Miscellaneous December

Wow, is December really over?  Is 2014 really over?  I just can't wrap my mind around it yet.  We have just been trying to enjoy our time together this month with both boys home from school.  Some big changes are coming for 2015, and we are looking forward to them.  The boys both gave us special Christmas "presents" this month.  Evan lost his two front teeth the week before Christmas.  Yep, just in time!  Brody finally figured out how to stay dry all night and has been wearing underwear to bed for the last few weeks with no accidents.  He does get up several times at night to go potty, but we'll take it!

A picture after the loss of front tooth number one.  

And I guess this is what I will have to come to expect when I ask to take his picture now.  Sorry to inconvenience you, Evan!  

All he wanted for Christmas was his two front teeth!  Well, he actually wanted to keep them until after Christmas, but Mommy wanted him to lose them so I guess Mommy got what she wanted.  They had been loose for over 3 months. 

Brothers coloring together. 

Brody has been making progress coloring in the lines. 

On Christmas Eve, Brody gave me another "present."  He wanted to color his name.  I drew the outline, and he did a great job trying to stay in the lines and coloring it in.  I remember when Evan finally got the ability to color more precisely.  He didn't like to color before and suddenly he became a perfectionist.  He would work very hard all day on one picture to make it perfect.  

His first "masterpiece." 

Evan and I went into a local Christmas store to look for a special ornament a few days before Christmas so I wanted a picture of him.  

A very special card and this ornament arrived on Christmas Eve from my dear friend, Natasha.  She is just one special lady who never fails to let me know she is helping us remember our little angel in heaven.  

The boys have really been enjoying playing together a lot this month.  I love how creative and imaginative they both are.  Here they are pretending to be firemen.  Brody is driving the firetruck, and Evan is giving his directions to the fire using his "fire phone."  

With the way Brody "turns" that steering wheel, I am surprised the truck didn't turn over.  He drives like Charlotte firemen.  One of Charlotte's stations has turned over two firetrucks driving too recklessly.  Sigh. 

One of our last outings of the month was to visit Daddy at his office and take him to lunch.  Evan had been wanting to go play on the new corn hole boards Daddy built for their information and educational resources.  Sadly, this is one of many things Daddy has done that will not be appreciated when he is gone.  Daddy only has one more week of work for the Forest Service before he begins his new career.  

Evan preparing to throw.  He is actually quite good and was getting many of his shots in the hole. 

Daddy shoots.  He will be saying goodbye to his lovely green and brown uniforms after 13 years.  

Brody liked helping pick up all the bags. 

Eddie has been working so hard on this building since he got it for his new office.  He has painted, cleaned, and made countless repairs.  It looks 100 times better than it did.  This is the large bay area where the firetrucks were kept when it was a fire station.  There is a little kitchen area behind Evan that Eddie has been working to make better.  He planned to rip out all the old cabinets and replace them with stainless steel industrial counters when he was given the money.  He did paint and clean it up a lot.  He was also waiting for money and permission to build some additional rooms in this large open space for storage and another office space for the other county that is supposed to share the space.   

Evan loves playing corn hole. 

Brody can actually throw the bags in the holes too from a considerably shorter distance. 

And that wraps up another year for this family!  Moving on to 2015!