Christmas! And stuff...

There's a lot to catch up on! I feel like it's been non-stop celebrations here at our house between birthdays and Christmas. So, we've had us some good times! A week or so before Christmas I thought Matthew might have fun making a gingerbread house. I was right. He sampled all of it and had a really great time putting the candies on. I think he was disappointed that I wanted to use it more as a decoration than as a treat to be eaten. It just sits on the table and teases him.

My dear husband celebrated his 34th birthday on the 21st. We had some friends and family over for pizza and cake. Steven scored an awesome Longhorn Snuggie. Jealous?

Christmas Eve we had Steven's parents, Tim & Pam, and Bryan & Sarah and the girls over for an early dinner before the Christmas Eve service at church. Those little girls love to hold William.

And Matthew loves those cousins of his. I like Caroline's expression in this one. She was playing Santa and saying ho, ho, ho while Mary Claire was sitting on her lap. Matt went in for the tackle.

We even got a Jones family portrait that evening before Will headed off to bed.

Matt did pretty well at church. He enjoyed all the singing and seeing the words up on the wall. He loved all the decorations up in the sanctuary as well. He got wiggly through the pastor's message but managed to stay still while holding his candle at the end through the singing of Silent Night.

After church we came back here for dessert and coffee and to watch those kids run around in their jammies. Mary Claire could hardly contain her excitement about Santa's arrival, it was really cute.

Christmas morning Matt came into our room before entering the living room. I think he was expecting to find Santa in the living room when he walked out there. He didn't quite understand the timing of everything. Well, Santa did come and he did leave lots of good stuff for both Matt & Will. Matt got some awesome Legos that Will enjoyed as well. Will got a busy ball popper that may be the most loved item from Christmas this year. All the kids who have come over since have been fighting over it.

After our lovely Christmas morning here at home we went out to the Moran's. Mary Claire immediately greeted us with the news that Santa had brought them a trampoline in their backyard. So that's where the kids were all day and night. The girls all jumped in their new fabulous princess dresses. And check out Uncle Tim out there. He got completely trampled by all the kids.

We also played some Beatles Rock Band. SO fun.

We had a wonderfully delicious dinner that was followed up with caroling and a tasty Happy Birthday Jesus cake. Matthew was a bit delirious at this point of the evening since he'd been without a nap on such an exciting day. We finally headed home and he passed out in the car.

It was such a great Christmas. My favorite part is just being with my family. God has given us such a great family, we are truly blessed.

Naked baby on a bear rug!

What, what?

Fun Stuff

Well, mulching leaves may not be Steven's idea of "fun stuff", but it was pretty adorable watching Matt out there mowing right along with him. Serious work.Our good friends the Prewitts came into to town this past weekend, and we thoroughly enjoyed their visit. Matt & Mason played like they were old buddies and really had a great time together. Our plans of doing fun, Austin, outdoor activities were ruined due to the cold, soggy weather. We were hoping to do Zilker park, but it was just too gross outside. I think we still had a nice weekend though--we went to Hula Hut on Friday night to celebrate Amber's birthday, and Saturday morning we took the kids to the Children's Museum. It was packed in there, but Matt & Mason had no problems running all over that place and seeing everything. It sufficiently wore them out and they all took long, luxurious naps that afternoon.We enjoyed some BBQ that evening over at Tim & Pam's house and rocked out to Beatles Rock Band. And yes, we actually convinced both Josh AND Amber to play with us. It was amazing. And fun!William tried to make friends with Anslee (6 mos.) but I think really hurt her feelings more by taking things from her and trying to pull up on her. Somehow she didn't appreciate that. What I like is that Anslee is slightly taller than Will, and Will is nearly 5 months older than she is. Our little wee man.Birthday and Christmas have come early for one Steven Thomas Jones. It was a landmark week here at our house. My husband purchased a MacBook. After months, and years really, of research and painstaking decision making along with a little peer pressure from his friend Josh & brother, Tim, Steven finally pulled the trigger. He is proud. I hope all his computer dreams have come true.I attended Joy's annual cookie exchange party on Sunday, and it was again another smash hit! So many women. So many cookies. No fights broke out once the grabbing of the cookies began, but some of the plates were empty by the time I got around to them. Good thing there's a recipe book! It was really a lovely evening, and now I have all sorts of delicious cookies to snack on. Zach & Ava came over to our house to play while the party was going on. I just love this picture. I have no idea what's going on, but that face is awesome.Lastly, Matt's last day of preschool for the year was yesterday. They had a Happy Birthday Jesus party. I had to show up for that! Here, all the kids are singing "Thank you Jesus" and you can see some of them clasping their hands and bowing their heads with eyes closed. Not Matthew. He was too busy gazing at the crowd of parents in front of him and grinning. It's almost Christmas, y'all! And I haven't even done Christmas cards! Maybe I can get to it this week? Hope so because poor Will will look back one day and say, hey how come every year up until I was born you sent out a photo Christmas card? Yeah.

