The Reason for the Season

Christmastime is fun for so many reasons. I love getting to share Christmas traditions and memories with Jake. This year is so much fun because he's able to participate and share in so much more than before. In the midst of so many fun Christmas celebrations, it's imporant for us to teach Jake what Christmas is really about...Jesus' birth. Luckily for us, there's lots of opportunity provided to do that. One Friday night while Daddy was coaching, Jake and I went to a nearby church to see the Christmas story. They had a petting area which Jake loved...

and they also showed a Christmas play every 20 minutes. Jake loved everything b/c he wanted to watch the play twice and we went into the petting area 3 times!The following day, we headed to another local church's "Walk through Bethlehem." They did an awesome job. It was so kid friendly and educational. Jake loved it. Here he is helping a woman dip water from a well...We even ran into the three wise men looking for baby Jesus...There were some animals to check out too. I thought the most exciting animal was the camel, but Jake was a little scared to get a picture with him. This chicken was much more his size...He got to make his own sachet by picking different herbs and grinding them together...Everyone volunteering was dressed for the occasion. Here's the woman who helped put together Jake's sachet...He made a cool mosaic...

He also got to touch and learn about different grains. Everything was so well done. Jake came home with tons of cool crafts, but also a real-life experience of the time of Jesus' birth. I'll definitely try to make it there again next year.

That evening we hosted a birthday party for Jesus at our house with a few close friends. We shared with the kids the reason for Christmas while having fun together and enjoying birthday cake. I didn't take a single picture, but I was happy with our little celebration.

Thanksgiving 2011

We had a really great Thanksgiving this year and were able to spend time with both our families. My dad always does the Lenz family turkey and this year he had some help...

Here's Jake in eager anticipation of the meal. His favorites this year were the turkey and rolls...

And it's not Thanksgiving without giving a tug on the wishbone. Jake and Papa had it out, but it was Jake that got his wish!

Next it was Lawson family time. This year we tried something new and played a family soccer game. The kids loved it. It was the Blue Bulls vs. the Brown team. Somehow the Blue Bulls ended up with the most fun team and were the winners. Here they are...The boys also played some clock with Memaw, which I know was super special for Kevin and Chad...

Here are the two that had the most fun playing soccer. Great cousins make a great team!

Gaylord and Ice! tradition

Jake and I left a couple days early for Thanksgiving to spent time with my parents. It seems there's a tradition that's formed b/c this is the 3rd day we've enjoyed all the great Christmas decor at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine and enjoyed the incredible Ice! exhibit. As always, it was lots of fun. The night before we left, Jake was sporting his winter hat getting ready for the cold ice...

If you've never seen an Ice! exhibit at the Gaylord, I highly recommend it. The artistry is truly unbelievable. Everyone wears special coats to help stay warm. Jake's still a little small for the smallest size, but what a cutie!...

This year's theme was Shrek. Here's Jake with the oger himself...

Can you believe this is made from ice?

Jake started off doing a great job walking on his own, but then the cold started to get to him a bit. No worries, Papa was there to act as transportation...

Santa also visits the Gaylord, so we stood in line to see him. Here's Jake checking it all out...

and here he is happily waiting to have his turn...

and finally, here is Santa with an empty lap and a smile when Jake absolutely refused to go anywhere near him. It was OK. A few days later Jake and I wrote a letter to Santa instead of seeing him face-to-face. I'm pretty sure he gets the message no matter how it comes...Part of the decor includes some amazing train sets. Jake loves these, and I admit, I do too...

Thanks for treating us to a great day, Papa and Grandmama!

The Warmth of November

I'll admit, I love the fact that I live in place where it's possible to sport shorts and a t-shirt in November and be perfectly comfortable. Kevin, Jake and I took advantage of this great weather and headed to the park. Being at the park with Jake is just one of the many things that remind me how big he is. He can do almost everything all by himself. He's really growing up!

Jake was being a great sport as I was taking pictures. He was happy to pose and smile for me. This is a rare day, so I definitely took advantage...

Gotta love those nice, fall park days!

Equal Opportunity

Big T and Nana came to visit a few weeks ago and it was a weekend filled with shopping craft fairs and enjoying sports. I think when it was all said and done, we included basketball, baseball, soccer, and hockey to the list of sports we participated in. We started our Saturday morning off watching Daddy coach the Leander Lions. Saturday afternoon, we enjoyed the good weather and spent lots of time outside playing soccer and baseball. Here's our star catcher...

Saturday night we went to our first Texas Stars game at the Cedar Park Center. Here's Jake and Daddy trying their hand at being hockey players...

The game was a lot of fun and cold! Lucky for Jake, he had Nana and his super warm hoodie to warm him up...

We had great seats. Here's a pic of the action...

and a family shot...

Thanks for treating us to a great weekend, Big T and Nana!

Chan-Chan's 2!

Jake and headed north a few weeks ago to celebrate Channing's 2nd birthday. She is so super cute and it was fun to spend time with cousins. I didn't get too many picture. Quite honestly, it was just too nice enjoying the family time and not worrying about pictures. Here's Channing sporting several of her birthday gifts at once...

and her look of satisfaction after eating some yummy birthday cake...

Everyone enjoying the new toys; just a part of the Lawson family band...

Museum Day

Jake and I headed up to Aledo to celebrate my Dad's birthday. We enjoyed a wonderful birthday dinner with my parents and had lots of fun playing with all Papa and Grandmama's toys. I think the highlight of the trip was our visit to the museum. Jake had a great time. Here he is checking out a tornado...

They had a really cool air exhibit where you tried to get all kinds of things to fly through the air blowing out of large tubes. Here's Jake putting his cup in just the right place...and here he is watching it sail through the air!

This is one of my favorite pics of the day. He was SO happy playing with this beach boy. What a joyful face!He also got to play with some really cool blocks with Papa...but I think his favorite part of the museum was the grocery store! I think he could have gone shopping forever. Patiently waiting in line...

At this particular store, one does his own scanning and bagging, but Jake didn't seem to mind...

Jake also got to see his first IMAX movie called Animalopolis. It was a perfect show for small children and Jake seemed to really love it. Thanks Papa and Grandmama for a great visit!

Halloween 2011

Jake and I started off our Halloween Day with some crafts. Here are our jack-o-lanterns and pumpkins...

From the moment I started asking Jake what he wanted to be for Halloween over a month ago, he adamantly said, "Football player!" Every few days I would ask him again, even showing him many different costume options, and he would still insist, "football player." There was a brief lapse in his thinking after talking to his cousin Cohen, but before long we were back on track and that's exactly what Jake was for Halloween...We really lucked out because Jake had gotten a full Cowboys football uniform for Christmas from Chad and Cassy. He already loved it and was happy to be the newest additions to the Cowboys. Here's Jake getting the Halloween goods...Jake was a champ for the first couple of houses, but he quickly slowed down and began showing hesitancy. We trooped around to about 5 houses, and Jake did a great job of trick-or-treating.Here's the full effect...

We all joined in on the fun. I was the coach and Daddy was a fellow player...

After we finished around our house, we drove to the Dishmans' so we could visit this precious little calf...

We then headed home in time to catch a few trick-or-treaters. I honestly think this was Jake's favorite part of the entire evening. Sitting in our camping chairs, eating candy, and waiting for the kids to arrive. He got super excited when someone came up the driveway. As the street cleared and it looked like everyone was done for the night, he jumped out of his chair and said, "Friends, friends! Where are our friends?"

All the new "friends" made the end of the night fun, but let's not forget the candy. It was definitely a highlight too...Yum-yum!