Santa Claus is Comin' to Town

Well we have embraced the holiday mood around here- tree is up and decorated, stockings hung, gingerbread house made and presents all bought! So now we are just enjoying it. Jace loves to drive around to see all the Christmas lights so we spend a lot evenings driving around trying to find the best lights.

Here is Kylie in her Santa hat.

These are some pictures that came home from school with the kids. You cannot see it too well here but Kylie's hat says Feliz Navidad- yep we live in south Texas. And then Jace's made us laugh forever. Who is the only kid in the picture who you cannot see their face? Yep that's ours (he is in the very middle- just a forehead).

I debated whether or not to take the kids to see Santa- Jace is not into standing in lines and I was not sure how he would do with Santa. At school they typically have one so I figured we would just do that. Well of course they did not do it this year. Then I started to feel guilty that Kylie would not have her baby picture with Santa. So Steve almost took her on his day off, when we found out that Bass Pro Shops brings one in where they give you a free picture, let you take your own the same time and no lines! It sounded too easy but luckily it turned out that way. The set-up was a lot nicer than I thought it would be, Jace sat on Santa's lap, but did not smile, and Kylie just hung out. Pretty successful in my mind.

And on other news not Christmas related- Kylie has moved on from cereal to fruits and vegetables. Here she is with her first veggie- peas. We started fruits with applesauce yesterday and of course she was a fan, but who would not be after peas, green beans and squash.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Well, nothing quite gets you in the spirit of Christmas like a snowfall. We got some this Friday (the earliest Houston has ever had). It was enough to give everything a good coating. They closed the schools early so Jace came home and played with dad while Kylie and I stayed warm inside. Jace was so excited about wearing all the gear that we could not get him to take off his hat and gloves once he was inside.







Steve made some hot cocoa- well lukewarm for Jace since he does not like anything remotely hot (see his hat and gloves are still on).

Steve thought he would try to take the dogs for a walk in the snow. Ellie hates the cold since she has no body fat, so Steve put her sweater on. They got as far as the edge of the garage and she would not go any further.

Kylie has started to be able to sit on her own. It is not for longer periods of time, but she can definitely balance better. She has also gotten where she enjoys of the exersaucer as well- something else to occupy her.

We started cereal a week ago. She is not too keen on it yet. Most of the meals end with her spitting it on me and her.

Jace made his first Gingerbread house today. I did the frosting but he did all the decorating on his own. He is very proud.

A lot to be Thankful for

We spent the week in Mississippi with Steve's family for Thanksgiving. It was a really great week. With two small children you just never know how travelling will go. Of course they both have colds so I was worried about their ears- but I am thankful neither of them had issues. Kylie slept and Jace was entertained- I am also thankful for that. In fact when we landed today Jace pointed to another plane and said "ride that one next." A lady even commented how good they both were- I was of course worried she had just jinxed it.

Jace loved being at his Meme's. I wondered how spoiled he was going to get. He was the center of attention a lot but never really acted up too much. The weather was great- cool but not too cold to go outside, which was good because Jace loved running around and playing in the leaves. Here are some pictures from the week.






Before we left we put up the tree. So when we got home today we got out the ornaments. Jace loved getting them out of each box. He hung a couple up but was content to let mom and dad do that part.



Kylie continues to be a trooper. At one point her nose was so red (because it was constantly running resulting in constant wiping) that Steve was affectionately calling her Rudolph. But all the while she was just smiles.

Always something

I guess with two small children I should expect no different, but we seem to be sick a lot lately. Nothing bad (so far) just lots of snotty noses, coughing and a low fever every once in a while. It all started 5 weeks ago when Jace got a runny nose and cough. Then it spread to Steve and I. Kylie got the runny nose. Two weeks ago Jace wakes up from his nap with a fever- went to doctor and he has pneumonia. Early last week his lungs are clear again and he is down to just the runny nose, Steve and I are feeling better, and Kylie is good. End of last week Kylie got her runny nose back, and Jace has the cough back (never got rid of the runny nose). Ugh... It is always something.

