Play Trains / Christmas

We had a great Christmas!  My Christmas started a little early around 5am when Weston woke up to eat, but like the champ that he is, he went straight back to sleep.  Then just before 7am a little toddler came in.  Matt and I did our best to be excited to get up.  Reid still didn't quite get what Christmas morning was all about. Well, it didn't take long, he was so sweet to wait his turn while Mom and Dad took turns opening presents.  He was happy to play with the toys he had already gotten in between each new present.
 
Our extended family was so generous with our gifts... we even spoiled ourselves a bit with a new Blu-Ray player and the entire Harry Potter collection on Blu-Ray.  But the main event was the train set!  Santa (with the help of my sister) gave Reid a basic figure 8 train track set.  Little did we know Grandma was also in cahoots with Santa and she gave Reid a Thomas and a James train!  He was so happy.  He played with the trains ALL day on Christmas.  We even tried to watch the new Cars movie and Reid lost interest in about 10 minutes and went back to the trains!  He's a boy in every aspect.  The most common phrase in our house that week was "Play Trains?"

 

Weston woke up when we were close to ending, and we opened up his presents as well.  Then we took some time to enjoy our breakfast casserole that I made the night before and then headed upstairs to get ready for church.  There was some protesting when it was time to get ready for church and to leave for church... but he got through it.  Church was great and it was fun to see all our friends dressed up so spiffy for the Christmas day.

When we got home he played a little and then it was nap time for all.  Except Weston didn't get that memo and didn't let mommy get her Christmas afternoon nap.  But alas, all is still well.

Then we had a yummy dinner of pork roast, cheesy potatoes, salad, and strawberry jello.  Shortly after we finished dinner, our friends came over to wish us a good Christmas and leave us some "brownies from a jar".

Such a fun holiday.  We did miss seeing our families, I did call my parents and talk to my brother and sister, and Matt's family skyped with us the night before.  However, staying home and taking it easy allowed us to rest and reflect on Christ and why we celebrate Christmas. 

(our small hand-me-down tree with all the presents)

 (Matt gave a beautiful the Christmas story lesson on Christmas Eve)

 (the after math)

It was a wonderful day!

Halloween 2011

Well, it was our first big Halloween... here's how it went.

We missed our church party, but went to our friend's, but Reid still didn't like it much... partly cuz of the costume drama.  We made this super cool Mater costume last year, but then Reid got super sick on Halloween, so we didn't use it.  He didn't even want to put it on.  Then about a month ago, we got it out and he drove Mater all over the house.  "Sweet!" I thought, "my kid actually likes the costume this year."  So we thought we try it again.  No, he didn't want to use it.  So we carried it around and trunk-or-treated at the church party.

Since that didn't go well, the day before Halloween we got out Reid's Halloween bucket and had him go "trick or treating" to each of us, so he could practice and get excited.  Well, he asked about it for the next 24 hours!

On actually Halloween was a Fall Festival for little kids at a local park.  I wasn't about to carry Mater, a baby and a sad toddler, so I put on some hole-y jeans and a flannel shirt and Reid's tool bet and called it good for the morning.  He ran around and had a blast... feeding a lion, putting into a nelephants trunk, and riding on the hay ride ("tractor ride").  Went to lunch with friends and came home and napped.  

I was foolishly still hopeful that Mater would be selected for the evening, but NOPE, he wasn't.  So we grabbed the tool belt and he was ready.  Our neighbors invited us to go with them, and I thought that would be better for him to see how it worked with other kids.  They had a blast.  Reid loved having other "guys" (non-adults) to follow.  He would say "ick o TREAT"... always screaming the treat part... it was hilarious.  He was also very good to say "thank you" and sometimes even a "bye" or "see you later".  He was the hit of the night.  He also got very excited about the moon, and saying hi to fellow trick or treaters that passed us.

Unfortunately, after the first scary house (and it was actually scary), he required mom to go with him up to the door from then on.  For the first few houses after a scary house, he would ask, "Scary?" and we would all reassure him it was ok.  I never made him go up to the door at the scary houses, but he still knew if it was a scary house just by passing it.  And some houses that weren't scary, but had Halloween sounds, still made him very cautious.

About halfway through the night he started slowing down, I finally figured out it was because his candy bucket was too heavy!  I started carrying it for him in between houses, and then he perked right back up.  But by the end, my neighbors, Reid, and I were all tired.  Matt stayed home with Weston and the dogs to hand out candy.  Weston was a champ and slept the whole time, doorbells and all, can't say the same for the dogs.  :)

When we got home, he asked for some nerds, which he loved and milk duds, which didn't last, and a lollipop.  Then he happily sat down watched Thomas while I got Weston to bed, and then he went to bed quite easily.

It was such a fun time for us to see Reid as he's growing up, interacting and participating more.  We had a great Halloween!

April On-goings and a Fun Easter Report

For the month of April, we spent most of our time trying to unpack and get settled in our house.  It's amazing how much time you spend cleaning up the yard, or picking out decorations for each room, or painting over ugly stencils, or what have you in  your new home.  We're still not there, but the baby's room is half cleaned out, so we are making definite progress!

