Our Christmas - 2009

We had a wonderful Christmas with our families this year! It was a special year for many reasons! It was Reid's first Christmas. Landon was finally old enough to open his own presents and understand what was happening a little more. The Thompsons were here to celebrate with us. It was a WHITE Christmas! And, of course, the main reason we were blessed this year is that we once again got to celebrate the birth of our Savior. Rather than tell you about ALL our Christmas celebrations (as there were several of them with different families) I'll just post a few of the many pictures that have been taken the last few days!

This was actually on the 21st. We were outside enjoying the "warmer" weather! Reid has recently started becoming a thumb-sucker!

PaPa and Grandma Meg drove in to see us and have Christmas on the 22nd! They took us for a yummy lunch at Carino's! We really enjoyed our time together! The three cousins at NiNi and G-Pa's house! We all stayed the night on the 23rd and woke up to have our Christmas with the Lott's and Thompson's on the 24th.
The two big boys had their own tent to sleep in that night! Santa brought Landon his very first pet, a betta fish we named Sushi. I know this just sounds wrong, but the main reason for the name is because when Landon says fishy, it comes out sounding more like "shishy." So, the closest thing to that we thought of was Sushi! Landon has always loved "shishies" and we thought he might enjoy having one of his own! We were right and thankfully he gave us a priceless expression that we caught on video! Is this not the cutest (and skinniest) big boy underwear model you've ever seen? Landon got his first pairs of big boy underwear for Christmas! Although we're not quite ready to start using them, I couldn't resist trying them on him!
Landon and cousin Abby

Mommies and Babies
Landon and Caedmon test driving Landon and Reid's new wagon! Thanks MiMi!

Today, Reid had his first veggie....Peas! YUM! As expected, at first he wasn't so sure about the taste, but he continued opening his mouth for the spoon, so I assume he was OK with them!

Merry Christmas

REID: Santa's happy, cooperative little helper!
LANDON: Wants NOTHING to do with the red paint and is only keeping the antlers on to earn his previously promised chocolate candy for doing so! A smile was WAY too much to ask for...I don't have that much candy!
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MERRY CHRISTMAS
From Our Crew to Yours!

Christmas Outings

We've recently enjoyed some fun Christmas activities with family and friends. On Thursday, we started the night off with dinner at Dos Charros...YUM! Next, we made a stop at Santa's Village in Richardson. It's a cute little village set up with all the different places you would see at the North Pole...a bank, the pet shop, the music store, etc. You can walk through each little place and the kids get to participate in a small, related activity. Of course, if you want to wait a while, you can actually see Santa himself! It was a cold evening, but the boys really enjoyed their time there!

NOTE: Please ignore the girly pink blanket my son is wrapped in! This is a blanket that my mom keeps at her house to use with grandkids. However, the Thompsons will be taking it back home with them in January to wrap around their sweet little girl, Camille Jean, who is due to arrive in May!

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On Friday night, we joined family and friends for caroling at an assisted living home where my grandma "Muddy" lived before she passed away in 2004. The residents seemed to enjoy us being there, and it was neat to see the smiles on their faces when they interacted with all the little ones!

Pray for Baby Hank

If it comes to mind today, please say a prayer for my cousin Derric, his wife Samantha and their son Hank. Hank was born on December 8th with a heart condition known as transposition of the greater arteries. He is having surgery today to correct this. Having two difficult deliveries myself, with what were seemingly minor issues, I can't imagine starting my journey as a parent in this manner! Click HERE to see Hank's story or to leave an encouraging word for Derric and Sam!

Derric & Sam

Hank Von

Paisley's Spreading Christmas Cheer!

If you're familiar with our little Paisley at all, you know that this is pretty much her motto for life. And I'm quite certain she was saying this to me as I was trying to get her picture. Thanks for the cute shirt, Lauren! It fits her perfectly...in more than one way! :)

Welcome Little Ones

I wanted to share about two sweet new babies that have recently been welcomed into the world. The first one is Carrington. She is the 3 week old daughter of one of my dearest friends, Nandra. Nandra and I were roommates, sorority sisters and future teachers together at Hardin-Simmons. We went to visit with Nandra and meet her sweet girl the other day. It's amazing to me that I just had a baby this little only 5 months ago! Crazy!

