Merry Christmas!

We have been busy getting ready for Christmas with all the usual festivities. We put up all the decorations adding some lit garland on the front porch this year. Mari Cagle and Nate loved putting the ornaments on the tree as they remembered all the ones they made and all the ones that were given to them over the years. Nate was especially cute as he pulled out each decoration stating, "This one is very special to me." And Caz is mesmerized with the lights, especially when we turn out all the other lights. We've done lots of shopping. Mari Cagle and Nate had their first experience online shopping. This year they picked out each others presents on Amazon. I've created a monster with Nate. He has now created a wish list of his own that is up to 109 items!! We have done lots of baking, cookies for church and pumpkin bread for teachers and neighbors. We've enjoyed Christmas music, especially "Angels We Have Heard On High" played by our favorite violinist. We visited Santa and got a great shot of the kiddos with him. Santa has his work cut out for him as their lists have changed from when he started making toys and now, the weekend before Christmas!! And now we are all set to pack! We can't wait to enjoy our favorite part of the Christmas season...time with family and friends!!! See you soon!

In our matching Christmas PJs...

On Skype with Grammy and PopPop...

On the way to MC's violin concert...

MC's duet...she's playing the melody.

Visiting Santa...

On another note, Caz turned 8 weeks old this week. Here he is peacefully sleeping in his favorite bouncy seat.

Thanksgiving

We had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving thanks to a visit from Britton, Kim, Quinn & Payton. It made our holiday to have them come from so far away to see us and to meet Caz for the first time, especially considering Britton chose to celebrate his birthday with us too! If you check Kim and Britton's blog, these pictures may seem familiar. My camera battery went dead early in the visit so I copied their pictures, but when you're looking at faces like these, surely you don't mind seeing them again. :)

Payton was so sweet with Caz! I thought that her fascination with her would wear off, but she looked for him and sat with him and kissed on him and held him her whole trip. She and 'my baby Caz' had quite a time. I hope they'll be good friends always.

MC and Quinn were a pair as usual. Two peas in a pod playing dolls, barbies, princesses, Indian princesses, and anything else their imaginations came up with. The Indian princesses were so cute. They made headbands complete with Indian names, 'Gentle Heart' and 'Gentle Flower.' Nate got in on the game too playing the part of Lewis and Clark and also taking on an Indian name, 'Handsome Porcupine.' Together they made up 'Tribe Lockhart.' They hunted for food with bows and arrows made from clothes hangars. It was only slightly disturbing that they hunted their stuffed animals and then proceeded to skin and cook them. :) We tried not to read too much in to it rationalizing that they were just trying to be authentic in their play.

We tried our best to come up with fun things to do to make their visit worthwhile...we visited the Children's museum...

...the park (despite the cold weather)...

...bowling...

and Lost in Fun (an indoor playground with bounce houses, etc).

Caz was a sport on all our outings!! He tagged along sleeping most of the time, never complaining (aka crying or fussing). Have I mentioned how lucky I am that he is so easy-going?!?

And after all was said and done, the kiddos were pooped...

We really had a GREAT time.

Again, thank you Britton and Kim for coming!! Mari Cagle and Nate had a spectacular time with Quinn and Payton, and Brandon and I loved the late nights of Clue and Canasta. We LOVED having you here!!

November Around Here

So far November has been a relatively quiet month. With no soccer or flag football and no birth of a child, things feel pretty settled around here. Just a few highlights...

MC and Nate have both had lots of play dates with friends which are always fun. Apparently 3rd grade play dates evolve into spending the night. MC's spent the night away from home the past three weekends!! Above is what happens the day after the sleepover. :) Notice she's still reading the Harry Potter series. She finished Book 4 last weekend and we watched the movie together. I have loved her reading this series! I have enjoyed talking about the book as she reads and watching the movies together at the conclusion of the book is so much fun. We're going to take a break from Harry Potter for a short while and read "The Chronicles of Narnia" together. I'm looking forward to it.


Caz turned 1 month today!!

