Presents from Santa

At long last, it was time to open the presents from Santa!

Lucas had a really big box:



And inside was a really big bear!



As big as Lucas, in fact!



Lucas LOVES him. He calls him Papa Bear.

Josh, meanwhile, was very confident that he knew exactly what was inside his box from Santa: a remote-controlled snake.

And of course he was right!

He LOVES his snake just as much as Lucas loves Papa Bear.

He says he wanted it so he could scare people.

And since the snake's eyes light up as he slithers toward you, it does in fact scare you if you aren't expecting it. So future visitors, you've been warned!

Lucas also asked Santa for a "bad dog." He received Walter the Farting Dog. When you squeeze him, he farts. Both boys think this is the funniest thing they have ever seen.

And Josh's second request from Santa was a remote-controlled flying airplane. He loves it, but it is somewhat difficult to fly while also easy to damage. Daddy and Josh are starting to get the hang of it though.

After we opened Santa's gifts, we finally had our Christmas dinner. The boys had a tree-shaped pizza:

And John and I had crab claws. Delicious!

After dinner, we played and played and played.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Our Christmas Tree

We decided to skip the U-cut adventure this year and buy a tree from a lot, which meant we could once again have a fir! We found a perfect tree -- just the right size and shape, with some spaces between the branches for ornaments. We really love our tree.



After the lights were strung around, the boys each got to select a first ornament to place on the tree. They kept changing their minds, so I don't think the ones in this picture were actually the first on the tree, but it was way too exciting to stick with just one ornament!




Lucas got the honors this year:



Followed by Josh:



And Josh got to put the angel on top:



Lucas has been vigorously fighting us on taking pictures. He refuses to stay still, to smile, and to look at the camera. We tried to get pictures of each of them, and both of them together, in front of the tree, but to no avail. Josh has been much more cooperative.



The finished product: (it has more ornaments than it appears to have in this photo. I think the lights drew the camera's focus and the other items blended in with the tree. But it looks really good.)



Of course it is swimming in presents now, but not for much longer!!

An oldie but a goodie

This picture is a couple months old now, but it's so cute. Josh, Lucas and I were at the zoo and they had wandered ahead of me, and started walking together holding hands. The picture is very reminiscent of a painting John's parents have of two little boys holding hands in a forest; the boys in the painting looked similar to John and his brother Curtis, and now we have a generation 2 photo to match!

Christmas card photo attempts

... have not gone very well. This is what we have.

Nash Elementary Winter Music Program

This past Tuesday Josh's school put on its Winter Music Program. We thought he would miss it, because I was out of town for work (in New Orleans for oral arguments at the Fifth Circuit) and John has his tennis clinic that night, so we had planned for Josh to be home with a sitter. But then he got sick at school Monday, so we cancelled the sitter and the tennis clinic, and planned for John to stay home with him. But then he was all better Tuesday and went to school after all. So it was very day-to-day, and we had not bought a dress shirt for Josh to wear for the program. I thought he could just wear his school uniform and be fine.

So imagine my pleasant surprise when John sent me this photo on my cell phone Tuesday:



Oh my gosh. So handsome. And festive.

Here they are (the Nash Elem. first grade) getting all lined up by the music teacher:



Getting ready to shake some jingle bells:



Singing part of their four-song set:



And another post-concert photo of that handsome young man in his shirt and tie!

A very important conversation

We are next in line for a very important meeting, and Josh is so excited:



While Lucas is taking the time to eat his frog:



Hello Santa!



Josh: I want a remote controlled plane



Lucas: I want a bad dog.
Santa (throwing a questioning look at me): What?



Merry Christmas!

I note this is the first year Lucas has not cried and fled from Santa once Santa got up close. Usually, he is excited to see Santa from a distance, but then clings to me for dear life and wants nothing to do with him (or the Easter bunny, or Chuck E Cheese, or anything else in costume) once it gets close. This year, he sat right in the sleigh (under big brother's protection, of course) with no troubles. He's growing up.

Thanksgiving with Curt and Jeni

We enjoyed a nice meal on our nice new table:



Some of us went a little overboard:



The next day, we rode the miniature train and enjoyed the lovely fall weather.

Our new dining set

... looks so good!



love the bench for the boys:



It also has a leaf to expand out, but it's a pretty good size as is for our everyday use.

Soccer's end of season parties

Tuesday was Josh's pizza and trophy party for the end of the soccer season. I ended up having to put together the party and coach's gift, so while I was at it, John and I made cute soccer cupcakes too! I loved them. It was John's idea to add green sprinkles to make the frosting suggest the grassy field, and they turned out so well.



Thursday was Lucas' team's end of season party, and it was more low-key (given that they are only 3 years old). We met at a playground and the kids received their trophies, and then just played with each other. It was perfect for them. And Lucas was THRILLED to get his first trophy. Every time we mention it he gets the biggest, most genuine smile.

Unfortunately this picture is really fuzzy and it was the only one I could get, but I'm posting it anyway.

That perfect smile

Monday: Perfect smile still intact



Tuesday: Getting looser



Wednesday: Gone!



It came out while Josh was eating a cupcake at afterschool care. Can't think of a better way to lose your first tooth!

Tonight: first visit from the Tooth Fairy!!

Halloween 2010

We started off our Halloween day with a trip to the zoo. Boo at the Zoo started at noon, but we arrived when the zoo opened at 10 am so we could beat the crowd and get parking. Which was nice, because we had a couple quiet hours at the zoo with the animals before the festivities began. It had been so hot during August and September that we really hadn't been in awhile.

Around 11:45, we joined the line and awaited our turn for the Boo at the Zoo festivity area. Here are my skeleton and Superman in line:



Boo at the Zoo was fun. There were several treat stations, several carnival-type games to play, and a stage that alternated between a costumed dance party and an animal exhibition. The boys ended up with quite a bit of candy!

Back at home, we got our decorations ready, starting with our pumpkins: one skull, and one happy Jack-O-Lantern:



The boys got their costumes ready again for trick-or-treating:



And off we went through the neighborhood:



We went way too far. The boys wanted to trick-or-treat their babysitter Kelly, and we made the mistake of walking there. It's only a mile or less away, but with stops every few houses (with Texas in the World Series, a lot of people weren't home, and of those who were, most were in Rangers gear and most had the game on too!), it took its toll. Plus we had to walk back too. It was about 90 minutes round-trip. By the time we were almost home, Lucas was saying, "Mommy, this is hard."

To which Mommy said, Grrrrr purrrrr. (because I was a tiger!)

We ended up with a ton of candy (plus all the candy we bought to hand out, since by the time we made it back to our house, all the other trick-or-treaters were also heading home). But the boys have been great with only eating small amounts at a time.

Hope you had a great Halloween too!

Honored Hero Run

Today was the half-marathon I registered for back in the summer, pre-boating accident. I still can't run on my injured foot without it flaring up (though I have been able to start using the elliptical machine, since it has less impact on my foot), so I converted my registration to four runners in the family fun run, and we all headed out.

John ran with Josh, and Josh was booking. I ran with Lucas, who did great most of the time but did hitch a ride on my back for part of the race. Try running on an injured foot with a three-year-old on your back sometime!

Anyway, we all made it across the finish line, to much cheering from the other runners. Lucas got the biggest cheer. The combination of his tiny size and the very determined look he wears when running won their hearts.

Josh and Lucas each won completion medals:



It was a great family experience and a great way to support a very good cause--the registration fee goes to help children who are fighting and surviving blood cancers.