'Twas the Week Before Christmas...

I absolutely love the fact that at Christmas, there is always something special going on that we can do. These extra activities were especially nice this week as we endured our SECOND straight week of rain. One of the highlights was our visit with Santa. Caroline has never been comfortable being held by anyone but Chad or me, but Aly has had stranger anxiety creep in only in the past 6 months or so. We had been talking about the visit, colored pictures to give to him, waited in line (behind a school trip!), but both girls LOST it when the moment came. Needless to say, I was in the picture too. I've included pictures from last year and this year:

Last Year's Visit with Santa...

...and this year's!

Ever since our trip to the ballet, Aly is absolutely taken with the Nutcracker. She pretends that her friends are Fritz, Clara, and Uncle Drosselmeyer...I woke her up from nap a couple days ago and she had put on her black-patent-leather shoes and said when I opened the door, "I'm getting ready for the party, Mama! I'm going with Clara and Fritz!" She sleeps with her Program that we got, and this is how Chad and I found her several nights ago:

Visions of Sugarplum (Fairies) Dance in her Head

I always pictured Caroline being a newborn forever. I am proved wrong day by day! She seems to be growing an inch a day, and this week she started throwing tantrums! I guess that she, too, has her own little personality! She is still just as sweet as can be, and imitates everything that Aly does.

Caro wears her thinking cap!

Playing with Dolls

Merry Christmas, everyone!!

A Recipe for Disaster...and Some Pictures.

Well, I got lazy and tried to TRIPLE a recipe for cookies tonight...as usually happens when I make a bigger-than-recommended recipe...I screwed up. 3 times the amount of butter! So, my kitchen is a wreck, I feel like a complete Scrooge because my neighbors are no longer getting cookies, and Chad is on the road recruiting. So why not catch up on reading blogs!

Aly had her Christmas program on Thursday. It's funny, because at home she is such a performer; she sings into anything she can get her hand on, dances around, and yells, "Ladies and Gentleman!" But on Thursday during the 2-year-old's single performance, she stood there! But what a cutie, stage fright and all!

I took the girls on a little trip to Nashville this weekend. Chad had a tournament (we only made it to about a half of one game!), but I got to spend the weekend with my best friend from Farmville, Cortney, and three-fourths of her kids! Her parents live there, so we stayed with them and just had a ball catching up and hanging out! I just have to laugh when I think of the two of us driving through her parents' beautifully lit neighborhood with a car packed with kids- the two of us belting out Christmas songs while the kids yelled, "Can we turn the movie back on?!" Ahh, Christmas memories for everyone!

Lillie Claire, Lizzy, and Aly...pre-performance

Mama, Daddy, and our little 'show-stopper'

The "Two's"

Caroline, Emma, and Aly (in Nashville)

Mademoiselle Aly

I think that from the day that we found out that we were having a girl, I've been looking forward to Sunday. I grew up going to the Nutcracker Ballet every year with my mom, and on Sunday, I got to take Aly... and she LOVED it. She was honestly captivated by the entire performance and absolutely lost it when it was over and we got up to leave. The day was one of the most fun I've had with her, and I look forward to many many more years of it! We made the trip to Atlanta (along with Chad's mom- Big D), ate lunch at the Steak and Shake, and got to The Fox in plenty of time to climb up and look down from the balcony, visit the orchestra, and look through the program.
Caroline got to spend the entire day with Daddy, which she thoroughly enjoyed. I'm not sure if she's going to be a Nutcracker fan yet...I can't imagine her sitting still that long right now! But I do look forward to finding what it is that will also captivate her. Right now, we're just all enjoying the impromptu ballets we get to watch in the kitchen every morning with our own little Prima Ballerinas!

Lunch at Steak and Shake

Outside of the Theatre

On the 6th of December, my True Love gave to me...

An arm-full of sweet little girls!

Gobble, gobble!

