Christmas Part 2

This Christmas we were fortunate enough to spend time with both sides of our family. This week was our Chanute week and Briggs and Sara got to head down early and stay late for a nice long weekend with Doe Doe and Papa. This was the first time in a long time that all of the Herron side were able to get together for a few days in Chanute and it was great!! We ate a lot, watched Cars, played with the kids, watched Cars, opened presents, and watched Cars. If you're not catching on then I'll lay it out for you. Briggs is absolutely obsessed with the movie Cars right now and would watch it all day if he could although we don't allow that. He plays with his toys, read books about it, and now potty's on his new Lighting McQueen toilet. He really understands presents now and loved opening all of them. Doe Doe and Papa went above and beyond this year and all of the kids got spoiled rotten and had a great time. Briggs and the girls also looked absolutely adorable in their matching Xmas pj's. Thanks to you guys for making our Xmas so special this year and for everything you do for your grandkids and us. We all love you guys for it!!!

Christmas Part 1

We had our first Christmas celebration with the Tomlinson family last weekend. Briggs really understands about presents giving and getting them both. It has been really fun watching him get excited about it this year. We had a super relaxing day hanging out with Gram, Grandad, Mark, and Mia. Briggs adores Mia and will do just about anything she does. Mia in turn is very understanding and so sweet even when Briggs steals her new toys, thank you Mia. It took us nearly 2 hours to get through opening presents. We would open, put together toys, and then play before we could start the next round. It was so nice to be with family and it really got us in the Christmas spirit. Thank you Gram and Grandad for a wonderful day and making Christmas so special for Briggs and Mia. We love you.

Sugar and Spice

Monday afternoon we had our first sonogram and were able to find out that we are having a little girl. We were so happy to hear that everything looks healthy and she is progressing just as she she should. It is so nice to be able to call "it" a her now. I think Greg is super excited but fearful of being wrapped around a sweet little finger! Briggs is still unaware of what is going on but now tells me he had a baby in his belly, it is something new with him each day. I am thrilled and think a little pink infusion at our house will be a welcome sight. I am already dreaming of pigtails and decorating a girls room. Can't wait to met our little sweetie and round out our family. More updates to come.

Thanksgiving

We made a conscious decision this year to stay put for Thanksgiving this year. It always seems like we run around trying to see everyone and end up more exhausted after our break than before. I had Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday off which was great besides the fact that we woke up Tuesday night to a puking little boy. Don't know if it was the flu or a little bug but he was fully recovered by the next day. We spent all day Thursday over at the Tomlinsons enjoying great food and company. The rest of the weekend we just spent at home with our little family playing and setting up for Christmas. It was awesome to have 5 days off and really just be with Briggs and Greg. Makes me so happy to be with my boys. We really feel so thankful for our families this Thanksgiving, we love you all.

Tomlinson Update

Hello all!! Sorry it's taken so long to get a post up...pretty much don't have any excuses other than life being a little busy right now. A lot of new things are going on at our house. Briggs seems to be growing up daily and now talks constantly. His sentences are getting longer and more put together and he can easily communicate whatever he wants. Of course with that also comes the "NO" stage. He's been practicing his right to free speech with that word a lot lately and it's landed him in timeout more times than I can count. He has a funny way of thinking he can do whatever he wants and then just say "Sorry" and give you a quick hug and it's a get out of jail free card. Other than that, he is just perfect in his parent's eyes. He's got a great personality and sense of humor and is happy all the time...unless you tell him he can't watch Backyardigans. He still loves being chased, dancing in the kitchen (to Jack Johnson's Banana Pancakes), and snuggling on the rocking chair and we do plenty of those all the time. We're working on the potty training and hope to have that down by the time winter is done. Briggs is in his final week of his Daycare and then will start going to Aunt Kelli in the beginning of January. We'll miss his school and his buddies, but I don't think he'll be lacking in having fun or getting the love he needs from his buddies Kiki and Hadley.

