Christmas comes but once a year

We had a great Christmas holiday with Dan's parents and James, Alyson, and their one-year-old. Nathan wanted to make sure we left cookies for Santa and put hay out on the grass for the reindeer (provided from his class party earlier). We each opened a gift on Christmas Eve, and then we had the kids act out the Nativity. Nathan played the part of Joseph, Sophia played Mary, and my old cabbage patch doll got the role of Jesus since their cousin was asleep. The kids brought out every animal they could to surround the manger.

Bring on the battles! Nathan loves his Anakin light saber and Nerf sword.

Sophia got her balloons and some other gifts too, like this shopping cart she likes to fill with all kinds of toys, including play food.

I thought since Phia likes to color so much, she'd also like to paint, and now she's old enough to give it a whirl.

It was a winner! Here's our expressive modern artist at work.

Nathan got this sweet jacket from G & G Drake.

Sophia digs her baking set, which goes great with her kitchen. She has left my measuring cups and spoons in MY kitchen for a change now that she has her own.

The kids look cute in their new pajamas. Thanks to our parents, family members, and friends for helping them to have a very merry Christmas. Nathan said it was "the best Christmas ever!" They loved it all and are two of the happiest kiddos I've ever seen.

Grateful moment

I am thankful for the kind elves (friends? fam?) who gave us anonymous gift cards and a credit card. We really appreciate it, and it warms our hearts that you remembered us this Christmas season. I wish I knew who gave them so I could thank you personally, but I know that's not why you did it. I'm glad there are people like you!

I'm also grateful I got to meet up with my old college roommate, Carolyn, and visit with her and her beautiful family on Christmas Eve. She was so much fun to live with, and now she's a hot mama. It would be fun to have a reunion with all my old roomies. Happy new year y'all!

Let it snow!

Check out the snow on the roof and the grass! It snowed in the Houston area on December 4, which set a record for the earliest snowfall for the city. We had just come back from Dan's interview, yet Dan had stayed behind for another interview. I went to work, and it was fun to watch the snow fall down and talk to all of the customers who were in awe of it.

Nathan told me about a month ago that he doesn't like Texas. I asked him why, and he said, "Because there's no snow." Well, Texas delivered for us this year. The kids had fun throwing snowballs and eating the fresh snow. It melted off the ground the next day. Nathan told me he wished it would snow again. I agree, as long as it isn't like the storms they get up north.

We had a church Christmas party on December 5. The kids got to tell Santa what they wanted for Christmas. Sophia probably spoke so quietly he didn't hear her. I think she said she wanted "presents." I asked her what kind, and she said "yellow ones." Nathan said video games -- big surprise! He wants grownup games, but he also asked for "Luigi's Mansion," so I hope he'll be happy with that (I told him Santa doesn't give little boys "Left 4 Dead").

Sophia is pointing to her mouth since I asked her to smile. When I asked her what she wanted for Christmas, she told me "balloons." She wants big ones and little ones.

See how happy she is with this balloon? We were at Nathan's school's carnival, and the kids won these red ones. I love how it's so easy to make little children happy. We're going to cover the family room with balloons on Christmas morning. I think Nathan will love his foam swords and Anakin light saber. I love this time of year.
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Give Thanks

We had some reasons to give thanks on Thanksgiving Day -- Grandma and Grandpa R. came for the holiday, we had great food, and I had the day off! Dan's folks provided the pies -- apple and pumpkin, my favorites for this holiday. I made an herb seasoned turkey and sweet potato marshmallow casserole courtesy of allrecipes.com and some crescent rolls courtesy of my Mom's recipe. We also had mashed potatoes, veggies, and classic Stove Top stuffing, and the gravy was excellent. Dan told the kids they had to have a bite of turkey, roll, carrot, and potatoes. You would have thought we'd asked them to eat a pile of spiders. Sophia was chowing down on the rolls (see her helping me to make them below), but she did NOT want the turkey, carrot, or potatoes. They finally ate teeny bits of them, and Nathan actually said it was pretty good. When we asked him if he wanted more, he said, "No!"

Can you believe he prefers "hot soup" (bean with bacon) to all the other food?! Sigh.

I had to work the day after Thanksgiving (the bank rarely closes), but Grandma and Grandpa took N and S to the Houston Zoo. The zoo is free to the public on certain days, and that was one of them. The kids had a blast. When I saw them later at night, N said to me, "I want you to take us to the zoo tomorrow!" I'm glad they had fun.

They saw all kind of animals, including this mostly black animal with zebra stripes on the back -- not sure what it is though.

They told me about a "happy elephant" that N said danced (I think he embellished a little), and I'm sad I missed out on the orangutan who chewed bubblegum and made a giant bubble.

Nathan's favorite part, however, was the train ride that circles around the outside of the zoo.

Grateful moment

I'm thankful for family. I'm talking immediate and extended family. It's times like these that make me realize how much I need and appreciate love and support from others. I want to thank all of my family and friends who are there for us.

Railroad Museum

We went to a Railroad Museum's family fun day in October since our kids like trains. We live away from the city, and I cross train tracks whenever I take Nathan to school or when we go shopping. The kids like it when a train "races" parallel to us as we drive along, and we can hear the train's whistle from our home when they whiz by. Sophia usually announces, "I hear a train."

Ang and the kids outside a retired caboose. We got to explore the inside.

Dan and the kids outside a dining car.

Apparently Sponge Bob is a fan of trains too. Nathan gave him a big squeeze, but Sophia wouldn't go near him and wanted to be carried -- just like she does if a furry animal comes too close.

The kids had tickets for games and rides. We toured the inside of the museum and went to another area that housed an impressive display of toy train sets with multiple trains zipping around the miniature tracks. They got to go in the bounce houses and even got to climb and explore a fire engine on the street. Nathan says he wants to be a fireman and an engineer when he's older.

