the art application the best.  Luke also painted his new Monster Trucks and played with them all day. Katherine likes those, too.  The plan is to be back to normal tomorrow -- kids to school, parents to work!

Wow! Luke is Five!

Birthday Waffles!

Birthday Boy

Family breakfast

Daddy Date

Yes, another Lego...

Love our boy!

We had a fun day today!  It started with Paul fixing Luke some birthday waffles which he loved.  I was off so the kids and I got to spend the day together.  We played this morning before meeting Paul for lunch at Luke's pick, Chik-fil-a.  Luke was up several hours last night saying his jaw hurt.  He was whiny and crying.  This is not like him at all.  After being up and down from 10-1 I finally decided he was cutting a 5-year molar.  His top two have come through without incident.  I put some Oragel on it and gave him some Motrin and he was asleep in minutes.  I wish I had thought of that sooner.

Today he complained of his ear feeling "bubbly".  After lunch with Paul I decided it was worth a trip to the Fast Track clinic at the pediatrician's office.  Would you believe it?  He has a "nasty" ear infection!  So, once again no Mom-of-the-Year award for me!  I told the doc what I did last night with the Oragel.  Needless to say she got a kick out of it.  I did have her look at his teeth just to make sure -- nope, no tooth coming in!  Oh well, I tried.  We all took naps when we got home so we could rest up before his birthday dinner tonight.

Mom, Bill and Paula came over for supper and cake.  It was nice to just have the grandparents here.  The kids got lots of attention and they loved it.  Katherine has been so sweet about Luke's special day.  She has sung him Happy Birthday repeatedly which is so cute by the way.  Luke got lots of neat things for his birthday -- Monster Jam tickets, Circus tickets, an InnoTab2, Legos, Monster trucks, pj's and new swim trunks, swim shirt and a Lego storage system. We had such a neat day despite the unexpected trip to the doctor.  Just glad it is an ear infection and can be fixed with antibiotics.

New Year!

Our New Year's Eve was low-key as usual.  I worked New Year's Eve and today so Paul had the kids.  We went to get pizza at Painturo's last night.  Luckily it was open.  There weren't many people in there though.  Mainly families with young kids.  No one made it anywhere near midnight around here.  We were all asleep before 10.  Mom watched the kids for a bit today so Paul could run out to find Luke something for his birthday which is tomorrow!  He said the shelves were empty everywhere he went and had no luck.  Thankfully, I had already gotten him something before Christmas thinking it would be for his birthday.  I worked most of the day today and we spent tonight cleaning up and getting ready for the grandparents to come for supper tomorrow night.

Sick Day

He looks like he doesn't feel good - poor fella

Luke is still pretty puny so we decided to stay home from church this morning in case he is contagious.  We ended up getting a lot done at home - lots of cleaning and organizing.  We got out for a little while to make some Christmas returns and to grab lunch at Subway.  The kids spent a lot of time playing with their new toys.  Katherine loves her doll stroller and pushed it all over the house.  She seems to be playing with her dolls more which means I am usually the one changing the clothes and shoes. I must admit, it is pretty fun!

T-Town Christmas

Luke and Cynthia

A new Lego!

Andrew and Thomas have set on this couch every Christmas!

Some new gardening tools

Nanny's new calendar

Aunt Sheila with her Alabama coffee mug

Nanny gave me a neat hand-painted wall hanging

Gift cards were the most popular gift!

They wasted no time putting the Lego together

Giggly girl!

The girls played with K's new Hello Kitty set

Family picture!

We went to Tullahoma for Christmas today.  We did breakfast again this year and it works out great!  Thomas made chocolate chip pancakes and everyone else brought other breakfast foods.  I love breakfast!  We had a great time visiting and playing with the kids' toys.  It is so great Nanny is able to cook and enjoy having us to her house.  We do not get down there near as much as we should but always have fun when we do.  Andrew and Mandi headed back home from Nanny's.  It actually started snowing this afternoon so we wanted to get on the road before it got bad.  The kids slept on the way home and so did I!  Luke is still a little under the weather running a low-grade temp.  He doesn't seem to really feel bad just a little quiet.  Hopefully he will be back to normal soon!

