My Little Elf

In these pictures I think Hallie looks kind of like a little elf, at least the kind of elf seen in the movie The Santa Clause. This makes me happy because The Santa Clause is one of my dad's favorite movies, and has been since it came out many years ago, and Judy the Elf is one of his favorite movie characters.

We'll keep our eyes peeled for the casting call for The Santa Clause, Part 4 - I think Hallie would fit right in with Tim Allen at his North Pole workshop.

Lily Turns Two

Lily celebrated her second birthday on December 17th, just a few days before the Mueller, Ferris, and Ekena families all gathered together in Wisconsin for Christmas.  In an attempt to keep the festivities going strong straight through Christmas and New Year's, we threw another small - but complete with cupcakes, candles, and gifts - for Lily the Saturday night after her special day.

Lily has to take off her shirt to eat cupcakes.  

Blowing out her candle.

Opening presents.

Pouring tea (only for herself - she wouldn't let anyone else
have a cup) with her new tea set from Will and Hallie.

My absolute favorite part about Lily's birthday was that when you asked her how old she was (two), she always answered, "CUPCAKES!"

Music, Lights, and Millions of Sprinkles

The last week of school before Christmas, which was really just the four and a half days leading up to our two week trip to Wisconsin (meaning that my regular to-do list doubled in size), were incredibly busy. On Sunday night we attended "Keyboards at Christmas" at Christ United Methodist Church (the church affiliated with the kids' preschool). Four BEAUTIFUL grand pianos, eight pianists, one organist, and a handbell choir combined to create the most lovely Christmas program.

The program began perfectly with this video - it made me tear up, but also softened my heart and prepared me to truly enjoy the Christmas music.

The kids were interested to a point, but Hallie kept singing along (loudly, and it wasn't exactly a sing-a-long environment) and Will kept trying to say hello to the director of the preschool - who was one of the pianists - while she was performing. Tom and I enjoyed the music immensely, even more so after Hallie fell asleep.

Hallie's preschool class Christmas party was on Tuesday. They enjoyed pizza, fruit, veggies, and juice, and then they decorated sugar cookies with red and green frosting and MILLIONS of sprinkles.

On Wednesday, Hallie and I listened in on the all-school sing-along at Will's elementary school. A couple of older classes performed The Night Before Christmas and the school choir sang two songs, but the younger kids just sang Christmas carols while sitting on the floor in the cafeteria. That didn't bother Will though - he was VERY enthusiastic.

Hallie's preschool Christmas program - during which she sang Away in a Manger, O Little Town of Bethlehem, and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star - was on Thursday. I was actually subbing that day, so Tom was in charge of taking pictures...in his defense, she doesn't stop moving which makes capturing her actually looking at the camera a difficult task.

On Thursday night we bathed the kids early and then loaded them up - in their pajamas and with cookies and juice (neither drinks milk, much to my dismay) - in the car for a Christmas light drive around town. We came across quite a few really incredible displays, including one that was perfectly coordinated to music on a local radio station.

And on Friday, just a few hours before we hit the road for Wisconsin, I coordinated and Hallie tagged along for Will's kindergarten Christmas party.  We had a breakfast buffet, played Christmas Bingo, and made Christmas trees out of pinecones and little pompoms.  Will had a great time, and so did Hallie, for that matter, and I was thrilled that when compared to the other kindergarteners, Hallie wasn't the worst listener and could hold her own when it came to the Bingo game and the pinecone project.

Next up, our trip to Wisconsin!

Grandma and Grandpa Come to Town

Since we weren't able to spend Thanksgiving with Grandpa Mike and Grandma Susie, they came down to visit us the weekend following. And as I seem to be writing quite a bit these days, I didn't take nearly as many pictures as I would I have liked.

The first night they were in town, Grandma and Grandpa stayed home with the kids so that Tom and I could go out for the evening.  We spent the first couple of hours of our date at a TAMU-sponsored jazz reception, and then capped off the night with a beer and appetizer at a local bar.  The kids had a blast with Grandma and Grandpa, making spaghetti, making music, and pretending to sleep (?).  If only pretend sleeping would ever turn into ACTUAL sleeping.

