Frosty the Snow man was a happy, jolly soul...

Our house is a jolly place these days. Shopping is done, presents are wrapped, and most importantly, Brandon is off of school for a month! The kids are beyond excited to have him around in the evenings now and follow him all over the house when he gets home from work.

This is a great stage of life in so many ways. Charlotte and Jackson are both growing like weeds and LOVE playing together. And I love spending time with them. They make me laugh with all their antics. Jackson has discovered how to load dvds, which means we have to keep all non-kid friendly dvds out of his reach. :) He is quite the little helper. He turns the Christmas tree on and off, keeps an eye on Charlotte, and brings me random items from around the house. His new room and big bed are still the best things in the world for him, but we did get him some cute stuff from IKEA for Christmas (including a little table with stools and a toy organizer), so he is pretty much in Heaven. He is really into snow men this year too, so don't worry, I know the words to Frosty the Snow Man by heart. :) And if you sing that song while we are driving around looking at Christmas lights, you will officially make his year. It is so fun to actually have conversations with him now. I have a feeling he is going to have his dad's sense of humor. :)

Charlotte hit the 9 month mark yesterday and she is all over the place. She is pulling up on everything, knocking everything over, and eating like a champ. And she LOVES her daddy. The feeling is mutual which means she can pretty much get away with anything at this point. It is all good though because I am the same way with Jackson, so it all evens out. I wish I could capture her smile for you, but pictures just don't even come close. That little girl's entire face lights up...it is unreal.

This is going to be a fun Christmas with both kiddos. Jackson finally understands that he is getting gifts and Charlotte is going to thoroughly enjoy all of the wrapping paper. I know celebrating as a family of 4 will be very different this year and a lot more fun. I am trying to soak it up because it feels like my kids are growing right before my eyes. I seriously don't want them to get any older sometimes. Oh well, I will enjoy it while I can.

Caught her in the act!

Singing and playing

My sweet babies

Thanksgiving, the big move, and visitors!

Well, I am finally catching up on the blog. We had a crazy Thanksgiving weekend, moving into our new house and bringing loads of furniture down from Austin. We were able to have Thanksgiving lunch with my family at the Marietta's house, which I was grateful for. I wasn't sure how I could go on without some turkey and dressing. :) After that little break, we spent the rest of the weekend moving everything and by Sunday had everything in the house at least. This past week we were unpacking and organizing...that process is still happening though. It is crazy how moving throws me off my schedule too. I keep thinking I am forgetting something when I go to sleep at night. Hopefully after a few weeks things will settle down more.

Grandmommie and Gerald came to town this past weekend too! We all had a blast playing and showing them our new home, but I think the kids were the most excited. Jackson loves to show everyone his new room and train set. And Grandmommie brought his bike down from Midland, so that is the only thing on his mind these days! It was very cold all weekend too, but no snow here. Too bad because I actually do have some snow boots that could stand to be put to use. We got the Christmas tree and stockings up as well, so the house is at least looking festive while we are putting everything else together.

So, now we will have our first Christmas in a new house which is the best gift I could have received. It is crazy how fast things can change. Charlotte decided to start crawling the day we moved in, so she is all over the place of course. It is funny how Jackson still sets up his toys to play right next to me, even with more rooms to play in and Charlotte peaces out all over the place to explore. You can tell that he spent the first few years in a small apartment where I was right there and she is more interested in what she can find without me around! :) It is going to be interesting to see how the next few months go as we get used to so many changes. But this is the best time of year for it.

Chickens are that way!

Sweet Charlotte

Happy Thanksgiving!

Jackson played this marble game the whole time. Erin's Granddad made it 20 years ago!

Cooper didn't budge from this position the whole afternoon,.

Some sugar from Uncle Stephen

Me and B

Rocking away

Mom and Stephen. Seems like yesterday he was Jackson's size!

My babies at our new house!

No one smiles as big as Charlotte :)

Hey there!