So that all being said, our doctor got swine flu shots in and I debated getting it. We obviously are germ magnets, and Kylie cannot get it so I felt like we all needed to get it to help protect her. Though there is such a shortage that the people at the daycare still cannot get it. So we all got it- the nasal spray. As we are filling out the paperwork I am asking questions like, "since the nasal is a weakened, but live virus, do we have to worry about exposing Kylie" and the nurse at first said she would avoid kissing her or any close contact the next couple days.. what? then she retracted and said it was very safe- that is why they were suggesting it for all parents for children under 6 months. As if the stress was not enough worrying about Jace being harmed by the vaccine I was now worried we would actually be giving it to Kylie. So far we are all ok. Jace had a small fever Friday night, not really sure if it was related, but nothing one dose of Motrin could not cure.

Saturday Jace and I went to Disney on Ice. He had a lot of fun- based on the fact that he only got slightly bored once. I had fun as well- I love my Disney movies- I knew all the songs. On the way home I was singing Little Mermaid and Jace says "me no like it." Nice- gotta love kids' honesty.

Neverland

We started Saturday morning with a trip to Dewberry Farms. It was a little bit of a trip (about an hour), but Jace had a lot of fun and the weather was gorgeous. It was pretty muddy since a front had come in the day before, so luckily I packed extra clothes.





Jace was a dragon for school activities, but Peter Pan for Halloween night. I had seen this Tinkerbell costume for Kylie back in August, and could not resist. And since Jace is not really old enough to have too much of an opinion on the matter he was Peter Pan. He really got into Halloween this year which was fun. We practiced saying "trick or treat" up the driveway but when someone answered the door he went mute- maybe next year. We just went up and down our street. After coming home he was excited to hear the doorbell ring- he would say "kids coming."





Kylie rolls to her stomach now instantly almost every time we put her down. The downside- she does not like being on her tummy, and she has not figured out how to roll from her stomach to her back. Not a big deal except for when she does it at 4AM. If she is real tired she finds her thumb and goes back to sleep, but often times she just gets super mad. With Jace he liked sleeping on his stomach and once he was rolling we could not stop him, so this is all new to us..


Jace has been suffering from a runny nose and cough for over three weeks. I called to take him in last week to the doctor, but the nurses convinced me that since he did not have a fever or having a hard time breathing there was not much they could do for me. Well Sunday he woke up from his nap with a 102 fever. The poor thing was having chills and throwing up. Luckily by the early morning the fever broke. The next day we took him in and he had a slight case of pneumonia. Poor kid. So the last two days we have been home with him. I took him up to the school today and he looked up at me with those big blue eyes and said "momma, go home", so we turned back around. By noon I felt like a sucker- he ran around all day and had to be convinced to take a nap. Oh well, luckily the weather was nice so we spent a lot of time in the backyard.

Girls weekend

Well as I am writing this Jace and Steve are on their way back from Mississippi. They went to go visit Meme (Steve's mom). So Kylie and I hung out this weekend, just us girls. It is amazing how you somewhat get used to all the chaos, so when it is quiet it is kind of eerie. I only got these pics in, because amazingly we stayed pretty busy doing all those things mommy never seems to have time to do and then those that she always seems to be doing (like laundry). Next weekend is Steve's birthday, so we have a sitter on Friday night to celebrate that, and our anniversary a little late. Then of course Saturday night is Halloween, and depending on how brave I feel I might take Jace out to Dewberry farms that day. Chaos is just around the corner.

Oops I almost forgot. Kylie turned from her back to her stomach this weekend- first time. No repeats yet. She can also sit up a few seconds on her own- she really hate to be laying back so she is always working out those ab muscles.

The other day one person said Jace and Kylie look nothing alike- I tend to agree. But then someone thought they had the same eyes. So I decided to do a comparison. I guess they do look a little a like, but she definitley has much chubbier cheeks!