December Part 1

There has been a lot going on around here! We are currently in the middle of a fun filled week of house guests that are helping us celebrate Christmas. It has been so fun to have everyone come to us this year and Will has had a blast. This is the first year that he has really understood what is going on and he has definitely caught on. He is very concerned about what Santa is going to bring everyone -- and that he brings him what he asked for. :)

Here you can see him making sure that Santa understands his requests. "I want a combine, a Johnny tractor, a barn, and some animals. That's all I need." Whew! Good thing Santa has a big sleigh!



Dad and Jess were here for the weekend and Will had a chance to do a few of his favorite things with them. We took a trip to the dinosaur museum, went to Rosenberg to see the trains, and enjoyed a little early Christmas. Here is Will having Grandpa read him one of his new books.



I got a combine! Grandpa comes through with the perfect traveling size combine -- it has already made trips back and forth to Miss Wanda's house so he can show her how to cut wheat and corn. I have a feeling we may have the beginnings of a combine collection by the time the week is over...;)



So Grandpa and AJ headed back to colder climates and the possibility of a white Christmas on Tuesday and my mom flew into town to enjoy a Southern Christmas with us. It has been great having her here and Will is certainly enjoying having someone else to show all his new stuff to.

Baking cookies with Grandma!



Having a great time!



Mom brought Will my old baking set to make cookies with -- here are their rolling pins hard at work. :)



To finish off the cookie baking, Will had a friend over to decorate the cookies. The kids had a blast -- and thank goodness Mom was here! I think Prasaad did more eating than decorating, but it was a great time for everyone either way!





What a great start to the holidays! I hope everyone has time to enjoy with friends and family throughout this next week. We love you all and wish you a very Merry Christmas. Or as Will is saying, "Happy Christmas party everyone!"

Will's Big Secret

I'm not telling...



Shhhh....



Maybe I'll tell you...



It's official! The secret is out -- Will is being promoted to Big Brother -- effective June 2011!

Nebraska

Can I just say that the holidays is one of the times I love being in education? I mean don't get me wrong, we both love our jobs for lots of reasons all year long -- you know, changing lives, working with kids, yada yada... But we are so lucky that we get great breaks around all the major times we like to spend with family -- and the fact that our school district lets us have a whole week at Thanksgiving makes it a great time for a Nebraska trip!

Of course, for some reason, I was completely terrible at taking pictures this time so I don't have much to show for our trip. I guess we were just having too much fun...at least that's my story. :)

We drove this year -- and Will did awesome! We packed some new toys, including a travel DVD player, and he was as content as could be the whole way. We stopped along the way to see our friends the Lee's in Kansas City on the way there. I am so disappointed that I didn't take any pictures -- Brody and Will are just 6 months apart and had a great time playing together while we were there. It made me sad that we don't live closer so they could see each other more often. :(

We spent a few days in Omaha and then headed out to Farnam for Thankgiving. While we were there we made a stop to see Will's little buddies Noah and Faith (also known as my friend Nicole's sweet twins). They are just a few months older than Will and we always try to see them when we are in town. I did get one picture of the three of them -- on my phone, so not great, but hey, it's better than nothing! Again, really need to live closer...



When we got to Farnam and my grandparents' house is when Will's fun really started! Hayden showed off all of Grandma's toys -- hungry hippos anyone? :) It was fun to see Hayden and Will getting excited about playing with all the stuff that my cousins and I spent hours playing with as kids. And kudos to Grandma for always being prepared for anyone and anything!

Then came Thanksgiving morning -- and our little city boy got his first ride on a tractor! He loved it -- and I think Grandpa loved showing it to him. They didn't go anywhere, but he did turn it on for him and showed him a few things. So fun!

Grandpa had to show him a few tricks...



Look at him, he's ready for life on the farm!



We headed to Uncle Jack's for Thanksgiving lunch -- and it's always a good time to catch up with people we never get to see. The Bellamy family Thanksgiving includes about 50 people, so there are always plenty of kids to play with and people to talk to. Will had a great time with cousins and trying to keep up with the big kids. Case in point -- the zip line!

Leave it to Bellamy boys to find a way to hook up a zip line in the front yard. Words I was not prepared for -- my cousin came inside and said "Sara, I thought you might want to come watch. Will's on the zip line." What??? Will watched some of the big kids ride on it and then decided he was ready -- and didn't want to quit! I think if we had been there a little longer (and the adults hadn't gotten cold) he would have gotten brave enough to try and ride without help.

Getting set up with Todd and Kyle...



Zooming down the line with his spotter, Kyle.



And his last ride down before we had to leave -- see how Kyle's barely hanging on to him? He was having so much fun!