Grandmommie and Charlotte enjoying some puffs.

pretty girls

Our attempt at pictures was crazy...oh well, at least we tried.

They do better with daddy holding them

I love that little man

Grandmommie got a smile out of Charlotte at least.

Little miss festive!

Lot to be Thankful for

I am in a very thankful mood this week! Charlotte is 8 months old now, and such a sweet, beautiful little addition to our family. Jackson keeps me very entertained and I love being able to interact with him now that his vocabulary has skyrocketed. Brandon has a great job that he really enjoys and is almost done with his MBA program. And after 3 years in our place, we are moving to a house in 2 days! I am so excited and would actually have some pictures to post, but I have been packing for the past couple weeks. I will catch up with those starting tomorrow though.

For now, we are getting loaded up and preparing for the move. Jackson LOVES his new house, especially the bathtub, his room, and the backyard. And I love seeing him so happy! Charlotte will appreciate napping without interruption from her brother too. :) It is going to be a fun new stage for our family for sure!

Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving!

Cooper Forest Pearson is here!

First picture with his Aunt Kimberly

My older brother (Paul) and his wife (Erin) were blessed with their first child on Tuesday! Cooper Forest Pearson is my newest nephew and the 12th cousin on my side of the family. He is absolutely adorable and such a sweet blessing to our family. I drove to Austin on Friday with the kids to hold little Cooper and introduce him to Jackson and Charlotte, and we had so much fun. Jackson is already a pro at saying "Cooper" and Charlotte really enjoyed playing with all of his toys. :)
I always wondered what it would be like to see my big brother holding his own son, and it was really great. He and Erin are so natural and sweet with Cooper. It always amazes me to see new parents with their baby because they just instinctively know what to do and seem so relaxed. Paul was holding Cooper and changing his diaper (never thought I would see him do that:) and just adores that little boy. But who wouldn't? He is such a sweetheart! Welcome to the fam, Cooper!

Looking like his Daddy with that furrowed brow!

cute newborn face

first picture of the cousins together. I could not get both of them to hold still...go figure!

Proud Grandma!

Big eyes

It won't be long before we head back to Austin because we miss Cooper already!

ND comes to SA for Halloween!

We had some visitors over Halloween! Grandmommie, Brittany, Bubba, Camryn, Brent, and Emily all headed to SA! Brandon was still in Europe, but we tried our hardest to have a good time without him. It was a full weekend of the outlets in San Marcos, pumpkin patch, Notre Dame game, trick or treating, and lots of hanging out! It was a blast to say the least, and between the three munchkins, we stayed busy. I can only imagine how it will be as they get older and more mobile...we will need lots of coffee and/or Dr. Pepper for the adults. :)


Gotta love licking the spatula after baking!

The many faces of Charlotte...
"The smile"

"The growl"

"The giggle"

Camryn and Charlotte going for a ride to the pumpkin patch!

B and B

Bent, Emmy, and Jackson ready for game day!

Sweet pumpkin

Chattin' it up

Cuties!

Chillin' on the pumpkin

Trying to pick up the pumpkins of course.

Sweet Smile

The Dobson fam

Me and Britt with our little ladies

Brent and Emily are naturals!

Charlotte needs kisses for being so cute!

Lady bug and flower

Grandmommie helping us trick or treat

yummy costume!

Typical morning scene.

Watch our for my pirate...

...especially his sword!

Arrr!

And now, Brandon is home! He had a good time in London and Brussels, but I think he is VERY happy to be home. It probably helped that Jackson and Charlotte gave him a warm welcome. They love their daddy quite a bit! We have jumped into this week and are trying to catch up on everything. And on top of all of that, my newest nephew was born yesterday! Cooper Forest Pearson is way too cute for his own good! I am going to go visit them on Friday, so I will post pics once I take some. Jackson is practicing saying "Cooper" already and it comes out as "Cooper Cookie Monster." So funny, those two boys are going to raise hell together someday, no doubt.