Last road trip of 2011- San Antonio or Bust!

BEST Cmas photos this SEASON

So I have this plan--- take "classic" photos of the kids at Cmas time, put them in special frames and put them out every Cmas. I already have a special frame of them in their PJ's with the Cmas tree that gets updated each year. But I am thinking of more "classic" ones-- the ones that will stay in that frame and not get updated- so it will be the same cute pic even when they are 15 years old.

Jonah's 1st big boy bike!

We got J a Strider bike instead of a bike with training wheels. The idea behind it is he will learn how to balance a bike on his own. He knows how to steer and get speed (by picking up his feet), so he can practice keeping the bike straight. He's doing well- he understands he needs to hold on, go straight, pick up speed, and pick up his feet. What a guy-- my baby boy is growing up so fast. He will most likely get another big boy bike for his bday in May and will be ready to go!

Celebrating with La Familia

We spent Cmas morning at our house opening gifts, eating good brunch, naps- then we head over to Justine's for an late lunch / early dinner and more gift opening. We are blessed beyond our means and so grateful for our family and our health!

CLICK here for CMAS DAY PHOTOS

Good AM-- Santa Came to our house!

H girl woke up first and started crawling straight to her slide set. She noticed it right away and tried to climb right on it- perfect gift for our climber! It was nice to be up already by the time J woke up so we could see his face and reaction when he went into the living room. We did a video of it and need to upload it. Anyways- J wanted to open gifts first then eat breakfast and so we did. He was really into opening the gifts, H not so much- she just wanted to climb on her slide and her zebra.

CLICK here for CMAS PHOTOS

TWAS the Night Before Cmas

A good tradition that started last year-- Daddy reading THAT special book to the kids. J knows the story pretty well and can fill in the some of the blanks- H liked turning the pages and looking at the pictures.

Cookies for Santa

WE made some cookies and set them out for Santa along with some cold milk. We said good bye to "SAM" and bid him farewell back to the North Pole until next Cmas!

Cmas EVE Celebrations

We attended an afternoon Church service - it was the Candlelight service and it was awesome! Jonah had to come with us, while Harper could still attend daycare. He liked all the music and liked seeing all the candles at the end. We did have to pull out the iPhone to keep him occupied and quiet during the Pastors message.

After Church friends & family came to our house for some good food, games, drinks and the classic / traditional white elephant exchange. It was a hoot-- there was a crazy lamp shade, some half working Cmas lights, and the biggest hit was an personal autographed copy of Justine's headshot! Too funny!

CLICK here for photos: CMAS EVE PHOTOS

Zip, Zip, Away

We still act like teenagers-- zip lining around! This was a new thing for us- neither of us had ever done it before- so no time like the present! It was cold outside- around 40 degrees, a light wind, awesome guiders and a small class made for a wonderfully perfect experience. I just did it- I didn't over think it or anything- that way I wouldn't chicken out. I am not afraid of heights in the least bit, but having a "line" hold my body weight does freak me out! IT was so much fun. I only stopped early once. There were 4 lines we did. Some were deeper than others and some were longer and faster. It was a blast! Would do it again in a heartbeat!!!!

BeAuTiFuL ToDaY

It was so nice today- we spent some time outside- playing and cleaning up all the leaves. J and H had fun playing in the leaves - J more fun running into them and H just putting it all in her mouth.

this is her signing for "milk"- which she was not getting! She only gets it at meal times, but if it was up to her it would be all day long!

what is wrong with this photo? As if her cute belly isn't big enough, now she put a basketball there too!

J had the idea that we have a picnic outside. The grass was still wet, but we didn't care as long as we could be outside.

My 2 JOYs of my life! Love my pretty girl Harps and handsome boy Jonah!

Cmas lights and music in our PJ's

We had fun rolling around to different neighborhoods looking at pretty Cmas lights. J made sure to point in the direction we needed to go to (to the house with the lights- as if we didn't see them). H pointed and said "ummm, umm" to the ones she liked. I liked the ones that had nice big displays with the lights. J liked the ones that had Frosty in the front yard and for the record: you cannot call a Snowman Frosty unless he has a flower in his hat- this according to the expert in Frosty the Snowman movie- Jonah!

Game Day

The day had finally come-- Harper was going to have Tubes put in her ears and Adenoids out. She is our sick baby. Always has a sinus infection and many ear infections that cannot heal with simple meds, but has to get shots and even those don't get all the infection out of her baby ears. So today, we put all of our eggs in one basket, went for the final countdown and prayed like mad that this surgery will make a world of difference for our baby girl. We need her to be well in 2012- b/c 2011 was too much for her and her little body! Surgery lasted 20 mins and she was a trooper! Came home an hour after surgery, slept for 2 hours and up and ready to crawl, eat and play. She has not even shown any signs of pain or discomfort- such a strong girl.

Pics before surgery- watching Baby Einstein and waiting to go back.

TRAINS

Northpark Mall has this train exhibit every year and we always run out of time to go and see it. Not this year- we made the time and it was pretty cool. Trains ran all around the different areas in Dallas and a huge NYC area too. J went from one moving train to the next and H just kept pointing at them. Good times!

Cmas Tradition - Kids, Cookies, Music, Movie & Mess

We always get all the kids together for some fun times making Cmas cookies, eating the dough, playing Cmas music, and making a big ole' mess! We've been doing it before Rick & I had kids and kept it going ever since. Now that Kirsten & Jared are older, they help with the younger ones and make more complicated cookies than cut outs. But the younger ones- Logan, Mason, and Jonah enjoy all the cut outs and loading them with tons of sprinkles! Harper joined right in and enjoyed getting her hands dirty and dumping it all on the floor! Too funny- Kirsten and Jared commented on how much sprinkles Mason and Jonah put on their cookies, how more was on the floor than their cookie, etc. I quickly reminded them I do recall 2 other little kids who were quite messy and how we cleaned up more sprinkles on the floor than the table! This years movie was Elf- cute one, not a favorite, but new one for all of us.