Holiday Traditions

Each year I take a picture of the boys under the tree before it is decorated and a picture of each boy putting his "Baby's First Christmas" ornament on the tree. Both of the boys have their own special Chrsitmas photo album for these tree pictures, their picture with Santa Claus, and a picture in their holiday pajamas that that they wear on Christmas Eve. We haven't seen Santa yet and clearly it's not Christmas Eve, but here's what I have so far.... the traditional tree pictures!

Thanksgiving

The month of November sure has flown by! It's the day after Thanksgiving.... we're all stuffed, the tree has been put up and the holiday season has begun! We spent Thanksgiving this year at my Dad's house. As usual, Deborah made a wonderful meal! My Grandma McClure, Uncle Eddie, Aunt Charlene and their grandaughter Zoe celebrated with us as well. As I think back over the last year, we sure do have a lot to be thankful for. I'm thankful for the roof over our head, the food on our table, the health of our children, the love of our family and friends.

Garrett Michael

Today is my baby's 3rd birthday! Where has the time gone? It seems like yesterday that I was holding him for the very first time...marveling at how tiny he was and how fair and light he was. I remember asking..does he have eyebrows? ha ha ha!! His hair was so light! Well now those eybrows are much darker and that blonde hair that I love so much is starting to change too! Even though it seems like he's alwasy on the go, that he never listens, that he's always into something or up to no good...I wouldn't change my Garrett Michael for the world! He can be the sweetest, most loving little boy. As he grows out of his little naughty stages, I hope that his kind heart never changes!

We had Garrett's birthday at the pumpkin patch! Everyone had a great time!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

What Can Brown Do For You?

Connor's kindergarten class has been learning about Community Helpers and the kids had the chance to dress up as their favorite comunity helper on Friday. Or in our case, dress as the community helper that you already had an outfit for!! ha ha ha!! I actually bought the UPS Delivery Man outfit last year for Connor's Hallowen outfit because he LOVED spotting the brown trucks when we were out and about. He ended up wearing something else for Halloween and I never got around to returning it, but it came in handy for Community Helper Day!!!!

Labor Day

After the first two weeks of school being so busy and hectic, we really needed to long Labor Day weekend. For the most part, we just hung around the house and chilled out. I put out the Fall decorations (even though it still feels like summer outside)because I love autumn so much. We also went over to Dad and Deborah's for an "end of the Season Pool Party." I didn't get in the water, but apparently, it was pretty chilly. That didn't phase Connor... He put his swimming lesson skills to the test and was able to jump, play, splash and swim all on his own without one of us in the pool with him! (We, of course, were sitting right by the pool with our eyes on him the whole time.) It was a nice day and fun was had by all. Now, bring on the cooler weather!!!

First Day of School

I can't believe my baby is starting kindergarten! He is so excited to be going to school! The best part, according to Connor, is that he won't have to take a nap anymore! ha ha ha!!! These are some pictures from Meet the Teacher Night and from the first day. Of course, I am posting this four weeks later, so in the last four weeks, Connor has done a great job in school! He loves his teacher, loves kindergarten, and loves going to school. Yesterday he came home with a book from the library. He was sooooo excited because it was one that his teacher had read to them in class. He carried it around with him all last night (even took it to martial arts with him), Shawn and I both read it to him, and he took his book to bed with him. This morning he woke up and started reading it again! I hope that he never loses this love he has for learning!

Connor's Birthday

My first born son turned 5 yeard old on August 4th! Where has the time gone? It just sems like yesterday taht I was laid up on bedrest going out of my mind for four months when I was pregnant with him! Connor is such a blessing to us. He truly is a very special little boy.
On his birthday, Connor and I had a lunch/movie date. We ate at non other than McDonalds and saw Ice Age 3 at the theatres. That night he and I, along with Shawn, Garrett, Grandma and Grandpa, went out to eat at Panda Wok...Connor's second favorite...Chinese Food! We came home to open presents and have cake. His birthday cake lookd like a cheesburger! So cute!
Connor's party was that following weekend at the Frisco Fire Station. The friendly firefighters took the kids on a tour of the station. They got to get inside one of the fire trucks and ambulance. It was a lot of fun!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Summer's Gone!