Sara is almost half way done with her pregnancy and is doing great. It seems to be going by much quicker with another little one to take care of. We're still struggling on the name choosing, but hope to narrow it down next Monday when we find out what we're having!!!! We honestly could care less either way, but we're excited to know. I've just been doing the same thing of work and school and enjoying my time off with my little family. That's all for now...ADIOS!!!

2 year pictures

Briggs got his 2 year old pictures taken this past weekend. Here are the preview pictures that we have, they really turned out great. Such a reminder when I see these that he is no longer a baby. Such a sweet cute little boy, I am so proud of him in every way. Enjoy, I will send the rest when I receive them.

Halloween

What a perfect fall night for Halloween. Cousin Lydia, our friend Jayden, and baby Hadley all came to our house to trick-or-treat for the evening. Briggs went as a farmer and I have to say was by far the cutest farmer I have ever seen. He loved trick-or-treating but refused to carry a bucket so instead collected candy in his hands. After each house upon returning to his wagon he would instruct "open up mommy". Needless to say we did not accumulate much candy but did end up with an enormous belly ache. After a skeleton head popping out of a post at one of our stops a shaking Briggs instructed 'I go home Mommy" and that was the end of our trick or treating.

I am finding more and more how much fun it is to watch your kids have fun. I love seeing the look on Briggs face when he is seeing something for the first time or experiencing something new. Really makes me appreciate him and how in awe he is of the world around him. Can't wait for many more Halloween, costumes, and new experiences with my little farmer. Happy Halloween!

Sweet Hadley Ann

I am about a week overdue in announcing the arrival of our new sweet niece Hadley Ann. Hadley was born on Sunday October 24th weighing 8 pounds 9 oz and measuring 20 inches long. Kelli did such an amazing job and Hadley is such a precious little bundle. The family is home now and doing great beside being sleep deprived. Hadley is one lucky little girl to have Kelli and Jason for parents. We love you guys and are so happy you brought such a special little person into our family.

Pumpkin Carving

We had a few friends over for a pumpkin carving night last Thursday. Briggs loves his little girlfriends and is delighted anytime he gets to spend time with them. We thought the kids would love the pumpkin carving but it turned out the adults did all the carving while the kids took multiple wagon rides. We have some pretty awesome Halloween decorated houses around us so we took the kids on haunted tours. Luckily no one got scared and we ended up with some pretty cute pumpkins. Briggs however did not enjoy the carving because he thought it hurt the pumpkins, maybe next year! More Halloween fun to come.

Run Megan Run

Saturday we headed out bright and early downtown to watch our fried Megan Earney run the Kansas City Marathon. Briggs was very happy because his cousin Allie got to make the trip with us. He adores Allie and loves having a playmate. We made about 3 stops along the course to cheer her on before heading to the finish line. Megan is an incredible runner and it is a blast watching her compete. She came in 2nd for the full marathon with a time of 2 hours 54 minutes. To do the math for you that means she ran 26.2 miles at an average of 6 min 30 sec per mile, makes me hurt thinking about it. Way to go Megan we are proud of you!

Birthday Festivities

We had a fabulous birthday week at our house. We were all exhausted by the end of the week and ready to be done celebrating. Hard to believe our little boy is two years old. We are thankful every single day that he is in our lives. Here are a few pictures from our week......

Briggs serving his spider cupcakes at his school party. He thought he was pretty special as he delivered each of his friends their treats.

Briggs birthday night at the top of the Shawnee Mission Park tower.

Throwing food to the little fish in the water.

Picnic in the park with Mom and Dad on his birthday. I know McDonald's, don't judge me I am pregnant.

Greg's birthday night we went to dinner with family and then home for blowing out candles over and over again. I am pretty sure they got blown out each by Briggs before Greg could even make his wish.

For my birthday Greg and I took Friday off work to have a childless day out and about. We had a nice relaxing breakfast, went shopping and had lunch out. It was so great to be able to have a full conversation while eating without food being thrown at you. I always love getting alone time with my husband. On Saturday night we met friends at great new restaurant in Leawood and had great food and great company. Made turning the big 3-0 not quite as daunting.

Thanks to all that helped to celebrate all our birthdays with us we appreciate and love you all.