Christmas Eve '09

We got a White Christmas!!! It rained all night and turned to freezing rain this morning when we woke up. By the time we were finished with breakfast it had turned to snow and so we all went out to play for a bit. The snow was falling fast and we had 3 inches within a couple of hours! I wanted to hurry and share these picks, but we are now under a blizzard warning for our area because of the wind (I can't believe I'm even able to say we have drifting all over here) and the snow is still falling steadily. We are under a 4-6 inch warning, though it isn't expected to stop until late this afternoon and Richard just came in from getting the mail and said it is up to the knees in the driveway! I think we just might be surpassing that 6" expectation today! It's CRAZY!!! Here are some snaps of earlier when we were playing. We couldn't stay out too long though because the wind was pretty bad.

Just to give you a little clue about how INSANE Texas weather really is... yesterday it was 70 degrees and we were playing outside in short sleeves. We went to the Festival of Lights in Chickasha, Oklahoma Tuesday night and though we put a hat and mittens on Jansen he took them off and preferred to wander around in just a coat... and he was fine. I didn't even wear a coat and it was after dark in December down here. I didn't even have a chill. So... to wake up to all this today was quite a surprise. If I don't get too distracted I'll take and after pic when the snow stops falling just to have evidence of how much we actually end up getting!

If it is this wild here, our prayers are with our families up North battling the weather this holiday and their safety with traveling or keeping warm.

Merry Christmas Everyone!!! God Bless us One and All!!

Jonathan and Rhon playing in the snow.

Still toughing it out!

What IS this stuff?

I don't understand why it is so darn cold when we were nearly in shorts yesterday!

Hello... we're a little cold out here!

Frosty the Snow Cody! Zoey wouldn't let him share the big dog house while we were in the front yard playing!

Our cowboys... or should I say "Snowboys!"

Daddy, this is crazy. I am still not too sure about this stuff!

I vote snow - NO!! Jansen wasn't a fan, but I think it was more the wind that he didn't like than the snow itself.

Hiding with Daddy alongside the house to block some of the wind!

Look at the camera Daddy! Notice the snow blowing around us in the pics! It was stinging because OUR snow isn't the nice powdery stuff of the North, but rather icy!

Everyone playing in the snow!

Keep moving or freeze in this stuff!

My car which IS blocked by the house some!

Cowboy Rhon toughing out the frigid weather! I can't believe that my car is covered so much! That lump of "stuff" in front of the car that is covered is the lawn mower! To think we were landscaping just the other day!

The Abominable Snow Daddy with the frosted glasses!

Car Washing

It was so beautiful last weekend that we were all outside washing cars. Jansen had on this little outfit and we thought he looked like a little old man in coveralls! I don't remember who gave this one to us, but it was really cute!

"posing"

"I'll get it Daddy!"

"Here... I'll do that Daddy!"

Just a little everyday cuteness for the Grandparents to sneak a peek at daily life in Jansen's world!

Chocolate Chips!

Jansen had Chocolate Chips for the first time this week! Such messy fun!!!

Funny names

In my family the more you are teased, the more you are loved. We all come up with funny nicknames for each other and often they evolve over time, but the root is that they are meant to be FUN! 

I am "Pork-O-Beano" or "Butt" both thanks to Uncle John

Amy is "Redfreaka" or "Bug" thanks to Uncle John and our parents

... and the list could go on, but you get the idea. Lisa even refers to us often as 

"Hey Creepy" so you know we feel the love from that avenue too!

My point is that I have been rattling my brains trying to think of clever things for Grandparents and Great Grandparents on MY mother's side where the nicknames run rampant. Last night we found hers!!

My dearest sister has a musical family and the kids call her "Grammy." Well... since I teach theatre/film we are calling her... wait for it.... wait for it... "Oscar!" We could have gone with "Tony" but that seemed too "normal" so we went with Oscar. 

Great-Grandpa Milt is "Papa Cuatro" for Jansen since he performed unnecessary "self surgery" with the saw while building this past year. 

