Mom's Restaurant - Open

Welcome to the table Abigail and Porter.
Mom: "Hi, may I take your order?"
Porter: "Yes, we'll have the apples with chicken and a side of sweet potatoes. And can we have a big glass of formula?"
Abigail: "Please make it warm for us."
Mom: "Sure, coming right up!"

Carey with kids

Porter in Exersaucer

Monkey boy.

No pic post
Well, I took down all the ornaments and packed them away. Carey will pack the tree tonight. I got sad because I knew the next time I saw the ornaments the kids would be one year older. It's just amazing how big they are getting. But then I thanked God for the fun times we have had this season and I asked him to keep my family safe this coming year and decorating the tree next year will be even more exciting. Well at least we don't have to put our tree by the curb. I always felt sorry for our tree; out there all lonely waiting to be picked up and taken away.
Well that's my thought for the day. Happy New Year to all!!!

You might be a redneck if........

And this is the reason the "D" is missing from Grandpa......
I made my dad a birthday cake. Well, there weren't enough D's in the package. So we had to be all redneck and spell Grandpa without the D.

So, you might be a redneck if you spell grandpa
GRAN-PA.

And check out pop's new hat. It says "Grandfather of Twins". He loved it.

Now everyone can ask him......"Are they girl/boy, girl/girl, or boy/boy twins?"
And he can say "They are girl/boy."
Then they can ask...."Are they identical?"
Then he can say, "No, one is a girl and one is a boy." :):)

Karen and Matt
Christmas 2006

New Duds

Here are a couple of pics of the kids. Grandpa had to get Porter this hat. It looks so cute on him. And he didn't even try to take it off. The other pic is of Grandpa feeding Abigail in her new outfit from Grandma. It has pictures of doggies at the beauty parlor on it.

First Present on First Christmas

Here is Porter opening his present. It was quite funny because as soon as the paper began ripping he fell over backwards. Rolly Pollie!

More Family Photo Fun!
My brother, Matt, and his girlfriend Karen also came down from Tulsa. I think they had a real good time in Austin. We went to the Univerisity and walked around campus for a bit then cruised the drag. The kids sure liked them hanging around and holding them and keeping them entertained.

A Visit from Grandma and Granpa......the "D" in Grandpa is missing for a reason!
Family from Tulsa came down this week. Santa was so good, again, to the kids. They gave us money to go towards their car seats when they get a bit older. Grandma and Grandpa brought us another special gift that will help us preserve the memories over the years. Yes, yes, a digital camera. It was so cool to see the look on Carey's face when he opened it. I was also very excited. It's so very much appreciated and we'll be able to post videos of the kids. So "stay tuned" as they say.

To Grandmother's house we go!
More pics from Grandma's house. Look at all the gifts we got to open. How fun. And we sure like to chew on the paper. Yum! After opening presents we watched the Cowboys play. Thanks for having us at your home grandma. It was fun!

Man, are we cute or what?
Today after we all went to church, we got to hang out with Grandma and she took pics of us sitting in her big chair. We had tons of fun. She had cookies and wine and egg nog for mom and dad. Maybe next year we can have some. We also got some cool toys that will keep us busy! It was fun unwraping them. Merry Christmas to all.

Mom and Abigail Christmas 2006

Sunday Happenings
Today we all got up and went to Grandma and Grandpa's church. Grandma is the director of handbell choir and did and excellent job. Way to go Grandma. After church we headed back to their house and had Christmas Eve lunch which consisted of pork tenderloin, sweet potato caserole, salad, Waldorf salad and greenbean caserole that my mom made, rolls and dressing. Needless to say, as usual, it was great. Then we all sat around and opened our gifts. We are so blessed to have healthy bodies and minds and to have such a wonderful family. Thank you Jesus for your gift of family.

Santa works best on a full belly
Hey kids all over the world. Don't forget to leave Santa some cookies and milk tonight. Then crawl into your bed and dream of the sugar plum ferry.

PS: I heard Reindeers need food too. I heard they like peanut butter and berries. Here's another idea.

Supplies
Raw Oatmeal
Glitter (I use a silver or gold base and mix red and green in with it)
Plastic lunch baggies
Ribbon
Paper or cardstock
How To Make It
Pour about 1/8 cup of oatmeal in baggie. Add some glitter. Close baggie.
Attach with ribbon to the front of the baggie the following message.

"On Christmas Eve
sprinkle this wonderful
Reindeer Food on your lawn.
The shiny glitter will sparkle
in the moonlight and the
smell of oats will guide
Rudolph to your home."

Flashbask Friday (Late again) oops
Mom's 'a slackin' again. Here are a couple of pics right after the kids had come home. They were so tiny. I'll never forget how tiny they were either. I was a little afraid for Abigail to be home at first. Ya know, watching her chest rise and fall while she slept. But she proved to mom and dad that she was a-ok. Here she is above practicing her Pledge of Allegiance. And look at Mr. Porter. Precious little boy. He sure was a booger to put to bed in the beginning. He wouldn't go to sleep without being in his bouncy seat for the first 6 months. lol. Now he doesn't even budge when we lay him down now. Must be the magic touch we have developed. These times are flying by. Stop time, stop.

