Parker, Say "Cheese!"

As we end 2008 and look forward to 2009, I want to send a huge thank you and shout-out to someone who has helped our family, particularly Parker, tremendously in 2008 - Miss Kim.

Miss Kim, a speech-language pathologist with Children's Healthcare, started working with Parker this past spring, when his much delayed vocabulary consisted of about a dozen words. Throughout the summer and fall his vocabulary expanded greatly, and he's been adding new words, sentence structures and complex verbiage on an almost daily basis. As the new words have come forth, Kim has expertly pinpointed the sounds and movements with which he has difficulty and has provided us with ways to encourage the correct use of those sounds and to promote proper articulation of words.

Kim's enthusiasm, patience and loving manner with Parker has made our experience with speech therapy such a joy. From week one Parker has willingly gone back "to play" in her office, rarely ever looking back at mom! This proves to me that he loves and trusts her - and that is priceless to me.

Kim has helped to give Parker his long-awaited voice - and thus his self confidence and independence. My appreciation for her goes well beyond making the "K" and "G" sounds... she has truly been instrumental in making Parker's future a very bright one!

I have only one question: why does Parker insist on picking Princess stickers after each session?!?

Stone Mountain, Take II

As dedicated readers are already aware, a few Saturdays ago we headed out to visit Stone Mountain Park's Christmas Festival. After being turned away due to park capacity, we ended up at Life College Lights of Life. Not to be deterred, the following afternoon we bundled up the kids again and tried Stone Mountain, Take II. This time we went a little earlier in the day, hoping to beat the light-seeking crowd to a parking spot.

Second time success! While it was VERY cold and windy, we were happy and warm while we headed to the very tip of Stone Mountain. Visibility wasn't great, but who cares? We were running around on a mountain top!

We lasted about a half hour before heading to lower elevations in hopes of thawing out.

The Christmas Festival was FANTASTIC! Literally every building wall and corner was covered with millions of lights. The entire Crossroads town area was transformed, and as the sun set and our surroundings darkened, all four of us were in awe at the sight.

We played some Christmas Put-Put!

We watched the Christmas Parade, ending with the all-important couple - Mr. and Mrs. Claus.

We also road "the Polar Express" train around the mountain, stopping on the backside of the mountain for a country telling of Christ's birth. After the train ride, it was time to head home. We walked around the front of the mountain just in time to catch the laser light show, set to Christmas music and filled with Christmas images.

As with the night before, we ended our evening warming ourselves in our kitchen (while wearing jammies, of course) drinking hot chocolate and feeling the spirit of the season fill our hearts!

The Nutcracker School

Last Saturday evening we packed bags, bundled the kids up and headed east toward Stone Mountain Park in search of their magical Christmas festival. Away we went, over the river and across 285 until Stone Mountain Parkway we came. Only to be told that the park was filled to capacity, and they were no longer letting people in for the day. What?!?! Was this a joke? We just drove 30+ minutes to find out that a state park was at capacity? Crap!

As we turned around (Bill none so pleasantly, I might add) Bill reached down below the center console and pulled out a beer from a hidden cooler! I laughed and he said, "for the ride home" and offered me one too. The kids immediately got whiny. We had to come up with Plan B... and fast!

So it was decided that we would head all the way back across 285 and over the river to a few miles north of our house. We would check out the Light of Life at Life Chiropractic College.

We had visited Life last year for their light display, though we only drove through campus without enjoying all the "splendid" activities. No avoiding them this year. The boys were bundled and ready for some outside action.

We pulled up to the activity area (and I use the word "activity" very loosely) to find a few glass windowed trailers with weird animation scenes inside. One featured an elf seemingly beheading a chicken and another showed a Santa Claus prone on his back on a table. I made the mistake of asking out loud "What is Santa doing?" and I was quickly given the answer with a huff by the man standing next me. "He's getting an adjustment." Now that was one I hadn't seen before and I swallowed my laughter as I walked on!

Lucky for us there were some scrawny ponies that needed a'riding for only 5 bucks apiece... rip off! So, the boys climbed aboard and waddled slowly around the sad little pony circle. WooHoo!

The absolute highlight of the evening was a visit with St. Nick. The boys had a chance to tell the jolly old elf (again!) that they are just dying for the Space Shuttle Mission Launcher thingy and a pair of Spiderman Jammies. We actually got a GREAT photo with Mr. Claus, and if I wasn't too lazy I'd go downstairs and scan it in for you dear readers. Maybe later.

After a full 15 minutes of activity (double that if you include standing in line to see Santa) it was time to climb back into the car and drive through campus. Life really does do a nice job with the display - complete with a water dragon emerging from a small lake! We drove along listening to carols, enjoying the lights and having a grand old time.

