Christmas Eve Eve

We have a fairly new tradition in our family (it's been done the last 2 years). On Christmas Eve Eve we blow up an air mattress & all pile on it to watch a Christmas movie together complete with hot chocolate & popcorn. When it's over we all sleep in the living room together with the Christmas tree lights on. Then in the morning we have cinnamon rolls. This year the movie was The Santa Claus 3. It wasn't bad ~ about what you'd expect out of a kids' movie with Tim Allen playing Santa trying to outwit Jack Frost played by Martin Short. ;-)

After about 30 minutes we realized that Jonathan needed one more year before he could fully partake in the event. He was just running around on the air mattress & throwing himself down over & over - there was also high pitched screeching involved. Soooo...Jon slept in his crib. We'll give it another try with him next year.

Holiday in the Park

We had a few free passes & decided to take Emily to Holiday in the Park this year. It was her first visit to Six Flags ever. She loved the carousel and really got excited when she got to drive one of the old timey cars all by herself (she reiterated several times in line that she was going to drive the car). She was a little uncertain of the funnel cake...until she took her first bite. By the last few bites she was getting really territorial over the cake.

We did have a moment or 2 when she wasn't very enthusiastic about a ride. I rode with her on the little roller coaster in the kid's part of the park. She was excited at first, but quickly became freaked out & kept saying "I want to get off!" It was very sad.

All in all, we had a great time. It's been years since either Joel or I had been there for Holiday in the Park. But, the best part this time was just watching Emily have fun & laugh.

Christmas Parade

Emily's Parents' Day Out program participated in a local city Christmas parade this past Saturday. We got to ride on the float with some of her classmates. Joel was in charge of holding a tree & fake ax and looking like he just got in from chopping it down. The kids and I were supposed to smile, wave & say "Merry Christmas!" a bunch. The kids did well with it over all & did smile, wave & say "Merry Christmas!" some. They also frequently said "Bye people!" to the onlookers. And Emily apparently thought Christmas was that day as she often said "Merry Christmas tonight!" It was the first parade for all of us & we had fun just goofing off & being together.

The float we were on also won 1st place in the large commercial category. Go PDO program!

Clifford at Grandma's School

We went up to my mom's school where she teaches tonight for a literacy night. Clifford was there in person & both the kids freaked out. They were so excited to see a real Clifford. I was a little curious to see if the large dog would scare Jonathan, but he ran right up to him. Emily even said she wanted to take Clifford home with her. Just a few minutes ago during bedtime prayers she said she wanted to pray for Clifford & she did - it was very cute & very sweet.

Road Trip to Virginia

We drove to Virginia to spend the Thanksgiving week with Joel's dad & step-mom, known to our kids as Pappy & Jan-P. The kids did GREAT in the car - seriously they were awesome. The photo above is of them napping in the car - no, we didn't drug them with Benadryl ;-) It was a 20 hour drive both ways & we split it into 2 days up & 2 days down. We even got to drive through snow on the way up. It was beautiful.

We had a great visit (except for a stomach virus that hit Em, Joel & I while up there). We went to the indoor pool at the local gym, toured a local winery that Jan's son is head wine maker at, saw Charlottesville from a birds-eye view on the top of Carter's Mountain, and spent Thanksgiving day at Jan's son's house with their family. I was also treated to an early birthday gift - a 1 hour massage - a much needed one, I might add.

On the way home we got to stop by Joel's grandmother's house & spend some time with her and Joel's uncle & family too.

It was a great break from the ordinary & we all got the chance to relax and enjoy visiting. The scenery was beautiful. We are glad to be back home now though and get into full Christmas mode now. Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving too!

(The picture below is a view from Jan's son's house out in the country that we went to on Thanksgiving day. It was great weather that day & absolutely beautiful.)

Gotta love Craig's List!

