Tis the Season...

Christmas is my favorite time of year. It always causes me to reflect and judge whether Santa would think I had been naughty or nice. Hmmm....

Now that I have children I feel more passionate about making the holiday season mean something more than just presents and good food. I want them to understand that Christmas is about the birth of Jesus and how truly incredible this is. I wonder if I even realize how amazing this is and how blessed we are to be able to celebrate Him.

So I am struggling with how to start new, special traditions that reflect family time and learning about Christ. Those are my 2 priorities. My sister and I talked about making it a point to email each other scripture every day and sharing how it touched our hearts. Perhaps this season will grow my faith more than ever thanks to the inspiration from my babies and family. I love the idea of the advent calendar where you can incorporate family activities like reading a story together, watching a movie, baking together, reading scripture, writing a heartfelt note to your family, playing a game, etc. I am trying to come up with ideas so pass yours along!

We've already gotten to do our first Christmas tradition and it was SO fun! The weekend after Thanksgiving we meet up with my sister and her kids and drive to Bellville to the Christmas Tree Farm while listening to Christmas music. We actually cut down our very own tree! It is so fun walking up and down the rows of fresh trees looking for the perfect tree for our house. Then we proceed to take a million pictures of "the one" and then the sawing begins...yes, you actually use a saw and cut it down youself. This year we decided we were going to buy a pretty fir tree for our main tree and cut down a small tree for the kids. We take pictures with Mrs. Claus and have lunch afterwards. It's a full day devoted just to our Christmas tree. What fun! Here's a few pictures from the tree farm.

How about this one?...too big!

I think this is the one!

Final decision

Saw it down! Lexie is good at giving orders...

How cute is this!? Lexie's trying to drag the tree to the trailer.

I'm bored...can't I just play in the dirt?

The Albright clan...we love you guys and have so much fun doing this together!

Fall Photo Shoot

I had my dad take some pictures of us recently to see if we could get a good one for our Christmas card. Here's a few of them.

Thanks dad!

Video Crazy

So lately I have been taking a ton of pictures but I also like the feature on my little camera to take a quick video clip. So here's a few that I have taken lately of Lexie and her wild antics. She's hilarious.

Spinning until she is dizzy

This is of her trying to play with Tripp and make him laugh like we do...

Swinging elmo....she does this to Tripp though too!

Trying to blow bubbles...

Craigslist addiction! HELP!!

Ok...so maybe I spend too much time on the computer, but it has been worth it! I have bought many many toys on craigslist at such great prices! I've got it all set up now that I leave the page open all day and just walk over to my computer every now and then and click refresh to see what new toys have been listed. Many of the good items go fast so you have to check often to be the first to respond. I get some funny sort of satisfaction knowing I got a good deal!

The first thing I bought was a discontinued little tikes peek a boo tunnel. It's darling and have had it a year and we use it every day! I also bought a sterilizer and a bottle warmer for $5 each. This summer I bought a swing set! I emailed the lady within an hour of her posting it, and she said she had gotten 5 emails in that hour! I felt like I had "won" even though I had to fork over $200!! Brand new it would have been well over $500. The greatest deal I have gotten was a new playhouse for Lexie. I just purchased it 2 weeks ago and most of the used ones on there are still listed at $100 or more. However, I caught this one quickly for $30!! I know they could have gotten a lot more money for it. I almost felt guilty only paying $30! It was supposed to be a Christmas present but Randall couldn't wait. He set it up in the backyard and man... the excitement and look on her face was worth a million bucks! After her ecstatic reaction we realized why it's so easy to spoil your kids. It made us feel so good to make her so happy! Yikes!

Quick other story... one weekend Randall was having a poker tournament and he needed one more poker tabletop so I hopped on craigslist, found one close by, was able to get it that same day(which was the day of the tournament) for only $10!! Now I may be just looking for good deals instead of things that I truly want to buy, so I am probably going to end up spending way more money than if I would have just bought the few items I really wanted brand new! Ha! I have even been helping my sister and a friend look for specific toys on there.

So yes, I have a problem! Someone please help me make room for new toys because I don't see myself quitting...OK maybe after Christmas time! Here's a little taste of what I've gotten...

Lexie in the tunnel at 9 months old

Come in mom!

My new rock n ride trike

2 months old!

So my little man is now 2 months old! Most people say that this time has gone by so fast, however, it has gone by really slow to me! Ha. The hurricane really threw us off and dealing with a jealous and needy Lexie seemed to make it drag on.

Oh what joy he has brought into my life though! His sweet smile and the way he snorts when he cries are all unique to him. His innocent little coos and heavy breathing when he's happy brings a joyous smile to my face. I love to rub his soft skin and smell his little head.

The doctor said he may be one of those kids that snorts when he laughs! Haha. That cracks me up just thinking of it... He is 90th percentile for height and 75th percentile for weight. He is such an incredible baby and although I shouldn't, I can't help but compare him and Lexie.

I can't help but wonder what the future brings for him and what his little personality will be like. Whatever he becomes I know my love for him will always be unconditional.

Last night he slept 8 hours for the first time! I hope it happens again tonight! I feel so blessed to be at home with him and to be his mom. Here's a few pictures of my handsome guy. I think he looks just like a mini Randall...how fitting!

So Proud...

