Christmas Eve

MERRY CHRISTMAS!  Oh boy, oh boy, Christmas is tomorrow!  How exciting.  Everyone's ready here, and we had a really great week leading up.  We got a nice family picture in front of the Christmas tree, and everyone was a pretty good listener for the pictures as well.

Grayson is just growing up too fast!  He spilled something on the floor this past week, and then cleaned it up himself.  While I'm grateful he can help out and clean up, and am UNgrateful that he is no longer a little baby!  In unrelated news, we're accepting applications for new neighbors, and the application process is to send us a picture of your current baby...

Brooke got sick this past week, which is super lame.  She's just been so sick so much lately.  That means Grayson has a playmate for most of the week.  They had all kinds of fun, including some Mario Kart.  Grayson had a great time playing, and even got second in a race.  He'll also alternate setting down his controller and letting the auto-pilots keep him on course, or wiggling the controls and swerving off the road.  He's a natural.

Do you know what the problem is with having a sick playmate?  Well, at Grayson's age at least, you tend to share everything.  Snacks, the switch controller, germs... a throw up bowl...  Great news, no one actually used the bowl... bad news, that means two people threw up somewhere we never wanted it.  It's a little funny when Grayson is sick though, he'll usually take long naps, but when he's awake he is going full speed just like any other day.  In this picture he's full speed watching TV... but when he's up, he's active.

I don't remember if there's any story to this, but Winry had a chocolate popsicle after school one day, and mostly I just love how she gets a ring around her mouth!

On Friday both of the kids had a party at school, and Brooke was feeling better by then too!  Parents were invited, and Monica went to both parties while I watched Grayson.  Watching Grayson involved him sleeping in until 9, and then turning on "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" when he woke up.  Anyway, here's Winry at her party with an awesome wreath ornament.

And Brooke made a reindeer hat.

School was a short day, and really was just a day to have a Christmas party.  Monica took all the kids to Chick-fil-a for lunch, and of course they all got ice cream.  What a way to celebrate the start of Christmas break.

On Christmas Adam we had Santa waffles for breakfast.  I slept in, I don't remember if I was up late with Grayson or what at this point, but if I recall correctly Monica said Winry helped make it all.  What a great helper, and hopefully she'll just bring Monica and me breakfast in bed all on her own soon!

I don't really remember the context of this picture, but I'm guessing Grayson was still feeling a little sick, and we were just snuggle buddies.

On the 23rd for dinner we decided to have a "Bethlehem" dinner.  I don't know how authentic we really were, but we ate on the floor by candlelight, and had lentils and pita bread and humus and olives and dates.  I know Monica looked things up, but I think we also just ate a lot of what we had, and I at least don't think the Madras Indian Lentils were period authentic!  Anyway, it was a lot of fun, and the kids all dressed up.  Grayson was a donkey, Brooke was a shepherd, and Winry was a wise man with a gift. Oh and Brooke completely came up with Grayson's costume on her own, made it for him, and dressed him in it!

On Christmas Eve, the girls sang in church.  They did a fabulous job, and the picture was better than ever thanks to Monica's new phone!

That evening the kids all put on their matching pajamas and we got a picture in front of the tree.  Fortunately none of them look naughty in this picture, which is good as this was a last chance for a good impression.

That night we all came to the piano and sang some Christmas songs together.  I thought it was a really great time and I would love to do it again every year.

Brooke even played her Christmas song she has been working on this year.

And that night right before bed we did a call with Monica's family.  Her parents were home alone for Christmas, so we all called to chat, even Melanie and family in India!  It's not terribly easy to get everyone together, so it was nice to see everyone.

And I think that's a wrap for our lead up to Christmas.  Of course we're excited for presents tomorrow, but we're also excited that we can return to live with Heavenly Father because Jesus Christ was born!  I am so grateful He is my Savior, and that He was willing to suffer for my sins so that I can repent and be healed.  I am grateful for the gift that He is in my life, in the life of my wife and children, and the lives of all people.  In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas

Howdy folks!  Christmas is right around the corner, and we had quite a busy week of activities.  Monica had her choir concert, we went to the Trail of Lights, and hosted a relief society party at our house.  We had several late nights, and I think Monica and I might be more tired than the kids are, but we're all happy and having a great time, and are super excited for Christmas!

Oh hey, Monica put together the 1 second every day for November!  Check it out!

Winry had a school assignment to decorate an ugly sweater with a tradition we have, so she drew Elf on the TV, specifically when the narwhal is talking to Buddy.  A+ work for sure.