This picture has nothing to do with our railroad museum expedition, but I wanted to show how cute Sophia looked with her doll in their matching dresses (thanks Mom!).

This is Halloween

The kids were counting down the days until Halloween. Nathan wanted to wear his "bad Spider-Man" costume from last year, and luckily he still fit in it. Then Sophia wanted to be a ladybug again until she got to wear her costume, and then she happily told everyone she was Snow White. This is our car with some Halloween decorations for the Trunk or Treat party at the church Friday evening.

Dan went as Dr. McCoy of Star Trek's original series, and I went as a Trill, specifically as a previous host of Deep Space Nine's Jetsia Dax. Dan did my makeup, and it was fun to dress up for the party. Several people even knew who we were!

One family made an elaborate design around their trunk from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves," so I had to get a picture of our little Snow White next to it.

Oh no! Don't take a bite of the apple, Snow White!

On Saturday, the kids got to dress up for Grandma and Grandpa Rogers who visited for the weekend. We took them trick-or-treating around the neighborhood, and Nathan was happy to have his pumpkin totally filled with candy. The kids enjoyed it, but Sophia called out, "Carry me!" after we went to two houses. They chowed down for the next two nights and still have plenty of candy to spare (and share with their parents).

Breakthroughs

The kids at Surfside Beach in September.

We have had some wonderful breakthroughs in the past few weeks. I wanted to celebrate them because reaching milestones and making strides is important.

Nathan now eats chewable vitamins! Those of you who know Nathan are aware that he is a picky eater, and by picky eater, I mean he turns up his nose at almost everything -- fruit, veggies, most meals, and even bread. I used to get his fluoride and vitamin combined in liquid form -- like what you give babies -- until we moved to Texas. There is fluoride in the water here. I told Nathan one night that he would not get to play his video game unless he ate the chewable vitamin, and he did it! Hallelujah! I had bought gummy vitamins and tried all kinds of types in the past, and he is finally eating them at age six. We've also told him he can't play video games after school unless he takes a bite of real food. He's missed out on a lot of video games, but I'm okay with that. He tried half a grape and ate a small slice of cheese (he likes shredded cheese). We're making progress!

Sophia is fully potty trained! She first went back in February when we lived in Utah. After the move to Texas, our focus shifted to getting her trained to stay in her big girl bed. She was totally ready but just resisted it, telling me, "I don't want to go potty!" Well, Dan and I gave her cookies and stickers as rewards, and she finally cooperated. Sophie stayed dry all week, and she even proudly told Nathan's teacher at a conference this week, "I went poo poo in the potty!" Those of you who are parents know why this is such a big deal.

I love this product. It helps transform my crayon-colored walls back to their original form. Sophia likes to draw, and she thinks the house is her canvas.

I achieved something this past week as well. I finished my first week of training with Capital One Bank. For those of you who don't know, Dan lost his job this summer, so we're flipping roles for now. It's strange working after being at home with the kids all the time, but it's good to learn new skills and to stretch myself. I think Dan and I will appreciate each of our roles more from going through this experience.

Sophia turned 3

Sophia peeked into our closet a few days before her birthday and found her big present, the Custom Kitchen. She even got kid scissors to open the bag of kitchen tools. Sophia inherited the curious and sneaky gene from Dan, who made it his goal to discover all his gifts before Christmas day. She didn't see it all put together, though, until her birthday party, and then she cheered and clapped when Dan pushed it into the family room.

Sophie, playing with a balloon in front of her kitchen. She now announces she's "making dinner" -- usually for her dolls. The kitchen makes boiling and frying noises on the stove. This gift is from G&G Rogers and Mom and Dad.

She got her first My Little Pony and a pretty doll from G&G Drake.

Sophia wanted a pink cake with yellow and green frosting (Nathan influenced the green part). She had a Dora figure on top, and I wrote out "Happy Birthday Sophia" in yellow frosting. She loved seeing her baked confetti cake on the counter and took a chunk out. I just had to flip it and frost it, and the cake looked fine.

Grandma and Grandpa Rogers came from San Antonio for Sophia's birthday bash, and Grandma Drake joined in for the song via the webcam. What a lucky girl! Nathan stayed right by his sister's side, helping her to unwrap the gifts and eating just the frosting off the cake. I'm glad Sophia has so much fun with her brother. Sophia is a fun mix of spunk and sweetness, and I am grateful to be her Mom.

Reunion in Utah

We returned to Utah near the end of August for a family reunion. The kids were excited about flying in an airplane. They liked looking out at the clouds and getting cups of Sprite; they were champs throughout it all. Then we had a long drive south, and while Nathan had his DS to keep him happy, Sophia traveled well without anything. We were all glad to finally arrive at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Sophia and Nathan were excited to play with their cousins. Sophia and Nathan had fun with baby Lucy. Nathan called her "baby Bubba." It took baby Lucy a while to get used to her older cousins.

We went to a water park/playground in St. George with cousin Braden. We got to celebrate his 3rd birthday while we were there.

We had our reunion at a cabin near Heber City. It was a great cabin with many fun things to do. We were so glad to see everyone, and I enjoyed watching how well the cousins played together.

The kids found this fort behind the cabin near a stream.

I loved the quaking aspens around the cabin.

Nathan started first grade the day after we got back. He said his teacher's nice, but "I don't like missing my cousin so much" (the one his same age). He told me he wants to be in school in Utah.

So Nathan's back to school, and Sophia's back to making faces around the house. Her "funny face" could make me smile on the cloudiest day. We're glad we had a chance to forget our worries for a while and hang out with family. Thanks Mom and Dad for a fun time.