Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve at Grammy and Granddad's house.

Christmas Eve Eve

Santa made a visit to my parent's house the night before Christmas Eve. The kids had varied reactions: Nathan warmed up to him right away, Lillian was a little reserved but couldn't quite wrap her head around the fact that Santa was really there, Lucas kept his distance.

Both boys were amazed at the resemblance between Santa and the dancing Santa they like to play with.

Enjoying the Moments

Christmas baking

This year, our tree needed a twist to make it fit in our new house. I bought this tree to work with 10 ft ceilings in our other house. Well, in this house, the ceilings are only 8 ft. That posed a problem...

With some ingenuity, Brent decided to leave off the very top piece of the tree and I found some "picks" at a local store to finish off the top. (please ignore the paneling in the background. that will be dealt with in January!)

December sunset from our front yard.

A Boy And His Boots

A story for you:

Last year, Lucas got a pair of boots from Grammy and Granddad for his birthday. He loved those boots and wore them everywhere last winter. When summer arrived, he switched to flip-flops, and the boots remained in the closet, waiting to be worn again. His new friends at his new school wore boots everyday- even if it was 100 degrees. Lucas, wanting to be like his friends, asked to wear his boots again, usually with shorts and a t-shirt. Around October, the boots started to look like this:


The toes were scuffed, the leather worn, and a small hole appeared in the toe. That hole grew and grew until his socks were visible. The boots that were once square toed were now rounded and splitting from daily use.

Being the good parents we were (are), we decided to buy him another pair (on sale) and wait until his 3rd birthday in the hopes that it would be too cold to play outside and, hopefully, preserve the new pair for warmer weather. While the new boots waited in the closet, his old boots continued to fall apart. The heels wore down, the stitching split, and the holes in the toes grew.

Finally the birthday weekend arrived and the new boots were given! They have already seen their share of wear. I managed to take a picture last week before too much damage was done.

The old boots will be treasured, a symbol of the passing of time and a little boy's love for his boots.

Christmas Lights in Medicine Park

We haven't mastered the art of taking photos in the dark and capturing the beauty of Christmas lights but the one with the kids in the tree turned out pretty well. We walked along the river in Medicine Park with the McKeowns after church one night.

Children's Christmas Party

Happy Birthday, Lucas!

Lucas turns 3 today! We celebrated with family last weekend to give more time between birthday presents and Christmas. The theme, of course, was Toy Story. Grandma Charlotte made the cake to showcase Lucas' latest obsession.

This Lincoln Log train set immediately took over the sun porch.

Birthday boy showing off the 3 fingers.

Lucas will have a 3 yr check-up on Tuesday. He is a happy, healthy kid and still brings us great joy. He has a fun personality and talks so much older than 3! He is into trains, dinosaurs, and Toy Story. He wears his cowboy boots everywhere (look for a post about those soon!) and likes to pick out his own shirts to wear. His best friends are Grady and Maverick, but he still thinks Lillian is the greatest and has grown quite fond of his cousins, Cole and Nathan. Happy Birthday, Lucas!

#4

Lillian lost tooth #4 at school last week. She can offically sing "All I Want For Christmas Is My 2 Front Teeth..."

Basketball 101

Lillian had a 2 day basketball camp last weekend. She loved it!

Kitchen Remodel

Our kitchen is finished! Well...except for some painting that needs to be done above the cabinets. It is such an improvement from the original. Don't you agree??

BEFORE: note the butcher block countertop

BEFORE: harvest gold- be gone!

DURING: Brent removed the countertop and appliances himself. Don't you love the brick backsplash? It is my favorite part of the kitchen.

AFTER: New countertops, backsplash, appliances, recessed lighting, and decor.

MUCH BETTER!

Thanksgiving 2010

We enjoyed a busy few days for the Thanksgiving holiday! Here is the table at Mom and Dad's house:

Lillian and Lucas helped with cookie baking.

Brent and I pose for a rare picture together.

We also enjoyed Thanksgiving with Brent's family on Friday. I did some Black Friday shopping that morning and, in my tiredness, forgot to take any pictures.

Tooth Fairy's First Visit

The wait is over! Lillian lost her first tooth on a Friday night, sometime in September. I didn't write down the date! Arggghhh......!! Since this picture she has lost a 2nd tooth on the bottom and both top teeth are loose. She will surely be singing "All I Want For Christmas Is My 2 Front Teeth...." by December!

(She left a note for the Tooth Fairy to leave the tooth behind for her tooth bank. The Tooth Fairy obliged.)

Pre-Move

For my own benefit, I feel the need to document our final weeks at 1901 Twin Spires Trail. The next few pictures are for our family scrapbook and there aren't too many because we were too busy to take many pictures.

This is how we lived during the 2 weeks I spent packing.

Mom and Lillian painting her new room- it's lavender!

One special thing we did was let each kid do a Build-a-Bear to have as a "moving buddy". Lucas made a horse; Lillian made a kitten. Since their toys were packed and the transition unnerving, it made the move easier on both kids because their "moving buddy" was always with them.

Update

Now that Thanksgiving Break is here, I MUST update this blog! The first thing I did this morning was to revamp my list of inspiration and fun ideas. When you have a minute (or 10) to browse these new sites, you will be in for a treat!

2 sites are by art teachers who cater to the 12 and under crowd. There are some amazing projects there and many would make good Christmas gifts for grandparents. My favorite is Zulily! It offers daily deals on top brand clothing for kids and women. Adorable stuff!

Has anyone else noticed the blogging world slowing down with the explosion of Facebook? I know some of my daily thoughts and musings have made their way to Facebook instead of here. Just an observation...

Rise and Shine

Lillian's 1st grade class led Rise and Shine at her school's Monday assembly. She did such a good job reciting her lines! I enjoyed getting to see her on stage.

More Halloween

We went to Grammy and Granddad's after trick-or-treating at a few houses. Nathan and Wade were there- they were dressed as Shrek and Puss-in-boots. SO cute!

Sunday- we went to Chickasha to visit my friend, Jennifer, and her kids. Her church was having a trunk-or-treat so we went to join the fun!

I had never been to a trunk-or-treat before, but I was so impressed with the coolness of an event like this. Every car was decorated and had games for the kids to play. They came home LOADED with candy! It was a fun night!

Halloween 2010

Lucas at his school party- he's with his buddy, Grady

Before

During


This is what no nap the day of trick-or-treating will get you...