Mmmmmmmmmm
Mom and grandma let us have some candy canes. We sure love the taste. It feels good on our gums. Sure was fun getting sticky stuff all over ourselves.

Who are you?
While I was washing bottles I overheard Porter laughing. I thought, "Oh he's probably watching his sister." He kept laughing, kept laughing. So I peeked in the living room and there he was staring at himself in the mirror on the floor. He'd laugh, then let his face fall on the mirror. Repeat. I ran to get the camera for this shot. He didn't even look up when I got next to him. He's found a new friend. This truly was so funny. Enjoy!

Extension Cords Galore!
Here are the pics of 37th Street. That's a dinosaur there. It looks better at night and not on camera. His mouth is lit up with red lights. Pretty scary for the kids! One house even lets you walk through the backyard. They even have a skillet of eggs cooking. Of course it's not real. Funky stuff in Austin. And check out the disco ball high in the middle of the street. If you have a chance, make sure you visit this street before the season is over. It's off Guadalupe at 37th.
http://texaslesstraveled.com/37thstreet.htm

Visiting with friends
We loaded up the kids and met up with Tom and Leisl and Mr. Andrew at Santa Rita on Friday night. Mom and dad rarely go out to eat so we thought it was time for a treat. Leisl brought each of the kids a Christmas toy. They enjoyed their toy while mom and dad ate. Our dinner was delicious. The hot sauce is great and I recommend this joint to all who visit Austin. The kids, of course, were great too. After we ate we cruised 37th Street to take in all the lights. It's a tradition that we love doing. Enjoy the pics.
www.santaritacantina.com

Flashback "Saturday"
Mom was a slacker and forgot to post on Friday! Woopsy!
Pic 1: Father and son - Carey holding Mr. Porter. Poor guy, his little head has shaved marks all over it from where the nurses had to place IVs. It's all grown back now!
Pic 2: "Hands up!" or "Freeze!" - Abigail asleep in her rolling NICU crib. The blanket and cap were knitted by the Seton Auxillary Staff.

Sleeping Beauty
Abigail likes to go to sleep with her two fingers in her mouth. We usually find her with her right arm draped over her brow with the 2 fingers of her left hand in her mouth like "Whoa is me!" Save the drama for your momma! (note Pepper's foot in the upper left hand corner. Always the babysitter!)

Rip Van Winkle
Lately this is how I feel about adult conversations.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

First Tooth!

Well, I took a moment and ran my finger over Porter's gums and sure enough.....a tooth! Sorry the pics so blurry, but it's right above my index finger! (Go ahead...look real close) I know, I know, only a mother/father can be so excited! I got butterflies in my stomach when I saw this. I felt it, then threw open his mouth!! Off to mark the calendar and baby book!

Abigail
Miss Abbey wearing her Kitty Cat bib.
She'll be getting her first tooth soon!

Cousins!!!!!
We got to hang out with our cousins Scotlyn and Kyler while we were at grandma and grandpa's house. Boy do they think we're cool.
Pic 1: Kyler, Porter, Aunt Beth and Scotlyn
Pic 2: Kyler with Porter.....or is it Porter with Kyler!!??

At Grandma and Grandpa Best's House
Today we hung out at grandma and grandpa's house. We had chili and corn bread and beer. Even though grandpa added more red pepper and beer to the chili it was still good. And it wasn't too hot. (running joke) It was really good. As usual. Mom and dad got to have some free time while Aunt Beth and Uncle Brady entertained the kids. As you can see, Abigail fell fast asleep. Porter seems to be enjoying the shoulder of Uncle Brady.

Mom and Abigail in front of the tree.

Playtime with our blankets
I put Porter and Abigail in the crib and let them pay with the blankets. Supervised of course. They had a blast and just loved being next to one another.

WARNING!
Extremely cute baby ahead!

If this doesn't melt your heart, I don't really know what will. I felt as though I couldn't get close enough to him after he smiled like that at me. This little booger wasn't ready for bed last night, so he came and hung out with mom and dad and had some playtime. He can almost sit up!

Family Time

Last night was our potluck dinner at the community center. Dad came home from slaying the dragons and we bundled up the kids, loaded ourselves into the car and headed down for some great food. Mom brought corn caserole. It was gone in a flash. There was ham and turkey. All the sides were available too. The CC was decorated really pretty. Santa was outside but it was a bit too cold. After dinner we "strolled" down the paths and looked at Christmas lights and all the luminaries (real candles!) around the park. I'd say there are about 1000 of them: So pretty!. One street, a cul-de-sac, was all lit up except for one house. Hmmm. I told Carey maybe they don't celebrate Christmas. Anyway it was fun. We even saw one house that had their For Sale sign lit with lights. Now that's dedication! Porter fell asleep while Abbey stared at her over-so-protective parents. Family time. Nice. (No, Porter does not have on blush. His little cheeks just lit up like Rudolphs nose!) And there's my sweet, awesome husband. I love my family.