Christmas Shows

Jacob and Brady both had their Christmas / Winter shows this week. And, yes, I cried at both. I'm such a sucker.

Brady's Christmas show was the traditional Christmas story. The 4year old and 3year old classes did most of the show then they brought in the 2year old classes at the end of the program to sing about 3 songs. Brady is not going to be the "performer" in our family. He pouted most of the show. I think he was completely overwhelmed at all of the people watching and the camera's flashing. He looks so sad!

My Dad got a good picture of Brady when he finally noticed us in the audience. When the program was over he jumped in my lap. I took him to his class and he cried. Broke my heart, but knew he would be fine in a couple of minutes.

Jacob's Kindergarten performance was a Rockin' Winter/Patriotic show. They did a touching tribute to our troops, sang the National Anthem, and did a Pledge of Allegiance Rap. Very cute. As most of you know, Jacob wants to be a rock star when he grows up. He played this blow up guitar like a true rock star. I think he really thought he was playing.

After both of these shows I am totally in the Christmas spirit! Merry Christmas!

Marshall And Mr. Higgins

We are dog sitting this week while our neighbors are at Disney. Marshall is a lively Jack Russell and Mr. Higgins is an adorable Terrier. The boys love taking them on daily walks. Jacob walks Marshall and Brady walks Mr. Higgins. (Brady calls him Meester Higgie) And I get to follow them and clean up. Fun. No, It really is kind of fun watching these pups for a few days. Doesn't make me want to get a pet, though. Our fish, Beta, is enough responsibility for us!

Half Marathon

I can't be any prouder! Tod ran in his first half marathon this morning. He is so amazing. On Thursday he came home from work and told me that he was thinking of running in the Thunder Road Half Marathon. I said, "Wow. When is it?" Tod said, "Well, it is on Saturday." Huh? He has been running about three days a week and doing a long run on Saturdays for a while now. Tod has raced in many 5K's, a few 10K's, and a 15K, but nothing this long. He took the train to uptown early. I bundled the boys up and we met him at the finish line. We saw him round the corner and I shouted, "There he is!!" Jacob ran up and gave him a big high five and we cheered him to the finish. He finished in a very strong two hours.

Tod has always told me that if you set your mind to something you can accomplish it. You may not get it right the first time or hit a bump along the way, but as long as you keep focused you will be able to succeed in whatever you do. He makes me want to be a better person. I'm proud of you, Tod!

Next stop....NYC Marathon??

This week...

Not too much has happened this week. I have been sick with a cold/ear infections/cough for about 3 weeks now and I am sick of being sick! The ones suffering the most are Tod, Jacob and Brady. After being sick for 3 weeks I decided that it is time to stop being sick.

Yesterday the boys and I went to Stanly, NC to visit my friend Karen and her daughter Riley. We had such a fun afternoon. Riley is such a little spitfire. Her curly brown locks and extensive vocabulary makes her the cutest two year old I've ever met! We did have to drive through torrential rains to get there, but once we arrived a beautiful rainbow appeared. The kids were just as awe struck as we were.

Here is a picture of our back yard. Steele Creek floods every time it rains.

I do need to ask my friends for prayers today. Jacob's teacher's son is at Levine's Children's hospital today with digestive problems. He may need surgery. Also, my neighbor is having surgery today. He is having his malignant gallbladder removed, lymph nodes, possibly part of his liver and surgery to repair his colostomy. It is going to be a long day for him and his family and they need your prayers. Makes me feel bad for complaining about my cold!

Tonight we are going to drive around a look at Christmas lights. Always puts me in the Christmas spirit.

All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth...

Jacob lost ANOTHER tooth!

We went to the library for a Winter/Christmas story time last night. We sat down and Jacob said, "Hey, my tooth!" It just fell right out. The parents around us cheered and the other kids thought it was really cool. Jacob was the star of the program for a couple of minutes. The Tooth Fairy came last night. She sure is busy around here!

Brady is THREE!!!

Today my baby, Brady, turns three! I can't believe he is already 3 years old. He is such a special little boy. He has always taken his time to do anything and everything. He didn't sleep through the night until he was 16 months old. He didn't walk until he was 18 months old. And he just recently started talking to us. I think 3 is such a magical age. I can't wait to see what he discovers he can do now!


We just had a small family birthday party for him. He loved all of the attention, but still didn't understand why it was all for him. He loves Curious George and was amazed with his green Curious George cake. Wanting to dig right in when daddy brought it home, he was devistated that he had to wait until after he ate his dinner.


Yummy icing!!



Brady got lots of help from Jacob opening his presents. Jacob opened and Brady said, "Cool! Wow!"

This morning I put a candle in his waffles. Happy Birthday, Brady!!!

Elf Dance

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Humidifier anyone?

As you can tell...Brady loves boxes.

Thanksgiving Trip

We had such a fun Thanksgiving trip! It started out on Tuesday with a trip to Washington, DC. Jacob said he wanted to see the White House. I love Washington and have been many times. It is such a beautiful city and so full of history. We parked the van and Jacob wanted to take his scooter. We thought..why not?! He "scootered" all over DC.



We made it to the White House. Always beautiful. They were setting up for the Christmas Tree lighting over the weekend.



I asked Jacob if he wanted to live in the White House when he grew up. He said, "No way! I'm going to be a rock star not the President!"

Next stop was Baltimore. Sorry, no pictures from Baltimore. We got out and Jacob, once again, scootered all over the harbour area. We loved looking at all of the different kind of ships. They had two ship steering wheels (or helms?) at the harbour. Brady kept saying, "Argh!" like a pirate.

After we left Baltimore we headed to Philadelphia. It was getting cold but we wanted to see some sights and have a philly cheese steak. We stopped off at Independence Hall and let the boys run around.