The big news of April is that we found out we are having another BOY!  We are ecstatic!  I am so happy that Reid will have a buddy to be friends with, and then fight with, and then hopefully be friends with again once he is older.  It's a wonderful circle of life siblings go through and I'm excited that our boys will have that opportunity. 

Everyone asks how I'm feeling, and pretty good is the answer.  I was pretty sure it was a girl because I just can't kick this nausea and I thought the extra estrogen in my system HAD to be the cause... but I was wrong.  It simply is a different pregnancy.  I'm feeling him kick, but mostly it feels like he's just wiggling around while he still has room in there.  My energy level has been much lower this time around, and I've been assured it is due to chasing my toddler around!  Also, my back aches almost every day, but that is bearable thanks to my heated rice socks.  So really, I'm doing well.... Most days I can get chores done around the house, and usually we make 2 park appearances and a library appearance each week.  So I think it is going well!

This little guy is due August 27th, but my doctor doesn't think I'll make it to then, I've been told not to be more than an hour from the hospital once I hit 34-35 weeks.  What fun a HOT July/August is going to be for me!


So far we have been blessed and loved our new ward.  We attended our first ward activity... it was an Easter Egg Hunt.  Reid had a blast!  They divided the egg collecting sections into 3 age groups: 3 and under, 4-7, and 7-11.  Each child was supposed to get only 1 dozen eggs (because that's what each parent was asked to bring).  However, after collecting 12, Reid noticed there was still more eggs to be collected, so he kept going.  So Matt just kept emptying out the eggs, and Reid thought it was great game and didn't want the fun to stop!  He quickly became efficient and found that if he grabbed 4+ eggs at a time, he could fill up his basket faster, instead of one egg in the basket at a time.

After we finished our egg hunt, we got to play on the playground.  Then Reid got his face painted, we asked him what animal he wanted, and after multiple sounds he chose a sheep.  So he had an adorable sheep on his cheek.  Then we played more on the playground and his Daddy helped him swing and he got to learn about underdogs... which he also loved.

On the way home, Reid crashed (fell asleep)... unfortunately he woke up when he got home, and proceeded to talk, jump, and sing in his crib for 2 hours, while I took my afternoon nap.

That afternoon we went to some friend's house who also moved to TX.  They had a kiddie pool in their backyard.   It was all Matt could do to get Reid's brand new shoes off before he went in clothes and everything.  I thought it was adorable, and why not let the kid be a kid? (clothes and all)  Until I looked outside and saw his diaper bursting out of his shorts, then we got a swim diaper on him and he kept going, just fine.  We continued the fun with hamburger, hot dogs, and lots of yummy side dishes.

Sunday we enjoyed church, some really great Easter talks about the Savior, Matt taught the EQ (the men's class) lesson.  Then we went over to our other friend's house and were fed an absolutely amazing Easter dinner, and fabulous conversation. 

All in all, Easter was a really great success.  We feel like we are getting to know more people and making some really wonderful friends.  We are so grateful at this time to remember the Savior and the blessing of the Atonement in our lives, especially as we are adjusting to our new surroundings, we can feel His love for us.

Happy 2nd Anniversary to Me!

Monday was our 2nd Anniversary. So, we decided to treat ourselves to a fancy dinner. We went to the same place that Matt took me to the night he proposed. (sorry the pictures are dark, I didn't want to use a flash in such a nice place... hehehe)

So, first we got our drinks. Simple, I know, but still classy glasses, eh?


Then we got salads, but I forgot to take pictures... sorry. I got the cheese tomato salad, and Matt got the house salad which was somewhat Southwestern style, it was yummy.

Then for dinner we got....
Mashed potatoes, portabello mushrooms (in some yummy sauce), and then a bleu cheese stuffed mushroom that was sweet and salty and oniony... soo good! I love the moon shaped dishes that they came in.

Then came the steaks! Matt got his BIG Ribeye with butter and salt as his topping, and I got a filet mignon with this creamy garlic and portabello mushroom sauce on top. There's a tomato on the side that was cooked with cheese... so good!

Then we got dessert.

Matt got the Peach Strawberry Crisp, it was delicious.

And I got The Chocolate Tiara! Ok, so the pretty strawberry and the drizzle of strawberry sauce were an added bonus... but CHECK IT OUT! It's a dome shaped dessert, filled with chocolate cake, chocolate mousse, covered in dark chocolate, and drizzled with white chocolate, and then a pretty vanilla wafer type cookie surrounding it, in the shape of a crown! I ate EVERY bite of this baby! So good. I didn't even finish my steak, and man am I glad, cuz this was worth saving the room.

We didn't do much afterwards, just went home and hung out. Not like last year, where I got sent to a technical conference in Orlando Florida the week of our anniversary... so I brought Matt along and we splurged on Disney World! But going out to eat was such a great celebration for us! And its fun too, cuz it has some sentiment to go along with it.

All in all... despite the stress, and craziness this year brought us, I still am happier now than I would be without Matty in my life. :)