After all this excitement we headed back to Omaha to watch some football and prepare for our trip back to Texas. The week went so fast! We didn't come close to doing all the things we would have loved to do, but at least we had the chance to see and spend time with some of the people we love.

Next up -- Christmas fun! There is a lot going on around here so I'm going to try and do a better job of picture taking so we'll have lots to show all of you. Love to everyone and hope to see you soon!

Time with friends

The last few weekends have been filled with fun around here! The first weekend of November the natural science museum celebrated dino days -- and of course our little paleontologist couldn't miss that. It actually was mostly for older kids, with all kinds of stuff going on the whole weekend. There was one exception -- Buddy the t-rex from Will's favorite PBS show, Dinosaur Train, was there for the little ones to meet. Pair that with getting to watch a premier episode of the show in the planetarium and we had a winner!

Here's Buddy!



Of course after being sooooo excited to meet his friend, he was super shy when given the opportunity.



Waiting in line to see the "movie!"



Then this past weekend it was Elyse's (Will's best friend) 2nd birthday! They had a great time catching fish, playing in the backyard, and of course checking out Elyse's new toys. It was so fun to celebrate with Elyse and all of her family and friends-- Happy Birthday sweet girl!!

Doing a little fishing...



Checking out Elyse's new kitchen. I have a feeling that there will be many hours spent cooking for the grown ups in our future...



This weekend we head north! We will be making the drive to Nebraska for Thanksgiving and hopefully seeing many of you in the process. If not, Happy Thanksgiving!

Trunk treats

For those of you that know me well, you also know that Halloween is probably my least favorite day of the year. I am soooo not looking forward to the days of major costuming and trick or treating...but Todd has always promised that he will take care of that parenting duty. So for now, I'll just enjoy being able to keep it as low key as possible.

There are two Halloween festivities that I actually do enjoy -- trunk treats and the pumpkin patch. So I thought I'd share a few pics from the fun we had...

Our little guy has two major fascinations right now -- trains and dinosaurs. Thanks to some hand me down overalls (thanks Jennifer!), a great engineer hat already in possession (thanks Uncle Craig!), and a crafty dad -- we had a costume! He did look pretty cute and he loved being pulled around in his "train" way more than actually getting candy. The actual trick or treating part was not so much his favorite. At all. Maybe he won't love Halloween either...;)

Our "conductor" (as he called himself) pulling his train...most of the night his poor dad was doing the pulling and he was doing the riding.



Taking some time to enjoy the music and a little of his candy stash...



As Halloween approaches, another tradition comes into the church parking lot -- the pumpkin patch! Will loves it -- we have to go out there and play every Sunday in October and he was pretty disappointed this morning when he saw that it was gone. We managed to get the camera out one Sunday morning.

Will and Elyse playing in the wagon -- "yeehaw!"



I love this picture of the two of them -- they look like they are sharing a secret or something. They really love each other a lot right now -- I'm sure that will change so we have to take as many pictures as possible. :)



Happy fall to everyone! We are looking forward to seeing many of you in a few weeks for Thanksgiving -- if we survive the car trip up there, that is...:)

Fall fun

It looks like October has finally brought us a little reprieve from the Texas heat! Of course it is still a little warm to be called fall in my book, but the mornings are perfect and the afternoons are perfect for going to the park and playing outside. In shorts, of course, but still -- it's progress!

We have been busy! It's always crazy to me how busy our fall seems to be -- it's just such a great time of year to take advantage of all kinds of fun stuff around town. And then we threw in a surprise trip to Nebraska -- fun!

October always brings lots of festivals and fun stuff to town around here. About five minutes from our house there was a small art festival that we went and checked out one weekend. It was pretty neat -- and the highlight for all the kids there was definitely this art car. Will was fascinated -- he would have stayed there all night. He is always so observant and he kept finding little things that Todd and I hadn't see until he pointed them out.




Thanks to having very generous people in our lives, we were able to make a surprise trip to Omaha the first part of October. It was a super quick trip, but we managed to fit in some fun. Of course Will's fun started as soon as we hit the airport -- he loved the bus that takes you from the parking lot to the plane. Now we know what to do on a rainy day...we'll just pay to park and drive back and forth from the airport. :) Then he got to ride in his own seat on the plane for the 1st time -- which he loved almost as much as the bus. He was a perfect traveler -- he truly loves everything about the experience, so he makes it easy on us. Of course we're driving at Thanksgiving -- we'll see if all of us have such a good attitude after that trip!

The highlight of the trip was probably our trip to Vala's pumpkin patch -- an Omaha tradition. None of us had ever been, but we figured that Will would like it so we went and checked it out. Will was so excited to go with "AJ, Grandma, and Nick!" and I don't think the experience disappointed.

One of his favorite exhibits was the bunnies -- he kept asking Grandma to take him back to see them again. And again...



