Couldn't Resist...

Since it was 80 degrees today (yes, in December...remember...we live in Mississippi), Anna Lauren got to play outside for a little while this afternoon. She decided she wanted to climb one of the trees in Nanna's yard, and I got some pictures I could not resist posting...

Christmas Day...

So...here is how we spent our Christmas Day...

We woke up at our house to see what Santa left for Anna Lauren...at first, Anna Lauren was not too sure of what was going on...she just sat in the chair and looked at us like what is the big deal, here?

Anna Lauren finally warmed up and decided to take a "peak" in her stocking...she found candy, sippie cups, tootbrushes that light up, toothpaste, and some new monogrammed bloomers.

Then she decided to take a "peak" into the refridgerator...only to find mustard, ketchup, coke, sprite, and many other goodies...

Oh wait...she needed to call Ha G (Holli Grace) and see what Santa brought her...

Look at this...Santa left Anna Lauren some chicken baking in the oven...it was done are ready to eat!

It was such a special morning...all of Anna Lauren's grandparents (Nanna, MeMe, and Poppie) spent the night and were there to see what Santa brought. Now...it took two grandmothers to convince her to put socks on her little feet!

Anna Lauren "loved" opening the presents...she opened hers as well as everyone else's. This continued pretty much throughout the whole day.

Mommy got new cycling shoes and Anna Lauren was determined she needed to wear them...

Around lunch time, we headed to Brookhaven to have Christmas with my family. Nanna buys the boys (Reid, Ashton, and Jake) nutcrackers every year. And yes, it was 70 degrees, but obviously Ashton loves his hat!

This picture is not the best, but it was so sweet...Anna Lauren realized she was not in the picture so she went and stood beside the boys and said "cheese"...

I love Bently's face in this picture...her mommy loves bows and thinks she should wear one at all times. But...Bently doesn't agree with her mommy as we can see by her face in this picture!

And last but not least, we had Christmas with my mom's side of the family Christmas night. As you can see, we are not professional photographers, but we did try to take a picture of all the little kids...we didn't chance putting Bently and Mallory (our newest additions) in the mix.

Merry Christmas from the Calverts...

Just wanted to take a minute to wish all of you a Merry Christmas...

I'm not sure who is more excited at our house...Anna Lauren or mommy and daddy? Tomorrow we are going to decorate cookies for Santa with our neighbor Adam as well as put out some reindeer food in our yard and Adam's...we want the reindeer to have a snack while Santa is delivering toys to Anna Lauren, Adam, and baby Jack. They have been good so hopefully Santa will be good to them!

Christmas day we will head to Brookhaven and spend a few days there and from there head to Gulfport for few days. Then...we will be back at home for a week before returning to work and school...we are so blessed to have the jobs we have...I wouldn't trade anything in the world for the time we are going to get to spend with Anna Lauren this year!

I hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas...however, please take a few minutes during this holiday season to focus on the real meaning. We all get so busy that I think we often forget to take time to realize why we are "really" celebrating Christmas.

What a Privelage...

We got a phone call back in August that took us by surprise...Mandi, will you and Matt teach Sunday School every other week. Matt said no way, and I said let's think about it a day or so before we make a decision...and what a wonderful decision we have made. The picture below is our "regular" group...some Sundays more, some Sundays less, but these are pretty much there every Sunday and we have grown to love these children and so thankful for the privelage we have to teach them about Jesus! And of course, Mr. Matt is a hit...as he is with all children...if he gets out of their sight, all I hear is...where is Mr. Matt, where is Mr. Matt, where is Mr. Matt?

Happy Birthday Joey...

Saturday night we celebrated my brother's birthday...Nanna kept all the kids so me, Matt, my two brothers, and their wives could go out to dinner to celebrate Joey's birthday. We had a very nice dinner and were so glad we could be there to celebrate his birthday with him!

Thanks for letting us celebrate your special day with you, Joey...we love you!

Joey and his wife, Barbie...

Canton ~ City of Lights...

Friday night, Nanna brought Reid and Jake (nephews) and we went to Canton for a fun night of lights. The kids all had a great time looking at lights, riding the carousel, going on a carriage ride, and eating beignets. It was a fun night for all...

Anna Lauren loved the carousel and she and daddy waved at me every time they went around...the only bad part was the line was so long that she only got to ride it once. However, she was later entertained with a bottle of water (notice her shirt in the next picture) while waiting in line for the carriage ride.