I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving, and a fun time with family! We don't have another game until tomorrow so Chad had NO practice on Thursday, so we had a great day all together. I'm sure that this is typical of all kids, but ours' don't seem to get sick until weekends and holidays. Our pediatrician's office was closed from Thursday until tomorrow (Monday), so it was not a surprise that poor Aly woke up with a fever Wednesday night!! She was just miserable all day Thursday and Friday; we took her to Urgent Care on Friday morning to find out that she had pneumonia, bless her heart. The upside to being sick on Thanksgiving (at least for a little girl) is that it is the perfect excuse to watch 2 hours of Macy's Parade! Antibiotics work wonders, and she is back to old Aly. Caroline woke up with a fever this morning...OFFICE STILL CLOSED! I'm sure that to our doctor this break has flown by, but it seems like that office has been closed forever!

I think that the lesson that we work on DAILY at our house since Caroline has gotten old enough to play is "Taking Turns". I can see why it's so tempting for parents to buy two of everything! The latest is both girls wanting to dress up as a princess (we only have ONE dress!) This has been Aly's daily uniform for the past month, and now Caroline wants to wear it too! The other pictures are just a few from the past few days. Oddly enough, I did not take ANY pictures on Thanksgiving! We had Chad's parents, sister, brother-in-law and our niece and nephew over, along with a few players...I guess that with Aly being sick and having a house-full, I completely forgot about pictures!

My parents are coming December 24th, so the countdown has officially begun! We have an Advent calendar to count days in December...I can't decide if we're counting the days until Christmas or Nana and Papa! Can't wait to see y'all!!

Just your EVERYDAY princess...

...and Caroline's turn

Playing in the leaves (pre-pneumonia!)

Caroline getting to play with Play-doh

What kind of mom takes a picture of her sick, miserable child?!

Good Morning!

A Blogging Vacation

I want to say that I'm sorry to all of you family members (and even some friends!) who check up on us from time to time on this blog. We have been busy these past few weeks, and I can honestly say that I have forgotten about this thing! I don't think that I've built in time for sharing pictures since the season has started! But we're good here, and trying to emphasize the importance of Thanksgiving with the excitement of Christmas getting closer and closer! I have to laugh, though, because Aly's absolute excitement about Christmas right now has nothing to do with receiving gifts-- (I don't think she even knows that she gets gifts!)-- it's all about the decorations. She loves going inside of Walgreens, Kroger, and Michaels because of all of the snowman, Santas, and lights!

Below are a few random pictures that do a poor job of summing up our past few weeks...but it's a start!

Morning "Dance Parties" in the kitchen

The "Thanksgiving Feast" at Aly's school

The last few pictures are from Saturday. Chad had a game and a great win against a 10-ten team! I was supposed to go to the wedding of a girl who I had in a small group as a middle-schooler! (yikes, I'm getting old!!) while Chad had a special date planned for the girls. But by the time that the game was over and interviews were done, I still hadn't changed and I was going to be late for the wedding...so I accompanied my family on a celebratory carriage ride and dinner in Rome.

Caroline and Frosty, waiting for the carriage
A family shot...about as good as it gets these days!

Dancing Caroline

I told my mom on the phone a couple of nights ago that Caroline was dancing, so I wanted to post a video for her. Caroline is very proud that she can now 'twirl' just like her sister (though a card gets her totally distracted mid-dance!) I apologize in advance for the singing!

Off to Iraq (again!)

My older brother, Matt (older by only 8 months!) is being re-deployed to Iraq today. He was over there several years ago, and is going back for approximately 12 months. Please keep him, along with his wife, Jackie, and 15-month-old, Ava, in your prayers. Please pray for his safety and strength. Please pray that Jackie will have an abundance of patience and strength during this time. Thanks so much, and (at the risk of sounding corny...) God Bless America!

Happy Halloween, Biscuit!

As I mentioned in the previous post, my parents sent the girls a Halloween package which included the book, Happy Halloween, Biscuit. As is typical of all 2-year-olds, we have read that book repeatedly, probably 100-reads-per-day. Yesterday, Aly announced all day long to anyone in earshot, "Happy Halloween Biscuit!" I'm not sure if she thinks that this is the actual name of the 'holiday' or not! As we were telling Chad about the night this morning, I asked Aly, "When you walked up to somebody's door, what would you say?" (meaning 'trick-or-treat') and she responded with "I said, 'thank you'." Ahh--maybe repetition does pay off!