We have a new playhouse - well a new to us, used playhouse. It's actually an answered prayer. I'd asked for a playhouse for the kids with a door, window & little kitchen inside, under $50, within close driving distance from our house. Yesterday I found this one on Craig's List - all the amenities I wanted and it's not super girly so Jon can still feel like a little man while playing in it. ;-) And it was $40 & about a 3 minute drive up the road from our house!! Gotta love that! Thanks Craig's List & God!

Side note: yes, Emily is wearing her swimsuit in the photo. She, all the sudden, wanted to wear it really, really bad yesterday. I didn't see anything wrong with the request so I let her put it on before bed. Then she really, really wanted to sleep in it so we let her. Then this morning she didn't want to take it off when getting ready for her speech class. Sooooo...I let her wear it under her clothes. It's a little strange, & I don't totally get it, but it makes her happy for whatever reason & that's OK with me. It'll be fun telling her when she's older all the strange little things she did. Cute stuff.

The back half of our backyard has been taken over by bamboo. The neighbor behind us has it planted in her yard. We've tried to stay on top of keeping it from growing in ours, but have pretty much given into defeat as the stuff grows crazy fast & just keeps coming back. One plus to the bamboo forest was discovered today. Apparently Emily calls the bamboo her house & the kids love to walk through it & play back there. I will admit that I think if I were a child I'd love playing in it too. And it's pretty to look at so I guess we'll keep it. ;-)

Goat Milking Master

Joel had a life experience the other night. We were invited to dinner at his coworker's home. They have goats there & one of them is used for milking. After dinner Joel had the opportunity to give it a try. They said he did a really good job of it & the goat didn't seem to mind at all either. ;-)

Pumpkin Patch

We went to the pumpkin patch this evening for a little bit. Thought these pictures were worth sharing. Both Emily & Jon thought the hay was pretty darn fun to play with. My nose didn't agree. The photo of them holding hands is a rare moment as of late of sibling harmony & love. Gotta document those to remind myself that they do exist. ;-)

Airplane/Flag Radar

My kids have a new crazy radar abilities as of late. For Emily it's American flag radar. She's learned the Pledge of Allegiance in preschool and is very proud of this. Now whenever we are out driving she has the ability to spot every single American flag we pass - no matter how obscure. It's really quite impressive. Once spotted the Pledge must then be recited - with authority. :-)

Equally as impressive is Jonathan's airplane spotting radar. It's truly crazy. He can pick out the smallest little spot in the sky & identify it as an airplane. Just this morning on the way to church he picked out at least 4. He announces his discovery with a very enthusiastic "air-pane!!" Then Joel & I have to visually scan the area he's pointing to & sure enough - there's a plane. This photo is of him spotting a plane in the sky. Joel brilliantly captured the super cute moment on film. Go Joel!

Pajama Season!

I love this time of year. Cooler weather is on the way. The leaves will change color. Thanksgiving & Christmas are not far off. These are all really good things. But, I also love this time of year for another reason...

Because I have a weakness for kids in their winter pajamas. A serious weakness. They're just too darn cute in those long pj's. This was the first night they both had on their new adorable pajamas & I couldn't stand the cuteness. I just want to grab them and hug them a ton when they're in them.

On a side note: the blue blanket Jon is clutching is his most prized possession. It's called his "baby" and it goes pretty much everywhere. If Jon thinks you are a really special person he'll even let you hold baby...for just a second. Because it's going everywhere with him it gets really gross, really fast & has to be washed frequently. I just hope it lasts until he's ready to move on from it. Otherwise we're all in trouble!

Speedy Jon

Joel took this picture for me the other night when I was out & he was bathing the kids. He got the tub all ready & went to put something in the hamper & in a matter of seconds he heard the thud, thud, thud of little feet running & the sound of Jon splashing in the tub. The downside...Jon was still fully clothed - including socks AND shoes. He loves bathes so much he can't wait to get in them. He's a speedy little dude!

