Christmas-Part II

After we came home from Disney World, we still needed to pay Santa a visit as well as finish up Christmas shopping.  My sister and her family came into town the weekend before Christmas so we celebrated with my side then.  It was fun, especially having little Christian around.

Santa:  We went in late afternoon as usual to hopefully not have to stand in line, especially since we had just stood in quite a few lines at Disney World!!  Kyle was very shy and not sure of the whole thing, can you blame him?  He kept touching his eye and nose and finally we asked him to put his hand in his pocket so we could get a picture.  Kyle never did sit on his lap but just stood in front of him while Anna and Brice squeezed in!

 Standing in line...only for about five minutes though.

 Eye touching...

 ...and hand in the pocket!

Even though Kyle didn't put in his requests himself, Anna did it for him and Santa delivered.

Christmas at the Ruffin's:

 These were the hit of the season and he hasn't taken them off for a week straight...even wore them to Christmas Eve Mass with his nice clothes.  Thank you Aunt Blaire and Uncle Josh!!

 This sweet little boy is so, so good!  And, so, so cute!

 A Skipper doll for Anna...let's just say Skipper has changed since I was younger!

 Since we were in Disney World for the birthdays on the 13th, Grandad got to open all his gifts here, all golf stuff.

 Even though the McQueen boots have been a hit long term, Kyle was pretty excited when he got the wrapping paper off of this gift, "TRRRRRRRRR-UUUUCKS!!"

It was a fun morning with lots of yummy food and even better company!  It kind of broke open the gift giving season for us and made us all excited for Christmas Eve and Morning!  Thanks, Mom for the meal and having us as well as the gifts!

Christmas- Part I

Sorry, but I am going to have to do the Christmas season in parts and before blogging about Disney.  Not a lot happens in January around here so that should be a good time to accomplish all of this documentation.  I've said it before and I'll say it 1000x more, having a birthday girl in December is HARD!  I want her to feel special and "separated" from Christmas and all of those celebrations but it is exhausting, I will tell you that.  I am so glad that her birthday is 12 days before Christmas, thank you Anna for being in a hurry to get here!  So, part one happened when we got home from Disney World on the 17th with Anna's Christmas program.  I will admit, seeing my FIVE year old up on stage singing those precious songs made me tear up.

 Before it started, she was very nervous and didn't want to smile.  She is standing next to Cole, our carpool buddy.

 Looks like a grumpy bow!

 This was after it was over!  Relief!!

After her program, we had food and then did a craft.  Below are a few videos...

I apologize for my camera skills.  So shaky.  I am always trying to watch
and at the same time video.  Enjoy!

Disney- Day 4

No, you didn't miss Days 1-3...Justin has all the pictures on his computer and his computer in "sick" and "in the hospital".  Luckily, he put them all in Dropbox but honestly, we just haven't had the time to transfer them either way.  We were there the 11th -15th and then came home to a full week of school for Brice and two days of school for the little ones.  Tuesday was Anna's program though so it wasn't even a full day and then Thursday, Anna woke up with a virus and Kyle spent most of the day on the toilet with the same virus.  Fun times.  Thankfully, it was only about 24-48 hours.

So, I am just going to blog about Day 4, which was our half day at Disney before we all drove home.  We decided to just "leave it all at the park".  And, boy did we ever.  It has taken us all week to recover!

Day1, 12th-Magic Kingdom
Day 2, 13th (Anna's 5th birthday)-Hollywood Studios
Day3, 14th-Magic Kingdom
Day4, 15th-Magic Kingdom from 9-1230

On this day, we did anything we weren't able to get to on the previous days or favorites (Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, Small World, Dumbo and Tomorrowland Speedway).

 They have re done Dumbo in the new Fantasyland and it is fabulous, or at least to me it is.  There are now two rides and then there is a new tent.  The inside of the tent looks just like a circus ring and I love it!  There is a big play place for the kids while you stand in line.  Except for the fact that some kid used the floor as their bathroom...it was a success.  Seriously, it was gross and as soon as I saw it, I rounded up the kids and we were out of there!

 Kyle saw these cars from the People Mover and then again from Dumbo and couldn't wait to drive one.  See how tired he is below?  Sucking on his finger!

 Here is Anna with her hair still up from Bippidi Boppidi Boutique, driving a car, scary thought, right?!

 Kyle LOVED anytime he saw Goofy on this trip, at the character breakfast, in the parades.  "Dares Goofy!"

I could look at that castle all day long.  And, at night?  During December...even more magical!!

