Christmas 2007

We had a great Christmas. Barrett was really excited about Santa this year. We started a new tradition by opening our presents with just the four of us here on Friday. We had breakfast for dinner and then opened presents here. It was a special time with our family.
Then on Saturday we headed to Galveston where Derek's parents rented a house on the beach. Derek's sister, Michele and his Uncle Dennis were also there. Barrett and Brooklyn both took to Uncle Dennis right away. He was so good and patient with them. Galveston is a special place for us, because that is where we got engaged. We went to dinner at Gaido's(the place we ate on the night of our engagement).

On Sunday we went to Moody Gardens. Barrett liked the aquarium the best. Leigh and the girls met us there too. Uncle Dennis and Barrett went looking for shells on the beach and Derek and I grabbed some coffee and went for a walk on the beach. Derek proposed to me on the beach and so it was making us feel reminiscent! I am so happy I married Derek. He is awesome!! The girls spent the night at the house and Barrett had a great time hanging out and playing with them. They just all giggled and enjoyed being together.

Monday, the four of us went to the Stand for lunch, shopping, and of course a chocolate malt. We got to see my parents for a while too since they were also in Galveston. We ate soup on Christmas Eve and set out milk and cookies for Santa. Barrett was really excited for Santa to come! Barrett even left two cars for Santa to play with while he had his milk and cookies!

Barrett's favorite thing from Santa was a rescue helicopter and some army men. Brooklyn liked her shape sorter, books and goldfish snacks(her favorite)!! We went for a walk on the beach. Barrett and Brooklyn had a blast digging in the sand and looking for shells. Rich, Leigh and the girls came over and we ate lunch and opened presents. We headed home on Tuesday and both kids slept almost the whole time. They were exhausted from their trip! It was a fun time for us all. We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas too.

Our family at Gaido'sLooking at the shark tank at the aquariumWOW! That is a huge python!Playing in the Discovery pyramidThe rainforest(we have a picture just like this from when we got engaged)

Barrett and Uncle Dennis looking for shells

Harper, Sydney, Barrett and Aunt Michele playing memory

At La King's on the Strand enjoying our malts, shakes and ice cream

She is such a happy girl!

Getting ready for Santa

Santa came!

Looking at all the goodies

This is cool!

Playing on the beach

B playing with his new helicopter

The Reaves family

Sweet Sixteen

Our sweet Brooklyn turned 16 months old on Decmber 18th. Here are 16 things about our little princess.

1. She talks all the time. I am understanding more and more words each day. It is so fun.

2. LOVES the phone! She loves to talk on it and doesn't like for anyone else to talk on it. And she has already made several calls.

3. She gives wonderful hugs!

4.She has given up her morning nap and takes one in the afternoon and then is tired around 7. It is nice to not be so homebound because of the nap schedule.

5. I guess girls are just born this way, but she will throw herself on the ground and throw a fit when she doesn't get her way.

6. She loves to put on ball caps backwards . It is so cute.

7. She still has only 7 teeth.

8. Brooklyn loves dolls and stuffed animals. She picks them up and hugs them tight.

9. She looks very similar to Barrett when he was this same age.

10. She is starting to "fight back"some when Barrett pesters her.

11. She can pour on the tears. And her tears on huge. You just want to sweep her up and love on her. As do other people in stores who are probably thinking" What did you do to her, you mean mommy!"

12. She loves her mommy. Though we are through with the separation anxiety, she still likes me to hold her and follows me around the house.

13. She has the greatest laugh. She can get going and it is hilarious.

14. If she wants you to read her a book, she will stand in front of anyone sitting on the floor and walk backwards to sit in their lap and listen to her story.

15. She likes to eat, but if she is given something she doesn't want, she will look at it and then throw it on the floor with a look of disgust.

16.Brooklyn has always loved to sleep with her taggie blanket. And now it seems she likes a bear and another blanket or two in bed with her. She is sometimes hidden under all the stuff.

We love our little girl!

