Family photos

A few months ago, we had some family photos done. We've been saving them to give as gifts for family, but now I can share them on the blog. We think they turned out really well!

Christmas 2009

We had an absolutely perfect Christmas! We got to spend lots of time with family and the boys had a blast. A few years ago I never would have believed someone who told me that Christmas is more fun as a parent than it is as a kid, but this year, that was certainly true! Seeing their excitement over Santa and Baby Jesus was just the best.

On Christmas Eve, we went to church and then headed over to the Johnstons for appetizers and a gift swap. The boys got to open presents and we played "sneaky" santa. Then, Alex and Reed got in their Christmas jammies and we headed home to put out cookies for Santa and say goodbye to Freddie, the Christmas elf.

On Christmas morning, we could hardly stop Alex from running down the hall, but we made him wait just a minute until we got the camera. Then they ran in and saw all their gifts. Once we played with Santa stuff for a while, Moz and Gramps came over and brought even more presents! We swapped gifts and then the whole crew came over for Christmas brunch. We had brunch, watched boys play with their toys, and everyone opened a special little gift that Alex and Reed picked out all by themselves. Then, we all took naps and headed back to Grandma and Pops to finish up the gift giving and getting. We topped off the day with Pops famous red velvet cake.

It was a busy two days, but so, so much fun. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! (even Ollie was exhausted - in his new favorite spot, the bean bags!)

 

Stay home day #1

Alex and Reed are lucky (and so are we) to be on the same "stay-home" schedule this year. They both had 16 stay home days after their last day of school on Friday. Today was the first weekday stay home day and I got the priviledge of enjoying the day with them. We went to Pump It Up and out to lunch. Alex loved it, especially the huge slides and the obstacle courses. Reed wasn't so sure, but finally warmed up to the bouncy that had a basketball goal in it (he was shooting a soccer ball, though). It was certainly a chore to keep up with both of them, but we had a blast. It was a fun and exhausting day!

PS - sorry for the horrible pictures, it was kind of dark and VERY wobbly in there!

Oden Christmas

We celebrated our first official family holiday event last night, Oden Christmas at Linda's. Alex and Reed had a great time with all the yummy food and they got to open their first Christmas presents. But even more entertaining...karaoke. They LOVED the microphones!

School's out

Today was the last day of school for Alex and Reed before Christmas break. As Alex says, "we have 16 stay home days!" I went to Alex's Christmas party and they brought home tons of Christmas art. One of my favorite part of the holidays is having their art up around the house.

Christmas program

Alex and Reed had their first co-Christmas program this year at preschool. Alex is a big kid now since the 4 year olds are the oldest ones  in the program. Of course, he enjoyed that and took his responsibility very seriously. Reed did pretty well for a first timer -- no tears, but he the teacher did have to scoop him up when he came under the rail.

Grandma, Pops, Moz, Gramps, Aunt Christie and even Anna were all in attendance to enjoy the spectacle. We took a few minutes to say hi in their classrooms afterward and then let them get back to their busy day. Next year, Alex will be at St. Louis, so we really enjoyed seeing them together for one year!

 

 

Christmas treats

We have been getting into the Christmas sprit at our house! We made cookies (the boys "painted" on the icing) and went to the Enchanted Forest. Alex and Reed didn't get a picture with Santa, but maybe next year!

Making the bed

A few weeks ago, I told Alex that he had a new chore -- each morning we were going to make his and Reed's beds. So, each morning, I helped them pull up the sheets and blankets and straighten everything out. For the last two mornings, though, Alex has made his own bed...all by himself! He even folds down the comforter like I do. This morning he also tucked in his bear. Too cute!

Christmas magic?

This year, Alex is very interested in Christmas and Santa and what it all means. He understands that presents come from Santa and that baby Jesus was born on Christmas Day.  But I'm just not sure how much of the Christmas magic he's buying into. Take the following conversations for example:

Alex: How can Santa deliver all those presents?
Me: Well, he's Santa, so he's magic.
Alex: What about him is magic?
Me: Well, um...

Alex: Why doesn't Santa set off the alarm when he comes down the chimney?
Me: Well, because the chimney doesn't have the alarm.
Alex: Couldn't anyone come down the chimney then?
Me: Well, um...

So, for now, we are just crossing our fingers and hoping that he can let go of the practical for a minute and just be a kid enjoying Christmas. I do have some hope, for example:

Alex: Can we put Christmas lights outside?
Me: We have lights on the tree inside, we don't need any outside.
Alex: But, I want Santa to know that we're waiting for him.
Me: Well, um...OK!

Here's to a fun and happy Christmas season...full of magic!

The Christmas tree is up

The 2009 Christmas season can officially begin...we have our tree up! Alex and Reed helped me pick out the perfect tree this afternoon while Brian was still at work. We hauled it in and had it all ready to decorate when he got home. Alex LOVED decorating the tree. He was a super good helper with the lights and oohed and ahhed over every ornament. Of course, Reed just played with the reindeer headband! We had the Christmas music going and now we all have a little more Christmas spirit!

Thanksgiving weekend

We had a great Thanksgiving weekend. We started off by watching the parade on Thursday -- Alex and Reed loved Spiderman, Kermit, Tom the Turkey and Santa! Then we went to Grandma and Pops for Thanksgiving dinner (and ate way too much!) Friday morning we got up and went to the lake, where we rested, relaxed and played. Alex and Reed had fun at the State Park playground, and we even ventured into Savannah for lunch at the Fish Hut. The weather was great and we had a blast.

Pre-Turkey Day

Today, the boys were out of school, so I took off work and tried to think of something fun for us to do. I had heard people talk about the "Playground of Dreams" in Arlington, and I thought this would be a good time to check it out. (But first we had to make a stop by Gibson's for donuts!) The playground was totally worth the drive and we played there for at least an hour and a half! Then to complete the "out of town" feeling, we went to lunch at Vinegar Jim's. It was really good and fun to do something different. I can't tell you how nice it is to be able to take both of them to the same place, and out in public, with no worries. We have a lot to be thankful for!