A Brand New Year

It doesn't seem possible that 2012 has already ended!  It was such a happy, peaceful year for our family.  We stayed in the same house, Matt had the same position all year, and both kids finished and started a new year at their same schools for the first time ever!  We have really enjoyed this phase in our lives and probably appreciate it much more after so many years of change and uncertainty.  The kids are at wonderful ages because they're still so sweet and innocent but smart as whips and tons of fun.  I will definitely remember 2012 as a happy year and I hope 2013 is even better.

After Christmas, Matt left for a week to hunt and the kids and I enjoyed a quiet, relaxing week at home with lots of pajamas, games, and movies.  The weather was gray and cold and it was perfect to stay inside and play.  We tested out all of their new games.

 

 But by far their main source of entertainment has been their new feathered friends, Blue and Mario.

How about breakfast all together?  Two kids, two fish, and two birds.

We got an ipad for the family so now the kids play on my phone and the ipad.

It's more fun to play with company.

Had to include this picture...Apparently Alex dripped some pee on his leg and he wanted to wash it off, so I found him naked bathing in the sink!

There has been plenty of wrestling.  All of this togetherness has led to many fun games together and plenty of fights as well.  Ah, brotherly love.

Some friends did coax us out of the house one cold afternoon to check out a nice playground and it was definitely worth braving the weather to run off some energy.

These cooped-up boys had a great time climbing and sliding and played until the minute I was cold enough to leave.

Back home, it's more playtime with the birds.  Blue is a great little buddy and cooperates with anything Ben wants to do.

 

Mario, on the other hand, has a bit of crazy in him and freaks out about everything.  We can get him to calm down occasionally and act civil, but the oven mitt is still the most effective way to get him back in the cage.

Ben was even more willing to read a book online as long as his little buddy could hang out with him.

We also had to make a visit to Grandma and Grandpa's house and meet their new puppy, Doodlebug.  Two smitten boys had a great time playing with her.

I was also lucky enough to have a little reunion with some of my old friends from Perth.  Only Robin is still there and the rest of us have scattered to new homes around the country but it was just like old times getting together again.  (Laura, Jen, Robin, Amy, Melanie)

We even got to have a playdate with the kids (minus Melanie and her sweet girls, who had already headed home).  Terrible picture, because someone's flash was going off at the same time, but compared to the babies below when we all got to know each other, it's amazing how much these kids have grown!  Ben remembered the other boys a little but Alex had completely forgotten his old buddies Wilder and Austin, because we hadn't seen them in nearly two years.  Such fun to catch up!  (Alex, Wilder, Austin, Malcolm, Ben)

The same gang, circa April 2010.  (Alex, Malcolm, Brynn, Ben, and Austin)

Merry Christmas!

We had a little photo shoot by the tree one night so the kids could enjoy their new pajamas from the Dulaneys.

Cute guys in their monogrammed PJ's and Ben's new book from his teacher.

At Grammy and Grumpy's we had our first Christmas gift opening.  Our little Santas did a great job handing out presents!

Reid was a little pro at getting in the gifts.

Ben and Alex were no slackers themselves.

I found this beaver picture extra funny looking back because just a few minutes later...

...the boys got new Buc-ees shirts!

They also got dream light pillow pets and Alex said, "It's just wanted I wanted my whole life!"

Reid enjoyed his new harmonica, courtesy of Aunt Lala.  It's fun to be the aunt!  (although my kids got some, too, so I'll get to enjoy some new music myself)

I'm not sure which was more fun - the shirts or the tag stickers.  And I wish now I'd kept those stickers for future use.  (We still have 11 days to go until school starts again!)

Is it too much to ask for a decent picture with three kids?  One's crying, one is making faces, and the other is sitting on his brother.  We abandoned that idea very quickly.

 

I loved this picture of storytime for all the kids one evening.  Aunt Stacey teaches kindergarten so she's quite a pro.

Back at our house on Christmas Eve, the kids had cookies out for Santa and a note.  I wish the words showed up in the picture because Ben wrote at the bottom - Santa, if you're here check yes or no.  They were EXCITED.

As a parent, I think Christmas eve is so much more fun now!  We killed some time waiting until we knew the kids were asleep, then spread out the loot by the fireplace.  Alex had been visiting our room in the middle of the night all week (turns out he had a strep infection on his skin that was keeping him awake but we didn't know yet) so we had to threaten him within an inch of his life to not leave his room until his green light came on Christmas morning.  We were ready for them as soon as they came running out of their rooms!

