Christmas with the Coffields

For the past week, the Coffields have had company, so we just got to celebrate Christmas with them. I don't think any of the kids minded spreading presents out for an extra week after Christmas!

They got Lee a Titans watch that also helps him learn to tell time. When Lee started to preschool, he told me that he hoped he learned to tell time while there. We have halfway been working on it since then, but ever since he got a learning clock & this watch for Christmas, he has come so far. I think we're really close to saying that he can tell time on his own. With almost every task we ask him to complete, he will ask how much time has to complete it. We will say things like, "You have until 8:05 to be done." He will normally get it done and keep a check on the clock.

The watch is really cool, and he loves it! He also got a movie that he's had his eye on for a month! We saw it at Sam's last week, and he asked for it again. I told him no and he would have to wait for an occasion to get it. So when we got home from their house, he asked me if I knew Mrs. Jill had already been to Sam's to get his movie. I said yes, and he said, "Well that was tricky of you!"

Last Day of Christmas Break

On Monday, Matt had to go back to work, and Lee and I missed him! We've all been together non-stop for 2 weeks, so it was a hard transition for us to make to be separated again. I wanted to make Lee's last day of Christmas Break extra fun, so he and I went to lunch and then met with some friends at Studio J to paint. Lee has loved using the art easel that Santa brought him, but getting to choose a piece of pottery to paint was even more fun.

Lee chose to paint a jersey. The colors he chose for it were purple, red, orange and blue. When I asked what team he was representing, he said "Mine!"
He did put a #10 on it at the end. Ms. Karla asked if it was for Marsalis, and Lee looked at her like she was nuts and said, "No, this is for Vince Young." I think he was originally thinking of Marsalis, but when she guessed too easily, he changed his mind. He later told her that his favorite Titan is VandenBosch, so that's when I figured out his last minute switch to VY.

The front has polka dots, which I think is brilliant. Shouldn't all football jerseys have some polka dots? I think it would add some class to the sport. Wesley was not to be outdone. He had already painted his gecko, and then he had to add polka dots to it "to make it poisonous." Oh how I love boys!!

The girls were much less competitive and were more focused on making theirs pretty.

My Modest Child

As we were leaving Sunday School on Sunday, I had the following conversation with Lee.

Me: "Did you have a good day in Sunday School?"
Lee: "Sure did. I was the most handsome boy there today."
Me: "I'm sure you were. You look especially handsome today."
Lee: "No really, I was. I was the most handsome boy in the whole Sunday School class today. You should get your cwamra out when we get home and take my picture."

How can I resist an order like that??

Christmas Toys Bring Lots of Joy!

Matt has still been off work this week, and we have had the best time opening all of Lee's toys a little at a time and watching him learn to play them. Of of our favorites is the Fisher Price Smart Fit Park. It is a game that plugs into the TV and encourages kids to get moving, and they learn spelling, math, letters, colors and shapes at the same time. We compared it to a Wii Fit for kids, with benefits. Lee loved it immediately, but we have gotten more laughs from watching him play it.

He is running in place here. I love the look of concentration on his face. He is SO competitive!
On this game, he was jumping from side to side.

He got so hot and sweaty after playing for about 5 minutes that he took off his pants.

I'm not sure what game is involved here, but I thought the picture was fun. His favorite game is a race. You can play with 2 players, but if you play alone, you have to beat a monkey and an elephant. He gets so into it and screams at the animals during the race. I love that it's a game that he has so much fun playing and has no idea that he is exercising and learning all at the same time!

Second Child Syndrome

After giving my parents such a hard time over the years about my being the "forgotten second child," you would think I would do a better job with mine. I have teased them that I must have been adopted since there were no pictures of me as a baby. They had the traditional 3, 6, 9, & 12 month pictures of my brother proudly displayed, and there were no "baby Stacy" pictures! Somehow, I have done the same thing to my precious second child over the past month. Of course, I doubt it will be the same way once he is actually here, but I have neglected him on the blog. Here are the past 3 weeks' stats for the baby with no name.

26 Weeks-14 inches long and 1 3/4 pounds

If this juice bottle were about 2/3 full, then the measurements would be near perfect. I couldn't help but laugh at Lee straining to hold it. He insists that the baby won't be that big and that he'll be able to hold him all by himself. Chances are, the baby will be over 8 pounds, and Lee will really struggle to hold him. This week, his eyes are fully formed, although even at birth, he won't be able to see very far in front of him. His brain is registering things like light and sound, and brainwaves are detectable.

25 Weeks=13 1/2 inches and 1 1/2 pounds or the size of the pre-cut celery bunch

From now through the end of the pregnancy, he will be putting on weight and gaining fat. (Let's hope he gets the bulk of the fat and not me!) This week, his arms and legs reach the length they'll be at birth, and he has developed nerve endings that allow him to feel the things he touches, which I personally think is just my bladder! He can also breathe through his nose now, and his spine is fully formed. He has had sensory overload this week, as we have spent 4 days at Disney World and celebrated Christmas. He was a trooper through it all and didn't cause the first bit of trouble! He even allowed me to eat one of those disgusting-looking, but delicious turkey legs that are a must at Disney. I do have to wonder what he thought about all the music, fireworks, airplane turbulence, and Disney rides!

24 Weeks=12 inches long and 1 1/3 pounds or about the size of this altered celery bunch. I weighed this celery at the grocery, and it was very close to the right weight. After trimming the ends, it is the right length. His ears are fully functioning now, probably much to his dismay! He can hear voices clearly and can become startled from sleep with a loud noise. With a 4 year old around, he's probably not getting much sleep anyway! He has also developed a sense of balance this week and can tell if he is upside down or not. I did notice this week that he became more active if I laid on my left side instead of my right. He must prefer the right side.