Sofia the First "Tea" Party

We celebrated our Anna this past weekend with her friends from school and the family.  It was fun and came together very easily which was nice since there is so much that goes on this month!  I suggested a tea party and she thought that would be fun except the only tea that was drank was sweet tea and none of the little girls had it. They all had water or pink lemonade.  Still, though, they got to sit in the dining room with "No Boys Allowed" per Anna's request!

I made it easy on myself and ordered all the food; chicken nuggets from Chick-fil-A, pinwheels from Publix, cake and petit fours from Publix, Sister Schubert's pigs in a blanket, fruit.  The party was at 10am so it was technically a brunch I guess...

I am in total shock that Anna is turning five.  Actually, I am sad she is turning five.  Like, if you see me sulking or crying in a corner, don't ask why, just know that it's because my girl will be FIVE on Friday. What in the world? I mean, long gone are the days where she didn't voice her opinion on everything in her daily life but when I look at her and envision her in Kindergarten in the fall, I kind of want to throw up.  She seems so little and yet so grown up all at once.  She has matured so much in the past six months and is becoming quite the young lady.  She is still one to get rowdy with her brothers and still our loudest child by far.  However, she takes the role of big sister quite seriously and will go to great lengths to mother Kyle.  She told me the other night when she was falling asleep that she asked God for 4 babies, two boys and two girls.  Yes, I teared up at that.  I remember being her age and already wanting to be a mommy and now that is already what she wants in life.  Anyway, while it warms my heart to see her becoming independent, it also tugs at my heart strings to realize she is definitely not a baby anymore. Okay, I know you didn't open this post to read all this....on to pictures!

 Nice big Sofia balloon, huh?!  She will be with us til May!

 Opening presents.

 We leave for Disney World on Wednesday...and return Sunday.  So, you won't have to endure a bigger sappy post on the 13th. :)  Happy Birthday to my sweet girl and of course my Dad as well!

We Give Thanks...for Milestones

Yesterday was Thanksgiving DAY.  But, let me just say that I give thanks everyday, in my prayers for the four people I love so very much as well as those who don't live in this household.  And, this year we are extra thankful for my mom.  I am thankful she takes care of herself.  I am thankful she took herself to the doctor.  I am thankful it was Stage 0-1.  I am thankful we live in Atlanta with some of the BEST doctors.  I am even thankful that she ended up with three surgeries because it meant they got IT ALL.  These past five months have been a test and while there may have been some "begging" going on on my part, I am thankful that God allows me to do that.  But, sometimes we need a test just to see how thankful we can be.

We had a wonderful lunch yesterday with my parents and then went to the Reynolds' to give some more thanks.  Both sets of parents worked so hard to make the best food and celebration for all of us.  Below are some pictures from both houses.  Also, here is some "food for thought", no pun intended since we are all stuffed!  The Greek word for "Thanksgiving" is Eucharistia.  In other words, the real "Thanksgiving meal" is the Body and Blood of Christ.  And, this is so fitting because we would not be able to give this thanks if it weren't for our next celebration, the birth of Christ!!

 A lot of silliness going on here.

 Nanny and her great grandsons, well two of them anyway. :)

 And, speaking of the next celebrations, the kids were SO ready to decorate for Christmas, which we did do today, all except the tree.  Before we did that though, we had a BIG moment in this house.
Crib=disassembled and put in storage area of basement.  Changing table=same fate (even though it has been empty and unused for three months now). Glider=upside down in the storage area.

Yes, the day arrived.  Our last baby graduated from a crib to a regular bed.  The crib that was used for nine years.  That held my tiny babies' heads and represented a major chapter in my life.  Here is Kyle last night, in the crib for one last time.  Didn't use the flash because I didn't want to wake him.  He has been using a pillow for some time now and enjoys a blanket.  The crib rail has been down so he was basically already IN a regular bed except for some slats.  Which really were not doing anything because he would just pop right out of bed whenever he felt it necessary!

And, so today, he knew the truck was coming with his bed and that the "men were going to build it".  He and Justin went to Sam's, just the two of them to get his mattress.  Justin took some cute pictures but I can't figure out how to get them to show up on here.  Anyway, I give you our new graduate...in the "new room".

 Curtains to come.  I do have some, just no rods.  They are gray and white striped.

 Even though he looks so pleased here, when nap time came, he asked for his crib. :(  Dagger in my heart!

This is what you get when he doesn't nap!  We will see how the night goes and what time he wakes up!