Reclaiming Disputed Territory

Hosting Thanksgiving at our home was such a blessing.  Aside from the great company, it was the impetus for major changes around here.   Since we didn't know what the weather was going to be like, Kyle and I had to accommodate 17 people for Thanksgiving dinner inside. So, a little bit of rearranging was necessary. 

First we got rid of the baby chairs to clear some bar space.  I love having a place to put things when I get home. It is also nice not having crushed cheerios and macaroni slime all over the counter and chairs!

Remember the dining room/2nd play room??

Well, all of that stuff is finally cleared out. We moved in the breakfast table and chairs and the boys are enjoying this "fine dining experience"!

Okay people, ignore the complete lack of style in the room...you need to focus on the fact that you can actually eat here now!  I know...its bad...I'll work on it.  Maybe Candice Olson would like to come to Austin and help me make it look more like this.

Photo from Good Housekeeping

 

We also reclaimed some cargo space in the Suburban by getting rid of this behemoth. The boys were getting too heavy for me to push around in that thing.  Plus, they are so good now about holding hands in the parking lot.

 

I am so happy that the downstairs is starting to look less like a daycare.  Although, it's a little sad that the "baby phase" is truly over.  Okay, not sad enough to go through it again!

Big Boy Beds

Right after Christmas (and right after Kyle's 6 coats of red paint) the boys made the move to big boy beds!  I am so thankful that they were not climbers and stayed in their cribs for so long.  But it was time to say goodbye to the cribs, changing table, and stripes!!

I love their new bedding, but man is it wrinkly when it comes out of the dryer even if you stop it early...who has time to iron bed linens???!!!    

The boys did amazingly well with the change. I was really dreading this, but everyone is still a good sleeper at night and stays in their bed until the morning!

We have since swapped out the box springs for much lower profile ones so that they don't have to pole vault into their beds :)  I still need to work on the room decor and will take some more pics when it is done.

Sweet dreams big boys!

Christmas 2009!

For posterity I am posting a recap of our Christmas festivities. 

This year because of my brother's schedule we changed things up and did Christmas Eve at our house and waited to do Christmas with Gigi and Papa on Christmas Night.

First, we decorated some cookies for Santa. Whoa, hope he likes sprinkles.

Of course, Carter has his cars with him.  He turns them over so they won't drive off of the table :)

Then we opened our annual Christmas Eve present...pj's and slippers.  They were so excited for Santa's visit!

The best part was showing the boys a very special book.  It had a place to record yourself reading the book.  The boys thought it was too cool hearing Mimi and Papa's voices!  

Davis kept trying to talk to them as if it were a phone! 

After 3 rounds of that, it was off to bed so Santa could take care of the bidness.  Santa tried to show some restraint this year, so he didn't have to stay at our house too long :)

Christmas morning the boys woke up to discover that Santa drank all the milk and ate most of the cookies.  He was nice enough to leave them a few bites though ;)

They opened presents and immediately played with everything.  They worked Davis's new Thomas the Train puzzle. But really the whole point of working a puzzle is to jump the puzzle!

Everybody's favorite were the Disney Cars Haulers from Mimi & Papa.    Evan got Mack for Lightning McQueen (or as the boys call it "Lightning and The Queen").  Carter got Grey, the Hauler for The King (or as they say "McCain"...I think they got that from all of the election coverage I always had on!)  Davis got the Chick Hicks hauler.  He likes Chick because he is green.  I don't think he really cares that Chick is the villain.

The Lightning and The Queen towels were also a big hit (thank you Wilkies!).  Are you sensing a theme here??

After presents we changed out of our PJs, had some yummy cinnamon rolls, and Kyle and I just enjoyed watching our bright-eyed boys.  Next on the agenda was the stockings (always my favorite!).

Later that evening it was off to Gigi and Papa's house for more Christmas fun.  We took the annual pj picture there.  The boys were so happy that Caleb was matching them this time.  Here are the best ones we managed.

What a fun and blessed year!

We Three Kings

Alright, I am going to finally catch up on the last 2+ months of blogging...

They Spankys' had their first Christmas program at preschool before the holiday vacation. The entire school paraded in as wise men and laid gifts down by the baby Jesus. Then they all stood up and sang a few songs.

