My Performer

 This morning, we headed to a local nursing home with a group from church to sing to the residents.  Luckily, Pierce did not pay that much attention to the health of some of the residents and was happy to perform for them.  I'm quite certain it was the highlight for many of them having so many children around!

He also enjoyed walking around to greet the residents, tell them Merry Christmas, and give out cards.

These three insisted on having a music sheet and reading it even though none of them can!

Mr. James was sweet to come play for the kids to sing!

And here were the songs the little kids knew!  They were very patient with the carols they didn't know but really belted it out when they did.  It was hilarious!!

Pierce stayed on stage the ENTIRE time!  Many of his friends didn't and some never made it up there at all.  He also did lots of dancing with the bigger kids...he was quite the performer!  I'm glad he thought it was fun, but proud he had a good attitude and a giving heart!!

Live Nativity

Last night, we attended the annual live nativity at church. It's a very special time to see/hear the story of Jesus. Pierce did really well this year paying attention to it and taking it all in. Petting the animals was definitely a highlight!

I loved Pierce's view of what we saw, he knew Mary and Joseph.  He called the wise men "knights" because of their costumes and loved the angels being up so high.  He said, "wow, look at all those angels!!  There are 11 of them!".  He was right!  And, he was excited for a picture with "Mary".

I asked him what his favorite part was and he said, "when Mary and Joseph held Baby Jesus!".  I almost started crying, too sweet!!  Jesus is the reason for the season!

Hey, Santa!

Santa makes an annual run through the neighborhood on one of the local firetrucks. Last Saturday afternoon he came by!

Pierce was SUPER excited to run outside and wave at him. He threw lots of candy in the yard just for him, I had to run inside and get a bowl since he couldn't hold it all in his hands!

3K Christmas Party!

Pierce counted down the days until his class Christmas party at school for weeks. Last week, it was finally here and I'm so glad I could drop in!  I'm pretty sure the highlight of the party was a McDonald's Happy Meal lunch for all the kids!

Apparently, Pierce loves the girls in his class!  Here he is with Mollie, I told him to get close to her and here is what he did!

Sweet smiles and silly faces with friends!  A few friends were out that day and Jessie was being camera shy.  My favorite is Chase's silly face.  His mom took lots of sweet kids of all the kids and with their moms.  Can't wait to see those after the break!

More silly time with Izzy and Chase!  What a fun way to celebrate the holiday season with his friends at the end of the year!

3K Pajama Day

3K had pajama day and breakfast on Monday. Pierce's teacher, Mrs. Glenda, even cooked waffles for everyone!

I got a full report on what kind of pj's all of his friends had, especially some fuzzy slippers that a girl in his class had on!

Breakfast with Santa!

We had a fun morning last Saturday at Breakfast with Santa! It was a well organized event complete with Christmas crafts, a yummy breakfast, and plenty of time with Santa. It made it even more exciting to do it with lots of friends!

Poor Grace is mortified by any type of character, even Santa.  This was during her one moment of happiness before Santa emerged.  She loves M, I'm pretty sure she would come live with us!

Our table was near Santa's spot, from the moment he came out Pierce couldn't wait for it to be his turn.  He was super excited to go see him and sit in his lap.

We can't wait to go back next year!  This was a much better event than waiting in line at the mall and it was for a good cause, benefiting The Bell Center.  That always warms my heart.  Merry Christmas, y'all!!!

O Christmas Tree!

Last weekend, we finally got our tree and put it up!

Pierce was very excited to help string the lights and put on ornaments. Much to my surprise, he was actually a pretty good helper putting them on and was patient and careful.  I hope he's just as excited to help when it's time to come down!

Twinkle & Batter Bash

Last Sunday was the preschool and childrens choir production of  "Twinkle".  It's always entertaining, especially with all of the preschoolers on stage!

Kathryn did great with one of the top roles!

Sweet Grace is one of the kiddos in my class.  We have a larger class this year and they keep us on our toes. They did GREAT during the performance!

We also made special treats to share at Batter Bash after Twinkle.  Chef Pierce loved wearing his hat and serving his treats.  Too bad we didn't get more pictures, we were busy working!

Elfie's Back!!!

AAAAAHHHH!!!! Elfie's back!!!!  Yes, we have the most original Elf named Elfie! Pierce was super excited to see that he came back over the weekend. The firetruck was in part of our neighborhood last weekend with Santa and Pierce said Elfie came on the firetruck! 

He thought it was so silly that Elfie drew on a picture of him in his bathroom.  Sometimes Elfie forgets to fly to a new spot at night, but luckily he wakes up for a super quick trip before Pierce has discovered him.  Whew!  Can't wait to see what michevous he gets into next!!

Thankfulness, Turkey Time, and More Birthdays!

On Thanksgiving we headed up to Huntsville to spend some time with family for lunch. We had a delicious meal and all of the cousins seemed to have lots of fun playing and dining together. The little cousins had fun watching Cars 2 while waiting for lunch!

Being silly with Aunt Mallory!

