When a rhyming word would come in handy

While I do love the Gaylord Texan, I'm pretty sure if my last name was Gaylord I would pick another name - even a rhyming name - to plaster all over my billion dollar properties.  Anyway, continuing with our Christmas activities, Saturday night we went to the Gaylord (seriously, what an awful name) with my parents, grandmother, aunt, uncle and cousin.  We walked around to look at all the trains, saw Mrs. Claus and the live reindeer, ate a wonderful dinner, saw the lights, etc.  If you live in the metroplex and haven't been...GO!  Clay and I did the ICE! show last year, but we didn't really have time for it Saturday.

 


And I did have an interesting experience while waiting for the guys to get the cars.  I think at some point before having children I said something to this effect..."I will NEVER be one of those parents who let their children just roam around like wild animals at a public place.  I can't believe people think that is acceptable behavior."  Hmmm...

Thanks, Mom!

I'm a little overwhelmed thinking of all the Christmas pictures I'd like to put up here, so I'll just start at the beginning.  My grandmother, aunt, uncle and cousin drove in from Tyler on Saturday and stayed until Christmas morning.  We always have so much fun just hanging out, playing games, shopping, eating, etc.  After lunch on Saturday my mom surprised all of the girls with pedicures!  I don't know the last time my grandmother had a pedicure, but she was loving life.  Thanks, Mom!

Giddy up

I was in Rachel's room this morning putting some clothes away, and I hear her screaming in the hall.  The following short conversation ensued:

Me:  Ethan, why is Rachel crying?
E:  silence
R:  WAHHHHHHHHHHH
Me:  Ethan William, why is Rachel crying?
E:  I just want to ride her like a horse!

So(le) sleepy

Let me preface this picture - Thursday night I had my teachers Christmas party, so I was out until around 11:00.  I called Clay on my way home just to see how the kids had been for bedtime.  When I got home he had the camera out to show me this picture:

 

He has no idea what time Ethan came downstairs, but Clay was on the computer with his headphones on, so he couldn't hear him.  We asked Ethan the next morning if he remembered coming downstairs.  His response was, "Yes!  I was just hiding from Daddy."  Nothing like a good night's sleep under table on top of Dad's shoe.  (And Clay - I'm so proud of you for taking a picture!)

Fully caffeinated

I'm pretty sure one of the first chapters in every parenting book is on proper nutrition for your children.  I think we must have spilled coffee on that chapter.

Ethan at 10 months


Rachel at 10 months

A perfect 10

I forgot how much fun 10 months can be. Rachel is:

• cruising


• standing


• thinking about taking a step


• having fun showing off the 2 front teeth Santa brought her for Christmas


• loving the Leap Frog table Tracy gave us


• saying "dadadadadadadada"


• pointing to the light and say "liiiiiiiii" (as of today)


• trying to put on her socks and shoes


• clapping for herself at every possible moment (maybe a little too much self-affirmation?!?)


• closing every door in the house (I think she learned this from Libby)


• into anything and everything that Ethan does not want her to be into


• pointing to her hair when you ask her - quickly followed up by yanking her bows out


• enjoying being outside all bundled up


• eating the Christmas ornaments


• eating very small leaves that she finds by the door


• eating old McDonald's fries from the trash


• eating the mail


• eating nuts still in the shell


• eating Christmas light replacement bulbs (okay, only once did she do this, but I'm sure she would try it again if she could figure out how to get them off the tree)


• happy, happy, happy


• loving yogurt and bananas


• happiest when she's with Ethan

I'm not sure about her "stats" right now, but she seems very comparable to Ethan at this age. The only other thing I didn't mention is that she LOVES her daddy. Clay worked on getting lights on the house this weekend, and he bundled her up in his jacket - made for some sweet photos.

In memory of Robin

Some of you already know this, but this past weekend was a very difficult one for our family.  Clay's cousin - Robin Reynolds York - lost her life on Thursday in an act of domestic violence by her husband, who then took his own life.  She was 37 years old - the oldest of the grandchildren on that side of the family.  I'm not sure I've ever met anyone who loved their family as much as she did.  This is so tragic for her immediate and extended family, and it's still hard to process that she's gone.  She leaves behind an 8 year old son - Caleb - who will now live with his aunt (Robin's younger sister), uncle and cousin.  He is so loved and cherished, but I can't even fathom the hard road he has ahead.  If you are reading this, please stop and say a prayer for this amazing family who is putting all of their hope and trust in the Lord right now.  As it was said at her funeral, it is not God who causes evil, but He conquers evil.  And, if you are reading this and feel compelled to do so, please leave a comment for Robin's parents, sister and son.  I think it would bring them a lot of comfort to know that they are being thought of and prayed for by people that never had the chance to meet Robin.

