The Weekend

Our weekend was once again a busy one. I'll start the weekend review with Thursday evening. Thursday evening Trumon and I drove into Dallas to meet one of my oldest, dearest friends Rustin Richburg for dinner. Rustin currently lives in London, so needless to say, I don't get to see him very often. Rustin is quite possibly the most hilarious person I've ever known, and I have a lot of characters in my life, so that is really saying something. We were joined for dinner by Rustin's mom Carmen and friend Jeff, who are also both riots. We had a great time catching up and reminiscing. I didn't want to leave, but we had a sitter and Trumon had to work Friday morning. Friday evening, we hosted a Christmas party for Trumon's staff. It was great to do something for them, they have worked really hard this year and we so appreciate all of them.

Saturday, we went out for breakfast, ran some errands together and then Trumon took off for the final Cowboys game at Texas Stadium. The Cowboys of course blew the game, but he said the experience was awesome, and that he got to see many of the players he grew up watching. While Trumon was at the game, the kids and I went on a road trip with Papa and Sugar to visit the Graham family (Sugar's parents and brother/sister-in-law). It was a rather lengthy one, due to the fact that Papa decided to take one of his infamous shortcuts. My father-in-law has the unique ability to turn any 45 minute trip into a 3 hour tour with one deviated turn. He has even continued to do it with a navigation system in his SUV! We had a great time though, the road trip conversations were lots of fun, and it really helped break up what would have been a very long evening alone with two kids. After the long journey(we drove sixty some odd miles out of the way), we had a nice visit with Sugar's family. They have recently moved out to a farm, so of course, Walker was is heaven. On the way home, we stopped at Saltgrass, Walker's favorite restaurant (because of all the stuffed animals on the wall). Thanks Papa and Sugar for a very entertaining night, we had fun!

Sunday was low key, we just enjoyed our day together as a family. Walker and Trumon took care of a few projects, and then bundled up for a hike(high temps in the 30s).

We are SOOOOO excited about the upcoming week! I don't think I 've anticipated a Christmas like this since I was a little girl.

Christmas Party

Today was Walker's Christmas party at school. We had a great time making ornaments (candy canes made from beads and pipe cleaners/swirling different paints inside clear ornaments), decorating cookies, drinking hot cocoa and having a Dr. Seuss book exchange. However, this mommy's favorite part of the party was the musical entertainment. Walker was so intent on being the loudest (Trumon!!!), that you can't tell what a sweet voice he actually has. On the way home I was telling him how proud I was of him, and how much I enjoyed his program. I started to tell him how he didn't need to scream his words when he sang, and how his voice sounded its best when used it at a normal volume, to which he replied - "but I sound so good, I just want everyone to hear it!". Have I mentioned before that I love his level of self confidence.

So Big!!!

Check her out!

An Old Friend

Sweet Lauren is getting so big. She is awake for longer stretches now, and really wanting to play. She is very content playing on the floor, but due to her proficiency at rolling, I have to keep a very good eye on her. So, today I decided to pull out an old friend, the trusty Baby Einstein exersaucer. This toy was very loved by Walker, and a lifesaver for me. The exersaucer offers entertainment for baby, and the security of confinement for a mommy. Now, I don't just stick the kid in for hours on end, but it is nice to know where they are so I can do something as exciting as unloading the dishwasher. I'm anxious to see how big brother reacts to Lauren playing in one of "his" toys, I wouldn't put it past him to try to get in the thing!

The Weekend Review

This past weekend was full of fun! Friday after school, the kids and I ran a few errands while waiting on Trumon to get home. After Friday afternoon family nap (a Friday ritual, because Trumon works a half day) we grilled steaks, and after dinner made smores out on the patio. Walker told me it was the best night ever. Saturday morning, we went out for breakfast, did a little shopping, and then headed off to a birthday party. The party was for Paige and Peyton White, six year old twin daughters of Trumon's best friend from high school, Jeff White. Jeff and his wife Ronda own a beautiful equestrian facility, Whispering Farms Equestrian Center in Prosper, TX, about 40 minutes away from where we live. Walker LOVES going to "Uncle Jeff's", he can't get enough of the horses, and lucky for him he is getting big enough to start riding. The party was so fun for the kids and parents. Jeff had several of his riding students doing pony rides, there was a hayride, Christmas ornaments made and LOTS of delicious food. Ronda is an incredible cook and hostess, any party she throws, even a six year old's birthday is fabulous!








