Sending Christmas Wishes to Afghanistan

A Message From Santa

(http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/watch/Nvqqo8ple8VrxJwBujoBmw)

Decorating for Christmas

 

 Austin as a big help with the trees this year. He was very excited to see all of his special ornaments for the tree in his bedroom. He added the finishing touch with a giant wad of ribbon at the bottom of the tree. I think it looks prefect, don't you?

  

We tackled the big tree early the next morning. (Or maybe it was in the afternoon and we were still in our PJs. Who knows.) We like to wear gloves while fluffing the tree in the Kiefer house. No artificial pine tree scratches on these hands!

 

I think he got a bit bored towards the end. He was more interested in decorating his grill than the tree!

 

All our hard work paid off...Ta-da! We're ready for Santa!

Thanksgiving {2010}

Our Thanksgiving was very quiet this year. We headed to Sparta for lunch with the FerFer's. Austin was an such a good little boy. He even took a nap while we were there - something I thought he'd NEVER do!

 

We headed to Lynn and Dave's for a yummy "Brupper" on Thanksgiving night. Austin had so much fun playing with the big boys in Stefan's room. He has all kinds of stuff Austin couldn't wait to get his hands on. 

This year we are thankful for memories, family, and how lucky we are to have both. 

Count your blessings instead of your crosses; Count your gains instead of your losses.

Count your joys instead of your woes; Count your friends instead of your foes.

Count your smiles instead of your tears; Count your courage instead of your fears.

Count your full years instead of your lean; Count your kind deeds instead of your mean.

Count your health instead of your wealth; Count on God instead of yourself.

~~Author Unknown~~

Lighted Parade

The Red Bud Chamber added a lighted Christmas parade to their Holiday Happenings/Deer Fest. I wasn't hip on the idea of watching Christmas lights a week BEFORE Thanksgiving, but it ended up being a really cute little parade. The number of floats were perfect for the cold weather.

 

 (We can't go anywhere without at least one car or truck. Tonight we hauled "my red truck" and "my FerFer car" to the parade)

 

We headed to LoLo and John-John's for tasty appetizers after the parade. We stuffed our bellies, warmed our toes and watched Austin perform his first ever rock band concert. He was really getting into it, as you can see...

 He ended the show by rocking the violin guitar and singing us a little ditty...

 

As  everyone knows, our lives changed forever shortly after we left LoLo's that night. I look at these pictures and see happy people. People untouched by tragedy. People who don't know how lucky they are. I know that we'll be happy again someday, but I also know we'll always have a hole in our heart that will never be filled. Thankfully we have our little Rocker to help us (and make us) carry on. You can't hide from the world when you have a two-year-old constantly pulling on your sleeve! I'm sure CC wouldn't want it any other way!

Jingle Bells

 

(I apologize in advance for the crick in your neck...because I know you're going to have watch this over and over again!)

Almost 29 Month Check In

Austin,

Just an update on what you're saying and doing at almost 29 months...

Mommy and Daddy's bedroom is the Con-dooooo. He asks to lay in the Con-dooooo every night before bed.

You say "I do" instead of I did.
Austin: I saw a snowman
Mommy: You did?
Austin: Yeah, I do!

You now call a combine, a combine, not a binding!

You still sleep with a paci and woobie. Now, instead of just asking for them, you'll tell us you NEED them

You still think your last name is FerFer.

You can count to eleven and sing your ABCs - when you want to.

You are obsessed with anything with wheels. You'll get attached to different cars, trucks, and/or tractors for days at a time. Sometimes it feels like all we do is search for that missing blue car or red tractor.

You go potty on the big boy potty when we put you on it...but other then that... you could care less!

Sometimes you like to be alone. You'll say, "Mama, go kitchen" or "Dad, watch TV in con-doooo" when you want to be by yourself.

You're still taking a 1 - 2 hour nap each day.

You say you're "busy" when you're dizzy.

You remember A LOT.

You love to color. Drawing cakes (circles) is your favorite.

You love cell phones and computers. You're always asking to "check something" on them.

You could play with Play-Doh for hours on end.

Your favorite sayings include "alright" and "okay, I try it!"

Your imagination is coming to life. The other day you told me a baby calf lived in my ring box.

Rural King is still your favorite place to go.

You say "I missed you today" when I come home from work.

You say "oh no, my sock broken" when your sock starts to fall off.

You've visited the "two minute" chair quite a few times in the past few weeks.

You hold onto your matchbox cars so tight. You've even started to ask us to blow on them when they get too hot in your hand.

Thank you, Austin, for being a source of happiness for everyone around you! We need your shining smile more than ever before!

Happy almost-29-month birthday! Love you!

To My Best Friend

Dear Uncle CC,

Thank you for pushing me around the kitchen in my Cozy Coupe. Can you believe they let us drive in the house?

Thank you for pushing me on the swing when no one else wanted to.
Thank you for teaching me what an excavator is. My Mom says most two-year-old kids don't know what an excavator is.

Thank you for the endless amount of toys you've given me in the past two years. I have more trucks, tractors, bulldozers and backhoes than a boy could ask for.

