I don't even know where to begin.  It's been almost a year, and Facebook has pretty much taken over as the way I update our status.  However, I view this blog as my way of scrapbooking for the kids, and although I've take almost a 1 year hiatus, I really need to get back to work to keep recording memories.

The first update is that I am no longer reporting "Live from the South" from Tucker, GA.  Instead, I accepted a new job near Philadelphia (West Chester, PA to be precise), which started around January 17, 2012.

The transition for Griffin went very well.  We enrolled him in a pre-school program up here which he started within a few days of our move.  I was very worried and anxious about pulling him away from all his friends.  Although over the months he'll sometimes mention how much he misses them, I thought it was a good sign when his new teachers said he played with the kids as if he'd been there all year, and his first comment to me about school was that he liked it even better than his school in Atlanta.  The hardest part of the transition was that I no longer worked from home, but  instead have to go to an office on most days.   Since I had taken almost a full month off with the holidays and spent a lot of time with the kids, it was especially hard for him.  One day within the first few weeks, he asked me not to go to work because he would miss me.  I told him I had to go, so he made a final appeal by saying, "Mommy, if you go, my heart will stop!"  Luckily for both of us, it kept beating after I left,but he was so persuasive, I almost fell for it.  He started playing soccer a few weeks ago, which he seems to enjoy as well.

At 21 months, Callista is approaching her second birthday.  The girl is non-stop energy, and doesn't slow down  (Unless she's sleeping).  If she doesn't want to be held, she desperately tries to launch out of my arms, resulting in her hanging upside down for long periods of time (of her own volition).  I've had to assure passersby a few times that she actually likes hanging upside down, and wasn't being forced into this position.  She has quite a throw, and we'll find her dinner way on the other side of the kitchen, expertly thrown by her (She even has the wrist flick down).  As the dogs pass under her awaiting their daily Callista feeding, she sometimes throws something hard towards the ground, which will comically bounce off of the dogs before hitting the ground.  I also think she has a high tolerance for pain.  She fell the other day and got a fairly large abrasion at the park.  Corey said that it didn't phase her one bit, as she quickly stood up, and started running again.  Finally, she has become an additional growth on our legs.  She's created a habit of walking up behind us and wrapping her arms around our legs, holding on tight enough that we end up taking baby steps to get from one point to another instead of trying to pry her off.    All of these will be traits that benefit her later in life, but I think it's safe to say that it also makes her a high-maintenance toddler.

Below are some random pictures from the past 6 months, including Easter at Grandma and Grandpa Audrain's, Christmas 2011 at Grandma and Grandpa Crofford's, and other miscellaneous photos.  One includes a pic with their cousin Gracie.

Hopefully, I'll update this site more frequently this year, now that we're pretty settled in Pennsylvania.