Merry Christmas and Walking

I hope that everyone had a very Merry Christmas and received everything they wanted from Santa or family members. I know our kids sure did. Everyone had a great time. We spent the holiday in San Antonio at my parents house, where we helped put up a playhouse for the kids, visited Fredricksburg, and had lots of great family time. The best thing that happened for us on Christmas was watching Cooper discover a new skill, walking. That’s right; he turns eleven months old and decides that is a good time as any to start walking. Now he does not do it all the time but he will walk towards you. He can still crawl faster than walking. I’m sure though in another couple of weeks he will be walking faster than crawling. Since he is a little monkey, I’m pretty sure this kid will be running sooner rather than later. From our house to yours, we hope you had a very Merry Christmas.

(ok my video camera and I are having some difficulty comunicating so I am instead going to show you what it is like taking pictures with three small children and no adults. Please refer to our Christmas Card if you would like to seem them acting properly.)

5 years, Really?

Isabelle is 5 at last. She has been asking when that is going to happen since about her fourth birthday. Two days before she turned five she accomplished one of her life long goals, learning how to whistle. I know to be so young. She has a blast being four and is ready to tackle the world at five. Here is her list of things she would like to accomplish in her fifth year:

1. Learn to ride my bike without training wheels (Mom's falling down on the job)
2. Read better on my own (chapter books here I come)
3. Go to Kindergarten
4. Take pictures everywhere (she must take after mom)
5. Help my brothers learn to do stuff

I’m sure that there is no doubt that she will accomplish all of these goals and much more. Her level of determination is great and she pretty much gets done whatever she sets her mind to. So to another great year of firsts here is to Isabelle, Happy Fifth Birthday.

Backyard Play

For Christmas from Oma and Grandpa Libby, the kids received a wonderful playset for while in San Antonio. It is pretty cool, everyone helped to build it, even the kids. The weather previous to the holiday week was not so good so Grandpa had to take some time while the kids were here to put it together. And let me tell you they could hardly wait to get on and play. We even went so far as to go out of order to put the slide in so the kids could go down while we were building the remaining parts. Now the playset is up and running, or swinging if you like. There is a rock wall, rope ladder, swings and a slide. I think I even heard that Grandpa is going to do some additions, like monkey bars. I know the kids will love the playset and use it every time they come down for a visit. At least right now it helps to distract them from the fact that the pool is not swimmable right now, it’s too cold. Even though they both said they did not think it was too cold. I know children of all ages will enjoy the playset, all the way from the youngest to the oldest.

Breakfast with Santa

We are on our Christmas Break/Vacation and have started the week off with a bang. That’s right we went to Breakfast with Santa. Although it was not so much with Santa as with other people but we got a chance to see Santa.

So this Christmas Tree Farm called Devine Acres just outside of San Antonio puts on a great time for families to bring out there kids and have breakfast and visit with Santa. But it is so much more. Really it is a great way to draw people out to the tree farm to check things out and possibly drum up business for choose and cut trees.

They had a hayride, playground, “petting zoo,” mazes and so much more. Do not forget about Santa of course after all he was why we came. And I will say that all three kids did great with Santa, no one cried. Even Cooper got in the mix of things, before sliding of Santa’s lap to the Oma.

The kids could have stayed, played and explored the tree farm for hours, but it was cold and we had other cool projects to work on. I think they had a lot of fun and Isabelle is already asking to go back. Who knows maybe next year.

Isabelle's Friend Party

Isabelle requested for her 5th birthday that she have a party at a local bounce house place, called Pump It Up. Since I’m such a wonderful, agreeable mother, I said yes. After of course much hemming and hawing about various aspects of parties for small children. Either way, she had so much fun, with her friends from school and various places that it was all worth it. Plus all of the kids got a chance to burn off some great energy while at the same time celebrating a friend’s birthday.


Isabelle and all of her friends had so much fun. They kept playing and running around, and bouncing that you hardly knew they were even there. One of the great things about having a party at Pump It Up is that it is pretty well organized and if there is another party going on you hardly even know that they are there. Plus the help you cut the cake and serve your guest so that you can enjoy yourself and take pictures or visit with your guests.