December 2005 with her sister, Holly


Caleb - December 2005


Robin & Caleb at our family reunion in September

New Look

Lisa has been asking me to update the family site, so I finally broke down and did it. I hope you all like the new look. Please let one of us know if something isn't working.

Enjoy!

Ethan the explorer vs. the neighborhood

While it was a bit chilly yesterday, it was a beautiful day so around 4:00 the kids and I went on a walk around the neighborhood.  Ethan can actually go uphill on his bike now, so it's doable with him riding and me pushing Rachel in the stroller.  I think that walk is one of the most fun times we've had in a while.  Thankfully I had no expectations to be back home at any certain time because it took us over an hour to make the circle around our house.  Sometimes I forget how curious Ethan is and how many questions he has about the things around him when we're playing inside so much.  He asked about all of the hay on the ground (pine straw), why so many cars and trucks were taking naps that late (parked on the street), why the cat wouldn't come closer so he could pet him, if every tree was a Christmas tree or just a regular tree, he asked if we could pick up all the acorns so the ants wouldn't eat them, he asked how someone could draw such a big circle on the ground (cul-de-sac), and lots of other things that have already escaped my memory.  And all the while Rachel was just kicking away in her stroller.  Probably our best find of the day was this...

became this...

...a stage!  I'm not really sure what it is, but this was Ethan's pièce de résistance.  It was a trampoline, then a stage, then just a good place to smash acorns.  And Rachel was laughing so hard she could barely breathe.  I think we'll start making this a daily ritual - if nothing else I can feel better about myself that I'm getting some form of exercise for the day.

A dad's dream come true

Yesterday afternoon we took the kids to the library to get a new stack of books and movies, and then went to Blockbuster to trade in our mail-in movies for ones in the store.  We told Ethan he could pick a movie, and he had several he was carrying around.  Well, as fate would have it, he innocently wandered through the Wii aisle and was grabbed by the Cars video game.  It was all over from there.  He was itching to get home and play the car game with Clay...a dad's dream come true. 
 

They played again this afternoon before Ethan's nap time.  I told him he could play one more race, and then it would be time to go upstairs.  About 7 seconds after that statement, this is what happened...

Thanksgiving Squared

Tight squeeze

Apparently, my children love to be in tight-fitting places.  It must be more fun to have your legs and bottom all squished together in a box, corner of the couch, etc. 

One of our favorite things to do is make a train out of those plastic shoe boxes and I pull the kids all over the living room.  I'm not sure how many 3 year olds will actually fit into one of these things, but I have a feeling Rachel's bottom will outgrow it before Ethan's does.


We discovered at my Meme's house that Ethan will also fit into one of those fold-up toy baskets.


While we were at Bryan and Ginny's a couple of weekends ago, Rachel discovered the Cozy Coupe.  However, she much preferred sliding out the seat and under the car.  Every time I sat her up she worked hard to just slide right down again.


And if any of you are drawing a blank on what to get your child for Christmas, get this dump truck.  My parents got it for Ethan a couple of years ago and he finds new uses for it every day.

Easy way out

Last night the kids and I enjoyed an evening with Nicole and her girls since our husbands are away on business for the week.  Instead of reinventing the wheel, here's a link to Nicole's perfect rendition of the evening.  Thanks, girls, for a fun night!!!

Happy birthday, bud

Just wanted to say happy birthday to the best brother in the world.  We celebrated Saturday night at my parents house and it was so nice to be with his family.  I contemplated listing all of the ridiculous, embarrassing, crazy things my brother has done to me or made me witness over the years, but some things really are best left in the family.  Bryan - just know that you've made my life much more interesting than it would have been without you.  I love you and I think you're the best, and I hope you had a wonderful 40th birthday.  :)

Convos with Ethan

I'm working on getting the Thanksgiving pictures sorted, but wanted to make sure I capture these recent conversations with Ethan...

(In the living room looking at a Christmas book)
E:  Mommy, I want Santa Claus to bring me this train for Christmas!
Me:  Okay.  You'll have to tell him so he'll know.
E:  Or he might say, "No, I don't want to bring that train to you."

********************************************************

(In the car with Clay who forgot his garage door opener)
E:  Daddy, where's your garage button?
Clay:  I don't know, bud.  I guess I forgot it.
E:  Or maybe you were mean to mommy and she got mad at you and went to your car and took your garage button.

