Christmas #4 - at the White House

So, the final Christmas event was at my parents house, known as Nana and Papa's to Ethan. The gathering was my parents, my sister, my brother-in-law, and my two nephews, Owen (almost age 5), and Warren (just turned 2). The boys had a lot of fun playing together during their visit! Below is one of Ethan's prized presents from the day, a pirate ship! He said "Argh, mateys!"

Here's a picture of Sherry, Jason, and Owen. Warren is just off to the right playing with his new Cars movie cars! He couldn't be bothered to take a picture!

And Ethan's last present he opened was the GeoTrax High-Flying Airport. That garnered big hugs for both Nana and Papa.

And thus ended the Christmas 2008 extravaganza. Kaden was mostly absent from the pictures since he can't open presents yet! And at least at my parents house, he was asleep in the next room, taking a much needed nap. Next year, I'm sure he will be mixing it up with the rest of the kids!

Christmas #3 - at home

So, onto Christmas #3! On Christmas Day, we flew home from Nashville. Santa had made a stop at our house while we were gone, and delivered his two requested presents, a yellow ('lellow') bike, and a slot car racetrack. Here is Ethan taking his first ride on his new bike, and yes, it is inside the house!

Ethan then opened his presents from Mommy and Daddy. He received a couple of puzzles, some new cartridges for his music game, and apparently, the piece de resistance, a truck carrier that holds some matchbox cars. Always into the trucks and cars!!

We took about an hour to breathe, and then we were onto Nana and Papa's house (my parents) for Christmas #4...

Christmas #2 - Nashville style

Christmas #2 was held in Nashville. This is Brian's extended family's Christmas get together. We flew up on the 23rd, and back the afternoon of the 25th, a very quick trip! We were able to see lots of aunts, uncles, cousins, cousins' kids, and of course, Brian's grandma and grandpa. The above picture is great-grandma and great-grandpa with all the great grandkids that were around at that moment. Believe it or not, I think we are missing 8 more kids that couldn't make it to the festivities!

Here is a picture of Kaden with his great grandma (and great grandpa in the background). Contrary to what everyone who was present probably believes, Kaden is really a laid back baby! But he was all out of sorts with traveling, strange bed, not sleeping well, teething, etc. We spent most of the time trying to keep him from crying! But we did manage to get a couple of pics of him being his normally happy self!

Ethan had a blast playing with all his second cousins, most of which he had never met before! Here is a picture of him, and his second cousin Lily, playing underneath one of the tables.

Santa did manage to stop at our hotel to deliver Ethan and Kaden's stocking gifts. So here is Ethan opening his bright and early.

Then we ventured back home for Christmas #3... to be added later!

Christmas #1

We celebrated our first Christmas of the season with Brian's family (grandma, grandpa, aunt Stacie, uncle Ryan, and cousins Emma, Josh, and Matt) on Saturday. We decided to let the kids open their gifts at once - a total free for all! The highlight of Ethan's presents was an airport playset. The boy is obsessed with anything cars, trucks, trains, airplanes - pretty much anything with wheels. He must have told grandpa thank you (unprompted by me!) for the airport at least 6 times!

Here is a picture of Ethan and Emma opening a "shared" gift...

Here is Ethan showing off his new puzzle he got from aunt Stacie and uncle Ryan. Ethan LOVES puzzles!
And here's one of Ethan helping to open Kaden's presents. For some reason, Kaden just wasn't interested in opening his own! :)

And now onto Christmas celebration #2 in Nashville!

ICE!

We all took a family trip to the ICE! exhibit at the Gaylord Texan hotel. My sister and her family are in town, so the whole family went! They give you these big blue parkas to wear, since it is 9 degrees inside the ice sculpture area. Brrr! Here is a picture of Ethan under the "ice" trees.

Kaden rode is style in his carseat, bundled under two of the parkas. He was so toasty warm that he promptly fell asleep!

Here is a picture of a gingerbread house made entirely out of ice, with Ethan peeking through the window.

Everyone had to sit on Santa's lap! In the picture is my sister, my nephew Owen, Ethan, my nephew Warren, and my dad.

