A Christmas To Remember

I was very happy to wake up to a white Christmas morning. I woke up around 8am very excited to get Lincoln up. Although this is technically his second Christmas, I feel it is the first one where he would be excited about what Santa brought.

Santa brought Lincoln a Dyson, stool, wheel barrow, big blocks and a tricycle.

You can see that we had to wake him up for Santa!

When he came out, he looked at all the stuff and ran right over to the trike. He said "Lincoln's bike?" I think he would have been happy if that was all he got. He was not interested for a while in opening anything else. Finally we sat him down and showed him how to tear some paper and that got him interested. Here he is opening his books, he just loves them.

He also got a remote control car and loved that as well.

You know how he loves to be in the kitchen, so we got him an apron set.

We got done opening around 9:30 and then it was time to start preparing for the day ahead. It was our first time to host Christmas at our house and I was pretty nervous. Most of all I just wanted to make sure I showered before people showed up, haha.

While Linc played with his new toys, Craig and I got busy in the kitchen. On the menu for this Christmas lunch was pigs in a blanket, fruit and cheese trays, pulled pork, sweet potato balls, cole slaw, broccoli cheese rice (Linc's fav), beans and a slew of desserts. We had to get all this set up on the tables before people started showing up at 12. It was a task, but we got it done with about 2 seconds to spare before the first bell rang.

We had about 16 people over at our house and it was a big success. We even played a game before everyone headed home.

Family photo from the day. Linc was a little tired since he only got a 45 min nap that day.

My mom and I taking a load off.

Linc cornering Ryan with his trike.

Linc playing with Halmoni and goldfish.

Ginger playing the toss up game with Linc.

Ginger, Ryan, Linc and Bob.

The Gabbard Family (Craig, Cory, Doug, Chad & Yong) and Daisy.

Dad and Mom. Adam and Chris (cousins). Mom, Ginger and Bob. Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, Chris and Adam.

Paula was also there but somehow escaped the pictures. It was a lot of fun, it is so sad it is only one day. I am so thankful to have such a wonderful family to spend such a special time with. We have been reading Lincoln the meaning of Christmas book and he knows that it was Baby Jesus' Birthday today. What a sweet little guy. Hope you all had a great Christmas!

A White Christmas Eve

We woke up Christmas Eve morning to find snow falling from the sky...in TEXAS! Rarely do we ever get snow and most of the time it is in January or February, so we were very surprised. It was perfect timing. It was also nice that we had time to enjoy it. Both Craig and I were off and we had all our shopping done. Thanks to Paula, we had most of the baking prepped for Christmas Day. So all we had to do on Christmas Eve was hang out and get ready to go to my mom's at 4pm.
Here we are in the backyard just as the flakes are starting to fall. You have to look really close, but they are there.

That hat makes me look bald.

Now you can see it a little better. It was fun, but very cold.

It has been a tradition since I moved out to go to my parents house on Christmas Eve. We normally bake fudge and prepare a few dishes for the next day. And we also get to open all our presents from them, which is fun! This year we were having Christmas at my house, so my mom helped me prepare the sweet potato balls for the next day. This is what the snow looked like around 5pm.

Linc, my mom and I enjoying the pretty snow on their back porch.

Family Snow Photo!

My mom's tree with all the gifts.

Linc is a bow head.

Mom is a bow head.

Craig the camera man.

Getting ready to open the gifts.

Baby Santa, so cute!

I got a pig from my aunt when I was two and it ended up being my bff when I was growing up. I named him Piggie (I know, super original) and he went everywhere with me. So my mom said that when she saw this snoring pig, she just had to get it for him. She did good job because he loves the little guy.

Linc first big lego set. He loves the set he got for his birthday, so I knew he would love this one too.

Craig and I opening our Roomba. We were so excited to get this, our dog sheds so much we just can't keep up. Oh and do you like Craig's hair cut? Good, because I gave it to him (with a little help from Craig's mom).

Ginger and Ryan.

It was a great night. We all enjoyed spending time together and opening our gifts. When we finally went home, it really looked like a White Christmas out there, it was so pretty and slippery. The Christmas post will come soon!

Park Surprise

You know how I love to find new parks for us to play at, well I found another one. I have seen this one a lot when coming home to our house via Vickory, but we have never stopped by. I got out early on Wednesday and decided to pick Linc up for a little park time. I know how much he loves to be outside and it was a very nice day for a park visit.

There was only one other family at the park which was nice. That gave Linc ample room to explore and not get distracted by the other kids. This park was kinda like the secret park on the trail in that it had a toddler side and an older kids side. Linc explored both and even crawled up the wrong way on the big kid slide. The park looked fairly new, within the last few years at least.

It was very colorful, that's for sure.

There was also a huge bridge that we will have to visit when daddy comes next time. And a lot of field space.

He really loved the swings and going up and down the stairs.

I think the highlight of this park visit was when the train passed by. Linc was in awe, this was the first time he had seen one so close. I crouched down beside him as the train when by and he kept saying "train, train" and pointing. He did not move until it was gone. He is really into trains and loves his electric Thomas the Train set he has. I can't wait to see what park I discover next, this is fun.

Gift Exchange Toddler Style

Check out the last two posts! At the beginning of the season, Niki suggested that Lincoln and Avery exchange gifts to get this in the giving spirit. We also wanted to show each other our decorations so the Brawley's came over on Sunday night to see our house. I made up a pot of my oh so yummy chili and Niki brought over the dessert. But the highlight of the night was the kids opening their gifts.

Here they are waiting for their presents.

Getting ready to unwrap the gifts.

"Oooosha" A sound that he says a lot when he is working hard. It is something Halmoni taught him.

Daddy to the rescue. If this is any preview for Christmas Day, daddy may have a lot of presents to open.

Yay, books!

Avery and her Fairy book. Oh and Molli's tush.

Yay for books!

After we opened them up, Niki read all the books to the kids and they had a good time enjoying them. After I put Lincoln down we enjoyed some game time of our own.

Monday it was our turn to go over to the Brawley's house. They have a ton of decorations, unlike us, and it looked so great. I wish I had gotten a picture, but I'm sure one will show up on her blog soon. Philip even made us some cookies, super yum! Christmas is almost here!