Trail of Lights

One of the traditions we have had ever since we have lived in Austin, is going to the Trail of Lights. Every year at Zilker Park they have a tree made of lights. This tree is huge. The kids(and us too) love to spin around under the tree and then look up at the lights. You get really dizzy! We also have to have kettle corn and funnel cake. Then it is off to walk through the park and look at all of the light displays. There are all sorts of displays. Barrett liked the "Candyland" one the best of course! The trees are all lit up all over and there are tunnels of lights to walk through too. The kids had a great time and so did we. It is a fun tradition we plan to keep!

Dizzy BarrettDizzy BrooklynBarrett with his yummy kettle cornBrooklyn loved the blow up SantaDerek pushing B, Tate and Brooklyn down to the trailGrant and Brooklyn stuck in their strollersMe and my little man

Fun times for all!

Catching Up

Merry Christmas from the Reaves!

Its been forever since I have blogged. We have been busy and enjoying the holiday season. We had my family here for Thanksgiving. It was a fun time and we ate lots of food and enjoyed each others company.
Then it was time to get out the Christmas decorations and get our tree. Barrett helped us pick out a tree and it was quite a bit bigger then out tree last year. We decorated it and the rest of the house. This got us into the Christmas Spirit even more. I am done with Christmas shopping and the presents are wrapped. Yippee! It makes me enjoy what the season is all about when I am not so stressed out about!

Picking out the tree

Posing by our tree

All set up for Christmas!

We had a Christmas party at our home last weekend. There were like 60 people(kids included). It was lots of fun and good to visit with friends from church and Barrett's school. We are blessed to have such wonderful friends in our life.
This week I went to Waco to help Kara get settled into her new house. They have a beautiful home and it was fun to see them.
Here are some other pics of the kiddos, just because I think they're cute!
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My handyman's a hottie!

My husband is awesome! He really is great. He is a hard worker, so patient, so thoughtful and caring about us. We moved in to our home a little over a year ago. We have done lots of painting and little projects. Well, I should say Derek has done most of this. It has just been my ideas. Well, Derek completed his biggest project ever just in time for all our family to come for Thanksgiving. He built a deck at our old house and has done various other outdoor work. He is willing to try anything. He built built- in bookcases for our living room and they look great. I did help a little with the staining, but it was mainly all him. He came up with the plan and got all the supplies. So, here are a few pictures. I just wanted to brag on my husband and to say thanks Derek for working hard to make these. I love you!

Barrett's Half birthday

Today is Barrett's 1/2 birthday. He is officially 3 and 1/2. Today we hung around the house, played with Daddy,went to lunch at Chick-fil-A, did stamps, read books, made a sprinkle cake, ate the cake, played the matching game. What a fun day to celebrate B turning 3 and a half. Barrett is such a fun, happy kid. He is full of energy. He loves to play outside. He likes to build things. He is meticulous when he paints one of his projects. He loves to play with his cars and trucks. He gets so excited about things. He loves his friends and wants them to come over and play. He says"awesome" about alot of things. He has not one, but two crushes- Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus and Ms. Marla(his Ladies class teacher). He loves to go to preschool. He loves snacks and treats. He gives the best hugs. We love our little guy! Happy 1/2 birthday!

15 months

Brooklyn turned 15 months old yesterday. Its hard to believe. She is a little girl now, not a baby! Here are 15 things about Miss Brooklyn-

1. She is such a happy girl.

2. Some of her hair is long enough for me to put in a ponytail on the top of her head.

3. She has 7 teeth now!

4. She can say several words: daddy, mama, tee(see), ti(sit), ba(ball), go, wow, no, dog, baby, hi, bye, yes, cow, uh-oh, up, B(for Barrett), Tate, eat, chee(cheese), nose, thank you and me.