As for the basketball front, we lost in a very close game on Thursday night, but then had a BIG win last night. That shouldn't matter, but it's made our weekend a little happier! Nothing like sports to bring out the best in us all...

Here are a few pictures from last night. I'm not sure if we are EVER going to get a good picture of both girls together...I may have to start cutting and pasting! Regardless, we hope that you all had a very 'Happy Halloween Biscuit'

Are we having fun yet?

My sweet Bug, Caroline

Aly and BFF, Lizzy

Star-Gazing

Countdown...

It seems like the weeks are absolutely zipping by! The main countdowns in our household are are coming to an end: the first basketball game is TONIGHT and Halloween is TOMORROW! I've got a babysitter for the first game so that I can actually watch, and then all eyes are on the 31st! My parents sent the girls the book, Happy Halloween, Biscuit and now Aly is all about dressing up and trick-or-treating! More pictures to come...

Chad and the girls

Happy Boo to You!

Caroline working on walking and shopping

Aly and her friends (how we found her yesterday morning!)

Let's Hear it for the Boys!

I mentioned in an earlier post that the "basketball boys" had been over for dinner and witnessed Aly praying. I wanted to go ahead and post a few pictures of the girls entertaining the boys-- just as a way of documenting-- so that years from now I can look back and realize that it wasn't t.v., music, school, friends, or magazines that made our girls boy-crazy...it was US, and the company we keep!! The video that follows is Aly at Chad's first scrimmage last Tuesday. She went crazy cheering for the apple-of-her-eye, Tomas. How will we explain to her that Tomas is returning to Lithuania at the end of the year? I guess that's what recruiting is for! (The true apple of Aly's eye is and always will be Chad, by the way; while the teams were warming up and Chad was on the court, she kept yelling, "Look at me, Daddy, right now! Look at ME!!")

Pumpkin Patch Kids

We just can't seem to get enough Fall around here! We went to a pumpkin patch last week with some friends, and just loved it. There were hay mazes, hay rides, a petting zoo, and (of course!) pumpkins! I hope their memories of this season are as sweet as mine have always been!

Never 2 smiles in one picture!

Aly looking at a BIG turkey

On the hayride

Caroline's "Bulldog Face"

God, Our Father

Here is Aly praying at breakfast (just ignore the post-nasal-drip!) We had the team over for dinner on Friday night, and the guys were so sweet to listen and applaud her praying...to which she tried for a few encores!

The Fam. from Alabam.

The girls' Aunt Elizabeth (Chad's sister), Uncle Bill, and Cousins Warner and William were in town this past weekend, so we got to spend some time with them. Warner and William are awesome with the girls, and Aly is finally old enough to be able to enjoy them! We spent all of Sunday morning together, and even got a few pictures! We love you, Johnsons!

Warner, Aly, Big D, Caroline, and William

The Cousins looking at the River

Aunt Elizabeth, Caroline, and Warner

Aly and William

These Keds Were Made For Walking...

...and that's just what she'll do!

Mini-Cheerleaders

It is fall in the Warner home. The windows are open, the fair is in town, and basketball practice has begun. Chad started on Sunday, and I think we've made a good adjustment to the season so far. The girls and I have only made it to one practice, though I'm sure that as the weather gets colder, we'll make it to more and more. Aly is an all-time flirt, and LOVES the "basketball boys" (her favorite being Tomas whom she cheers for individually during games and even practice!) Though Caroline went to plenty of games and practices last season, this is the first time that she actually realized what was going on; she was enamored and watched intently the entire time we were there. The sweetest thing was a few minutes after watching when she finally realized that Daddy was out on the court and she started squealing, pointing, and looking back at me like, "Look who's here!!" Aly cried as we left, but that's kinda par for the course with her emotional state these days!

I took the girls to the fair today while Chad was at practice. Not one of my better ideas.

