GANKS!!

Picture overload today... I had a hard time picking just a few!

We had a wonderful Christmas day! Ben and I woke up just before 6 am, which is Ben's normal workday wake up time. We tried to go back to sleep... of all days the kids actually slept in, we couldn't!! I finally got up and made breakfast, which is not a normal occurance! :-) Even more rare, Ben and I enjoyed a QUIET breakfast all by ourselves!! We had coffee cake, scrambled eggs, and sausage. Still... the kids slept! They finally woke up around 8.

Megan was quite awed by the pile of presents under the tree. She kept saying, "WOW!" "OH!" and "OOOOH!!" :-) After opening presents, we took our time getting ready for the rest of the day. We headed to Grandma P's around noon for a yummy ham dinner...and more presents! I couldn't believe it -- but, I left my camera at home!! Didn't get any pictures from Grandma P's!! Oh, well! Those things happen.

It was a very nice day as a family. Tomorrow, we head to Grandpa and Grandma W's. Megan keeps talking about them... I think she's excited! :-) Now, here are the pile of pictures!

I set up my tripod and got a picture of the whole family before we left for our Christmas Eve service. I think it turned out pretty good! Nathan looks ready for bed, and Megan's making a goofy smile, but at least no one's crying! :-)

Nathan woke up first... he went straight for the bows... on MOMMY's presents! :-)

We got Megan a little camera... she loved it! It's actually a cheapy $15 digital one and I couldn't wait to load them onto the computer to see what she'd captured. She took pictures all day... but there were none on the camera!! Who knows what buttons she was pushing, but she was having fun!

She even set her doll on the couch with the baby bottle for a little photo shoot... cracked me up! She's quite the role player, even when she herself doesn't cooperate in the real-life situations!

After present #2 or #3, Megan started to run to the couch, then turned around and said, "GANKS!!" (Thanks!) It was so genuine, Ben and I just started laughing and I almost cried. :-) She was so excited and happy. It was so fun to watch her this year!

Nathan was excited over his big CAT dump truck! :-)

Megan all decked out in her gifts from Grandma P... a hat and mitten set and a doll carrier (the doll was from Daddy and Mommy)...

Megan also got a little Dora doll from Grandma P. Dora can go in the tub and has flippers. Megan kept putting the doll face down...then, joining her to SWIM together! :-)

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas day with your families, too! :-)

200 posts...and MERRY CHRISTMAS!

This post marks my 200th post on this blog!! Can't believe I've been keeping you all updated on our lives for that long! Thank you, faithful readers! :-)

So, for my 200th post, the Peck family wishes each of you a very Merry Christmas!

Now why didn't I think of that?!

When I asked, "What are you doing, silly girl?!"

She confidently replied, "BOOTS! SNOW!"

Well, of course! :-) She must have heard about the 8-11" of snow we've been forecasted for today. Hope you're all snug and warm...or, if you have to venture out, have cereal box boots!

Isn't that a cute ornament?? I saw one on a friend's tree and HAD to get one for Ben. It's about 2" high and we picked it up right at Dunkin Donuts. Something fun and different on our tree!

Family Fun...

The kids were singing and playing in their room the other day. Ben and I were just having fun watching and listening to them. Megan buried daddy under all blankets, pillows, and toys that had been on her bed.

We were all in such a happy mood that I put the camera's timer on and hoped for a family snapshot, since our last one was taken in the summer - the one in the blog's sidebar. Well, a snapshot it is! None of us are dressed well enough to even go out to the mailbox (notice Nathan's missing pants in the previous pictures and Megan's non-matching hot pink polka-dots)! :-) Nathan is obviously not looking... but that's us! Our family:

I then showed Megan the picture-taking button on the camera and let her snap a few. She was soo funny! You could tell she was so proud of herself... saying "GOT IT!" (Even though the camera was pointing at the diaper pail and her hand was over the lens)! :-) Here are 2 that are actually recognizable!

Megan is so fun! Raising children is certainly challenging, but a 2 1/2 year old is also SO fun! We love to listen to her chatter on.

Two quick stories that are mostly for the grandparents' sake - but, I also save my blog every month and hoping that someday, when I have more than 2 minutes to string together, I will be able to scrap these precious memories:

Megan has yet to tell us "I love you" by herself. She will repeat it when we say it to her. I try to put Nathan to bed about 10 minutes before Megan so they don't keep each other up. We always have Megan give him kisses and say, "night-night" and "LUB-YOO." :-) Last week, I was buttoning up his jammies when I heard Megan, with no prompting: "LUB-YOO, NAY-NAY! LUB-YOO!" Awww! Just melted my heart!

With my heart all mushy-gushy, I put Nathan down and told Megan it was time for bed a few minutes later. She's been whining a bit lately about bedtime and we've been working on stopping that. As I scooped her up to head to bed, she kept pointing into the living room saying, er, whining, "CULL-LUL! CULL-LUL!" I saw her coloring books and thought, "Color? No, you're not taking crayons to bed with you!" (She takes lots of odd things to bed with her...) She just kept saying, "CULL-LUL! CULL-LUL!" I finally let her down so she could show me what she was asking for. She ran to the couch and began patting the cushions, "CULL-LUL! CULL-LUL" My mushy heart puddled!! Megan wanted to CUDDLE!!!! With her mama!! We cuddled! :-) That was my "LUB-YOO" that night!

Christmastime is comin'...!

December is passing by so quickly! We finally got our tree up. At 7 months pregnant at this time last year, we just put a small pre-lit 4 foot tree on top of the tv. Seeing that Nathan is walking already this year... we decided to use it again! It's perfect!! Big enough, that Megan is impressed. "OOOHHH! PITTY! PITTY! CHRI-MISS!" And, little and out of the way enough, that Nathan can't destroy it! :-)

This next week is going to busy. Lots of baking and gift-wrapping to do.

More Thanksgiving Pictures

Just a few pictures from our trip to Grandpa and Grandma W's. Megan had so much fun playing with the books and toys at their house. She also loved chasing their cat, Kit Kat, and would run all through the house yelling "aaaahhh-you, kit kat??" (where are you, kit kat?) Nathan showed off his walking skills and received plenty of praise just for being cute.

Josiah ATE a Thanksgiving meal with us!!! (He only waved the pickle around - he's still on pureed/ground food). But, he had turkey, squash, potatoes, and broccoli. After tasting the broccoli (which was a broccoli/cheese casserole), he said, "Mmm, I love it." :-) Josiah will be starting with a new feeding therapist soon. Please pray that getting used to a new girl and her approach will not make him go backwards in his eating progress so far!! He is currently learning to CHEW.

Smiling with Great-Grandma W:

Micah and Nathan:

The cousins have LOTS of fun toys!!

The kids seem to finally be over their colds. Mama now has a pretty sore throat and stuffed-up head... hoping it won't last long! She has Christmas baking to do!!!