Coleman Wade turns 2!!

Coleman turned two today. It is hard to believe.... but I have decided I will say that for every birthday. :) Brad's family came over tonight for supper and cake. The kids were the entertainment, but Coleman eating his cake was the act not to miss.

Coleman and his portion of the cake.

Sizin' it up!

First Bite

Several bites later

Coleman saying "PLEEAASE!!" when I asked him if he wanted to take a bath.

Coleman on his tricycle

Celebrating Coleman's birthday with Brad's family: sister Karen, Gran and Papa. Coleman is not asleep. I just got him on a blink.

My "baby" and me on his birthday.

My Kitchen Table

I am about to put pictures on of my sweet Coleman's celebration, but I want to write about the kitchen table for a moment. My kitchen table gives me fits, kind of. I don't have "fits" over much but I don't know what to do with this table. It has mulitple, multiple fork/spoon marks, other dents where cars/blocks/you name it has crashed into it, marker/crayon/pen marks in several places, food I can't scratch off, and even a popsicle stain. It is no longer a pretty kitchen table to say the least, and I have often wondered what to do with it. However, as I was looking at Coleman's pictures, most taken at this table, and I was flooded with memories.

At this table:
1. Brad and I hosted our first family meal in our first apartment in Nashville. The table had just arrived and we all crowed around it. My "for real" mashed potatoes were crunchy b/c I didn't know what I was doing.
2. Many, many games were played on it as we gathered with our Young Marrieds Class when we first moved to Cookeville in 1999. Relationships grew and deepened around this table that are still very in tact today even though many of those people have moved away.
3. This table saw friends bless our home with food when Lincoln was born in 2002 (and again with each child).
4. This table has hosted too many "budget" meetings with Brad and me. Most were no fun but necessary. :)
5. I remember sitting around this table as I gave Lincoln his first bites of solid food.
6. I remember sitting around this table with friends on Lincoln's first birthday eating cupcakes.
7. This table has stood still through many conversations at small group, through many girls conversations about marriage and parenting. It has heard annoucements of pregnancies and births, lost teeth and loose teeth, good days and bad days at school or work. It has heard the memory work of our kids.... and LAUGHTER and some shouting.
8. This table has endured playdough, puzzles, kids standing on it, crawling over and under it. Cards with friends at 11 pm at night once the kids are asleep.
9. This table has witnessed Catherine and Coleman's first birthdays too. As well as 2nd and 3rd birthdays.
10. This table is where we meet every night (almost) for supper and .... I almost said unwind but that isn't always true. Not much unwinding happens at a table with a 6, 3 and 2 year old.
11. It seems this table is apart of my family.

I mentioned that I often don't know what to do with this table. Well, I have decided-
nothing.

A White Surprise

After hearing the "not much snow" forecast on the news last night, I was happily surprised this morning when Brad said "Laura, there is an inch of snow on the ground. There won't be school." I pulled the covers up a little tighter and snuggled down deeper into bed until I was forced to wake up .

At 7:30 am I woke up and looked out the window. The snow had already melted and there WAS SCHOOL!! In a mental panic I started listing what and how much I thought I could do in the 17 minutes I had before we absolutely had to leave. Coleman and Catherine were both still in bed, but they could be stuck in the car "as is". Lincoln could dress himself and brush his teeth while I made his breakfast and changed my clothes. His backpack was ready- it was doable as long as there were no unexpecteds from Catherine or Coleman.

The phone rang and I woke up. Relief! My friend was calling to tell me that after calling a 2 hour delay, our school system had decided to cancel schools. I was so glad (I love Lincoln being home). After a little breakfast we all bundled up and went out into our white surprise. It made me glad to live in the Upper Cumberland. See our pics below.

Our poor snowman had carrot chip eyes and a celery nose. Whatever works!!

The sledding didn't work as well today but they had fun trying.

A bundled Coleman

A sweet Catherine

A silly Lincoln

"I Wish I had gotten a Wii......"

Before I begin my story :) let me apologize for the lack of Christmas photos here. I put them on Facebook and forgot to put them here.

Lincoln went back to school last Tuesday. When I went to pick him up the first thing he talked about was the number of kids who got Wii's for Christmas.

Lincoln- "Mom, there were a lot of kids who got Wii's for Christmas in my class. I don't remember the number but there were alot."

Me- "Yeah, Anna Lea and Tyler got a Wii too"

Lincoln plops his head on the side of his carseat and sadly says "Mom, I wish I had gotten a Wii"

He pauses for a few short seconds then pops his head up and looks at me in the rear view mirror and says "Mom, what's a Wii??" I couldn't help laughing out loud and I said "That is probably why you didn't get one"

I explained what it was and, thankfully, he was very content with the VTech Smile game that he received.