Look Who's Almost Walking!

Isaac is becoming pretty secure on his feet these days! He is standing on his own and pushing around on everything--from his lion walker, to the stepstool, to any toy that will support him! It's so fun to watch him in his new independence. He loves an audience and just beams when you praise him. I don't think it will be long now before he's taking steps on his own!

First Day of SCHOOL for Wyatt...

Today was Wyatt's very first day of school! He was so excited about the idea of this new experience! The moment he got out of bed he wanted to put on his backpack and kept asking if it was time to go yet! I was a bit nervous that once we pulled up to the circle drive for drop off that my little man was going to change his mind and decide he didn't want to stay for the day. As we waited for Wyatt's turn to be escorted from our car into his classroom he kept asking, "Is it my turn yet? Are they coming for me this time?" Much to my suprise, he wasn't the least bit hesitant when it really was his turn. When his teacher came out to greet us, Wyatt jumped out of the car, put on his backpack, grabbed Ms. Leah's hand and said, "Bye, Mom... Have fun at the grocery store!" I stopped him for a kiss and then watched my little man walk away. I hopped back into the car and pulled away with tears of JOY streaming down my cheaks! My Wy guy is really growing up on me! I can't say that I really enjoy the 'letting go' process, but that's what mommyhood is all about...letting go one moment at a time from the day they are born until the day they leave home for college. I'm so glad that Wyatt is maturing and becoming independent of me. He's becoming confident in himself and secure enough to make good decisions and obey others without my prompting! I have to say that in the back of my mind I was expecting a phone call somewhere around lunchtime saying that Wyatt was missing me and wanted to come home. But when I showed up to get him at 2:30 he was all smiles and said, "I had fun!"

7 Years with my Best Friend!

Today we celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary! Seems like just yesterday that we were walking down the aisle to say 'I DO!' on that 70 degree day in Kansas City (a little bit different from the frigid temps we're experiencing here in Iowa!). But 7 years and 3 boys later, we are feeling increasing thankful for the life we're living out together!

We made the trip to Iowa this weekend to celebrate Joe's Grandma Surber's 90th Birthday! It was so fun to watch her being honored by family and friends. I think she was on cloud 9 for the day and totally soaking up the experience of a fantastic party! So our weekend certainly wasn't a romantic getaway : ) but it was a very memorable 7th for us! We're so glad we were able to celebrate with Grandma Surber!

Joe's parents were gracious to keep the boys last night while we snuck out to watch a movie. Joe is still trying to redeem himself for taking me to see True Grit for our anniversary. Somehow I managed to stay awake trying to find a silver lining in the midst of the gloomy wild west storyline... well, it ended pretty much the same way it began with more doom and gloom. Defintiley not worth the price of a movie ticket from this critic's point of view, but it was fun sitting next to my man for 2 solid hours without any little voices chattering in the background! ; )

Ringing in the NEW YEAR!!!

Wyatt's first movie on the big screen!

FIRST MOVIE... On New Year's Eve morning, Mimi and Poppy came over to stay with Isaac so we could take our big guy to see his FIRST MOVIE... Tangled! It was SO MUCH FUN!!!! When we arrived to the first theater they were all sold out. We were feeling a little bummed but determined to make it to a showing while we had a babysitter for Ike. So we finally found some tickets and walked into the theater during the last preview. Whew! It was a close call but we made it and it was well worth it. Wyatt sat right in between us with a big tub of popcorn and a soda and watched the entire movie. It was a such a cute movie and such a fun memory with Wyatt. As soon as the credits began to roll, Wyatt stood up and said, "Let's do it again! Let's watch Yogi Bear!" He's hooked! As soon as we got home, he didn't stop to take off his coat and shoes like ususal in the mudroom but said, "I'll just leave them on so we can go again!" It is such a delight as parents to see your kids having fun... I think Joe and I had even more fun than our Wy guy!

BIRTHDAY FUN... Later in the day we got to go celebrate cousin Ashtyn's 6th Birthday at Ben and Jerry's ice cream parlor. If anyone knows my boys, they know how much they LOVE ice cream, so this was a huge hit for the McCulley boys!

All of the flavors to pick from and my Wy guy chose plane old chocolate, of course! Isaac devoured some sweet cream too and loved every bite!

Wyatt is totally smitten with his Auntie B. Whenver we are going somewhere with Ashtyn and Daxton, the first thing Wy wants to know is, "Will Auntie B be there?"

