Christmas 2014 Pt. 1

Since Jason's family came to town for Cooper's birthday party, we decided to host Christmas the next day. We started the morning letting Cooper open his birthday gifts & play with some before church.

My girly-girl enjoyed playing superheroes with her brother.

After spending the day cleaning up from the birthday & having dinner, we were finally able to open gifts. Something Cooper had been asking to do all day!

Caitlin was hilarious. She realized what we were about to do & sat down on her Papa's lap to start ripping into packages.

Recently, she's become a fan of Doc McStuffins - so this was a great toy for her!

Cooper tore into his packages as well. He was really excited about his Transformers Connect Four game. We've already played it multiple times!

Caitlin took home the prize for the biggest box to open. She also figured out that you only really need to tear enough paper to get into the box.

Caitlin kept asking us to "open" and take everything "out" of the boxes. She totally learned that from Cooper!

Cooper's 5th Birthday Party

This year, we decided to host Cooper's birthday party at home. He's a huge fan of building a campfire and cooking hot dogs, so I thought that would be a great theme. It worked out perfectly, as we had cold weather for the second year in a row.

We kept the food simple - hot dogs & chili. Dips - caramelized onion & queso. Plus, some snacks for the kids - teddy grahams and gold fish crackers. Sadly, I didn't snap a single photo of anything other than the cupcakes!

I baked chocolate cupcakes (at Cooper's request) and frosted them chocolate. I then added broken pretzels & some red & yellow frosting to resemble a campfire. 

We started the afternoon with a scavenger hunt. The kids were tasked with finding some string, pine cones, acorns, eggs, bugs, a leaf & some white rocks. We rewarded all of them with a flashlight - I'm sure their parents were thankful.

We cooked some hot dogs on the grill before things got too hectic, but allowed the kids to cook their own over the fire. The firepit was set up in the driveway, to keep the little ones from getting close.

Once the kids were all done eating hot dogs, we let them cook s'mores. I'm pretty sure that was everyone's favorite part!

Jason decided to set up his family sized tent before the party so that the kids could play. They all had a great time pretending to camp out.

We ended the evening with cupcakes & Happy Birthday. 

The kids all had a great time & I am so thankful the rain was gone. It was a muddy day, but the weather was perfect. A big thanks to our friends & family who helped us celebrate!

December Phone Photos

We started December off by attending the birthday party for Cooper's best buddy. Caitlin had a blast playing on the playground.

Cooper sang at church one Sunday morning. The kids were all so cute & they sang so well!

We all grabbed lunch after the program. Caitlin has spent most of December with a cold, but she was in a pretty good mood that day. she also ate a handful of salsa from Chuy's. Which is pretty spicy.

Cooper got Birthday Sprinkle Pancakes for his birthday.

And Santa came to school that day, so Caitlin went in a super cute Christmas outfit.

The day after, Cooper want to take a cake to school for his birthday. He has realized that cakes can have toys on top that you get to keep. Since he wanted two Transformers, we bought one & told him he needed to buy the other one with his money. He's been getting and saving money, but never seems to want to buy anything. This was the perfect chance to have him use his own money.

We rarely have time to watch tv before school, but it does happen.

Caitlin was in a fight at school. Apparently, she and another girl wanted in the ball pit. They kept fighting - including hair pulling & scratching. Like little gladiators.

One Saturday, we grabbed hot chocolate and went to look at Christmas lights. Cooper thinks he wants hot chocolate, but after a few drinks he usually ends up giving it to me.

We have a LOT of hand me down outfits and I have had so much fun dressing Caitlin up this year.

After a lot of begging (on our part), Cooper wrote his letter to Santa. It says he would like Optimus Prime, Star Wars Legos & Space Alpha Walker.

As much as he really wanted Santa to know what to bring, he really did not want to sit down and actually write a letter.

Thanksgiving 2014

This year, we traveled to visit Jason's parents for Thanksgiving. The kids started Thursday by chasing each other around the house. Both kids were cracking up!

Caitlin watched a little of the parade.

Such a turkey!

Cooper spent some time outside helping trim trees & throwing walnut shells.

I think he's ready to start t-ball again!

Caitlin has recently become obsessed with the cellphone. Especially my work one. She loves talking to Siri and will try to call Dada anytime she can.

Caitlin enjoyed riding in the wagon. She's a fan of letting other people do the work.

Cooper had a bit of fun throwing leaves.

Cooper got to try using a knife - which is a pretty big deal these days!

We finished out Friday by cooking hot dogs & s'mores in the fire pit. Cooper could probably do that every day & be happy.