Spring Fever!

Oh this weather has been so gorgeous :) Yesterday I took the kids up to Clark Creek Park to play on the playground there and it was definitely a milestone moment in my parenting! I actually sat on the bench, in the sun, while my children played on the playground!! Braxton climbed the stairs/ladder and went down the slide by himself and Reilly just played around doing whatever! It was so nice! And then, the pinnacle came when Reilly FINALLY understood how to pump her legs and swing by herself! We have, of course, been working on this for quite a while, but it hasn't ever really clicked for her. Yesterday, after I pushed her a few times, I could see her watching her shadow on the ground and she was doing all the proper movements with her body/legs so I could tell she was really trying to figure it all out. I gave her a bit more coaching and encouragement and within a few minutes, it all came together! Praise the Lord!! I actually got to sit and WATCH her swing, instead of break my arms pushing her over and over and "higher and higher"! It was fabulous :) And boy was she soooo excited!! When we got home, she wanted to go on to our playset and practice more swinging after naptime. So, we went out there and I got her started and off she went! The most precious part was listening to her while she was swinging. She was just praising God for everything! "Thank you God for this wonderful day! Thank you for the sunshine and blue skies! Thank you for the clouds and birds chirping! Thank you God for everything!" and then she looked at me, "Mommy, this is such a beautiful day!". I love that she is so full of praise and knows exactly Who deserves all the glory for the many blessings we have! It is such a gift.

Turner Christmas in the mountains

The day AFTER Christmas, we packed up and headed to Asheville for more Christmas celebrations :) All the Turners got together at Dave and Denise's house for an wonderful dinner and more gifts to exchange. Reilly had a blast with all the girl cousins on the Turner side and even found Lauren's perfume which she must have taken a bath in while we weren't looking....holy cow she smelled like perfume for days and days! Dave had a "fabulous" idea to have the whole family get together and do a "dramatic reading" of the classic "A Christmas Carol" story. He even had parts for everyone to choose and scripts lying around for people to practice reading their lines. It was awesome to see how serious he was about it....until about 10 minutes in when one by one people started leaving the room for various reasons and kids became not so interested anymore :) It was a good idea, Dave, just might not be the right group :)

The 1st Snow of Winter 2010!!

It started snowing Christmas night, after it was dark. But when we woke up the next morning, we had gotten about 5-6 inches of snow!!!! DeeDee and Poppi had spent the night with us so they couldn't wait to get outside with the kids. Reilly was determined to sled as much as she possibly could and Braxton just wasn't too sure about how cold it was :) DeeDee and Poppi took turns pulling him on the "baby sled" whiled Reilly raced down the steepest driveway she could find.

The Christmas that never ended! (2010)

Our Christmas seemed to last for days and days! Which was great, but so exhausting as well :) And, needless to say, the kids were on a bit of a "whats-the-next-present-I-get-to-open" kick after a while! We started out at Grandpa and Nanny's house for brunch and gift exchange on Christmas Eve.





Then we came home and got ready for our family Christmas eve celebration, which consisted of an amazing church service, a lasagna dinner (which Shawn has declared a new tradition) and the opening of just one Christmas present. The kids each got new hooded towels with their names on them.

Shawn and I were so excited about Christmas morning, because we knew it meant we could share some of the most exciting news with the kids (especially Reilly!):

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Reilly's reaction to her super special Doll House (that should be included in the picture, but I was more focused on her expression) :)

After we had a monkey bread and fruit breakfast, Nana, Kelly and cousin Shaun came over for brunch.

After lunchtime, DeeDee and Poppi and Uncle Watts came for even more fun. After they got here, we deicded to go ahead and reveal the kids' final, biggest, Christmas present.....a bounce house!!! It is the best one ever....small enough to fit in the playroom but big and sturdy enough to go outside in the warmer months!! And the kids LOOOOVE it!

DeeDee and Poppi brought with them the gifts from Uncle Brandon and Aunt Angel for the kids since we wouldn't get to see them on Christmas day. They thought of the best gift for B!! Brandon's old work cell phones!!! A whole bag of them!! Braxton was in heaven, and walked around all day with one phone to each ear :)

After all the present opening was completed, Memama, Uncle Clarke, Carson and Cooper all came up and joined us for a big, fancy Christmas dinner that I had been cooking all day. It was a super fun ending to a very special, very crazy Christmas day! We are just so blessed to have so much family living so close :)

12 Days of Christmas

Shawn and I had so much fun planning out how we would celebrate our "12 Days of Christmas" tradition this year. With the kids a little older, especially Reilly, we knew we wanted to incorporate some more meaningful and spiritual pieces in the 12 days of fun. The kids loved running downstairs each morning to check the paper chain and see how many "chains" we left. We typically let them open the chain after Daddy got home from work to see what we would do that evening together as a family. The suspense built all throughout the day :) Here is the list of what we did this year for the 12 days leading up to Christmas:

1. New Christmas books
2. Ginger bread house
3. Popcorn in the car for a house light tour around the neighborhood
4. New Christmas movie special night
5. Dinner and Snowfall at Birkdale with singing bears
6. hot chocolate, music and dancing by the fire
7. Zootastic Park light tour with Aunt Kelly and Shaun
8. Peppermint milkshakes and shopping with daddy
9. Bake and take cookies to homeless shelter
10. Choose two "gifts" from the Samaritans Purse gift catalog to purchase for needy children/families worldwide
    
11. Make Cards and take cookies to Ivys and Caitlyn
12. Christmas Eve church celebration and come home for Jesus' birthday party!!

Zootastic park was really cool....miles of lights all over the place. And of course we got to go inside and see some neat animals! I can honestly say I have NEVER seen a kangaroo in person...AND had the chance to pet one before! so cute :)

SANTA!

We did a quick trip to see Santa after Reilly's preschool program. The kids both looked pretty cute and it was a spontaneous decision! And boy did we luck up! I pulled in at Great Outdoor World, where they have the BEST Santa and set (deer, a tiny house with elves, etc.) and we walked right in and sat right on Santa's lap. He was just waiting for someone...NO LINE whatsoever. It was fabulous :) Reilly was so excited to sit on his lap this year! Quite a change from years past :)

Stonebridge Preschool Christmas Program, Dec. 16th

Reilly was such a hoot during the Christmas program this year! She LOVED being up on that stage! It was so precious to watch her just sing and dance and perform as if there weren't 300 people staying at her! And it was so cute because Braxton sat in my lap the whole time, saying "LaLa" and pointing to Reilly up on the stage! He loved watching her up there!!

I love this next one.... "I'm not going to smile b/c I don't want you to know that I'm excited to see you!"

Reilly's bestest bud, Sophie, and her big sister Chloe

we have been SOOOO blessed, yet again, to have an amazing teacher for Reilly this year. Ms. Jacobson is just what our sweet little spirited daughter needs!! :)