As we rounded one of the last corners we saw a giant set of three soldier nutcrackers lit up next to a huge "CHIROPRACTIC" earth. Brady immediately said "This is a Nutcracker School!" to which Bill and I clinked beers - more funny then he knew!

All in all, it was a wonderful Plan B!

Tinsel Time!

Ok, so we don't really use tinsel on the tree (NOT a good choice with two dogs who eat anything they can semi swallow), but we sure do love our tree with lots of glitz and shine!

Last Sunday was tree day at the Plummer house. We set out in the morning to find the perfect specimen, which was quickly and easily obtained from the authentic tree farm (uh, I mean parking lot) two minutes down Spring Road. The boys were headed to enjoy the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Children's Christmas Celebration with Nana and Grandy after lunch, so time was short, and we needed to keep things moving.

That evening after dinner we settled into the living room to add the ornaments - the REALLY old ones from Daddy's youth (heehee!), the fabulously cheesy ornaments from Mommy's childhood, the many memories gathered by Bill and me throughout our 15 years together, and the fun and cute ornaments that Brady and Parker have accumulated over their past few Christmases.

P.S. I don't know what happened to Parker's pants...

After some intial excitement Parker quickly tired of the process (probably because most of his ornaments kept falling off shortly after placement.)

Brady, however, stuck with us to the bitter end, even begging multiple times to put the star on top - and he was flatly turned down each time. That's one thing Daddy does not share.

While the garnering or decorating of the tree didn't seem to inspire me with some sort of witty blog posting, we did enjoy spending a quiet evening at home working on a fun family project.

Oh, and just so you know Michael, my stunningly artistic green and red chocolate chip Christmas cookie ornament has been awarded an honored place in front, right where it belongs! I know you're jealous....

Funny Little Creatures

As I'm drafting this on my bathroom floor my children are spitting water from their mouths onto the walls of my shower. I should care... but really, why? Who is it hurting? The water is clean - gathered straight into their mouths from the showerhead. The walls aren't getting any wetter than they would otherwise, and ultimately, they are washing their bodies, entertaining themselves and creatively pretending to be elephants trumpeting water from their trunks. Who am I to put an end to this?

My children are truly funny little creatures, though I must admit that all too often my adult-ness gets in their way. This evening at dinner their imagination once again amazed me and made me want to freeze time and enjoy these ages forever.

Just a half hour ago I was seated at the table with the boys, feasting on a fancy meal of grilled cheese sandwiches, LeSeur peas, sliced cantaloupe and (thanks for the freebies, Liz) some leftover restaurant tortilla chips. For whatever reason Parker decided he was uninterested in peas, so I scooped up a spoonful and started the airplane toward his mouth. With "Sounds of the Season" gently filling our house with Christmas cheer, I sang "Rudolf the red-nosed reindeer, had a mouth full of peas!" and glided the huge spoonful into his smile with ease.

Within seconds I was responded to with "Jingle Peas! Jingle Peas! Jingle all the way!" from my other side. At this addition by Brady, Parker rolled in laughter (and gladly accepted another bite.) Our next bite came to "Oh Christmas Peas, Oh Christmas Peas, how green and little you are!" Brady came right back at me with "Frosty the snowman ate a big bowl of pea peas!" (Nah, it doesn't have to make any sense.... the creativity is perfection enough.)

After both children finished eating the majority of their given plates, they hopped down and cheerfully went away from the table while singing Jingle Bells. Once the dishes were cleaned and rinsed (unfortunately not put away because the dishwasher is full), I called for them to come to our room for a shower.

Silence. "Boys, let's go!"

Then, "Parker let's log roll all the way!"

A minute later, two little bodies - shaking with laughter - came rolling into the bathroom, bumping into walls and rolling over each other. After a few more minutes of circular rolling, they were stripped of clothing and tossed in... finding us in our current situation. They are now baby sabertooth tigers (and I'm apparently the teacher sabertooth) and according to Brady they now only speak "Spanish," though it sounds more like cats in heat than any actual language.

All that said, I must run .... Parker is now crying that Brady spit water in his eye.

See, what did I tell you? Hilarious.

Lights! Camera! Christmas!

Some of the many reasons I love living in Smyrna are the family-centered community events the city hosts throughout the year, and one of my favorites is the annual lighting of the Smyrna Christmas Tree.

High in the round-about in front of the library and community center, the city erects a gigantic metal structure covered in greenery and then fills the entire surrounding area with huge lighted figures: Santa on his sleigh with his reindeer, snowmen, carolers, angels and many more.

