Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve we went to our church's candlelight service. Drew went to "big church" with us. He did pretty good during the service. Of course, the high"light" for him, was when he got to hold and light his candle. Those few minutes sure make a mom nervous. Especially since our church has recently been remodeled (due to damage from Hurricane Ike last year). He did great, but I was happy to have the candle blown out.
Then we went to my parent's house for the first round of Christmas. Rebecca received the flashlight she asked for (what a thing for a 2 year old to ask for) and Drew got a remote-controlled helicopter.
We went home to have some family time and made hot chocolate and read the story of Jesus' birth. It was a wonderful Christmas Eve.

They love to watch the fire!

Bob and his "sweethearts"

Tuh Tuh and her favorite boy

Yeah, a family pic!

My babies

The wait is over

Christmas Fun Continues

Last Saturday, Santa made an early stop through our neighborhood. He'd even "upgraded" his sleigh for a nice, red convertible. Brett took Drew and Rebecca to the end of our block to wave hi and get some candy.

Then some friends of ours told us that our "rival" church, First Baptist, was having a Christmas Carnival. They had a wonderful carnival with LOTS of bounce houses and bounce slides, a pony ride, a petting zoo, a hayride, a cookie making station, an ornament making station, and a real nativity complete with a camel. It was wonderful and we hope they have it again next year. Super fun!

Drew on the pony

Becca made the most of her pony riding experience by raising her arm and saying "Yee Haw"!

Feeding the camel

Daddy, Drew, and the camel

We tried to take the hayride, but the tractor got a flat tire :( These pictures were before we got the bad news!

Drew's Christmas Party

Last Wednesday, Drew's class had its Christmas Party. The children decorated cookies and played Bingo. Drew loves his school and we are pleased as well. He has made several new friends. He loves his teachers. This month his teacher sent home an easy reader and when he finishes one he is able to bring home another. It is fun to watch him learn to read. It has been a great first semester of Pre-K.

working hard to make the perfect cookie

Enjoying the fruit of his labor

Rice Village Christmas Fun

Last Thursday, Kelly and I made our annual trip to Rice Village to take part in their Christmas Celebration. The kids met Santa, sat in his sleigh, got balloon animals, rode on the little "train", had their face painted, and visited the petting zoo.

Sitting in Santa's sleigh
Drew, Becca, and Kelly ready to ride the "train"

Rebecca and Santa (I am not sure where his mouth is!)

She sat on his lap, but wasn't too sure about him!

Drew and the Santa that only has eyes!

When Santa asked him if he'd been a good boy, it was great. Drew knew not to lie so he didn't say anything and then looked at me and asked if he'd been good. Hopefully Drew's name will switch from the naughty list to the nice list so Santa can come to our house. Lately, minding parents has been tough for my little 5 year old.

Finally, Party Day!

After what seemed like months of planning for this party, the day finally arrived. Drew asked for a Star Wars party almost the minute after his last birthday was complete. He never wavered so I did what every parent who has never seen Star Wars and could care less about it would do. I threw myself into a crash course of Star Wars. Of course, my Star Wars loving husband was quick to help out!

This sign (along with lines from the movie playing on the computer with speakers outside) greeted party-goers at the door. A favorite line of Brett's was when Darth says,"We've been expecting you." Fitting! Drew's expression summed up his feelings about his party! I love this picture!

All the children were given lightsabers (made from pool noodles) and a Jedi robe so they could enter Jedi Training School.

Rebecca trying to practice her orb training

This scene was a frequent sight. The kids loved "battling" with their lightsabers.

Corbin is ready to take on TWO Storm Troopers.

Even cute girls like Sarah Grace enjoyed themselves.

Will brought his own costume to the party.

Darth trying to fight a Jedi (Robert)

The party in full swing
There were tie-fighters to shoot with a water-gun, orbs to hit with lightsabers, an asteroid hunt to find Star Wars stickers, and the end of the party consisted of hitting the Death Star pinata that Brett made.

Darth trying to scare Amanda

Drew and his lightsaber cake

Food consisted of lightsaber cake, lightsaber pretzels, and Yoda Soda.

Blowing out his candle

Darth and his Death Star Pinata

Thanks to everyone who came to help make Drew's party such a success. We are lucky to have fun friends and neighbors! And a huge thanks to our neighbor, Peter, for helping take such wonderful pictures!

I am glad that everyone had a fun time, especially my birthday boy. However, I am scared for what he will be into next year!

Birthday continues

We went out the next night with my parents and Kelly. Drew got to pick and to no one's surprise, he chose Fuddruckers. (He likes the arcade section.)

It was the letter "g" week at school and on Friday the kids were to wear something green. I had just the right thing for him to wear!

Drew's 5th Birthday

Drew's birthday celebration continued on his actual birthday, November 5th. Bob came and took him to eat lunch and play at Chick-til-a (that is Chick-fil-a Drew style, one of the last "cute" mispronunciations left). Dad even splurged for a shake! Then Dad took him to play at Chuck-E-Cheese. Wow! A pretty good day. My birthday is coming up. Wonder where Dad will take me on my birthday:)

I asked Drew what he wanted for dinner on his birthday. I was afraid he'd say something like McDonalds, etc., but that sweet boy wanted PANCAKES and EGGS. He was so excited to get breakfast for dinner.

Drew loves to hear the story of his birth. I am sad to say that I was out of it and don't remember much. But I try to tell him what Brett has told me. He loves to hear how loud he was crying. I can't believe that 5 years ago I had a baby and now I have this little boy. He gets into trouble from time to time, but I think he is wonderful and we are so blessed with him.

Drew's Birthday Eve

Drew was able to kick off his birthday with a celebration at school on Nov 4th. The PTO delivered a cake at snack time. Rebecca and I joined in with the fun. We stayed (as it was near pick-up time) and got to see a little of what he does at school. It was fun to watch him play with friends. It was also great to see him with Rebecca. In these situations he truly becomes the "big brother" and tries to "help" her and watch out for her. When they were lining up to go outside, he had his hands on her shoulders and was "encouraging" her to wait in line. He is such a wonderful boy!

sweet siblings

on the playground

his last day to be 4

A couple of weeks ago his school held teacher conferences. I was so excited to hear how he was doing in school and if there was anything that we needed to work on. His teacher said he was doing great, nothing to work on. He knows all his sounds, but isn't quite ready to read yet. My favorite thing that she told me was how happy he is at school. She says he comes in everyday with a smile on his face and is so agreeable. I wish I could take credit for that attitude, but we all know that it comes straight from Brett. What a wonderful trait to pass along to your son!

Halloween

For Halloween, our street got together for food and fun and then we went trick-or-treating. Rebecca really got the hang of it this year and both had a wonderful time!

The trick-or-treaters
Mommy, Darth, and a duck!

Daddy, Darth, and a duck!

with the mask