Some December Pictures

Being a 'W' it took Luke half the year to get to be the VIP at school. Part of being the VIP is getting to take Marvin the monkey home for the week. We took some pictures of the fun Marvin was having and put them in a class book. Here are Luke and Marvin playing trains.

Giving Marvin a little snack, a banana of course.

My Dad sent the boys a snowman playing a trombone. It's a big hit. Here is Nathan early one morning with the snowman. He would sneak his little hand out from under the covers and push the play button. It was really sweet.

Luke is awake now and has joined in the fun.

Last night Luke and Nathan had a Christmas program at school. The 3 and 4 year old classes sang several Christmas songs. Neither boy would sing the songs for me but I did catch a bit or two, now and then. Every time I asked them to sing one of the Christmas songs for me they would say, no Mom, it's for the program. The program was wonderful! Grammy and Papa were even able to come!

Getting ready to leave. I hope they are not too annoyed about the sweaters one day.

Eli sat so sweetly during the program. I think he was mesmerized.

A note about Nathan, I've heard from three of the moms in Nathan's class that their daughters claim Nathan is their boyfriend. One little sweetie named Avery A (as Nathan calls her, there's another Avery) is especially in love with Nathan and has told her mom she loves Nathan. So sweet! Nathan is a charmer, when he's not too busy being naughty. The other day after a long run I was sitting on the floor. He came over to me and said Mommy, you look beautiful. HA! I told Jeff right then we were in trouble, he's going to be a hit with the ladies! Shorlty after, I began hearing the declarations of love from his classmates :)

Random Fall Pictures

Some of these pictures have made their way to Facebook but I wanted to include them on the blog too. These pictures are from Sept./Oct./Nov.

At the park. I love this picture because he looks so cute and was one of the first times I realized how big he is getting.

I had a rare day at home with the boys. They were playing so sweetly and it was wonderful to be with them.
Playing outside one day. Luke and Nathan like to get the chairs, put them in a row and pretend it's a train. I like to think I had some special insight into how many kids I would have since I only bought three chairs. Coincidence? (haha)

This picture is so funny because Luke had been at the end of the line but then moved his chair in front of Nathan. Nathan is so mad and Luke looks like a total stinker. He's saying choo-choo by the way. I bought that Big Bird shirt in Destin for Eli and I guess I really like it. I noticed he's wearing it in the last several pictures. Don't worry Eli, it will be too small by the time it gets hot again :(

We still bathe the boys together. The tub is a little small for it but it saves time. I'm sure I should be teaching them how to shower by now.

After soccer practice one day there was a backhoe? The boys thought it was great.

It had big tires!

Jeff and I celebrated 6 years on Oct 1. Grammy and Papa kept the boys so we could have a night to ourselves. I know I chopped Jeff's head off but it was the best one of me so I had to use it. :)

One Friday afternoon I took the boys to get ice cream after school. Luke told me he did not want to sit with us so he sat over there by himself.

We take bike rides around the neighborhood but they usually turn into really long rides because we make lots of stops to "fix" the bikes or "take a rest."

I trained for and ran the Dallas White Rock half marathon on Dec 4. Eli was my Monday running partner. I took this picture the day I finally conquered 6 miles, for the first time in about 3 years.

This was the first time Luke wrote his name for me. I think he had been writing it at school but had never written the whole thing for me.

Fun afternoon playing outside. I love watching them play together.

Great memories!

Trick or Treat

The boys went trick or treating this year, for the first time. They had fun but got really tired by the end. Here they are leaving the house. I had planned to stay home with Eli and pass out candy (another first, we usually turn out the lights or go somewhere for the evening) but he was not having it. So, Jeff loaded him into the stroller and all four boys headed out together.

Hamburger and french fries, on their way!
Little Care Bear or the prize from the Happy Meal?

After the boys went to bed, Jeff and I tried not to eat all the candy. Surprisingly, the candy actually lasted over a month!

Pumpkins and Papaw

We had a visit from Papaw a couple of weeks ago! Being around on a Saturday means soccer duty. Because I work each Saturday, Jeff is left with the task of getting all three boys to the game. He does a great job. Fortunately, Grammy is available and willing to spend her Saturday mornings at the soccer field helping our sweet Daddy. On this particular Saturday, Papaw was visiting and Grammy and Papa were able to be there too! Luke is getting better now and hardly ever runs off the field crying :) He's even scored a couple of goals.

Big #29.

Papa, on Eli duty :)


Nathan, chillin'

Grammy and Papaw

Later that day we headed out to carve the pumpkins. Nathan, playing a little baseball with Papaw. Maybe I'll get a lefty yet!

Serious planning.

Doing his own thing.

Digging out the guts.

The disgusting bubba teeth (thanks Daddy).

The finished products! Great job Daddy and Luke!

Papaw and the boys.

Love having that third lap around.

Thanks for the visit Papaw! We love you.

Where to Begin?

Ugg! Where to begin? I've gotten so far behind again. I've had to start taking baby steps in getting this blog up to date and keeping it there. It's gotten to where I rarely have a couple of hours to sit and work on a post so I've started breaking it into pieces. Last week I organized the pictures from the last couple of months and finally today, I can get one post done. But, I don't have long. I've got to pick up the boys from school and run get a birthday present for Nathan's teacher (only one day late). Oh, and technically today is a work day for me. Work? That pile is so high, what's another lost hour? I want to do this blog, keep a record of this time in our lives. It will be great reading when I'm old and gray and on the treadmill. I've started doing some running at Liberty Rec center and have found the hot spot for retirees!

So, here we go! A few weeks ago we made it to the Pumpkin Farm in Celina. It's our usual place and was fun again. We had to squeeze it in after work late one Saturday afternoon. It was warmer than usual but we also went earlier than we usually do. Luke was determined to carve a pumpkin this year (so cute!) so we just had to get some. Usually we wait until after Halloween to go because it's cheaper, not crowded and they give away the pumpkins (usually, like we've been doing this such a LONG time! the last three years anyway). I was excited for Eli to go because EVERY time we pass the farm at Parker and Custer (which we do at least twice a day) he exclaims about the cows! cows! moo! moo! It was neat to watch him get so excited about all the animals.

On the way.

Nathan, always seeing about Eli.

Say cheese! I got what I asked for.

Could not get them away from the tractor. Nathan has been asking me to ride a tractor and I've been wracking my brain trying to figure out how I could get him access to a tractor. For now, I guess this will have to do. Maybe when we move we'll have a big yard and can get a riding mower.

On the way home. This is SO Nathan.

Life is good!