Ringing in the New Year

Last night we celebrated the coming of the new year.



We donned our New Year's party hats and horns.



We ate pizza and lots of leftover Christmas treats.



We invited the Gibsons over and played Monopoly.



And Twister.



And Clue. And yes....I am the reigning Clue champion. :)



At midnight, we watched the ball drop in Times Square.



And we yelled and screamed. And face timed our cousins....at least that's what Katie did. That's actually most all of what Katie has been doing ever since she figured out that all of her cousins her age in NC got ipods for Christmas. Which I think is pretty cool, especially since we didn't get to go to NC for the holidays.



Then we went outside and lit some sparklers.





Look at those cuties!



I am so thankful for them.



And look forward to a great year with my little family.



Welcome 2013! We are excited to see what you will bring!

she knows

After all of the excitement of the gift opening was over, I decided to go lay down to take a nice Christmas Day nap. I was just about to fall asleep when Katie came and climbed into bed with me. This was unusual because she never wants to take a nap. And she didn't want to then either. As she laid beside me she said, "I know that you and Daddy are Santa!" I was just about to say something like, "Why would you say something like that?" But before I could even get it out, she said, "Don't even try to tell me you're not because I know you are." I wanted to try and convince her what nonsense that was, but honestly, I have been thinking that she has known for a while and was just playing along. So instead I asked her how long she had known and who told her. I was not happy to hear that her friends had told her at a birthday party that she had recently attended. Oh well, I knew it was going to happen sooner or later, but I honestly felt like a huge part of her childhood was just yanked out from under us. My baby is growing up...which is a fun thing to watch as she grows and changes, but I miss the little girl at the same time. So bittersweet. Anyway....I talked to her about how she can help us play Santa, now that she knows. And how important it is for her to not tell other people, especially Sarah and John, and to just let them figure it out for themselves. She was excited to know she could be in on the secret and help us plan and do stuff. And it will be fun to have her help. I guess her growing up isn't so bad after all.

Santa came!

And he must have enjoyed the treats the kids left for him and the reindeer.



He even left Aaron and me a little something.



The girls woke up around 7am and were ready to see what Santa had brought them.



They were so excited



But John David was still sleeping, so Katie went to wake him up. She's such a sweet big sister.



He was not too excited about the situation.



And we thought he was going to just lay on the couch and go back to sleep.....until.......



......he spotted a Lightening McQueen bike.



Then he got pretty excited.



We had so much fun watching each other open gifts.



Sarah was so excited to get her own Kindle Fire.



And our little brave girl got a bow of her very own.



I'm not sure who was more excited about the Marines that Santa brought......John or his Daddy.



Since it rained all day, John David rode his bike around the house all day.



Maw Maw, Paw Paw, Uncle Adam, Aunt Rachel, Uncle Ammon, and Maggie all came over around lunch. We ate leftover gumbo and visited and played with our new games.



It was a wonderful Christmas Day!

gettin' ready for the big guy

As soon as we got home from Vidor, the kids got in their pjs and we began our preparations for Santa.



They opened our final Christmas book from our countdown.



It was our favorite Santa Clause book, of course.



LOVE this silly girl!



Then we went outside. Here's my wreath that I gave a makeover earlier this month.



Time to spread the Reindeer Dust.



They love doing this every year.



Check out John David's footie pajamas that we found for him this year. I can't begin to tell you how much I love seeing him in them. Best part....he loves them too.



LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this sweet boy!



Everyone wants a turn.



Even my big kid.



John David wanted to do the last little bit.



Isn't he so cute?!



Have I mentioned how much I love these footie pajamas?!



All gone. Are we ready now?



Almost. Can't forget the milk and cookies for Santa, and the carrots for the reindeer.



Now time to read our bedtime story. Fakers!



We love reading our Santa book on Christmas Eve. Seriously the coolest Santa book EVER!



Now we're ready!

Christmas Eve Night

We spend Christmas Eve Night over at the Camerons.



Sarah loves going to Aunt Amy's house for many reasons, but playing with Aunt Amy's cat is definitely at the top of the list.



Maggie was all dressed up and looking super cute on Christmas Eve!



After eating Amy's delicious gumbo for dinner, we enjoyed Jacob playing some songs for us on Amy's new baby grand piano. BEAUTIFUL....the piano and the music!



Then we exchanged gifts.



Adam and Rachel had our name this year. They gave us a gift card to a dinner/movie theater in Austin, which sounds super fun. That's a good way to get us to come for a visit. Adam also painted a picture for us. Very cool! He is becoming well known in the Austin area for his artwork and has done several shows.



I think we need to plan our trip around the time of his next show!