December Closeout, Almost

Well, we're almost to the end of January and I still have some catching up to do for the rest of December. So here is your catch all post. At least most of it. I still have some after Christmas activities to edit. There are so many pictures I thought I would break it up though. The first picture is Allie crawling out of one of our end tables at the house, followed by Drew catching a few snowflakes on his tongue. Next is Drew singing in his Christmas program at church. He is messing with his hair if you can see him in the middle there, which is his new thing to do when he gets nervous. The next few are from the Arlington Christmas parade, which was a fun event as always. Our friend Amanda also took a wonderful family picture of all four of us there that I need to get a copy of so I can post. The next few are just family fun and craziness. Then we come up to a group of residents from my class which was taken at our yearly Christmas party. Katie and I had a chance to dress up and have some fun with my friends without the kids. We finish out with Drew at Passport Bethlehem, a Christmas activity program at Bellevue for the kids, then all of us making a gingerbread house at my parent's one night, and finally our trip to see Santa at the Bass Pro Shop. Although they give you a free copy of you photo with Santa, you are not allowed to take your own pictures there. So I got yelled at by the lady and did not get a picture with my camera. I need to post a picture of the one they took though, because Allie is crying and it's priceless. It was definitely an all around fun month.

A Big Anouncement

No, we are not expecting another baby. Gotcha! However, my sister and my brother-in-law, Sarah and Brad are expecting one! They told the family around Thanksgiving, but wouldn't let us tell anyone for a while. They finally announced it on their Christmas card and then on Facebook around Christmas, which of course made it official. Their first baby is due sometime in the middle of July. They told Katie and I and my parents at our house by giving them a onesie that says "I Heart My Grandparents." They announced it to the rest of the world with a picture of their dog, Lucy, that shows her wearing a shirt that says "Big Sister." They say that they won't be finding out if it's a boy or a girl, so it's nickname for now is BM for Baby Morris. Drew was very excited as well, although I don't think he knows what he's in for when the baby comes, as Sarah and him are big buddies and he loves to spend time with her and cuddle up with her. The last picture is a book my mom gave Sarah on Thanksgiving called Hot Mama, full of advice on staying hip during pregnancy. We can't wait to meet our new niece or nephew! Congratulations to Brad and Sarah!

Christmas Night

We continued our Christmas day and into the night by heading to my parent's house with two napping kids in the backseat. Everyone was awake and smiling once again when we got there. We ate an early supper, a traditional meal consisting of ham, turkey, dressing, and the usual. We opened even more presents. Drew got a Tiger pillow pet, a few other things, and then his really big present was outside at the end. He got to rip open a huge playhouse, complete with a school house, chalk board, part fire house, drive thru bank, gas station with pump, soccer goal, and even a basketball goal. It's a happening little city in our backyard now. Allie got her first Cabbage Patch doll, which got Katie excited. It also cheered Allie up, as she was a little fussy before that. Brad and Sarah were nice enough to enroll me in the Jelly of the Month Club. After all, it's the gift that keeps on giving all year long. My dad got a grill and a sound system for his TV, while we gave my mom a coffee pot and my dad got her a bracelet. Drew and I got matching remote control trucks again! One for everywhere we go now. It really has always been my dream to race and wreck remote control cars with him. We left my parents and headed down to my mom's side of the family in Olive Branch to finish out the evening. We definitely had a wonderful and blessed Christmas!

Christmas Day

After looking under the tree, opening presents at our house, and then getting ready for the day, we headed over to Katie's parent's house for Christmas with her family. We have been doing a Christmas brunch over there with delicious breakfast foods for a couple of years now. Drew was excited to be able to hang out with his cousins and Uncle Charlie. We all ate a hearty breakfast and then dug into our presents. Drew was actually buried in presents before it was his turn to open. We went in order from youngest to oldest, so little Allie got to open hers first. She wasn't really interested in tearing the paper or helping out, but she still got a lot of nice things. Mostly clothes and baby toys. Drew waited patiently and then it was finally his turn. He got a remote control monster truck, house shoes, a chef's hat and apron among other things. Katie got a lamp that has a key for it's base and then a big key to put on the wall that holds a candle. Then it was my turn. I got most of the same things Drew did- we got matching house shoes and matching monster trucks to play with, race, and crash. I was pretty excited, and so was Drew. Don't let that look on his face fool you into thinking he wasn't. I think it was getting close to nap time at that point. After spending some time with Katie's family it was time to go to my parent's house for Christmas Evening, which is coming up next.

Christmas Morn

We've been lucky so far. We have yet to experience the Christmas morning where the kids wake up at 4 in the morning ready to rip into their presents. However, it's always an early morning for Santa's helpers, who have usually stayed up late on Christmas Eve. Christmas morning was all about kitchens at our house. Drew had been wanting a grill for some time now. Then he started asking for a kitchen also after he had played with one at church. We had been prepping him to ask Santa for one and the big man delivered. He brought one for Allie too! Drew ran out from his room, couldn't believe what he saw, and threw himself on the couch. We finally got him up and then he ran over to the kitchen to play. Drew also got a set of "worker men" that he had requested. Allie's other presents included her own doll and stroller, which also acts as a toy that she can learn to walk behind. She loves her dolly, especially taking away it's magnetic pacifier and putting it back in place. Drew got a lot of clothes from Mom and Dad, which he opened and immediately threw over his shoulder. All except his Cardinals championship t-shirt and the coolest Cardinals hat in the world. He loves wearing his new Cardinals hat all the time now. He got some Leapster games, a book for his Tag Reader, and a few other things. Allie's present from Drew was a plush pink dog similar to one Drew has that is blue that Papa and Gigi gave him when he was born. She loves playing with his and now has one of her own. Drew got Katie the flowers seen in the earlier post. He got me a Albert Pujols bobblehead! Katie and I didn't have much under the tree for each other this year. I got her a frame with a space for a picture of Allie, and then a place for a hand print and a foot print. We had already gotten our big presents for this year. We had some landscaping done a couple months ago which was my present. Katie's present was our new hardwood floors in the den and our new kitchen floor, both of which were put in a couple months ago and were necessary after our dishwasher leaked and ruined both of the old floors. We had some special family time together before we headed out to see the rest of the family for the remainder of the day.