Christmas Chapel

Jackson attended his last day at his current preschool last Wednesday.  They have chapel every Wednesday, and once a month, the parents are invited to attend.

He was sitting up so big and happy to see us!  When Jackson walked in with his class, Katherine spotted him and started jumping up and down in Zach's arms!

Zach was asked to read The Christmas Story to everyone!

At this point in the post, I intended to have the video of his class singing Jingle Bells, but I've been trying to upload it for days and am having no luck.

Jackson with some of his friends after chapel

Jackson, Logan, Presley, and Hannah
Jackson and Hannah are apparently partners in crime

Later that afternoon, Zach and I showed up early to pick up Jackson and we brought cupcakes as well.  His teachers lined up everyone from his class and we were able to get a picture before we left!

Presley, Hannah, Jackson, Cooper, Logan, and Tripp

I think Logan and Tripp are eyeing Jackson's goodies he got early since he would miss the Christmas party the following day!

Santa Train

Bear with me, this is wordy!

Each December, there is a Santa Train that comes through town dropping Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus off near the town square.  There is also a drawing for a chance to ride the train with Santa . . . Zach entered Jackson in the drawing, and Jackson was one of four kids whose name was drawn to ride the train!!!  We knew he would love the train, but based on Jackson's track record with Santa the last 2 years, we were a little concerned that Santa being around may ruin Jackson's fun!  We were at the  pick-up before the train arrived and Jackson was ecstatic!  He loves just being around the tracks!  By the time the train arrived, however, we were getting concerned.  We could hear the train coming before we ever saw it and Jackson was scared to death and trembling in Zach's arms.  His preschool class watched Polar Express sometime recently and some of the kids were scared of the movie, so now Jackson is terrified of it (even though he watched at least 3 times per day last December).  With that being said, we think he got scared of the train because of the movie.  By the time the train was stopped in front of where we were, Jackson was hiding in our car.  I was able to get him out of the car and to the train.  By the time we were standing next to the train, his attitude was the complete opposite--he was screaming to get on the train!  Although we had planned that Zach would ride with him, I ended up riding the train with him.  By this point, we were just glad he got on!

The train arrived and we had to wait a few minutes before loading and Jackson was throwing a fit to get on!

All of these pictures are a little blurry . . . Zach was holding Katherine and each time he held the camera up to take a picture, she went after it causing most of the pictures to be blurry!

On the train and waiting to leave!

He did great on the ride and was so cute waving out of the window to the stopped cars when we crossed the highway!  Santa talked to him as well and it didn't seem to phase him!

Getting off

Arriving near the square . . .

remember Zach is still holding Katherine and she's attacking the camera!

And on the way home. 

He wasn't too happy to be leaving.

He is screaming "I want that way" over and over, wanting to go back to the train and Santa

{Zach loves this clip, so that's the main reason it's on here!}

And after we got home and he finally calmed down, this is what we found!

Christmas Babies

I wanted to get pictures of Jackson and Katherine together in Christmas pajamas, so before Jackson had his bath and in pajamas, I was taking a round with Katherine.

As usual, she cooperated and smiled {at her Daddy, of course!}. . .

but this is what she really had on her mind . . .

Once Katherine investigated Sadie enough, Jackson was in his pajamas and bribed {M&Ms work wonders} to sit with Katherine for some pictures!

He's showing her an ornament and I'm sure she's furious he can reach them and she can't!  She's been after the ornaments for the last few days!

And the very first picture I took turned out to be the best!

Merry Christmas!!

Just for Size

She's only FOUR months away from her first birthday!

My, my, my, the time has flown!

 While I was taking pictures of Katherine, she decided it was the perfect time to pull herself all the way to standing.  This was the first time she has done this and I was able to catch it!  I was hoping we could keep her crib at the top level until we move in a few weeks, but from the looks of it, we'll be lowering it.

Our sweet little girl isn't so little anymore!

O Christmas Tree!

We had a fun time hunting for the perfect Christmas tree today!  It was obviously Katherine's first trip and Jackson was wild.  We were out during both of their nap times, and although Jackson was hyper {because he was tired}, thankfully he was still in a great mood!  He was in such a great mood that he actually sat still by Katherine and posed some for me!

 

He loved this dog at the farm,

and was running everywhere while squealing at the top of his lungs!

Taking a short break with Daddy in front of our tree!

And he's off again!

A rare shot with my babies!

Katherine in front of our tree

Before we left to get a tree, I took this video of Katherine.  She has been army crawling for a little while now, but just in the last week, she has really become focused on where she wants to go and what she is after!  She's also just babbling a lot more and we're starting to hear "mamama" and "dadada"

Favorite

 And he's our favorite,

 dirt and all.

Thanksgiving

We're a little behind in our Thanksgiving post, but we've been a little busy.  As if the holiday season isn't already busy enough, Zach and I have made it even crazier by adding a move to another state in the mix!  Zach got an exciting new job in Mississippi, so we're only going one state over, but it's 5 hours from our current home.  He starts at the beginning of the year, so we've been house hunting and now have a contract on a house that is set to close the week of Christmas and we're planning to move the week following.  We're bittersweet about leaving our current town, but excited about our new adventure!

Anyway, back to our Thanksgiving!  We spent Katerine's first Thanksgiving with my family at my grandparents' in the country.  Most of the pictures are of Katherine since she isn't to mobile yet, but I was able to get a couple of Jackson!

 

 Passing out some kisses!

 Yes, Jackson is in shorts on Thanksgiving!  It was HOT!

 I asked Zach to take a couple of pictures of me and Katherine, and as I handed him the camera, he asked if the camera was set on "idiot mode."  I said yes and when I was flipping back through, this is what I saw for about 4 pictures.

 The last one he took was finally in focus, maybe not the best expressions, but in focus!

 I don't guess you ever get to old to be pulled around in a wagon!

 I hate this picture was not in focus {why it's in b/w . . . apparently I need idiot mode as well!}, but I liked it and think Cassidy looks so pretty and grown up in it!

 Check out Zach's expression!

Katherine LOVES cups and if you bring one around her, you best share with her or prepare yourself for her throwing a fit.  I think she already has all of us wrapped around her little finger!

We enjoyed our Thanksgiving with family and are looking forward to the Christmas season followed by a new chapter in our lives!

Oh My!

I walked into Katherine's room one morning this week and saw these two little eyes staring at me!

Since that morning, every time that she wakes up from sleeping, this is what she does.  She wiggles her way to the side and pulls down her bumper waiting for someone to come in!

And then she did this . . .

she's figured out how to pull herself up onto her knees!

I think she is mimicking my expression when I first saw her like this!

{I've noticed that Jackson isn't in the last several posts, so I will work on curing that in the near future!  We all need a little Jackson in our lives!}

Cake and Ice Cream

Last Saturday, Katherine and I drove down to Mississippi to my grandmother's 87th birthday party!  Of course, Katherine was the hit of the party!

 You can never outgrow presents!

Always one to primp, she even got a tube of lipstick as part of a gift!

Happy Birthday MamaRay!

We Love You!