Whose the next "victim?" Come on... who else wants a "special" name? I'm on a roll and I have an impressionable young mind to mold! Ha-ha!!

Decorations 09

Our little 'ol tree this year. The lights didn't read on the picture, but it's really cute!

Grandma's Village. I don't have a good place for sticky little fingers so it's all crammed on my "buffet" in the kitchen, but at least I was able to get it out!

From the other side.

Hmmm... I didn't put Santa on the roof, but it looks like he's making his move. You better watch out kiddos!

So after I see there are random men on the roof of one of the village buildings (and I don't think any of them needed roof work done) I am thinking that Santa may have had a little help from Elf Jonathan! The blue men on the roof are actually little plastic men from one of Jonathan's play sets. It was pretty funny when I looked at the village and didn't register at first what was different! I just knew "SOMETHING" was off from how I had set it up. Jonathan really seemed entranced with the village when he was here so I guess he was adding his own touches! What fun!!

First Haircut

So my BABY is no longer a baby but a full on little boy now. We got him his first haircut on Tuesday, December 8th. I realize that it's just hair, but this was the one thing that I had to work myself up to. It felt HUGE!! It seemed like it was the one thing that was under my control to keep him my little baby, but I knew I had to give over and accept that Jansen is now beyond "baby" and has moved on to toddler-hood officially. *sigh*

He really did great. Ms. Kathy (the stylist who cut his hair) said that he was exceptionally well behaved for a first haircut. She said that usually they are all over the place and fussing. He didn't fuss, but he did move around some, not too bad though. He never fussed, but he did let us know when he'd had enough and wanted Daddy to take him away! He only had a couple more snips left at that point so we transferred boy-o to daddy-o and after just a couple more scissor to hair meets we were done! 

Front view - Before

Back view - Before

First snips...

A few clips later...

Just a couple more snips to go!

Front view - After

Back view - After

*sniff* My baby's curls in a bag. See Oscar, I didn't take a WalMart bag to fill, but I did take a little ziplock for the very first snips!

Rounding out November

So November turned out to be incredibly busy. Thus, I am behind this time on the blog updates. Please forgive me!

My Junior High students went to their One-Act Play contest on the 18th. We took a large cast/crew so it was an exhausting day of herding kids for me and my fellow chaperones, but it was a really good experience for the kids. I have to bump up the cast list in order to keep the program growing so this was a "full" year of students participating this year. Overall it was a great day, but of course with that many pre-teens/early teens all together from 6:30 am to 10:30 pm means I was done in by the time I rolled into the driveway at home!

My student teacher's last day was the day after our contest (19th) so I have had to jump back in to my job. After having 3 student teachers in 3 semesters, I feel a little rusty. The days are flying past me since I am not idle anymore during the school day. In fairness to myself I kept very busy when the student teacher was with me, BUT now I have to do all that busy stuff AND teach classes so I'm doing more at home at night or staying later at school right now.

Yesterday my Junior High students also had their Oral Interpretation performances for the district competition. It was a long day, especially when the daycare called and said Jansen was running fever AGAIN, so I had to leave right away and pick him up.

Jansen had about 4 days of good health and is back to some bug. He's running fevers when he naps, and had a snotty nose with a cough these past few days. His nose and cough are clearing up, but these stupid fevers keep rearing their ugly head. Poor Kid! Otherwise he has been great! He's such a big boy now. He's busy all the time, even in sleep! He is (and has been since he got home) a sleep talker just like his mommy. The new thing though is that he is apparently a sleep walker too. I guess this would be another one of my contributions. Richard had a work thing that he needed to be in Dallas one night so I just had Jansen sleep with me. Well, somehow in the middle of the night he had gotten off the bed (he didn't make a sound getting down so I'm sure he didn't fall off the bed) and had walked over to the gate at his room doorway. He shakes the gate when he wants in during wake time so I woke up to him shaking the gate. I got up and went to him. I asked him what he was doing up and trying to get into his room. He didn't turn to me or acknowledge that I had spoken so I reached for him and picked him up. He went boneless right away and snuggled into my shoulder. His eyes had never been open and as soon as I touched him he was back to snoring! The stinker had been sleep walking to his room!!! It was kind of crazy!

