January

Our wonderful neighbors are exactly who we prayed for.  We are so fortunate!  They had a New Year's Eve party and were so sweet to invite us.  The first part was very kid-friendly.  We enjoyed a delicious Italian meal, let the kids eat treats, and I ran next door to bathe Carter and put him to bed.  We love that our monitors will work well enough to put the kids down in their own beds!  Ricky had gotten some family friendly fireworks and Reid was totally enthralled with his first ever, super long sparkler. 

After the kids were properly sugared up, played out, and super tired, some families left, older kids played in the media room, and we put our own kiddos down.  The adult part of the evening was a fun wine-tasting event, kind of a blind taste test with the bottles covered and all.  Everyone got along well and we had fun conversation.  Ricky's grandmother took quite a liking to Jason and it became the joke of the evening, keeping all of us hooting in laughter at their banter.

I found this shirt the next week, which would have been perfect!

Reid had such a good time that he even wrote about it at school that week!  If you can't decipher the kindergarten writing, it says, "We like to go to my neighbor's house."  Reid loves their 2 1/2 year old, Lane, just like a brother.  And Erica is amazing--I feel like I've known her for years, even though we've only technically known each other for about one year now.  I'm so thankful the Lord put us next door to another great Christian family and we look forward to many more fun times together.

On a cold January day before school started back, I got talked into a Chick-fil-A trip.  The boys were really good and patient, so I was all for Reid trading in his book for an ice cream cone.  Carter was actually pretty interested in it, and Reid sweetly shared. 

These two crazies have been enjoying showers with Daddy lately.  Jason will take them both in there sometimes while I pack lunches or cook dinner (which is virtually impossible with a two year old Carter hanging on my leg by the hot stove).  It's pretty entertaining to watch... Carter dances all around the water, but won't get in.  He loves to fill up a big cup and dump it "over" his head (he always misses).  Reid likes to sing, "Ca-ca-CARTER, ca-ca-CARTer, CARTY!" and draw pictures on the shower door. 

They will actually play a few other things together, too.  We got a huge bag of Legos from a coworker of mine, Sandra.  She has no idea how happy that bag of random parts has made Reid.  I'm pretty impressed with his creations he's made.  They end up having to go upstairs into Reid's room so Carter won't destroy them.  Reid gets quite hot-tempered ;)

I didn't realize how long my hair had gotten.  I never, ever have solo time since the boys are always with me, but one day Holli took Reid with her when she was there to pick up a girl in my class.  Perfect (and only!) chance to sneak out for a haircut.  The lighting was weird, so I look a lot healthier in the second picture.  Before:

After:

We had a trip to Cancun coming up soon, so I didn't want my hair everywhere.  It ended up being a bit shorter than I'd wanted, but it worked.  I won't make it back for another haircut for quite awhile, so it's probably better that way anyway.

A French Christmas

We stayed in Dallas for Christmas this year so we could celebrate in our new house.  It was also the 2nd annual Christmas Eve dinner at Steven and Aimee's house...yum!!  The big boys with Mamere:

All the boys, enjoying their own dinner earlier (and so we adults could enjoy our own, "grown up" food and all!)

Dinner was absolutely scrumptious, as expected!  It was wonderful to be with family, catch up, share new and old stories, and have all the boys playing together. 

Christmas morning in our own (new!) house was such a blessing.  I attempted to make monkey bread/plucky cake for the first time to hopefully start a Christmas morning tradition...let's just say I'll keep working on it.  At least it tasted good.  But first things first--Reid was dying to open presents!!  But we had to wait for Carter to wake up (he had been to bed late at Steven and Aimee's the night before, so slept in...unlike big bro) and we adults wanted our morning tea/coffee.  Even Carter really got into it this year and ripped open packages.

New trains for the train table...

Stocking goodies from Santa

The ripping open things happened so quickly I couldn't get pictures of everything.  But here are a few more:

It ends up that all Carter really needed was a couple of boxes and trash to play in, lol!

And he was immediately taken with two books from Aunt Lala et al.

The biggest hit of the morning?  The reindeer that 'poops' brown jellybeans.  They had to see it over (and over, and OVER) again!!  Jason made a great investment ;)  

 Spending Christmas in our new house was such a blessing.  Last year was a pretty crazy year, but what wonderful memories we made!  We are very thankful for all God has provided over the course of 2015 and trust that He will guide us through 2016. 

