December (Pre-Christmas)

Early December finally brought us some chilly weather so everyone got new puffy jackets. I cannot resist a good set of matching/coordinating clothes for all the kids! 2015 was also the year of the Scooter for our family.  Boston saved up and bought one with his own money; Cade and Avery each got one for their birthdays, and Hudson inherited Boston's old one.  Boston and Cade ride theirs to school everyday, and all the kids enjoy riding them for fun when the weather is nice. 

We attended a live nativity in Waxahachie with some friends.  The whole town of Bethlehem is recreated with every part of the Nativity acted out, complete with lots of live animals and hands-on activities. One of the shops we visited was a clothing merchant where the kids enjoyed trying on costumes!

Jamie had a fun breakfast with friends one morning, supporting our friend Bryan (yellow pants) in his battle with lymphoma.  Jamie didn't shave his head like all the others…due to the large scar he has right down the center of his head. He showed his support by bringing his clippers and playing the part of barber, though!

I started blowing Avery's hair straight with a round brush and blow dryer after her baths, and then suddenly she was 16 years old. 

Oh my Boston Michael…I love these photos I snapped of him as we sat at the park visiting after school one day.  He's usually off running with the pack of kids; I can't even remember why he was sitting with me.  I treasure these pictures.  My boy who first made me a mama. Sometimes I let myself worry about the future when he won't need me in the same way, won't want my company quite so much.  But then I force myself to return to right now. He still wants me to lay in bed with him at night, where we talk about his day, his friends, his hopes and dreams.  He still doesn't like when I'm away from home.  He likes his family to all be together.

I got to sneak over to the school to attend both boys' Christmas parties.  The last several years I have been so involved in the PTA; I'm used to being the one running the party.  This year, I admit, it has been really nice to just be able to attend and enjoy the parties with my boys. (Although I'm sure I'll get more involved at the school once I have three kids there next year!)

I just have to mention this about Cade's grin.  Recently we asked him why he has started keeping his mouth closed when he smiles.  He responded that he doesn't want to mess up the picture with his teeth! I think that is both funny and sad. I told him I love his teeth! His gaps, missing teeth, and half-grown permanent teeth really tell the tale of the stage of life he's in.  But still, he prefers not to show them =) Jamie and I always tell the boys they have way straighter teeth than we did when we were young! Hopefully they don't get our bad teeth genes.

Jamie and I got to get all dolled up and attend the Match.com Christmas party.  The last few years we've used this occasion to also celebrate our wedding anniversary, which is at the end of December.  We stay in Dallas the night after the party and spend Saturday together, usually finishing up Christmas shopping. This year the party was at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science.  The entire museum was reserved just for the party.  We explored exhibits on each floor, stopping for roast and a macaroni bar near a mammoth skeleton, sliders and chicken & waffles among geodes and crystals. Good food, awesome venue, handsome date.  It was a nice night. (Still, sleeping in a comfy bed with black out curtains and no children to wake me up in the night was probably my favorite part of the weekend!!)

Pajama day at school, always a favorite.

Lastly, a quick Christmas photo shoot behind our house on a Sunday afternoon:

August and Back to School!

A few last hurrahs before school started in August…

Date night! We haven't really established relationships with babysitters since moving to the new town. Plus with my new work schedule and all the house projects and family responsibilities this summer has brought…date nights have been harder to come by.  Who am I kidding? Getting away with a young family at home is always challenging, period. But its important for our relationship (and mental health!) so we try to make it happen. 

Also, Jamie hates selflies and usually looks awkward, so let's appreciate that we have this photo at all to remember a great dinner with friends:

Later that weekend I had a sleep over with my best friend, Jesica, to help her with her toddler and one-month-old twins while Evan was out of town. I pretty much had one or both babies in my arms the entire time; those girls like to be held! It was almost like playing house…holding, feeding, changing, and dressing someone else's babies. And I made muffins and played with Alice in the morning while Jes was getting ready. Twins are nonstop work, but so fun to snuggle these tiny babes.  (And so nice to go home and take a nap the next day!)

