Christmas Day!

Today was Christmas! Santa definitely thought we were both good boys and brought us lots of awesome gifts! I was so excited that the first words out of my mouth when walking into the great room were, "Good Gracious!" and "Holy Moly"! Santa brought me the bike I wanted! And guess what? Daddy got a bike too! Pretty neat, huh? We all had a great day and are very thankful for our family, our many blessings, and most importantly, the birth of Jesus Christ!
--Chandler & Brighton

So, it's best to describe the events via pictures:
Brighton making a first pass at the gifts!

Taking it all in! (Through the wide-open mouth)

Bike!

Mountain of gifts!

All through the house, not a creature was stirring...

It's Christmas Eve! It is already Christmas time. There are a lot of presents under the tree, and family has arrived (Grandmother Cooke came to spend a few days with us). The house is full of anticipation waiting for the arrival of Santa Claus! As a family tradition, one, ok two, ok a few presents are opened of Xmas eve! I received a kids sized leaf blower that sounds and behaves like Daddy's! I am one excited boy, with goggles on and everything. We prepared for bed by placing cookies and milk on the fireplace for Santa to snack on when he comes in the night. I have asked nicely for a bike for Christmas...can't wait to see if it arrives!
Now off to bed for a good night's rest...
--Chandler

 

 

Cherub Choir

I again got to sing in front of the church this month! I had a lot of fun practicing for this and I even got a bell to ring while we were singing. I was able to relax a little more for this performance and rang the bell a little bit, but all of those people still make me afraid to open my mouth and sing!
--Chandler

 

Birthday Parties!

I have really been lucky! A lot of my preschool friends have been inviting me to their birthday parties this month! Seems like November/December is a popular birthday time for my friends! Here is a picture of me at Lainey's house for her birthday party! She had a princess and knight themed party. I got to dress up like a knight with a special hat and even a cool sword! Thanks for having my Lainey, I had a great time!
--Chandler

 

Up Goes the Xmas Tree!

Today, we got to put up our Christmas tree! I really enjoyed all of the activites involved in putting up the Christmas tree. It involved sorting the different branches of the tree, carefully unwrapping the ornaments, playing with the ornaments, putting up the lights, and turning the lights on and off and on and off and on and off...
Anyways...here we are putting up the tree. Brighton especially liked the red garland balls!
--Chandler

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a great thanksgiving spent at Grandma's house, with lots and lots of good food to eat! We all had a great time with family. We even had fun with a cake that had a turkey decoration on top of it! Here are a few pics from the big day.
--Chandler

 

 

 

 

Walking is Hard to Do!

I'm really trying this walking thing, but you know what? I can crawl and climb in and out and on top of anything really, really well. Why should I be walking? Anyways...Mommy and Daddy seem interested in teaching me how, and I am putting up with it for the most part. I can walk about 3-4 steps consistently unassisted, but I then decide to leap to the floor! I can climb really well also...you can find me moving objects over to something then standing on that object to reach what I wanted to get. Mommy often turns around and finds me sitting on top of the train table just playing away!
--Brighton

 

Sitting in a Box!

All,

Daddy has not been very good at posting my thoughts for the last month or so. He promises to try and be better about it!
Anyways...I follow in my brother's footsteps and also seem to really enjoy a good book. You can often find me curled up in my toy box glancing at my books!
--Brighton

 

 

My One Year Old Stats

Here are my official one year old stats:

Weight: 21 lbs, 14 oz (30%)
Length: 29" (25%)
Head: 48.5 (95%)

Not that we like to compare or anything, but here was Chandler's stats at 1 year:

Weight: 21 lbs, 11 oz (35 %)
Length: 30 in (55 %)
Head: 47 cm (60 %)

--Brighton

My Official First Birthday!

Today was my official first birthday. Since we had my party last weekend, we had a little mini celebration on the evening of my actual birthday during the week. Mommy got me a cupcake to eat/smear. Here is the event:
--Brighton
Before I touched the cupcake...

 

After I touched the cupcake...

 

My Dislike of Hats!

Here is a demonstration of my love for hats...
--Brighton
'Mom...what did you just put on my head?'

 

'Ok...not cool...how do I get this thing off?'

 

'Ah ha! It's off, now I eat it!'

 

My Birthday Party!

My first birthday falls in the middle of the week this year, so we decided to have my party the weekend before. We had lots of family and friends come a visit for a little while and have cookies and cake. I really enjoyed sitting on the floor with Mommy opening some gifts. I especially like the colorful ribbon! Thanks to all that could attend! Here are some snapshots of the event!
--Brighton

 

 

 

State Fair Fun!

This time of year is the time for the North Carolina State Fair. Mommy always tells me that she loves going to the fair. This year I was big enough to ride a bunch of rides. I even braved a roller coaster!
--Chandler
Here's Brighton on the carousel!

I loved going down this slide!

Here I am driving a car!

Here's Brighton riding in a ride. This one bounced up and down which I thought was funny!

Here I am braving a roller coaster. I really enjoyed it! You can tell by the expression on my face!

 

Pumpkin Patch

This weekend we decided to walk up to the corner pumpkin patch just to have some fun and get a few pumpkins to carve! Brighton had a lot of fun climbing/falling through the pumpkins. I have fun pulling the cart and finding pumpkins!
--Chandler

 

 

 

 

Cherub Choir

This year at church I am singing in the Cherub Choir! Once a month my group stands up in front of the church and 'sings' along with a song! We also have practices. I am very good at it at home in front of Mommy and Daddy, but when I got on stage for the first time at church, well...that was a different story! The picture sums up what I did...stood there like a stone statue!
--Chandler

 

Getting Into the Fall Spirit!

Today, we decided to go to the local nursery for some fall spirit fun. They offered cool rides on a tractor (hay rides!). We could also pick out a pumpkin and some flowers. Nanny and Grandma came with us to join in on the fun. The pictures tell the story of the different things we did!
--Chandler