There was a big ice slide for all the kids (and some of the adults) to slide down on. They are sliding underneath all of Santa's reindeer. Ethan is the one sliding down!

And the best for last... the entire nativity scene carved in ice. It was really beautiful. Ethan ran into that room and yelled "Look, Mommy, it's baby Jesus!". A good way to sum up the experience!

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

Living in Texas, we don't usually have much occasion to wear heavy coats, hats, and mittens! But since we are traveling for Christmas, I wanted Ethan to have a nice warm coat. And since he loves to play outside, regardless of the temperature, I still needed a heavy coat for him. And I figured while I was at it, a hat and mittens wouldn't hurt! After all, we got ONE heavy snowfall last winter, and the boy didn't have any mittens or gloves or a hat that fit him anymore. So we had to make due with thick socks for gloves, and a hat that was about two sizes too small, all so he could play in the snow and make a snowman.

Can you tell from this picture that Ethan loves his "brand new coat", hat, and mittens? And we have actually had use of them all this week!

Santa Claus is comin' to town...

We took Ethan and Kaden (mostly Ethan) to see Santa Claus today. I had to coax Ethan to tell Santa what he wanted for Christmas, even though he had been practicing his list. "I want a yellow bike, and a racetrack." If you saw our house, you would think we owned every racetrack in the world, but the boy is obsessed with cars and anything that cars could drive on, park in, etc.! I think Santa will be able to deliver on those two promises (see previous post about the bike!).

The girls tried to get Kaden to smile, but I just told them to take the picture... Kaden doesn't tend to smile unless it's someone he knows behind the camera making silly faces at him (usually Mommy!). Just the fact that his hands aren't in his mouth (I believe Santa is holding them down!), and he's not spitting up makes it a decent picture for me!

Advent Calendars

Each year as a child, I always had a chocolate Advent calendar to count down the days until Christmas. So, as soon as Ethan was old enough, Brian and I started this tradition with him. He has to impatiently wait until after lunch before he can open the day's square. He simply LOVES to see what chocolate will be inside. And I'm sure eating a piece of chocolate is no horrible task to him either!

This year at preschool, Ethan made a Christmas tree Advent calendar, and he gets to put a circle sticker over each numbered day until we get to Christmas. He loves to do this, and will actually wake up in the morning, and before even coming into my bedroom, will go into the kitchen and put on his sticker for the day!

100 Things

So, we haven't had too much going on lately to blog about. So, I stole this from a friend's blog, and thought I would use it here...