Now that our vacation and the holidays are over, I will do a better job at updating "baby Andy's" progress.

Christmas 2009 Highlights

We couldn't believe that we had to wake Lee up on Christmas morning to see if Santa had come, but we did. He must have gotten hot in the night, since he had pulled up his "pant sleeves" and unbuttoned a few buttons on his shirt.

Although he was drowsy, he jumped right up and ran into the living room. He was all smiles!

Santa left a Geo Trax Cars race track. It was hard to tear him away from this to see what else was there.

A giant art easel! He was in awe of this and couldn't believe it was his. The art table and easel are his favorite things to use during free play at school. I think he forgot that he asked Santa for this months ago.

Then it was time to check the stocking. First was a new steam roller!

He thought it was HILARIOUS that Santa left underwear in his stocking. He kept saying over and over, "There was underwear in my stocking. Did you see that?" It was funny every time.

Batman tattoos!

We got him pixos, based on a recommendation from Lee's teacher. She had seen these and thought that he could manipulate the small beads and would enjoy the artistic part too. As luck would have it, Pixos come in a Cars version!

He was pretty excited about this new Cars game too.

What little boy doesn't need more Legos?

Lee got his Daddy this cool new knife that has a Masonic emblem on it. We got it at the Co-op, which was Lee's first trip there. It was one of the highlights of the holiday season for me. I have told this story many times, so many of you have probably heard it already. As I was checking out, Lee spotted the side room and asked if he could go look in there. I told him that we would walk around as soon as I was done. I had no idea I would be spending the better part of the next 30 minutes in this one room. He immediately spotted the wall of tools and was fascinated. He wanted his own shovel, rake, hoe and "dirt grabber," which most people call a post hole digger. He also picked out a rocking chair for our front porch, a swing, and a lawn mower that we just had to have. He was being so animated and hilarious that the men who were working there came over to visit with him. My normally shy child was full of himself running around telling the men what he was going to tell his Daddy he wanted and needed. On the way home, I had to convince him not to tell Daddy about our trip or else Daddy would wonder what we were doing at the Co-op. Surprisingly, he kept the secret. When Matt opened the knife, he told him all about it though.

Then it was on to Nam and Pa's for a wonderful breakfast feast and presents. Hope was a pro at opening presents this year.

I love a good reaction, and Hayes was full of them!

Shelby was a little more reserved than her brother.

Hope got a new raincoat and boots and loved them!

These 2 boys kept the Imaginext people in business this year. They love all of those sets. Lee got the firehouse, and Paul got the space shuttle.

Lee needed a break!

Paul got a new robe--so cute!

Here is another good reaction from Hayes. Sadly, it was over Goosebumps books, which I just don't get yet. I know my time is coming that Lee will choose this type of book over Curious George, but I'll fight it as hard as I can until then!

Hope is so lucky to have all of her cousins dote on her all the time.

After lunch with my great aunt, Mozelle, we made a quick stop at Aunt Clara's and my grandmother's to exchange gifts with them and cousins, Nicholas and Ashlynn.

We had to drag the 3 of them out kicking and screaming so we could all make our final stop of the day.

Our final stop was at my dad's for Christmas with my brother, sister-in-love, and nieces.

Brylie loves anything with Tinkerbell!

Lee got a sled and took the girls on a "ride." Now, we're waiting on some snow, so we can break it in the right way! Lee has been praying for snow for 2 weeks. Before we left for Disney, there was a prediction for snow on Christmas Eve. So we told him we might have some when we got home. We've currently been home for a week and have only seen flurries!

We had the most wonderful Christmas season. I feel like we have made a month out of it with the parties, concerts, programs and family gatherings. I'm never ready for it to end and get sad when the decorations are put away. One thing that has kept me from being too sad is knowing we will be doubly blessed this time next year. I can hardly wait to celebrate Christmas with our 5 year old and 8 month old next year!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve started with a visit from the Petrowski Grandparents, who came with a truck full of presents! Naturally, Lee started with the biggest package first.

It was the Batman Cave that he has been wanting for months! He has had a great time with it already.

Next was a Cars racetrack that I wasn't familiar with before Christmas. However, my little Cars fanatic had told his Mawmaw all about it after seeing it on a commercial. Apparently he gave good enough details to her that she was able to find just what he wanted.

After a busy day of visiting family and finishing unpacking from our trip, it was time to settle in for the night at home. We started by making cookies for Santa. For those who know me well, it will come as no surprise that Santa got break and bake cookies! I love to bake and try new recipes, but cookies and cupcakes are not high on my list of favorite things to bake. Fortunately, Lee loves break and bake cookies and doesn't know what he's missing by not having homemade cookies. Judging from the empty plate, I don't think Santa minded either.

Next, it was time for Lee to make his Gingerbread House. He loves making these and being creative. Last year after Christmas, I found them at Walmart for $1, so I bought a couple for him to decorate. He had the best time. Matt and I helped him get the "frame" together and then turned him loose to decorate on his own.

Here he is with his masterpiece!

Before bed, he had to check and make sure the cookies were suitable for Santa. After 3, he decided they were fine.

After one more check of Norad to see where Santa was, he excitedly headed to bed. I love Christmas Eve almost as much as Christmas Day. The anticipation and excitement are so much fun.