We saw the Liberty Bell. Jacob said, "So...what's the big deal about a big cracked bell?" It is hard to describe to a 6 year old, but it was a big deal for Tod and I to see it.

Here's the picture that Jacob took of Tod and I in Philadelphia. Ha! Yes, that is Tod!

After we left Philadelphia we headed further north to Bayonne, New Jersey. Tod's brother Pat, his wife, Jane, and their adorable 2 year old, Aidan were awaiting our arrival. Jane made yummy spaghetti with meatballs that warmed us up after a chilly day. Then they surprised the boys with a birthday cake and presents! Jacob and Brady's birthdays are about 3 weeks apart. Brady got a cool airport set and Jacob got a Lego ship. Both were a big hit!

As you can tell....Brady instantly took to "Unca Pat".



On Thanksgiving day, we celebrated with Jane's parents and her brother and his family. We Jacob and Olivia hit it off instantly. They are both in Kindergarten and really into school. Jane's Mom (a former teacher) gave them math problems to do to keep them busy and Jacob did a big "YES!" with a fist pump. Brady, Aidan, and twins Will and Logan are all two years old. They all got along perfectly. It was a house full of kids and everyone loved it!

The day after Thanksgiving we headed to see the sights! All Jacob wanted to see was the Statue of Liberty. We went to a great park in Jersey City and we had a great view of Lady Liberty. And yes, Jacob scootered all over Jersey!

This is my favorite picture!!

New York City is always an adventure. I was a little nervous about taking the boys into the city, but everything went smoothly. We took the Lincoln Tunnel into the city. Jacob thought it was really cool that we were under water. He wondered why they didn't have glass around it like the aquarium. I'm sure we don't want to see what is in this water!! We went straight to Time Square. The boys loved all of the lights. Brady kept saying, "Big giant buildings!" It was very exciting to be in NYC over the holidays.

The last night we were in NJ the boys all got in the tub together. They played nicely, but...


It didn't end well.... Oh, well.

After our fun trip to see Pat, Jane, and Aidan we headed to Hershey, PA. Who doesn't like Hershey's? It was all decorated for Christmas. Got us in the spirit of the season. We went on the factory tour. The boys loved seeing how chocolate is made. Tod and I loved the smells! Yum!

All of the street lights are big Hershey Kisses.

We found a park and let the boys burn off some energy before heading to our hotel in Hagerstown, MD.

We had such a fun trip and the boys are such great travelers. As you can tell we wore them out!

Jacob Lost His First Tooth!

Today is a big day in the O'Donnell household. Jacob lost his first tooth!!! He has been wiggling it for weeks. He was in the playroom and came running down the stairs yelling, "MY TOOTH FELL OUT! MY TOOTH FELL OUT!" He is super excited to see what the Tooth Fairy will bring him!

Jacob is SIX!!!

Today Jacob turns six. SIX! We have had such a great time celebrating his birthday. Over the weekend we had his birthday party at the Baxter YMCA. The kids were so good and had such a good time. Miss Donna took all the kids to the workout room and did a 30 minute class with them. They pretended to be lions, seals, and dinosaurs. They bounced on the exercise balls. Then they played with the big parachute. They all left the party exhausted!

Today Jacob had his party in his classroom. Jacob had to bring in 6 pictures from birth to 5 years old. Tod and I had to write the Story of Jacob's Life to read in front of his class. We followed a rough outline provided by his teacher. Jacob's teacher has a Celebration of Life when each child turns six. It was such a special ceremony!! She lit a big orange candle to represent the sun in the middle of the room. Then she laid out 12 pieces of paper with the months written on them. She also had five candles that she lit for each year of Jacob's life. I couldn't read Jacob's story because I was so choked up. Tod read the story just as choked up as I was. After he read each year of his life, Jacob would walk around the "sun" on the months and his classmates sang "The Earth Goes Around the Sun..." Jacob would stop on November then we would read the next year on his story...etc. After he walked around the circle 6 times he blew out the five candles then he blew out the sun candle. Jacob's teacher, the teacher's assistant, and myself were all wiping away tears. Tod held it together better than we did!!

After the ceremony, Jacob served all of his friends cupcakes that he made last night. It has been such a fun morning. We are going to pick up Brady from school and then go eat lunch with Jacob.

Here is the story that we wrote...

Celebration of Life
Jacob O’Donnell

Jacob Thomas O’Donnell was born on November 19, 2002 in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA, North America, on the planet Earth. He weighed 9 pounds 6 ounces and was 22 inches long. When Jacob was a baby he needed to be taken care of all of the time. He couldn’t talk and cried if he wanted anything. He had to wear diapers, drank lots of milk, and slept most of the day and was awake most of the night.

When Jacob was one year old he could already walk and was able to say “Mama” and “Dada”. He loved bath time. Jacob would splash so much that everyone was soaked when he was finished..

When Jacob was two years old he learned to catch and throw. He loved all kinds of sports and could hit a baseball with a bat and a golf ball with a club.

When Jacob was three he asked Santa to bring him a pair of scissors. Santa left a pair of red scissors in his stocking. Jacob loved to cut, and cut, and cut. He even cut up his pajamas while he was still wearing them!

When Jacob was four he went to Disney World . He rode every roller coaster, met Mickey Mouse, and watched the fireworks over Cinderella’s castle.

When Jacob turned five he decided his favorite color was black, and he loved to draw. He also started Kindergarten at Springfield Elementary School in Fort Mill, SC in Mrs. Carroll’s class. Jacob also decided that he wants to be a Rock Star and a Pet Store owner when he grows up. Today, Jacob turns six. Jacob is funny, loving, creative, sincere, and full of curiosity. We can’t wait to see what adventures our six year old will bring!!