Lyman Christmas Parade

This morning, we met Mom and Dad in Lyman for the Christmas parade. It sleeted the whole time, but it was super fun. We got TONS of candy (that we do not need).

Welcome Katie!

Katie has finally decided to join us in the blogging world!

You can find her blog at:

kaptured-by-katie.blogspot.com

Christmas Activities

Just some pictures of what we've been doing:

Gavin filled our Advent calendar with candy for Jason.

One of my favorite ornaments on my tree - it's from Ten Thousand Villages in Greenville. If you've never been, it's on Augusta Road in the plaza with McAlisters Deli. It's a tax free shop that sells hand made goods from other countries. This woodwork is from a town near Bethlehem.

We all went to Pacolet Mill to see Christmas lights.

We road the "Polar Express" down to the amphitheater to see Santa.

Last week, Gavin rode the Westgate Mall Express.

Tickets are $4 per person...ridiculous! But it was worth it.

Last Friday, I had all my Bible study girls over for a party.

We had such a great time.

I thought it would be a good idea to "camp out" in the living room. Not. It was quite uncomfortable. By the wee hours of the morning, Gavin was turned sideways and tossing and turning, so I took him to his own bed; and I was super uncomfortable on the couch, so I climbed in our bed. Jason was left in the living room by himself to finish out the "camp out".

Last Sunday, Gavin and Karis played a Santa counting game.

They rolled a number cube and put that many M&M's on their game board.

The first person to fill the board wins.

Straight A Student

This man just finished his first semester at school.

Dad took 4 classes: Professional English, Religion, Business Management, and Western Civilization. It was a long semester, not only for him, but for us too! He worked full time hours at work, and worked full time as a student too! And to earn an A in each of the classes - he deserves a shout out!

I love you Dad. And I'm so proud of your hard work!

Naughty is the New Nice

Last week, we had a baking day with our friends Eli, Caroline, and Davis. I thought it would be really cool to get a group shot with all the kids in front of Ms. Carly's beautiful tree. Gavin would not cooperate.

His t-shirt is perfect for these picture moments.

Naughty is the New Nice.

Family Pictures

We just had some pictures made. Katie did them for us and did a spectacular job. The best part was how patient she was with Gavin (you know he sits still only for about 1 milli-second). Here are just a few of my favorites out of the hundreds that she took.

Gavinisms

Do you see this sweet face?

Don't let it fool you.

There's a sneaky little crazy person hidden inside!

Here are some of the latest words out of the mouth of my babe.

• All 3 of us were at Bi-Lo and we were at the checkout paying for our groceries. The bag boy was a young teenager with an earring in his ear. Gavin, being the observant child that he is, noticed the boy’s piercing. As we walked by him, Gavin said, “Hey! I thought only girls have earrings! He’s not a girl!”
• I have gained some weight over the past few months, so my belly is a little large to say it nicely. After dinner one night, I was sitting on the couch. Gavin walked up to me out of the blue, rubbed my belly, and said, “Mommy, your belly is big! You have a baby in your belly?” No, sweet Gavin, I’m just getting fat.
• One evening, Jason and I were in the living room watching TV, and Gavin was running around playing. I noticed he had gotten quiet (which is always a bad sign). I yelled, “Gavin! Where are you?!” He yelled back, “In here!”…his voice coming from the pantry. “What are you doing?!” I asked. “Pee peeing!” I jumped up and went into the pantry, and caught him peeing in Jason’s container of sunflower seeds. Jason grabbed the seeds from him and asked, “Did you pee in my sunflower seeds?” “No,” Gavin sweetly replied. “My friend did.”
• Nana never used to let us sit or stand on her dining room table…EVER. But since she has had grandchildren, she lets them do just about anything. One evening after dinner at Nana’s house, Gavin was crawling around on top of the table. Kelli was still eating her dinner. Gavin crawled over to her on all fours, bent down, and starting licking and eating out of her plate like an animal.
• We were at the Gaffney Outlet stores doing some shopping. It was late and most people had left already. In the food court, there were a group of about 6 or 7 black men (kind of rough looking) sitting together eating a late dinner. As we walked by them, Gavin yelled excitedly and pointed, “Look! Look! Stop! Look!” We thought he saw a bubble gum machine or some kind of ride he wanted to get on. We asked, “Gavin what are you talking about?” “Look at all those black mans!” We very quickly rushed out the door.
• Again, all 3 of us were out Christmas shopping at TJ Maxx. We pulled over to the right side of the aisle to look at something. And another lady pulled up to the left side of the aisle next to our buggy to look at something. This was a nice looking, presentable lady. However, she had big poofy black hair, was wearing an animal dress with a turquoise scarf, and pointy black boots. Gavin pointed at her and said, “Look, there’s a witch!” The lady said, “What did you say?!” She laughed and was very pleasant, but Jason and I were mortified!
• Last week on one of those cold windy days, I took Gavin to the Mall to see Santa and ride the new Westgate Mall Express train. We had parked at Dillard’s. On our way out, I stopped at the door to put our jackets on. Another lady stopped right beside us and was doing the same thing. As I bent down to zip up Gavin’s jacket, he said, “Shoo, Mommy, your breath stinks!” The lady started laughing, and I just shook my head and simply said, “Thank you son.”