We got to celebrate yet another family birthday too.  It's was Sam's first birthday!!  He loved his cake and was COVERED in green icing quickly!

We then made the long haul down to Florala to visit with Gigi and Poppa and help Gigi celebrate her birthday. Yes, another birthday!!  Pierce always loves helping to open gifts and he and Gigi made special cupcakes. Thanks to Gigi and Poppa for also watching him while we headed to the Iron Bowl!

We all take everyday things for granted.  During this season we are especially thankful for our families, happiness, health, and all our many blessings!!

A Boy and His Dog

Our poor dog, Maggie, definitely got the backseat when Pierce joined our family. We've had her for almost 6 years now. However, she's tolerated a lot in recent years and really has been a perfect dog to be around a small child!

Sadly, Pierce considers Maggie a person I think and probably like a sibling. He fights with her, tattles on her, but loves on her too.  He doesn't know life without her!  Before we left to visit family for Thanksgiving he said, "Mommy, take my picture with my dog!"

Wish List

With the holiday season upon us, Pierce decided that he needed to work on his wish list for Santa!  While there were multiple things on his list (probably 10), he quickly told me that Santa could only bring 3 of them.  (Per his friend Maggie, which that is the rule at her house.)  However, the 3 things he really wants keeps changing!!

"I'm Goin' to California!"

Last Friday, Pierce and I headed down to Opelika to join M since he'd been there for work for a few days. For several days leading up to it, Pierce would say, "Mommy, guess where we're going? To California!!!".

We had a fun night staying in Opelika, complete with a trip to Momma G's for dinner. Yum!!  It was a full day of tailgating with family and friends, then going to the game.  Pierce and Cousin Abby have loved spending time together this football season, they prefer to hang out inside the trailer to play games, watch movies, and snack.  Occasionally, the big boys let him play a little football with them outside!

4 Yr Check-Up

Last week was Pierce's 4 year check up, I was excited knowing that he would need need any shots this year. Silly me!!! This was the WORST appt (well, the last 5 minutes) and I need to document that this was the most embarrassed he has ever made me, hands down!

He has quite the phobia these days about going to the dr, dentist, etc...I really talked this appt up on the way explaining what all they would do and that he would not have to get any shots.  I knew the flu mist nose spray would be an issue... so I told him they were going to tickle his nose with it and his friend, Henry, went that morning and didn't cry at all.  What was I thinking?!?!  He got a little upset when they pricked his finger (above picture), but got over it quickly.  However, it took 3 adults to hold him down for the nose spray...I'm pretty sure his body was possessed for a brief moment!  His daddy will be going on his 5 yr check up, especially for 4 shots!!!!  Makes me laugh when I was thinking how easy the first 85% of the appt was.  Ha!

Here are his stats:
Weight-38.2 lbs (65th percentile)
Height- 40 3/4 inches  (42nd percentile)

Despite all of it, I'm happy to report that he is very healthy and got a good report!  So thankful for a happy, healthy boy (depsite his major meltdown!).  :)

Happy Birthday, Poppa!

Poppa's birthday was on Monday and he and Gigi were in town so we were able to help him celebrate! Pierce thought it was exciting to help blow out candles and help open his gift!

This is the 4th family birthday in the last couple of weeks and Gigi's is next week.  We love any excuse to celebrate and eat cake!!!

We also helped Henry celebrate his fun 5th birthday with a bowling party a few weeks ago.  Sadly, this was the only picture I got!  It was a fun morning with another yummy cake from his much talented Nana!

Operation Christmas Child

Each year we sponsor a needy child during the holidays, this year we did a shoebox through Operation Chrisstmas Child with our church. Pierce loved helping me pick out all of the items for the box and helped me pack it up. Of course, we had to do a boy and a younger age (so we could pick out the things he liked!). Luckily, there is a feature to track where your box goes, so as it gets closer to Christmas we can track and see where our box travels to! We hope he loves his goodies as much as we loved getting it ready for him!

Yo Ho Ho, Capt. Pierce is Turning 4!

Last Saturday, we had a fun morning with Pierce's friends helping us celebrate his 4th birthday!! This year he had a pirate party...ARGHHH! It was so much fun planning for it...from making cupcakes toppers, a birthday banner, and games. We had a "walk the plank", dug for "pirate treasure", and went on a treasure hunt!

The kids dressed up as pirates upon arrival, complete with an eye patch, pirate belt, and hat!  They kept asking where the swords were...ha!  I knew that would have been big trouble!!

The little pirates...we had some sick friends we missed and some football families that were gone.  It's so hard to have a party in the south during football season!

Love these faces with their eye patches!!

Trying to sing and blow out candles...it was WAY too windy!  Thanks to Gigi from keeping the cupcakes from falling off the table!!

Heading out for the treasure hunt!

AAARGGHHHH!!!  Even Poppa got in on the fun....

Thanks to all his friends for helping us celebrate his big day!  I've never seen him so excited for something.  Happy 4th, big boy! We love you so much!!!!