Tis the Season

WOW, time flies.  We had a fabulous Christmas season as our daughter was finally old enough to be excited about everything.  Christmas lights and Santa Claus became our world.

We started the season with a community Christmas party.  Allison could not wait to tell Santa what she wanted (dollhouse and princesses).  As we were leaving the party, She leaned over and said "Mom you forgot to pickup my dollhouse".  Apparently, she thought that the elves would have it ready on our way out- no such luck.

After the party we drove down one of our favorite streets to see Christmas lights.  As we drove off, Allison whispered "That is the most lights I have seen in my WHOLE life".  Must have been a lot of lights, since she is 3 years old:).

Evan had no interest in seeing Santa, Frosty, or anyone else this season- 19 months old means he still prefers mom and dad which we treasure.

Next stop for Christmas was our yearly trip back to Oklahoma.  We went before Christmas this year due to work commitments.  My sister, Nicole, and her husband, Mike, drove up from Texas to meet us.  They got the kids some cute gifts - even got a Danica Patrick big wheel.  Unfortunately, Evan spent most of the day throwing up, but he is a trooper and the party went on.  We ended the evening with a boat ride down the river canal in OKC.  The kids were super excited about it especially since there were lots of ducks.

A quick stop at Marianna's house (great-godmother) and we were off to Tulsa.  We saw the nephews, Sam, Matt, and Jonathon.  They are getting so big.  The oldest 2 are now teenagers and Jonathon will be 6 soon.  Makes me feel old, since Sam was 4 when I first met them.

The kids were spoiled as usual. We stayed at Nana and Papa Filby's house for several days.  Evan holds his own with the kids which makes for a much more relaxed time for mom.  They made gingerbread houses together and we ate lots of good food. We ended the trip with a trip to see Christmas lights (our kids fave) in Muscogee.  The best part was Braum's ice cream afterwards or maybe it was the drive through the garden of lights.  The kids went to sleep leaving mom and dad with a few moments of silence.  Ah, we wouldn't trade a minute of it for anything though.

 
Back at home, we had a couple days of work and daycare.  The daycare had a temporary staff for the week.  This meant, Evan, was super sad.  Allison made my Christmas season when I found her in Evan's room helping him.  She told me "he quit crying when I was with him so I stayed".  She is a very good big sister, and Evan wants to do ANYTHING she is willing to let him.

The next night was Christmas Eve.  We picked up Nana and Papa Lawson and went to mass.  It was packed, so Allison sat with Nana and Papa.  Allison was so good that Nana and Papa said everyone was asking if she was always an angel.  Of course, to Nana and Papa she is. :)  We went back to the Lawson's house and ate dinner.  We opened our pajamas (a Christmas tradition from my childhood), and then went home to wait for Santa. 

My parents came over the next morning to watch the kids open presents and have crepes for breakfast.  Santa brought Allison a princess castle and Evan a grill.

Last but not least, the Magical Forest on Christmas Night.  The kids LOVED the train and carousel and lights.  It was truly wonderful.  Evan had as much fun as Allie and they both wanted to take tons of pictures; especially, with the fire truck.  I was so glad we went and may consider it a new tradition.

"Mom, Why does the Christmas tree have leg?"

WHEW, what a December!  It just made me thankful for our little family.  Kyle is the best if you all don't know it, and Evan is his little mini me.  He stands just like him, with his hands in his pocket.  And sticking his tongue out, helps him put things together EVEN better.  Allison is our special little girl mainly cause she is just a doll and acts so pretty most of the time.

Our ninth wedding anniversary is in 2 days, and I feel pretty lucky these days.  Kyle sets such a great example for the kids, and as you can tell, hauls all of us across the country with little to no complaints. Here is hoping that this year is even better than the last.
 
Blessings to all- Erica

Thanksgiving

For the first time since we have been married, Kyle's parents were at our house for Thanksgiving.  They brought with them our nephew Sam (age 14).  My parents, Katie and Paul as well as Nathan (age 1), and Paul's brother George were also at our Thanksgiving dinner.

