More flags, more fun

Sunday evening, we took the kids to Six Flags to see Santa. We got season passes REALLY cheap this year, and the park was only open from 4 to 10 for Holiday in the Park. Rumor had it that they had a decent Santa and a sled run, and we figured it might be worth fighting the crowd, so we lined up along with a few other people to get in when the park opened.

And it was so worth it.

We went straight to Santa, who was the most awesome Santa ever.

Too bad my photography skills are so lacking. And too bad I couldn't get all four kids to smile and look at the camera AT THE SAME TIME. Oh, well. Some day.

Santa really took his time, and it was so sweet. But check out Brady's hair. What on earth was going on there?

I will say that Santa might have been playing favorites just a little. He LOVED Max and threatened to take him home to the North Pole. I thought about letting him give it a go because have you spent more than an hour with Max lately? Santa would be back. Like I always say to Max, "It's a good thing you're so darn cute." And it is. A very good thing.

Humor me

I love that my boys are funny. I live in a house full of comedians, and it makes my job amazing. This post is just a tidbit of the hilarity in our home.

Earlier this week I asked my little guys what they wanted to be when they grow up. This is what they said:

Brady: A knight who flies in an airplane and kills dragons.

Max: An elephant.
Brady: You're a boy. You can't grow up to be an elephant.
Max: Oh. A guy that wears an elephant costume. And scares birds.

Ba-dum-bum. And they're only two and three. I cannot WAIT to see what these two grow up to become.

And if you've only met Blake, it's easy to mistake him for completely and totally serious. He definitely thinks a lot, and he is often pretty serious. But that kid has a sense of humor that I just adore. Recently, he's been studying the Alamo at school (we live in San Antonio, after all). He had to make up some multiple choice questions about the Alamo, and this is what he came up with:

1. Who brought 14 more men to the USA army?
a. Davy Crockett
b. the New York army
c. George W. Bush

2. What did Texas become?
a. a place for weirdos
b. a giant cup of hot cocoa
c. independent

3. What did the Alamo become?
a. a library
b. a national landmark
c. Santa Claus's house

And yes, I am aware that Texas has indeed become a place for weirdos.

Praise God for the gift of laughter. And Praise God that He has blessed us so lavishly with that particular gift in this home.

Fancy family

Saturday morning, Syd and I thought we'd run down to the Michael's at the Rim to pick up supplies for an afternoon of Christmas crafting. I pulled on a pair of jeans and slung my hair into a pony tail.

When I walked out of my bedroom, Brady asked, "Mom, where are you going? Why are you all dressed up?"

I'm not sure whether it was the lip gloss or the sequins on my t-shirt that threw him. Really, Amy, get out much?

When I came home, Brady was dressed in his usual home-all-day-with-no-good-reason-to-put-pants-on outfit. Please notice the plastic backpack and trendy green rubber belt.

In other news, Sydney is doing a fabulous job of teaching Brady his letters. She will make a fabulous teacher and mother some day. He spends hours making B's and P's and a whole bunch of other letters that he really likes to think he knows, but really hasn't a clue quite yet. I love that he's taken this sudden interest in using crayons appropriately, and he's always so proud of himself. Who wouldn't love that grin?

It's all in the family

Thanksgiving Day was great fun around here. I was honored to host both sets of grandparents, my in-laws, and my uncle Brian and his sweet wife, Carla.

But once again, I did a dreadful job of taking pictures. I did not take a single picture of either set of grandparents or of the in-laws. I know, it's like I'm discriminating against AARP. I wish I had a decent excuse, but I don't. I'm just really bad at remembering to take pictures, even though I own at least three cameras.

But thanks to Dale and Larry for being the most awesome in-laws ever. Dale is so natural in the kitchen, and she thinks of everything I forget, which pretty much means she thinks of everything. And Larry, oh, sweet Larry, is the dishwasher. And he never complains. Love that.

My sweet Nonnie showed up early for dinner to help out. She vacuumed my carpets for me and shined up my dining room table. And she acted as if it were an honor to do so.