Then we watched the pig races. In my mom's defense, I did cut all the other people that were also breaking the rules out of the picture - but I still thought it was funny that they we right next to the sign. :)



And of course there was a train -- which was a huge highlight for a little guy who loves dinosaurs and trains pretty much equally these days. When you got off the train you got to play in all kinds of kid-sized train stuff, including this pumpkin train -- so cute!



There was also the storybook area for the little people so Will of course had to check out all the ins and outs of those too.



AJ and Will checking out the Ernie pumpkin. Will was really perplexed when he saw that Ernie was flat.



And for all the farmers -- here's Will on the tractor. I loved this one -- he looks like he's taking it so seriously!



And we can't forget the fun we had at AJ and Grandpa's house! Jess bought Will this tackle dummy -- and I'm not sure who was more excited to get it out. :) Will wasn't quite sure what to think about it at first, but once he got the hang of it, he loved it! I'm sure it Will be the favorite toy waiting for him when he gets back to AJ's house!



So much fun in such a short weekend. It was so great to see everyone but it made us even more anxious to get back and spend more time at Thanksgiving. We should be there pretty much the whole week -- so those of you around Omaha, make sure to come see us!

So back to life in Houston...and the fun isn't over -- the Big Texas train show was in town! It's a model train expo that comes through town. Both Will and his friend Elyse are really into trains, so we thought they would have a good time -- and they did! There was tons of model trains to watch go "chug chug" and "choo choo" -- and they really were pretty amazing. Will also scored a pretty nice Thomas train table. :)

Here's Will ready for his day -- he insisted on wearing his conductor hat to go to the train show. He was definitely not the only little boy with that idea there.



Will and Elyse checking out one of the trains...check out Elyse's hat!



This weekend it's the Sam Houston football game and trunk treats...the October fun isn't over yet!

September

Huh. It's seriously already October?? How did that happen?

I'm not really sure what my excuse is this time...we've been really busy, but that really should be even more of a reason to have things to post. Except, sadly, I have not been so hot at taking pictures this month. So, you'll have to rely on the written word for the most part -- and a promise to do a better job this month.

We started off September in St. Louis for my friend Mary's wedding. Will stayed here and had loads of fun with Nana and Grandpa while Todd and I enjoyed a great weekend with some of our favorite friends. Remember the mention of bad picture taking?? Well this weekend was no exception. I have very little to offer...but here it is!

Leesa and I enjoying a little girl time on the wedding bus...

Todd and I all dressed up and ready for a little adult time...

Two of my most favorite people in the world -- too bad they have to live so far away. :(

Love ya Lees and Scott!

And as an added surprise, Mom and Nick happened to be in St. Louis the same weekend! We were able to spend a few hours with them on Sunday before we had to fly home and took in a few sights. Who knew St. Louis was such a cute place? We went to a really cool (and HUGE) sculpture garden (which of course Todd loved) and then checked out a little of downtown St. Louis. And again, I didn't do such a good job of picture taking. Mom had a few more than I did, but I don't have those digitally. So, just take my word for it. They were there. And so were we. Together. :)

Downtown St. Louis

As far as the rest of the month, Todd did his Tour de Cure bike ride a few weeks ago. He didn't tackle the 100 miles this year, partially because he's been fighting with his knee most of the summer. But Todd and Chris did go out and participate in the shorter ride. Melissa and I opted not to join them this time, so again, no pics. Sorry!

We've also been all about the potty at this house lately. I know, just what you want to hear about, right? We have started down the potty training path at our house and it's gone pretty well. Will does great as long as you remember -- just don't count on him telling you that he needs to go. But he is all about the treats and toys that have come along with doing a good job! And did you know they make dinosaur pull ups? Throw in some football underwear and you have a little boy who thinks this potty thing is not such a bad idea.

Here's the little guy with his biggest prize (read, Mom is a SUCKER), his own dinosaur train! He is still infatuated with all things trains AND dinosaurs, so needless to say the PBS show Dinosaur Train is a staple at our house. And now he has his very own train...can it get any better??

And to show you that we do just hang around the house, here's my guys enjoying a lazy Sunday morning -- complete with paper reading. :)

October really starts the festival season around here -- it's finally not crazy hot and there are all kinds of things to do during the beautiful fall weather. So I hope to do better and actually take pictures when we're out doing things...I know, crazy idea. But to start you off, here we are at an art festival in the town square by our house. Will loved the art car and kept finding things on it that Todd and I didn't see -- he doesn't miss a thing!

Oh yeah, and Todd turned 40 this month! And of course, I have no pictures. That is partially because we really didn't do anything -- just relaxed with a few friends and some football. Happy birthday Todd!

So here's to the start of fall. Football, cooler weather, and all kinds of fun picture-worthy activities! See you soon...I promise. :)