MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Merry Christmas! Well we had a very good Christmas this year. Jack was very excited about Santa coming, unfortunately Ben was sick on Christmas eve. He started on Tuesday afternoon running a fever and by Christmas Eve it was up to 102.5. I ended up taking him to the doctor on Christmas Eve morning just to make sure it was not his ears. It was just a virus that had to run its course. Needless to say he was pretty puny on Christmas Eve at Gran's house. Jack was wired on the other hand. I don't think he ended up going to sleep until about 10:00.

Christmas morning Jack was up and ready to go at about 5:30 (normal time for him, I will never understand how he has so much energy). Santa got the boys a giant crab sandbox. The first thing Jack said was "Elmo!". We did not correct him, so as far as he knows we still have a giant Elmo sandbox in our backyard. Of course, it was raining Christmas Eve/morning so Santa very wisely delivered the sandbox inside and left the sand on the back porch.

Having fun in the giant "Elmo"

The other big item from Santa was the ball popper. If you have kids and do not have one of these may I suggest getting one. This by far has been the most popular toy of the Christmas stash. Later in the morning Gran, Doda, Kiki and Gigi came over for breakfast and we opened more presents with them. It was a great morning for the boys, and then they were ready for their nap.

This Santa guy is good mom, he brought me PUFFS!

Christmas night we went and had dinner with the Rose family. Of course, they were eating at 3:00, and we didn't leave our house until 3:00 and then we were 3 minutes from their house and remembered we forgot all of the presents. We had to go back to Lexington and didn't end up at their house until after 4. Punctuality has become sort of an issue with us lately. Luckily, they are laid back and didn't mind the fact that we were almost an hour and a half late. They helped us all get our plates and get the boys fed, which was great. The boys got to open more presents there and it was just almost too much. I think they were in present overload. Jack woke up on the morning of the 26th at 4:00 and asked Jon "Where presents?"

It was a great Christmas!

The Lights Before Christmas

We decided that we needed to take the boys to see Santa. I however refused to go to the mall and stand in the lines that I had seen while we were out shopping. We decided it would be a nice family outing to go and see the Lights Before Christmas at the zoo (even better we didn't have to pay since we have the family pass to the zoo!). We got to the zoo before most of the traffic started and the first thing we did was get in line to see Santa. Luckily we were only about 5 people back in line. Jack was very excited about Santa, until we but him on Santa's lap. He was a little unsure about what the heck was going on. Luckily neither one of them cried. We then walked around the zoo and saw all of the lights. It was a great night to go because it was so warm. I think the highlight of the night though was the fact that we got to see the "ELEPHANTS". There are not enough words to explain how much Jack loves elephants. He is always asking where the elephants are, where is the baby, etc, etc.

"Mom, you better not leave me on this guys lap, even if he is Santa."

We even got to see a pony. Jack was very excited to pet the pony, until the pony sneezed. All that he could say after that was "Pony sneezed, he sick." It was a very cute pony. I was glad that they had some of the animals out.

After the zoo we went with Gran, Doda and Kiki to Salsaritas for dinner. The boys were just about on their last leg, but it made for quite an entertaining meal as usual.

"I just cannot take anymore of this Christmas joy!"

Less than One Week

I cannot believe Christmas is less than a week away. I really need to be wrapping Christmas presents instead of blogging, but it will still be there to do tomorrow! I had to work a little bit late tonight so Jon and the boys came and picked me up and we went to Mellow Mushroom for dinner. Going out to dinner has become more of an adventure these days than a fun outing. Luckily tonight we got there early and they stashed us upstairs in the corner where we couldn't interrupt to many other people. At one point in the night Ben was screaming because we wouldn't let him eat crayons while Jack had climbed under the booth and was screaming "I'm stuck." Later Jack become one of "those kids" who likes to stand up in the booth and watch the people next door that are eating...great. I have become the parent of one of "those" kids. It was inevitable...
Ben met some "ladies" while we were out. He spent half the night turned around backwards in his highchair smiling and laughing with the 3 girls who were sitting beside us. It was very cute. He is still in his cute, sweet, quiet phase thank goodness. When they are both under the table, I am going to be in some deep trouble.