I am so thankful for my life.  Really cannot believe how lucky I am in life.  Kyle is the best and truly my best friend and supporter.  Of course, our kids could not be cuter. 
 .
We finished up the weekend by putting up the Christmas tree.  Nothing is cooler than the Christmas tree when you are a toddler; therefore, it is so fun to watch Allie and Evan put ornaments on the tree. 

Last but not least, we took the kids to there first Kansas Basketball game.  Evan said "airball" which was very cute and Allison was brave enough to take a picture with baby Jay.  Maybe one day we will have a kid go to Lawrence - that is Kyle's dream.   I have other plans of course.

Eggs Anyone?

I asked Allison "where do eggs come from".
Answer "Breakfast"

Ask a simply question and you may get the answer- KIDS!

Busy Days

Yesterday we got to see Mark and Julie Rodgers.  They are the kids godparents and good friends of ours.  It was fun to see them since we are all too busy most of the time. 

Evan made me proud once again today.  At 18 months, he sat still while he got his haircut.  Yes, he had just watched his dad and sister get theirs done,but he is just my little man these days. 

We  went for pizza and called it a weekend but hey only 5 more days till the next one.

Race weekend

Kyle is off to the races (Texas race with his dad).  This means a rare weekend with just Mom and kids. Kyle and I feel super lucky to have the same schedule which really allows us to be present 99% of the time together for Allison and Evan, but a weekend of shopping and hanging out with Nana and Papa Lawson is rare and fun too. 
Nana Lawson went shopping with myself and the kids.  It was a lot like when I was a little girl and went shopping with my own grandma, mom, and sisters.  My mom watched Evan while I tried on stuff and we got a good lunch.  Next time, we will have to get ice cream since my own grandma always stopped for ice cream mid afternoon when we went shopping.  Allison loved her new boots are super cute as well and she is a girl who knows when she looks good :). 
Kyle comes home tomorrow which Allison is more than ready for especially after she set off the alarm this morning opening the backdoor which gave her a heart attack.  These things do not happen when dad is there;).

Today is Show and Tell Mom

Thursday was a proud day for me.  Okay maybe not my best day as super mom but hey Ms. Allison is growing up. 
To begin with, she spells her name very proudly for anyone who will listen.  She is really making strides at recognizing letters, numbers, and more.  Can't believe how much she has grown the last couple of months and love her so much.

On to the shining moment:  I was driving the kids out of the driveway and stating that it is Thursday when Allison says "Mom Thursday is show and tell".  Love it, cause after all my goal in life is to make her life her responsibility.  Granted she is three but hey I was proud.  Needless to say, we went back to the house to get her special quilt for show and tell--- letter of the week was Q.  Maybe next week I will remember, maybe not but life goes on and I am sure she will make it.

Evan is growing too. I am told he is super smart.  This may be true, but I think he just wants to be as big as his cool big sister.  Luckily, she is a pretty good teacher most of the time. 

Happy Halloween!

We had crepes this morning even though Kyle wanted to go out to eat.  Allison asked her dad "You want crepes right?"  Not much choice there.
Yesterday, our nephew had his first birthday party.  It was at the park and the kids went down the slide about 50 times together.  Very fun day.

Halloween was great.  The kids were cowboy and cowgirl.  Allison wore her Nana Lawson's outfit from when she was a little girl.  They rode the carousel and got lots of candy from our friends' houses so I would call it a successful Halloween.

More fun in October

We went to Bellagio to see the beautiful flowers and pumpkins.  The kids loved it and I can't believe how much bigger they are getting.  They did great despite the fact that we went after  long afternoon at a VA pharmacy picnic. 

Let the Halloween Celebrations Begin!

