Our Little Nephew's Baptism!

Steve's beautiful little sister, Kristi, and her husband Chris, had their first child in July of last year, and we were privileged to celebrate our nephew, William Caleb Papa's Baptism in January! He is truly a beautiful gift from God and our whole family feels very blessed to have him! He was baptized at White's Chapel United Methodist Church and we enjoyed a delicious family lunch with both Steve's family (who came in from Tennessee) and Chris's family (who flew in from Canada!) William did GREAT, and the whole event couldn't have been more special!

Baby William with his Mommy and Daddy. (What a beautiful family!)

The whole "Blankenship" family!

Steve with our three precious children!

Jack enjoying lunch with his Gramma (Steve's Mom)!

Jack and his Mommy before the service started!

Oh - the fun you can have with a little PLAYDOUGH!!!

One day - while I was down with pneumonia, I gave Jack a jar of playdough and some eyes, wings, feet, etc. and THIS is what he created: his own exceptional BUG! It is always amazing to me that with all the many neat and complex toys our kids have available, sometimes the simplest things provide the most FUN! (I found this out as I spent so much time trying to entertain my two little guys literally from bed).

How do you get this little boy to SLEEP????

These two pictures were taken one night - - - well after 11:00 p.m., when we came upstairs to find our very adventuresome 2-year-old all dressed up and roaming all the rooms of the second floor of our home - EXCEPT for his own bedroom! Note that this was THREE (yes 3!!!) hours after we "put him to bed." This is the little boy who used to go to bed the minute you laid him in his crib and who would sleep to 11:00 a.m. (or even later if you let him) each day - all the way until he was two! Once he moved out of the baby bed, however, all bets were off, and we have struggled in getting this little guy to go to sleep. (At this point, we've even considered calling in Jo from "Super Nanny"!)

We loved the hat and crocs over the footie pajama look!
Just look at that little impish face!

A little after midnight that night, we FINALLY got the little guy to bed. The picture below shows Ryan the following day after church - just conked out on the couch next to Dad - who was up WITH the little one LATE into the night! Poor Steve!

Two really tired guys!

Ryan's First Ever Preschool Valentines Party!

Little Ryan was SO proud to give Valentines to all his friends!

Ryan had a GREAT time at his Valentine's Party at preschool - - - his very first one!!! It was A LOT different from Jack's party in the little ones in his "Younger Two's" class were much more controlled in their giving process. It was truly adorable!

Each child had a special Valentines Bag that they had decorated themselves with red stamps of hearts, swirls, etc. The bags were lined up and then each little child went up - one at a time - and placed a valentine into each of the lined up bags! The teachers helped the kids and it was just precious how proud each of them were to "GIVE" their own cards and candy to their friends.

I'm so glad I got to be there to see such a special event for my littlest guy!

Ryan placing his Valentines (and candy) into his classmates' bags!

Ryan getting a little help from his teacher, Miss Cindy, in giving his Valentine's!

There's our boy - Baby Ryan always clowing around!!!!

Jack's Preschool Valentine's Party

Since Mommy forgot her camera at home, Daddy had to bring it to the party. Jack LOVED having him there!!!

Well - now that I am over having pneumonia and the flu - over the past 8+ weeks, we are back to having some more fun in our life! On Friday the 13th, Jack had his Valentine's Party for his friends at his preschool. They had such an amazing time!!! There was yummy food, festive decorations, stories and fun games. But most of all - the kids got to exchange Valentine's with their friends.

Those of you who know me may know of my aversion to "character" stuff - ie. commercialized clothing, costumes, etc. But . . . after I gave in at Halloween and "allowed" Jack to dress up as a Transformer, I have made another step in my parental evolution: this year Jack gave "Transformer" valentines. You know - - - nothing shows love like Optimus Prime or Bumble Bee!!!

When Jack opened his Valentines in the car on the way home from the party, he was just shocked that the little girls in his class would have the audacity to give him BARBIE or PRINCESS valentines. "Don't they know I don't like that girly stuff????" he asked. I had to remind him that I somehow doubt the girls were crazy about his Transformer themed cards (complete with autobot and decipticon tatoos) either. We should just keep in mind that it's the fact that others think of us and show thoughtfulness - as opposed to the exact nature of the card or gift. - - - A pretty good lesson for all of us, don't you think?!?!

