A Visit With Santa Claus

We waited this year to visit Santa Claus until we went to California so my parents could experience all of the joy and fun with us.  So the first morning we were there we got the boys dressed in their cute Lightening McQueen Christmas shirts and headed out to the mall.  We figured morning would be best because it would be less crowded and we are always in a better mood in the morning.

Doesn't Evan look thrilled to be there.

Ethan did really good, he just sat very still.  You could tell he wasn't too sure about what was going on.  As Jeff was getting him all settled, I was still holding Evan and could feel the grip of his legs getting tighter and tighter around me.  I knew he wouldn't sit in Santa's lap so I  just sat on the arm of the chair and held him as he screamed to get as far away as possible.

Poor baby...it's just so sad to see him so afraid.

After the drama of picture taking we went to eat Chick-Fil-A in the food court...there is nothing that cures a bad experience like Chick-Fil-A!  I know I will look back on the Santa pictures and smile/laugh one day {we had the same experience last year}...maybe we'll have better luck next year!

Christmas Eve

We had a pretty low key Christmas Eve.  We didn't make it to church due to the boys being crazy off schedule with the time change from Texas to California.  Instead we enjoyed our night hanging out with my family, eating yummy chicken pot pie crumble, and driving around looking at Christmas lights.  The boys got to open up one present...their new Christmas jammies and after bath time we attempted to get a cute family pic.  Because I think the outtakes are quite hilarious {and a pretty good representation of what life with twin two year olds is like} I have included them for your viewing pleasure...

Ethan not too thrilled with the idea of having his picture taken.

We're outta here!

One out of four smiling.

After very little success getting the littles to sit and smile, the adults finally got a clue and figured a distraction might do the trick.  My mom got a bell and rang it near my dad's camera and we got a few good ones...

Love this last one of my little fam!

Breakfast at Gigi and Pawpaw's House

My brother and I used to always sit at this little spot in my grandma's kitchen to eat our meals when we were visiting my grandparents.  Although it was many, many years ago I can still remember it as if it were yesterday.  Funny how seeing your children sit in the exact same spot and do the exact same thing can bring back a whole bunch of memories.  I love that my babies get to experience some of the same things I did as a child, visit their great-grandparents, stay in the house where their Gramma grew up and where I visited so many times.  Can't wait for the next time we get to go to Gigi and Pawpaw's house again.

{It's hard to see but the highlight of this breakfast was the new Cars placemats, plates, bowls, cups, spoons and forks the boys got from my parents...definitely makes any mealtime a fun one!}

From the outside looking in...

Good Morning Gigi and Pawpaw.

Are We There Yet??

On the Thursday before Christmas we flew to L.A. to hang with my side of the family for the holidays.  This was the boys third time to fly but the first where they actually had their own seats...YAY!  We flew out of DFW and the boys had fun riding the bus from our parking lot and then hanging at our gate while waiting to board the plane.

We had our cars to keep us busy.

And our blankets to drag around {all over the dirty floors...making Daddy oh so happy}.

A little Netflix on Mama and Daddy's phones to kill some time.

Christmas Came Early

Since Christmas is in California this year with my family, we decided to do our own little Christmas at home before leaving.  There was no way I was dragging all of their toys with us, and most were too big anyway.  Jeff's dad came up on Saturday morning, December 17th so we could all celebrate together.

The night before the boys and I made these yummies to put out for Santa.

While I was frosting most of the cookies I gave Ethan and Evan their own to do.

Ethan totally loved it...

...and Evan {Mr. Clean} not so much.  Notice the cookie sheet is not in front of him {he didn't want it} and the cookie is already frosted...I had to do it for him and then he was happy.  No mess involved for him and then he could happily eat it.

Licking those fingers to keep them oh so very clean!

Putting the cookies out before going to bed.

I think it was a little hard for the boys to comprehend what we were doing...really they just wanted to sit by the fireplace and eat all of the cookies.

We left some carrots for the reindeer too on our front porch.  Can you tell we've done a few pictures on the front porch?  The first thing Evan did when we went outside was sit and smile at Jeff so he could have his picture taken.

The next morning we woke up and had donuts and Starbucks and opened our presents.  This basketball goal and basketballs were by far their favorite thing...we could have gotten them nothing else and they would have been completely happy.

Grandpa got them a cool Cars tent and some trains.

Little People Barn

Wheelies Ramp to go with the insane amount of wheelie cars they have.

New Baylor Bears and more cars.

The big present for them this year was their new train table...which they love and play with all of the time.

It's the perfect height for them them to stand or kneel at and has provided hours of entertainment since getting it.

We LOVE our trains {playing with our other little tracks we had before the table}.

It was such a fun time spending the day together as a family and with Jeff's dad playing with all of our new toys!

So Proud to be a Baylor Bear!

I think there has never been a time I have been more proud to be a Baylor Bear!  Women's Basketball is ranked #1, Men's Basketball is ranked #6, our football team is 12th in the nation and the icing on the cake is RG3 winning the Heisman...it's such a fun time to be a Baylor fan!

Just another reason why I love living in Waco is that I get to experience nights like tonight.  Jeff has been in Houston all week for work so our friend Teresa joined me for our men's basketball game.  Robert Griffin III came out at halftime with his trophy to a full house of crazy excited Baylor fans.  It was awesome seeing a video of his highlights and video of fan reactions to him winning, listening to him talk to the crowd, and hearing everyone shout "one more year!"  It was an awesome, once in a lifetime night.

The boys are quickly becoming huge Baylor fans...we start them young around here!  THIS VIDEO on YouTube is played many times throughout our day.  Whether it is during a diaper change or just walking around the house carrying my phone...it never gets old.  Usually the watching is accompanied by the boys yelling "FOOTBALL" "RG3" and "GO BEARS."  They were great at the game {even though it was right at their bedtime} and loved the bear, band, cheerleaders, watching the basketball get thrown around and eating tons of POPCORN!

Right after the game Teresa {who works at Baylor} used her connections to get us a quick glimpse of the Heisman Trophy.  Of course Ethan and Evan chose this exact moment to decide to be tired and cranky but it was still amazing to see and get to take a few pictures...

Not the most exciting pic of me {I'm pretty sure I was talking to Teresa} but I love Evan's bewildered look..."Really mom we're sitting here taking a picture with this statue? So not my idea of fun!"

My tired boy...doesn't he look thrilled?  Someday they will hopefully think these pictures are pretty cool!

It's been such a fun football season, I am loving going to all of the basketball games right now and can't wait for the Alamo Bowl on December 29th...Sic 'Em Bears!