He continues to eat and sleep well, I only hope that continues for the rest of his life! I think he gave me his first intentional smile yesterday. He flashed this adorable grin every time I said 'Hey!' It must have been intentional as he repeated enough times for me to actually get a shot of it. :)

His favorite place to hang is in his bouncy seat. He enjoys the farm animals when he's awake and he enjoys the back of his eyelids when he snoozes in it during the day. :)

He and Brandon played together last night and Caz seemed to discover the toys hanging from his play mat are interactive. He watched the ball intently and discovered that he could hit it with his hand to make it swing back and forth. He'd watch it until it stopped swinging and swat it again. We go to the pediatrician this week for the 1 month check up. I'm anxious to find out how much he weighs now. He was 8lbs 10oz at birth, 8lbs 1.6oz when we left the hospital. Brandon is guessing 10.5 lbs. Any other guesses?

I don't have any pictures of the Natester. But I do have another funny story...We went to a get together of Brandon's fellow faculty members this evening. On the way, we were reminding the kids of appropriate behavior as guests, especially at Daddy's boss' house. Nate explained that he would of course be on his best behavior because he wouldn't want Daddy to be fired. He likes that Daddy has a job so that we can have a house and food and do fun things. :) Another cute Nate story...he was playing on the computer and came up to show me what he had been doing. He said he wanted to show me his 'research' that he had done on some Pokemon characters, just like his Dad. :) From the mouths of babes!

So we've had a couple quiet weeks, but this week brings much more excitement and fun as we look forward to special visitors for Thanksgiving!! We wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving and a year of many more blessings to be thankful for!

One Day We Will All Look Back and Laugh About This

While Nate might need a little time for this one to be considered a 'funny' story, Brandon and I got a laugh after he went to bed last night. From my point of view, it started when I picked up Nate and MC from school and began with the typical question, "How was your day Mari Cagle?"

"It was great, well, except when I had to tattle on Nate," Mari Cagle replied. My first response was to start in on the "it's not nice to tattle" spiel to which MC replied that she couldn't lie, someone had asked her what he did. So, I understood her dilemma and agreed that she should always tell the truth.

By now, Nate was crying mumbling something about going to the principal's office, and so I'm getting pretty curious and more than a little concerned. After getting through the tears and hearing both sides, the story unraveled and this is what we understand to have happened.

Mari Cagle and Nate's classrooms are next door to each other, and on this particular afternoon, they both happened to be taking a bathroom break at the same time. Nate spots MC and decides he needs a hug. So he follows her into the girls' restroom. A special education aid happens to be walking by as Nate leaves the restroom and asks Mari Cagle if a boy was just in the girls' restroom. Mari Cagle hesitantly replies yes at which time she must give the aid Nate's name and classroom teacher's name. Meanwhile, Nate has returned to class and is working on his writing assignment when his presence is requested in the principal's office over the intercom. A friend accompanies him to the office (he didn't know where it was), and Nate has a heart-to-heart with Mr. Decker. Nate assured us he didn't really get in any trouble, he just explained the situation to Mr. Decker. Mr. Decker then explained to Nate that under no circumstances should he, as a boy, enter the girls' restroom.

And so we have the story of Nate's first (and hopefully last) trip to the principal's office, all for a hug. Even in trouble, he's a sweetheart.

Halloween & Other October Happenings

Mari Cagle and Nate had a great fall break that ended with a fun Halloween night. Fall break was filled with excitement with Caz and I coming home from the hospital, and Grammy & PopPop around to spoil all three of the kiddos. MC & Nate enjoyed Lost in Fun (an indoor playground with inflatables and all kinds of equipment to climb on), the Pumpkin Patch, running errands with Grammy & PopPop (much more fun and exciting than doing so with Mom) and Trick-or-treating. Thank you so much Grammy & PopPop!

It all culminated with Halloween night so check out the pictures from trick-or-treating...

It's also important to note that earlier on Halloween, Mari Cagle completed her Girls on the Run race. It was a 5K race that she ran with her Dad. Her great accomplishment was that she ran the whole race without walking or stopping. Way to go MC!! She loved participating in this after school program. We can't wait for it to start again in the Spring.

In Caz news, he had his first bath...

He was content and happy before the bath...

...not so much during the bath...

...but he was quite relaxed again after his bath.

Check out the boys relaxing on a Saturday afternoon, sipping some Mountain Dew and watching some college football.

Caz didn't have any Mountain Dew so he snuggled in for a nap.

