All of Our Christmas Festivities

After we returned from the beach, we started decorating the house for Christmas....decorated the outside of the house, the mantel and put up the tree.  It didn't take long (maybe 30 minutes) for Walker to start fiddling with the ornaments on the tree.  Unfortunately, his curiosity with the tree never ceased and lasted through Christmas!  Every time I turned around he had a handful of ornaments (with the hooks lost somewhere in the tree).  By the time we took the tree down (by 9am on Christmas morning), I had a pile of ornaments without hooks.  This little cutie wore out the tree, and was fascinated with the lights.

So, onto more happy memories....because that is what Christmas is all about.  Usually we have several blog posts written about Christmas, but sadly, this year was different due to the dreaded flu!  Prior to school letting out, there was a huge flu epidemic and since so many children go to school sick or with fevers that they are unaware of...it became scary for many parents.  I tried to pull our kids out of school early the last week of school as often as we could, but it didn't work.....Preston eventually went down.  Three days before Christmas he became symptomatic, and had a fever for a couple of days.  Since none of the grandparents wanted to risk getting sick, we postponed the celebration with my family until Dec 26th, and we just missed Christmas Eve with the Mizeranys altogether. 

Fortunately we were able to sneak in baking Christmas cookies with Mimi and dinner with all of my family before he got sick:



Girls at dinner

 

gingerbread house with Daddy



bringing Mimi's to us!

Fortunately, Preston felt better within 24 hours (even though he still had a fever), and no one else got sick!  On Christmas Eve, Steve and Bennett made a quick visit to his parent's house and dropped off our gifts for everyone, and picked up our presents.  That night we did Christmas Eve with just our family....lonely, but nice.


Christmas Eve babies

mean cowboy with new cap guns



B with her new AG Doll, Isabelle

throwing reindeer food

W on new scooter with a balloon

The next morning, Santa visited and left the kids with several of the items on their wishlist.  Preston got the hot Max Tow Truck, a rocket launcher and a "real live BB gun."  Bennett got her password journal, a fur real go-go dog and a lap desk.  Walker....who was unsure of everything going on around him, received a 3 in 1 scooter, some drums and a nesting set (though he was still more excited about the balloon he got at the grocery store the day before).  After the excitement from their Santa gifts weaned, they opened the gifts that we gave them....clothes, a few board games, and accessories for their Santa gifts.  I think everything was opened in under 30 minutes, and then I was left with a pile of wrapping paper, dry dead garland on the mantle and a Christmas tree missing half of its ornaments.  So, when Steve suggested that he get the kids bathed...I used the break to quickly clean up and dismantle the tree.  The whole room was put back to normal and vacuumed before my parents even arrived at lunch.  You might say "bah humbug," but it was a huge relief to get the tree put up and out of Walker's reach.  Not to mention, we were expecting over 20 people for his birthday party a few days later.

Pres beat Nene!

By lunch, my parents arrived to spend the day with us.  We played games, ate our Christmas dinner and the day ended with all of us watching National Lampoons Christmas Vacation.  We drank too much wine, but had a great day!

Poppy with his youngest grandchild

3 generations of Walker women

The following day we headed over to Brian and Shannon's for our delayed Christmas celebration.  We munched on heavy appetizers, enjoyed a couple of cocktails, talked and opened gifts.  The kids had a blast, and received even more toys, clothes and games.  They love hanging with their cousins, and since we had been couped up in the house for the 5 days prior....they were wound up!  Of course neither of the big kids wanted to leave, so Bennett spent the night with Henley.

golf cart ride with Poppy!

Though the Christmas break didn't go exactly like we planned, we are still so blessed with our health and family. 

Merry Christmas 2014

 

Thankgiving Getaway

This year we decided to try something new, and travel to the beach for the week of Thanksgiving.  The kids were out of school for the week, so they didn't have to miss anything.  We rented a house in Seacrest that was dog friendly, so we even took Beckham with us for his first beach trip.  We tried to convince my parents to join us, but it didn't work out so the Frys joined us instead.  We had other friends there too, so the kids had plenty of friends to play with all week long. 

