White Christmas!

We finally had a white Christmas. We would've thought after living 3+ years up in Wisconsin we would have had one sooner. Even though it was snowing decently at night and the weather was certainly cold enough the snow didn't really amount to much as you can see in the picture of the house taken on Christmas day.

But the lack of snow cover didn't temper the excitement any as Reed was still anxious for Christmas, which he confidently proclaimed was "Santa's Birthday". (He knows now we are really celebrating Jesus' birthday)

The night before Christmas the coast was clear to put out Reed's and Grace's toys for the morning.

Reed's reaction.... :)

Time to open presents... his presents and everyone else's presents too.

and open...

and open...

Reed says "Merry Christmas!... miss you... love you"

Grace just soaked it all in... She wasn't even old enough to enjoy the wrapping paper yet.

But she sure did enjoy watching her big brother play with her toys. (We know we need to enjoy this while it lasts.)

Reed and Grace at 4 Months

Time for another look back at how much Grace growing up gives us a little sense of deja vu every day.


Reed and Mommy...

Grace and Mommy...

Reed and Eric

Grace and Mommy...

Reed on the Changing Table

Grace on the Changing Table

And of course the "Titanic" portrait pose

Saturday Filled with Good Eats, Good Friends, and Good Times

Saturday morning Reed and Mommy had some friends over to decorate cookies.  The kids had a blast...and so did the mommies.  :) 

After decorating, the kids enjoyed their creations.  They all turned out so cute.  The boys showed off their messiness, while the girls remained spotless.  Must be a boy thing.  :)

The kids enjoyed playing together in Reed's room before going home to get a nap. 

Gracie spent the afternoon being sweet, smiling, and hanging out with Mommy and Daddy.  (Poor Daddy, he's the photographer in the family, so there are very few pictures of him.)

In the evening we met up with some friends at our favorite bakery for Saturday Night Pizza.

Christmas Decorating

The weekend of Thanksgiving we put up our Christmas tree.  Reed had such a great time!  He loved putting up the ornaments, and continues to tell everyone about how he and Mommy and Daddy "made a Christmas tree." 

Reed liked putting the little red ball ornaments on.  He never really mastered the concept of spreading the ornaments out.  For those that are coming for Christmas and get to see the finished project, you'll notice a concentration of ornaments in that same area of the tree.  :)

Reed liked the smell of the pine-scented potpourri.

Reed's 2009 ornament was the first to go on the tree (well, besides the little red ball ornaments, of course.)  Notice where the ornament is being placed.  :)

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Despite there being snow in Houston we haven't had a flake here. We have decorated inside and it's pretty cold outside so it is at least beginning to feel like Christmas. We decided against going outside for a Christmas parade since it was about 35 this morning. Instead Reed and mommy worked on a ginger bread house.

Grace didn't get to take part of the gingerbread house building but she was having a good time playing and eating yummy rice cereal.

Thanksgiving 2009

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner with Daddy's side of the family (Ba, Grandpa Gary, Uncle Michael, and Brigit).  Gracie got to meet a lot of her family, and Reed was loving all the attention.  We had a lot to be thankful for this year.  God has blessed us with a beautiful daughter and two healthy children.  We have wonderful friends and family that we are just so blessed by.  Here are some pictures of the kids and the family.

Gracie with her Ba.

Gracie with her Uncle Michael.

Reed with his Uncle Michael.

Reed with his Ba.

Reed enjoying his powered Christmas gift from Uncle Michael and Brigit.

Reed sporting his Thanksgiving get-up he made at school.  :)