Baby Jesus

J.D. and I played Baby Jesus and Mary at church on Wednesday night for the 3-5 year old class. (We were calling him "Baby J.D.-sus") They were having a birthday party for Jesus and were celebrating his birth. Each of the kids brought a gift from home to give to "Jesus." Anna Lee chose an Ariel doll. She was insistent that he have a princess. Figures. It was so sweet to watch the kids love on J.D., give him his presents, and sing songs to him. J.D. loved listening to the songs and he was amazingly still while the different groups of kids were in front of him. It was a really special moment. Hard to imagine what Mary actually experienced so long ago.



This roleplay was very difficult for Anna Lee. But not because of how you would expect. During Christmas, my mom was with Anna Lee one evening and pretended that she was Gabriel and Anna Lee was Mary. Since that time, Anna Lee has pretended that our family was Jesus' family. Anna Lee was Mary, J.D. was Baby Jesus, Jim was Joseph...and I was a shepherd. Most evenings during the holidays, Anna Lee would say, "Hey Shepherd, when is Joseph going to be home from work?" We even played Memory one night and Anna Lee insisted on calling me "by name" when asking what cards I had. i.e. "Shepherd, do you have a Cinderella card?"

So when I told Anna Lee that I was going to be Mary, she was not happy. We discussed it all week and she was very upset that I was switching up the roles. On the way to church, Anna Lee quietly said, "Mommy, you can be Mary tonight." I was glad to have the permission...just in time.

She did such a good job while all of the kids were looking at and singing to J.D. I thought she even looked a little proud.

First Flight

J.D. and I flew to San Antonio last week to spend some time with my mom after she had surgery. It was J.D.'s first time on an airplane. By 10 months, Anna Lee had flown a million times, but with two kids now, it has seemed easier (and cheaper) to drive. Since Anna Lee was staying at home with Jim, J.D. and I hit the skies. He did so good! He was very interested in the airplanes and all of the people around him and he loved looking out the window as we flew. When we got home, I found out he had a double ear infection, so I am so glad he didn't scream the whole time from ear pressure. It is always funny to watch people dodge sitting by the person with the baby. I had two really nice people who were brave enough to sit in our row.

This was my favorite part of the trip.

As smoothly as it all went, I don't know if I am ready to try it with both kids yet.

An All-Star Valentines

Jim and I had a great Valentine's Day celebration. I got a beautiful new bracelet, and he got to go visit the new Cowboys' Stadium for the NBA All-Star game. Thanks to our sweet babysitter, Claire, who spent the night at our house so we could stay out late, we got to enjoy a fun evening together. So glad to be married to my sweet valentine! There is no one I would rather talk with, laugh with, make decisions with, parent with, serve with, or live with than him.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Our two favorite little Valentines:

Surprise Snow!

Yesterday was such a fun day! We got up ready to go to Anna Lee's Valentine's Day party at her school and woke up to a fun surprise---LOTS of snow! We knew there was a possibility for bad weather, but we had no idea we would get so much snow. They said on the news last night it was a record breaking day for Dallas. The news said we ended up with 12 inches! Crazy! It was funny to me to wake Anna Lee up saying "It snowed last night!" because my dad used to always wake us up that way...when it hadn't snowed. It was his trick to get us to jump out of bed. (It worked every time!) This was the beautiful view as we left for Anna Lee's party yesterday morning. It was a fun ride in the car, listening to Anna Lee's commentary about the snow everywhere.

Anna Lee had a fun party and even had her daddy there to celebrate with her. She is still enjoying the treats she got...had a good amount of candy this morning already. Nothing like scrambled eggs and chocolate kisses for breakfast. Yum.

When we got home, Anna Lee was loving the snow. She thought it was so pretty coming down. It was coming down hard!

Jim came home early from work and after the kids got up from naps, we headed outside. They both had been very sick this week, so we tried not to stay out too long. But even with bad colds, you have to go play in a record-breaking snow!

All bundled up and ready to play!

We all worked hard to build a snow man...who ended up being a snow princess. (what a surprise!) Anna Lee went in and got all sorts of accessories for her to wear. (A snowman's figure is not really suited for a toddler princess dress.)

Sleeping Beauty

She is still out there this morning. Anna Lee woke up and wanted to check on her.

While Anna Lee was building "Sleeping Beauty," we brought the snow in to J.D. He didn't really know what to do with it.

Might as well eat it.

We took the kids on a wagon ride on our street. We didn't get very far, since the wagon got stuck in the snow. J.D. got a little cold along the way.

Such a fun day!

We woke up this morning to this beautiful view.

My Best Brother

Anna Lee has been calling J.D. her "best brother" lately. These two LOVE each other. It is so fun to see such a sweet friendship forming between them already. J.D. lights up when Anna Lee walks into a room, and Anna Lee has to kiss or tickle or hug J.D. as soon as she sees him. I know someday (hopefully when they are much, much older!), they will fight like cats and dogs. But for now, it is nice to enjoy the sweet little bond they have and to watch the "best brother" play with his "best sister."

Haircut Time

Anna Lee's hair has been difficult for me. Besides not having very much of it, it is super fine (unlike mine) and she has the most amazing cowlicks ever. Every piece of her hair knows exactly which way it wants to go...and it will NOT go a different way. A couple of weeks ago, we went and got a new cut. We went for a shorter look. I didn't like the way the lady did it at the salon, so I finished it up at home on my own. I have loved the way it turned out...but I still don't think I want to cut her hair myself each time. Too much wiggling!
I thought she looked so pretty with her new haircut in her Cinderella gown.