A Very Merry Christmas...

Well, the day has come and gone but the memories and toys will last a life time. This post has LOTS of pics, so be prepared. I didn't want to leave anything out ;)


On Christmas Eve Eve (Tuesday) we decided to exchange stockings. Stockings are a big deal to me and Brandon so we didn't want them to get lost amongst all the hustle and bustle. Dayton's Mommy and Daddy stuff his stocking instead of Santa so it was okay for us to open early ;)

Dayton got some tractors - surpise, surprise!



and a Caillou dvd...



and what else is down there?.?...



a new football tee that he tried out right away!



Mommy got a Longhorn shirt...



Daddy got a longhorn cap...



and a Longhorn shirt (I sense a trend?)



Daddy surprised Mommy big time w/ a new Jessica Simpson purse and the matching sunglasses - way to go Daddy, but it didn't fit in the stocking so he broke the rules!!!




On Christmas Eve we went to 5:00 mass in El Campo. Then we stopped by Brandon's grandparents for a visit and gifts over there.


In our Christmas eve attire:



Dayton got 40 - yes 40 - Hot Wheels and a case to carry them in (yeah for the case!)



After we left there, we headed over to MeMe and Grandpa's w/ Mommy's side of the family. The crew was ready to tear into some gifts:




Will and Luke were hilarious - ripping off bows, sitting on gifts, just walking over everything in their paths!



This is classic - Brock sitting in the middle of his pile throwing up the "Horns!"



Dayton was a little shell shocked at first...



But he got the hang of it - he got a great tractor book that he loved!



Here's Will sitting on some gifts...



and here's Luke in a box...




Daddy and Mommy were up before Dayton on Christmas morning so we got to see the finished product before it was corrupted by Dayton. Man, Santa must've put in some time during the night - probably about two hours to put that stuff all together, equipt w/ batteries and everything...



Lucy literally dove right in to her gift. She deserved coal, but she got some treats, a new toy and new a soft blanket...



Dayton was a very good boy this year - Santa brought him lots of fun stuff. Here are his new John Deere slippers...



New Thomas the Train pjs...



Trains and train sets...and much more, but I'd have a gazillion pics on here...



Here's Date w/ MeMe and Grandpa on Christmas morning after Santa came. Everyone came over to watch Dayton face light up as he came into the living room to find everything - it was priceless!



Daddy, Mommy and Date. He looks real unhappy because he was like, "No pictures! Put me down and let me get back to my toys!!!"



PaPa and DeDe w/ Dayton...



Uncle Clint and Aunt Samantha even came by to join in the festivities!!!


After opening all of his Santa gifts, we went over to DeDe and PaPa's to see what Santa had left us over there. We had a great breakfast and then starting opening some presents.


In Date's stocking over there he got another John Deere dvd. He was surely excited about that!



Uncle Clint and Megan gave him some sparkling apple juice. He referred to it as his "beeeeer".



Ripping into more gifts w/ his new cap on from Aunt Samantha...



Sitting in his new John Deere dump truck:



We saved the big gift for last because we knew he wouldn't be interested in opening anything else if it got brought out earlier. He got a ride on John Deere tractor complete w/ a trailer!


He was scared to drive it at first, so Samantha took him for a spin:



Then, Mommy took him for a spin...



He warmed up to it outside...



DeDe got him the knee pads, elbow pads and matching helmet in case he had a collision...



Bandit and Lucy watch patiently out the window...



Here's Dayton taking Lucy for a spin inside.



Here's what Dayton's room looks like now. We had to do a little rearranging to fit everything in. Thank goodness we'll have a new house in a couple of months to put all of Dayton's toys in!!!



I snuck up on Daddy and Dayton playing. This has been the scene for the last few days. I don't know who's having more fun w/ all of the new loot - Daddy or Dayton?



We took Dayton out to the new house on Saturday so that he'd have plenty of room to drive around. He's becoming quite the driver! He'd go up and down the curbs and in and out the grass. We took him to play w/ Bryn and Brock yesterday evening and they drove all around the lots by their house. Bryn on Brock's gator, Brock on his new battery operated 4 wheeler Santa brought him and Dayton on his tractor - it was a pretty cute sight!!!



Here's Dayton's muscles/tummy after all of the Christmas eating. We've got to get back to eating healthy around here!!! ;)



Well, that's everything - our Christmas in a nutshell. I have so many pics, but that's all I have time for today. This week I've got dancing stuff to take care of and house stuff to take care of and Brandon's grandma Vasut is in the hospital in Houston, so we've got a lot on our plate right now. If it's not one thing, it's another. But, such is life. Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!!!

December - This year and last...

Well, I know you guys have seen most of these pics, but I looked through them today and it's amazing how fast this month has flown - hard to believe Christmas Eve is tomorrow! I know we'll have lots of new pics to post over the next two days (my camera battery is charging as we speak!), but here's a little slideshow to hold you over. God bless you and yours during this wonderful season!!!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Here's another slide show of our Christmas last year - amazing how this guy has grown!!!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

A House Update...

Okay, it's been a week or so since I've commented and posted pics on the house, so I decided I'd give everyone a quick update :) The house is moving along well. This week they've been working on the water well and continuing to work on the framing. Below are some pictures and also some of Date at the library the other day, just to hold you over ;)



This is the view from the hall of our bedroom. Our closet would be to your left and our bathroom to your right - our bedroom, straight ahead:




Here are some of the arches finally taking shape. This is taken in the foyer - the arch to the left leads to the dining room and the arch to the front leads to the entry hall and front door:




This one's taken from the back patio. These windows overlook the living area:




Dayton approves!




Dayton was very excited by all of the equipment used to dig the water well:




The following two pics are of the front of the house. Looks kinda plain now w/o the courtyard structure and entry area. It will take shape. The windows on the left side lead into the guest bedroom. The windows on the far right lead into the garage. The garage door will be from the right side of the house.







I'm not good at explaining all this house stuff, but just want to keep everyone updated. Sorry if it bores you :)


Here is my little elf at the library yesterday morning. He was such a trooper - wore his santa hat the whole time.




DeDe came with us, so we actually got some pics of me and Date together:




Here's an action shot of us singing "Row, Row, Row your Boat." That's one of Date's favorites!




Hope all is well with everyone. I know it's a very hectic time. I had my last dance Christmas parties tonight so I'm officially off for the holidays now. I've ordered a little more than half my costumes, so not much more to go - yeah! I was serious about the door issue in my rhyme yesterday. We are headed to Houston this weekend to pick out a front door. Of course, we'll be doing some shopping also. The door place is near Memorial City Mall so we'll be picking up the rest of our Christmas goodies there (hopefully). I would love, love, love to take Date on the carousel but we shall see how he reacts. He does love the mechanical pony ride at Wal-Mart, so there is hope ;) No big plans for tomorrow (Friday). Just try to keep everything in order and hang out w/ the little guy! :) Have a great weekend!!!! JZ