Visit with Santa, parties and other December stuff

We made the obligatory visit to Santa, the conversation went something like this.
Santa: What would you like for Christmas
Jacob: I would like a sponge bob game
Merry: The one where sponge bob's eyeballs bounce

Santa: What would you like for Christmas
Merry: Some tools
Santa: Some toys
Merry: No, some tools
Santa: Okay I'll bring you some toys, do you want a candy cane?
(Gotta make a mother proud)

Grace was wise enough to stay away from Santa- instead she happily downed a sugar cookie the size of her face.

Next a brief summary of the Christmas parties that I remembered to take my camera to.

Merry and the rest of her 3-4 year old preschool class sang Feliz Navidad and Decorate the Tree.
Merry's version goes Feliz Nanida. It also says "on the bottom of my heart" somewhere in there.

Merry and Grace went to a cookie decorating party. Grace mostly ate the decorations

We had a grand time at Jacob's class party. Who wouldn't when popcorn, cupcakes and Hi-C are involved.
Sometime in December the kids bathroom looked like this.
Fortunately it doesn't anymore.
I had to open my Christmas present slightly early to finish up the project.

More about December

Funny story, we went to the kids party at USAA last weekend which was really, really fun. But the funny part came after the party when we went to leave. We decided to take one of the escalators down to the parking lot. Now USAA has the skinniest 1 person escalators that move at super speedy turbo pace. We also had our sit and stand stroller with us that Brian carried down the escalator. Funny part still coming. We got down to the next floor and realized that we couldn't get out of the turnstile and there was no up escalator. Brian's worst nightmare had come true he was stuck at work. So we decided to run back up the super, turbo speed escalators. I took Grace and went up and then Brian got his thigh work out bringing Jacob and Merry up. the problem was the stroller. He couldn't fit back up with it even folded up. Finally Brian had to run back up and go find a security guy and let him out the security door. We were the last to leave the party but we didn't have to abandon the stroller.

On the 1st of December

On the 1st of december we decorated rice crispy houses.

Or rather Merry ate frosting.
Jacob decorated his house.
And Gracie ate all the jujy fruits.

November Recap

Jacob's soccer is finally over so I am finally posting some pictures.
I don't know where he learned to throw elbows.

Check out the yoga pose in front of the goal.

Nice port-o-potty shot

We went to Kingsville to visit the Cabasmellios (Caballeros) and to attend the King Ranch Ranch hand breakfast.

Here are the cousins checking out the longhorns.

Racing with the cousins.

Gracie, boogers and all.

Merry loved the donkeys and kept asking if she could get in the pen and hug and kiss them.
I am pretty sure she would have had an asthma attack.

Merry's new best friend.

The Cabasmellios in downtown Kingsville.

Unfortunately I never take pictures at Thanksgiving. Brother Dan came to cook. So all I had to do was set the table and mash the potatoes. Sister Emilie and fam came to eat Dan's good cooking too. Then the Cabasmellios came to visit for the weekend. We had a smashing good time. We played Ticket to Ride and Tangos and ate lots and lots. Dan brought his P90X workout, which is definately not for fat, out of shape pregnant ladies.

Us 9 years later

After 9 years and 3.5 kids later

Boys vs. Girls

So in case you were wondering why I have been looking like I went to Las Palapas too many times, I am pregnant. Yesterday we had our ultrasound to check up on the baby and of course find out what color of clothes to buy. I told Jacob and Merry that I would bring balloons to school to tell them if it was a girl baby or boy baby. Blue for boy and pink for girl. They both seemed pretty excited about the balloons.
On Tuesdays I pick up Jacob first, so I tied the balloons to Grace and we walked over to meet him. All Jacob said was, "What are the balloons for Mom?" He totally didn't remember our conversation from that morning. It is like I am talking to mini Brian.
Any way we then went to Merry's preschool. Merry saw me coming from across the playground and started running in circles saying, "We're having a boy baby, we're having a boy baby." Then she ran and told all the teachers. All I can say is thank goodness I have little girls to get excited with me (not that we don't love boys at our house).
So we are having a little boy sometime in March, hopefully after spring break.