The girls got to show off their ballet dance as it was the last class before the winter break.  They're dance class has a dance to come watch about once a month I'd say, which is pretty cool.

On Tuesday night Monica had her choir concert, and I went with the girls.  It was in downtown on the UT campus.  The girls and I had a great time.

The music was super great, and I don't remember the last time I was at a performance that professional.  I really enjoyed all the music, and it was a great evening.  Monica called us between shows and we chatted a little while we were walking to the car.  I also recorded Monica's favorite song from the concert, O Holy Night.

On Wednesday night my work got tickets to the Trail of Lights for all of us here in Austin.  Unfortunately we got stuck in traffic and did not meet up with the rest of the group, and it took us like an hour to drive the last mile or two into the parking lot, and we had some hard times in the car, but as soon as we got to the lights everyone was so happy.  I specifically remember Winry when we got out of the car and were walking in the dark saying something like "this isn't even fun" or something like that.  Then the second we got through the front gate and saw a bunch of lit up trees she flipped a 180 and said "WHOA! Look at all those pretty trees!"  Speaking of walking in the dark to the entrance, Grayson was having a wonderful time singing Jingle Bells for all to hear!

Next to the parking lot before entering there was this giant tree set up.  They don't have lots of pine trees down here (and I don't think I've ever seen one  this big anyway), and from our observation it seems pretty popular to put up trees like this were you run lights up to a star at the top.  This one was huge, probably 100 feet tall, and we got to walk under it.  It was really cool.

Here we all are inside.  Grayson and I were just moving too fast for the lighting, we were too excited.

The tickets that work bought for us got us in an hour early... which didn't end up mattering because we got stuck in the parking line for so long.  But it also got us into the zip area where they had cookies and hot chocolate!  So that was super fun.  Everyone probably ate too many cookies, and the hot chocolate was pretty good too.

Grayson took his to go.  Being called the Trail of Lights, everything was set up along a path.  There were tunnels of lights to walk through in some places, and there were a lot of displays on the side to check out.  The Trail of Lights has been happening for a long time, and some of the things looked like they were definitely long time traditions.  There was even a dinosaur Santa that Grayson loved.  Also, looking back at this picture, that tree is really what caught my eye.  That is super lit up and looks amazing!

Towards the end of the trail there was a big I love you in the trees, and there was a really cool tunnel as the exit too.

Jelly still spends most of the day with me in my office sleeping.  One day this past week she was snoring super loud!  (p.s. she's snoring right now as I write this)  Also, I think she might get a little cold being shaved, because she's been sleeping on me all night long lately, and if I wake up and move around she does NOT get off.

One morning when Grayson woke up he grabbed a book and started reading to his stuffed cat in his bed!  What a cutie!

On Friday the girls had a dance to show off for hip hop.  They did awesome.

And then in the middle of the night last night... Brooke threw up. :(  I stayed home from church with her as it was my week (not an Elders Quorum week).  She mostly slept the whole time.  Hopefully she's feeling all better soon.

I didn't take pictures while I was doing it, but I spent all day Saturday painting primer on the shelves for the office.  You can see one bookshelf built, I had to sand and prime three others.  It was a lot of work, but now the priming is all done and hopefully we can get to painting soon.

Today when Grayson was going down for his nap he told me he was hungry, which made sense because he didn't eat his lunch.  So when he asked for a snack, I brought up his sandwich from his lunch, which he of course didn't want, so I left it on his bed.  And just a minute or two later, wouldn't you know it, he was eating his sandwich!

And that catches us all up!  We're getting pretty excited for Christmas, which is right around the corner!

Christmas Prep

Ho Ho Ho!  Christmas is coming!  The girls school had a Christmas event on Thursday this past week, as well as the book fair right before it!  We had a fun time at both, and there was a nice sign out front to greet us on our way.

I caught Grayson reading a Christmas favorite story, A Very Snowy Christmas.  It feel like it's been a long time since we've read it, but it's about some mice celebrating Christmas, and it snows, and they make cheese pies, and when Brooke was around Grayson's age she spent a December saying "they're making pie cheese!"  Pretty good book, even better memories.

Monica and the kids met the Ellers at the park after school one day this past week.  It appears everyone had a great time together, and I'm very grateful they all got together to play.

I headed in to work on Wednesday morning.  It had been... a while, but hey, that means my knee is doing better.  The train was all decorated for Christmas, which was pretty awesome, and they were even doing a thing at the Leander station.  The mayor got on and gave me a candy cane too, so that was pretty cool.