Ben had been talking about an overhead projector for months and he was thrilled that Santa brought one, even though it looked different than the ones at school.

 

Alex was in love with his new car track and with all the goodies in his stocking.

It took them a little while to notice the covered cages and look inside.  Ben was so happy to find a parakeet and just stared at him for a while.  He settled right on the name Bluey.  Alex thought a bird sounded fun, too, but was nowhere near as excited as our little animal lover Ben.  Alex named his Mario.  Officially, it's Mario Kart Kirkham.

They liked their angry birds blankets, too.  (and notice it's still dark outside - one day I'll take great pleasure in waking them up early!)

Angry bird ATTACK!

At a more decent hour, Grandma and Grandpa came over with Aunt Amanda and Uncle Jim, who were were excited to have in town from Alabama.  More Christmas gifts!

Grandpa picked out camo hats with visor lights for the boys...I see some fun with these in the future.  They also got scooters and lots of new toys.  After lunch a strong cold front blew through, and by strong, I mean strong enough to blow our trampoline on the fence, so the kids haven't been out on the scooters much yet.  I imagine they'll be great fun once it warms up a bit.

Grammy, Grumpy, Aunt Stacey, Uncle Jason, and Reid came before lunch for some more playtime.  Alex and Reid can always be counted on to love (and fight over) the same toys.  Reid is obsessed with the movie Cars and we generally have enough character toys to keep him happy.

We had lunch in two shifts this year, which was enjoyable for everyone.  First the kids had their fill in the kitchen, then Reid disappeared for a nap and our kids played with their new things while the grownups sat down to eat.

We broke in the new dining room table for all the adults and had a wonderful lunch together.  Ben took our picture all together and, unfortunately, from his height you can't see the wonderful spread of food we enjoyed.  Everyone pitched in to make it a belt-loosening lunch...just what the holiday ordered!

One more blurry picture to prove that Aunt Stacey was there, too.

 

It was a wonderful Christmas all together!  Matt and I both love having a house full of the ones we love most and spending the day celebrating.  We appreciate everyone driving all the way out to our house and sharing their delicious dishes to make the day more special.  It sure makes our Christmas merry and bright!

Counting Down

I know it's old news now, but I wanted to remember the fun we had before Christmas this year.  The weather was lovely and mild and the kids did a lot of playing outside.  Ben and some neighbors had some sort of game going in the garage one afternoon.

Alex had a sweet little Christmas party at school and made a snowman face from icing and candy.  He's asked almost every day when it would snow here but the sad news (for him) is that a white Christmas is pretty rare in Houston!

After both boys were out of school, we spent the night at the Kirkhams and the boys got to play with "snow".  I must admit I prefer the real stuff to this staticy mess!

We spent a few nights with Grammy and Grumpy and got to catch up with Uncle Jason, Aunt Stacey, and Reid.  We cruised around after dinner to see some neighborhood lights and had to go to our old neighborhood to see the Disneyland house that has been getting bigger and brighter since we were kids.  Our kids loved it!

The boys loved playing with their adorable cousin!  Ben and Reid doubled up on the tractor and had a great time.

One of Grumpy's friends made the boys some great wooden boats so they took them to the park to play.  It was all fun and games until....

....SPLASH!!

I knew it was only a matter of time until one of the kids took a header into the pond, as much as they've played there over the years.  Alex was the lucky one that day and got a shock and a bath all at the same time.  NOT a happy boy.  He scrambled straight back out of the water so, being the awesome mom that I am, I whipped out my phone for a quick picture before the moment was lost.  This is one of my favorite pictures ever!  Good thing for him it was 78F that day so we just walked home for a change of clothes and he was ready to go again.

Not sure how this old ball turned into a helmet, but I also love this picture!

 

After several fun days of family time, we headed home on Christmas eve to get ready for everyone and catch the candlelight service at church.  It was great getting to relax and spend time with our loved ones...that was our whole goal of the season.

Alex's Christmas Program

Alex and his best buddy Aaron were all dressed up for their last day of preschool before the break and their big Christmas program.

Alex told me he was right by the manger and he wasn't kidding!  He's peeking underneath it to say hello.  Luckily the kids stood up when it was time to sing.

It was such a sweet little program with half a dozen songs that the kids (18 months - 4 years) performed in front of all their parents and some grandparents.  Alex was happy to be standing in between his new girlfriend and his favorite little boy in class.

 My favorite song!  I love how quickly the sun goes down.

 My handsome little man after the show.

Mama and Alex

We were lucky that Grandma was in town after story time at Ben's school so she was able to swing by and join in the fun as well.