1. Started your own blog
uh, yeah, you're reading it!
2. Slept under the stars
yes
3. Played in a band
well, not in a cool rock band or anything, but I played flute / piccolo in band in high school
4. Visited Hawaii
yes - Oahu, Maui, and the big Island (Hawaii)
5. Watched a meteor shower
yes - on a church trip to Mexico in high school
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
no
7. Been to Disneyland
yes - just this past January for the first time. Ethan had a blast!
8. Held a praying mantis
yuck - no!
9. Climbed a mountain
no
10. Sang a solo
yes
11. Bungee jumped
heck no!
12. Visited Paris
ahhhhh.... yes!
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
no
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
well, I taught myself how to decorate my son's birthday cakes using cake decorator tips. Does that count?
15. Adopted a child
no - I've adopted 3 dogs though, does that count for anything? ;)
16. Had food poisoning
well, how do you know if you've had food poisoning? I'm sure I've eaten bad food and paid for it later... how's that for an answer???
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
yes, and what a long spiraling walk it is!
18. Grown your own vegetables
sort of - helped my mom with her vegetable garden in middle school
19. Seen the Mona Lisa
yes
20. Slept on an overnight train
no
21. Had a pillow fight
yes
22. Hitch hiked
no
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
Absolutely!
24. Built a snow fort
yes - but definitely not here in Texas!
25. Held a lamb
no
26. Gone skinny dipping
no
27. Run a Marathon
no
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
no - I wish! Venice is the next place I really want to go; that and Rome!
29. Seen a total eclipse
yes
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
yes
31. Hit a home run
no
32. Been on a cruise
no
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
yes
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
well, I know somewhere along the line, I had British ancestors, so I guess London counts...
35. Seen an Amish community
yes
36. Taught yourself a new language
I took 4 years of Spanish in high school, and another 4 semesters of Spanish in college, but does that count as teaching yourself? I guess not...
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
no
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
yes!
39. Gone rock climbing
hey - I've gone rock climbing on Ethan's backyard swingset, does that count? ;)
40. Seen Michelangelos David
yes
41. Sung karaoke
no
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
no
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
no
44. Visited Africa
no
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
yes
46. Been transported in an ambulance
yes, embarassingly enough...
47. Had your portrait painted
no
48. Gone deep sea fishing
oh, no, I would be sick as a dog...
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
no, I wish (see above - going to Rome!)
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
yes - gorgeous!
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
scuba diving - no; snorkeling - yes
52. Kissed in the rain
yes
53. Played in the mud
probably as a kid
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
no
55. Been in a movie
no
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
no
57. Started a business
no
58. Taken a martial arts class
no
59. Visited Russia
no
60. Served at a soup kitchen
yes
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
yes
62. Gone whale watching
I haven't gone whale watching on a boat (see sea sickness above!), but I have seen whales from the shore in Hawaii!
63. Got flowers for no reason
yes
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
yes
65. Gone sky diving
not in this lifetime!
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
yes - Dachau concentration camp in Germany
67. Bounced a check
no
68. Flown in a helicopter
yes - three times - once on our honeymoon in St. Lucia, once on the big island Hawaii, and once on Maui
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
yes - my mom still has my Strawberry Shortcake dolls!
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
yes
71. Eaten Caviar
yes - and apparently I do not have the taste buds of the very rich
72. Pieced a quilt
no
73. Stood in Times Square
yes - as a kid
74. Toured the Everglades
no
75. Been fired from a job or asked to resign
no
76. Seen the Changing of the Guard in London
not the whole thing, but a little bit of it
77. Broken a bone
I am sure I have broken my little pinky toe a couple of times, and I fractured my kneecap just a few months ago...
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
no
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
no
80. Published a book
no
81. Visited the Vatican
no, but I would love to!
82. Bought a brand new car
yes
83. Walked in Jerusalem
no
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
yes
85. Read the entire Bible
yes
86. Visited the White House
yes
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
no, and if I had to, I would have to become vegetarian!
88. Had chickenpox
yes
89. Saved someone's life
no
90. Sat on a jury
no
91. Met someone famous
yes - I sort of "met" Bill Paxton at the LAX airport. I was checking in at the counter, and he caught his bag on my backpack as he was passing by me, so I did actually speak to him! :)
92. Joined a book club
no - as much as I love to read, being an English major in college kind of burned me out on doing discussion groups. Perhaps in another 10 years!
93. Lost a loved one
yes
94. Had a baby
yes - two!
95. Seen the Alamo in person
of course, who can live in Texas and not?
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
no
97. Been involved in a law suit
no
98. Owned a cell phone
yes - who doesn't these days?
99. Been stung by a bee
yes
100. Read an entire book in one day
Absolutely!

Santa bought a bike today...

Santa is planning to visit our house this Christmas with a bike for Ethan. So, to help him out, Brian and I took Ethan to the bike store today to try and figure out what size bike he needed, as this will be his first 'big boy' bike. Ethan is so used to going to the bike store, he had no idea we were really going for him! He currently has a big wheel that he rides, but he has never ridden on a 'true' bicycle. So, to our surprise, Ethan jumped on one of the bikes, and took off riding laps around the store. He was all smiles and having a great time! The best part was that I was able to buy the bike, and Brian was able to keep Ethan distracted long enough for the salesman to load it in the back of my car without Ethan seeing it. Now to find a good hiding place until Christmas!

Sickies, Sickies, and More Sickies

More sickness has invaded our home. Kaden just had two colds literally back to back, lasting about a month, which he was finally getting over about a week ago. Ethan had a cold about a month ago as well. Starting this past Sunday, Ethan started in on another cold, and then by Monday, Kaden had one too! So, Santa, if you're listening, all I want for Christmas is two healthy kids!

