Birthday x 80 and Santa Surprises!

December 13, 2008

Happy 80th Birthday, Grandmom!

Today we went to Smyrna and helped Grandmother celebrate her 80th birthday. There were 75 people expected at my mother’s house for an open house celebration of grandmother’s birthday. Well, open house idea didn’t really pan out as people came and stayed until 7 p.m. Actually it was 6:45 p.m. when a mass exodus occurred.

It was so nice to see so many relatives! Some of them were just meeting Alex for the first time.

At 5 p.m. a special visitor came to the house! Santa stopped by to speak with all the little ones and to tell them special stories. Alex did really well with Santa. Isn’t he adorable in his little green overalls? I love it!

Jeremy was so cute with Santa. Last year he wouldn’t get anywhere even close to Santa when he dropped by the house. He stared in awe but was a little weary. This year was a completely different story. He could not wait to sit on Santa’s lap and in fact, he was the first one up there!

He told Santa everything that he wanted and after he was through with his extensive list, Santa asked, “Have you been good enough to get all that stuff this year?” Jeremy got a strained look on his face, and quiet for a minute, he looked toward his  mother. She offered, “Well, he certainly is trying to be good now.” The story just gets even more cute.

As Alex was sitting on Santa’s lap, Jeremy stood off to the side next to his mother. He said, wondrously, “Santa, I *know* you’re watching me now.”

A little later, Jeremy was worried because Julia was with her daddy and wasn’t there to tell Santa her wishes. So he went to Santa and asked, “Santa, do you know what Julia wants for Christmas because she’s not here to tell you?” He was so worried that Santa wouldn’t bring anything for Julia. It was so heart-warming.

Santa told Jeremy a story of how he is able to put the presents under the tree of houses that don’t have chimneys. He has a magic key… a magic key that can open any door to let him in. See it in the picture?

Grandmother sat at Santa’s lap too… I wasn’t fast enough with the camera though. I only caught her standing next to him.

Happy Birthday, Gram!

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas

December 7, 2008

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas;
Soon the bells will start,
And the thing that will make them ring is the carol that you sing
Right within your heart.

And at our house, we went and got our tree! It was FREEZING outside and most especially windy. Alex must’ve been thinking, “What in the world are mommy and daddy doing??? It’s cold out here!” We dressed him up in his winter’s warmest with his new LLBean jacket, his hat with earflaps and most importantly his new mittens. We probably should have still had him wrapped up in a blanket too! We go to a tree farm about a mile and a half from our house. We’ve been going there for four years now, I think, and this year was the first year we knew we were allowed to DRIVE to where you cut down the tree. Every year, we hiked across a field, Adam sawed down the tree and we carried/dragged the tree back across the field to where the cashier’s hut is. You bet this year was a lot easier!

Cindy started boxes of ornaments for her children and for Andrew as they were growing up. It is really cool actually. Adam and Andrew have memories associated with a lot of the ornaments on our tree… and they have special boxes of ornaments that they hang themselves.

In this tradition, I started buying ornaments for Alex this year for him to take with him when he has his own home. (As selfish as I am though, I am buying two of each so I still have them when he leaves ) I’m not sure what he thinks of the tree…

…looks a little uncertain, doesn’t he?

Under my tree

December 7, 2008

Yes, under the tree. Interestingly, he hasn’t harassed any of the ornaments… yet.

2008 brought much to be thankful for

November 27, 2008

Blessings I’m thankful for:

• A happy, healthy, beautiful “little turkey”
• A happy, healthy, handsome husband
• A happy, healthy, handsome stepson
• A happy, healthy, wonderful family
• Fabulous Friends
• A homey, lived in house
• A positively inspiring place to work

I don’t know why there is only one day a year where we take the time to reflect on all that we have to be thankful for. I watch the news and think, I’m glad to live in a country where I am free. And I am thankful for those who are fighting for my freedom.  I’m thankful for a husband who loves me and does not abuse me. I am thankful to have a home to live in and job to go to every day.

I am thankful for the miracle of childbirth and for the healthy baby boy it brought me. I am thankful for the wonderful nurses and doctors who helped me through it. And I am thankful for family and friends who helped me transition to the wonder of motherhood.

There is so much more I am thankful for as well. Blessings come in all shapes and sizes.

Ten Kendig family blessings are below.

(l. to r.) Andrew, Alex, Jordyn, Kyle, Jada (standing), Wesley, Alexis, Jenna, Paige and Dylan.

Happiness is a frame of mind…

November 25, 2008

I work at home on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which means I get to work while my little man happily plays in front of me. Yes, Alex needs a haircut. No, I’m not going to cut it. Yet. Would you really be able to cut off those curls???

It’s smiles like these that make me treasure my days at home. Whether working or weekends, who can have a bad day when you see this?

Absolute Perfection in an Angel’s Lullaby

November 2, 2008

Reba McEntire’s Angel’s Lullaby delivers the words in my heart.

Angels Lullaby

Midnight moonlight shining through the curtain lace
Paints a perfect picture on your perfect face
One sweet angel sleeping in my arms
You are the promise I knew God would keep
You are the gift that makes my world complete

And you’ll never know how much I love you
But I’ll keep on telling you my whole life through
Now I believe in miracles, and you’re the reason why
So dream on while I sing you my angel’s lullaby

Phillies win the World Series!

Ha ha… Yes, we’re pretending this is the end of October.

The Phillies won the World Series this year and in celebrating, we purchased Alex his first Phillies ball cap. Tell me he’s not the absolute cutest Phillies fan you’ve seen!

I’m terrible at this

When I decided to start a blog about our family, I really did debate whether or not I’d be able to update it as faithfully as my friends do theirs. (Beth, kudos to you. You rock at that.) Since it’s been almost two months since my last posting, I think it’s safe to say… I’m not good at this. In my defense, I’d just like to state that when I have a moment that I am not working, cooking, trying to keep a clean house, etc., I like to spend time with Alex. Spending time with Alex is my addiction. I cannot get enough of him.

All that being said, you’ll see some updates from the past few months coming soon. We’re going to do the pretend game again, where we pretend I wrote them at the appropriate moments. Don’t you like that game???

From milestones to stepping stones

Big news on the Alexander-front. Breaking news actually!

I am so proud of my little boy.

Alex took two steps tonight. Two! One, two.

Tonight was the night. Yes, it was.

I could cry. He is getting so big.

Time goes by too fast. I’m trying to enjoy every moment, knowing it just keeps getting better.

Life is good. Babies make it even better.

Congratulations, Alex!

Happy Halloween!

Okay, so I’m a week late. Life happens.

On Halloween Friday, Alex’s daycare had a Halloween parade over to the main campus. Alex was a giraffe this year… and honestly, must be the cutest giraffe ever.

Oh my goodness, he is adorable.

Anyway, back to the Halloween Parade, Alex and his buddy, Will, didn’t seem to really know what to think about all the teenagers lined up along the walkway. Alex looks like Grumpy the Giraffe, doesn’t he?

For my usually happy and contented boy, he certainly was not himself in that photo! The pic was provided by my coworker, Jean. Hopefully I have a couple of better ones on my camera that I can post later.

Alex and I stayed in Smyrna for Halloween night and after a total of 7 trick-or-treaters at my mother’s house, we went to visit her coworker, Vicki.

The next day we went and had new pictures taken of Alex. I LOVE them. The Picture People in Dover Mall rocks… well a girl named Juli who works there rocks. Not sure about the other photographers!

We’ll call these 9-month-old photos.

As a side note, Alex now stands by himself. Unbelievable. So amazing.