Jonathan is at the tail end of his first semester of 4th grade. I am amazed that we are so far into the school year already. There is something about approaching the big 5th grade so quickly that is making me wish we had some brakes to slow things down a tad! 5th grade is the end of elementary school and it just doesn't seem that we should be this close already!

Christmas is fast approaching and we are closing in on being ready! I'm trying to start/continue traditions. I remember with fondness so much of the holidays from my own childhood that I want to be sure to build some great memories with the boys to hold on to even when they are parents themselves! Jonathan and I watched Elf again the last weekend he was here so I think that is for sure one of our traditions together! We also go to do the tree so there's #2! We're on our way to building so many more!!

Hope everyone had as great of a Thanksgiving celebration as we did! Christmas will be bittersweet since we will once again NOT be traveling to family, but we will be doing our darndest to make it as special as we can here with just us.

Now, just a word of advice:

"You better watch out.

You'd better not cry.

You'd better not shout,

I'm telling you why...

Santa Claus is coming to town!!!!"

Behave everyone and spread the holiday spirit!

Thanksgiving Day!

Thanksgiving Day was wonderful! We were surrounded by great friends and ate some fantastic food! Laura, Chuck, Amber, Olga, and Moses came out to the house to spend the day with us. We were blessed that Rhon was able to make it to us in time to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with us as well!

Everybody arrived and Jansen hid! He couldn't resist a peek though!

Warming up a tad...

I had set out the veggies and dip on the fold out table. I made the apple salad and set the marshmallows on the table (since it was set up next to the fridge) when I put the salad in the fridge until we were ready for it. I closed the fridge door just in time to catch the sneaky little thief running off with the bag of marshmallows! He came out from hiding to steal and run. He was all over his shyness after that!

Spoon tricks are fun and entertainment for the adults!

Worn out on Chuck! This happens every time Chuck and Laura come out! Jansen plays with Chuck and then passes out on him when Chuck sits down and rubs his tummy. It does NOT work for Mommy, but for some reason it makes Chuck the "baby whisperer!"

Company pics: Elliott, Chuck and Jansen. Amber was sitting on the other side of Elliott, but she snuck away before the pic!

Laura thought it was too early for Christmas decorations, but I wanted to let Jonathan help with the tree and I just really have to have my decorations up the day after Thanksgiving or I just can't get into the spirit of the season early enough! Sooooo... Jonathan and I did the tree the weekend before Thanksgiving since he wouldn't be back until a week AFTER Thanksgiving. Once I start I have to finish so the house was done by Thanksgiving. Olga liked it and I'm feeling festive so I don't regret it at all!

Olga and her wine. I am still coming to terms that Olga and her classmates are now "legal." Weren't they just sophomores in HS yesterday?!?! (They graduated in '06, but they were sophomores when I became their teacher a few short years ago!)

Moses came for dinner with Olga. It was really nice to share the evening with everyone, but Moses doesn't know how to behave for a picture. He and Rhon were hanging outside instead of inside with us "old folks!"

Outside Fun!

We had some great weather a couple of weekends ago. We all went outside to play for a while! Here's some pictures of our afternoon!!!

Jonathan sending the snap.

Richard as QB.

The boys rushing Uncle Rhon.

Nice catch Uncle Rhon! They really made you work for those didn't they?

Jansen: I can hike the ball too Daddy. I've been watching your form!

Going for the touchdown! Unstoppable!!

Bored with football... time to explore what else is going on out here. Jansen: Hey Dogs! Your on the wrong side of the fence. We're playing out here!

Rock ecscavating.

Jansen: Zoey I have a great treat for you... a rock I picked myself!

Happy boy on a really great afternoon!