Christmas '10 ~ pictoral highlights

Here are my favorite pictures from Christmas. As always the holiday reminded me of how blessed we are... there was much giving and getting...

Monster

Now that Wes can get himself up onto the table it has added a whole new dimension to his world! As of late he has turned into a gingerbread monster! I can only imagine the little inhabitants of this village as the big baby monster overcomes them and eats their surroundings!

Wes shouldn't be left alone these days as he is getting better and better at climbing and he is getting into all new things! I had wandered out of the kitchen the other day and when I came back into the room Westley had gotten up on the table and was eating the houses! I could hardly get mad at him... He was so cute with melted M&M dribbling down his chin... After finding him there and letting him have that first taste its been a struggle to keep him off the chairs and table...

Gingerbread House

One of my favorite holiday traditions is decorating a gingerbread house. As the kids are getting older it is getting harder and harder... while they all look forward to it, it have to plan a night when everyone is home so we can get it made! Thursday as Christmas was coming I insisted nobody make plans... we were doing the gingerbread house!

Another part of having the kids older is that they each have an idea of how they want the house to be, so Mom and I found a kit that was a gingerbread village so each could do their own... it didn't work quite like planned, they fought pretty good thru the whole thing... it sort of took the spirit out of me, and I did some but also worked on cleaning up the kitchen! We made sure Wes got to do some too; he was interested in eating more than sticking the candies onto the house.

I missed out on getting a good picture before it started to get picked out. Wes has found it, but that's another post!

Cookie Party '10

After 2 holiday parties last night (except for Olivia~ she has a cold) we hosted our annual cookie decorating party today! It is always so much fun... I'm not sure who enjoys it more... me or the kids!

Wes got in on the action. Grandma Beth gave him his own cookie and he cried a bit when he fed it to the dog... so he had at least another one... Cookie or cracker?! No contest there: Give me a cookie!!
We didn't have a huge turnout, so there were plenty of cookies to decorate and plenty of stuff to put on them!

Here is some of our handiwork

My favorite cookie of the year was this cool Christmas horse Olivia made out of a candy cane cookie. Isn't it cute?!

A Whole New Kind of Trouble

So how do you baby proof the table and chairs?! I have vetoed mouse traps on seats...

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

The Hurd School Drama Club had their production of the Best Christmas Pageant Ever last night. Savanna Joy was cast as Maxine and we all went to watch her perform in the play.

The kids did such a good job with their parts, it was pretty flawless! They were all so cute in costume full of holiday spirit and pride in their production. They had done the show for the school earlier in the day so I think much of the nervousness and excitement had worn off and they did great!

Savanna has been looking forward to being on "stage" since last year. She had chosen to do photography club and missed out on drama but vowed to do it this year! She was great about memorizing her lines and cues and had a good time putting on the show. We were very proud of her~ center stage is her place for sure!

Matching

Mom-Mom got this bunting for Wes long before he was born... sized 18months and perfectly matching her winter coat! It fits just right and I love it for when I clean the big barn or tend the horses on Oak Woods Rd. because I know he is warm enough sleeping in the car. Aren't they cute all matching?!

12-16-10 = 11 Months

Westley is 11 months today, next "16th" will be the big party! I can't wait!! It's amazing how fast the time has flown, it really doesn't seem like it's been a year already!

I had to put this is so Mom could admire how red his hair is in the morning sun light!

Mr. Wes was 21lbs 12ozs this morning~ I have been slowly switching him over to 18 month clothes. He is mostly wearing stuff that says 12-18 months for now... but it won't be long until it's exclusively 18 months! He is eating well, doesn't love proteins but will scarf down carbs any time! Bread, bagels, crackers, pasta... l=he loves them all! He does well with fruits and veggies too, and is very active. I think this is why his weight has really stabilized. He is growing for sure, but hasn't gained much... I think he just burns it off! We are down to 3 bottles a day (am, afternoon nap and bedtime) but I am going to start to phase out the morning one now, so hopefully we will be down to 2 for the 1 year mark! I'll be glad when we don' have to buy formula any more! He had his first cow's milk this week and liked it. He doesn't do too well with a sippy but he can really slurp with the rest of 'em if you give him a cup and straw! I'm looking forward to Christmas, I think Wes is really going to enjoy it. And after that, look for our Birthday pictures next month!!

Why

Why does the sneeze always come after the bite is in the mouth?!

Holiday Helper

Or alternately titled: Mischief Maker!

Wes was way into decorating the tree. Well, he wanted to hold and play with every ornament! When we first got all the totes down he was having a hard time figuring all of it out. Then everyone started taking things out of this box and he just HAD to be in the middle of it! "Please don't hand me one to hold... I want to do it MYSELF!"
The first box of ornaments was setting on top of another one, and he was pretty much on his tip-toes desperate to know what was inside! This kid kills me daily

Christmas Tree '10

We decorated the 2010 Christmas tree last night! This might be the best tree we have ever cut! It is really perfect for the living room. Bill is very impressed with himself that he cut it the exact height we needed. I tried to tell him that he just really cut it at ground level, so it grew (and we picked it out) to the perfect height... but he won't hear it!
The kids did a nice job, I think it came out well. Nothing on the bottom 1/3rd is breakable, and I will now spend the next 3 weeks of so chasing after Wes and redecorating... but everyone is happy and the living room is starting to look festive! I can't wait until it is all loaded up and the kids are squealing....

Wells Parade

Wells had their Holiday Parade yesterday... in the rain! The girls on our Scout troop had voted to do this parade since it is televised and a tad longer than the route we did last year. We worked hard on our Tropical themed float... adorning the sides of the trailer with 8,000 4X4 squares of tissue paper to mimic waves... and then it rained! The girls were great, quite a few came despite the downpours; we marched and haded out leis and candy... and were blessed that the rain stopped for most of the actual marching! Wes slept in the truck for most of the parade, Bill and Billy parked along the route to watch from the truck... Sav and I got wet, but were plenty warm and had a blast! The holiday season really has begun

Tree Hunting

We went hunting for the perfect Christmas Tree yesterday. It was a less than perfect day- a total wash out really, but we didn't let that deter us! We have been trying to get out to a local cut your own place since last weekend and I didn't want to let another day slip past before we got our tree. We found this beauty in the pouring rain... we dragged Auntie and Uncle and Grandma and Grandpa Houston and all three families found, cut down, dragged back and loaded trees in about a half an hour! Now on to decorate it....