Ahh Girls Weekend…an annual tradition we started last year. We meet in Waco for a few days of shopping, pampering, eating out, laying in bed with snacks and chick flicks, sleeping in…and most importantly just having a break from the constant responsibilities of our homes and young families to recharge! There's talk of future trips that are longer, include bigger cities or more sight-seeing (New York? Europe?!) but honestly, the best part is just being with these ladies and having some girl time. All our pictures are pretty much selflies, because: girls weekend!

The next week we took one more trip to the water park with Jamie before it closed for the season. Then, In and Out for dinner of course!

I try not to let Avery take naps anymore because she is such a BEAR at bedtime if she does sleep during the day, but sometimes she just can't make it through without a cat nap! And I don't mind the snuggles at all.

Then it was time for Back to School! Growing up, I always hated starting new schools (which I did often since we were an Air Force family), and even just starting new grades at the same school. Luckily, my children don't have that problem! They were super excited to start at the new school in our neighborhood.

First Day of 4th and 1st Grade:

The first day, I hardly knew what to do with just the 2 little ones at home again, so we made banana chocolate muffins for the boys when they got home!

They also had this funny conversation:
Hudson: Avie, who's your favorite brother? 
Avery: Boston 
H: No, who's your favorite, Boston, Cade, or me? 
A: Cade 
H: No Avery, who is your FAVORITE brother...Boston, Cade or me? 
A: You! 
H:Yesssssssss! That means I can sit by you at lunch!! 
A: ok!

Every day I am so glad we moved so close to the school so we can walk the boys to school in the morning. The first day we all got up and dressed, but since day two, it's been mis-matched pjs and blankies for the win!

Hudson is starting to get really interested in doing workbooks and learning his letters.  I am pretty laid-back when it comes to pre-school learning, so I'm letting him lead the way. He likes writing the letters and doing his "schoolwork."And he's my first leftie!

That one time I threw some laundry in the washer and Avery wanted to watch:

Catching Up: May

Not sure what was happening here, but they were all playing nicely, so I'll take it!

First single pony in the back. I died.

This was the best picture I got from Mother's Day! Don't remember where Avery was or why she wasn't throwing a fit that the boys were on me...

I chaperoned Cade's field trip to the Fort Worth Zoo. It was a nice cool day, thankfully! All the boys liked the reptiles the best.

When you show up at church wearing coordinating outfits with your best friend...

For Jamie's birthday, we went out to a Hibachi grill.  Whenever we eat hibachi, we have to reminisce about the first time we took the kids to a place like that, thinking they would love it.  They were TERRIFIED.  The fire and smoke was just too close and scary for them (they were about one and three at the time). I pretty much spent the whole time in the lobby while Jamie waited for the food to be cooked and boxed up. This time was much better! Everyone was excited to watch the "show." Boston even tried to catch some egg that the chef tossed. Such a treat for all of us and a fun night to celebrate Jamie.

I just love this picture of her. Those curls and cheeks!

Memorial Day weekend we went to Austin for Jamie to run a sprint triathlon with two friends. We stayed at Erin and Jeff's, even though they were out of town. We spent some time Sunday at their awesome neighborhood park:

Monday was the race! They ended up canceling the swim portion of the race the night before due to dangerous conditions in the lake (Texas has had so much rain this spring! The current was too strong and there was too much debris in the water). But they still did the bike and run, and we loved being there to cheer them on. 

I forgot to bring a stroller, not thinking about how much walking we'd be doing.  Luckiliy, one of our favorite babysitters, Cara, was also there with us cheering on her dad, so Avery had a personal attendant!

 Boston earned his Wolf rank in Cub scouts.  His den leaders were so kind and held a special mini-pack meeting for him so he could get his award before we move.

I'm not a huge scouting person, but I do love the focus on developing character and learning new skills and being responsible.  It has required Jamie and him to do some projects together, which is always good for Boston.

These two little monkeys and I had to go to the new house for a walk-through one day, so we stopped at Wendy's for a lunch date on the way home. Mmmmm frosties….

I had to include these pictures because the lesson in church that day was about how Sunday is a "delight." Then we came home and the usual Sunday evening melt-downs occurred:

Maybe whoever said Sundays are a "delight" didn't have 1:30-4:30 church with four children and a husband who's gone all day due to his church responsibilities?? Just a guess ;)