This Monday evening we attended the annual funfest. We bundled up with many layers, hats and gloves and headed out to watch Santa throw magic dust on the tree, making the lights come alive with sparkle and wonder.

A group of local high school band members and majorettes performed as introduction for Santa, who arrived on a white horse-driven carriage. After a few HoHoHos, Santa tossed his magical Christmas dust and lit up the night sky ... much to the delight of both young and old!

We saw many friends while out and about on the cold winter evening, reminding me once again how much I love this area. After greeting the crazy looking Rudolf, Frosty and Gingerbread Man costumed-people (Frosty's nose was literally smashed in - probably due to poor storage techniques after last year!), it was time to go home and thaw out.

We ended the evening with much anticipated and appreciated hot chocolate and cookies for some (beer and wine for others.)

Merry Christmas to and from Smyrna, Georgia!

Gobble! Gobble!

I wanted to share some great pictures from our family trip to Florida for Thanksgiving! Mom and Dad graciously hosted all four of us this time - - - Bill got to come, too!

The day before Thanksgiving we headed off to Sea World, with a little trepidation about the huge holiday crowds. (Last spring we took the boys to Sea World over "spring break" week and the park was so crowded that they literally ran out of food! We had to serve the kids ice-cream sandwiches for lunch because it was the only thing we could find.) Needless-to-say we were a little freaked out about the potential crowds, so we got up and out early and made it to the park at 9:00 on the dot!

As a Thanksgiving treat to us all, the park was the slowest we've ever seen it! We headed first to the Wild Arctic, where the attraction was magically transformed into The Polar Express. After a short viewing of the movie highlights (my kids have watched the movie at least 6 times in the past few weeks!) we headed out to explore the North Pole.

And what did we see as we rounded the corner into the beluga whale exhibit? The Big Cheese. The Main Man. Santa Claus in the flesh! We had no idea that he would be there, and the boys were thrilled to have the opportunity to impress upon him their wishes of a Space Shuttle Mission Launcher Lego thingy and Spiderman Pajamas!

In addition to the great decor around the almost deserted park, we saw the Shamu show as well as the Whale and Dolphin Show, we all rode the Shamu Express Roller Coaster 3 times, and Bill and I hit the big Kraken roller coaster twice! And as a special treat Johnny the Polar Bear was actually up and around - and hanging out within three feet of the boys' heads! This was a rare occurrence, as he's normally sleeping with his back toward us when we're there.

Since Daddy was there, the boys loved getting to bungy jump for him and show off how big and brave they are! Add in the free beer and easy to find seats in the Anheuser Busch pavilion and the trip was close to perfection! What a fabulous way to share with Bill all the things we love about Sea World!

Mom created a delicious turkey meal for us all, and we enjoyed some relaxing down time while the boys played a little golf. And to top off the trip, we headed home BEFORE the crack of dawn in order to watch Tech win over GA... adding the cherry on top of a great vacation!

How Thankful and Blessed we truly are! Enjoy the pictures!

Welcome, Norky!

It's official ... the Christmas season is truly upon us.

How do we know? It wasn't that we watched Santa Claus in the Macy's parade (which we did), or that we are listening to Christmas music full force (which we are) or that the Christmas books and movies have made it onto the daily viewing list (which they have) or EVEN that the boys met The Big Man Himself at Sea World's Polar Express and passed along their most prized wishes (which they sure did!)

We know it is Christmas because Norky has arrived! Brady has been talking about Norky, asking about Norky and adding Norky to his prayer list for several days now... waiting (impatiently) for December 1st. Who the hell is Norky you ask? Well, our Christmas Elf of course!

We first met him in 2005. Norky traditionally arrives December 1st, bringing with him his storybook, his advent box and two yummy chocolates each morning! Norky sits quietly up high - on a shelf, on a picture frame, on a ceiling light - watching the boys (and the grown-ups!) and recording in his little elf mind all the good and bad deeds of the day. Each night Norky flies home to Santa, reports on our behavior and arrives back in time for daybreak - perching himself in a new location for the day.


Norky has become such a fixture in our Christmas traditions - those fabulous happenings and memories we have begun to create with, and for, our boys. And Bill and I can feel how amazing this year will be! We have two little boys who believe with all their hearts, understand the many events and can relate the stories and songs.

We are so thrilled for Christmas this year, knowing that there is a small window of time in each family's history that opens to the magic and unquestioning belief of Santa. That window is wide open for us this year, and we plan to enjoy each and every minute of it... and share it all with you!

How else do we know it is Christmas? It snowed today! Check out Halle's hair ... Ok, so it was more like little ice pellets, but this is Georgia and we'll take it!