Merry Christmas!

What a Blessed Christmas! We certainly had a fun morning watching Grace open all of her amazing gifts. And we had fun opening all of our amazing gifts as well. Santa brought Grace her much anticipated pink scooter. She was thrilled and we got it all on video. She proceeded to open many more gifts and got a little overwhelmed. We were overwhelmed too by everyone's generosity. She is a loved/spoiled little girl. Her favorite gift seemed to be a pair of scissors that Santa left in her stocking. Go figure. I think they cost Santa $1.99. Isaac seemed to just hang out and take it all in. He was just happy to have a filling breakfast and someone to hold him. We had a fun day playing with all of our gifts. We headed out to Christmas dinner this evening for Japanese Hibachi- it was delicious and there was no clean-up! Even better. Now off to bed as Isaac will be up pretty soon!

This is Grace opening her Thomas AquaDoodle from Uncle ben. These things are so neat.
Me holding Isaac as he snoozes.
Grace cutting her first of many pieces of paper.
A storybook frog from Grandpa and Holly.
Grace on her new scooter.

Thank you everyone for making our first Christmas with Isaac so special.

Christmas Parties and Christmas Eve

We had a busy past week or so. Lots of Christmas celebrations, shopping, visits with Santa, and cookie decorating. Grace and Isaac both attended my Bible Study Christmas party with me. They were so good. I was a little nervous to take them out past their bedtimes, but the evening was filled with good food and lots of helping hands. It was a great confidence booster. Then, the next night, Isaac and I went to a Christmas party for the Children's Ministry team at church and once again, Isaac was just wonderful. I again had lots of helping hands and a fun evening. Sid's office party was last weekend. Grace stayed with a sitter and we brought Isaac along. Sid works with such an amazing group of people. We are blessed that he has a job he loves and that he works with people he likes and respects. Grace had a big week at pre-school last week. She had her class party and then the Christmas program. So adorable. Finally, we made and decorated cookies this evening and tucked in a very excited 2-yr old. She is convinced that Santa is bringing her a "pink schooter" aka a pink scooter. I guess we'll just have to see! Merry Christmas Eve-
Grace loves for her baby to be just like Baby Isaac.
Grace's friend Addie has on the same Christmas dress at their class party. Both girls were so cute hanging out together.
This picture is from the Christmas program. The 2 yr olds sat in the front. Grace is sitting by her two best friends, Ryen and Hayden.
Oh Boy- Grace only had 6 cookies to decorate- and I think it took her 45 min and a huge mess! But she was having so much fun and kept saying "Santa is going to be so happy!"
Both of the rugrats are bathed, fed and ready for bed in their Christmas pj's.

Mitchener Family Christmas Photos

Last weekend we had some family photos taken plus Isaac's newborn photos. Here are just a few of the MANY. Grace is almost 2 1/2 and Isaac is just 3 weeks. For the family: if you would like to order photos here is the link: http://www2.snapfish.com/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=208850372/a=26915686_26915686/t_=26915686
They are all available in color or black and white. I recommend the matte finish and you can order them in any size.

We are adjusting...I think

We are getting some sleep around here. Not a lot, but enough to survive. Isaac is a good eater and a good sleeper and extremely tolerant of two year olds who want to touch, kiss, snuggle, and cuddle with him constantly. Grace is doing much better too. She has gotten over a lot of her jealousy but seems to push the limits when Sid gets home or when we have family visiting. Overall though, she is a great help and just adores Isaac. Below is a picture of Grace holding Isaac and Isaac's girlfriend Hampton is sitting next to them. Hampton is an older women born on October 19th, an entire month before Isaac!
Backing out of the driveway last week I ran over Grace's bike and bent it pretty badly. So we had to run to KMart and get a new one. We also got an Elmo helmet, knee pads, and elbow pads. Grace is peddling her new bike everywhere and refuses to ride it without all of her gear on...which is a good thing- I guess.
My 3 week old is already in size 3-6 month clothing. He is just so long so we have moved up sizes. This is our little guy sleeping in the middle of the living room floor. Big sister is napping, so he is actually getting some peaceful sleep. So sweet.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Grace had been asking to see Santa since last Wednesday when we went to the mall and talked to Santa. I didn't do pictures that day as Isaac was sound asleep, the kids weren't really dressed and Sid wasn't with us. Then a few days later on Saturday morning Sid and Grace headed out to Home Depot and they had this neat Kid Workshop (where Grace made a wooden tray) with Santa. Sid said Grace went right up to Santa, no fear. So on Sunday we got the kids ready for church and after decided to head to the mall to see Santa. After waiting in line for 35 minutes it is finally our turn. Isaac was starting to stir, but no worries as I was certain the entire process would take no more than 75 seconds. Wrong! Grace suddenly decided that she wanted nothing to do with Santa. I won't go into details, nor will I describe the terrible looks we were receiving from the 150 parents in line behind us, but we did get the photo. Not exactly what I was hoping for, but at least it is something. The kids looked adorable in their outfits. And I vow that matching outfits will only be reserved for holidays and special occasions.