Jelly's fur has gotten matted again, which means we needed to find a groomer.  In the past we went to a groomer at our vet, but out here we just saw a groomer close by our house and went there.  They were awesome, and they even gave Jelly a bath!  I asked how she did with the water, and they said she meowed a bunch, but otherwise was good.  They couldn't blow dry her because she did NOT like that, which doesn't surprise me, but other than being a little wet she was great when I picked her up!  So it's nice to know we know where a good groomer is again.  We also didn't have to give her any medicine this time, and it seems like she was good for the shaving.

Thursday we went to the school, and first stop was the book fair.  The kids all picked out a book to keep, and a book to donate as well.  Right outside there was a photo op spot, and Grayson threw on a convincing disguise for his mug shot. Unfortunately for him, even with that great disguise, he'll still be recognized by his socks with sandals.

Right after the book fair was a Christmas event at the school.  We headed to the cafeteria for some cookies and lemonade, and made a few crafts.  Then, on our way to the next room we passed... Woody the Wildcat.  I don't know what the mascot's name really is, but I was a wildcat in high school, and our mascot was Woody.  The girls took a picture, but Grayson was a bit more nervous.  In the next room we got in a line to pick up a kit to make flower planters, and then left because it was getting late.  Everyone had a good time though

We worked on getting our house decorated for Christmas over the weekend.  Monica made this lovely wreath, and I put up a bunch of lights... which we didn't take a picture of.  There are still more lights to put up, so maybe I'll get a picture this week once I'm done.

Saturday night we headed out sub for Santa shopping.  The kids had a lot of fun walking the aisles and picking things out that they would have loved, and so knew someone else would love too!  I even grabbed a few things that, if I am being honest, would probably still play with today.

And that's the news.  I hope everyone else is having a great December and getting ready for Christmas!  Watch those cheesy movies, listen to the carols, eat some cookies, and drink some egg nog for me, because honestly, I can never get too much of that!  Cheers!
 

Winry Loses Her First Tooth

Winry's tooth came out!  Sometime last week Winry showed us that she had a wiggly tooth.  She was pretty worried at first about it falling out at night and losing it or swallowing it, but not so!  In the end Monica pulled it for her, and she was very excited.  She's really excited for her new tooth to grow in as well, but has a nice gap for now.

And while on the topic of Winry, Monica caught her jamming out to some Christmas music this week.  It's even Jingle Bells which is Grayson's absolute favorite and an instant classic here this year.

Having aunts here was great for Grayson on Monday, because he got all the attention while the girls were at school.  This included a giant marble run, which is his favorite toy to play with right now.

He had a lot of gratitude to show for the great marble antics.

He had a lot of gratitude to share all around.

My sisters took off on Monday evening, but Gram was still here for a few more days.  That called for tacos for lunch, and one of the best smiles from Grayson ever caught on camera!

It looks like Grayson was pretty tired when it was time to pick up the girls from school, and he appears to have tried to take a nap on his steering wheel.  We'll have to keep an eye on this kid when he's getting to driving age...

Grayson still loves his Duplo train, and it's always out in his room.  He often wants to make impossible bridges, but I realized that the train pieces actually can connect to blocks, so we made some nice elevated curvy bridges one night.  Living the dream.

Here's a picture of Winry right after her tooth was pulled.  As expected there was a little blood, so she was taking care of that.  It was pulled in the morning before school, and they still made it to school on time!

Jelly found the ottoman open and knew a perch when she saw one, so up to the top she climbed.

On Friday night Cedar Park had a tree lighting, and so of course we went!  They had a living oak that was super lit up really cool.

There was also a fire truck that we could climb in and see.

And we waited in line to see Santa as well.  It was pretty fun, though we did spend most of our time in lines because we wanted to see the big things.  There was a stage with performances, and we were able to see that from the line.  The girls really liked watching the dancers, and we were all excited to sit with Santa.

Saturday morning was our ward Christmas party.  They had food, and we wrote letters to the missionaries, and we made Christmas trains.  Oh, and we all wore our new matching pajamas!  It was a really fun morning.

After the party we headed to HEB to get a Christmas tree.  We found one we liked, and then the girls helped pull it through the net stuff to keep it safe on the car.

When we got it home it was time to get it decorated!  I'm just realizing I never got a picture with it done... and I guess I don't actually think we quite got everything on yet.  But the tree looks really nice so far.

And I think that's a wrap.  We're working on getting all our decorations up for Christmas still, so look forward to the good progress next week!