Lots has been happening at the Craig house lately, and I've been remiss in posting. Please accept my apologies. Here's the latest ...

Allen is learning what letters words begin with. He announced to us last week that "mail starts with 'M'. Mail and Malcolm start with 'M'." He knows what letter most words start with. It's amazing. He's a genius.

He says "masty" instead of "nasty." (Last night, he said about his chicken and green bean dinner, "Pew, this is masty!")

He still says "wife" and "wive" instead of "life" and "live."

He says, "fink" instead of "think."

He still loves my hair and loves to snuggle with Mommy.

He is addicted to his binky.

He's almost too big to fit into my lap.

He makes me wait for hugs and kisses.

He likes to tell stories while walking around in circles. Tonight he regaled us with a story about his class "going on safari."

He loves Cheetos, Mike & Ikes, and fruit snacks. And chocolate milk (most often in the form of NutriPals). He eats little else. It makes me feel like a bad Mom.

He has started reciting the fruitage of the spirit and singing the ABCs and "Life Without End at Last" with me at bedtime again (or Wife Wifout End at Wast). Then he snuggles against me for a few moments before saying, "I'm weady (ready)," and climbing into bed.

He still has gorgeous big blue eyes.

His hair is getting darker.

He's a big boy :(

Some pictures for you to enjoy ...

He requested I take a picture of him with his binky.

 A close up.

 In the tub tonight.

 Smiling in the tub.

 Snuggling with Mommy.

xoxo,
AHC

Looking up

(photo by Delexed)

Thanks so much everyone for your wise advice and kind words last week when I was having my "bad day." I'm feeling much better now, thanks in part to all your smart suggestions. Ultimately, it took me a few days to get completely back to normal, and I've discovered that I don't like to have my routine disrupted, but now things are looking up once again.

Speaking of looking up, if you're having a down day, just listen to this gem of a song by Ingrid Michaelson. 

Hannah shared her go to song with me when she's feeling low. How about the rest of you? What do you listen to to cheer you up?

xoxo,
AHC

Helmet Head

Spring has officially sprung here in Beaufort, and that means that Allen and I have started enjoying the outdoors again. In fact, yesterday, we spent just about the entire afternoon out of doors. 

We started with almost taking a bike ride. First, on Allen's trike (he subsequently decided he'd rather not pedal), then on Mom's bike ... until she saw how far it was buried in the shed (Daddy will have to fish it out for them). Just because the bike ride got canceled, doesn't mean we can't still wear the helmet, though. 

He wore it while he rolled around in the sand, and poured sand all over himself.

Then it protected his head while he poured rocks over himself.

Fortunately, he decided not to wear it to the park. Because, honestly, Mom would have been mortified. We enjoyed a snack (or picnic) at the park, and then played for awhile. Mom almost took him down the slide, but chickened out at the last minute. Can't get past that claustrophobia (it's one of those tube slides).

Then we were off to see Miss Nancy at The Storybook Shoppe. The best place in the world (other than our shop, of course). And we hadn't seen Miss Nancy since her return from Australia. Allen immediately found the little table at the back and started working on some Curious George puzzles, while Mommy and Miss Nancy caught up and discussed appropriate books for a certain six-year-old who is coming to visit soon. After a long visit, we left the shoppe with two Dr. Seuss books.

We got home just in time for Daddy's arrival, and then walked back up to the Marketplace to dine at our favorite local haunt, Maggie's. Bad idea. After the busy afternoon we'd had, Allen was too tired to sit still or behave at dinner. I won't go into detail, but let's just say it involved shoes on the table and screaming. Oh, and telling the owner that he didn't like the food. Not embarrassing at all ....

On the way home, Allen informed us that the word mail starts with the letter M. "Mail and Malcolm start with M," he explained. Genius. We quizzed him on a few more words, and he got most of them right. Child prodigy, don't you think?

We ended the evening with a casual family worship viewing of the David video (in our bed. Where the only DVD player in the house is).

All in all, it was a good day. A very good day.

xoxo,

AHC

Pennsylvania Trip 2010: The Last Day

In the fog of my bad mood last Thursday, I completely forgot to post about the last day of our Pennsylvania Trip. Many many apologies. Here are the highlights of our last day.

My 88-year-old grandmother (aka Gigi) chasing Allen around her house.

Gigi and Allen having a calm moment.

Allen growling while Dana and Chico pose nicely for the camera.

Allen and Ava getting down.

Allen singing his heart out.

Ava blowing a kiss (I think).

Avery enjoying my Italian nursery rhyme.

Aren't Ava and Avery delicious? Allen had a great time chatting it up and playing with Ava that evening. Thanks to T&T for a great evening. And thanks to D&D for drinks. We love you and miss you all!

xoxo,

AHC

Bad Day

I'm having a bad day. A colossally bad day. I woke up in a miserable mood. And I've stayed in a funk all day, into this evening. Maybe it's because I'm fighting getting sick, or because I burned the bejeebers out of my fingers, or maybe it's just some deep underlying angst that surfaces now and then.

All I know is that I want to get out of this bad mood. But I don't know how. I tried my usual go-tos: singing along to music in the car, snuggling with Allen, napping on the couch, but nothing has worked so far. I still snapped at Brian (which made me feel worse) and snapped at Allen (which made me feel way worse), and felt like punching something all day ....

So now, I'm sitting in my cozy office, listening to Pandora, and sipping a glass of wine. I sincerely hope that this fixes me. If not, I may have to send the boys away for longer than the meeting tonight, so they don't have to put up with me.

Tell me friends, what do you do to snap out of a bad mood? Any tried-and-true strategies? Please share!

xoxo,

AHC

Pennsylvania Trip 2010: Random Photos

Here's the last of my Pennsylvania recaps. Some photos that I took throughout the trip that didn't fit into the other posts ... most are of Elijah (since Kristen criticized that I wasn't taking enough pictures of him).

Elijah looking cute

Allen in a too-big hat

 

The biggest meatloaf I've ever seen

Elijah eating cake

Elijah chilling out in his jumper

xoxo,
AHC

Pennsylvania Trip 2010: Playing in the Snow

It snowed Thursday, so we bundled up the boys and Brian took them in the back yard to sled. They had a great time until they sledded right into the creek at the bottom of the hill. That was the end of playing in the snow. 

Here are some photo highlights. I think they speak for themselves ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

xoxo,
AHC

Pennsylvania Trip 2010: Baby Love Wednesday

Wednesday was one of two days to visit friends. And it was a day of babies! First up was lunch with Kathie and her little loves:

Connor

 

Claire

 

Allen holding Claire (he informed Kathie, "I like your babies.")

 

Next we were off to see Jenn and Amy. We hadn't seen either of them in over a year, so we were very very excited. Amy took a liking to Brian ...

 

Isn't she gorgeous?

We ended the day at Tim and Annie's, where we ate delicious food and watched Shrek by the fire. Here I am with the boys ...

 

And here's Elijah jumping around naked on the couch ...

It was a great day. Nothing like spending time with good friends (even if it wasn't nearly long enough).

xoxo,

AHC