Thank you for going on family vacations with us. I will smile every time I see the pictures of us playing hide and seek in the condoooo!

Thank you for keeping a basket of toys for me at your house, and sharing your special John Deere toys with me.

Thank you for cooking your yummy ribs for us. I know I never wanted to eat, but the few bites I did have were always tasty!

Thank you for playing with me in Nana's playroom. I think I must have said "come on, CC, play with me" a million times.

Thank you for taking me on my first camping trip. 

Thank you for reading books with me.

Thank you for singing "baby steps" and "fruit salad" with me. 

Thank you for keeping my Dad company at family things. I'm sure you guys have shared a lot of laughs over the years!

Thank you for growing yummy vegetables in your garden.

Thank you for always promising to "check on chief" when you got home.

Thank you for loving my Aunt B with all your heart.

Thank you for showing me what it's like to have a best friend.

See ya again one day, CC! I will carry you in my heart forever.

Your Buddy,
Austin

Lake Trip - {Nov 5 - 7}

The First Annual Farrar Women's (+Austin, Kyle and John-John) Lake Shopping trip kicked off early Friday afternoon. Everyone was excited to get to the lake and start spending that hard earned moolah! The Con-dooo couldn't have been more perfect. The layout and decor was perfect for the weekend that lay ahead. Austin was so excited to see the "pond." He told us he was looking for dolphins!

The first night we relaxed and enjoyed dinner at Kyle's favorite restaurant, JJ Twigs. Austin loved all the attention for his cousins. The most excitement came when the fire alarm was set off. Everyone was in a panic and certain we were about to be evacuated. Turns out the heater hadn't be on all summer...

We also took time to celebrate Aunt B's birthday! I have a feeling Austin is going to be a big helper when it comes to opening present during Christmastime...

Saturday we shopped until we dropped...There wasn't a credit card left uncharged! He was such a trooper! He rode along in and out of every store without a complaint. I was worried he'd need a neck brace after running into so much stuff in the overcrowded stores all day!

Sunday we visited a Christmas store and chowed on Mexican (another Hentis Family favorite!) before heading home. Mama put the pedal to the metal and we were home to our men in no time.

...And that's the wonderful thing about family travel: it provides you with experiences that will remain locked forever in your mind. ~ Dave Barry

Halloween Pictures - 2010

I decided to take Austin for Halloween pictures after seeing how cute he looked at Bella and Chase's party. We hadn't been to Portrait Innovations in quite a while, so I wasn't exactly sure how he'd do.

The first 10 minutes went like this...

 

He wouldn't crack a smile or move a muscle when the photographer was around. Finally, after a lot of coaxing from Aunt B., we started to see the tiniest smile...

Is this guy for real?

Here we go... Finally, a happy Bob!

I think he was going to his happy place at this point...

"Dad? Get me out of here!"

Cheese!!! Happy Halloween!

Can we find a costume??

Yes, we can! Finding a costume for Austin was so much easier when he didn't have his own opinion! From early to late September, he was going to be a vampire. I found the costume at the Gymboree outlet and it looked so cute with his spiked hair. A few weeks later, he decide he "no like" the vampire costume! He had decided on a pirate thanks to Moose and Zee's pirate adventures on Nick Jr. I scoured the Internet for the perfect pirate costume. I finally settled on one that came with boots and long pirate hair...this was going to be prefect! You know where this is going, right? Yep...he hated it! He politely said, "mama do it" and pushed the pirate hat back at me. Back to square one...

I started racking my brain for easy, less traumatizing costumes for him to wear. I told myself I should go with something he likes. Cars? Trucks? Tractors? M&Ms? Finally, while watching the same episode of Bob the Builder for the 100th time, it hit me! Bob the Builder! That's it!! He agreed and the rest is history....

Getting pictures of Bob was hard. He moves fast from job site to job site, never taking a break to smile at the camera. A builder's job is never done! Here are a few from our weekend of trick-or-treating.....

Our family and friends know Bob well... He needs a new workshop to store all of his loot from Halloween!

Was the costume "drama" worth it? Yes, it was! Did he look just as cute as any vampire or pirate? Yes, he did!

(PS - do you need a 2T vampire or pirate costume? I just might know where to find one!)

Pumpkin Picking {2010}

We waited fairly late in the Halloween season to head down the road to the local pumpkin patch. Thankfully, we were still able to find the perfect pumpkin for our front porch. 

Did you know that pumpkins now come filled with Tootsie Rolls? When Austin would tell us he wanted to "pick another one" -- he was talking about Tootsie Rolls, not pumpkins!

There were lots of "warty" pumpkins in the patch this year! (or maybe that's all you can get when you go last minute!) We had a blast running along the trails and hunting for the perfect pumpkin.


He loved playing in the ball pit and on Thomas just as much (if not more!) than picking pumpkins. He jumped up on Thomas and said "come on, guys, all aboard!"
We had fun running through the corn maze. It took us a bit longer then most people because we had to stop and inspect every piece of corn laying on the ground.   We are so thankful for one fun activity we don't have to drive 30+ minutes to enjoy!