Naughty Elves

Our naughty little elves have gotten into a bit of trouble...

I sent this picture to my sister and she thought he died :( No he will live to deliver more trouble tomorrow. 

As you can see, Dash decided to make a snow angel on the counter...he kidnapped my cutting board for 24 hours!  Poor Tinsel, she is so ashamed of his naughty behavior!

Three out of four isn't too bad! Sebastian just enjoys unwrapping them...he still has not gained a love for books despite my efforts to find ones that are interactive!

Book two in our Christmas reading adventure!

She's in the terrible reaching  phase...can't sit still, have to touch everything!!!

Unconventional Parent

I have come to realize that I am not the conventional parent, I don't do things by the book or the way my parents did or how your supposed to do it...I do it my way, the way I've done things my whole life. I am not saying I don't read 'how to' articles or that I don't ask for advice or help from a seasoned parent but I can't say that I don't see their point and then tweak it just a bit. I am pretty sure that every milestone my son and daughter have passed was accomplished through out of the box thinking. 

My perfect example is sleep training my 2 year old son...everyone and I mean EVERYONE had an opinion on how I should go about doing it. I can't even tell you how many times I heard I would regret my methods and how I was spoiling him or ruining his independence but I just couldn't do it the way the "experts" say it should be done. I can't listen to my child cry and weep because he wants to be near me, not because he got in trouble or didn't get his way but really cry for hours because he was alone in a cell we call a crib. I felt more like I was punishing him for not learning how to put himself to sleep...a task he should somehow have learned before speaking, feeding himself, sitting, standing, walking or knowing the difference between make believe and reality. Why do we have so much patience and encouragement in teaching our children to crawl and so little in teaching them how to rest? 

If you have met my son then you know how sweet he is. If you are one of the few lucky ones who have had the privilege of spending a night with him then you know better than anyone how precious he is during bedtime and even more so when he gets up in the morning. I did it the "wrong" way according to most but my son did not sleep in his own crib until he was 18 months old! 

We are one of the only species who has live birth and then make our babies sleep in a separate area from us...makes you think a bit right? Cats, dogs, cows, wolves, lions, tigers...all keep their babies  "kangarooing" as they call it in the hospital, until their babies are in adolescence. Not really sure I want to share my bed that long but if I am going to invest in making and raising a perfect little person then I can sacrifice for 18 months. Now I'm not saying everyone should do this....I am an EXTREMELY light sleeper, a small movement wakes me up, so I never had a fear of rolling onto him and I never put covers on him. I am saying, if you are a new mom or dad, read the articles, take the millions of pieces of advice BUT then do it your way....pick the way you think is best for your baby! You will make mistakes but your smart choices will outweigh them. Raise your child the way you want and treat them how you would have wanted to be treated, they may be young but they deserve respect as well. 

I have many more parenting "dont's" but I'll spare you all those terrible details and just keep posting an astronomical number of pictures of my two life prizes! I am going to continue to do things the "wrong" way and enjoy every minute of the beautiful children I am raising! 

Our 1st, 3rd and 6th Thanksgiving Celebration

As the title of this post clearly states...it was Paisley's 1st Thanksgiving, Sebastian's 3rd and mine and Jonathan's 6th Thanksgiving together! Wow...it feels like we've been together for a long time but actually counting up the years just seems crazy, 6 years!

It was a great celebration with tons of tasty foods! I made my first ever cheesecake...snickerdoodle, it was not pretty but tasted great! I also made my usual corn casserole (Jonathan's favorite), a new cranberry punch recipe and new pumpkin fluff dip as an appetizer...all were very tasty! 

We celebrated at Mamie and Pops' house (my parents) and most of the usual, large gang, showed up 😋!

Both of the babies got dressed up for the holiday and in a very rare occurrence....I got a picture of them BOTH SMILING!

She is so proud of her new found ability to stand!

I told him one more picture then it was time to leave and so he was sure to make me keep my promise...

Paisley is so cute when she is gumming all her Cheerios!

Sebastian looked studdly in his tie...

She is also much more happy to help in the kitchen then her older brother.

She was more of a mascot then an actual help...

Sebastian passed on the turkey and everything else and instead opted for some nuggets...he is very hard to please!

He then settled down for snooze.

Another great day to be thankful for so many things! I am MOST THANKFUL for my beautiful home, stable jobs, a full pantry, the ability to stay home and raise my babies, spending everyday with the LOVE OF MY LIFE...

AND being blessed to be the mama to two of the most incredible children in the world! 

I LOVE MY LIFE! 

Traditions have begun...

It is December first and the beginning of many wonderful new and old traditions! I am so happy to be able to continue some of my childhood traditions with my babies, like Santa, advent calendar and choosing our Christmas tree! Our new traditions are just as exciting and I am not sure if I enjoy them more or the kids!

It began with the yearly trip to the mountains to pick out our tree!

He hasn't seen much snow in his little life...it was fun to play with.

We chose the most beautiful one on the farm!

The monumental task of getting it inside the house!

Back over to Mamie and Pops' house to help decorate the family tree!

Next, it was time to tackle the tree and holiday decor in our home!

A new tradition in our household is our elves "on the shelf"... Dash is very naughty and gets into a lot of mischief while keeping an eye on his assignment, Sebastian!

Tinsel is more of a lady and likes to watch her assignment in a more proper fashion!

I have really been looking forward to the 24 nights of book reading! Our first book was selected from the basket and we read it by the tree. Paisley really enjoyed playing with the paper!

Sebastian was present but refused a picture...boys!

Paisley finds the tree quite fascinating.

Lastly, for now, we begin the lighting of the advent candles with dinner each night...a tradition I enjoyed as a child.

I have one more tradition I am beginning this year but I cannot elaborate until it happens because I want it to remain a surprise 😋

What traditions do you continue to carry on?