December Festivities

I was fortunate enough to have a MUCH needed girls' trip in December.  Laura and I decided to visit Canton for a pre-Christmas shopping trip.  The roach motel was waaaay overpriced, but well worth it so we could stay two nights and get an early(ish--we all have kids, so it was heavenly to sleep in) start on shopping Saturday without having to drive over an hour in the Trade Days traffic.  Even better...our lifelong friend, Mandy, who lived down the street growing up, was able to join us!  I hadn't seen her in years, so it was wonderful to all catch up. 

Shopping day!  After a (shoddy) breakfast at the motel, getting ready, and a bit of shopping, it was time to enjoy some everything's fried fair food!  Corn dogs were a must, but I had been waiting since my last Canton visit (when I was pregnant with Carter) for the ultimate...red velvet funnel cake!!! 

My little Canton cart was pretty darn overflowing by the end of the day, and that was after a few trips back and forth to the car.  I'd say it was a success!

And then we realized that Mandy somehow needed to fit into the backseat.  Good thing it wasn't far from the motel!  It was a fun weekend and so good to catch up with my girls.  Moms like us are not so good at taking a break from family to rejuvenate ourselves.

Back at home, it was a busy month!  Reid was totally into decorating this year.  And had the *ahem* muscles to prove it.

He was a Bear of the Month in December!  Makes a mom proud!!  Our December Friday Live is in the morning and is called Holiday Live.  Thankfully, Jason was able to attend the first part and barely made it to see Reid get his award before running off to work.  He even snapped a cute pic of Reid coming up the ramp on the way to the assembly.

 

One of the perks of going to the same school as your mom, right in the classroom across the hall at that, is that your mom can sneak across the hall for a quick selfie.  My little reindeer loved his party! 

This little stinker loved being home for the Christmas break.  He began his obsession with the pantry...and standing on water bottles, which is apparently hilarious.  Eek!

 

Somewhere in December was Jason's company party for the kids.  Structuretone always has a very kid-friendly, fun party and it's neat to meet all the people Jason works with.  Reid loves the doughnuts and cookies...Carter loves the fruit and cheese.   I love that we get to see a normal-looking Santa and take pictures that don't cost $30 after waiting in line for two hours.  Last year, Carter didn't seem to mind sitting with Santa, so I figured this year we wouldn't be so lucky.  Yep.

 

 

Carter was done!  It did make for a funny picture, though.  Reid wanted to open his magic kit from Santa right away, and he was enamored with his snowman balloon.

Carter got an adorable remote (that he apparently thinks doubles as a phone--he makes "calls" and listens to music all the way to Holli's each morning) and other goodies.

Reid even got his face painted this year...a BIG deal after avoiding it his entire life.  I'm pretty sure they had lots of fun and someone is counting down until next year's party.

Reid wanted a "special" breakfast one morning, so we made holiday pancakes.  I'm a good cook, but a terrible baker.  Note to self:  next year, use pre-made pancakes.  Thankfully, he didn't seem to mind.  We used his new cookie cutters and decorated them with sprinkles, whipped cream, and M&Ms. 

Someone was also obsessed with his "lungs" over the break.  Eek!!  Not even gonna go there...

Two little cuties

In the "hot tub" one day as I did laundry

Carter insists on feeding himself, yet ends up with half of it on his clothes, tray, and hands so he freaks out because he can't stand stuff on his hands.  At least he's trying.

Photo Shoot

Windsong brought a professional photographer in to set up a day of photo opportunities at the Commons.  The sitting fee was only $50, so I figured even if we just got one semi-decent family picture, it would be worth it (all the other sitting fees in this area begin around $250!).  The photographer was very nice, but I'm not sure he'd had lots of experience with little kids.  Carter is usually pretty chill, but the only time slot that worked for us had to be between church and nap time.  He was fed, but started getting tired and just wanted to run around.  We did get the one good one...

And the others were pretty funny.  I mean, doesn't everyone pick their dad's nose?!

I also wanted solo picks of the kids since it was a pretty day and got them all dressed up.  None turned out fantastic, but I was satisfied.

I know I'm a bit biased, but I think this two kiddos are pretty handsome, just like their daddy.