Cookies!

A must-do activity around here at Christmas time is cookie making.  I grew up making sugar cookies with my mom with the yummy homemade icing, so that's what we have done before, except this year Jake insisted on making gingerbread cookies.  At his request, we changed it up a little and had a great time.  Jake's at a great age to stay focused and really help.  He was really good at rolling out the dough...

 and using the gingerbread man cookie cutter...

 And he LOVED decorating them!  We had tubes of either white, green, or red decorating icing plus red hot candies to make the perfect gingerbread men.

 Jake showing off one of his creations...

Making and decorating the cookies wasn't the only fun part.  We also carefully chose cookies to deliver to some neighbors and friends to wish them a Merry Christmas.  I was really proud of how Jake chose the cookies for each friend, and how he helped to personally deliver them.  He even went to the neighbors' with his Santa hat on and made everyone's day!

Live Nativity

Last weekend, we took Jake to the Live Nativity at Bethany Methodist Church.  Jake and I went last year and really enjoyed it, so we've decided to hopefully make it a tradition.  They act out Jesus' birth with a narrator reading Scripture.  The entire production is just 10 minutes long, but they perform it several times each hour.  Jake seemed to like it, and even wanted to watch it twice...

I think the highlight for Jake, though, was the petting zoo area.  He loved it!  You had to stay outside the fence, but that didn't prevent ample opportunity to pet cute goats, donkeys and minature horses...

 Jake was also very determined to try to feed at least one animal hay by hand.  He went around and around the pen trying to get something interested in what he had to offer.  I think maybe a hungry goat finally took him up on it...

Follow the Star

A local area church put on an event called "Follow the Star" which was a journey through the life of Jesus.  It was really well done and very touching.  There were a couple scenes surrounding Jesus' death that were a little too graphic for Jake, so Daddy and Jake skipped those, but otherwise it was really neat and a great learning opportunity to share Jesus' story and importance.  The event was set into scenes, so of course, the first scene was the Angel Gabriel appearing to Mary...

You can't share Jesus' life without starting with his birth...

Jesus entry into Jerusalem, which is celebrated by Palm Sunday in many churches...

The Last Supper...

Jesus' ascension into heaven...

I didn't take any pictures of Jake because it was dark and we were walking through the scenes with a lot of people.  Despite no Jake pictures, still counts as a night to remember!

Parade

A couple weekends ago we went to the Leander Christmas parade.  It was kind of small, but since it was our first time seeing a live parade, we didn't mind and still really enjoyed ourselves.  While we were waiting for the parade to begin we snapped some pretty good shots...

 Jake actually seemed to love it.  Based on his reactions we could have been watching the parade in NYC.  Here he is watching the festivities and waving to the participants...

 I thought the coolest thing in all the parade was this...

 The biggest shopping card I've ever seen, and it's motorized!  Too cool!

 Santa was also in the parade.  He rode by in a car, but then came walking back down the street quickly as he was headed somewhere.  The next photo is a very big deal.  Jake definitely loves the idea of Santa, but this year has refused to go anywhere close to him, so sitting in his lap is definitely too close.  He had the chance to talk to Santa over Thanksgiving at the Gaylord, and we've seen Santa a couple times since at the mall.  With all encounters, he firmly says he does not want to sit in his lap even with gently persuading from several people.  Well, he shook Santa's hand in the parade!  I was amazed!  I really wanted to get a picture of them together, but Santa seemed in a hurry, so this is what I got...

The Christmas season

Christmas season brings with it so many opportunities for fun celebrations and activities.  I know my next several posts will be dedicated to our various celebrations that only happen this time of year.  So to get started, here's a short post wishing your family happiness, fun, and peace as you participate in all your celebrations.  Most importantly, I hope your family finds special ways to remember Jesus' miraculous arrival to this world.  Merry Christmas!

 Jake and I picked out some Christmas pjs a couple weeks ago.  He LOVES them.  He loves them so much that oftentimes he'll change out of this clothes back into his pjs for rest time and leave them on the rest of the evening.  It's a wonder I can even get him to wear his regular clothes out in public!  Here's our precious Santa's Helper...

We like to Party!

It's always great to share in friends' birthdays, and Jake is definitely one to enjoy a birthday celebration.  We got to celebrate his best school buddy's 4th birthday and it turns out Jake and Nicolas were coordinating in their UT gear...

I think it's pretty hilarious to watch young kids at birthday parties.  They swarm the cake and especially the presents.  Everyone is so happy and excited you can hardly tell whose birthday it is.  Here's Nicolas about to blow out his candles.  You can see Jake's head next to him on the right...

To be perfectly honest, it took Jake about 15-20 minutes to warm up and socialize at the party.  He tends to get overwhelmed when there's lots of people, especially when he doesn't know everyone.  He clung to my side for awhile and wouldn't say a word.  Fortunately, Nicolas is a sweet, sweet friend and came over to him to talk and helped him over to the bounce house.  There were also several other school friends there Jake had fun with.  Here's Jake and Audrey showing off their icing faces...

And finally, here's Jake showing off his big blue mouth smile.  Happy Birthday, Nicolas!

Thanksgiving fun

 Each year, we spend some time with each of our families.  Jake and I went a little early to visit my family while Kevin was working.  It's become a tradition for us to head to Grapevine for the Gaylord Texan's ICE!  Every year, it's been amazing to see the artistry of the exhibit and the wonderful Christmas decor all throughout the hotel.  Here's Jake bundled up.  It's the first year his hands actually come out through the sleeves...