Advent, Breakfast, Singing

This is our first year for an advent calendar. I had one growing up and loved it so I wanted my children to experience one as well. Matt took right to it. Naturally, he is thrilled with the idea of getting a tiny little present everyday. It's the first thing he does in the morning. Sometimes even before he comes into our room. We'll hear him go grab a chair and drag it over to the calendar to retrieve his prize. Then he'll come running into our room to show us what he got. So cute.And this has been our breakfast table recently. Matt wants to sit right next to Will. Basically so close that their chairs are touching. He likes to tear up bits of food to feed him too like he sees me doing. Will takes it really well and enjoys it most of the time. In this picture he's doing one of his side bends as I like to call it. That baby is full of chatter. Loud chatter. All sorts of consonant sounds and vowel sounds. He's crawling all over the place, too. The only thing I have to keep shooing him away from is the night light in the hallway. If it's quiet and I can't see Will I can safely bet that he's sitting in front of that night light.Last night Matthew had his preschool Christmas program. It was a very brief performance; 3 songs I think. Matt looked so dapper. He's there in the upper center in the brown argyle. He sang loudly and even did some of the hand motions. His grin was so big once he spotted us in the crowd. Tim & Pam came to see him too, and I know he was thrilled to have such an audience. This morning was Matt's 4 year well check at the Dr. He's 41 pounds (90%ile) and 41 inches (50%ile). A square? Dr. Brown said he's looking like he'll be a little stocky. Matt impressed her with all his skills even though he couldn't be still for the life of him the whole time she was talking to him. Dr. Brown asked Matt if he watched any TV. His reply: "Yeah! I watch a lot of TV!" Thanks, Matt. Way to blow it. I then had to explain that yes we do put limits on his TV viewing. The appointment went well until we got to the shots. The first one went in and I thought he was going to be okay but then his little face just melted. He screamed through the second one and then continued to scream once the nurse left. It progressed into his possessed scream and nothing I was saying was calming him down. He stopped once he got to pick out a prize and get in the car where his blanket was. Then he thought about it a little more while we were driving and cried a bit more. Not surprising. Steven & I aren't needle fans either. I can't say I blame him. Shoot, I was glad I didn't get light-headed just watching him.

A Big Saturday

You can tell it's December...the activities are like non-stop around here! Friday night was our church Sunday school party, and then Saturday morning was Tyler & Ryan's birthday party. It was at a huge warehouse type place that was full of the hugest, craziest bounce houses I've ever seen. Matt was more than excited. Will had a great time too!I lost track of Matt for large periods of time while we were there. He had to try them all out, and he was also trying to keep up with Josh Brown and Ava. The pizza lunch went down pretty quick so more bouncing could be had. And then there was delicious cake. I like this picture of Josh, Matt and Brooke shoveling it in.It was an awesome party. We came home for naps and then braced ourselves for the football game. I'm not going to talk too much about that--I'm just glad we won! The stress level was high around here. The Reners joined us for the evening, and the kids were adorable as usual. They helped me give Will a bath. And then later we couldn't resist taking pictures of them in front of the tree. Aaawww.

