Fun with New Toys!

The kids begged all day to ride their bikes and since I unexpectedly played hooky (Lance got caught up at work and the kids are on break for another week and a half), we played outside in the 50 degree "warm" weather. 

They rode bikes for more than an hour and got really good at it!  Katie even said "we are really getting the hang of this bike riding stuff." Tyler likes to go slow and steady and Katie likes to see how fast she can go, of course.  He gets a bit upset when she passes him, but he promptly starts singing to himself and riding and forgets that he is mad.  He fell off a couple of times but caught himself pretty well. 

The wonder wheel that their Uncle Matt bought them was a big hit, too! 

Christmas Morning

Santa was very good to the kids this year and all in all they deserved to be on the "nice list."  

They both got bikes and rode them around the house as soon as they saw them under the tree.  

 Katie's favorite gift!

 The Flashlight Friend was much wanted - they have both used them at night to read in bed (not a good precedent, but it is a holiday week)!

 Tyler got the Switch and Go Dinos that he has wanted. 

 He had a lot of fun putting together the Batman legos with dad - I don't know if Dad thought it was as much fun since it took more than an hour!

 Tyler has been asking for a kindle of his own and since I was gifted with an ipad he got my old one with a new case that we left out for Santa to put it in. 

2013 Santa Visit

We visited with Santa at the Mandy Johnson Photography studio again this year, and had so much fun.  The kids enjoy getting to tell Santa exactly what they want (and that is where I learned that the Hot Wheels Car Maker is a must this year), and I think the pictures are absolutely wonderful!

Round 1

We went to the lake this weekend to celebrate Christmas with my family.  We all had a great time talking and catching up, sitting around the fire pit, playing games, and enjoying the least cutthroat annual Dirty Santa extravaganza ever (at least for our family). 

Classic games like Pick Up Sticks and Twister were a hit!

 New toys that have been wanted for a long time were, of course, really appreciated too! 

Before we left we took a trip out to Opry Mills and Gaylord Hotel to see the lights, and made what is fast becoming an annual tradition - a visit to Bass Pro Shop. 

The dancing lights at Jellystone were awesome again this year, too!  It seems like Christmas was here before we knew it, but I am so glad that we were able to fit in some holiday fun - and there is more to come since Santa is finally visiting tonight after we enjoy Christmas Eve with So So and Ray Ray. 

She's Learning!

Katie has been practicing reading today (we actually are being productive on our unexpected snow day) and she is so proud of herself - and I am proud of her too!  She is doing very well with her sight words and is great at sounding out the words that follow the basic rules.  I downloaded a book on the kindle for her since I would love for them to associate the kindle with reading in addition to games.  I have struggled with maybe reading a few actual books in front of them instead of only on the kindle because "they" say the best way to encourage reading is to set a good example.  Even though I read daily on the kindle, I think they may think I am just playing games like them!  Katie is walking around the house finding books that she can try to decipher and keeps exclaiming "I love reading, I can't believe I can read."  So exciting! 

Snow Day!

Well, we have had a couple of days where snow was predicted and we got nothing but a bit of sleet and freezing rain.  Yesterday/last night not much was predicted, but Lance and I of course stayed up to make sure, and lo and behold it was a really good snow for a while.  We got about half an inch in 30 minutes and even though that is all it was with the exception of some flurries the rest of the night - it was really coming down for a while and made the roads bad enough with the hills and ice that school was cancelled today.  Tyler attempted to make a snow angel, and snow balls as soon as we went outside, but there wasn't quite enough snow.  The driveways, however, were icy enough that we got some "sledding" in this morning in the neighbor's driveway.  We are still anxiously awaiting enough snow for golf course sledding, but for early December this was a pretty fun treat.  All of this will melt soon so it won't be a true snow day (even though the kids are out of school all day), but they were super excited when the woke up to see "all the snow everywhere."  They are having some hot chocolate now and warming up a bit, and maybe we can make it out one more time to play before it all goes away.

We had so much fun at the Rockettes on Sunday with So-So - it was a great show and the kids both seemed to really enjoy it.  Katie has been the last couple of years, but this was Tyler's first time.  He thought the set decorations were really cool, and Katie is still mesmerized by the dancers and costumes and spectacle of it all.  Big thank you to So-So for taking us all this year! 

Christmas Spirit

We are slowly but surely getting into the Christmas spirit.  We put the tree up last Sunday when things settled down after getting back in town. The kids spent almost the whole day in pajamas, but we had a fun, festive day in the house on a super cold day. 

Today, however, was much colder and it just so happens that this is the one that worked out best to put up Christmas lights.  The kids had fun "helping" with the lights, but more riding the jeep power wheel around the neighborhood until they abandoned it in the cul-de-sac because it was "too cold to ride with wind."

Tomorrow we have pictures with Santa and then we are going with So-So to the Rockettes!  We are supposed to have some freezing rain tonight, but it should clear out in time for the Santa visit, and definitely in time to see some high kicks.

Tomorrow we also find out what bowl game Vandy will play in this year.  We are pretty sure that we will be in Birmingham, which will be on January 4th.  We have sitter issues no matter what the date, but I figure we have a better chance on the 4th than we do on New Year's Eve, which is when the other options are.  I say that, but with the Birmingham bowl being at noon that means two nights away rather than one - which is virtually impossible.  Either way it looks like we may not both be able to go to the bowl game, but we have a better chance of being able to take the kids to Birmingham than any of the others so that's what I am (secretly since Lance would definitely like a better bowl) hoping for in the announcement tomorrow.  I love this age with the kids and don't wish for the days and years to go any faster(!), but one thing that will be nice when they are a little older is that I know they will be able to manage trips like this if we take them with us!  On the otherhand, the kids have been pretty defiant and whiny lately (maybe that's why we can't get anyone to help watch them  ;)), that another age and stage may be welcome! 

Seriously, though, all of us getting on each others nerves these days has to be expected.  I am at my busiest at work in December and we added an event this month just to make it more exciting, which makes me stressed and a lot less patient.  Lance is working seemingly all the time, and when he isn't seems to be constantly fielding phone calls, texts and emails about work, which essentially takes away the "parental back-up" element that makes parenting the dynamic duo tolerable.  The weather has been pretty horrible and the kids are stuck in the house more often than not, which can be taxing and they have had a lot going on, too, with school activities and new experiences.  So,  I think all of us are really looking forward to the Rockettes tomorrow, and time with family in a couple of weeks, and the much anticipated visit from Santa, and all of the fun traditions and special festivities in this season - this year the Christmas celebrations and seasonal happenings are much appreciated as a welcome work reprieve and a reminder of what is most important!