My girls have officially started boycotting pictures. They will not look at the camera, and when they do, it's usually not pretty. I've attached a couple of pictures, though, and a video of Aly doing a Georgia cheer Chad taught her...this is the same cheer that she is singing to "Cawo-yiney" in their room every morning around 6:30. She seems to have handled Georgia's loss last weekend better than most people around here!

"Princess Aly"

Daddy's Little Girl-part 2

The Invisible Woman

So, you have a bad day!

Yesterday was one of those days that by the time I got in bed, I had to give Chad a huge, "I'm sorry." It seemed like from the moment I woke up, things just went counter to how I would have planned them.
Just one quick (though disgusting) example:
I went into the girls' room to get them up from nap, knowing that we had a 'trip-to-Walmart-unload-groceries-and-cook-dinner" three hour-marathon in front of us. I walked in, gave Aly a kiss, then made my way over to Caroline's crib. She had taken off her diaper and wiped the contents of it all over herself, her crib, her sheets, and bumper pads. I had to laugh because it was really just par for the day.

So we drove out to Wal-mart. Aly cried the first 15 minutes we were in the store because I made her keep her stuffed animal in the car (even though this is ALWAYS a rule). We had about 15 minutes of fun shopping, and then Caroline cried from about the cereal aisle on. My friend Mandy has talked about her love/hate relationship with Wal-mart before, and I told her about the girl at the check-out whom I always get...she's from the North and always tells me about how annoyed she gets with "Dumb Southerners". Well, I got her again (she always has the shortest line, and with a crying baby, I take what I can get.) This is honestly how our conversation went:

Girl: Why is your daughter crying?
Me: Well, we've been here a long time, and she gets worn out by the end of the trip.
Girl: I don't think that parents should bring kids under about 3 or 4 grocery shopping.
Me: Hmm.
Girl: 'Cause I think the best time to shop is while their sleeping.
Me: Hmm.
Girl: I just hope that whenever I get married and have kids, my husband is willing to stay home with my kids so I don't have to take them shopping, until they're an appropriate age like 3 or 4.
Me: I hope that works for you.
I mean, really? And the whole time (as she's talking SO slowly), Caroline is losing it!

The frustrating thing was that there was still quite a bit of 'day' left, and I just couldn't get my bad attitude turned around. Poor Chad. By the time I got home from small group, it was 9:30 and I was about in tears.

But I can laugh about it now. And I guess that if that's my idea of a horrible day, I am indeed a blessed person!

Coach Daddy

Chad is at a coaching clinic this weekend--I know that he will have fun talking basketball and seeing friends. He is so sweet, though, because he's been genuinely upset about leaving us. Obviously as a coach, he is no stranger to being out of town...but we've had one of those "off-seasons" where we were able to spend a lot of time together as a family...and really enjoyed it! As excited as he is about the season starting up again, I appreciate the fact that leaving is a little tough for him...home is where his heart is! While I'm on the subject, I just want to brag on the fact that I truly believe that God created him to be a dad--and not just that, but a dad to GIRLS. Most of you who read this know that he is the sensitive one in this marriage: the cryer, the communicator, the Life-Time-channel watcher. We laugh at this from time to time, but I really think that he was created for this role...and what a job he does in that role! We love you, Daddy!

Aly and Daddy going to "Daddy's Dessert" at school

Tickly Monster

More Tickly Monster...

Sweet Caroline

While the cats are away, the mice will play!

Our weekend away in Chattanooga was wonderful ! We relaxed, ate out, and got to see our best friends from Farmville, Bubba and Cortney (they have just moved to Sewanee, TN). The girls had a great time and were very well-taken care of, thanks to Big D and Poppy. The best part of the weekend was getting to see the girls when we returned. Oddly enough, Aly was in absolute melt-down mode from the time she saw us yesterday until she finally went to bed...really bizarre. I can't help but think that she was probably just on emotion-overload after a weekend without us, and crying off-and-on throughout the afternoon was her way to express that. Bless her little heart! :-)

Aly riding her bike...

...and Caroline on her car

Dinner with Bubba and Cortney