Last November Randall set out to shed some pounds. He had gotten to his heaviest weight ever (220 lbs) and knew that he needed to do something. Neither of us is a fan of dieting and know that for us it wouldn't last, so he decided to make a complete lifestyle change. He basically started cutting back on his meal portions. He used to eat until he was stuffed. He almost completely cut out sweets except the occasional birthday party. He tried to be very realistic! We don't really buy much junk food in our house so that wasn't too hard. For dessert we would make healthy smoothies. He started eating plain oatmeal for breakfast with a banana smashed in it to give it a little sweetness. I HAVE to have some kind of sweetener in my oatmeal. However, he has gotten used to it and eats it everyday at work! He used to always be a big meal kind of guy for dinner but has learned that if he has a big lunch at work to just eat cereal for dinner. I could eat cereal for every meal so I was happy the first time he came home and said "Let's just eat cereal."

What else comes with losing weight besides your eating habits?....EXERCISE! This part of it was going to affect me since it would eat in to the time he would be at home. Since Lexie was born he had stopped going to the gym so he could get home ASAP to be with her and we could have family time. It was hard for him and me to say that definite YES you need to go to the gym! However, he made that commitment to start working out Mondays and Tuesdays at Lifetime Fitness and then Wednesdays he plays basketball with some guys at work. Then he would run on the weekends around the neighborhood. Many times I had to bite my tongue and not say anything when I really wanted him to come straight home after work rather than go to the gym! I knew he needed to do this. He is the most determined person I know. When he sets out to accomplish something you better believe he is going to do it! I didn't want to be the one to mess up his goals! He started keeping a graph of his weightloss each week and started seeing some immediate results.

So fast forward to 1 year later and I am so proud to tell you that he has lost the weight and actually more than his goal! He looks SO amazing! I can really see it in his face. I am kicking myself for not taking some pictures along the way! He has lost 30 + pounds!! Thirty pounds is just a tad more than what Lexie weighs! Imagine taking that much weight off your body...everything feels better! Here are some of the only pictures I could find that might show you the before and after... WAY TO GO HONEY! I AM SO PROUD OF YOU! Now it's my turn!

Before...

And After!!

The Small Things...

One of the things I love about Lexie's age is watching her get so excited about the simplest stuff. Lately everytime she sees a school bus while we are driving she goes crazy with happiness. Who knew that seeing a yellow bus could bring someone such happiness? It's the same with a train. As we drive down Highway 90 along side the train tracks I am usually just hoping that we see a train. I am starting to get just as excited as her mostly because I am thrilled to see her so filled with joy. Birds are another favorite of hers. Usually when we get out of the car in the parking lot we spend a few minutes watching the birds eat. A few times we have seen a real lizard climbing on our swing set and she gets into a game of hide and seek with him as she is trying to catch him! I hate the disappointment when we can no longer find him. As we drive through neighborhoods she is always on the look out for pumpkins, and I find myself driving those routes of houses that I know have pumpkins or some sort of decorations in their yard. The list goes on an on... bubbles, playing in the rain, her blankie, playing peek a boo, when she thinks the dogs are chasing her, Elmo. All of these things make her face light up with the biggest, sweetest smiles ever and those smiles are one of the biggest joys of my day... We often take life so seriously and Lexie has really taught me to sit back and just enjoy some of the little things life has to offer. I've never been so happy to see a school bus in my life! There are too many "small" things in this life that we take for granted. You can check out a video below of Lexie holding a lizard....

I've got a bubble stuck on my hand!

See the lizard?Playing in the rain

Dewberry Farm

OK...so sorry for all the posts in such a short time. I just feel like I have a lot of catching up to do!

The Dewberry farm is a neat place and it's only about 40 min or so from our house. The only thing that bums me out is that they don't actually have dewberries! Lexie should enjoy it more and more each year. Many of the activities she is still too small for. Here are some of the things we did...

Feed the goats

Could not get any good photos in the pumpkins.

But I got some sweet ones in the flowers. This was one of her favorite things to do....run through the flowers and chase butterflies.

Corn maze

She also really loved playing in the haystack

Give me some more of that turkey leg!

Snow cones! A refreshing finish to a hot, fun day!

One of the main reasons you go to the farm is to take the hay ride to the pumpkin patch and pick your own. However, Lexie was afraid of the hay ride...here she is pointing and crying to get off... maybe next year!

And I didn't forget about Tripp. He did go along with us, and here was his favorite activity the whole time!!

Halloween Fun!

This Halloween was a fun one since Lexie somewhat knew what was going on. We had a playgroup Halloween party the Sunday before, which was a blast! Our great friends Bridget, John, and Jack hosted for us and really outdid themselves! We had a bounce house, pumpkin craft, pumpkin hunt, and cute kids all dressed up in costumes. Mine, of course, was the cutest!! We have spent so much time with these friends that I love all of their little kids dearly. I have gotten to watch them grow since around 3 months old when we started our playgroup. They have become some of our best friends and I am so grateful to have had them throughout this whole raising children experience.

Halloween night we were so excited. Randall was going to go hunting that weekend but decided to stay home for Halloween. I am so glad he did! Hunting is a whole other post that I will have to get to later! We got Lexie dressed up in her lion costume and Tripp in his Tiger costume and tried to get Lexie pumped up about going to grandma's. For some reason she kept on the head piece to her costume! We had been practicing for a few weeks and she wouldn't even let me get close to her head with it! We took the kids to each grandparent's house to trick or treat. We made her knock on the door....we never knock on the door at their house so she was confused and not happy. However, she waited and waited and as soon as the door opened she just darted straight inside and didn't care to get anything in her bag. She just wanted to go play. I guess we should have tried a stranger's house, however, she may have made herself right at home there too, who knows?

Hmmm...What is taking so long?

Afterwards we went to my sister's house and joined in their Halloween party. They have a great neighborhood where everyone is out and does a lot for Halloween. I was going to take Lexie trick or treating there, but I couldn't pull her away from the candy. She never gets candy but it was too hard to tell her no this night. It was everywhere!

My first lollipop

Party Poopers!