Tree Lighting

Every year the hospital has their tree lighting and the kids at the daycare get to come and sing songs. This Tuesday was the day for the tree-lighting. I took the afternoon off of work and headed over to the hospital. As I was walking up this is what I saw.

Yes, that is Ben riding in the front of the buggy (the one with no hair of course). The poor teachers had to push babies all the way from the daycare to the hospital (it is not that far, but try pushing 8 kids in a big buggy).

Since Jack is now one of the "big" kids, he got to ride on one of the buses to the hospital (all the way through the parking lot). We saw him as he was getting off the bus, and I think that was the highlight of his entire week. One of his teachers even told us the next day that she had never seen a kid so excited about a bus ride.

The kids were all there in the shirts that they had made at school. They all looked very cute. They sang three songs and helped countdown the lighting of the Chritmas tree. Lots of the hospital employees were on hand, as well as a few local news "celebrities". Gran, Gigi and even Sean came to see them perform. Jack did more performing than Ben. Ben ended up sitting with us. Overall it was very cute. I am sure it is just the first of many Christmas performances that we will be attending.

Jack - 2 years and Ben - 9 months

This is how we measure up after our check-ups on Tuesday:

Jack

Weight - 26lbs 8 oz - 31%

Height - 34 inches - 53%

Ben

Weight - 18lbs - 11%

Height - 28 inches - 35 %

Head - 45 cm - 41%

The doctor was a little worried about Ben's weight because he hasn't gained much, but the poor kid has been sick for the past two months with ear infections. He has just gotten better in the last two weeks (yeah, two weeks with no medicine!!). His appetite has definitely picked up.

Other than that, both boys were looking good. Jack had so much fun he even asked the doctor to examine him again...that kid is such a hypochondriac.

Jack's Birthday Party

We had Jack's birthday party on Sunday. We just invited family, not quite ready to have a bunch of little people over for a birthday party yet. It was fun. He got some neat toys and some John Deere boots to wear when he goes to feed the horses (aka: hehe's).

He did a great job of opening his presents, so I am sure Christmas will be really fun!

Happy Birthday Jack!

Well it has been two years since Jack Langston made his appearance on this planet. I cannot believe what a little man he has become. He is so smart, sweet and funny. It is a laugh a minute around our house. It is so hard to believe what he is capable of at just two. I am looking forward to what the next year will bring, but I miss my little baby boy!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Turkey day has come and gone once again. Hard to believe that Christmas is only one month away. We had a very uneventful Thanksgiving. We went to Gran and Doda’s house for lunch on Thursday. Ben and Jon were both sick. Ben was running high temp, and Jon went to the doctor on Wednesday with a sinus infection and bronchitis. After lunch Jack and I went with everyone for a walk to Uncle Buck’s to see the horses. Jack had a wonderful time. He enjoyed tromping through the woods and seeing the “hehe’s”. While we went on our walk, Jon and Ben took about a 2 hour nap, they both needed it.

Once everyone was up and ready, we went to Mrs. Rubianne’s to get our Christmas tree. Jack was exhausted and fell asleep after about 2 minutes in the car. Ben was starting to head down hill fast so we kind of had to make it a quick trip. We did end up with a beautiful full and very FAT Christmas tree. By the time we got back to Gran’s house Ben was in a full fledged fever, however, it did not stop him from eating another big meal before we went home! By the time we got home his fever was at 102, and later during the night it was at 102.7. He was not feeling well at all.

Overall though we had a very good Thanksgiving. We are very thankful for many things including our family, friends, house, jobs, food on the table, clothes on our back and the laughs we have every day!