Ringing of the Bell

We went Friday morning with my mom for her last radiation treatment! It is a tradition when you finish to ring this bell to celebrate. We were happy to be there for this milestone in mom's journey. As you can see, Lillian and Andrew were a little more excited about the candy bouquet she received too! Congratulations, Mom!

80's Dance Fashion Show

I have a friend I know from the gym that told me yesterday she is moving into a smaller house and getting rid of a lot of stuff since she is down-sizing, so we went to her house this afternoon and she gave me a bag full of her daughter's old dance recital costumes! Lillian was in love! She tried them all on, twirled around and said she LOVED her new outfits! ha ha....I guess I may have to look into getting her into dance!

Little Movers

Andrew got his tricycle from Santa and then his other battery powered vehicle from Grandpa JD and Jamie, and the kids got bicycle helmets from Granny for Christmas, so when we got home, they were ready to try them out! That Monday afternoon after getting home, we got out and did some riding. They were all over the place loving their new gear.

Then we looked up and our neighbors' kids Tyler and Audrey came along in their new Mini Cooper. Ha ha! Tyler still wanted to try Andrew's new ride though and Andrew was happy to share while he got on his tricycle. Here are some pictures of the kids out riding.

Getting home and Getting organized

Each year after Christmas, it is a job trying to figure out where the new toys will go! I'm so happy that this year Jamie and Dad got Lillian a big storage unit from Target with the fabric bins! She needed it for all her Barbie stuff she is aquiring. She is very like her mother with Barbies! I think I played with them until I was 13.

So when we got back, after my doctor's appointment on Monday, I began getting that put together and organizing it all. The shelf works perfectly! And I moved the smaller shelf Lillian had in her room to Andrew's room for his books which had previously been in a drawer and hard to go through.

***On a side note, I wanted to include a couple of pictures of the kids enjoying their new toys they didn't get to open in Alto...Lillian absolutely couldn't wait for me to put together her Barbie Palace, so that was done first before I put the shelf together. Here she is already playing with it. And Andrew was so excited about his Matchbox carwash from Dad and Jamie. It is a daily played with toy here so far! He loves the way it squirts water on the cars!

Christmas at Grandma Teddy's

Christmas afternoon, we went to my mom's house. Andrew was so exhausted from the morning activities, that he fell asleep on the way there. He made it the first 10 minutes, but the last 5 from Rusk, he was out! So we just brought him in and layed him on the bed to finish up a nap.

Lillian would not wait to open presents though, so we went ahead and let him open his up when he woke up. Lillian loved her new princess flip-out couch from Grandma and her new Leapster games from Katy and Clay. She sat immediately and played them on the new couch. She would have loved to open her new Fashion Fairytale Barbie palace from Tory, but we knew it would be too hard to pack up and haul home if we opened it, so she surprisingly let us put it aside!

Andrew woke up and got his new guitar from Katy and Clay, movies from Tory, and Toy Story couch from Grandma. He was very excited!

Then they both dragged their new couches out to mom's big extra room to watch tv. They looked so cute laying in there watching.

We had some more yummy food too that evening and Brandon had to leave around 5 to drive home, but the kids and I stayed through the next day before driving home on Sunday afternoon. Although very rushed this year, we had a fun holiday trip to Alto and always enjoy spending time with my family!

Christmas at Grandpa JD's house

Christmas morning was spent at Grandpa JD's house. The kids were excited to see Santa visited them there as well! Lillian saw her new keyboard waiting and Andrew had a fun riding toy! He was a little wary at first, but then was excited to try it out. Then after breakfast and waiting for Brandon to arrive, we opened gifts. Andrew loves loves loves his new matchbox carwash. He has been playing with it at home lots. Lillian got some new Barbies and other toys she also is enjoying. Dad tried on his new snuggie from Tory.

Jamie made lots and lots of good food! I was so stuffed! We enjoyed visiting with them and my sisters and brother-in-law. And we put together Lillian's new Disney puzzle, which took Brandon, Lillian, and I to complete!

Then we had to rush off to my mom's house because Brandon had to leave by 5 that day to be back home and work the next day.

Happy Birthday, Baby Jesus!

My mom wanted to make sure the kids got the true meaning of Christmas, so bought a manger scene that they kids could touch and a book about the nativity to read the kids. It talked about it being Jesus's birthday. The kids learned to hold up each character in the nativity when mom read about them. Then we had a Christmas cake for Jesus's birthday! The kids sang the birthday song and blew out the candles. That was our start for Christmas in Alto.