On our way home we stopped in Aubrey for a quick visit with cousins Britley and Oliver, and Aunt Angel and Uncle Justin. Saturday night, Trumon and I had a real treat - Papa and Sugar took BOTH kids for the night! We headed to Southlake and enjoyed a nice dinner at Trulucks. It was wonderful to have an uninterrupted conversation and just be together with no distractions. Well, there was a little bit of distraction, or entertainment actually, at dinner. There was a table of obnoxious, middle aged couples with, as our waiter stated "much more money than class". We had a front row seat to their show, and it was very entertaining.


Sunday morning we slept in, did a few projects around the house and went to brunch. We went shopping for a few final presents and then headed to Arlington to pick up Walker and Lauren. Sugar's house is a Christmas wonderland, I always love going there during the holidays. Walker and Lauren are so blessed to have wonderful grandparents in their lives, and Trumon and I are very grateful to them for all of their help. Thanks again to Papa and Sugar for our date night.

Playing Catch Up (Again!)

I promise that this week between posts pattern will not continue. Between sick little ones and Christmas busy stuff, there has been little time to be on the computer. Plus, my camera is not cooperating these days. Here are a few pics of the kids for their grandparents. Most are of Lauren, who is officially a thumb sucker (good thing her dad is a dentist), and she also wants to feed herself already. It is hard to believe she is five months old today, where has the time gone? Walker is so excited about Christmas this year. He loves the decorations, and helped his Dad put lights in the bushes last weekend. Each day when we turn the lights on he declares "I sure was a big helper to my Daddy". I know Trumon agrees completely! Walker and I are going to start our cookie baking this afternoon, he is most excited about making gingerbread boys and girls. He has been reciting the story for days in preparation for our baking day! I should have some very good pictures, and even better stories by tonight.

Its Been A While

Ok, so it has been a few days (actually a week) since my last post. The last week has been a whirlwind, and my camera obviously got lost in it. I have almost no pictures of the last week's happenings. I am hoping my father-in-law snapped a few at Thanksgiving, so I have some kind of record of our first Thanksgiving in our new home, and with Lauren. Thanksgiving Day was an eventful one with 11 adults, 5 children under 3, and 2 babies. We all had a great time and ate way too much. On Friday, we did a little shopping and went out for mexican food(a day after Thanksgiving tradition). Saturday, my brother Jon-Michael and his wife Jamie came up and stayed through Sunday. We have also been decorating for Christmas, which isn't so easy with a little boy who "just wants to help mama". While I am on the topic of Christmas, in one of the boxes we pulled down there was a decoration/toy that Nana sent to Walker in one of her care packages last year. It is one of those annoying, singing Hallmark things that little children love, and their grandparents seem to think are so cute. Had something like this been sent to our house growing up, my mom would have removed the batteries after about 30 minutes, now she sends them as to my children. Check out the video of Walker with this little jewel, I think the batteries are going to go out on their own very soon - he has not quit playing it for three days now, even taking it to bed.
This morning, we had an appointment to take a family portrait, our first with Lauren, and one to hopefully use for our Christmas cards. Trumon was meeting us from work, so all of the dressing and hair coming(Walker) was on me. While driving down the road and fretting about Trumon running late(his schedule was very tight, and people tend to frown on their dentist just leaving mid-appointment), I met up with a policeman and his radar. I was of course speeding, how badly I would rather not say. As I pulled over Walker started asking "Momma, is this were we are going to take our picture?" After the policeman approached the car Walker exclaims "Wow momma, we are going to take our picture with a policeman - this is great!" The officer and I had a good laugh, and I was hoping that he thought we were all so darling that he would overlook my offense - but he didn't. Oh well, at least he was nice. Besides Walker's usual antics that are always apparent in our photographs, we will have another good story to remember as we look at this year's pic in the years to come.