Nanna, Anna Lauren, and Mommy waiting in line for our carriage ride around the square...

Reid and Jake enjoying the carriage ride...

Anna Lauren's Christmas Program...

Anna Lauren had her Christmas program at school on Friday...and wow...she did so good, and her mommy and daddy were so proud! The toddlers sang (not really) and rang their bells to Jingle Bells. It was amazing to me that they all sat on the stage and for the most part rang their bells throughout the whole song...no running away, crying mommy, etc. And really, Anna Lauren did jingle her bells throughout the whole song...she loved it!

Matt snapped this picutre of Anna Lauren's class waiting to walk down the aisle and begin the program....Anna Lauren and Holli Grace are in Miss Rachel's lap...what a surprise! If you have not heard the story, Anna Lauren loves Rachel (Ra Ra) and most days cries when she has to leave Ra Ra and go home with her mommy. We are so blessed to have Ra Ra...she loves Anna Lauren and takes such good care of her every afternoon!

Anna Lauren jingling her bells...

Towards the end of the song, Anna Lauren decided she needed to stand up...I guess she thought she was not getting enough attention. Notice all of her friends are sitting down and she is standing...it was cute...and then, she decided to pull her dress up...memories we will always cherish!

Santa...

This past Thursday, we headed out to dinner and Bass Pro Shop with our neighbors (Billy, Katie, Adam, and Jack). To our amazement, the kids did fairly well through dinner and off to Bass Pro Shop we headed with no idea how the kids would react to Santa. Again, to our amazement, they did really good. Jack (5 months old) was very content sitting in Santa's lap, Adam was very content standing in front of Santa, and Anna Lauren was very content being held by mommy, who was sitting in Santa's lap. I was pleased with Anna Lauren's reaction to Santa because I anticipated her to scream her head off and not go anywhere near him.

Anna Lauren playing on the rocks at Bass Pro Shop, while waiting on Adam and Jack...

Jack and Adam with Santa...

Anna Lauren, Mommy, and Santa...

Anna Lauren and Daddy shooting at the targets...Bass Pro Shop was the perfect outing for the kids ~ free pictures with Santa, they could write a letter to Santa, color a Christmas picture, shoot at the targets, and play on the "normal" stuff.

Anna Lauren and Adam riding on the gator (or some type of recreatinal vehicle)...

Just One Simple Picture...

All I wanted was just one picture of Anna Lauren in her Christmas dress in front of the Christmas tree...is that asking too much? Well, according to Anna Lauren it is asking "way" too much...so...the picture below is all we got. Notice how she is barely standing by the tree...trying to sneak off to "be funny / aggravate her parents"...we so have our hands full!

On Friday, Anna Lauren has her Christmas program at school...I mean is she really old enough to sing in a Christmas program? It is my understanding they will be singing Jingle Bells and ringing bells, which are attached to their wrists (bracelets I'm assuming). This should be a disaster in the making...I cannot wait to see what happens when these little toddlers walk onto the stage and see their parents in the crowd...not to mention this is in the big sanctuary...not just a little room at school. Oh what a memory this will be and a mommy sitting in the crowd with tears because she is so proud of her little girl...or...tears of embarrasment because she is acting like the "real" Anna Lauren...I will keep you posted on the performance...Matt and I cannot wait!

Blogging...Once Again...

When my brother informed me this week that I had not blogged since November 16th, I figured it was time to blog again. My brother...I mean come on...I didn't even know he read my blog!

I know this is very "unlike" us, but we have not taken many pictures lately...I'll try to get some of Anna Lauren this weekend...that should be interesting as she screams "no" when I pick up the camera these days. If only she could say "no mam"...this "no" business drives me crazy...I am the mommy who makes the rules not Anna Lauren, right? Would someone please tell her that?

As most of you know, for the past 22 weeks, Matt and I have been training for the St. Jude 1/2 marathon...well, the time came, and we raced last weekend. Despite the cold, we had a great run and finished within our "goal" time! Thanks to Nanna we got to spend the weekend in Memphis and have a little Matt and Mandi time, which is always nice! Below are a few pictures of us...the first one is around mile 4ish and the rest are of us finishing...

Just Matt and Mandi...