Overall, Valentines Day was a wonderful holiday for little Jack this year!

Jack LOVING a game that the kids played!

Jack goofing around with his friend, Emma at the party!

Jack playing "Pin the Heart on Mr. Hugs!"

Jack picking out a book for Mommy to read to him during the party!

The Gift of 4 Generations of Family!

Steve's Dad reading the Christmas Story to the whole family on Christmas Eve!

One of the greatest blessings of spending Christmas in Tennessee this year is the realization of what a special gift it is for us to have four generations of family together! Steve's maternal grandparents are not in good health and have recently moved from the farm in Middle Tennessee on which they have spent their entire lives (literally - Granny was born in that house!) into an Assisted Living community in Chattanooga near Steve's parents. It has been a hard process, but spending Christmas together just reminds us how special every minute is with them! Our three children and Steve's sister's new baby are very blessed to have their Great Grandparents to share such special moments.

I was exceedingly blessed in this regard as I had some of my Great Grandparents until I was in my teens and twenties! I'm sad that my Grandparents only knew Ashley (and one knew Jack for a year before she passed away). It is a true gift for children to really know those who have come before them and get to spend time with extended family. We are surely fortunate!

Here are some pictures from our holiday!

Steve's Dad, Baby William and Granny enjoying Christmas Eve!

Jack, Ryan and Steve with Steve's Grandparents, Papa and Granny!

Jack, Steve's Mom and her Daddy - Papa - enjoying Steve's Dad reading the Christmas Story!

Baby Ryan Strikes Again!!!!

Well . . . the two year old is BAAAACCCCKKKK . . . !!! While we were getting his brother ready to leave the house, Ryan was found back in the master bathroom and what do you know - - - he had gotten into Mommy's new Estee Lauder makeup kit (yes - the one that I've gotten every Christmas Holiday since I was 15 years old - the one that I just LOVE and enjoy, the one that I hadn't even gotten to use yet, since I've been sick with pneumonia). Well - he decided that it would be fun to paint his face with the best shade of lipstick and also paint the blush compact inside - practically ruining the blush! Oh - poor little Ryan! He then proudly showed off where he had "kissed" the bedroom door with his newly applied cosmetics!

I guess we should be relieved that he just painted himself, a door and a little on the bathroom carpet - - - as opposed to his big brother painting a complete "Lipstick Mural" (with RED lipstick) on the white carpet in our entryway when he was 2!

. . . just another day in the life . . .

"Look Mommy - I kissed the door!"

The evidence on the door.

Some of the "artistic cosmetic expression" on Ryan's face!

Ryan with some of his Cosmetic "tools" - How could you get really mad at this little face?

Christmas Morning!

We woke up on Christmas morning - and it was so much fun with the kids! We had to hold them at bay at the top of the stairs until everybody else could get assembled in the Living Room (understandable since there were 12 of us who had to wake up and get around in the morning - including our little 5 month old nephew). Everyone had a wonderful time seeing what Santa brought, opening gifts, laughing, and going through the HUGE stockings that we all have at Steve's parents home. *Some say the stockings just may be the most fun of all!

One very special thing this year is that Ashley got to be with us in Tennessee on CHRISTMAS MORNING - something that she had never been able to do in the past (as she always had to fly to meet us after Christmas on the years we went to Tennessee because of visitation issues). That young lady LOVED EVERY MINUTE of being with her family - especially getting to see her little brothers enjoy the magic of Christmas morning! The Lord has truly blessed us this year!

Here are some highlights of the morning:

Ryan "searching" for a gift in a bag he had already opened!

Steve, Robin, Ashley, Jack and Ryan in the midst of all the Christmas CHEER!

Ryan, Jack and Ashley right after they woke up - waiting with baited breath to come downstairs for Christmas morning!

Steve sitting in the midst of the packages, bows, boxes and bags - leftover from the gift opening!

The world famous "Blankenship Christmas Stockings" - - - and some goodies for a good little GIRL and BOYS from Santa!!!

Christmas Eve in Tennessee!