The kids had a Halloween party at there daycare.  Angels has such great people who work there.  They all know our kids really well since we have been there for over 2 years now.  Evan and Allison were super cute in their costumes. 

Allie was a girl cowboy.  (she is not a cowgirl- just a girl cowboy).  Allison wore Nana Lawson's outfit from when she was a little girl which is super special to me. 

Evan had to be cowboy cause that is what Allison and mom wanted --- hey the story of his life.  He was very happy about his boots though as he has definitely discovered his feet and they are wayyyyy cool.

The kids loved trying the games and the bounce house.  Evan is happy cause I am finally letting him play with the big kids.  We did bean bag toss and cookie decorating as well.  At the end of the night, Allison said "why didn't we play games?"

Tonight after daycare, Allison was super shocked that Mom knew - Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat.  Thank you daycare:),,, she laughs so hard when we get to pull down her underwear!  Mom is super cool now.

Officially halloween is not for 3 days but we are partying all week, after all, dressing up is one of our favorite things to do these days. 

Howdy!

Allison and Evan with Noah and Ali (Evan's friends)

Allison and friend Cailyn

Love to Bounce

Now what!

Great Basin National Park

We went to the national park this weekend.  We took a tent to camp in.  Yes, both kids went with us.  They were troopers.  We were really proud of how well they did despite sleeping in a weird location.  It was super fun but the night was VERY cold.  If we go back, it will have to be July. 

Evan did such a good job hiking. He followed along and got help at the steps. This trip made me so ready to take the kids to Alaska next September.  We are going to have a great time and with a little more practice, we should have some great hikers with us.

 Allison LOVED being the leader until she looked back and saw dad kissing mom, then she thought maybe she should be in the middle--- super funny.

We made smores and had our first of hopefully many more camping adventures.

Extra Bonus:  Lehman Cave--- This cave is part of the national park and we went on a very good tour of it.  It was beautiful and fun.

Boston September 2010

We took the kids to Boston.  This was a first for all of us.  Boston was fun.  We travelled through history (visited Paul Revere's home, USS Constitution, and more).  The kids enjoyed riding on the water taxi and of course the trains "subway".  We went to JFK library.  It was beautiful and we will add it to the presidential libraries we have visited so far (Lyndon Johnson, Ronald Reagan, and now John Kennedy). 

We visited the bar the Cheers was filmed after (yes, we are definitely showing our age with that one).
We went to see the "ducks" at the Boston Commons Park. 

The kids were great on the airplane ride home---- Exhausted but great.  HMMMM where to go next!

Yellowstone - August

The family went to Yellowstone National Park for my 30th Birthday.  Time flies when you are having fun.  Kyle got out of getting me a birthday gift and this trip goes down as one of my FAVORITES.  Evan was pointing and trying to talk everytime he saw a buffalo and Allison was thrilled about hiking.  I will definitely be back for more when the kids are bigger because this park has it all, great animals, geology, and beautiful scenery.  We are hoping one of our kids grow up to work for the Park Service. Allison would probably consider being a park ranger IF they change the uniform to pink!

Fun in the Sun

It was a great summer- I am going to post several pictures with descriptions to help everyone catch-up.  Allie and Evan were busy hanging out at the water parks.  We all tried to stay cool but had fun doing it. 

I know you are shocked!

To all of you doubters- Yes I admit this may not last long, but hey we will try it.  No, I am not crafty, but I have decided that a blog is something in between a picture album and a scrapbook; therefore, I am hoping it will be a better way to remember all the fun we have.


Life is pretty busy these days.
Kyle and I have been married for almost 9 years.  That means we have been out of college for 6 years. 
Evan is 1 and Allison is 3.  (I put Evan's age first as it seems he will be destined to live in his sister's shadow and as his mom I will try to change that but it is unlikely- just ask Allie) Kyle and I are just working and trying to keep up with them which you all know is super fun!  Actually, I can't believe how fast it has gone by, but we should check with Kyle before settling on that statement.