I’m sure that we will have and go to other parties at Pump It Up, since the kids have so much fun. Or we’ll just have to drop in to get out some extra energy. Now for a few particulars, Isabelle requested a Rainbow cake and that I can say turned out great. Ben made it and it was just a regular cake with a rainbow made out of sprinkles. She loved it and it was exactly what she wanted. And you would think that I had pictures of it but, yea no, I forgot. I was not on my game. She also had Ranch Flavored Chex mix, thanks Joni for the great Ranch mix, and of course Ben for making it. Ben gets the Dad of the Day prize since he helped out so much for Isabelle’s party. (I was a little under the weather.)


I think that overall Isabelle had a great time celebrating her birthday early, with her friends. I wonder what next year will hold.

Christmas Program

The kids both had special Christmas programs at school this year. And of course they could not happen on the same day. Oh well, I guess that is bound to happen. Isabelle did great she has so much fun performing and showing off. Plus she has been practicing her songs for a long while and did just wonderful.

Bear was great too. He sang all the songs, at least I could see his mouth moving and did the signs as well. He was too cute. I think he had so much fun and hopefully was not disappointed by not having cookies and punch with the parents afterwards like Isabelle.

I’m so proud of both my kids, and I am happy that they are getting along so well in school. They were both a joy to watch perform.

Santa's Little Helper

While the big kids were at school today Cooper and I put up some of the Christmas decorations. Here is his version of being helpful. I mean really this kid can get around. I feel pretty confident that he will be walking soon, he is starting to stand longer and longer and is really thinking about moving those little feet unaided. Oh well, it is too cute to pass up.

Snow??

Ok so for about maybe an hour it was snowing in Texas. One minute it was raining then next I looked out and there is snow falling. Crazy! This Texas weather is just strange. I wonder if the rest of my cherry tomatoes will turn red.

Pioneer Woman in Dallas

What a long night! I left yesterday to see Ree, the Pioneer Woman, at a local bookstore in Dallas, around 4pm. Now mind you it was raining, cold and the start of rush hour so it took me a little longer than normal to cross the thirty (30) miles from home to the store. I arrived at about 5pm and found out what was going on. While I was purchasing my books, I also received a pink wrist band; there were three other colors in front of me. Each color had at least 100 people in the group. Never mind the number of books each person had. So to start out there were at least 300 people with at least one book per person in line ahead of me. Ah it was going to be a long night.

I decided to stock up my reserves and go have dinner just down the sidewalk at Fish City Grill. I got in there right before the dinner rush so I did not have any problem with having to wait. Now that I was fed and ready to go with my books I went back to the bookstore to wait for them to call my wrist band. At 6pm they began to line up the first group and then the second two groups. Right at about 6:45pm they called for Pink to line up. I was a little bummed because I would not get a chance to see Ree come out and answer any questions. But I guess it’s the price you pay to be close to the front of the pink line.



Shortly after 7pm she made her appearance and had her girls with her. As I understand it she was asked if she will be publishing Black Heels to Tractor Wheels at any point and the answer is yes, with much more content, ie after the wedding. Then it was also announced that today’s fans would be receiving official Book Tour 09’ t-shirts. Yes! That is why you come to have your book signed.



At about 8:25pm ish, I do not remember well, our line began to move, at first just a little then it picked up speed as people were moving through at a faster pace. The Boarders employees started to come around and help prepare our books for signing, by giving us sticky tabs with any personalization we wanted on the books. As well as placing our tabs on the right page to ensure the fastest delivery of a signature.



By 10:50pm we were coming down the home stretch. We could see the table and could feel the excitement in the air as we got closer. I was getting so excited I almost forgot what I was going to say. But I remembered and she was wonderful and very sweet. She even asked me a question, which I thought was great considering how many people she had talked to today and how many she still had left. I told her she is amazing for all that she does, with the family, website and ranch, plus so much more. Then we chatted about closets and cars being messy and how you just have to let some things go. I even got a picture with her courtesy of one of the Borders employee that was great. Oh yea do not forget about the free book tour t-shirt.