We spent Christmas Eve with Steve's wonderful family in Chattanooga - going to church, having an amazing dinner together, and hearing Steve's Dad read the Christmas Story to the whole family - including 4 generations! We also got to celebrate with Baby Jesus' Birthday Cake - a tradition that I have always enjoyed that we shared with Steve's extended family this year. The children were so excited and couldn't wait for Christmas morning to come!

Robin bringing out Baby Jesus' Birthday Cake (unfortunately Jack and Ryan ended up "fighting" over who got to blow out the candle) - - - but special and fun none the less

Ashley, Jack and Ryan in the church's sitting area after Christmas Eve Candlelight Service!

Christmas Eve Dinner - Robin got to sit with the children at the "Kids Table" - we had a lot of fun!

Jack and Ryan - so excited they could hardly settle down on Christmas Eve night - but after we scattered Jack's "Reindeer Food" on the front lawn, all three of our children hightailed it up to bed (they all slept in one room) and were asleep in just a few minutes. (It's amazing what motivation Santa brought to their bedtime routine!)

Cookie Baking with Gramma in Tennessee!!!

When we went to Tennessee for Christmas, our three children - along with their new baby cousin, William - got to carry on the tradition of making Christmas sugar cookies with Gramma! They had a BLAST! (although William wasn't quite sure about all this flour, dough and commotion.) Gramma Blankenship was so happy to have ALL of her beautiful grandchildren there to enjoy the festivities!

Gramma with William, Jack, Ashley and Ryan

Big Sister Ashley with little Ryan!

Things with Jack and Ryan begin to get a little bit messy!

Everyone diligently working together - with Ryan always grabbing for something he shouldn't have!

Are these little boys clowns or what?!?

Jack's Preschool Christmas Party - How Cute!

I have blogged before about how much we LOVE LOVE LOVE the boys' preschool, but I - once again - got to enjoy how wonderful this experience is for one of my kids at Jack's Christmas Party on the last Friday of school before the Christmas Holidays!

I was in charge of food - delicious (according to my eldest son) homemade cupcakes, white chocolate dipped prezel sticks and juice boxes! The other Moms had the cutest crafts and one of the dads had some wonderful games for the children. We finished the party with the reading of an adorable Christmas book. Here are some highlights of the party!

My silly boy, Jack and his friend, Olivia, enjoying their prezel sticks!

Mommy and silly Jack - having fun together at the party!

Jack making a Raindeer ornament - one of the crafts for the kids!

Jack and his sweet classmates playing a musical game!

Jack and his friend, Brooklyn, listening to the cute Christmas book that one of the Moms read to the children!

Christmas with the Rudisell Family!

Well - now that we are officially in the New Year, I guess I should summarize our Christmas celebrations, so here goes:

On Thursday night, December 18th, we had a wonderful Christmas dinner over at Robin's parents' home (about 15 minutes away) and had our Christmas celebration with them before we left for Tennessee. (We alternate Christmas and Thankgiving here and Tennessee every other year, so it was our year to have Thanksgiving in Texas and Christmas in Tennessee). We had an awesome time and the children had a blast!

Here is little Ryan "ripping" the paper from one of his presents from his Grandparents (an ESPN Baseball Batting Practice Toy!!!) We weren't sure if he enjoyed the toy more or the opening process!

Here is Jack with a favorite present of his from his Grandparents - a Policecar "Bed Tent"! (Ryan got a sports themed bed tent as well). What we have found is that the tents (and Jack's related police siren noise) are GREAT for during the day, but have to be taken off and stored during the night. Otherwise - these little guys NEVER go to sleep - it's all just too tempting!

Robin got a Chia Herb Garden - - - an unusual, unexpected - and actually quite useful gift - for someone who LOVES to cook! (Her Daddy bought this unique item for her! - Thanks Dad!)

Ashley got the famous pair of suede boots that she had been diligently searching for all Fall - a nice gift from her Grandparents! She has LOVED wearing them!

Just what my dear ol' Dad needs - - - a "Perfect Push Up" workout device. If that thing gives him a physique like that - maybe we ALL should invest in one!

Overall - we had a wonderful time celebrating a beautiful Christmas with our family and that's what is most important!