Merry Christmas

From our red nosed reindeer to yours :)

Will "didn't know how to draw a heart" (I guess he could have written 'love') and I didn't want to ruin his masterpiece by drawing it myself, so we just left it off :) because I was so proud of him doing this all by himself!

American Gladiator for Tots

I don't know about any of you, but one of the shows I liked to watch Sundays after church when I was little was American Gladiator.  This Saturday, Will attended another friend's birthday party and they basically had a huge American Gladiator style obstacle course set up for the kiddos.  From what I hear, it was totally awesome (I was busy at the cookie exchange) and Will had a great time with his friend Jaxon.  Here are some pictures!

Here is a view of a portion of the course...

And here is Will, on his way up and in....

Here is Will and Jaxon at the top getting ready to slide down!

And here is an action photo of Will making his way through...

What fun!  I'm glad I didn't go because I would have been tempted to get in myself!

Superhero Birthday Brunch

This was seriously the busiest Saturday we have had in a looonnnng time.  It all kicked off this morning with Dylan's Superhero Birthday Brunch followed by a quick nap.  Then it was time for me to go to a neighborhood cookie exchange (can you believe I actually did this?) while Billy and Will went to another kiddo's birthday party from school...Jaxon.  Busy busy busy!  Somehow we survived!  Here are some pictures of my two favorite friends together this morning...I just love watching them interact!

No superhero party would be complete without a cape!

And serious conversations about how to save Gotham City.

Don't they just look like they are up to something?  Trust me...they were!

These are the two cutest superheros I've ever seen!

Here's super Dylan...after he defeated his pinata!

All that hard work (play) means it is time to settle down with some birthday cake!

And then, of course, it was gift time.  

Even superheroes have a softer side :)

After the cake and gifts, it was time for more playing...

Don't they just look like they are on a mission?

Finally it was time to head home for a nap...even superheroes need to rest every now and then :)

The Two Sides of Will

Will is very loud and boisterous at home...but very quiet and meek at school and in public...he has everyone (teachers) fooled for sure!

Click on the two videos below to compare/contrast our little guy as he sings!

Here he is next to his bestie Dylan at their school Christmas party this afternoon, singing nice and quiet...

And here he is singing me Happy Birthday this evening...singing so loud you can hardly make out what he is saying haha!

Notice the difference?

Pinterest Posting

I like to think I am moderately creative...and that a lot of things I do with Will from a crafty/artsy standpoint are unique...but when I saw this posting on Pinterest, I simply had to steal the idea and re-create it!  Just look at these two little feet and ten little precious piggies!

Breakfast with Santa and Dylan

Saturday morning was a very important morning for Will...we had our annual breakfast with Santa at our friend Marianne's Five Acre Farm.  

This year was extra special though because Will's bestie Dylan and fam got to tag along with us!

This was Will's one shot to tell Santa what he wanted for Christmas...

a Bat Cave (think huge Batman play cave)

Dylan's wish for Christmas was a helicopter!

 Will also got to go for a ride on a pony...

 And take a carriage ride with Dylan...aren't these the two sweetest boys you have ever seen???

I just love this picture :) :)

And this picture just makes me wish I didn't live in a neighborhood!!!

 After all the fun, it was time for a hearty brunch...it amazes me how much better Will eats when Dylan is around...nothing like peer pressure! 

So we've talked with Santa...

Now Will will just have to wait and see if his wish comes true on Christmas morning!

Keeping Christmas Simple

Well, today was Christmas tree day!  We headed out early this morning to find the perfect one...

After lunch, a nap and a birthday party, it was time to decorate!  Due to the fact that we are due January 5th and our doctor has told us several times that they may need to take John a bit early (Christmas time frame) we decided to keep Christmas simple this year.  By simple, I mean out of the nearly 10 huge tupperware boxes of decorations we have, only putting up about 1% of them.  Most notably, the tree.  This year, we went with lights only...instead of pulling out our 2 30 gallon tubs of ornaments.  Why?  Because I can't bear the thought of Christmas cleanup whether it be at 9 months pregnant or after a c-section!  I'm not being a scrooge - all decorations will be out in full force next Christmas!

Will was of no help when it came to decorating (lighting) the tree, which I am fine with (a boy who is not interested in decor is fine with me!)...but when it came time to set up the train, he was all hands on deck!

  

Here we have the finished product - and the extent of our decorations this year.  

A simple Christmas tree and...

My homemade stockings!

Now all we need is Santa to pay us a visit!

What's in a Name?

Picking names for our kiddos has come rather easily to Billy and I...we basically established only two simple rules prior to Will being born:  

1) the name must be traditional

2) if a boy, the name must be masculine

With Will, it was really easy...he was named William, after both Billy and Billy's grandfather, Bill.

Realizing it would be hard to come up with something as awesome as being named after your own father for our new little Baby Boy Brown, we decided to double dip into the Trey side of the family.

Baby Boy Brown will officially be named (in 5 weeks or less)L

John David Brown

John after my grandfather and David after my dad (the most awesome dad in the world).

Mom, don't get offended we didn't pick names on your side :) If he was a girl we were going to name her Kate after Nana!

So, all in all, I think we succeeded in abiding by both rules, for both boys.  And can I just say how excited I am to have another boy!??!?!  What this means to me (tomboy for life):  No bows, no lace, no makeup, no prom dresses, no boyfriend drama and most importantly, no pink!  

Here is a sneak peek at John's nursery...plain, simple and boyish :)

Sleepover Ready

We spent the last few weeks finalizing the baby's room.  One of the major additions to the room over the weekend was the moving of Will's Lazy-Boy chair out of his room, upstairs, and into the baby's nursery.

With that being said, we had to backfill the empty space in Will's room by purchasing the most awesome (and cheap) couch from IKEA...perfect for Will's room and perfect for slumber parties as it pulls out into a bed!

Dylan - come on over whenever you're ready!!!  We've got a spot just for you!

Post Thanksgiving Christmas Cheer

One of the greatest things about Thanksgiving (other than the food) is the fact that the we always put our Christmas decorations up right afterwards!  This year we are doing it slowly though...last weekend we decorated our yard...this coming weekend we will do the inside of the house and tree.  

One of the nice things about being hugely pregnant right now is that I didn't have to do this...

Billy, with a little help from Will, painstakingly set up all our Christmas lights and yard art.  

But look how good these guys are at it!  And what a great result!

Yes, in Houston Texas, you can be barefoot with short sleeves in December and not worry about catching a cold...

Billy, I love you, but you need to straighten out the right side string of lights lining our sidewalk :)

And our outdoor Christmas decor wouldn't be complete without a giant, light up, frosty the snowman!

The hunt for the perfect Christmas tree is on for Saturday morning!