(We're so thankful that he's learning the true nature of Santa Claus and mommy)

One of my favorite things

As I mentioned in a previous post, I love the mail.  I know it's becoming a lost art, but I love checking the mail, sending the mail, buying stamps, etc.  Weird, I know.  But even more than my love for checking the mail is seeing something like this on my front porch:


What a beautiful sight!  A unexpected box full of girly goodies from Jessica...there aren't many things better than that!  There were dresses galore, pajamas, cute winter outfits, shoes, tights...you get the idea.  Rachel first discovery in the box was the pink hat:


And one of my favorite things is this dress that was inside:



Thank you so much, Jessica, for the box and for thinking of us.  You made our day!

Shirley Temple

Looks like we may have a Shirley Temple on our hands.  Just in the past month or so have these curls really come to life and I love them!  We should probably go ahead and buy a good diffuser, some stock in Frizzease, and a flat iron because inevitably she'll hate them when she's in junior high.  (and don't even ask about the pacifer...that's for another post)

Fever anyone? And other random happenings

If anyone wants a fever, just come on over!  Rachel has learned the importance of sharing by passing her fever to Ethan.  She finally got over the bronchitis, and I guess she figured the whole normal naptime/bedtime routine wasn't going to happen so she got some kind of virus that resulted in fever and vomiting.  Well, she kicked that around Monday...and then of course E got it.  Poor guy has to miss his Thanksgiving feast at school tomorrow, but at least he doesn't know the difference.  So, all of this sickness is my excuse for not posting more often.  I do, however, have several things to post about. 

First and foremost...my brother and his family are officially Texans again!!!  They moved into their beautiful home in Frisco last weekend and we had so much fun hanging out with them.  My parents and Ethan and I spent most of the day with them unpacking and looking around the house and neighborhood (unfortunately Clay had to stay home with Rachel since she was still contagious).  It was SO nice to just do normal family things with them instead of having to cram lots of things into a couple of days like we usually do.  I just love that family and can't wait to lots of normal things with them like birthday parties and soccer games.  Two houses down from theirs is an awesome playground with a splash park, and next to that is the elementary school.  I'm so happy for them, and I hope Addi and Libby get adjusted soon to their new home and new life. 



And Rachel finally felt well enough for a 9 month and a bear photo shoot a couple of days ago.  While I don't normally do these in her pajamas, I love these Gymmies and had to get her picture in them before she outgrows them (although I don't think this will happen any time soon considering she lost about 1.5 pounds in the last 2 weeks).  I know I get to hold her every day, but looking at these pictures makes me want to just go in there and kiss all over her...and then my sanity pill kicks back in and I remember that you NEVER wake a sleeping baby. 


And Ethan's making a really goofy face in this one, but - as always - he had to get in on the monthly picture:


Ray-Bug has also been very proud of showing everyone how big she is.  I don't remember how old Ethan was when he started doing "so big," but I just love this stage. 


I'm sure I'll think of several other things that I wanted to say as soon as I publish this post, and quite frankly I'll be way to lazy to come back and modify it after that.  So, off to the living room to watch a movie with Clay.

Celebrating 9 and 372

Yesterday was a day of celebration here...Rachel's 9 month birthday and Clay's 372 month birthday!  Rachel got to celebrate by going to the doctor for a checkup (thankfully no shots), and she got a clean bill of health.  She weighed in at 20 pounds-1 ounce, 28.5 inches long, and has an 18 inch head (apparently this is a really big head...thank you, Lord, for C-sections).  It's hard to believe, but Ethan actually weighed more than her at 9 months!  She's really enjoying her mobility...crawling, scooting, and cruising a little around the furniture.  She is 100% a momma's girl, and doesn't like it when she can't see me.  She loves attention, and still really enjoys playing peek-a-boo and singing songs.  Unfortunately, with everything going on yesterday, I completely forgot to take her bear picture, so I'll take it tonight and get it posted soon.  Stinks to be a second child!

We had fun celebrating Clay's 372 month birthday.  Tuesday night his mom came over and brought us dinner and cheesecake...the birthday boy's favorite.  Then the kids and I surprised him at his office for lunch yesterday, and had another surprise when a bunch of church friends met us for dinner at Chick-fil-A before church.  Right before we left for dinner I gave him his present...another surprise...tickets to the Smashing Pumpkins concert in a couple of weeks.  We LOVE concerts and Clay is a Pumpkins fan, so we're super excited about this.  Clay - I could write for hours about how amazing, wonderful, loving, supportive, encouraging, patient, dedicated, etc. you are.  You know how much I love you, and I really do thank God for you every day.  I would give examples of how sweet you are, but I wouldn't want people to think that you're a softie.  Just know that given the choice of every man in the entire world, my choice is you...always you.