It rained a couple of days, but that didn't stop us from having fun.  We enjoyed many good meals at some of our favorite restaurants and cooked some delicious food at our house.  We took lots of bike rides, played on the beach, hunted seashells, played texas hold'em with the kids, worked on a 1000 piece puzzle and practiced relaxing....it was perfect!

Beck was in heaven at the beach....running in the sand, scaring seagulls off the beach, playing in the surf and with other dogs, running alongside of us on our bike rides and hanging out on furniture (which he isn't allowed to do at home).  He has never had so much exercise, and literally LOVED his first trip with us.  Though he didn't have free reign in a yard like here, I think he would trade in his life here for beach life any day of the week.  Can't you just see the happiness in his face?

Our other baby enjoyed the beach too!  Though this is his 4th trip to the beach, this is the first one where he was mobile.  In fact, he learned to walk about a week before we left for our trip.  He was still shaky on his feet, especially in the sand, but he loved his new independence!  He played well in the sand with various toys, walked/crawled toward the water every opportunity he got, and just loved all of the attention he received from friends.

 

Fun at Dusty's

The other kids are pros at the beach!  They know what they like to do, and do the same things.  The one change this trip was the making of new friends in our neighborhood.  There was such a large group of kids, they had fun playing kickball and hide and seek.  As always, we hated to leave.

Walker and his bevy of girls

our pretty girl holding the sun

Pres and Lily

Caroline and Bennett

tuckered out and snuggling

Look who visited the beach!





Best of many, just happy no tears from Walker

decorating cookies

Wine Tasting at Wild Olives in Rosemary
 

Always fun at the beach, but more so with friends and family!  Hopefully we will make it down again real soon!

Preston is Jumping Small Hurdles

As everyone knows, we have the pickiest eater in town with Preston.  Since getting off baby food, he has sustained himself with peanut butter on crackers, milk, yogurt, dry cereal, orange juice, bacon, processed chicken nuggets and the occasional piece of margarita pizza.  Due to the protein in the peanut butter and milk, he has maintained an average weight and height for his age so our pediatrician has never been concerned. 

However, his brain and gag reflex have caused the problem.  Pres has no issue eating any junk food that is chewy, crunchy or any other random texture....but when it comes to healthy food, he locks up.  Preston hasn't eaten any fruits or vegetables in years, which is what concerns us the most.  So at his six year check-up, I asked for a referral to the feeding clinic at Children's Hospital in Birmingham.  Little did I know it would take 6 months to get an appointment!

The feeding clinic has a gastro doctor, occupational therapist, psychologist and dietitian.  Since he was scoped a couple of years ago, we know that he doesn't have any structural issues internally (which is good), so it is all in his head.  Over the summer Steve put him in "daddy bootcamp" and converted him from peanut butter on crackers to peanut butter sandwiches.  And this Fall, he made him eat a grilled cheese, cheese pizza, a hamburger, waffles and a few fruits.  Pres still hasn't warmed up to eating burgers and fruit, but he regularly eats grilled cheeses and waffles now.

We are continuing to reward him when he tries something new (and keeps it down), but we are hoping the feeding clinic can get us over the last couple of hurdles.  His appetite is growing due to all of the exercise he is getting from his sports, and I imagine a growth spurt that he is about to go through, but he always asks for the same items.  Amazing that he hasn't grown tired of peanut butter after eating it daily for the past four years, but he hasn't.  We are happy that he has tried some new things, but he is also so proud of himself....which makes it even better.  Stay tuned for new foods that he continues to sample thanks to a VERY patient Daddy.

SMU 20th Reunion

KKG pledge sisters

It is SUPER hard to believe that it has been 20 years since I graduated from college.  When I think about all that has happened over the past two decades...it seems like a lifetime.  However, when I flew back into Dallas, and met up with my sweet sorority pledge sisters, it was as if only a couple of years had passed. 