After fall break, we were blessed to have Nana stay with us for a week too. I know I certainly appreciated the help getting the kids to and from school and around the house. Thank you Nana, and Pa too for being without her for so long. :) Caz also thanks Nana and Pa for his early Christmas present. He enjoys his play mat during his wakeful hours. It's helping him to get a strong neck and head just like his cousin Jack. :)

Look at him getting that head off the ground...

What concentration!

Mari Cagle and Nate love to play with him on the mat too. Caz is already getting joy from picking on his sister. :)

So life is good around here! We are very blessed with much, much, much to be thankful for as November rolls around. Love you all!!

Welcome Caz!

We welcomed our sweet boy Caz on October 20! He looks just like his big sister and big brother when they were born, though he is the runt of the litter weighing in at ONLY 8 lbs 10 oz. :) Check him out...

Daddy got to help clean him up and get him comfortable in the nursery. He was born to the tune of Ramblin Man, which is certainly fitting given the Allman Bros hometown of Macon, Georgia.

Mari Cagle was anxious to be the first to hold him after school. She loves holding him most of the time as long as he's not spitting up or making a dirty diaper. :) She is looking forward to when he does a little less sleeping and a little more playing.

Nate was a little more interested in the big brother present Caz got for him. I guess Caz shouldn't have gotten him such a great present.

But once he broke away from the Pokemon, he loved his new brother. In particular, he loved his soft head.

It wasn't long before Caz assumed the familiar sleep position reminding us again of Mari Cagle and Nate as infants.

Mari Cagle was back on day 2 for more snuggling with the little guy.

This was one of the last times Nate got to hold him for a week or so as we found out he had bronchitis/walking pneumonia. So he had to keep his distance until the antibiotic kicked in. Now he likes to talk to Caz and show his new brother all his toys. He's been sweet to read Caz stories too.

Our sweet three!!

Ready to go home on day 4.

When we left the hospital Caz was slightly jaundiced, so we had to go for check-ups on day 5 and day 6 for weight checks and to make sure his jaundice numbers were dwindling. In the meantime we enjoyed a few sun baths. Thankfully, by day 6, his weight was climbing and his jaundice measurements were smaller so we were in the clear.

Our resident Caz holder.

He already seems to be fixating on the toys in his bouncy seat. He enjoys the bouncy seat a lot, it seems to lull him to sleep often.

Nate and MC were getting ready to go trunk-or-treating. Caz enjoyed posing with a pretty witch and Chipper Jones.

Husker game day...the gang in all red. Caz is 1 week, 3 days old on this Saturday.

The boys in their matching #10 jerseys. Helu Jr. had a record-breaking day that day so it looks like my fellas bring him good luck.

Caz is 1 week and 4 days old today. He is fitting in quite nicely around here. We are of course still adjusting with the help of Grammy & PopPop for a week and Nana for a second week. With their help and Caz's sweet disposition, I must say things are going great! We'll try to keep the pictures coming. Love to all. Caz can't wait to meet everyone at Christmas!!

MC on the Violin

It's been a while since I've posted video of MC on her violin. She has continued her lessons through the summer and continues to get better and better. Recently, she has shown interest in playing some fiddle music which is a little different than the classical she has been working on. The studio where she takes lessons has a fiddle band that students of all ages can join. They play fiddle music and learn the songs by ear. We have been very impressed with MC's ability to pick up these pieces by ear; we're biased, but nonetheless amazed. These are the two songs she's been working on this week (apparently, I shouldn't record them vertically - sorry)...

Cool Bikes and More Football

BL found a couple of cool new bikes for both Mari Cagle and Nate. Both have outgrown their current bikes and have been getting by all summer, so we were excited to find these two bikes. Given Brandon's new love (some may call it obsession) with biking, he has been looking for some time for just the right bike, and these bikes are pretty nice bikes. The kiddos were very excited and surprised to get them today when they got home from school. MC loves biking with her Dad on the great trails around town and was ready to head out immediately. Nate was excited, but his excitement was slightly tempered as he's still a little timid on the bike. But we're hoping he'll come to love it more and more now that he has a bike that fits better and has gears to help him out on those hills. Check out these cool wheels...





Nate had his second football game versus the Bengals. This week he played center on offense. In homage to the two great centers we know and love, Pa and Uncle Britton, Nate performed beautifully. Not a single snap was mishandled. We're thinking of sending footage from the game along with Nate's sage advice to the Gators. :)

What a stud!