Ruby & Trippers made S'mores for Santa and Rex carried on the Davis tradition of reading The Night Before Christmas to the kids on Christmas Eve.
I tried numerous times to get a good Christmas morning picture of the kids but they were only interested in playing with all the new stuff.
Just a few cute pics during Christmas in Heber. Here are the kids with Rex's Dad, Pappaw, and his mom, Mammaw Jessie.
I was hoping these would load in order but, or course, no luck. I noticed that I had a lot of pics from Christmas of people that not everyone knows or that some of you haven't seen since our wedding. #1- Ruby with Emma and Joseph in the background. Emma and Joseph are 2 of the 4 children of my cousin Tracey who is my dad's sister's daughter. #2- Jessie, Me, my bro. Jer, Jordan, and Rex. Jess and Jordan are my mom's brother's kids. #3- Uncle Bob, thrilled with his new Italian cigars that my Dad found him for Christmas. Bob is my dad's sister (Cheryl)'s husband. #4- Rex with Hunter. Hunter is Rex's Dad's brother (Robert)'s grandson. Hunter lives with Robert & Bernice so Ruby and Trip often see him when they go to visit Nene and Pappaw. #5- Eric & Joann Decker. Eric is Rex's mom's brother. The kids are Harley, Brock, and Waverlee. #6- Lee Martin with his fiance, Kelly. Lee is Rex's mom's sister (Becky)'s son. #7- Caleb Decker with fiance, Sarah. Caleb is Rex's mom's other brother (Dwight)'s son. #8- Cash with girlfriend, Brittany.
Back before Christmas, Trip was in need of a haircut (in fact, it's been so long since I've updated my blog, he's in need of one again!) but he's gotten too squirmy for Daddy. So, I took him to the new, super cute chidren's salon in WLR, Pigtails & Crewcuts. He's sat perfectly still in the airplane like a good boy and just enjoyed his sucker. What a handsome fella!
We saw Santa at Park Plaza mall tonight. Ruby and Trip were both happy to sit in his lap even though Trip was just wanting to get it over with so we could go eat. Ruby told him that she wanted MORE Barbies. Yippee!
I think even adults get bored those last few days before Christmas anticipating the arrival of new toys. Yesterday was especially bad knowing that, because of the icy weather, we'd be stuck in the house for a couple of days so Santa made an early delivery of Candy Land. Ruby and I have gotten in a routine the past couple of weeks of playing a game as soon as Trip goes down for a nap. Then she knows that it's "Mommy" time and she has to entertain herself while I do "Mommy" things. Candy Land was one of my favorite's when I was little so this was actually really fun for me (unlike some of the preschool games which can be really boring). Only 4 more days until Christmas in Heber!! 
Friday night the Brzezinskis & Days joined us for dinner and afterwards the kids decorated gingerbread houses. Yes, that is Rex piping. Ruby decorated most of her house but when she lost interest, Rex jumped in and did a great job giving our house some finishing touches. Trip and Ruby both tasted just about every type of candy on the table and Trip helped himself to icing. Thanks for a fun evening Somer, Clif, Vivian, Bauer, April, Craig, Morgan, and Gavin!! We'll definitely do it again next year.
Saturday night we bundled the kids up in their Christmas pajamas and went to see the holiday lights at Burns Park and Sherwood. Ruby pointed out the several "tivities (nativities)" and surprised us when she also spotted "Bethlehem." Trip who is talking nonstop these days was pointing out everything and loved the "choo choo train." He also constantly tells us that "it's dark out there." If you haven't been to see lights yet, I recommend Sherwood over NLR. It's free, a better display, and you get free full-size candy canes! But, $5 a car at Burns Park isn't bad for some easy kid-friendly entertainment either.
Sunday night, we introduced the kids to our new book "Elf on the Shelf." If your not familiar with this book, in a nutshell, the elf is Santa's helper who reports back to Santa every night how the children are behaving. Every night the elf flies away to the North Pole to see Santa and reappears the next morning in a new place in the house. Each family names their elf and Ruby decided on the classic name "Dwayne" for our elf. When I finished reading the book, Ruby gave Rex and I a look that said, "Yeah, right." I don't think little smarty pants is buying it but we're going to milk it as long as possible. =)
A couple of weeks ago we met the Days at the Museum of Discovery for a play date. Ruby and Trip wore the matching scarecrow outfits that belonged to me and Jeremy. I tried several times to get a good photo of them together but just getting them in the same frame was a challenge. Thanks for the outfits YaYa!
These pics loaded in an odd order so I'll do my best to explain each photo. MOPS had a hayride for the kids the week before Halloween and had a fall scene set up for taking pictures (last pic). Of course, Trip was just interested in playing with the little "bopkins" as he calls them
. Fortunately, YaYa got some great pics of them at her house in their matching outfits that she made for Jer and I in probably 1982........Thursday night we went to a Halloween carnival with the Brzezinski's at the Maumelle Community Center. Ruby wore her Jasmine costume and we had planned for Trip to wear his Elmo costume. Trip apparantly now has a major aversion for costumes. He refused to wear Elmo or his knight dress-up outfit. Finally we dressed him in his baseball jersey and hat. Thanks for the Halloween costume Ms. Sandra!! =) Halloween day I took the kids to Chik-fil-A for lunch and to Toy Up to browse toys for Christmas. Ruby wore Belle and Trip his football jersey. Doesn't he look like such a big boy? ......... Halloween night we headed to Trunk-or Treat at Crosswalk where Ruby wore Jasmine, Trip a baseball player, and I at the very last minute decided to go as Sarah Palin which was a big hit. I squeezed into one of my old suits, donned my glasses, a swept back and teased up hairdo, and an American flag sticker that I found in my craft cabinet. It was a fun Halloween. If only I could just toss all this candy without Ruby noticing. =)