The four years that I spent at SMU changed me....and for the better.  I was a shy girl when I left Peoria in 1990, but when I graduated...I was a much more confident social woman.  What a wonderful gift...a paid college education in one of the largest cities in the US, and friends for a lifetime.  Steve and I can only hope to provide our children with the same opportunity.

Kris, Kay and Cyndi

Though things seemed to be "the same" when I got back with my friends....a lot had changed.  Everyone has gotten married, we have children now, some still work, and we are all busy with life after college.  However, with all of that...we still manage to keep up with each other thanks to social media.  Thankfully, Merry and Chad Vose hosted a cocktail party for all of us Friday night, which provided us the opportunity to catch up in a quieter environment.  Though only half of our pledge class made it back, it was still so much fun! 


Following their party, Kay, Kris and I headed to Rustic for a party put together by some SAEs and Phi Delts, along with many Kappas.  I had so much fun catching up with the guys, and meeting some of their spouses.  Like myself, many people traveled alone which made for a lot of fun too because we didn't have to bore our spouses with small talk and reminiscing. After that party wrapped up, we headed to a favorite old college bar.

Kay, Eva, Lauren, Cyndi, me and Kris

The Green Elephant was always a crowd pleaser, and it shockingly had not changed a great deal over the past 20 years.  Fortunately for us, the drinks were still cheap so we continued to partake.  It is hard to imagine that we were still standing at 2pm....due to the cocktails and the fact that it was SO LATE!!  All I can say is thank goodness Dallas has Uber. 

Saturday morning started off slow, but we weren't itching to do anything due to the cold weather.  So we headed to Snuffer's for some greasy food and cheese fries!!  Afterward, Kris and I went shopping for a bit and then came back to our room to relax and watch the Bama game while we got ready.

Lauren (KKG) and Trey (Phi Delt) co-host a tailgate, so we bundled up and headed to campus to finish watching the Bama game and watch the SMU Homecoming parade.  When the sun was up, it wasn't too bad....but when the sun set it got SO COLD!!  We were definitely not dressed warm enough (fashion over comfort isn't always the way to go).  All I can say is thank goodness I purchased the down filled coat!

When we couldn't take it anymore, we headed out to dinner before our class party.  Then we Ubered over to our reunion party.  I was shocked I didn't see more people I cared to see that I hadn't already been hanging out with before.  Due to the previous late nights, we called it a night around midnight.

Kay left early Sunday morning, but Kris and I had a late afternoon flight out so we made the most of the day.  We had lunch, visited the George W Bush Museum, and had a photo opp in front of the new Kappa house.  A great ending to a fantastic weekend!

Bennett's Smile is Changing

Before (top center tooth)

My seven year old has been a late bloomer for sure, but over the past couple of months, she has FINALLY started losing teeth.  In fact, she just lost her third tooth, again with the help of her Daddy.  It has been loose for sometime, but she wasn't brave enough to wiggle it hard or... Lord forbid, twist it.  So Steve has waited for them to almost fall out before pulling each one out.  Thankfully she trusts him, and he has done a good job extracting them.

Steve tugging and wiggling...

...unfortunately not without some pain

But it finally came out!

She was so excited to lose it, and immediately went upstairs to get her tooth pillow....the same pillow that I used as a child.  She carefully placed her tooth in the little pocket, and put it right next to her pillow on the bed.  Sadly, she awoke very disappointed because the tooth fairy didn't come.  Since this was the second time in a row this happened, she was devastated (can you believe it?!)  Steve and I tried to distract her and told her it would work out.  She was faithful, and said that she would leave her pillow and tooth upstairs, just in case the tooth fairy came while she was at school.

Fortunately she did!  And not only did she come, the fairy left a personal note along with a $2 bill.  Bennett was thrilled!  In fact, she has already written a note back to the tooth fairy asking her name.  So now we are waiting for the next tooth to fall out, so we can find out her name.  So happy that it all ended well for our little girl.

Bennett was impressed by her handwriting :)