Christmas Morning

 
 
 
 

Santa was very good to us! He delivered our gifts to Indiana after I sent him a quick email to make sure he knew we wouldn't be in Texas. Ian so excited that Santa filled his request for a Shake N Go race track. He also loved his Zhu Zhu pets and puzzles. Daddy and Mommy gave him a Nintendo DS so he made out like a bandit.
Aaron got some Duplos, some puzzles and a Zhu Zhu pet. He also got a basketball set and other goodies. He really wasn't all that interested in opening gifts and Ian helped him quite a bit.

December 23rd

 

We headed north after I got off work on Wednesday. We drove through a pretty bad storm and arrived at our hotel on the south side of Little Rock, AR at 10:30pm. This is my ornery boy who was wide awake when I was so tired and just wanting to go to bed!

 

Of course, I can't forget this little guy! He slept just like he was supposed to.

A Little Christmas

 
 
 
 


We have decided rather than stay here and Texas and celebrating Christmas alone that we will travel to Indiana to celebrate with my family. This is a 16 hour trip minimum if you travel straight through so if you add the 15 minutes per hour when you travel with children, we are looking at about 20 hours. Please pray for our safe travels. I am hoping that we can get to Bryant, AR tomorrow evening after I get off work and finish the trip on Christmas Eve.

With that said, we decided to have ourself a little Christmas this evening with the gifts that Bill, GG, Grandma and Papaw Hoagland and Uncle David sent. The boys both had a grand time opening gifts and loved each and every item. They are currently playing with them now. It's going to be hard to get them to go to bed!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Brothers

 
My good friend Jen sent these shirts to the boys. I had a hard time getting a picture, but you can see that one says "little brother" and the other says "big brother." Ian thought he was big stuff! Thanks Jen for the great brothers shirts. We love them!

Dapper Little Dude

 
 
 
 


Aaron is 17 months old now. My how time is flying. He and I enjoy some time to play and run around on Tuesdays and Thursdays while Ian is in school. He's such a little cuddler and he loves his blankets. He's not partial to a particular one as long as he has one. His vocabulary has expanded and he now says the following words: mommy, daddy, dog, up, down, uh oh, ho ho ho, bye bye, and hi. He's slowly but surely changing from a baby into a little boy. What a persoality!

Nature in Lights

 

 

 

 

Tonight we went to BLORA to see Nature in Lights. Our friends the Henkes invited us to come along with them since I am not so savvy in the wherabouts of such light displays, etc, in this area. We met at Ft Hood for a bite to eat and then headed toward BLORA (Belton Lake Outdoor Recreation Area, for those of you not in these parts) to see their light display. They charge 5 dollars per car at the gate and then you drive through the "park" and see all the wonderful lights. Toward the end there is a "Santa Village" where you can stop for a visit with Santa and cocoa. We didn't get in line to see Santa, but we did enjoy some cocoa made by our friends. They also shared white chocolate covered pretzel rods. Delicious! Ian had such a great time! He would point out each time he saw Santa or a reindeer doing something in the lights. It really is pretty neat and well worth the drive. Thanks again to the Henkes for helping me to navigate my way out to BLORA. I probably couldn't find it again if I had to! :)

Advent Calendar

  

Ian has been thrilled with our Advent Calendar this year and I think it's pretty darn cool, too. It's a LEGO calendar and each day you open a window to find a unique winter creation that has unique Lego pieces that you can't find in a regular set. Ian and I work hard at putting our little creations together. So far our favorite is the snowman. Today we made a holiday lamp post. Anyway, if you are looking for a neat Advent calendar, I recommend this one. They sell out quickly so you generally have to buy them when they first come out, but they are well worth the price for the joy and entertainment value. We anticipate our little Lego building session each morning!

Happy Holidays!