5. She loves to play with her dolls and hugs them and rocks them.

6. She is fairly independent and likes to figure things out on her own.

7. She loves to have Derek or I read books to her and loves to look at books on her own.

8. She likes to "wash" her hands.

9. She is a great eater. She'll eat almost anything and eats alot of it.

10. She likes to climb up the stairs all by herself.

11. She likes to do puzzles with Barrett. And really just be wherever Barrett is.

12. She loves Barrett and enjoys playing with him, most of the time.

13. She loves to be held and likes to cuddle.

14. She has the sweetest smile that warms my hear(and her daddy's too)

15. She likes to play outside.

Kitchen for our playroom

Yippee, we got a kitchen!!!
I thought it would be great for the kids to get a kitchen for Christmas and I had been looking around at different ones . When I went to Round Top with my mom and our family friend,Dyane, we found one. It was in really good shape and had been in a preschool for a long time. My mom got it for the kids and we've been storing it in our garage. I cleaned and repainted it. It was fun to do. Derek put it back together. We gave it to the kids yesterday. They were so excited. And we have been playing kitchen all afternoon. We wanted all the kids to have it play with next week at Thanksgiving(my family is coming up). Thanks Nana and Teddy, the kids love it. Can't you tell by their excited faces?

Did I miss something?

Or is it December already? I am getting used to the fact that stores put our Christmas decorations in the summer(though I refuse to buy any that early). But, what is up with the people who are getting their Christmas lights put up and turning them on? I understand getting them put up early(I'd like to have that done as a matter of fact), but really do you need to turn them on before we've even had Thanksgiving? And whats even more annoying is the light up reindeer in the yard! I mean we totally overlook Thanksgiving. It is a time to reflect and recognize all that we have to be thankful for. And, we just jump into the Christmas season on wanting and buying more and more things. And, Barrett thinks that it is time for Christmas since he is seeing all these things in the yards and at the stores. So, that's my venting. Just wanted to get it out there.

Traditions

I have been thinking alot about traditions. I remember getting new pajamas on Christmas eve, sharing what I was thankful for at Thanksgiving, making and decorating cookies with my dad and siblings, driving around and looking at Christmas lights, and lots of other things that made the holiday season special and fun for me. I'd like to do the same for my kids. So, here are some things that I'd like to start or continue some we've been doing.
Thanksgiving:
Write and share on Thanksgiving day 3 things we are thankful for this year.
Playing games with the family.
Buying and taking food to the food bank.
Making art projects: turkey handprints, etc.

Christmas:
Get the kids new pj.s on Christmas eve
Picking out our Christmas tree on the Sunday after Thanksgiving and decorating it together.
Making and decorating cookies with the kids.
Give the kids an ornament symbolizing something about their year.
Going to a live nativity scene.
Adopting an angel tree kid or two.
Reading the birth of Jesus account from the Bible on Christmas.

And, I'd like some other ideas. What do you do or did you do as a kid to make the holidays special? Share your ideas with me.

Menu

Here's my menu. From now on, I will just be posting my recipes on our recipe blog, instead of listing them here. Unless, it is something super spectacular, and then I will share.
Herbed Roasted Chicken, rosemary potatoes, corn
Risotto, veggies,salad,garlic bread
Spaghetti and meatballs, bread, salad, fruit salad, pumpkin cake
Pesto pizza
Stuffed Pasta Shells, green beans, sweet potatoes
Cheesy Enchilada soup

Halloween

Halloween was a really big deal at our house this year. Barrett has been looking forward to Halloween ever since we got his costume. We had a party with out Care Group on Sunday and all the kids got dressed up. Here are a few shots.

Our little kitty

Aaris as ArielTaylor the monkey with his daddyThe whole gang all dressed up
Julie and me and the babies
On Halloween night, the Walker's came over for dinner of spaghetti and meatballs and then we hit the streets to get some goodies. I was excited that Brooklyn would be able to walk to the door and get a few treats . Barrett really understood the concept of trick-or-treating this year. He and Tate tired us out. They didn't want to miss a house and were so excited to go up and get candy. Some of our neighbors really went all out! Once the bags were full, we called it a night. We went back to the house and the boys looked at all their treats. They were so excited and were a little WILD! We had pumpkin cake for dessert and then wrapped up our evening. It was such a fun night for us all. Here are some pictures.

"You mean they just give me this stuff?"

Our awesome firemanArmy Man Tate and Firefighter Barrett ready for some treats

Ryan, Tate and Barrett- good buddies

Doesn't she look like she is having a blast?

WOW, look at all that candy

Biker Baby Grant with a treat

This is so much fun

More treats!!!

We did really good!