Up til Midnight

Part of turning six is the privilege of being allowed to stay up until midnight on New Year's Eve. Erin graciously offered to babysit Finn and Sloane while we went to a friends' New Years Party. Sloane was sent to bed on time, but Finn and Erin stayed up watching movies, coming up with resolutions not only for themselves but for Sloane, and doing the countdown with Dick Clark.
Among Finn's resolutions were burping louder and learning to read well (which is coming right along by the way.) Sloane was given the goals of no longer hitting and biting and taking a dance class (soon to come!). Finn decided to wear this hideous vest that Rick purchased from Goodwill for an ugly sweater party. Something about that vest just speaks to Finn, so much so that it has been hidden away for him to never wear again.
Here's to a great 2012!

Skating in an Oasis?

Here are some pictures of Finn and I ice skating in a tiny rink at the Oasis restaurant. It was small but much less intimidating then one of the larger, more crowded rinks. Finn was wobbly at first but got the hang of it after awhile. He ended up loving it and asked that he have his birthday party next year.

Seriously, six?

Ok, this post is totally out of order. Probably because I'm in denial that my little boy is now six years old. Any trace of a baby is completely gone. It really is hitting me hard that my little baby is all grown up. My solace is that Finn is truly a great kid. He makes me so proud every day. He is sweet, kind, sensitive, smart, handsome, and just plain great.
We celebrated Finn turning six by honoring his requests to eat dinner at McDonalds and getting custard milkshakes and sundaes at Shakes. Finn's finally got to have his much anticipated birthday party at Chuck E Cheese. He was so excited that his friends were able to come and that he was able to get in the booth where they let the birthday boy try and catch as many tickets as they can for two minutes. He was in heaven! All of the kids had a great time but that is teh last time I go to chuck E Cheese on a weekend night. For real.

At McDonald's with Jaxx and Tera



robot cake pops




Birthday boy

Christmas '11

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. It is always so nice having two weeks off with my babies, and it always goes by much too fast. Erin was able to come in town during winter break, and travelled with us to spend Christmas Eve in Tyler with my mom and Will. It's very important for the kids to wake up to their Santa gifts on Christmas day, so we decided to make the drive back in the middle of the night. And, yes, we were tired that next day. Tera, Scot, and Jaxx stopped by that morning to exchange gifts and watch the kids open their Santa gifts. Finn's big gift was a Powerwing scooter and Sloane got a play kitchen. Finn was amazed that our Elf on The Shelf, Sharkfin, didn't rat Sloane out on her shenanigans. My dad came to town later that afternoon, and we did another Christmas celebration. Finn and Sloane fought over Sloane's new roller coaster . It was definitely a hit. We got to spend the following days with my dad and sister, relaxing in Austin. i always get a little sad when Christmas is over...


At the Georgetown Christmas celebration




Sloane dressed up for her school Christmas party


A sleepy Sloane on Christmas morning

5K

Finn and I ran a 5K together in December. This summer the P.E. teacher at my school was killed in a car wreck, so my school is going to do an annual 5K in her honor. Finn was my running buddy, and it was not the best day to run. It was cold and rainy, so they moved the race to the inside of a parking garage. Less than ideal. Up and down and up and down. Finn ran half of the race without stopping and then lost his mojo. he had to slow down and walk off and on, but never quit. Finn made it to the finish line! I was very proud!

Big Brave

Finn's class had a cute Thanksgiving celebration, which I was lucky enough to go to. I love having him at school with me! The class had a feast with authentic Thanksgiving foods like venison and clams that Finn did not bother to try. The class also put on a Thanksgiving play. Finn played a Native American, that yells "Big brave!" He practiced his line a lot at home, and he definitely put a lot of pizazz into his performance.
We had a small little Thanksgiving celebration. Will and his girlfriend Alyse, Tera, Scott, and Jaxx all came to our house for Thanksgiving dinner. As always, we have so much to be thankful for.

Pagoda

We have a new family member, Pagoda, Yes, we are crazy. A woman that Rick works with had a litter of French bulldogs, and there were two that she wasn't able to sell. I have always wanted a French bulldog, so Rick persuaded her to let us take one of them home with us. Free of charge! Now Tugboat has a companion to play with. She has a little bit of a mean streak with him, but he needs someone to keep him in line! It's a full house over here with two adults, two kids, and two dogs.