New Toys!

Vacuuming!









Playing with the remote control train!

Harmonica Playing

Here is a cute video of Jack playing his new harmonica:

Christmas Day at Bebe and Grandad's

We had a big Christmas over at Bebe's house! We were able to spend the day with Mumo, Papo, Judy, Bebe, Grandad, Daniel, Adrienne, Hayley, Nick, Joe, Donna, Magen, Nacy, Collin, and Cody. Santa visited TWICE and brought Jack way too many toys! Again, Jack was a bit overwhelmed by it all, but started to get into the spirit later in the day. Randy and I were spoiled as well, but the highlight of the day was listening to Mumo and Papo telling stories about their life together. They have been married for over 60 years and it's so neat to hear about how they met and all the things they've lived through. We are just so blesssed to have such an amazing family.

Here is Jack eating his Christmas breakfast, Grandad's famous oatmeal




Here he is trying out his new horsie!


Jack and Mommy


Jack and Uncle Dan


Nick and Hayley


Jack and Aunt Hayley


Our Family


Joe, Donna, and Magen


Mumo and Papo opening presents


Mom, Nancy, and Judy


Jack and Grandad horsing around


The three youngest boys of the family, Collin (15), Cody (8), and Jack. Aren't they cute?!

On the Way to Bebe and Grandad's House

Here is a video of Jack singing "Angels We Have Heard on High" in the car. He loves this song and it makes me so proud as a mom that he can sing so well, and so proud as a Latin teacher that he learned his first Latin phrase (gloria, in excelsis Deo) before turning two!

Santa Was Here!

Jack was very excited to wake up Christmas morning and find that not only were Bebe, Grandad, Nick, Hayley, Daniel, and Adrienne there, but Santa had been there too! He was a little overwhelmed but very happy. Santa did a great job too- Jack loved all of his toys. I think his favorite was his vacuum; he is his mother's child! :)













Here is a video of Jack composing on his new xylophone...

Christmas Eve at Gigi and Papa's

We spent the day before Christmas with Randy's side of the family in Tulsa. Jack just loves going to Gigi and Papa's house and had a great time opening presents and playing! He did however seem more interested in paper and his old toys than the new ones at first, but later he was very excited about everything, especially his bowling set, play dough, and his remote control train. Randy and I were spoiled too! My favorite gift is the Women of Faith study Bible and Randy was definitely grateful for all the tools.

Here is a video of Jack opening his first present!



And some pictures...

Hanging Out and Singing- December 23

We just got a new camera so here are a few pics of us just hanging around the house.







Here is a video of Jack singing along with Elmo

Weekend Update

Well, we had quite a big weekend! One of my best friends in the whole world, Sarah, spent the weekend with us, along with her good friend, Kelly. We enjoyed lots of good food and conversation even caught a movie one night. And Jack was quite intrigued that people were "living" in his playroom.

We also spent lots of time with family this weekend. "Un-Ka-Dan" and "AAAn Ay" (Uncle Dan and Aunt Adrienne) made it into town from Waco on Friday. We had dinner with them on Saturday night and they came to church with us yesterday. Jack loves spending time with them, especially when Uncle Dan dances!

We also managed to take part in a missions project on Saturday at church. I am so thankful for all of the blessings God has given my family and it is always wonderful to be able to share that with someone else, especially at Christmas. I hope we can do more in the coming year.

I can't believe Christmas will be here on Thursday!!

Jack's Favorite Songs

Here are the songs Jack LOVES to sing:

Jingle Bells
Silent Night
The Wheels on the Bus
Santa Clause is Coming to Town
Frosty the Snowman
ABC's
Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
Old McDonald
Elmo's World

I REALLY need to get some footage of this! Coming soon...

Jack Visits Santa: Part 2

You may be wondering where "Jack Visits Santa: Part 1" is, but don't worry, you're not crazy. It doesn't exist. Because the first time we went to visit Santa Jack screamed bloody murder and flailed about in a very violent manner. It was not good. When we got in the car to go see Santa he was so excited! We sang Christmas songs and he said, "Ho, HO, HO!" But when it was his turn to actually sit on the actual Santa's lap... no go!

So we tried again a few day ago. I consider this visit a major success! Sure, he's screaming. But he was not flailing so we were able to at least get a picture. That's the point I guess, to always remember that moment... even if it wasn't a great one!

Happy Birthday Mommy!

Today, on my birthday, without prompting, Jack looked right at me and said, "Happy Birthday, Momma!"

Therefore, he is sweet and he is a genius!!

(There is one other possibility but I don't think it's very likely. That is, yesterday when we said Happy Birthday we then proceeded to eat cake so maybe he figured out the correlation and wanted cake.)

Jingle Bells Mystery

So Jack really likes singing. Really, really likes it. And I must say he's pretty good at it, for a 1 year old! He picks up on songs so quickly that every once in awhile he'll be singing a song that we have never even taught him. The other day it was Jingle Bells. Now, we've sung Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph, Silent Night, Santa Clause is Coming to Town, but for some reason or another I had not taught him Jingle Bells. Yet he was singing it... We asked around (Grammy, Sunday School, etc.) and no one had sung Jingle Bells with him. How did he learn that song?! Then, yesterday we were watching Elmo's Happy Holidays DVD (which by the way teaches about Hanukkah and even Kwanzaa, but that's a whole other topic) and at the very end, the cast sings Jingle Bells. He's only seen the show all the way through twice before! How did he do that? I'm amazed! And I can't stop thinking about the big decisions he's going to be making one day- sign with the record company or the NFL? Or finish his degree at Harvard? Hmmm...

Hay-Hay and Ni

I was driving home from the gym yesterday with Jack in the backseat. He was very quiet and thoughtful. Then he suddenly said, "Hay-Hay bye-bye..." I said, "Yes, Hayley is bye-bye." Then he thought for a second and said sadly, "Ni bye-bye..." Awwww! Poor thing misses his Aunt Hayley and Uncle Nick! Sad but sweet!

Playing With "Teos"

Here's a couple pics of Jack playing with his favorite toy- potatoes AKA "teos!"

The Real Christmas Story

This evening Crossings hosted "The Real Christmas Story," an event for toddlers/preschoolers featuring a live nativity. Jack had a blast petting the horses and climbing up and down the bleachers! He didn't get much out of the "production" considering we didn't have very good seats, but he did really like the angels!

Getting ready to go


He spotted the "horhies!"


Trying to keep him from climbing in with the horses was the biggest challenge!


Finally getting close enough to pet one...


Made it to the top of the bleachers for the 100th time!


Watching the show


Showing Daddy the horses


Alright, time to go!

Christmasy Photo Shoot

Here are a few I snapped in an attempt to get a good Christmas card picture:

At first he was being pretty sweet




He was pretty into the fake presents





Then he ran away the first time...



Which worked out because he was pretty cute playing with the bell...


Then back to the presents only this time I put stuff in them...


Okay, time for an Elmo break!




Okay, he's throwing a baseball ornament at me, photo shoot over!


We tried again when Daddy got home- that worked much better!