I survived January and in my family that's a huge accomplishment! There are honestly 7 birthdays in my immediate family in January alone...not to mention that my hubby's is the 30th of December (Happy belated 30th Birthday honey!!). And my younger sister had her first baby on January 6th, which makes it 8...whew! So a quick recap of the birthdays: My mil, my step-mom, my bil, my dad, my baby sister, my son and myself (and now my niece). Any other month of the year might have one or two, but January sure hits us hard.
For Marcus' birthday I threw him a surprise party that he walked in on early. I don't want to talk about it... Austin turned 6 this month and I can hardly believe it! We went the day before his birthday and he helped pick out a new bike for himself. Marcus made the mistake of heading to the actual bicycle shop first and Austin chose this beautiful red bike that he fell in love with but it was $200!!!!! Ouch!! We told him that we'd have to do a little more shopping and see if we could find something a little more reasonable, that went well. We did end up having a talk and he chose a red bike that was cool, but not nearly as cool as the original choice. He still loves it and told me, "it's pretty fast, but not as fast as the other bike I wanted." Poor guy. I really wish I could have bought him that awesome, expensive bike. We can all dream.
For my own birthday I got to go out to dinner with a group of friends to the Olive Garden. We had a great time! Marcus got me a couple cds and a certificate to a local day spa. Now all I have to do is find the time...*sigh* The kids love birthdays, so I did get to hear "Happy Birthday Mommy" all day from Cali and they sang the birthday song more than a couple times during the day. I'm birthday'd out.
Little Miss Peyton decided to start rolling all over the place. Last week I came in to find her across the room trying to get into Marcus' church bag. They seriously grow WAY too fast! She's eating foods, sleeping all night, rolling all around, and I even caught her rocking on her knees already...someone slow this girl down, please!! Look at those big eyes! We call her Suzy Who. lol
Little Miss Peyton decided to start rolling all over the place. Last week I came in to find her across the room trying to get into Marcus' church bag. They seriously grow WAY too fast! She's eating foods, sleeping all night, rolling all around, and I even caught her rocking on her knees already...someone slow this girl down, please!! Look at those big eyes! We call her Suzy Who. lol
Miss Cali girl figured out how to push her pedals on her trike recently and is "needing" a new bike like Austin's, or so she says. I have to try and slow that girl down too, literally. She knows her colors, sings her ABC's and is starting to recognize them, and she loves doing whatever Austin's doing (which drives him nuts). She's 2 going on 12...I have no idea where she gets it. (*blush*)
Austin has been making a splash at school too. They had an awards day and he walked away with 4 this time. He was awarded "Fantastic Report Card" for exactly that and "Pirate Pride" (that's their mascot). He also made 3rd place in the Advanced Reading program. He was actually a little upset that he didn't get first place and vowed to work extra hard to get first next time...competitive much? He even received a very specialy award that's only given to two kids from each class call the "Best Citizen" Award for excellent citizenship, showing responsibility, having good manners and such. What a stud!! Pardon my bragging...
This was what the kids woke up to Christmas morning. No, I didn't not put all those there...my mother was in town and my dad sent a couple. Santa brought them each two gifts plus filled their stockings and we got them each a couple necessities. It just piled up in that little corner.
Austin was in HEAVEN!!
Merry Christmas....morning gorgeousness. ;)
This was my favorite moment of the morning. Austin had asked for a new pair of Sketchers, but in his letter to Santa he changed it to "the fastest shoes you can find". When he opened these he shouted, "Yes, the fastest shoes in the world!!!" Priceless.
Now this was Christmas with the McCabes yesterday. The kids were in and out all day playing so my s-i-l and I put out a platter of veggies with dip and a platter of apples with caramel...the kids devoured them!! I guess we could have made sandwiches, but they filled up on veggies. What more could a mom ask for?
One fun thing at Grandma and Grandpa's is going fishing in a nearby pond. This is a little trailer that is pulled by a fourwheeler. These kids loved it!
Peyton and I had a good time visiting and eating...she even snuck in a little nap. A lot of friends and family haven't seen her in a while so she got her fill of different sets of arms.
Like I said, we tried to make the most of the drizzly weekend...but my hair sure didn't enjoy all our outings!!! Good thing it's dark. ;)
I do have to say that I did miss my little ones and honey and most definitely my own bed. ;)
This was the football game at the park. We used to all play football in the street outside the house, but there are just too many off us and too many little kids, so we opt for the park. This pic includes (from left to right): Natalie (my big bro's chick), the two little boys are my nephews that belong to my bro next to them, the big black mass is my bro-in-law, the head behind him is the cop bro, and off to the right is Marcus.
Halftime!!!
