Christmas with Nana & Grandpa

Maybe Reid will grow up to be a doctor just like Daddy!

Love Reid trying to take the blood pressure of his foot!

Mommy & Daddy before a night out!

Rodney & his sweet parents

 Last Sunday Rodney's parents came over to celebrate Christmas with the boys.  They are going to San Antonio to see Rod's sister, so this was a fun time to celebrate!  Reid got a cute little doctor set, and some clothes.  Riley got some cute books and some clothes for next summer.  It was so fun to watch them open presents.  Riley had fun just tearing the paper and trying to put everything in his mouth!

Nana & Grandpa stayed for a while & babysat so we could go out to dinner with some friends that night. 

Merry Christmas Bill & Millie!  Thank you for the sweet presents for the boys!

Riding the Polar Express 2011

Reid has not been all that interested in watching movies, until we showed him the Polar Express.  I thought he would be scared of it, since there are a few parts that may seem frightening to kids, but Reid has latched onto this movie & has loved it like I have never seen him like any other video.  We took Reid to ride the Polar express train in Grapevine 2 years ago, but he didn't seem all that into it.  I knew after him being obsessed seeing this movie, it was a must do on our list of Christmas activities this month! It was a HUGE hit and we will definitely be repeating it again next year!

Such a cute little Christmas activity for the kids!

Waiting anxiously and impatiently to get on the train!

The cute little variety show they put on before we go on the train. 

Reid's reaction after his ticket was punched by the conductor.  Priceless!

Love that they encourage the kids to wear their pajamas just like they did in the movie.  SOOO stinkin' cute!

This is the bell that Santa hands out to every kid on the train.  Reid has been wearing this every.single.day since we left the train ride.  I think he would sleep in it if we would let him!

Riley-Roo did quite well on the train ride.  MUCH better than we thought.  He had a few moments at the beginning, but with a few snacks and a water bottle to keep him entertained, we managed to make it through the whole 20 minute ride with him!

Merry Christmas!  Can't wait to ride the train again next year!  I do think this will be the highlight of Reid's Christmas season!  He's still asking me if we can use the whole punch to punch his ticket again.... :)  Love the little things that kids get excited about. 

Sittin' with Santa 2011

We took the boys to see Santa on Sunday after church and after waiting in line for almost 2 hours, it was totally worth it!  Reid has seen Santa a couple of times before this visit, but he still seemed thrilled!  He told Santa he wanted a garbage truck and some trashcans.  Riley was a champ and sat perfectly still the whole time we took pictures.   AMAZING for our little 17 month old who can barely sit still for 2 seconds unless he is eating!  Thank you, Santa for an experience that was worth the wait.  You are the best Santa I've seen yet! 

Gingerbread house and a few Christmas crafts

Reid had fun helping Daddy make a gingerbread house Sunday night. 

This is what Riley did while Reid worked away.... :)

And the finished product!  A much better rendition than the one I helped with last year.  GO Daddy!  

We've been working on a few craft projects this week...  A popsicle stick reindeer.

And "Frosty Fingers" hand print ornaments.  We had a lot of fun doing this one...Well, easier said than done though with a 17 month old!  What was I thinking?  Oh well.  It finally worked (after 5-6 tries with Riley and lots of smudged fingers) and we'll have it next year to see how much the boys have grown!  LOVE having their little hand prints on things to remember how small they were!

Parachuting Santa & his Elves

 We found out about this really cool event close to where we live and I knew it was a "must do" on our list of holiday activities!  Santa & his elves parachute out of an airplane and land in a big grassy area surrounded by tons of spectators!  It was AMAZING!!! 

We found Reid's sweet friend Abby & her family waiting to see the parachuting Santa too!  What a fun surprise for Reid!

One of the elves coming in for his landing.

Looking up to see who is coming next....Love the anticipation on his face!

Here comes Santa Clause, here comes Santa Clause, right out from the sky!

What a great night this was for us!  This was by far one of the neatest things we've done during the holidays so far!  Reid was super excited to see Santa the whole time, but couldn't figure out why he was jumping out of an airplane!?  Guess we'll have to come up with an answer for that one next year! We all went out for a yummy Mexican dinner at Mi Cocina to top off the night.  Yumm!!  What could be better on a cold night?! We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and will definitely be repeating this activity next year! 

Winter Coats & Breakfast with Santa

This week has been BURRRR chilly outside and we have had to seriously bundle up!  Had to bring out the BIG winter coats everyday when we went out.  The other day we were getting ready to leave to go somewhere and Riley just parked it right in front of the door.  I quickly asked Reid to sit next to him and snapped a few quick shots before Riley-Roo was off!  

This morning our neighborhood golf club had a little breakfast with Santa and we thought it would be fun to take the boys this year.  Reid's at the perfect age to enjoy all this fun Christmassy stuff! He was super excited when we told him we were going to have breakfast with Santa!  The bad part was, as we were eating, he wanted to know when Santa was going to come eat with us!  Poor guy.  Guess we should have explained that one a little better before we got there!

Riley sat so calmly with 'ole St. Nick and didn't get upset at all!

They had a few tables full of little crafts for the kids to do after they ate breakfast.  Reid loved this!

And here we are at the end and someone is ready for their nap!

We had a great time today at the breakfast, ate some great food, and enjoyed just being with our boys! Reid is so cute when he sees Santa and he told him he wants a garbage truck and trashcans for Christmas.  We'll see what the jolly old man brings! He's makin' his list and checkin' it twice! Gonna find out if our boys have been naughty or nice! 

Next up.... Santa & his elves parachuted out of an airplane tonight! 

 

Santa comin' in on a jet plane

On Saturday, we (me & the boys) made a trip to the airforce base to see Santa come in on a jet. When Rod told me about this last week, I knew it was something we had to do.  Reid was going to be thrilled to one, go to the base and see Daddy, and two, see Santa come in on a plane.  Wow!  What could be better on a Saturday in December??!!

Santa's jet being taxi-ed in. 

Waiting to see who was gonna get off that plane!

I think he was just a wee bit excited to see Santa!

This was a really well organized event that the AF base does every year.  So precious for the kids!

Reid opening his present from Santa

Santa gave Riley-Roo a cute Melissa & Doug puzzle.

Reid & Riley with sweet Santa.  LOVE Riley's face.  He's not quite sure what to think of  'ole Santa there! 

 

 

This was such a fun day for the boys (especially Reid).  He loved every minute of going to the base to see Daddy and then getting to see Santa come off that jet plane.  He was thrilled! It was a rainy day, but none of us cared, because we were just so excited to see the look on Reid's face when he saw Santa.  It was a really neat event that the airforce base in Ft. Worth puts on every year with the kids and this was the perfect year to do it. They have games, coloring, and cookies for the kids while they're waiting for their name to be called to sit in Santa's lap.  Santa hands them their gifts and what a treat that was for Reid!  He was such a sweet man and let them sit their as long as they wanted. Riley-Roo wasn't quite sure what to think of the jolly old guy, but he did great.  This is a wonderful memory for Reid and I'm sure we'll be doing it again next year!   Merry Christmas and let the fun begin!