Thanks to Nanna (my mom), Matt and I had a weekend to ourselves...it was a much needed little break from our precious Anna Lauren so that we could spend some time together / get some things done. And it didn't seem to bother Anna Lauren to leave us because when we met mom 1/2 way on Friday, Anna Lauren quickly blew us a kiss and said bye bye...really...before we were even ready to tell her bye bye.

Matt and I had the best time together...wow...it was such a fun memory of what it was like before Anna Lauren. Now we would not trade her for anything in the world (most days), but I'm not going to lie...the weekend without her was fabulous! Oh...and I must not forget...Matt was "husband of the month" because he surprised me with a massage on Saturday afternoon...doesn't get much better than that, huh?

I would encourage all of you to take some time and spend a weekend with your husband (without children)...I am a "firm" believer that it is so good for your marriage...as I am also a firm believer that it should be "mommy and daddy" and then children...I think it is so easy to get caught up in the chaos and "forget" about our marriages.

And with all that being said, thanks Nanna...we could not have enjoyed our weekend without you! Thank you so much for taking care of Anna Lauren and loving her so much...maybe one day she will say Nanna instead of Nann-ee!

Welcome Baby Mallory...

Emily (my first cousin), Stevie, and their little boy Parker welcomed baby Mallory into their family Friday night. We are so excited to have another little girl in our family...this now makes three girls to seven boys!

Matt and I got to spend some time with them at the hospital Saturday, and she is such a precious little girl...she weighed 6 pounds / 5 ounces...it is hard to believe Anna Lauren was ever that small but she was...she weighed 6 pounds / 10 ounces when she was born. It is amazing how fast they grow!

Emily, Stevie, and Parker ~ Mallory is precious, and we cannot wait to watch her grow into a beautiful little girl. God has truly blessed your family!

Cousins...Cousins...Cousins...

Matt's sister Kate had her 10 year reunion at Millsaps this weekend...so...she along with Matt's other sister and their two boys came from Atlanta for the weekend. We really had the best time...the kids were great, and we just enjoyed our time visiting together and watching the kids play...oh how I wish that we lived closer...Atlanta is just a hard "weekend" trip.

Here are a few pictures we took this weekend of the kids...it is hard to take a "good" picture of three 19 month olds...trust me! And by the way, we did "dress" the kids...but for some reason, we took the most pictures of them while they were in their pajamas.

Lake Caroline...

For those of you who have asked are or wondering...we are still training for something. We are training for the St. Jude 1/2 marathon, which is the first weekend in December. Last weekend we ran the Lake Caroline 15K (9.3 miles) and ran 3 prior to the race starting, which is the longest we will run prior to the race. Now it is tapering time...yea!

Quick picture before beginning our run...Little Buddy, Matt, and Me...I don't think any of us could do it without each other...we have so much fun training together (most days)!

We gave our photographer (Big Buddy) the day off...we told him to just snap a few shots...we didn't need a million pictures of us running...so...this is about the best picture we have of us running.

Halloween...

Once we got Anna Lauren in her costume, we had a great Halloween! We did a little bit of everything trying to get her dressed and then finally a little candy and our friend Jennifer (next door neighbor) got her in the costume. And yes, she demanded she stay in the wagon pretty much the whole night...she got dressed in the wagon, ate supper in the wagon, strolled down the street in the wagon, etc. Of course, it is not even hers...I think that is why she likes it so much. You know...it is funny...they can have the same exact thing, but they are going to like someone else's better.

We had our neighbors and some friends over for pizza and then we hit the streets trick or treating...it was a great time for all!

As you can tell, taking a picture of three kids under two is not so easy...we had a spider (Adam), a monkey (Ann Hardie), and a bumble bee (Anna Lauren). Oh...and we had a little pumpkin (Jack). However, we decided he was too small to sit in this wagon of craziness!

This is Big Buddy (Eugene)...he was an Alabama Fan...can you tell?

These are our neighbors...Emily, their daughter Ann Hardie, and Kevin...

Anna Lauren's first house to trick or treat...she acted like she knew exactly what to do. However, she wanted to get the candy out of the bowl herself...she was not into them putting candy into her bag as she wanted to pick what she wanted.

Anna Lauren and Adam...she was so cute...she would not go to the door without Adam...if she was ahead of him, she would go back and get him and made sure they "trick or treated" together. She loves Adam and Jack and begs to go to their house every day...Katie and Billy are going to ask us to move if we don't quit bombarding their house every day.