Under Construction at Samuel's Birthday

I arrived a tad late to Samuel's 5th party, but I did not want to miss out! The Skaggs hosted the party at a nearby park and we all enjoyed the beautiful weather. The kids got out their construction trucks and played in the sand.

One of the pics is Aliva with her best buddy, Aubrey. And Jill (Aubrey's Mom) and me shown in the next picture. Jill and I have been friends since kindergarten - or just about the same age that Aubrey and Alivia are!

Happy Birthday Samuel!

My American Girl at American Girl

As part of Alivia's upcoming 5th birthday celebration, Mimi treated Alivia and I to an overnight stay at the Westin Galleria in Dallas with the sole purpose of visiting the American Girl Store.

Alivia loved every minute - from the car ride there, to the turndown service that included cookies and milk and a special doll bed for Julie, her new American Girl doll that she received from Santa. I realized it was her first hotel stay and she had lots of fun questions about it like "Does everyone staying there stay in one big room together?" Ummmm. . . no way! Mimi and I had a hard time staying out of all the stores in the Galleria! We had tea in the tea room at the American Girl store, Julie had her hair done and Alivia bought a special outfit for her. It was amazing to see all of the doll displays and merchandise that is sold there. Happy Birthday Alivia!

Christmas 2010

It is hard to believe it is already over! All of the preparation. . . and the presents are opened in just a few minutes! We had a great time with Mimi, Grandpa and Mama T. Emily and Peyton were in Florida visiting her parents which cut down on the chaos quite a bit. The kids both got special gifts from Santa. Alivia received her American Girl doll, Julie and a training wheeled bicycle and Will got a Nerf "shootie" gun that shoots suctioned foam bullets.

Alivia also got a very special homemade bed and linens from Nana and Pop Pop. She absolutely loved it and put both Julie and Jackie to bed in it that night. So cute!

After a yummy breakfast at our house and a quick jog around the neighborhood following Alivia on her new bike, we headed to Mimi and Grandpa's for the wrapped presents. Then we all returned home for a much needed rest time and then returned there for an amazing dinner of filet mignon, stuffing, mashed potatoes and green bean salad. We all agreed we did not miss having turkey one bit.

Will was refusing to take any pictures on Christmas Eve. . . but Alivia posed! She wore the cutest faux fur coat that Mimi bought her.

My best effort with both kids. . .Sigh. . .

Christmas morning - Alivia was telling me all about Julie, her new American Girl doll from Santa

Her new bike is in the background

Awesome homemade bed for her American Girl dolls - made by Nana and Pop Pop

Tucking in Julie and Jackie for the evening. They were pooped!

Will checking out his gifts from Santa (he came twice - once at our house and again at Mimi's house) Hmmmm. . . .

The haul - what in the world are we going to do with all this stuff?

Mama T just loved John (8 months)

Christmas Dance Recital

Alivia had her first dance recital for the parents. I was able to come and brought Mimi and Matt in tow. It was really cute and so fun that we got to sit so close. Alivia did really well and seemed to really enjoy being in the spotlight. Avery and Kathryn are also in her class.

Keep 'em Coming!

I love getting Christmas cards from everyone this time of year. I put them up above our kitchen sink so I can look at them all throughout the day. If you do not see your card pinned up there, then send out your card ASAP!

Scary. Really. Really. Scary.

Matt and I went out with friends last night. Nanny Alva was home with the kids. Around 9ish she heard John crying from his crib. This is unusual for him at that time of night, so Nanny Alva went to go check it out. She found John in his crib with the electric cord from the video monitor wrapped (very very tightly) around his neck several times. The only reason he was still getting any air was because it was wrapped under his armpit as well so it could not get any tighter as he rolled around in the bed. I still get sick to my stomach as I think about all the possible things that could have happened.

The only reason I am posting this is to warn any readers out there to remove any video monitors from anywhere close to the crib once the baby starts to move around. And to remind myself to be vigilant about my kids' safety!

Thank you, dear Jesus, that you sent Angels to protect my dear son.

Mimi and Grandpa's Christmas card picture

My Mom and Dad are always good about sending a Christmas card every year that includes both of them and lately, all the grandchildren! I am sure that is where I realized the joy of sending Christmas cards as well. I love to send them and I love to receive them. Here are the two shots they are considering for their card this year.

My Kids with Santa

Part of the fun at Avery's 4th birthday party was a visit from Santa (aka Jim Woodrick)! The kids were thrilled and it was so cute to hear what they wanted. Alivia asked for "a training wheel bike" and Will asked for "a candy cane" after he saw that Santa was giving them out to the kids. Tee hee! John was fascinated with Santa's beard and had a handful of it after his visit with him.

Will is THREE!

Will turned three on Sunday. We decided to have a zoo theme and took him to the Austin Zoo with Alivia after dropping off Baby John to snooze the morning away with my folks. It was a little chilly, but we had a great few hours at the "Zoo." It put the name in quotes because it is actually a sanctuary for rescued exotic animals that people cannot or will not take care of. Some favorite activities were feeding the goats and llamas and riding the train. The kids were so tired they slept hard on the way home and we left them in the truck another 30 minutes to continue sleeping after we pulled into the driveway. Will woke up very, very sad after he had pee peed in his pants while sitting in his car seat in Daddy's truck.

Matt had a brisket cooking all day on his Big Green Egg and we had family come over for some BBQ, cheese grits and roasted broccoli for dinner. The meal was finished off with a cake from Sam's Club.

On to presents. . . as I told Will who each present was from, he would then take the present to them, thinking it was their turn to open a gift. So cute. I think he is in Christmas mode and could not believe that all of the gifts were actually for him! He got some great loot and we have enjoyed having some new diversions around here!

Here are some thoughts about my precious boy:

He loves me more than anyone else in the world right now. Sigh. I LOVE that. He will stop what he is doing at times to simply come snuggle in my arms or give me a hug. He calls for "Mommy to put me down" every night and negotiates with Alivia to have me put him down while Daddy will put Alivia down. He loves glowsticks right now and we open up a new pack for him every day. Thank goodness we can get them for $1 at the Dollar Store down the street. He still can talk up a storm and seems so much older than he is because of his incredible vocabulary. He is just starting to grow into his body although I find that I often have to hold his hand while we walk up and down stairs when he wants to walk on the curb. He knows how to taunt his sister like no one else, but also can play with her so well, too. He loves for me to rock him every night. We read 2 books and then I sing: Michael Row the Boat Ashore, Jesus Loves Me, Amazing Grace and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. He still loves to nap, but often this will cause him to go to bed really late and leads to many encores after we tuck him into bed around 7:30. It may mean that naps may be ending soon - sniff sniff. He is still in a crib with the sides down but can easily sleep in a big boy bed anytime we need him to. I am still really stressing that he is not allowed out of the bed without asking permission. So far, so good. Will can eat! Matt commented this morning that his 3-year old ate as much as he did for breakfast. He will eat a large bowl of oatmeal, grapefruit and glass of OJ and often asks for more! He is just learning the art of making people laugh and revels in it.

Will, my life is fuller with you in it. I love you my sweet boy.