Guess who is getting some sleep??!

The Holiday season is in full swing, and life is G- OO -D  GOOD! This year has brought so many changes to our household.. it's hard to even know where to start!

The face of a Mom who has given in!

Caught playing in the toilet... AGAIN!

Matthew is almost TWO. For real.  His birthday is coming up in February.  While I'm usually sad to see time pass, I am LOVING this age and honestly not missing having a baby in the house.  Matthew FINALLY started sleeping thru the night around 20 months of age.  TWENTY MONTHS.  That's enough to confirm the decision that we will not be having any more babies! HA!  But having two full months of consistent sleep has made me feel like a new person!! I honestly forgot what it felt like to sleep, and I love it!










Matthew is the biggest ham- absolutely hilarious.  He doesn't talk very much, but he can carry on quite the conversation with his huge personality.  And don't let that give you the idea that he is quite, because he is anything but.  In fact- he is very very LOUD, and determined, and smart.  He watches every move you make, and then repeats these activities once you have left the room ( because he knows you won't let him in your presence).  He is obsessed with trains, cars, and tractors and has already developed a passion for driving. He is constantly dirty- I'm not even sure where it all comes from.  He remains clean for about 5 minutes after his bath.. kind of reminds me of that "Pig Pen" character from Peanuts. You can comb his hair, put in some hair gel, hairspray, you name it.. and 5 minutes later it is back to a wild mane sticking out all over his sweet little head.  You just can't tame him!  Sometimes I think we should have named them Jack T and Matthew Wilder instead of the other way around!

Helping Mom at a Wildtree event

NonaJane is loving preschool this year. Her favorite part is "playing outside" and when asked what they did in the classroom we get a flippant "I don't know".  She loves to swing- and can swing herself so high that she rises above the cross bar.  I think that girl could swing for an hour if you let her.  She played Soccer this fall- which if you saw our video on Facebook... was entertaining.  NonaJane loved to run really fast "did you see how fast I was running???" But didn't have much (any)interest in the actual soccer ball.  We caught her on camera actually jumping over the ball while focusing on her fast running.  I asked if she knew that the ball needed to go in the goal- I think she felt that the rest of her team had that covered for her.  Now she has been begging to take ballet! We asked Santa to bring some dance clothes and ballet shoes/tap shoes... so here's hoping!!! She has been growing her hair out for most of the year- to my dismay.  I loved her sweet little bob- but she wants to have ponytails and braids like her classmates! Too bad she got her momma's fine and slow growing hair.  Poor thing! How old do you have to be to get extensions???

Halloween! Wore my old costume!

The family took a Christmas Train ride this year!

Too funny not to share...

Jack is flying thru first grade.  His academics just amaze me. Most weeks we never even look at his spelling words and he still gets them all right, we've started reading the Harry Potter series together, and we can take turns reading pages.  He just finished up another production with cornerstone performing arts where he played a young boy during the great depression/dust bowl era.  He was the youngest (and one of only 3 kids) in the play. He was the only child there without a parent in the cast, but despite the fact that the play was a drama, Jack still loved going to rehearsals and being on the stage! There is another set of try outs in January- and we're hoping for a bigger role and more lines for his 3rd performance!

Jack getting in costume

Adam is chugging away at the railroad still working evenings.  Those hours honestly just work the best for him! We tried the whole "day shift" route.  It just meant that the kids spent more time at a sitters, and Adam was tired and grumpy all the time.  Unpleasant to say the least.  He joined the gym again, has been running (intermittently). I've learned over time that he is kind of an "all or nothing" person.  If he is going to run, then it's like 9 miles.  If he is going to go the gym, then it's for 2 hours.  But if he doesn't feel he can devote the time to an "extreme" work out, then he chooses nothing at all. But at home he has been busy building and remodeling around our house again!! We (HE) re-did the dining room!!! We (HE) built custom benches for our bay window and a farm house table that I could not love more!!  We (HE) removed the old chair rail, put up ship lap on the far wall, and hung a new lighting fixture from the cool ladder that the previous owners had left! The whole renovation has completely changed the feel of the common area of our home.  I find myself just staring at it all the time, it brings me so much joy!

 Adam and Matthew with our new Truck!

The new Dining Room

And then there is me... so much has happened with me this year! My original position with Lakemary Infant Toddler came to an end in July due to Greenbush taking over the contract.  Greenbush offered me a contract position- so I was required to start my very own LLC! So here I am SELF EMPLOYED and loving it!! I devote 10 days a month to traveling and providing therapeutic early intervention services in children's homes all over our area.  Since February I have also been steadily growing my Wildtree business.  Wildtree has impacted me in so many ways.  I have gained confidence in the kitchen- learning new skills and creating dishes I never dreamed I could make! Wildtree has introduced me to wonderful colleagues and customers who encourage me, and have provided a new wealth of friendships! In just a few weeks I'm heading to St. Louis for a leaders retreat- and am very much looking forward to the time with friends and the extra nudge to continue building my business in 2017! Wildtree has also given us a wonderful financial break this year.  We were able to add to our savings, to pay things in lump sums in advance rather than making payments, and avoided the stress of being "tight" when bills were due each month.  I absolutely can not express how much stress that has relieved!

our very first pony tail EVER!

Such a loving big brother- always has been

Clearly fixing things

The Crabb Family!!!

My New Year's Resolution this year (with all this new found sleep I'm getting) is to get back in the swing of things with my blog! While I often fail at printing pictures, and keeping keepsakes for the kids... I feel like this blog is one thing that we can all look back on and enjoy. So here is to a busy 2016, and a hopeful and fruitful 2017!!!