The big birthday bunch

We finished the evening with a big family dinner at Freddie's and then headed to Trent and Brianna's to play some cards and eat more food. We knew we would probably be the first to leave their house since we were driving to IA the next day, so we had to role play our departure with Wyatt several times before we agreed to go. You see, Wyatt normally has these big, dramatic melt down tantrums when it's time to leave Ashy and Daxton's house. It has gotten a bit out of control. So we talked through and role played how Wyatt would respond, using self-control and obedience when Daddy and Mommy told him it was time to leave. He agreed that he would obey when time to go... We decided that it would be a good test. Well, Wyatt was a man of his word!!!! When we said it was time to go, he told all of the boys and girls goodbye, gave his cousins a hug and said, "See you next time!" Awww... making some progress!

Christmas in Kansas!

Christmas really is my FAVORITE season of all! No, I'm not a fan of the cold, wintry weather... Winter is actually my least favorite season! But there's just something about Christmas that warms my heart. I love the lights and activity, I love buying gifts for others, I love the aroma of good food, and I even love the music that starts on Thanksgiving day and repeats over and over until New Years! But most of all, the 'something' that warms my heart is devoting a whole month to celebrating the birth of JESUS! I feel like we were really able to savor the season this year. Wyatt and I went through our "Advent of Ideas" book together for the 25 days leading up to Christmas. It was so much fun to talk about the symbolism of the decorations in our home, the reason for giving gifts to others, and the humble birth of our Savior in a manger. I've loved hearing Wyatt sing "Happy Birthday, Jesus" in sync with our k-love radio station and seeing his little imagination run wild with the manger characters! I read a book about the value in creating TRADITION in your home, so Joe and I put our heads together and pondered what traditions we wanted to begin for our family. One place we decided to start is having Christmas morning at home together... waking up in our pjs, eating cinnamon rolls, reading the Christmas story, and letting our kids open their 3 gifts from us! BUT, it wouldn't feel like Christmas without the crazy chaos of extended family around (we found this out all to well last year with a very quiet Christmas in Maryland!) so we joined up with the rest of the crew for more excitement and celebration that lasted until the wee hours of the morning.

It took Wyatt almost an hour on Christmas morning to finally notice the GIFTS that were awaiting him...

Gift One: Play Dough activitiy center! Gift 2: Doctor Kit

Gift 3: NERF Gun Watch out, Ikey bear! Wyatt really focusing on his target Isaac eating the nerf balls discovering the stockings Ike is all about the food! He got a hold of a bucket of chocolate mints and refused to let go until he got a sweet taste! : )

Isaac was worn out and decided to take a rest in his high chair to gear up for the rest of the day

Gifts, gifts, and more gifts!

Both boys got a TONKA trunk from Mimi and Poppy

Isaac adoring his cousins...

The boys eating birthday cupcakes for Jesus!

This was my favorite Christmas yet... Until next year!

Peekaboo, I love you!

An Early Christmas in Iowa!

The whole McCulley and Johnson clan gathered in Iowa last weekend to celebrate Christmas together! I think this was the first time we had all been together in TWO years, if you can believe it. We finally got our first family photo with Isaac and Alexa included... Our picture will soon be outdated with one more McCulley arriving in April, but we've got one for now!

Top Row: Uncle Joel, Papa, Uncle Jay, Joe

Middle Row: Aunt Jen (Joe's sister), Grandma, Aunt Gigi, and me

Front Row: Ellie, Alexa, Wyatt (33 mos) and Isaac (11 mos)

Grandma with the kiddos...

Papa with his grandbabies! Cousins Ellie and Alexa with Wyatt and Isaac

Papa read the Christmas story to Wyatt and Ellie who both listened very attentively in his lap!

I love this picture of Daddy and Isaac!

Wyatt got his own digital camera from Papa and Grandma this year. Does he look like a pro or what?! : ) I think we've just about got that memory card loaded... I'll be sure to post a few of Wy's snapshots!

And the boys got their first remote control race car from their cousins! A little boy's dream!

It was a GREAT weekend! We had a very FULL house with 8 adults and 4 kids, which made it all the merrier of a Christmas. I think everyone was a little bit sleep deprived by the end of the weekend, except for our lil fam! Somehow our boys slept right through all of the noise and chaos... Or maybe Joe and I were just so tired that we slept through the crying (or so we hear from Uncle Jay and Aunt Gigi, who were such troopers being in the living room on an air mattress and didn't hardly sleep a wink.) We're sad the weekend is over, but look forward to next year (or maybe something even a little sooner since we're all in the midwest again!). Thanks for all of the generous gifts and sweet memories! Love you all...