Visions of Sugar Plums

I have always loved Christmas - decorating, baking, wrapping gifts, watching all the great Christmas movies... It is so fun to enjoy all those things with Todd and the kids. The boys are full of the yuletide spirit, donning Santa hats whenever they are home. We put up our tree early in the month so we could enjoy every last drop of Christmas cheer.

Some of our favorite traditions... nightly lighting of the advent candles and reading by the tree; taking the kids and their friend, Sager, to Cinematic Christmas every Tuesday night to watch free Christmas movies and eat hot dogs; baking for friends, teachers, and neighbors....

Hope your Christmas is full of blessing!

Christmas on the Block

One recent Sunday afternoon, we delivered Christmas goodies to our neighbors. Caleb loved surprising our friends with goodies that he had helped make and wrap up. A little while later, our neighbors and their friends came over and carolled at our house. All the neighbors went from porch to porch enjoying their performance. As you can see, Addison thoroughly loved it! She clapped and squealed the whole time.

This afternoon, I had the 4 other kids on our block over to decorate sugar cookies. Our camera isn't working, but I assure you our house was full of laughter, creative cookies, sugared up kids... I think I'll be finding icing and sprinkles for weeks but it was well worth it!

Run, Boys, Run!

On December 8th (Happy Birthday, Mom!), Todd ran in the Thunder Road Half-Marathon in Charlotte. The kids and I went to watch him finish. We were about 1/4 mile from the finish line and directly across the street from our apartment when we were first married.

That morning, i came downstairs to find that Caleb had dressed himself in running gear, complete with his headband. Cole quickly followed suit. We waited patiently for Todd to run by. The boys jumped in with Todd and finished the race with him. The last bit they ran hand in hand, all smiles!

Leaves, Leaves and More Leaves

With all our trees, we have an abundance of leaves this time of year. Our favorite afternoon activity has been running and jumping into a big leaf pile in our yard. One day, Todd took them for a spin around the yard on his scooter. These 70 degree fall days have certainly been a blessing! Now, who wants toto come help us rake some leaves?!

Charlotte's Latest Choo-Choo

A previous post mentioned that Cole and I are having regular dates. Our latest date was spent riding Charlotte's new light rail train that connects Uptown Charlotte with South Charlotte. We spent about one hour round trip riding the train. We both loved it. With the addition of some mass transit, Charlotte is beginning to feel like a bigger city. There will be many more rides in our future, for sure!

Christmas Fever

'Tis been the season for Todd and I to be dreadfully sick. Both of us have been bedridden for several days - luckily at different times! We are coming out of our malaise and spent the weekend slowly decorating the house. The boys are thrilled with the transformation. It's been fun to remember where we were last year -- anxiously anticipating Addison's arrival. What a joy it is to have her "on the outside" this Advent!

Deep Thoughts

On our way home from a Christmas party, Caleb had this interesting request...

"Mommy, Daddy... When I get to heaven, I'd like for God to turn me into a 5-year old boy and not a grown up. Do you think he'll do that?"

Hmmm.... I think I'd like that, too.

Thankful for Wilmington

We, Charlotte Chitesters, are thankful for Wilmington! It's such a wonderful place to visit. Our first few days say temperatures in the 70s which meant a trip to the beach for the boys and lots of walk around the neighborhood. It cooled off as our trip went on, but we thoroughly enjoyed strolls in the neighborhood, full moons, and dusk along the marsh.

Cooking with Grandma

My Dad's birthday was this past Sunday. The boys wanted to surprise him with a little birthday party on Wednesday (we spent Thanksgiving in Wilmington). As a special treat, we made him a molasses stack cake. My grandmother was famous for her stack cake -- it's hands down the best cake in the world! It's the quintessential Appalachian dessert - 7 layers of thin molasses cake covered with homemade apple sauce. YUM!

I have Grandma's recipe -- it's not all that specific so it was a bit of an adventure. But the boys and I loved every minute of it. Dad was truly surprised! Happy Birthday!

Pilgrim's Progress

Happy Thanksgiving from our Family to Yours!

Last Days of Fall

While the weather would say otherwise, fall in Charlotte is drawing to a close. Both boys just finished their soccer "seasons" - they are sad it's over. We have so enjoyed watching both boys play. Here are a few photos of Cole's last practice.