Thanksgiving 2007

Thanksgiving 2007 was a little crazier than past Thanksgivings. I was home on Tuesday from the hospital, we picked up my mom and brother from the airport the next day and just kind of winged the rest of the weekend. We had a fun time eating, playing with Grace, and watching Isaac. It was a slow weekend, especially for Uncle Ben, but all in all we had a good time catching up and giving my mom a hard time. Nana, Sid's Mom, came back on Sunday night to help out for a few more much needed days. We were so sorry to see her go! Thanks for all of your help, Nana!

Grace LOVES her baby brother... a lot.
Nana and Isaac-
Uncle Ben and Grace have so much fun together. At first we though Uncle Ben was just being a good uncle, but then we realized that he truly loved playing with trains, bubbles and Hotwheels.
Grandma and Isaac
Uncle Ben wasn't exactly sure about holding a 4 day old baby, but he was a natural.

Grace meets Isaac

Sid, Isaac and I came home from the hospital the next day, the 20th. Grace was well aware that her baby brother had been born and she was anxious to meet him. We came home during her nap and had a wonderful surprise waiting when she awoke. She was ecstatic. She wanted to hold him constantly and kept kissing him. She had the biggest smile I have ever seen. She kept saying 'baby brother' and 'baby Isaac' over and over. And needless to say all she still wants to do is hold Isaac...constantly. It's precious though and I am blessed that she has been so accepting. She doesn't necessarily like when I hold him, but we're working on that.

Welcome Isaac Gregory Mitchener!

Isaac joined us this morning at 7:16 am. Everything happened quickly- my L/D was about 3 1/2 hours. He weighed in at 8lbs 12oz and was 21 3/4 inches long and we are blessed with another healthy baby. He is doing great- nursing well and sleeping well. I am also feeling well, just a little tired. :-) Sid is a proud daddy and is doing a great job taking care of us both. Grace is at home with Nana, Sid's mom, and ready to meet her baby brother.

Vaco and The Triangle's Fast 50 Award

Sid's company took 5th place in the Triangle Business Journal's Fast 50 awards this year. Here is the link to a short article about the award and Vaco: http://triangle.dbusinessnews.com/shownews.php?newsid=139230&type_news=latest . Below is a photo of the Vaco team after they won the award. Sid is sticking his head up in the back.

Even at 38 weeks pregnant I was allowed to go to the party. So strange being amongst professional adults...it took me a while to adjust.

Instead of a baby...Belly drawing!

At the advice of a good friend, we decided to let our 2 year old Picasso have at my belly with a lipstick. She had a blast and so did the baby. What better way to pass the time while waiting to go into labor than to cover your stretched belly with a greasy substance that is difficult to wash off.



The finished master piece- hardly a spot missed!

Hillridge Pumpkin Farm- Nov 3rd, 2007

On Saturday morning we bundled up and headed out to Hillridge Farms. We have been to the farm the previous 2 years and it was always just packed, but yesterday was the last weekend it was open and it was a ghost town-which made it all the more fun for us! No lines and lots of play. At 38+ weeks pregnant I was more of the photographer, so Sid and Grace got to do most of the really fun stuff.
I think the only reason Grace even agreed to go was because of the pony rides. She LOVES horses.
And the tube slide was a big hit too. She and Sid went down the slide as many times as Sid's rear-end could handle.
Apparently we will be taking these two pumpkins home with us- Grace is now known as the Incredible Hulk around our house.
Of course the bounce house couldn't be skipped. Since there was no one in line Sid got to jump too. Not sure who enjoyed it more.

Halloween at school and in the neighborhood

Grace's preschool class had a Halloween Party this week. They decorated cookies, painted pumpkins, made a huge mess and had a blast. Sid manned the cookies and I helped with the painting...as we thought paint on the suit would not be a good thing.


For Halloween our neighborhood has a parade and ends at a neighbor's home where we have a big BBQ. This year the fire department escorted us around the loop and Grace was in Heaven checking out the fire truck and the fire men with their big coats and hats. We invited some friends over to enjoy the fun. The other pumpkin in the picture below is little Marcel. His big brother Pierce is in Grace's preschool class.

In the wagon is Grace's good friend Ava Kate (also 2yrs) and her big sister, Kendall, the witch. The girls enjoyed being chauffeured around the neighborhood while gathering ridiculous amounts of candy.