Trimming the tree

Most of the indoor decorations are up! Phew. The tree is now fully trimmed with ornaments, all sentimental. I put my most treasured ornaments up high, for obvious reasons, and this year I let the boys hang more durable ornaments on the lower half of the tree. Jack and Theo loved helping out and save one broken ornament, all went well! I changed up the mantle this year and added some colorful bows that I made using my favorite invention of the moment: EZ bow maker. Love it! My house is filled with bows that I have made. I may need an intervention!

The boys also decorated a miniature red tree with tiny ornaments for the entry way. Now I just have to tackled the outdoor lights. Oy!!!

Giving thanks

We traveled over to College Station on Thanksgiving day to see my extended family. Jack and Theo adored seeing Uncle Bill, Aunt Sonja, cousins Cody and Ashley and Mama again. They wouldn't leave poor Uncle Bill alone!! Mimi gave the boys giant cookies and they took their time enjoying every bite. We left bright and early Friday for Baton Rouge to attend Dave's 15th high school reunion. Dave got to see a lot of "blasts from the past" and I hung out with a couple of the spouses.

Saturday night we went to the LSU/Arkansas game (thanks to Uncle Dane for babysitting!!!) and cheered on the Tigers to a victory!!! We got home this morning and I went to work busting out the Christmas decorations. The tree is up, the mantle is trimmed and our stockings are hung :) More to follow........

Here's comes Santa Claus

We're in Houston this week visiting my family for Thanksgiving. We took the boys to the Galleria today to see Santa. They got to ride a small train around the mall and then sit with Santa. My mom and I shopped for an hour (heaven) while Papa and Daddy corralled the boys in the mall. We're heading off to College Station on turkey day to spend it with Uncle Bill, Aunt Sonja, Mama and our extended family and cousins!!! Can't wait.

Plates are in!

The plates that Jack and Theo decorated came in and turned out great! They are dishwasher safe and will totally be something fun to do each Christmas. The kids were not in the mood for pictures this morning so this is the best I could do. Love Theo's "cheese" face huh?

Big shoes to fill

The boys love putting Dave's shoes on. Here they are after a LONG day, right before being whisked off to bed.

Aidan turns 2!

Theo's little buddy Aidan had his 2nd birthday party today. He had a Spongebob theme and all of the kids took turns hitting the Spongebob pinata until I noticed the strings at the bottom! That's the newest thing with pinatas now.... just pull the strings and the candy dumps out :) Theo devoured his cupcake and was actually eating the crumbs from the ground before I stopped him. The weather was nice and clear here but it sure did heat up in all that sun. Jack had a blast playing with Bradley from school and his best bud Alyssa. Happy birthday, Aidan!!!

Saying thanks

One of Jack's classmate's father is actively serving in the military. He's home until Saturday and will be returning to Iraq. He's offered to take back needed items with him and one thing that is always appreciated is home made cards! So, Jack and Theo got to work tonight saying thanks on paper. Theo mostly scribbled and applied stickers. Jack wowed me by drawing a flag, complete with stars, and wrote short notes to the soldiers. Awwww. It's really the least we could do for the soldiers serving our country.

Theo drives!

Jack had a playdate with his friend Shaffer today. Shaffer got a big haircut and looks completely different without his cascading curls :( The boys were driving around in the truck and inspired Theo to get behind the wheel. He does not steer AT ALL but he got the hang of pushing the pedal. One step at a time! The big boys got into costume after dinner and were just happy as larks all night, which made for a happy mommy!

Babycakes

The boys and I met up with some Mom group friends this week for cupcakes. The boys were in heaven! Jack ate just the icing and actually said "ewww" after taking a bite of the cake part of his cupcake. Theo devoured the entire thing and was saying "yum in the tum" and "I'm hungry for more". Gotta love it!

Making a plate

Theo and I went yesterday to a Mom's club activity to decorate a plate for Christmas. Theo went to town scribbling and seemed to enjoy himself. I brought home the paper for Jack to decorate. He drew a Christmas tree and some presents and then decorated the tree. Now we have to mail off the papers to be turned into a plate! The whole process takes 4 weeks, but the price is only $7 a plate. Check into it if you need a gift for your child or grandparents. Here's the link:Makit

Last bit of Halloween

Mimi helped Theo and Jack carve their pumpkins. Jack had a big pumpkin that Dave carved and Theo's big pumpkin rotted before we got to carve it. He had to settle for a little one instead. He didn't seem to care! We got Elliott a new costume this year. He was thrilled ;) Lastly, here's a picture of our Halloween celebration mantle. Our boys are so loved!! Thanks to everyone who sent them a card. They loved them!