I left the book store around 11:15pm and arrived home just before Midnight. I could hardly believe it. Had I known what they were going to do with the wrist bands I would have come over earlier in the day to get my book and band. Why didn’t anyone answer the phone when I called on Monday? Oh well you live and learn. At least it was not with hundreds of crazy teenage fans.

It was interesting to hear people talk about their lives and what they were going to say to Ree. Everyone wanted a chance to be mentioned on her site, so let’s go for sensationalism. I can’t say much I thought about brining my baby, he is too cute after all, but figured it would be a late night and I would be crazed by the end. Now I have my book and it is signed plus it was kind of fun, even though I hate to wait in line.

Giving Thanks

Thanksgiving has come and gone once again, and I just wanted to post a few words and pictures (hopefully) of what I am thankful for. The kids both did Thankful projects at school which will of course be kept and put in their scrapbooks but my list is going right here.


I am of course thankful for my wonderful family without whom my days would have little purpose.


Each of my kids brings a new element of joy and happiness to my day.


Ben of course is my champion, friend and wonderful husband, he is such a great person and the best support system a girl could as for.


And of course our parents are just fabulous, their help in ideas, life and examples we could not find better parents to have.

I am also thankful for the opportunity to explore that which I love

Girls Rock

Ok so this is what happens when people who do not have children take a child shopping with them, some how the word “no” is never said. Which of course makes said child very happy but then this is the end result. While cute as well, will still end up with fights from siblings for not sharing and then Mom has to moderate this mess, and then the items just might end up in time out. But I guess all that really matters is that “Girls Rock.”

More

Cooper signed "more" last night a dinner. Granted it looked like he was clapping but it was in response to asking if he wanted more. Yea, I am so excited. I can't wait until he can tell me when he is hungry, this kid eats all the time. Anyway, more on our crazy life later.

Thanksgiving Feast

The week before Thanksgiving at school the kids both had special Feast Days where the parents could attend a lunch with their kids. Thank goodness their feasts were on different days, other wise I think Ben and I would have gone man to man defense. The stinky part was that Ben had to be away from work two times, but it was while he was sick so it kind of worked out ok.


Bear was very excited to show off his classroom and friends to both mom and dad. He had lots of fun sharing his room and food with everyone. He decided that they needed to have a salad for lunch so I made a great salad, (in my humble opinion) and everyone ate it up. There was only a very little bit left over.


Isabelle had fun just being with us and eating lunch. She was so excited that she decided to stay at school after lunch with a few of her friends. You had the option to go home but she wanted to stay and play. Her choice of food was cookies, and of course the kids both helped and we made chocolate chip cookies, they were some of the best yet. Sorry no leftovers. Maybe if your nice and ask really sweetly I’ll make you some, you just let me know. Her class made all sorts of neat little table decorations and “ponchos” to ware during the feast. It was so much fun.

No more Naked Ears

Isabelle is going to be turning the big 5 this year, and one of the things we had talked about with her was getting her ears pierced. So one day we went to get her hair cut at a special location but the location was no longer there, instead I decided to have her ears pierced. She would have done wonderful if mom had not blown it by telling her it was going to be a “poink” which is her word for shot and all things poky. That stressed her out and once the first one was in she was very up set but finally let the girl do the other ear and was perfectly fine two seconds afterwards. Now she is a big girl with pierced ears. Sorry I don’t have any pictures of the blessed event because I did not bring my camera since it was not part of the day’s activities. I know I should have waited.

Faire Fun

I’m not sure if I have ever really expressed exactly how much I love the Renaissance Festival. I really do love it; the food, smells, people and the entertainment make for a wonderful day full of wonderful sights. A couple of weekends ago (sorry so late but we have not been feeling well) we went to the Ren Faire and I mostly took pictures of the sights, and by sights I mean people. I did get some of the kids since they were dressed up. Isabelle was a princess and Bear was a pirate. Cooper went as a farmer; I don’t know Ben dressed the kids I was off taking pictures.
The faire is just great, because it can encompass so many different age groups, young and old alike and people from all different walks of life. Now I did not personally interview anybody but I’m sure they have everyday jobs like, lawyers, doctors, retail workers, grocery workers or trucking. The Ren Faire brings all of these people together in a way that they might not normally associate with each other. A sort of camaraderie develops between fair goers rarely found in other venues.