Chuy's Parade

Our Thanksgiving weekend was made by complete by attending the Chuy's parade on Saturday. It was another gorgeous day and we enjoyed the sights of downtown Austin. Matthew & Will had their first walk through the Capitol building.We always meet up with the Rener's at a certain spot so the kids can watch the parade together and eat each other's snacks. Thankfully the daddies were with us this year since Matt & Ava both wanted to sit on their shoulders to get the best view. Matt was not the kindest to the top of Steven's head. Or his glasses. That boy just can't be still.Matt's favorite float was the Mr. Potato Head one.At the end of the parade the kids got to run out and give away toys to Blue Santa for needy children. We had a nice time with our very good friends. The Chuy's parade made us hungry for Chuy's. So we left the parade and had lunch there. What a great day!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Day Steven & I tried out something new. We did the Turkey Trot for the first time that morning, and it was a very enjoyable experience. We are not runners by any means, so we were glad to find out that most of our fellow Austinites on the race with us weren't either. So, we enjoyed our 5 mile jog/walk around the UT campus. It was a beautiful morning. Yes, Will was in his Halloween costume. It was the warmest thing I had for him! The boys both did really well. Matt only asked to get out once and walk and that lasted all of 2 minutes and he was back in the stroller. He was happy to sit in the stroller and gorge on snacks. Will slept and then peacefully looked around and clapped. Steven & I were very glad we did it; not only did the exercise feel good but it was all for a good cause as well. I think we may have a new tradition on our hands.After we got cleaned up we headed out to Bryan & Sarah's house for Thanksgiving dinner. Sarah's parents were there and Zach & Joy joined us as well. Sarah made a beautiful meal that was so delicious and we enjoyed it all evening.The kids thoroughly enjoyed playing with each other as usual. Matt & Caroline chased the bunnies around in the back yard for a long time. He loves them. I'm glad he can go visit them at their house. Matt did pretty well hanging with all those girls. It gets a little sketchy for him once they get out the dress up clothes and play princess or baby. At one point I know there was a wand fight in the back yard. I think Matt was the target. I'm thankful that boy is easy-going. He will be thankful when Will gets bigger and little Henry gets into the mix.Ava put on some very impressive performances in the living room. She likes to sing her own songs that she conjures up in her head complete with arm movements and twirls. Naturally, Matt didn't want to join in but he did his best to irritate her and get in her way. Her stage was centered around the ottoman and he kept moving it or sitting on it. She was annoyed to say the least. It was comical.While we were stressing over the UT game the kids watched a few movies upstairs. They were so cute all cuddled up together. I miss seeing Audrey's sweet face in that mix of cousins.
Our Thanksgiving was wonderful. It was a really nice day with our friends and family. I am thankful for all the amazing people that God has placed in my life. I am so blessed!

Festivities

Friday at Matt's preschool they had a Thanksgiving feast complete with a small program of the children singing, or shouting a few songs. I think maybe the performer has come out in Matthew just a little bit now. In past events similar to this he has just stood there and wiggled around but not sung or done the dance moves. This year he gets it. And I love it. I'm still working on uploading a video I shot of it. Hopefully I can get it to work out. Cuz' it's funny, y'all.Saturday morning we got to celebrate Ava's 4th birthday at her house with lots of her family and friends. Joy made all manner of delicious breakfast foods, coffee and hot chocolate. Matt was most excited to gobble up a chocolate iced donut with sprinkles. Then, there was a game centered around donuts. That's a game that a guy like Matt can hang with. And excel at. The kids were instructed to eat their donuts without using their hands. It proved impossible for this 8 and under crowd, so everyone resorted to holding onto the string above and then munching. Matt was an animal. He destroyed that thing.Will of course was spoiled and got handed from one set of loving arms to the next. That boy seriously made the rounds. He even got second breakfast from Rachel. I'm pretty sure he polished off whatever was on her plate. It was soggy and wet outside so we had the pinata beating in the garage. That made it extra fabulous! Ay, ay, ay! Ava's cousin, Cole, was the one to finally finish it off. Matt is still not a natural athlete. Bless his heart. But, the boy can knock out a beat on the drum set! Heh.After that fun we all gathered round and sang to Miss Ava and enjoyed some wonderful birthday cake. It was a sugar-filled morning and a great party. I can't believe these kids are 4!In other news, my dear, darling husband shot an 8 point last Thursday. He's so proud. And our freezer is about to be bursting with deer meat. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!