It's a little hard to capture good pictures inside of Ice because of the temperatures, but I did my best.  Here are Papa, Grandmama and Jake...

 Jake didn't seem to like being so cold, so we kind of hurried through some parts.  I managed to capture one decent picture of him.  Instead of a smile, I think he's showing his cold face...

 This year's theme was Merry Madagascar, so here's the main characters from the movie series all in ice!!!...

 Jake loves to look at the many toy trains throughout the hotel.  Here he is in front of one village...

 Jake and his new buddy, Marty...

Jake and Mommy in front of the life-sized gingerbread house...

Thanksgiving Day arrived and Jake was a great helper once again as Papa prepared the turkey...

 Jake with the spread...

 We also headed to Gainesville for a quick trip.  A tradition that has developed on the Lawson side is a family soccer game.  Cohen and Jake especially love this game.  Here's the Pirates team...

 and here's the Big T'ers.  It was a close game, but in the end, the Pirates ended up with the 2012 victory!  All in all, lots of fun, family, Thanksgiving fun!

No more hiding it...

If you read this blog, I think there's a 99% chance you already know the biggest news in our household.  We're expecting a new baby boy April 17, 2013!  I think I've held off so long in posting about the pregnancy because I tend to get very emotional (and long-winded) when thinking and sharing about the gift God has given us in this pregnancy.  I know we are blessed, and I know there are so many other families who hope, pray and dream of this blessing with seemingly no answer.  There are also those who feel their hope is answered to only have their sweet child taken from them before even meeting them face-to-face.  I'm sensitive and empathetic to those hopes, desires and hurts, especially to those I know and love personally.  To keep on track, I think I'll just share an excerpt from an e-mail we sent to close friends announcing our news several months ago...

 

"All I know for certain is that God is in control of our family and that He has a plan for us. The journey we have been on these last two years has been an emotional one, but one that has been bathed in such prayer: by us, our friends, family, and our church family. I know God has been listening, and I know He answers prayer. Although I don’t understand this timing, I feel honored and humbled to once again be a part of the miracle of a child."

 

Since that e-mail we've learned we're having a boy and we couldn't be happier!  I'm so excited for Jake and can't wait to see him grow and develop in new ways as a big brother.  We unveiled the news to him with a couple presents and a cupcake with blue frosting.  Here's his big brother blue cupcake face...

Rockin' it Out to 3!

Another fun November memory was celebrating Channing's 3rd birthday.  She had a rock 'n roll theme and everyone was supposed to dress like rock stars!  Here's the host family rockin' it out...

Here's our family rockin' it out...

Jake and Cohen's cool glasses and mohawks...

and finally the birthday girl!  I hoped to get a picture of Channing with our present to her, an Ariel princess doll, but Ariel is a little blurry because she was dancing around.  She seemed to love the doll and we definitely loved celebrating with her!  Happy 3rd, Channing!

One Little Indian

Jake's been learning about the Pilgrims and Indians at school in preparation for Thanksgiving.  He LOVES learning about Indians.  In fact, I don't think I've seen him this excited about anything other than sports and presents!  His teacher even commented that we might have a history buff on our hands!  At school, all the kids got Indian names and made an Indian vest, headband and necklace in preparation for their Thanksgiving feast.  Jake was Gray Wolf, and for a few days insisted on us calling him that.  I couldn't wait for the feast b/c I knew Jake would be really happy to wear his homemade Indian outfit.  Finally the day arrived.  Introducing Gray Wolf...

All the classes sit on blankets in the gym for the feast.  Here are Jake's fellow Indians...

and a full body shot...

Finally, I'm happy to share a picture of Jake and his friend, Nicolas.  These boys formed a fast friendship the very first day of school!  It's been fun hearing Jake talk about him and the things they do together.  We've had the chance to do a playdate with Nicolas away from school, and his mom told me Nicolas says Jake is his, "BFFFFFF."  How cute is that! 

The two most handsome Indians I've ever seen!

Halloween 2012

We had a lot of fun celebrating Halloween this year.  Jake decided to be Spiderman early on and stuck with his decision with only a brief thought of wanting to be a policeman.  His idea was fine by me b/c we had everything we needed in his dress up box, so we were good to go!  His preschool lets the kids dress up and has a brief parade around the gym.  Here are some shots at school...

 

Our handsome Spiderman!

The whole penguin class

another shot alongside his more muscular female counterpart

We also did a little trick-or-treating around our neighborhood.  This time, Spiderman was complete with his mask...

Here's our family shot.  I'm a tiger (complete with a tail!) and Kevin's the bad guy nemesis of Spiderman...

Here's Jake with a cute Halloween witch at one of our neighbor's houses...

It seems to have become a tradition to drive over to the Dishmans' house on Halloween night.  It's a lot of fun to spend time with friends who live so close.  Here are our cutie ladybug and Spidey...

This year, the Luksys family also joined us on their bikes!  Ruby, who recently turned 1 was an adorable strawberry...

It wasn't too long before Jake had enough and was ready to go home.  I think he equally likes passing out the candy from our driveway just as much as he likes trick-or-treating for his own candy.  Here are the guys waiting for trick-or treaters...