Christmas Morning

Santa came! Noah was really impressed that Santa came and left him all these toys. He seemed mostly concerned though that Santa didn't eat all of his cookies. Noah quickly felt the need to help Santa finish them off (before he got to his toys!).

Here's what the room looked like before the Christmas bomb (Noah) exploded.

Noah on his new excavator. This thing is actually pretty awesome. It works just like the real thing.

Future Chef

my goofy guy

Noah loved his new veterinary clinic. It is really cool because it has everything he needs to take care of his pets as well as special keys that open up the little kennel doors. He has to match the correct color key to that same color door in order to open it up. He loved it and quickly went to work putting all of his little animals (and Santa) into a kennel.

Noah with his new Thomas the Train set


Noah's jaw dropped open when he saw himself in his new Sesame Street book. His picture is on every page taking part in the story which is all about Noah and his adventure on Sesame Street.


Noah was a pro this year at tearing open presents.

Daddy and Noah

Mommy and Noah

Christmas Eve

For Christmas Eve, we took a break from our crazy whirl-wind week to spend some quality Christmas time together. Marco got off at noon on that day so we were able to have a nice holiday afternoon and evening with just the three of us. Of course, we had to decorate cookies and make reindeer food. Noah loved both, especially getting to sample his work while he decorated cookies.

Fun!


Ooooh! Yum! Mommy's letting me lick my fingers!

His face says it all!

Noah is hard at work adding the finishing touch to his cookies. Sprinkles!

Oh yeah, I'm having fun!

Let me tell you, my little man is sweeter than those cookies!

Mommy and Noah

Noah making reindeer food-

He really got into it. He loved adding sprinkles and glitter and more sprinkles and more glitter. I had to start hiding the ingredients so we could stop.

I am such a big boy! Look at me making reindeer food for the first time.

Christmas was so much fun this year. It was extra special because Noah has a much better understanding of what is going on and talked constantly about all the Christmas traditions and festivities.

Lately, he has figured out what it means to get older or "grow up." He frequently asks me if he can do certain things when he "gets older" or he will say, "Mommy, I'm getting older every day!" One day he looked at me and said, "Mommy, God is helping me grow." He certainly is and way too fast!

The Guys

Noah and Daddy - Noah has been trying out different smiles lately :)

Uncle Richard, Noah and Granddaddy
Richard and Dad kidnapped my son one day last week to have a guy "bonding" day.
Sounds pretty scary to me!

Mikey's Graduation

Marco's cousin, Mikey, graduated from college this month. The whole family gathered together in San Marcos for a fun weekend to visit and celebrate. Noah had a fantastic time getting to hang out with his Uncle Raul. He totally had him wrapped around his little finger the whole time we were there (Noah has a real knack for that). There were lots of cousins there too, so Noah was able to run around and play with them also. I certainly don't want to forget to mention the absolutely crazy amount of outlet shops that are in San Marcos. We did tons of shopping and still didn't come close to covering all the shops that were there. Oh well, we had to save some for somebody else.

I have to mention this while I'm at it. Marco drove down on a Friday morning with his mom so they could catch the actual graduation ceremony that evening. Noah and I went down later that day after I got off work. Now, if you know me very well, you know that I have never really driven anywhere by myself and driving in unknown or big places scares the pants off me! I think I have a fear of getting completely lost and sitting on the side of the road crying because I don't know where to go. So, this 5 1/2 hour trip was a bit intimidating, but I assured Marco (and myself) that I could do it since we have our handy GPS now. Well, I did make it, and I was so proud of myself (and Noah because he was a trooper!). I fully expected to see a huge welcoming party complete with balloons and streamers celebrating my accomplishment. Unfortunately, there was no such welcoming party. In fact, everyone else was still out partying at some restaurant when Noah and I arrived. So, we went ahead and settled in on the "cozy" futon bed for the night.

Oh yeah, Congratulations Mikey!

Miguel, Delia, Mikey and Andrea

The cousins

Andrea, Mikey & Marco

Lana, Gracie & Mikey

Mikey and Gracie

Noah climbing a pole with the assistance of Uncle Raul

Noah and his Uncle Raul

Noah talked Raul into coming along on our shopping trip even though Raul hates shopping. How could he resist when a pint size cutie pie says, "Go shopping with me Uncle Raul. Come in my car. Bring your wallet" and looks at you with the most adorable brown eyes ever.

Baby Lana and Noah cuddling on one of the "cozy" futons :)

Noah and Lana


The cousins

St. James Breakfast with Santa

Our 2nd annual Breakfast with Santa fundraiser went extremely well yesterday. For those of you that don't know yet, I am now the president of the board of directors for St. James CDC. I was originally invited to come to board meetings to share fundraising ideas (Breakfast with Santa included) over a year ago, and I then joined the board a few months ago. I am now the president with my sweet friend Emily being the vice-president. It is certainly a learning experience, but I enjoy being involved in Noah's school and helping out such a wonderful child development center (It's the best in town!). Although the fundraising aspect is right up my alley, God is using the other parts to stretch me and help me grow. Anyway, for our Breakfast with Santa, we served pancakes and sausage and got the guys to do the cooking. Santa was there to take pictures with the kids, and we had a silent auction on different themed baskets. The children's crafts were displayed around the room and for sale to help with the fundraiser. It was fun and a big hit. We made a great profit and are excited about our next fundraiser. Pizzas are coming, so get your checkbooks ready to buy some pizza in a few months!

This is as close as Noah would get to Santa at first. He talks about Santa all the time, but of course, it's different when you've got to go sit in his lap. Anyway, I did eventually get Noah to sit in Santa's lap and the photographer got a good picture of him.

My child is hardly cooperative when I'm trying to get a picture of him, but I did manage to get a sweet picture of him and Maya. Check out the next one.

Awwww! How sweet!

"Where's my plate?" he says. Of course, he didn't eat anything on his plate.

Here's the proof that my husband can cook a meal. He had three griddles of pancakes going at once.

Dax and Noah playing

Noah and the girls

Christmas Tree

Noah and "his" Christmas tree

my cute little munchkin

Noah loves turning on the lights for our Christmas tree. He quickly runs to turn off the living room lights (which he reaches by climbing onto the couch) and then goes to turn on the Christmas tree lights. For you other mommies out there, I found a really neat little gadget last year (I don't remember where) that lets you turn on the lights just by pressing or stepping on the button. It allows Noah to turn on and off the lights without the danger of an electrical outlet. You may already have one, but if you don't, it's a great find.

The Christmas Story

Tonight, Noah heard the Christmas story for the first time. I recently found a really cute board book about Baby Jesus and a sweet little nativity set that is not too fragile. Together they made a perfect way to tell the story of Jesus' birth to my sweet little boy. He loved getting to move around the figures and he immediately said that he had to rock baby Jesus. My prayer is that this is the first of many many Christmases that we are able to share this story with our son.

Trimming the Tree

Noah got to spend some quality time with his Grandmommy and Granddaddy yesterday at their house. They bought a special tree for the backyard and let Noah decorate it (FYI: we've never had a real tree before b/c everyone has major allergies, so this was very out-of-the-ordinary). Apparently, Noah really enjoyed putting the candy canes on and then taking them off and then putting them on and then taking them off . . . you get the picture. Nonetheless, the tree was decorated and Noah had lots of fun playing with his grandparents and their doggies.

Ah ha! Here's the proof. The grandparents loaded my child up with sugar

before sending him home!

Grandmommy and Noah

my big boy

Oh Christmas Tree!

It's a miracle! My parents somehow managed to get two dogs and a two-year-old to stand still and look at the camera all at the same time!