It's the Simple Things: I love this time of year

Monday, December 22, 2008

I love this time of year

Posted by Jennifer - South Point, OH at 12/22/2008

So, I'm back from my blogging hiatus. There are so many things to catch up on. Here are a few highlights.

I am once again working as a full-time legal assistant for a small firm in Salem, VA. It is hands down the best job I've ever had. God has definitely blessed in this area.
Grant started preschool at South Roanoke United Methodist.
After several ear infections in a row, Ben has finally had tubes put in his ears.
Chris completed his move into a commercial store.

The boys have adjusted to our new schedule even better than I could have hoped. My new job is absolutely wonderful. It is nice to feel like I am genuinely valued and that I have something to offer. I even have my own office! Not a cubicle - AN OFFICE! This may not seem like a big deal to most people, but I for one have lived in a cubicle for most of my adult life. It's not all that fun. They are an amazing group of people to work for.

Grant has officially crossed over into big boy status. He loves going to preschool. He has a wonderful teacher, Ms. Bridget, who he absolutely adores. He talks constantly about his new friends, Conner and Caroline. He sang his little heart out last Friday in his Christmas program. He was such a handsome little man! He rocked the baby Jesus, stomped like a reindeer, sang Happy Birthday to Jesus, and by the end was making his funny faces for everyone. I thought he would get the typical Grant "deer caught in the headlights stare" once on stage, but he didn't. He was so proud of himself. I was a little sad in the beginning when I looked around and saw all of the grandparents and families there, and it was just me, Chris, and Bean, but I guess that's just part of living away from your family. As soon as they opened the curtains Grant was looking around in the crowd for us. Upon spotting us he started waving frantically and smiling. I was definitely a proud mommy! Since starting preschool Grant has just bloomed. We see more of his personality everyday. He has such an imagination and is so creative. I love talking to him about his day. I love that he's experiencing new things and meeting new people.

After doing some research about Grant's allergy medication, I talked to his doctor about taking him off of it. I thought it may be to blame for some of his aggression and behavioral issues. He had been taking Zyrtec since he turned 2. It seemed like his behavioral issues really started around the time he turned 2, but I just figured it was typical two-year-old behavior. His doctor said that they only way we'd know was to take him off of it. Well, I did and within a week my sweet, loving little boy had returned. I couldn't believe what a difference it made. There for a while I was about at my ropes end when it came to his aggression issues. He's been off of it for three months now and we're loving life. He's such a sweet little man. He consistently says "please" and "thank you" and just out of the blue will give hugs and kisses and tell us he loves us - Bean included. He's very gentle with Ben and very attentive to helping him out. He had an allergy attack about a month ago and I decided to try him on Claritin. It wasn't but a week and he was just crying at the drop of a hat over nothing at all. After being on the Claritin for a couple of weeks, I took him off and he returned to himself again. It's amazing what medication can do to a little one.

Ben is 20 months going on three years old. I swear the kid thinks he can do everything that big brother does. He's amazing. He blows our minds everyday with the things he comes up with and can say and do. He even talks in sentences already. His most frequently used phrases/words are "here go" (interpreted: "here you go"), "thank you." "pease," "I wud that" (interpreted: "I want that"), or "I wud sum." His latest is singing the theme song to "Caillou" (Grant's favorite cartoon). He's just the cutest! I was saying to Chris last night that even though Ben was a bit of a surprise for us, I can't imagine our lives without him. Our family definitely feels complete with him in it. He keeps us all laughing 24/7. Good old Bean!

In November I traveled to Pigeon Forge and met up with my great friends Kim and Susan for an all girls scrapbooking weekend. I have to say that this was the most fun I have had in a long time. It was incredibly relaxing to have an entire weekend to myself to do what I wanted, when I wanted. I got a lot of scrapbooking accomplished and had so much fun. However, I didn't get to catch up on my sleep because of someone (who shall remain nameless) sawing some serious logs. LOL! So, we're headed back to Pigeon Forge in March for another long weekend. I can't wait!

We put our Christmas tree up on Thanksgiving Day. Ben got the pukes that Friday, I had them Saturday, and Grant had them on Sunday. That was definitely an eventful, laundry filled weekend. Ick. Believe it or not, it was still a somewhat relaxing four-day weekend.

We carried on my mom's tradition of making roll-out sugar cookies for Christmas. We had a blast. Ben didn't do much cookie cutting but loved playing in the flour. He was covered with it. We had the most fun icing the cookies. (I wish we could have made it to the cookie baking extravaganza at mom's last night with you guys, Kimmie! I would've loved to have had me some Giovanni's with my cookies. Mmmmmm.) I also tried my hand at making old fashioned hard candy. Five batches turned out good and I only messed up one. Cotton Candy is the best flavor. It is delicious!

I love this time of year! Christmas is my absolute favorite holiday. Now that I have kids it's even more exciting. Grant and Ben sat on Santa's lap last Friday evening. Grant wasn't scared of Santa this year and actually told him he wanted a Lightning McQueen car (which I hadn't bought and had to run out and get - eeek!). Ben didn't cry but just looked at Santa like "who the heck is this man?" We're going to do our Christmas Day with the boys on Christmas Eve morning since we'll be traveling to Ohio on Christmas Day. I finished my wrapping last night and got so excited about the boys opening their gifts. I can't wait to see their faces! We have to make some Christmas cookies tomorrow evening to leave out for Santa and Grant insists on getting the reindeer some carrots. He cracks me up.

I'm looking forward to a long weekend. The firm I work for is giving us three days off this week and two days at New Year's. Absolutely the best!