No Fun Overnight

Well, Luke and Uncle Andrew didn't get much sleep last night.  Luke started feeling bad so he and Andrew were up and down during the night.  He was running a low grade temp and was coughing and had a runny nose.  Mom called me this morning and said Luke wanted to come home.  That never happens so I knew he was feeling yucky.  We did a breathing treatment and that helped some.  We had some fun things planned for today.  The kids were going to go to Monkey Joe's with A&M and then we were all going to Cheekwood to see the trees.  Luke didn't feel like doing any of that so we ended up being home.  He took a long nap and he seemed to feel better after that.  I honestly think they are both exhausted.  It has been non-stop for over a week now.

Laura, Virginia and I had our annual Christmas outing tonight.  We ate at Porta Via which was fabulous!  It is great Italian food at very reasonable prices.  We lingered over dinner and shared some gelato and enjoyed a cup of coffee.  The rest of the night was spent at Virginia's talking, talking, talking!  We always pick up were we left off the last time.  We cover everything from world events to decorating tips.  I l.o.v.e those girls and don't know what I would do without them!  The summer will be the next time we see each other and we are talking about doing a little overnight trip which would be fabulous!!!

Nonna's For Christmas

Sweet boy

She is ready for presents!

We are going to let Luke start paying his way!

Inside joke...

Uncle Andrew's gift was as big as Luke!

She loved her owl towel from Andrew and Mandi!

Christmas = smiles

I was excited about Luke's new backpack

He was enthralled with the Lego book

Paul checking out his new shirt

Andrew has some reading to do

Paul and I both went back to work yesterday.  Mom took the rest of the week off so she kept the kids yesterday.  Andrew and Mandi got home really late last night.  They got to hang out with the kids today.  Mom cooked her famous beef tenderloin and rosemary potatoes.  She asked us all a few weeks ago if we wanted her to make something else this year we all had a resounding "no!"

Dad's cousin Barry and his wife stopped by this afternoon while they were visiting Nashville.  It was good to see them again. We enjoyed our yummy supper and then opened gifts.  Luke was happy because he got some Lego stuff and Katherine got some fun toys.  The night got away from us and it was close to 9 before we finished with gifts so we didn't enjoy our dessert.  Luke asked if he could spend the night so we went home with one less kid!  We had a great time tonight and I am excited to be off work for the next three days!

Christmas in Gallatin

There were two little helpers this year!

Memaw and Kitty enjoyed opening their presents

Happiness is Trio Blocks...

Katherine insisted in getting in the toy box Bop made her!

Bill surprised Paula with an iPad

K needed some help with her new houseshoes

Luke liked helping everyone else open their presents, too

Homemade boiled custard - yummy!

Both kids like the Minnie Bow-tique!

We got to Gallatin around 2.  Everyone was already there.  Jim, Claudia and Lauren celebrated Christmas with Bill and Paula last weekend so we missed them today.  It wasn't the same without them.  We let the kids and the great-grandmothers open some gifts first.  Luke was ready to tear into them as soon as we got there.  Kristen and Jon gave each of the kids a UT shirt. Luke got Junior Blokus and some Legos and Katherine got some new doll clothes and some doll accessories.  I gave the greats a calendar again this year.  Not very original, but I think they enjoy looking at them everyday.  Paula cooked a great supper of chicken and dressing with all the trimmings!  There were numerous desserts to sample.  I especially liked the homemade coconut cake.

We opened gifts after our early supper.  The kids both got great cedar toy boxes that Bop made!  They love them.  He also made all the girls a fun jewelry box.  He is really enjoying his wood working hobby.  I am glad we get the finished products!  The main entertainment was just watching the kids enjoy everything!  They got so excited about each gift with the exception of clothes.  I hate that, but I definitely remember what that was like growing up --- you never wanted clothes, always toys!

We had a great Christmas Day!  So much fun and so much to be thankful for!  We truly are blessed.