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!