Carrington Nicole ~ November 21, 2009

The second little one is Hank. He is the son of my cousin, Derric, and his wife Samantha. Hank was born with a heart defect (transposition of the greater arteries) and will undergo surgery to correct this. Thankfully, the doctors are very optimistic about his recovery. We're praying for this new little family!

Hank Von ~ December 8, 2009

Where's The Pause Button?

Seriously! These boys are growing up way too quickly! Do I really have a 2 year old and a 5 month old (as of today)?! Reid is really starting to grab at toys and it's so fun to watch him try to figure them out and stare at them so intently. He loves to "gum" everything...especially his own fingers. He laughs and smiles a lot these days. It's especially sweet when he laughs at his big brother. Landon loves to give him hugs and kisses. I know these two boys are destined to fight somedays, but I really think they're going to be great friends! They love their cousin, Caedmon, who turned 2 this past week. He's going to make such a great big brother soon! We're thinking Lauren is going to break our blue streak by having a little girl....We're hoping to find out for sure next week! Here are a few pictures from Caedmon's birthday celebration!

Craft Corner

I know several of you who are reading this have craftiness coming out your ears! I've never really prided myself on being one of those people. Don't get me wrong, I do have my moments! I recently had one of those rare moments and was so pleased with how it turned out, that I wanted to share it with you. This is a lamp that I bought 8 years ago at a dollar store to use in my classroom my first year of teaching. I think I paid about $3 for it!During my teaching years it was always in my classroom, but since I've become a stay-at-home-mom, it's been in Landon's room. We're hoping Landon will be moving to a big boy bed soon so I've been ordering some new items to add to his sports-themed room. One of these items is a basketball lamp. So, the dollar store lamp has been relocated to the playroom! But, being in such a colorful room, it seemed rather drab. I went to ehow.com and learned how to give my lamp a make-over!

This One's For The Girls

In an attempt to make a long story somewhat short...Reid has still been staying in our bedroom. The main reason for this is that when the Thompson's stay at our house, they use his room. Come January, as hard as it will be for me, Reid will make the permanent move to his own quarters. He's outgrown the bassinet so we borrowed MiMi's pack-n-play. However, we didn't have any sheets for it and just putting down blankets is pointless because they would all end up in one corner and Reid in another. I made a quick trip to Target the other morning before a playdate to buy a sheet. The only thing they had was a 2-pack with one white and one pink. I was in a hurry and didn't really have time to look anywhere else! I put the white one on first but much to Aaron's dismay, it got dirty pretty quick! So, on went the pink sheet! Now the score is as follows:

McGrew Boys: 257

McGrew Girls: 1

Maybe one day I won't be the only girl in the house, but for now, I wouldn't have it any other way!

P.S. Happy Birthday Caedmon!! We Love You!!

Improv 101

What do you do on a cold, rainy day with a hyper toddler who has contracted a raging case of cabin-fever? You improvise! You bring the outdoors, indoors! This was a must this morning! I could definitely use some more ideas, though, for inexpensive ways of getting our wiggles out on cold days. Other wise, this could be a long winter!

Attempting to blow up a ball

Reid watched from the sidelines!
Don't worry, he got a chance to bounce too!

Happy 100!

This is my 100th post since I started this blog in October 2008. My blogging days actually started in May 2007 when I created a baby website for Landon. But, after he turned 1 and we found out we were pregnant again, I decided to create a family blog. I never really thought I would enjoy blogging, because I've never enjoyed writing. However, I've found it's easier when you find a topic that you're passionate about! It's also easier when I know there are people out there who enjoy keeping up with us this way. I'll wrap up my 100th post with a few pictures from our last few days. Happy Birthday Blog....Here's to 100 more!

This is what happens when you leave the room for 10 seconds!

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We started Reid on cereal this past week!

"Why does Mommy think it's funny and cute to put me in this box?"

"Just sittin' here starin' at the other side of this box while Mommy takes pictures!"

"Oh good, Daddy's home! Maybe he'll get me out of this box!"

"Nope...He just stuck brother in a box too! Brother seems just as excited about this as I am!"

Our sweetest gift this year!

I tried to get both boys together in their Christmas PJ's...but it wasn't happening! It's almost impossible to get Landon to smile for pictures these days. This might explain why he often looks like he's ready to beat up someone. Can you say recalcitrant?