Christmas Morning at Home

Well, evidently, Dane was a good boy this year because Santa came to visit him and left him lots of goodies! As you can see from the pictures, the Elmo chair was the big hit. His reaction was definitely worth the wait! My parents came to go to church with us and spend the night with us Sunday night, so it was wonderful to get to share that time with them. Lane whipped up some fantastic pancakes for breakfast on his new huge griddle.

Later that morning, we packed up and headed to Lane's parents in Houston to visit for a couple of days with them. We had a great visit and, of course, ate way too much! As you will see from one of the pictures, we acquired a lot of candy that will keep us going for a while longer.

Late Christmas night, after Dane was good and asleep, Lane's parents said they would keep an eye on him if he woke up (which he doesn't). So, Lane and I headed to a late 10:35 movie to see Rocky Balboa. It was soooo good! We both love the Rocky movies, so it was really nice to get to go to an actual movie theater and sit and watch a movie we would both enjoy. I think that it was the first time since Dane's been born that we've done that. Anyway, it was fun!

We thoroughly enjoyed our Christmas this year (as we do every year)! We got to spend time with both of our families, which was so nice. I hope that each of you had a wonderful holiday and were blessed, as we were, with love, family, and everything happy, too!

Bundled Up Boy

Dane and I are having a nice day in on this rainy day! We were hanging out on the couch, and I turned to see him all bundled up in the blanket. That's really all I have to say today - I just wanted to share the pictures. Hope you all are having a great day!

More Holiday Fun!

This weekend, we got together with the Bowers side of the family and celebrated our Christmas together early. We got to spend lots of good quality time with everybody, especially Robyn's three kids, Mary Nan, Laura & J.J. Dane played so hard and managed to hold his own pretty well among all of the busy activity. I think that he and J.J. made a special bond this weekend. Dane seems to be a little confused, though, because he kept calling J.J. a baby, even though J.J. towers over him and outweighs him by about 10 pounds! It was really funny, though.



On Friday, we drove up to Paris, and were finally able to meet little Roselyn Spencer. I think that Dane made a really good impression on her, and he really thinks she's pretty! We had a great visit with Clint and Rachel, too. It was so great to see them for a little bit.



Saturday, back in Daingerfield, Robyn, Stefany and I took the kids up to visit with Santa Claus. They were all so cute, and of course, Mary Nan did not hesitate at all in telling Santa what was on her wish list..."A Cinderella trash can". No one cried, so the trip was a success, we think.







After our great Christmas with my family, we came back home Saturday night, so that we could be home for church and both the kids' and youth group Christmas parties today. We had a great time, and still managed to squeeze in a good Sunday afternoon nap! Lane was asked to be Santa at the little kids' party this afternoon, so I thought it was pretty funny that Dane cried when he sat in Lane's (Santa's) lap. I think that mainly he cried because another little kid was crying (which doesn't speak well for Lane's Santa skills). The photographer at church was able to get a pretty good picture of them together, but we don't have it yet. So, I've posted the not so good shot that I got.

Anyway, I hope that all of you will have a very joyous week and holiday season, and that all of God's richest blessings will be yours! Merry Christmas!

Very Fashion Forward!

This afternoon, after his nap, Dane brought me one of his black dress shoes and one of his brown dress shoes, climbed up in my lap (which happens so rarely these busy days), wanting me to put them on him. I was pretty impressed that he had actually gotten one left shoe and one right shoe. I'm pretty sure he meant to do that. Once he had walked around in them for a while, he must have decided which pair he wanted to wear, so he went and got the other brown shoe for me to put on him. I thought it was funny.

Lickin' the Brownie Bowl!

This afternoon, we made brownies for small groups tonight, and Dane and I thought it would be a good idea to lick the bowl clean. It turned out to be a great idea, until all of it was gone. We have to deal with a lot of disappointments when the goodies are gone. Dane gets very emotionally attached to his sweets! Anyway, hope you enjoy the pictures!

First Mom & Son Date

Having fun with his Luby's balloon!

Time to hug his bear

Cheese, Please!


I guess Mr. Monkey is really Miss Monkey!

Lane is out of town to go to a Bengals game in Cincinnati, so I thought it would be a great time for our first "Mom & Son" date. At this point in Dane's life, we feel a good choice in restaurants has mostly to do with the type of high chair the establishment offers. Clearly, Pancho's offers a highly superior chair than the rest, but unfortunately, the Pancho's in Longview has gone out of business. So sad! However, Luby's also has a great high chair, so that was our choice. And much to our delight, Luby's had balloons tied to the chairs, adding extra excitement to our dining experience. We had the Fried Fish meal, with cabbage, mac & cheese, and a fruit cup. After dinner, we went across the street and shared a kid's cup of Marble Slab ice cream (Sweet Cream mixed with pineapples, mmm). Then, we headed to Burlington Coat Factory and Old Navy for a little shopping. We picked up a new set of holiday jammies for Dane at Old Navy.

After we got home, we took a few pictures, and I let Dane stay up an hour later than usual to play. All in all, a great time was had by all! I hope you're all having a great day!