It was so sweet, I almost got teary. That is until I saw Carter put his finger in his nose...ugh. Luckily, I saw a bunch of other kids do it too and I don't judge their parents for it :)

They were very proud of their crowns.

By the way, I am a total sucker for things in threes (hence the snowman T-shirts).

Merry Christmas to All!

Wishing everyone one a warm and safe Christmas! We are truly blessed to have so many wonderful friends and a family full of love.





Evan:

Carter:


Davis:

Our First Snow

This was the first time the boys experienced snow! Even though there were only a few flurries, they just had to go outside and play in it.



Yes, they are in their pajamas.

They were so incredibly happy despite the fact that it was sooooo cold, and I didn't have any mittens for them :(

Thanksgiving Festivities

I had the pleasure of hosting our very first Thanksgiving at our house this year. It was so nice to have family from both sides attending. Unfortunately, I didn't get many pictures. This is the only one we took...Evan, Carter, & Davis enjoying a pre-dinner smoothie.



Kyle's dad sent this one that I just love...




That is 4 generations. Isn't that so neat?

Anyway, it's a good thing we enjoyed Thanksgiving day because the wave of sickness hit our family. Carter started with a high fever and Kyle wasn't feeling great himself. Turns out Kyle had pneumonia and was laid up for over a week. Evan and I are still coughing now 3 weeks later. I just hope everyone gets well in time for Christmas!

Earlier that week, the boys had their preschool Thanksgiving party. I volunteered to make the cookies because of Carter's allergy. You know, just simple roll-out/iced cookies.

This was my first time ever to make "iced" cookies and probably my last. It's a good thing I had some beginners luck, and they turned out kinda cute. But man, they took FOREVER!



I don't know why I just can't enjoy "the process" of baking. Maybe someday. The kids loved them though so that made me happy.



That little girl in the black shirt WAAAAY in the back told her mom that she likes Evan. Last year another little girl said that Evan was her "big teddy bear". I just think it is too funny. They must like a man of few words :)

Happy 95th Birthday Grandma!

So this post isn't about the boys, but I was happy to get a break from them back in November and go to my Grandma's 95th birthday lunch in Gruene. We had a great time, and she is just as sharp as ever.



I hope to make it that far myself, but she had 3 girls.



With my 3 boys, I'll be lucky to make it to 35!

Seen & Heard

The boys' preschool has chapel time once a week. I have to assume Carter is paying attention because when we were leaving school we walked into the parking lot and he said "God made all these cars!" and then stood there in awe.

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Maybe the boys are watching too much TV...the other day Davis started twirling and said "I'm Bal-la-lay (ballet) Davis."

Then, I let them choose new toothpaste at Target, and they opted for the sparkly pink Dora one. I just love that they have almost no concept of gender really at this age. But at the same time they are so instinctively drawn to cars, trucks & trains.

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I was putting their shoes on and I said "Aww, Carter, do you have a runny nose?" Davis chimed in and said "No, it's just a walking nose."

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I'm a Rocket Man

The boys have been having a BLAST with the rockets they got from their friends Mallory & Hadley for their birthday.




They are such little boys now with endless energy and wild imaginations.


They also got some cool shirts from their Mimi & Papa. The Spanky's think they are just too cool because these little lights blink when they run!

A Motley Crew

Happy Halloween! Okay, so this is officially my longest blog absence ever I will try to get caught up over the next few days so that I can share some more timely updates from Christmas.

So, I was lazy this year and did not try to think of anything too original for the boys' Halloween costume. We just went with the pirate costumes that they got from their Mimi & Papa for their birthday. They thought it was really cool to be a pirate though!


We finally got the hang of trick-or-treating after a few houses.

Evan and mommy:


Davis and Daddy:

Carter & Papa:


Once we got home, I let them each have a piece. Carter chose what appears to be a Christmas sucker...someone in our neighborhood is pretty cheap! He enjoyed it nonetheless.




Our neighbor was so nice to take a picture of our whole family that turned out pretty cute...oh, and she is not the one that gives old candy :)



Davis continues to ask me, "can we can go trick-or-treating tonight?". We haven't quite grasped the concept of annual events yet :)

The other day I asked them what they wanted to be for Halloween next year.

Davis said, "A buzzy bee!"
Evan then chimed in with, "a butterfly."
And then Carter rounded out the theme nicely with, "a LADY BUG!!!"

Do I dare be that cruel to them next year??!