John and Laurie are Here!

Miss Laurie (see her birthday post from last month) and her boyfriend, John came to visit this weekend. John stayed with us for several weeks early this summer before he went looking for buried treasure off the coast of Albania. Seriously, he did this! He has become such a part of the family. The boys adore him, as does Addison and he is super sweet to indulge them. We will miss you guys so much. Please hurry back!!

Family Movie Night

Our kids loooove a video. It's a special treat to watch a full-length movie. The other night, we had Family Movie Night -- the whole family ate in the sunroom and watched Ratatouille. A must-see!

Self-Portrait by Caleb

Stupid Human Tricks

Cole just learned to wink. FYI, it's really, really hard to take a photo of a 3-year old winking....

Addison Takes to the Road

Addison is so much fun these days. All 4 of us so enjoy her antics. That girl is hysterical. She has started nodding her head and moving her lips when you ask her questions. We'll have to try to get some video up of it because it is too funny. Today, I brought out a little push car for her. She walked behind it for a bit this morning. When the boys came home from school, I told them Addison had something to show them. They watched in amazement as she walked down the hall behind her car. (side note... she loves walking/crawling toward the mirror in our hall... the girl gets a kick out of seeing herself!) Caleb exclaimed, "MOMMY! I did NOT know that Addison could walk, did you?" He was pretty thrilled by his sister. Before I knew it, Caleb and Addison had teamed up. He had hoisted her onto the car and was giving her rides through out the house. She was squealing with delight the whole time. We're entering a fun stage... tiring too, but really, really fun!

Future Marathoners

Check out Caleb and Cole sporting the retro-head band look, souvenirs from Todd's race.

Run Todd! Run!

This weekend, Todd and I went to Richmond for a long weekend. It was so nice to get several days to ourselves and some time to celebrate our 10th anniversary. Of course, what do parents of 3 young ones do to relax - they run! Okay, so one runs and the other drives around and watches! On Saturday, Todd ran the Sun Trust Richmond Marathon. It's his 3rd time running this race and his 4th marathon in the past 2 years. I am so inspired by him... perhaps I'll run 26.2 yards someday. Don't think 26.2 miles are in my future on this earth!

I have quickly come to love marathon spectating. It really is a blast to cheer so many different people on while waiting for your runner. It's a huge rush to finally catch a glimpse and try to shout the most encouraging things you can. This year, I was joined by Todd's brother Jeff and our dear friends from Charlotte, Jeremy and Lisa. Jer and Lisa cheered Todd on at last December's marathon in Charlotte, with Jeremy even running with Todd the last 1.5 miles! They are official Todd H. Chitester Marathon Groupies.

Todd finished his personal best - 3 hours, 40 minutes and 35 seconds. He cramped badly the last 6 miles and as he said hopped, skipped, and hobbled his way to the finish line refusing to give into the pain. I am so proud of all he has accomplished. It really is amazing! I am so blessed to have Todd for a husband and partner. Can't wait to see where the next 10 years leads us!

A special thanks to Mom and Dad for staying with the kids while we were gone. The kids had a BLAST! Thank you so much!

Carving Time

We all enjoyed pumpkin carving... Thank you Todd for such a spooky creation!

Trick or Treat on 8th Street

We love Halloween in our neighborhood! Each year, friends and neighbors gather for a party followed by trick or treating down to the Great Pumpkin Wall -- a huge scaffold full of jack-o-lanterns carved by neighbors. Addison was an adorable little frog and the boys once again donned their superhero costumes. A mass of about 25 kids took to the streets. Caleb was at the head of the pack -- literally at a dead run from house to house. Cole, on the other hand, brought up the rear, enjoying a casual stroll with Daddy to get his loot. The boys are basking in the perpetual sugar-high that comes post-Halloween. Caleb summed it up best, "Candy makes me run really fast. It also can make me a little crazy."

Flash!!!

I was in charge of Caleb's Halloween party at school and had such a good time meeting his friends and seeing them all interact. We love his new school and could not be more pleased with his teachers, Mrs. Myers and Mrs. Berkemeyer.

Batman Goes to School

Thursday was full of Halloween parties. Our little Batman had a wonderful time at his parade and party. Here he is with buddy, Clark and also his friend, Mattie.