Halloween

Jacob went as Robin Hood.
It only took going to 7 stores to find his bow and arrow.

Gracie was a bat.

This is how fairies style their hair according to Merry.

This is the box we decorated for Merry's preschool party. I have no idea whose legs are in the picture but she will be immortalized on my blog forever.

All about Grace at 18 months

Disclaimer notice- please excuse the slightly blurry images. I had this grand plan to take Gracie's pictures in the yellow flowers but when we finally got around to actually taking them they were in the process of mowing them all down. So we had to drive around to find another place with yellow flowers by that time it was nice and dark and since I have an aversion to the flash and my camera does not do well with high ISOs all my images are slightly blurry. Maybe we will have to try again before all the yellow flowers are gone.

Grace collected flower's in her little flower pot.

Grace loves dress-up shoes, playing outside, coloring (mostly with pen or marker on herself)
and reading books. She is definitely a daddy's girl and like him to rock-a-bye her.
Her vocabulary includes important words like shoes and sucker.
It is hard to believe she has grown so big.
To see Grace in her flower pot as a baby click below
http://genho-stott.blogspot.com/2008/05/which-birth-announcement.html

FHE gone awry

What started out as painting pumpkins,

some how ended in painting Grace

No babies were harmed during the activity,

but some small children were flicked on the head.

Halloween preview part 1

I found a little fairy in my garden.
She is sort of a bossy fairy who said she did not want to wear a big flower in her hair on Halloween. She told me fairies have hair that goes straight up into a spike. I have never seen that before maybe we will try it on Halloween

I still can't decide

Hmm, I don't know if I am a regular old color gal or a texture, vintage wash gal. Decisions, decisions. I guess it really does not matter as the pictures will sit on my hard drive and probably never be printed.

Pumpkin Patch

We briefly visited the pumpkin patch to get pumpkins for the the urns on my front porch. I could not find 2 matching pumpkins so now I have 1 full urn and 1 empty urn, I guess I will have to carry my 25lb pumpkin to another pumpkin patch to match it.Grace liked the pumpkins but she loved the scarecrows. She kept telling them hello every time we walked passed one.

My what big warts you have.

I really don't know why Jacob wanted to wear a cowboy hat, backwards of course.

Sister's party

My sisters came to visit to go get facials and go shopping.  It was grand fun and we need to party together more often.  We forgot to take a picture until right before we were leaving.

Chop, chop, chop

I finally chopped the wispy mullet off of Grace's hair. She looks so much old with her new hair cut. This is the new tile in my kitchen and family room. It is so much better than the old carpet and linoleum.

In case you can not remember what Grace's hair looked like prior to the chopping.

Since Jacob is gone most of the day, Merry and Grace have become better playmates. I finally evened out Merry's bangs. It still looks like a 3 year old cut them, but they are getting better.

What's new

While Brian is away catching lots of fish.

I retiled half of my downstairs.

Okay let me rephrase that, brother-in-law Steve came and retiled the floor while I drank a DDP and ate bon-bons.  I actually did help some and it turned out awesome.  Unfortunately Brian took my camera to Alaska so there are no pictures to share.

1st day of preschool

Merry also started preschool last week.  She did try and sneak into her old class, so I had to go put her in the right class.  When she came home she kept telling me "I am so big now, I am a ladybug."  She loves bringing home lots of art projects.

Her bangs are taking forever to grow back.   After another incident with the scissors, the rest of her hair is a couple of inches shorter.  We are on a break from scissors at our house.

1st day of Kindergarden (finally)

Okay so almost 2 weeks ago Jacob started kindergarden.  I just have been really slow at ever posting pictures.  So far he likes school, but he misses playing video games at home.

Slightly nervous grin for the first day portrait.

I think this is actually a I can't believe you are making me take a picture grin.

A visit to the zoo in Colorado

Jacob and I visited the zoo with some friends while in Colorado

A baby wallaby- he was sitting on a ice pack to keep cool.

I don't know if the bird is going to be fooled by the finger perch.

This was Jacob's favorite part.

Who knew giraffe tongues were so long.

Gross, I know.