Bloggy Holiday Card Exchange

A Mom Two Boys is hosting the Bloggy Holiday Card Exchange and so I present you with our card for this year. It features the wonderful pictures taken by Christina during this photo shoot. The one of the two boys together is my very favorite. You can click on it to make it larger…

And… of course I must include our annual Christmas “letter” for the year as well, down below. In the interest of “going green”, I am going to just include the url to this specific post for those receiving the actual cards instead of printing them out for all 75! So… you get to read it and if the real card getters aren’t too lazy to come here, so can they! As The B Man would say… “Sounds like a plan to me!”

Alguire Christmas Letter 2008

So… this year seems to have flown by!

Speaking of flying, Tim does that alot these days. Back in the summer his company was bought out by another one that is located in a suburb of Atlanta. They’ve offered several times for us to move there but we’ve opted for him to just travel (every other week!) instead. It is taxing on all of us at times but it’s always so wonderful when he returns home! I know he looks forward to the weekends when he can relax with family and friends here at home…

His latest passion is keeping up with the world economy and the craziness (and possible scariness) that come with so much reading and research on the subject. I am glad for him to have the knowledge but some days it is just too much for me to wrap my head around!

My blog is a pretty big deal in my life now and is a ton of fun and keeps me busy! I have enjoyed getting more and more involved in the community that is out there and now consider myself to have quite a few “virtual” friends! Not to mention it keeps a good record of our lives and provides several creative outlets for me.

I also babysit Anna now. She’s three and a good compliment to our little house during the day. She’s pretty laid back and she’s a good playmate for both Ben and Gavin, although of course they have their moments just like any other kids. We stay busy with playgroups and drop offs to the kid’s pre-schools. I still have some time to myself each week since all the kids go to the same school on Tues/Thurs.

Also, I have started running and plan to do my first 5K on January 3rd. I hope to work up to a 10K by sometime in the Spring.

At 4 1/2, Ben is our little joker and actor. The majority of the summer he was going by the name “Squeaky” and pretending to be a mouse. Now most of his classmates and even their parents, still call him that. He comes up with other names on a weekly basis too. He’s beginning to write (his name for sure!) and trying to read a little. He continues to astound us with his vocabulary and I think we laugh at something he says at least once a day. His favorite thing right now is nature school, the 2.5 hr program that he goes to on Wednesday mornings that is at the living science center down the street from us. He can’t wait to go every week.

Gavin is now 19 months and a little spit fire. He definitely knows what he likes and dislikes. He’s saying quite a few words and still uses sign language for some things such as “more”, “milk,” and “eat.” He also likes to nod “yes” and “no” whenever we ask him questions. He runs with tons of vigor and puts his whole body into it and we love to watch him do it! He’s attached himself to a couple of baby blankets and walks around here with them trailing behind him many times a day. He’s a sweet boy but also likes his space. His current favorite board book is The Very Hungry Catepillar and he loves to bring me books at bedtime to read to him.

Our families are doing well and we had a great time on a little vacation with my parents and my brother Larry and his family to the Texas coast back in August. Tim and I celebrated our 9th anniversary last month and then again last weekend with a trip to Fredricksburg. We hope to be able to travel somewhere in Europe next year to celebrate our 10th! I am sure it will be here before we know it!

We feel very blessed this year and pray for all of us to have a happy and healthy (and non financial crisis!) 2009. Merry Christmas!

Love,
The Alguires