Little Man

Parker has really grown up in the past week -- right beneath our noses! He has started "talking" a ton, playing ball and taking 8-10 steps at a time. It is a joy to see him become a little boy! He is fully engaged and still BUSY, BUSY, BUSY.

We are bracing for the full-on running that is imminent! :)

Family Christmas-ES

Princess Annelise and Cousin Theresa

The two Princess Turners

Parker and Grandy = Love

Turner in her snow princess outfit with matching baby outfit from Gammy and Aunt Niki

Mimi knows how to make Guerard boys smile!

Grandad and happy cousins

Turner -- aka "The Musketeer" -- and her cousin, Mary!

After we opened gifts in Atlanta, Turner looked at me and said, "Mom, will tomorrow be Christmas, too?" And much to my delight, I could say, "YES!" AND the next day...and the next!!!

We dragged it out this year, and it was such a joy! It made for quality time with each family member, and the kids were not so overwhelmed by the generous gifts. They did great traveling and truly loved seeing everybody and playing with everything.

We celebrated Friday night with the Norris clan, Saturday with Gammy and Pops and Sunday with the Guerard/Thomas crew! Thank you all for a memorable and very special Christmas! We are so, so blessed to have you.

Christmas Morn

Turner and her new "Princess and the Pauper" dress and jewelry box from Santa!

Parker's train!

Triplets in our Footie PJs!

Daddy with his two munchkins!

Christmas morning was quite memorable this year! Both kids got really into it! Turner stayed in her room until her "number" on the clock (7am), so we all got to nestle in our beds for a fairly long winter's nap (after our elf assembly work was done).

Turner received a dress-up dress like the pauper when she was pretending to be the princess in the "Princess and the Pauper" (if this sounds obscure, it IS!!! Major Internet work for Santa this year!). She also received a jewelry box with some "bling" for her dress-up fun!

Parker was excited about all his "banging" items -- the hammer and wooden pegs were a huge hit ( no pun intended)! Also, he got some neat blocks and a train with blocks!

We also enjoyed our birthday celebration for Jesus and remembering the greatest gift of all time for all people!

Christmas Eve

We had a memorable Christmas Eve this year. It started with a delicious pajama party breakfast and ended with a delicious pajama party supper!

We spent the morning with our neighbors, The Hoods and The Greggs, enjoying fellowship, singing and Russell and Charles' brass instrument concert.

Then, we went to the 5pm "Bedlam in Bethlehem" worship, where Turner and her preschool friends sang beautiful renditions of "The Virgin Mary Had a Baby Boy" and "Feliz Navidad." She did so well! After church, the kids hopped back into their Christmas pjs and we enjoyed a delicious fiesta of Christmas fajitas with The McFaddins! The kids were so good and really excited about Santa coming.

It was a wonderful day with special friends.

Who Is the Bigger Mess? One-Year Old A...or B?

One-Year Old A: Parker 2009

One-Year Old B: Turner 2007

Fairy Gingerbread House

Last year, we introduced a new tradition to our Christmas festivities: the homemade gingerbread house! We picked a theme this year -- "Fairies" -- and worked on it all day Saturday (literally!). It turned out cute, though, and provided lots of fun and entertainment!

Sarcasm

For better or worse, we've been instructing Turner on the nuances of sarcasm. (We figure she won't last too long in our family without some knowledge of this important subject!).

Anyway, we had told her what "sarcasm" was the other day and given her a few examples. Then, last night, I caught Parker sucking on a crayon that had fallen on the floor. I said, "Great! Parker is eating a crayon. Nice!" Turner --very quickly -- looked at Daddy and said, "Dad, I think Mommy is being sarcastic!" She's a quick study! :)