This year we were lucky enough to celebrate Christmas multiple times with our different families. Our first celebration started the weekend before Christmas when Reva and Skip (Grandma and Grandaddy) arrived from North Carolina. We enjoyed three days together, and Parker got his first experience with Christmas gifts. Ainsley is a pro by now, and she was more than happy to open everyone's gifts for them. She also thought she should "help" Parker by opening all his gifts and then playing with them, just to make sure they worked.
Parker and Grandaddy
Ainsley, opening up her new doll.
Ainsley showing Grandma and Grandaddy the photo book we made for them.
Helping Parker open his gifts
Not quite sure what he's supposed to do with this box...
Enjoying a new book with Grandma!
Silly bug with her new hat
Grandaddy spent a lot of time helping Ainsley make a beaded bracelet and necklace!
We also attended the live nativity show at the zoo. This is a great event, where they have actors and use animals from the zoo (camels, sheep, goats, etc) to tell the Christmas story. Although we had to wait in line and it was a bit cold outside, we all managed just fine and the kids really enjoyed the show. Parker was fascinated by the lights and animals, and Ainsley really seemed to follow the story since she had spent a lot of time learning about it in preschool.
All bundled up and ready for the show!
Riding the "train" to get to the zoo.
Waiting to see the Christmas Nativity
One of my favorite funny stories from the weekend happened the first night of their visit. Ainsley is at that age where she asks a lot of questions but doesn't always listen to (or understand) the answers. Ainsley commented at the dinner table that Skip and Reva's dogs (Charlie and Annie) were scared of Dixie. Skip spent several minutes explaining that they weren't scared of her, but that they were old dogs and Dixie is a young dog, and they don't have the energy to play with her. He spent a lot of time trying to fully explain the dynamic between the dogs, their ages, sizes, energy levels, and personalities. Ainsley listened very intensely, and was very quiet and polite. When Skip was finished with his explanation, she turned to me and said "Charlie and Annie are scared of Dixie."
Our funny little man, Parker, is at the age where he feels the need to repeat things over and over again. As evidenced with this new toy that he received from Grandma and Grandaddy.
Over three days we spent a lot of time playing, eating, and enjoying each others company. What a great way to start off our Christmas season! Merry Christmas and lots of love to Grandma and Grandaddy!
I woke up this morning and a feeling of helplessness washed over me. All the unknowns are creeping up and threatening to smother me. It's a wave that comes over and over again. I get to the top of one and then another hits. I have always been a planner. Sometimes I worry. But I very rarely have anxiety. I try to focus on what I know and what I have control over. What DO I know? I know what will happen for the next 4 weeks. I know the kids have school until May 22 and I will do my best to balance it with work. Got it. I can do that. But what happens after that? What will they do all day when school ends and I'm still working and camps haven't started up yet? What if camps never start? Do I cancel the camps now and try to get some money back? Or do I wait and see if they cancel and give me a refund? Do I move their camps to later in the summer when they're more likely to happen? But if I wait to see if the June camps are cancelled then all the July and August camps mi...
Momming Hard on the weekends is definitely not quite as hard , especially when we have these beautiful spring days to enjoy outside! The Monument Avenue 10k race, the biggest annual road race in Richmond, was cancelled this year. Luckily they encouraged people to still run the race on their own, so I set up a 5k course through our neighborhood (run it twice for the 10k). The kids, along with a few of their friends, ran the 5k route. Brody, Ainsley and Addison I ran my fastest 10k time ever! All this running at home has paid off! What a gorgeous day!! All our trees are blooming and reminding us that even in these dark times, there is beauty all around us. And since we've been spending so much time outside lately, I decided my pots needed some flowers. Nothing makes me happier than buying spring flowers and enjoying them for the seasons to come! We stocked up on chalk this weekend, and the kids have been busy 'decorating' the driveway...
It's Monday. 43 days down, 43 days left to go. I feel good about this. We've reached the halfway point, right? We made it to the top and now we just coast down for 43 more days. The kids had a decent day today. School work was pretty good, no major catastrophes, I was productive with my work. We got the house and fence power washed. It looks good - nice and clean and smelling like bleach. A nice way to start the week - fresh and clean. We can do this!
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