My mama is so lucky to have her friends. Here are the ya-ya's.

Today we went to the Veteran's Day parade in Spartanburg.

I'm so thankful for those who have served on our behalf.

I turned cartoons on this afternoon for Gavin while I was in the shower. When I got out, I wondered why I didn't hear anything (usually that's a bad sign in this house). But thankfully, this was why...

At mom's last night, Gavin came into the kitchen all dressed up.

This is our current behavior plan for Gavin. He can earn stickers for his paper if he does certain things when we ask, or there's no fussing, or he eats lunch/dinner without playing in his food, etc. I bought a big pack of stickers that he gets to choose from. Today, he earned a sticker for helping me clean up toys without complaining, and he also helped me vacuum carpet and clean the bathroom. The one we're stressing the most is laying down at night or during naptime without getting out of bed a million times. When he earns 5 stickers, he gets a prize. So far, it's working! We have had a few moments of fussiness, but then he says, "I don't get a sticker, do I?" So I know he understands. I just wonder how long this will last!

Few Fun Pics

We have ENTIRELY TOO MUCH candy from Halloween festivities. Gavin actually enjoyed trick or treating this year. We went to several Trunk or Treats, and then to several friends' neighborhoods. We are trick or treated out. Here are a couple of pictures from this past week and tonight.

My little football player

We always have a bon fire at mom and dad's house.

The kids raked the leaves in a big pile, so we enjoyed playing around in them.

We did some trick or treating in Greer with my friend Kelly.

Artist Jason Varner carved our pumpkins. He loves doing this every year - and you gotta know that the basic pumpkin face would not be good enough. He always finds templates to use. Can you tell who this is? (The other pumpkin was Bowser from Mario Brothers.)

My two sleepy heads this afternoon.

My scary little ghost

Gavinism

Before I tell you what he said, let me set the stage: Gavin came into the bathroom one morning a couple of weeks ago while I was getting out of the shower and drying off. He's seen me naked many times, but this time was different obviously. He brought his head close to my mid-section and looked seriously and said, "Mommy, where's your winkie?" I responded, "Mommies don't have winkies. Only boys and daddies have winkies." That was the end of the conversation. So, the other morning, when Gavin was waking up, I walked into his room and found him with his hand down his pants. I asked him what he was doing and he said, "It's big. My winkie is big." I told him, "I know I know. Sometimes that happens. Take your hands off it and it'll go back down." He continued messing with it, so I said, "Gavin, leave it alone. If you mess with it too much, it might fall off." He looked concerned for a split second and then said, "Fall off? Like your winkie did?" Yes, Gavin, like my winkie did.

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

"Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens...These are a few of my favorite things." I love that song. These are a few of my favorite things right now:

I use this sugar scrub when I have time to really enjoy a shower and want to pamper myself. It leaves my skin so soft and moisturized. It smells fantastic. I especially love to use it right after I shave my legs. My legs stay soft for days afterward.

I stole some of this Estee Lauder Resilience Lift Extreme from mom's house. She had 2 small jars, so I figured she could spare one. I use it before I put my make up on in the mornings. It has made a big difference in how my make up goes on.

Why spend extra money on St. Ive's Apricot Scrub when Target's Up & Up brand is just as good? I love apricot scrubs, but they've always been really harsh on my face. Target's brand is a little different than what I've used in the past. It's gentler, and smells better.

And this is another one from mom. I use Kiss My Face lotion after I wash my face at night before bed. It has a bit of a sting to it because it has alpha hydroxy in it, but it's so worth it! My face has never been so soft!

Do you have any favorites that you use to pamper yourself?

Pictures

Sheriff Woody (after bath time)

Caught in Nana's make up

Byrnes Football Game

Apple Pickin' at Stepp Farms in Hendersonville

Looking at Pumpkins at Lyda Farms