Grandma made her famous pralines, which were gobbled up rather quickly. Yum.

James, uncle-extraordinaire, is always up for a story, and he suckers for Max's little smile every time. And Max adores him for it. As a side-note, they are reading a Justice League story, and Max always points to Wonder Woman and calls her Mommy. Love that kid.

There were lots of gifts from grandparents. The kids love to open their treasures. Syd loves to model hers. This kid was born for the camera and the stage.

I love being in regular communication with my grandparents, and now with my uncle B. I grew up making laundry-room-recordings with him, and at the risk of offending other uncles (like any of them actually read this), Brian was always my favorite. As he and his amazing wife Carla sat at my kitchen table, I asked him if he ever would have dreamed when I was seven and belting "Elvira" at the top of my lungs that he would one day sit in my kitchen on Thanksgiving, watching my four children play with his dog. I think his response was something like, "No, that pretty much still blows my mind." Um, mine too.

Speaking of uncle B's dog, Jake was the guest of honor, as far as the kids were concerned. Carla has done a fabulous job training him, and we adore him. Now if I could just talk her into training a dog for us.

Sydney has been begging for a dog for...well, pretty much forever. Look how much she loves Jake.

Even Brady took to him. Amazing. Seriously. That dog is welcome in my home any time. And that's saying something.

They grow up so fast

That's what all the little old ladies at the grocery store tell me, anyway. Some days, it's so hard to believe. Some days, I'm just praying for bedtime to get here ASAP so I can lose myself in peace and quiet.

But yesterday was not one of those days. Yesterday, I loved my job. The kids were well-behaved, and we even braved dinner out with my friend Jennifer and her gorgeous teenage daughter (no, James, you can't meet her). I was so proud of my little clan. They were sweet and charming, and generally amazing. How is it that I am so blessed?

I've been waiting for the perfect time to move Max into his "big boy bed". And yesterday night seemed just perfect. Both he and Brady were worn out but still happy, so I was pretty sure they'd both go to sleep pretty quickly. And Max was SO excited when I brought the toddler bed in from the garage. He was ready to go to bed immediately. He did great last night. He fell out of bed once, but I put him back in, and he went right back to sleep. This morning, he woke up so proud of himself.

Perhaps I'm a little biased, but he really IS cute, isn't he?

These are the moments that being a SAHM is a dream job.

And as I look at the pics I took last night of my baby in his new bed, I can't help but be a little sad that he's growing up. That they're all growing up.

Those little old ladies know what they're talking about. Next time one of them tells me to cherish these days, I am making a commitment to take their advice seriously.

These days will be gone before I know it, and I'll be wishing to have them back again. I don't want any regrets.

Swing, batta, batta, batta

Blake loves baseball. I mean, really loves baseball. He loves to watch it. He loves to play it. He loves to talk about it.

This year, we were so blessed to be part of an awesome team for Fall baseball. The coaches were wonderful, Godly men. Coach Will started each game with a big smile and an excited "Boys, tonight we get to play baseball. Isn't that awesome?" He instilled a love and passion for the game in the boys that was just inspiring to witness.

I really hope that I can learn to parent the way Coach Will coaches. Wouldn't it be amazing if we all had that kind of contagious enthusiasm?

And by the way, Blake is an awesome player. He fields well, hits well, and has quite an arm on him. If you ask him what position he plays, he'll tell you, "I'm a pitcher." Funny thing about that is that his age group plays coach pitch.

Actually, it's a cayman

I recently uploaded the photos and video from all three cameras, and I'd forgotten all about several of the precious moments captured on them.

This particular day, we were home and in our jammies all day long. (I love those days.) Brady had been playing with these little figurines for quite a while. I was just thrilled he was NOT playing with a Diego "guy". At some point, he put them in perfect poses and asked in his sweetest voice if I would PLEASE take some pictures. How could I refuse?



That's when I remarked how much fun it is to take pictures of sweet little boys, pirates and alligators. He just gave me this broken-hearted look and said, "Mom, that's not an alligator. Actually, it's a cayman."

Diego strikes again.