Zebra Invasion!

One thing I have not done enough of as a parent of two adorable children, is dress them alike. I have to capitalize on this opportunity now (while they will still put up with it). This morning, I managed to bribe Harding into sitting still with Shelby Frances for a couple seconds so that I could snap some pictures of them in their matching zebra jammies--notice Harding's bed-head.

It is nearly impossible to get them to look at the camera at the same time, much less smile. These are the best of the bunch. I know that when Harding and Shelby are teenagers, they will groan and roll their eyes at posed p.j. pictures like this. I don't care either, it was worth it.

Shelby had her first visible seizure yesterday. She became very still and her eyes rolled way back so that her pupils were barely visible, but luckily she didn't go into any convulsions. I'm not sure how long it lasted, long enough for me to register what was happening, turn to my grandmother and ask her if she saw it, and then turn back. Afterwards, she seemed sleepy, but fine. I called Dr. Poplawski's office and they are having us come in Monday morning to do blood work so that we can check the Keppra levels in her body. Part of the reason Dr. Poplawski had put her on seizure medication was because he thought that she was likely to have one, so we weren't especially surprised, but I still hate that it happened. Anyway, we're supposed to keep a log of this and any other "episodes" that occur.

And speaking of weddings...

In case any of you didn't already know, these two are getting hitched this summer!

The picture above was taken at the actual site of their wedding ceremony. We can't wait. It is going to be a beautiful service and a great weekend. Congratulations Matt and Ashlee!

I think a lot of other things must have been going on at the time that they got engaged, because we never posted anything.

Here is Matt taking a break from wedding planning to snuggle with his nephew:

Harding is going to be a great ring-bearer!

My little brother called me this morning....

He had some exciting news.

Apparently, he asked Cambridge to marry him....and she said YES!!!

Stephen and Cambridge are ENGAGED and I am absolutely thrilled!

Congrats to the happy couple. We love you guys.

January Changes

I was looking forward to things slowing down after Christmas, but January is turning into a busy month, with lots of changes. First of all, Harding is no longer attending school because I decided to delay going back to work full-time until next school year. He gets a lot of social interaction with other kids at church and with our friends' children, so I think that he will be fine (although the 3 straight weeks of sub-freezing temperatures we dealt with caused all of us to go stir-crazy inside the house).

Second, I started a part-time tutoring job four mornings a week at a nearby elementary school. This could not be more perfect for me! I am really enjoying working with only 2-3 kids at a time and not having to be away from my own kids all day. Plus, these kids are learning fractions and percentages right now and will start on geometry soon--and that is just good brain exercise. Unlike my husband, the engineer, I am not a math genius. I still count on my fingers when adding, subtracting and mutliplying. It works for me and I'm not ashamed. :)

Since I leave the house early in the morning now, all of us have had to adjust our schedule a little. Trip is waking up earlier to get ready for work so that he can do therapy with Shelby and start Harding on breakfast. We are trying to get Shelby to take a bottle (sometimes she will and sometimes she refuses).

I may be jinxing us by mentioning this, but for the first time since before Thanksgiving, neither of the kids have coughs or runny noses! Also, Shelby has finally gotten used to the Keppra medication and is no longer fussing all evening long.

Shelby has turned into quite the chatter-box. She is constantly saying "ba-ba-ba" or "da-da" or "goo-goo", you get the idea. She seems to like to have conversations and it is almost like she is waiting for us to talk, and then replies with some type of repeating syllable. Tonight, she said the words I have been waiting for, "ma ma", but had no idea what they meant. We have also been feeding Shelby more baby food lately. As you can see below, she LOVES yogurt.

Here is Shelby doing some PT. She is getting pretty good at standing while holding on to furniture.

Here is Uncle Matt telling Harding a story:

And here is Harding pretending to be a pillow when he was supposed to be taking a nap. His imagination has really taken off lately:

Harding is obsessed with monsters. Apparently, all of the stuffed animals on his bed protect him from them. I have no idea where he gets these ideas because he rarely watches television. I think we need to have a talk with Uncle Matt about those stories.

Holiday Recap

, Highlights (in no particular order):

1. Shelby playing the baby Jesus at our church's Christmas Eve service (and Harding, the magi, sneaking back to sit with the Holy Family during the last song).

2. My 30th birthday (also on Christmas Eve). My sweet sister took me to the spa the day before to stave off any "oldness" that might come with turning 30.

3. A white Christmas. The snow was still on the ground from the blizzard the previous week.

4. Harding's wonder and excitement about EVERYTHING this season. He was worried that Santa wouldn't come to our house because we don't have a chimney, but we reassured him that Santa was magical and could pop though a window. I think this ended up scaring him--he cried going to bed Christmas Eve night. I don't think he will be scared of Santa again--Harding woke up on Christmas morning covered by a Santa blanket and found a fire truck (his only request) complete with a fire station under the tree.

5. Being surrounded by the love and company of  family. My brother Stephen and his girlfriend Cambridge sold almost all of the Christmas trees on their lot in Richmond and drove in to spend Christmas and New Year's with us. My sister Chris and her husband Grant each took more than a week off from work and were in Asheville with us as well. Trip's grandfather (the original John Harding Kinnaird), braved the blizzard and flew in from Texas for a week. My Aunt Dearing was with us from Ashland, VA and she is always fun. My two grandmothers, Penny and Burney live here in Western North Carolina and so do my parents and Trip's parents, but we got to enjoy extra time with them.

6. Shelby's baptism. It was a beautiful service and Shelby rocked back and forth and babbled loudly in my arms when we stood in front of everyone at church. She cried a little when Mark sprinkled the water on her head, but settled down when he walked her down the aisle. I was touched by all of it. We then got all of the family mentioned above together again for a luncheon at my mom and dad's house. Trip's brother Matt and his fiancee Ashlee came as well as my Uncle Mark, Aunt Nora and cousin Katy. What a special day.

7. We spent New Year's Eve and Day at a rented mountain house outside of Boone with my siblings, my cousin Kate, and all of their significant others. I can't think of a better (and more relaxing) way to ring in the new year and a new decade. We watched football, played games, cooked, ate, danced to Michael Jackson and had an awesome time.

Mom and Harding making gingerbread cookies (I used to do this with her when I was little):

Harding's Firestation (a huge hit)

A little birthday gathering at our house on Christmas Eve:

Harding helping Grandpa Kinnaird open a gift:

Harding opening a train gift at my mom's house (look how excited he is):

Burney holding Shelby as she sleeps through all the excitement:

The Christmas Table (centerpiece by Cambridge):

Christmas Dinner:

Stephen and Cambridge:

Nana, Chris, and Me:

Don't we look festive?

Group New Year Picture (taken when Shelby was napping):