Tag - iPod shuffle

One of my blogger friends did the iPod shuffle tag, and I thought it was really cute and funny! So here goes - if you like it, consider yourself tagged, and add to your own blog!

Instructions
1.Put your iPod on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!
4. Tag 10 friends who might enjoy doing this as well as the person you got this from.

If someone asks, "Is this okay?" you say:
The Other Way - Weezer
What would best describe your personality?
Running to Stand Still - U2
What do you like in a guy/girl?
Runnin' with the Devil - Van Halen (that's a bit scary!)
What is your life's purpose?
Jump (For My Love) - The Pointer Sisters
What is your motto?
The Zephyr Song - Red Hot Chili Peppers
What do your friends think of you?
Something to Be - Rob Thomas
What do you think about very often?
Get It Faster - Jimmy Eat World
What is 2 + 2?
Fall Line - Jack Johnson
What do you think of your best friend?
Hold On - Sarah McLachlan
What do you think of the person you like?
Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? - Chicago
What is your life story?
Disintegration - The Cure (that can be disturbing!)
What do you want to be when you grow up?
Won't Go Home Without You - Maroon 5
What do you think when you see the person you like?
I've Got To See You Again - Norah Jones
What do your parents think of you?
Mamma Mia - ABBA
What will you dance to at your wedding?
The Long Day is Over - Norah Jones
What will they play at your funeral?
Sometime Around Midnight - The Airborne Toxic Event
What is your hobby/interest?
Only the Young - Journey (that's appropriate right now!)
What's your biggest secret?
Clarity - John Mayer
What do you think of your friends?
Why Can't I Be You - The Cure
What's the worst thing that could happen?
Danger - Third Eye Blind
How will you die?
Tragic Kingdom - No Doubt
What is the one thing you regret?
Songbird - Eva Cassidy
What makes you laugh?
Map of the Problematique - Muse
What makes you cry?
Beautiful Day - U2
Will you ever get married?
By Your Side - Sade
What scares you the most?
Shadow of the Day - Linkin Park
Does anyone like you?
Hey There Delilah - Plain White T's
If you could go back in time, what would you change?
Busted Stuff - Dave Matthews Band
What hurts right now?
Nessun dorma - Turandot - Puccini
What will you post this as?
Sorry - Our Lady Peace

Another Tag - Picture Time!

This tag is one I've seen around a lot. It's the sixth picture in the sixth folder. This is Ethan at about nine months, thoroughly enjoying his dinner!

Tag - Thanks Friend!

So, I've been "tagged" for the first time! My friend Kerri, who is currently living in Paris, France with her family, tagged me to reveal six unknown, quirky or random things about myself. This takes a lot of thought since I'm not usually very good at coming up with stuff like this. So, let's see...

• I moved seven times by the time I graduated high school. My dad was in the Army, so we moved all around the country. I was born in Dover, Delaware, and have also lived in Indianapolis, Ft. Bliss (El Paso, TX), Raleigh, Olathe, KS (outside of Kansas City), Ft. Meade (outside of Baltimore, MD), Ft. Sheridan, IL (north of Chicago), and the last move to Lewisville, TX.


• I was friend's with Brian's sister, Stacie, for years before I ever met him! Stacie and I met at church when we were both in high school, and then we roomed together at the University of Texas for 3 years (she was a year younger than I, so we started rooming together when I was a sophomore, and she was a freshman). I didn't even meet Brian until she and I were living together for probably at least a semester or more, and that was just a random meeting! We all came home for the summer in '95, and I would hang out at Stacie's house, and Brian was there too, of course. So, long story short, we started dating in July of 1995, and have been together for the 13 years since!
  
• I changed my major in college... in the spring semester of my senior year. My parents probably thought I was crazy! For three and a half years, my major was elementary education. Then, after a semester of being a teacher's aide, I decided it wasn't for me. So, I changed my major to English. But it only took me an extra summer semester for me to graduate, because my elementary ed. 'concentration' was English already. Unfortunately, there's not a lot out there to "do" with an English degree!
  
