Planting a Garden at School

A while back, Arabella's teacher sent out an email asking for help to clean up the little garden outside her classroom. Since it is a bit hard to get involved at school (that is a whole separate blog post), I decided to help out with this project. I was the only one who volunteered for this project, and that is OK with me, it wasn't too big of a project and I enjoyed working with her teacher to figure out what we could do. She wants to be able to tie it into a science lesson throughout the year. So one, rainy and damp Saturday morning, I went to the school and cleaned up the bed. It went from this:

And about 30 minutes later...

We decided that the children would have fun planting and learning about bulbs. And that it would become a fun science lesson in the spring when they start to push up through the soil and bloom. Arabella's teacher picked up some new soil, I purchased some bulbs that were 50% off at Lowes and a few other parents sent in some bulbs to be planted. Max and I went to school one day last week and we planted about 60 bulbs. I explained to the children which way the bulb needed to be put in the soil and they had fun picking out which hole (I pre-dug holes in the interest of not getting them too dirty and to save some time) to put their bulb in. Each child planted 2 or 3 bulbs and are excited to see what happens.  Max had fun seeing all the kids and was on his best behavior.  He enjoyed being out in the sunshine and warmer weather. I can't wait to hear about it from Arabella when they start to see some growth. I am sure it will be a beautiful little garden in the spring!

Wordless Wednesday

Jack's Adventures

Arabella loves waking up every morning and searching for Jack. She has been leaving him snacks and notes. It is the cutest thing. Max even knows who we are looking for when we mention the name Jack. Just today I was holding him in the living room and when Arabella and I said the name "Jack" his head turned and he looked right where Jack was hanging out.

This year I have been getting creative - thanks to Pinterest and my friends on Facebook - with what Jack does around the house. Arabella loves it when he does something silly and I have fun creating the scene.

Here is what Jack has been up to this Christmas season...

He swung from the light in our foyer. This "set-up" took 45 minutes and Jay and I got into an argument about how to do this. He told me that from an engineering standpoint, that is couldn't be done, Jack would fall and that it should be done a different way. I told him that I saw it done on Pinterest, so it had to be do-able (yeah right) and I wasn't going to go to bed until I did it! Guess I proved the engineer wrong this time.

Jack and Barbie went for a reindeer ride.

He had a late night snack of marshmallows and made a mess on the floor!

He zip lined across the room!

He got tangled up in some lights when he was decorating a few little trees. Arabella checked him out really close - she wanted to make sure he was OK.

He got stuck in the wine press!

And this morning, I think he was a little late getting back from the North Pole and he got stuck in the blinds!

We can't wait to see what he does next!

First Friday

Every first Friday of the month, our town has activities in the downtown area. This month, it was all about Christmas and the theme of "A Christmas Carol". The town was lit up with beautiful white lights. The weather was so warm, we didn't even need coats and I was sweating in the light sweater I had on. It was odd to think it was the beginning of December and it is so very hard for me to get into the Christmas spirit with this weather. I miss the snow and cold. That aside, we enjoyed walking around and watching the living windows where parts of "A Christmas Story" were being acted out. Arabella ran into her cheer buddy, Cadence, and they had a great time figuring out the themed treasure hunt. There were carolers and carriage rides, however, I promised Arabella we would go back on this Friday night for a ride since the line was super long. We enjoyed spending time together in the fresh air. It was fun to see the sights of Christmas coming alive.

The living windows. Arabella really enjoyed watching the scenes being acted out.

Only In The South

I can't actually believe I saw this...there is just so much wrong with the picture...the spot that really isn't a spot that the truck is parked in. The truck bumper hit the carriage. The huge trees hanging out of the back. When the driver parked the truck, he acted like he parks like this all the time. And I can't forget to mention that the guy walked into the liquor store. Seriously...only in the South.

Here Comes Christmas

I know I am a little behind, but we have been partaking in a lot of Christmas activities! This is my favorite holiday and it seems that Arabella is following right in my footsteps. She is so excited and loves to help with the decorating, cookie making and counting down to the big day! I hope that Max is going to be the same. My parents (and family) made this such a special time when I was growing up and I hope that I am doing the same for Max and Arabella.

One of the first things Arabella wanted to do was write a letter for Jack to take to Santa. She wrote it all by herself and made sure her list wasn't too long!

Next up was the decorating of our Christmas tree.  Arabella made sure to show Max how to touch the branches gently.  It was way too cute.  I think he understands, but not sure he wants to comply with the "rule" so all the fragile ornaments are up pretty high!

I've caught him on more than one occasion, using the stroller walker and ramming it into the tree. He also uses it for leverage to reach for higher ornaments. Little stinker!

Arabella also made her gingerbread house. She was excited to do it again this year and has told me that it is now a tradition and we need to make one every year. She was very worried that Jay would eat it before family got here for Christmas, so she made a sign to tell him he couldn't eat it, at least not just yet.

Every day the excitement is building in our house! Here Comes Christmas!

11 Months Old

I wish the title of this entry were a joke, but sadly it isn't. Max turned 11 months old today...it just doesn't seem possible. It seems like yesterday that I was pregnant with him and to think that almost a whole year has passed since he was born is insane. He is getting so big - he loves to eat anything and everything by himself. He has 4 teeth coming in, the top 2 have just started to poke through. He is always on the move and wants to be wherever Arabella is. He loves to be around her. He was sleeping through the night, but that has changed recently. I am hopeful that he is just going through a growth spurt or his teeth were bothering him. He needs to start sleeping again and get back on his schedule. Wishful thinking since this month and Christmas will probably throw everything totally off. He is cruising around the furniture and will climb up the steps if we leave the gates open...I usually catch him a few steps up and quickly run behind him to let him crawl to the top. When he gets there, he is so excited and proud of himself. He is babbling constantly and I love it. I miss him being a tiny little snuggle bug but now instead of snuggling, he gives you a bit of a hug when you pick him up. I feel like I am missing milestones of his. I am sure they will come to me at some point. Anyway, Maxton, we love you and really don't remember our family without you. Happy 11 months Bubs. Now if only we could slow down the clock...

This picture is hysterical...they were wiggling around and Arabella is so "cheesing"!