Violet's Baptism

Violet got baptized on Sunday the 27th. Here are some pictures taken afterward. Violet did pretty well. She didn't cry. Unfortunately the same can't be said for Harrison! It was his first time actually being in the sanctuary since his own baptism. He had taken Violet's cup and she started to get fussy, so I took it back to give to her. Needless to say, Harrison was not happy. To hear him in all his glory, go to http://www.fumcmontgomery.org/ and click on the video services icon. It is the January 27th service (the current one). You can also go to http://www.wsfa.com/Global/story.asp?S=6957729&nav=menu33_7 to get to the menu of videos directly. Violet also appears on January 6, 2008, during the Baby Recognition.

Veronica's New 'Do

Veronica's Grandma Conely took her to the beauty parlor today to get her hair cut. Here are some pictures of her new look. In other news, Veronica has gotten into the habit of calling David "dada" which sometimes he doesn't like, so he told her that she doesn't have to call him that, she can call him "Daddy." Then she went in the opposite extreme and called him "Father" so David started feeling a little guilty and told her that she could call him whatever she wanted. Then she said, "Can I call you Giraffe?"

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

Yesterday we got the first snow since we've lived in Montgomery. It barely dusted the grass, but I insisted that David go up into the attic to get my sled. He didn't think it would work, but I knew that our backyard was made for sledding--if only we could ever get some snow! We had to act fast, though, because the falling snow started to turn back to rain very quickly. I got three good runs in, then David did too. I helped Veronica the first time by letting her ride on my lap, then I just pushed her, then she did it all by herself! It was really fun, but also really wet because it had been raining so much that the ground was very swampy. All of the snow was gone probably within an hour or so, and now it's just COLD! If only the cold could have coincided with the precipitation, then we really could have gotten some use out of our hill.

Odds and Ends

Here are some things the kids have said/done recently: Right before getting out of the car to go in to his preschool, Harrison grabbed his brush and started brushing his hair. When he was done, he said, "Now I'm handsome!" Later that day, his teachers had to change his clothes because he had a dirty diaper and decided to stick his hands in it and rub it all over his clothes. Veronica used to do that all the time, but Harrison has only done that once before. It was chilly one morning so I put a blanket on Violet before taking her outside. Inside the car I noticed that Harrison had stolen Violet's blanket and had covered himself with it. I asked him why and he said, "Because I'm sooo coooold." He had a coat on too! Veronica got a prize from the treasure box last week (some bubbles) because she was good all week! Report cards come out this Thursday. Violet has started saying "Dada" a lot lately, but no "Mama" yet!

Recognizing Violet

Yesterday, First Methodist Church had a recognition ceremony during the 11 AM service for all the new babies born in 2007. We carried Violet to the front, they announced her name and ours, and gave her a cute little pink Bible (of the Psalms) with her name embossed on the front. Veronica walked up with us too. Harrison stayed in the nursery. Today was Veronica and Harrison's first day back to school/preschool. Harrison has been ready to go back for a long time. Veronica wasn't quite as anxious! She did come home with a smiley face on her hand today, so she ended up having a good day anyway. Harrison's preschool is going to be working hard with his class to get them potty trained. They won't let them advance to the K3 class in the fall if they aren't potty trained. So I'm hoping this will encourage him. He has all the skills to do it--he just doesn't have the desire to do it. I feel confident that he'll be potty trained by September, especially if everyone in his class is doing it.

Goodbye 2007, Hello 2008

For New Year's Eve, we went to the zoo to see the Christmas lights and then to Pizza Hut for supper. We got home around 9 PM and I put Violet to bed. Even though we are in the Central Time Zone, we still see the New Year's shows (like Dick Clark) live. So, when they do the countdown, it's only 11 PM here. So we all celebrated at 11 PM with some sparkling cranberry juice that we got from Goodwill. (David had dropped off some donations and they gave it to him because someone else had dropped it off and they don't take food donations. It was still sealed, so we drank it and we're still all alive.) Maybe if we had cable TV there would be some "live" New Year's show for us to watch, but all they do here (on the regular broadcast channels) is re-run the same show they just showed an hour earlier! Needless to say, it's very anti-climactic. I struggled to stay awake until midnight, but had dozed off, when David woke me around 12:03 saying "Happy New Year." Then I went to bed. New Year's Day is different here too. No one has heard of having pork and sauerkraut. Obviously, you can buy it at the grocery store, but it's not a featured item, like the traditional foods here--blackeyed peas and turnip greens. We had a "traditional" New Year's Day meal at David's parents house: blackeyed peas for peace, rice for riches, turnip greens (again for money because they're green), and some sausage. It was good. I like turnip greens and blackeyed peas (which are really more like beans than peas) and probably healthier too. Last year I made pork and sauerkraut at our house and invited David's parents over. They enjoyed it, but Veronica complained about the smell of the sauerkraut the entire morning that it was cooking. You would have thought she was being tortured! I'm sure it built lots of character.