Em the imaginary builder

Emily lately has been creating imaginary houses and castles with books. She sets them up in a row to make walls and uses single ones to make movable doorways. Sometimes if she's feeling super creative she'll create rooms in her houses by using surrounding furniture as walls as well. She likes to stand guard of her castles/houses & let us all know that "you can't come in!"

I love that she's using her imagination so much now. It's really fun to watch the things she comes up with.

Death to a Mailbox!

I have hated our mailbox pretty much as long as we've been in our house (about 6 years now). It's old, lopsided, weathered, and just plain ugly. Joel just put in a new one today. I made the comment that I'd love to beat the heck out of the old mailbox with our rubber mallet - that is truly the depth of my hatred for this thing. Joel thought this was a great idea & decided to immortalize the moment with film. Thus I present - Death to a Mailbox. Enjoy - I did!

Disclaimer: I did not realize that I looked like such a girl trying to take down a mailbox until I saw the footage. But, that's not stopping me from sharing it because it's such a glorious day for me - I truly hated our old, ugly mailbox. ;-)

Morning at the Zoo

Joel & I took Jonathan to the Fort Worth Zoo one of the mornings Emily was in Parents Day Out. It's rare that we get time alone with just Jon so it was a treat for all of us.

Say "Ahhhhh"

You've gotta love kids. They are pretty much an endless source of comedy and craziness. Take this picture for example. I went to find the kids after cleaning up the kitchen the other evening & this is what I found. Emily telling Jonathan to "open wide and say ahhh." He was just standing there letting her brush his teeth, not minding at all. Now she was using her toothbrush, so I guess we need to emphasize the not sharing toothbrushes part. All in all, I guess if they're gonna emulate your behavior this is a pretty good one to copy!

Monday Morning

So this was what my morning looked like today:

Jon woke up earlier than mommy would have liked - a trend these days. He decided to eat at the kiddo table & plopped his "baby" (his security blanket that's his most prized possession) in the seat next to him for some good conversation. He even got up at one point and fed "baby" some of his cereal. They seemed to have a good talk over breakfast - even if it was a bit one-sided.

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Meanwhile, Emily did not want to get up - at all. She's mastered the art of "not yet" in the morning. We make a palate for her in our room in case she comes in in the middle of the night. Otherwise no one gets any sleep - except Emily - she's not good at sharing a bed ;-) She pulled the blanket over her face to block out the light. She picked that trick up from her daddy.

Eventually everyone woke up, were fed, and we went on with our day. So funny how different the 2 are in the morning - much like mom & dad.

Jon's Favorite Spot

Jonathan's new favorite spot in the house is the back corner of our kitchen on the floor. He plops down in that spot several times a day now & just hangs out there. The other day he picked up his chicken nuggets & took them there and enjoyed them in his special place. I'm not sure I understand the charm and appeal of this particular spot (as it is frequently not the cleanest being right near the refrigerator), but he likes it & that's good enough for me.

Em's first day of preschool

Emily had her first day of preschool a few weeks ago. She was most excited about her backpack & watched her reflection in the windows as she walked in the door. Buying, packing, and marking her school supplies with her name was surreal for me. One of those weird "mommy" moments when you realize things are about to change again and not be the same anymore.

She was very excited to go and wasn't worried at all to leave me. I did mist up a bit as I said goodbye. Seeing her in that backpack made her seem so big. Next year I'll be taking her to Kindergarten. Now THAT'S crazy!

The smile seen here is her quirky excited/shy smile she gets when she's enjoying being made a big deal of, but not so sure of it all at the same time. It's very sweet.

First Post!

I was inspired to start this blog by my
friend, Jaclyn. She has a great blog of her family that I really enjoy reading and seeing what's new with her family on. So I decided to do the same for our family. I think it will be lots of fun to keep posts on fun, crazy, serious, and memorable moments in our family's life. So...look for more to come in the future! For now - I'm on my way to bed.