• I'm NOT a morning person. If I could sleep in every day to 10 am, I would! That doesn't work out so well with two young children though!
  
• I'm an avid reader! If I don't have a book that I'm reading, I feel lost! What do I do with myself before bedtime? :)
  
• I was a total klutz when I was little! When learning to walk, somewhere around 9 or 10 months old, I took a header into the console tv, and I still have the scar on my forehead today! I also fell down the wood stairs a few times, one time even knocking myself out! I'd like to think that I outgrew that particular trait - but I can say that Ethan gets his clumsiness honestly! I was a "Mr. Bump", and so is Ethan! Maybe there is hope for Kaden!

I don't have a lot of blogger friends to tag with this post, so basically, if you have a blog, and you're reading this, consider yourself 'tagged'!

Movie Time!

Brian and I decided to take Ethan to see his first movie in a "big" movie theater today. We chose Madagascar 2. Ethan did really well, considering that when watching a movie at home, he tends to roam about the room and play with toys at the same time. He said he had fun, but half the fun for him was probably eating popcorn! Oh, and yes, singing along with "You got to move it, move it!"

Who is who?

Kaden turned four months old this week! How time flies by when there is a baby in the house! I have month by month picture frames for the first year, one for Ethan, and now one for Kaden. Which means that I have to remember to take a picture on (or around) the same day every month. This week's picture of Kaden got me thinking about Ethan's four month old picture. So, I decided to post them both here.

So can you tell who is who? And even if you can, there is no questioning that they are brothers!

Veterans Day

Today is Veterans Day. And a brief history lesson for those who didn't know: Veterans Day was originally known as Armistice Day after World War I, but after World War II and Korea, Congress changed the name to Veterans Day.


I know I am personally so grateful for every single man and woman who has served our country in each of the Armed Forces. And I am especially thankful for my own dad, who served in the Army for 27 years. He is the most dedicated, hard working, honorable man I will ever know, and I am proud to call him my dad! I love you Dad!

Camping Trip

So we packed up all our gear this weekend, and took Ethan camping for the first time! Kaden decided to stay home and camp out with Nana (thanks Nana - Kaden said he had a great time with you at home!).

We went to a campsite near the lake about 10 minutes from our house, but it didn't matter where it was to Ethan, as long as we were camping out! He had such a good time, and loved sleeping in the tent in his own little sleeping bag.

Of course, we had to have a campfire, and Ethan had to try out roasting marshmallows for the first time too! What is camping out without s'mores and marshmallows!

We all had a great time, and by all accounts, Ethan is going to want to go camping again soon!

VOTE

Today is Election Day, for those of you that have been living under a rock. Sometimes I feel like my vote may or may not count, since I tend to live in a firmly ensconced "red" state. However, I would like to take a moment to urge everyone to excercise their American freedom to vote in this election, regardless of who you vote for!! And then we won't have to watch political ads anymore!

Halloween!

This is the first year that Ethan has been really interested in Halloween. He woke up telling me "It's Halloween!". He picked out his own costume at Old Navy, he was a "red dragon that is nice". This first picture is Ethan and Kaden at our church's fall festival, which was the weekend before Halloween.



We have a LOT of kids on our street, which is fantastic. There are always impromptu playdates out in the middle of the circle! At current count, we have 16 kids (3 are babies)! We try to corral all the kids together for a Halloween pic before the serious trick or treating starts. We had a few extra kids this year (cousins and friends visiting), plus a couple of the parents got into the game this year too! Can you spot the red dragon and the pumpkin?

Brian was traveling again this year, so he missed out on the festivities, but here is a picture of me and my boys...

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!

Kaden's First Three Months

Thought I would do a quick picture recap of Kaden's first three months!

Here's at one month:

Here's at two months:

And here's at three months:

Kaden's First Picture

So, I obviously set up this blog many years ago, and never did anything with it! So I thought I would start to try to get into this blogging thing. Since my very first post was a picture of Ethan as a newborn, I thought I would post a picture of Kaden as a newborn, as to compare and contrast!