So for your viewing pleasure I have complied a group of photos that I feel help to emphasize the vastness of the fair and it attendants. After all where else can you escape to for an entire day and pretend that you are someone else and be in good company. No matter what you wear no one is going to make fun of you or point and laugh. Now if you were walking down Main Street in chain mail on a Tuesday that might cause people to look at least twice. And of course some people will draw more attention than others but that is the nature of the fair and why people dress up to begin with.







The next time the Fair is in town you should try to go or visit one someplace else. It is a great experience for the entire family and you don’t have to dress up just go as you are, but if you do have a costume by all means where it, anything goes at the Ren Faire.

I WON

Ok so I was going to write about my horrible day and rant and rave about how I did not have a good time at the doctors office with three kids, but that was before I went to the mail box. At the mail box I discovered an envelope. In said envelope was some fablous news. Now I must tell you a little background before going into the details. A little bit ago I submitted four photographs to the City of Arlington for a photography contest they were having. I checked the website for winners after the appropriate amount of time and could not find anything so I just wrote it off. Until today when I went to get the mail and movies. There folded in half was a large envelope from the city, contents unknown. Before even getting back to the house I was quicky ripping into said evenlope to see the contents could possibly hold. Only to find out that YES I was a winner. I had won Third Place - People and Honorable Mention - Nature for two of my submitted photos. I was so excited. It made my entire day so much better (read moving on from one glass of wine to number two quickly.) I had the pleasure of winning a $50 gift certificate to any of the city facilities, summertime pool time here we come. I know kind of cheesy but who cares I won. The photos will be used in various city locations and publications throughout the next year. I can hardly wait to see what happens. Plus I won! Go Me! So I thought I would show you the two pictures that won and you can tell me how fablous they truly are. Be sure to check out the other winners in the link above. Congrats to the other winners for a job well done.

Cooper @ 9 Months

Cooper is officially nine months old now. Where did the time go? I’m sure you’re also thinking are you not a little behind on this post. Well I did want to wait until we visited the doctor to get all his fabulous stats that way you could know exactly how much he weights, and how tall he is and all the other wonderful things people talk about as their babies are growing up. So here they are:

Height: 29 inches
Weight: 16 lbs. 5 oz (I think, I don't remember)
Head: not measured
Thoughts: these were going to be from the Dr. who we did not see more on that in another postb

Cooper is of course very active, in case you were not aware before, he is all over the place. I have my first official child who likes to open cupboards and see what’s inside. I think I’m going to have to have Ben put latches on a couple, other wise he can just got to town. So that is pretty new.

He as also started to wave at people, and clap. I’m really working on “more” because despite what his old doctor might think, this kid can eat. He seems to be a bottomless pit some days, probably because he is burning so many calories moving around. He has also started to stand up on his own. Now this is by releasing his hands from the object that he pulled up from but still. He gets up there, and looks at you like hey here I come. But then he cannot figure out how to make his legs work, it’s too cute.

Let me see he drools a lot, I’m just waiting for those top two teeth to finally make and appearance, not sure how that will feel but oh well. He loves to be where ever there are people; this kid does not want to miss a beat. Oh yea, he has also started to climb down the stairs. The first three he does head first then makes it to the next set and starts out that way and then changes his mind to go down feet first. At least he is working on his problem solving skills.

Overall we are very happy with Cooper and I think he likes us as well. He will be a pretty tough kid, thanks to Bear. He is not quite as cuddly as Bear but does like to be up in the air and see what is going on. Isabelle loves to have a baby brother and is a wonderful helper. He is a lot of fun!

Self Portrait

I just wanted to include a self portrait so that you guys would not forget what I look like. Ha, ha.