Wow! Where did the summer go? I seriously fell behind in my blogging. Perhaps I was too drained by the intense Texas heat! Here's a quick run-down of our family's events:
Shawn and I took the boys to Glenn Rose. We drove through Fossil Rim Park and walked through Dinosaur Valley State Park. That was about it for our family vacation this summer. At the end of July, we had a going away party for Daniel. He left for his Army Bootcamp on July 28th. Right before school started back, we took the boys to Medieval Times for dinner and fun!
Here's a few pictures from our summer events.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Another First

Since Connor is starting kindergarten in the Fall, I thought it was about time that he learned how to ride a bicycle. Especially since on tricycles and his Big Wheel he was still scooting with his feet and not pedaling. Last weekend Shawn and I made the trip to Walmart (of course) to get Connor and Garrett's first bike. It was a busy week to say the least, so we didn't actually get the boys and their bikes outside until yesterday morning. Garrett wasn't real interested in riding and I didn't push that issue....my goal was to get Connor up and going on his bike. (He has a tendency to be more hesitant than his fearless little brother.) As was expected, he was a little unsure at first...having not found his balance and not being comfortable sitting up so high (he wanted to try Garrett's little bike....no sir!) So after a few minutes of just sitting on the bike and getting a feel for it, reassured that he wasn't going to fall off, we were ready to start moving. This brought out more fear, but I'm not ashamed to say that he was bribed into keep trying ("If you don't ______, you won't get to go see Daddy's martial Arts class" always works wonders!)
At last he got moving! He was actually pedaling! He was steering! He figured out how to stop himself! He was having fun! He was riding his bike! I was so proud of him! We went all the way around the block...Shawn, Garrett and I walking along beside him while Connor rode his bike. Later that day he wanted to go out and ride his bike again! Shawn took him for another ride around the block. This time he had is first crash! He turned his head around to look for Shawn and ran into a rut between the grass and sidewalk. He fell over, scratched his knee, and got right back up and on his bike again! So proud!

Back Yard Fun

So this afternoon Shawn took the boys out in the back yard to play catch while I worked on balancing the checkbook and paying bills. (How lucky am I????) After a little while of peace and quiet I hear, "Carrie, come look at Connor!" As I turn the corner to look out the back door (which is in the breakfast nook right off the kitchen), a blast of water sprays my kitchen floor! Connor had taken over the water hose! As it turns out, the game of catch turned into a water hose war! Shawn, in his infinite wisdom decided to turn the water on the boys while they ran around the backyard and went down the slide on their swing set. Normally this wouldn't have been an issue, but they were in their sneakers and good clothes! Oh well... it all cleans up and dries off...even the wet grass that now lines my tile floor. All that matters is that the boys had a great time playing in the backyard with Daddy today!

Body Art

So after weeks of deliberation, Shawn finally went and got a new tattoo today! He has been wanting one on his back for a while now and since Father's Day is coming up, I finally agreed. (Agreement was on spending the money for the tattoo...not whether to get one or not. It's his body...)Anyway, it actually turned out pretty cool looking. Ask me again in 20 or so years if it still does though. ha ha ha!!!!

Playtime!

Today after the last day of Vacation Bible School, I took the boys to Celebration Park in Allen, Texas to play with Kristi's boys and some of her friend's kids. Connor and Garrett had a blast! There was a huge playground and a splash pad with squirt toys and water sprinklers! I didn't even mind sitting out in the heat knowing that they would get so tired out from fun in the sun that they would go to bed early!

Daniel's Graduation

Well...he did it! It was touch and go for a bit this last grading period....but he pulled it off! Daniel graduated from high school!!!! Shawn and I are very proud of his hard work and smart choices. What takes most people four years to complete, Daniel did in three! He only went to high school for three years! He had a lot of wonderful teachers and friends that I know made his time at Ryan High School very enjoybale and very memorable for him.

We had a big turn out at the graduation ceremony. Relatives from both Shawn's side of the family and Daniel's mom's side of the family came out to see him walk across the stage. We were especially excited that Aunt Joy and Tiffany came in from Kingsland and that Grandpa Bob came all the way from New Mexico for the occasion! After the ceremony, pictures, and well-wishes, we all parted ways for the afternoon with plans to meet back up at our house later that evening for the party. Friends and family who weren't able to make it to the ceremony came over for the party too. Other out of town family members, inlcuding Shawn's mom, called during the party to give their congratulations. A fun time was had by all. And boy, did Daniel rake in the gifts! I think he counted over $400 in cash and gift cards. Grandpa Bob gave him a real nice watch. Daniel's mom gave him a cross necklace. Shawn and I had given Daniel his present, a digital camera. a couple of weeks early so that he could take it with him to prom. I also bought Daniel the book Oh the Place You Will Go by Dr. Seuss and had everyone at the party sign it for him. May not be much to an 18 year old kid now, but I hope that it will become a special treasure for him in the future.

It almost feels like the day after Christmas. All the planning, preperation, stress, and anticipation has come to an end. The party is over, the trash has been picked up, leftovers are in the fridge, pictures are being developed, thank you notes need to be written. (Is it bad that I gave him a little template to follow for those notes? ha ha ha!) Daniel has a little less than two months to enjoy this last summer of freedom before his new adventure in the Army begins.