On Saturday we walked to the park, fed the ducks, played on the playground, did a little shopping, and watched a LOT of football. Nebraska and Wisconsin played one another for the Big 10 Title, and somehow Wisconsin came out on top in a victory that was painful for all of us. (Painful for me because Wisconsin won so convincingly, and painful for everyone else because they were rooting for Nebraska.)

After church on Sunday morning we went out for BBQ, wandered campus, and then watched the College Station Christmas parade. It should be noted that we wore tank tops to the Christmas parade - it felt more like a 4th of July parade than a Christmas parade.

Will and Grandma in the Century Tree.

Hey, big buddy.  

Hallie's favorite "Bingo" (Bengel) Belles.

Pretty girl.

My favorite float - a giant shopping cart.

The big guy was sweating buckets in that suit - I felt awful for him.

Thanks for visiting, Grandma and Grandpa!

Santa for Little People

Last week we attended Santa for Little People (last year it was called Dinner with Santa), the annual Christmas fundraiser at Hallie's preschool.

I took very few pictures, primarily because Tom left for his office Christmas party after only 15 minutes, and once he was gone I was on my own to chase after two kids who were literally bouncing in two different directions. Hallie was willing enough to stay near me, but I could barely keep track of Will, who seemed to think that because he'd once attended the school he now owned the joint. (It's funny though, because I remember feeling the same way whenever I returned to my elementary school as a middle schooler.)

Those ISEN professors are such characters!

Hallie and Jorja.

Hallie and Avery.

Will and Logan.

The highlight of the event for Will and Hallie was NOT the silent auction autographed-by-Johnny-Manziel football (which sold for $1,200 the night BEFORE he won the Heisman Trophy) or the towers of cookies or even Santa Claus. The highlight for Will and Hallie were the two bounce houses. I know, nothing says Christmas Party/Fundraiser like bounce houses. In hindsight, I should have sent the kids to talk to Santa first, and then let them play in the bounce houses; instead, I let them play in the bounce houses first, which meant that when it came time to sit on Santa's lap and tell him what they wanted for Christmas, Will and Hallie were sweaty and disheveled. Oh well...

Waiting patiently (and seemingly deep in thought) for
their turn to meet and talk with Santa Claus.

Hi, my name is Will and I'm suddenly 16 years old.
It's freaking my mom out a little.

Introducing themselves to Santa
(and his kind of creepy elf).

Those two melt my heart!
(Will and Hallie - not Santa and his elf.)

It was a lovely evening, made all the more perfect by the fact that once we arrived home and the kids were tucked into bed, I curled up on the couch with a warm brownie, a tall glass of cold milk, and The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. Merry Christmas to ALL of us!

Future Filmaker

Will borrows my phone A LOT. (Though not for much longer, as Tom and I plan to give him a very basic tablet for Christmas. In all honesty, the tablet will be as much a gift for me as it will be for Will, because once it's in Will's hands, my phone will be back in my hands.) The one positive to this is that on occasion, when the phone is returned to me it has on it photos and videos that Will has taken of himself.

I've posted a few of these videos of and made by Will in the past, but last week he made about 10 new videos and I wanted to post my three favorites here today.

Karate

Yes, we'll be enrolling Will in karate lessons soon.

For Mom

Apparently "I love you" and dinner grace (which he doesn't seem to know as well as I thought he did) go hand-in-hand when it comes to making videos you think your mom will like.

Drowsy

This was the last video Will made that day - I guess he was pretty beat after all that filming.

Bravery

We (as in Tom and I) shave Tom's head every few months or so. Tom always begins the process by wetting and conditioning his hair (which keeps it from catching in the trimmer quite as often) and then shaving the majority of his head. At that point I step in and finish things up, making sure he hasn't missed any spots and cleaning up his hairline and sideburns. When Tom's head has returned to a state of baldness, I walk away and let him sweep up the piles of hair that have accumulated around the lawn chair. Our step-by-step process has been perfected over the years, and we rarely deviate from it.

Which is why I was shocked when I stepped out onto the back porch, ready to begin my part of process, and found Hallie shaving Tom's head.

Bravery = allowing your 3-year-old daughter to shave your head.