Santa!

So...I know I haven't been the best blogger lately. I'm working on it.

We finally made it to see Santa today. I've been really hoping to get Jack's picture made with him, but I just wasn't willing to go to the mall and wait in line forever until Jack got so distraught that he would only scream when we finally made it to the front of the line. Last year we went to a local toy store that has Santa visit one Saturday and you can bring your own camera and take as many pics as you like. We missed that day this year, so I went in search for another free Santa picture opportunity. Last Friday, we went to a Christmas Festival thing in downtown Round Rock in hopes of a picture with Santa. It was really fun and much bigger than we thought, and we couldn't even find Santa for a long time. When we finally found the line, they cut it off. So, alas, still no Santa picture. Today we found that Santa would be wandering around the outlet mall near our house and so we set off in search of the elusive free Santa picture! We found the big guy right away, sitting on a bench. As soon as Jack saw him, he made a beeline for him, and when the boy sitting on Santa's lap was finished with his requests, Jack began chattering away. He knew he was supposed to tell Santa what he wanted, and he did. He asked Santa for a snowman, which is all we've heard when we've asked what he wants for Christmas. Santa agreed that a snowman would be nice since it was 80 degrees here today! He wasn't scared of Santa at all, and carried around his candy cane that Santa gave him proudly. (He still doesn't really understand that they're edible, which is fine with me!) I think it was actually good that he saw Santa later in the month, rather than earlier. If we had gone at the beginning of December, he probably would have thought it was Noah! (It took him awhile to get those two straightened out!)

Here are the pictures we took today. Merry Christmas!

Welcome Baby Clementine!

Matt's sister Jill had her baby yesterday, November 11 at 5:51 pm. She was 8 lbs. 12 oz. and absolutely perfect! We're so glad she's finally here. Jack's working on saying Clementine. So far he's got Clem-baby. :) Here are a few pics of the little cutie!

Trick Or Treat!

Jack had a great time trick-or-treating around our neighborhood, and he was especially happy to have Aunt Jenny join him!

It's Pumpkin Time!

But as you can see from Jack's clothing choice, it's still pretty warm here. But that's okay. We had a great time at the pumpkin patch! Happy Fall!

Spoiler Alert!

We got Jack's Halloween costume today. He was so excited and when we tried it on he loved it! He's gonna be a FROG! We saw a frog on our front porch one time a few weeks ago, and now every time we go outside he looks for it. He walks around and looks in the bushes and says, "Frog! Frog!" Then finally he says, "Night Night." I guess he figures the frog is asleep. This is his phrase for anything that is off limits or gone away for awhile. It's "Night night." :) Last night we were playing in the front yard and some people we don't know were walking by, and Jack made sure to tell them about our frog!

So here's the frog!

Warning...I'm gonna Brag!

I know it's annoying when people always talk about how smart their kids are, but I just have to brag. So if you don't want to hear it, stop reading!

Jack has really been talking A LOT lately, and every day he seems to have a new word or two. It's really fun to see and hear all the books and songs and nursery rhymes we've been saying all his life come out of his mouth. He knows the colors red, blue and sometimes green. He can sorta count with me. He can name almost all the words in all his picture/word books. He knows the letters in his name (only the ones in the bathtub, but I'm still impressed) and attempts to put them in order every night in his bath.

Today I was reading a book with him that has babies making different faces/emotions. I was yet again surprised when he looked at the angry face, and made an angry grunting sound. Then he did the same with happy, sad, shy, sleepy.

He also likes to interject prayers when we're praying before dinner or bedtime. He like to list all the people in his family, but every day he prays for guitars, boots, and sometimes elephants and dogs.

This is such a sweet time in our life with him. I am so thankful for the precious little one God has blessed us with. Life is Good!

The Simple Things...

So I know, it's been awhile...I'm not too good at this. But I'll try to be better.

Today I've been thinking about how it's truly the simple things in life that are the best and create the most lasting memories. This afternoon I was cleaning the dishes and Matt took Jack outside in the front yard to play. He started watering the grass, and Jack decided he needed to help. He is a major helper--I know all kids are to an extent, but he helps me with laundry, dishes, sweeping (kind of) and they tell us he does this in Bible class too. Hopefully it will stick! So, anyway, he's watering the grass with Matt and he started spraying himself with the water hose. By the time I came outside he was completely soaked. We were all laughing so hard, but we did manage to snap a few pictures. That boy is so silly! But he makes my day--every day. I'm also including some other silly pictures.

*Some of you know that Jack broke his leg a couple of weeks ago. He got his cast off on Tuesday (He's still talking about it: "Boot. Off. Boot. Off.") He's just starting to walk again, and he's still limping, but we're just excited that he's walking, because he wouldn't for the first few days the cast was off. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers on that one!