Where did my little baby go?

E has had an explosion in the communication department recently, and it's so fun hearing him say new phrases and sing new songs every day. Recently, we've been working on his ABC's, 123's and some other songs (with the help of Dora, of course). And E seems to have 'camera fright', if that is even anything. For the past month, I have been trying and trying to get a good video of him talking, but he automatically freezes as soon as he sees the camera. So, last night, he was in rare form and I was able to capture a few things. Yay!

Oh, and M and I's favorite part of his ABC's is 'elmo pee' for 'L M N O P'. It makes us laugh every time!

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas this week!

FUN FUN FUN

I can honestly say the receiving holiday photo cards in mail is the highlight of December. I love seeing how much my friends' and family's kids have grown. And I LOVE to display them for months following the holidays.

All that to say, I have been looking at cards for the last couple of weeks and stumbled across Shutterfly's holiday cards. And they are SO cute! I honestly am having a hard time deciding between so many of them! They have LOTS to choose from and so many different styles.

I think I have narrowed it down to this one if I go with the Christmas photo card (found HERE):

This one if I decide on a holiday card (found HERE):

Or this one if I go with my typical choice of a New Year's card (found HERE):

I wish the decision was easier, but I LOVE so many of the designs. They are fresh, modern, stylish and yet simple enough so they don't take away from the picture you are trying to display. Everyone should definitely check out all their photo cards as well as other adorable merchandise like wall calendars, invitations, coffee mugs, etc.

(And if you want to get in on the 50 free holiday cards in exchange for a blog post, go HERE)

I can't wait to see all the Christmas cards coming my way soon!

Happy Birthday To You

This weekend we celebrated our baby's 1st birthday! I can't believe how fast time flies. Although I am more than ready for this stage in his life. I love that he is mobile enough to walk on his own, play with his brother and eat his own food. Don't get me wrong, I love babies, but just prefer the toddler stage a little bit more. All in all, it was fun celebrating this time in his life with our families.

J trying french fries for the first time on his actual birthday. Such a healthy choice, right?

E's pirate hat came in for his Halloween costume which resulted in fights about who got to wear it all day. I should have seen that one coming.

E insisted on wearing his pirate hat while watching a pirate episode of the Backyardigans.

J trying his free scoop of Baskin Robbins ice cream for the first time. This boy is not very fond of sweets. He must take after his Daddy, that's for sure because I definitely have the sweet tooth of the family.

J on a sugar high on the way home from getting ice cream.

E enjoying his 3 bites of mint chocolate chip ice cream. That's right, 3 bites....that's all! These kids don't know what they are missing!

P-man and Uncle "Ta-ta" (as E has so lovingly named him :) at J's party.

Papa and his boys who are shockingly being still for a minute!

Mammy was holding J back from "rocking" B a little too hard.

My big boy.

Everyone chowing down.

Papa and E.

J LOVED his new bike from Poo-pah and Grail!

Candid moments. As you can tell, I am HORRIBLE at taking pictures especially at parties. I feel so awkward asking people to smile for a picture so almost all the pictures are like this. Oh well.

Poo-pah, Grail and Mammy.

The boys working together on the new bike. Although, I think P-man has the hard job of pushing my two boys!

P trying on J's Halloween costume.

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And I'll leave you with a video of E and E-E dancing and singing to SingStar. My cute boy shaking his booty is so adorable! He will hate me when he gets older for saying that and posting this video, but until then, Enjoy!

And no, your eyes are not deceiving you....my camera died before we did the cake. BUT, other people took pictures with their cameras, so I'll have to add those when I get them! So, check back for more pictures!

Brooke Ledbetter Photography

Recently we had family pictures taken by a good friend of ours for our kids' first and second birthdays (I guess that's a good thing about having them close to a year apart). I absolutely LOVED how they turned out and can't sing Brooke Ledbetter's praises more (check out her work here)! It was a fun morning at Cedar Hill Farms!

Here are a few of my favorites:

What's with this weather??

Wow! So, since I last posted we have had 2 rounds of snow and ice. This is the craziest weather that I remember since moving here in 1995. There is also a 60% chance of snow starting at midnight tonight and going through tomorrow night, as well as a 40% chance of snow on Sunday! What in the world?!? Well, at the very least, it has been something to look forward to since we are stuck in the house. I hate even getting out unless I have to because it is too darn cold!

J is finally capable (sort of) of sitting up in his bumbo seat. Although, unlike E, we can't leave him there unattended. He loves to straighten out his whole body, and all it would take is for him to roll over and he would topple out! I can't believe my little boy is getting so big!

These pictures are from the "ice" we had.

E likes to play in J's swing. One day, he was playing and I was cleaning the kitchen. I heard him get a little too quiet which usually means he is getting into something. But, when I went to look for him, I found him fast asleep in the infant swing. Too cute!

J and his cousin, P.

E helping me cook dinner.

I love J's hat that Rachel Rieves knitted for him!

My boys!

These are pictures from our second big snow.

E could not resist the urge to ride his bike, that he got from the Stumps, through the snow.

He had such a great time trampling through the snow. He was outside with Mike for a good 45 minutes, which is MUCH longer than I thought he would last. The 6 inches of snow was the perfect bumper for all of E's many falls!

M built us a snowman complete with a carrot nose from our neighbors, Ritz crackers for the eyes and buttons, and a dog bone for the mouth.

M also built himself a fort with a stocking flag from which he pelted the neighbor's windows with snowballs. The kids got a kick out of it!

J and I stayed inside most of the day, just bundling up long enough to get a picture with the snowman. He'll be able to enjoy the snow next year.

Since I started this draft, we got one more snowfall. This is by far the most precipitation we have gotten in the winter months since I have lived here. The schools have already gotten out 5 days due to winter weather and may even have to make up one of their days on a Saturday. If I was in school I would consider this to be the end of the world!

I hope everyone's Winter has treated you well. If you follow our website with the button on the right, you will receive notification every time I update. So, feel free to 'Follow' the Winebrenners!