The year of the trains.

Over my maternity leave with Avery we discovered the train set at Barnes and Noble. The prefect free entertainment for my little man. It was then that the plotting and planning began to get Renn his own trains and train table for Christmas. My parents agreed to tackle the train and track angle and Eric and I would tackle the table. Boxes began arriving at our house that I had to hide and Eric assembled the train table on Christmas Eve all for the big WIN on Christmas Day!
This was the first year I felt like he got the excitement around presents. Despite being up late he was up early and ready to go. Wanting to know what was in all the packages below the tree that had excited him for a month. He loved every minute of it!

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Bed Time

There has been a shift in Mr. Renn's bed time ritual. Before recently I would have defined it as easy. 7:30 p.m. would come and we would head to his bed, get in p.j.s, read a few books, tell a story, say our prayers, I would give him a kiss good night and he would head off to sleep. Easy!

Now around 7:30 p.m. we enter into negotiations. Renn usually wants to watch one more tv show, play trains just a little longer, needs something more to eat or simply decides to be defiant and pitch a mini fit. Since he seems to WANT to stay awake we have even gone so far as to let him stay up super, super, super late (on a non school night, of course) but he still doesn't want to head to bed. Wild!

Once we do make it into the bedroom he begins the haggling process for how many books are read. You feel guilty telling your kid that you will only read 3 books since we are now at an hour past bed time. Once the reading, story telling and prayers are complete Mr. Renn pours on the " I love you, Mommy!", "Don't leave me, Mommy!", "Let me give you kisses and hugs", "Stay with me, please". I am guilty of loving his sweet hugs and words of kindness that I stay. We fall asleep. I know it is a terrible, terrible habit but I also know I won't be able to have these moments for long. When he snuggles in and says "I love you!" I melt and all the antics he has pulled  prior to bed are forgotten. Oh, bedtime!

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Christmas Photo Shoot 2010

Ahhhhh it is time for the yearly Christmas photo shoot. Which ALWAYS involves something not going as I planned. Year 1: Renn needed a nap. Year 2: Renn was teething and had a runny, runny nose. The fact that this year's shoot was going to involve an additional child I threw up my hands and just knew there was no way to control all the elements. So I put my thinking cap on. When are both my kids having the most fun together? Got it!!! When we are playing on the bed or all climbing over the couch cushions. Insert mattress, pillows, green green grass, the fabulous Carrie Fay and we have a low stress photo shoot peeps.

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Renn Rides A Camel!

Every couple of weeks Renn, Avery and I head to the zoo on Monday. Today Eric took a day off and joined us. Woo hoo! The boys rode a camel!

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Go team Disney!

Renn's Cita  (my mama) found a 2T Mickey Mouse costume soon after he was born. Which means I feel like I have been waiting for this Halloween for years. Knowing he wasn't a big fan of costume wearing I convinced Daddy that we ALL needed to dress up. It was good ole family fun!

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The RIGHT nows!

A few things Mr. Renn loves RIGHT now. 
Foods: taquitos and refried beans, Chick-fil-a nuggets and fries, juice, grilled cheese and soup, french toast and cereal bars
Singing: Theme songs, Raffi, & Chapel CD
Books: Swimmy, Polar Express, Little Engine that Could
Shows: Any and all Veggie Tales, Kai Lan, Upside Down Show & Blues Clues
Toys: Stuffed frog and bears, Thomas the trains, cars, blocks and puzzles.

But, MY favorite thing is to watch him be creative with his things. Such as finding things to drive his cars through like the rollers stored under my sink. Glad they have a purpose again.

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A brother & his sister

Renn loves, loves, loves his sissy! He wants to hug her, kiss her and share with her. But, he also wants to push her, kick her, take things from her, hide her things, and do things to be basic BIG brother irritants. I already see that he will protect her at all costs but I anticipate some healthy sibling antics going on between the two.

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