Happy Birthday Daddy!

We had fun celebrating Mike's birthday this past weekend.  I ordered him some presents I was so excited to give him.  The first was a home brewing system called "Mr Beer" and the second was a yeast starter kit to further his love of making pizza.  With his background in chemistry, I have high hopes of how both will turn out. 

We've really been trying to take the kids out to eat and do fun family outings in the last couple weeks before the baby comes.  I still don't think it's totally sunk in that we're going to have a newborn soon!  Lately, Amelia asked me every morning if baby brother is coming today and tells me how much she wants to meet him!

Amelia really doesn't like getting her hands dirty!

Big Girl Room

I have been anxious about moving Amelia out of her crib into a “big girl” bed for a while.  I knew I wanted to do it at least six weeks before the baby arrives so that she would have time to adjust and wouldn’t feel like the baby was taking her place.  We decided to do it over Christmas vacation while Mike had two weeks off and could help change the furniture and rooms around.  I can say I was pleasantly surprised with how easily she handled the transition.  We had been talking about getting her a big girl bed with princess sheets for a few weeks, so when we surprised her with her new room, she was really excited!  We did a trial nap and, after lying in her bed with her for about 15 minutes, she told me to go to my bed.  I wasn’t sure what to expect when she woke up, since she had never tried to climb out of her crib – so, I didn’t know what she’d do.  Well, she still doesn’t get out her bed either . . . she just lays there, yells my name, and snuggles with her puppy until I come to get her.

Having Mike off for two weeks was AMAZING!  I literally checked off every “to-do” chore I had.  He refinished a toy bench, painted the nursery, put together Amelia’s new furniture, and fixed all sorts of things.  It is such a great feeling to have everything ready, especially considering three weeks ago I had ABSOLUTELY nothing ready!  

 We spent New Years day with our friends, Tom and Tracy and their adorable three-month-old, Simbry.  It was so fun to watch Noah and Amelia interact with her.  Noah was especially smitten and he loved that Simbry kept smiling at him!

I can't wait to hold my little boy!

Mike took Noah to a car show where they saw a car that matched Noah's shoes!

A White Christmas

It snowed most all of Christmas day and we were loving it!  Our neighbor, who has lived here her whole life, said she never remembered it snowing on Christmas day.  It felt like a true Christmas miracle, and funny enough it started snowing right as "White Christmas" came on the stereo. 

Watching the kids' faces light up as they opened their gifts was so much fun for Mike and I.  Mike and I bit off a little more than we could chew with making Christmas dinner.  We spent most of the day in the kitchen and as much as we love to cook we were worn out by the end.  The good news is that we have had leftovers for two days. 

New Christmas Eve pj's

Amelia ate more than she put on the gingerbread house.

I'm so happy Noah still believes in Santa!

After dinner entertainment!

 

 

Holiday Cheer

I once again have fallen behind on updating my blog… so I mostly going to update with pictures.  Especially since my Christmas present from Mike was a new SLR camera, I’ve been like the paparazzi since he gave it to me.  We’ve had a fun few weeks full of Christmas activities including Mike’s work holiday party, Noah’s class party, Santa pictures, a ride on the North Pole Express and a visit from Ray and Nancy.

Taking pictures with Santa the second time around was a COMPLETELY different experience; Amelia was a little Angel and posed perfectly!  I asked Amelia what she wanted from Santa and she said, “Pink Presents!”  I said, “What kind of pink presents?”, and she emphatically replied, “PINK, PINK, PINK!” 

Ray, Mike's dad was a huge help around the house.  He built Noah an awesome workbench in the garage for Christmas, Noah has been out there constantly!  The kids loved having their grandparents here; I feel lucky to have such amazing in-laws, they are wonderful with the kids and were both so helpful all week!

Amelia opening a crib for her baby doll from Grandma and Grandpa.

She absolutely LOVES playing guitar with her Daddy!

I bought tickets for the six of us to ride the Polar Express in Grapevine, the city next to ours.  It's a 100 year old train that they transform for Christmas time for families to take a trip to the "North Pole" and see Santa.  It was such a neat experience, and I definitely think it will become a family tradition for us.

Dallas Christmas Parade

This past weekend we went to the Dallas Children’s Christmas Parade.  None of us had ever been to a big parade before . . . it was such a neat experience, especially for the kids!  It was about 45 minutes long, with short performances that would stop in front of us along the way.  

These ladies were so impressive, the youngest one was probably 65!

After the parade we went to brunch at the Adolphus Hotel; it’s one of the oldest hotels in Dallas, and it was beautiful inside.  The brunch was put on by Mike’s work, and they had a balloon guy come in with a pet rabbit.  Amelia was infatuated with the bunny, so much so that Mike was like, “Maybe we should get her a bunny for Christmas!”  I told him I cared for a friend’s rabbit once when I was younger and that there is no way I’m getting our two-year-old a bunny.  Noah was equally infatuated with the balloons but was sweet enough to make sure to get one for his sister.

Santa was also there, and we weren’t sure how Amelia would take to sitting in his lap.  She is VERY into “all things Christmas” this year, with no thanks to her brother and me.  Well, no surprise . . . she was horrified when Mike tried to set her in Santa’s lap.  Her whole body froze up and a look of terror came over her face, followed by intense crying.  I’m not sure if all parents think this response is as funny as Mike and I did.

Thanks to Pinterest, I started a tradition of wrapping 24 Christmas books and letting the kids open one each night.  They have loved it so far, and I really enjoyed shopping for the books (I am huge fan of children’s books, just like my mom).