Christmas 2011

We had a great Christmas at home. I told Darrell that when I was a kid, we were always at our house on Christmas morning and I want to make sure that Reagan is always at our house on Christmas morning as well. How else would Santa know how to find Reagan?? We brought Reagan downstairs and he was so excited to see all of the goods that Santa had left. Back around Thanksgiving, we had gotten some random toy magazine in the mail and Reagan has been fixated on three things from that catalog: a golf set, a hockey set, and a Snoopy Snowcone Maker. He has mentioned these items at least once, every day for the past month. Luckily, Santa was able to bring them all, along with some other stuff. He was very happy with all of his new presents. We opened more presents and then Grandma came over and we opened more. We had a great Christmas lunch and then went over to my Dad's and took him food and presents. Reagan had a very long day and did not have a nap until late in the afternoon.

It was really nice to have all last week off of work. We had 2 days off and with the 4 days I took off and weekends, I had a total of 10 days off. So very nice considering I have only had 2 days off work since I started back in March!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was spent in San Antonio with our friends the Wimmer's. It was a chilly and rainy day, so we were glad to be in the warmth of their home. We got down there right before 11 AM and our day was filled with food, laughter, and the kids playing. The kids even got a little bit of a nap! We decorated a gingerbread house, made Christmas ornaments, and exchanged gifts before we left. It was a great way to spend Christmas Eve!

We got home about 7:30 and hung out for a while and then got Regan ready for bed. We put him in bed around 8:30 and he didn't go to sleep until closer to 9:30. He kept saying that he was scared that Santa was going to "get" him. I assured him that he wouldn't even know Santa was there and he was just going to come in, drop off presents, and would be on his way because he was very busy delivering toys. He finally went to sleep and Santa was able to bring the toys.

He woke up again around 11 and again at midnight. By this time, we were exhausted and I told Darrell just to bring him to sleep with us. Once he was with us, he was fine and we didn't wake up until around 7:30 on Christmas morning.

Here are some of our Christmas Eve photos.

Christmas at the Capitol 2011

Some Winter Pics

The picture of Reagan and the little girl is from the night of the Open House at his school. That is is sweet little friend, Bella, that he loves so much.

We went to see Yo Gabba Gabba Live. That was the first thing like that we have taken Reagan to see. He didn't even know what to think. He was pretty spell bound for a long time and then he decided he wanted to go on stage with them and we had to explain that he couldn't.

The day after Thanksgiving, Dad was feeling well enough to go golfing for the first time in very long time. So, Darrell, Dad, and Reagan loaded up and headed out to Lockhart for a little golf. This was Reagan's first time on a real golf course. He had been on the putting green before, but this was his first official golf outing. Dad and Darrell said he did really well, once they explained to him about waiting his turn and staying out of the way. They made it through about 6 holes and both Dad and Reagan were tired, so they headed back in to town.

Reagan also bowled for the first time this morning. My youngest niece, Morgan, had her birthday party at a bowling ally and Reagan and I bowled. We had the bumpers out and the first couple of times, we used the ramp to roll the ball down and then Reagan decided he didn't need the ramp and wanted to roll it down there himself. He really enjoyed it. Again, another experience for him to learn about waiting his turn and staying out of the way.

And the last photo...Reagan and I enjoying some hot chocolate that Darrell made for us. :)

The Holidays Have Arrived!

Somehow Thanksgiving has passed us by and here we are just a week from Christmas! Christmas seems to get more fun each year with Reagan. He is really enjoying everything about the season, singing Christmas songs, reading Christmas stories, and doing all sorts of fun Christmas things. This past week, we went to the Lieutenant Governors Staff Christmas party at the Capitol. We look forward to this each year and Reagan LOVES to go to "Daddy's Capitol." This year, there was a Santa Clause that showed up for the kids. As soon as Reagan saw him, he said, "Where are the presents?" We had a great time and enjoyed visiting with the folks that Darrell has worked with over the years.

Darrell has the next two weeks off and I have this next week off as well, so we are looking forward to enjoying our time off together and getting to do some fun Christmas activities with Reagan. I got a Gingerbread House Kit at the white elephant gift exchange for my office Christmas party on Friday and I'm looking forward to building it with Reagan and Darrell this next week.

I'm really hoping to get alot of cleaning done this next week. I've been feeling very cluttered here lately and am hoping to purge alot of items and be able to start the new year off feeling a little less cluttered. We will see how that goes!

We are looking forward to 2012. 2011 has actually been a pretty good year for us. We both started new jobs with the possibilities of great opportunities. We have been fairly healthy. My Dad has done pretty well with his cancer treatment despite a few bumps in the road. We have gotten to spend lots of time with some great friends. Here's hoping that 2012 can be another great year!