Holiday Fun

Ruston got invited to a Cookie Decorating Party earlier this month.  Jaycie is a student in my class and her mom teaches Kinder in our school.  They do the cookie decorating each year and I think it's such a fun tradition.  Ruston decorated his cookies and we drank hot chocolate. It was a great time!

Last Saturday, McKenzie and Ruston had a little Christmas party with their friends! Although I was nervous about them being a little too young, they decorated cookies too!

Ruston decorated his cookie, then used his knife to scoop off and eat the icing.  Then he decorated it again. :)

The girls were all about the sprinkles...they piled them on so high, tons would fall off every time you moved the cookie.

Next up was a handprint craft.

We painted the kids hand (or foot!) brown and stuck it down on burlap.  They used googly eyes and a pom pom to turn their hand into a reindeer, then colored the cardboard around the burlap with markers.  We punched holes in the top and they strung red and green noodles onto a pipe cleaner for a handle/hanger.

They turned out cute, even if they don't exactly look like reindeer! :)

McKenzie was such a great helper and made more than one craft as an example for everyone.

It was so fun to have all the kids there to run around and play. I like it when our house is full. :)

I think we might have to make this a Christmas tradition too!

We've been practicing the songs for Ruston's school program since Thanksgiving.  Anytime I sing the songs, he just looks at me like I'm crazy.  :)  He'll sing one line out of one song... "Hear his bells, hear his bells." haha.  Thursday was his program.  I sat a few rows back because I was worried if he saw me, he'd want to come sit with me.  I was right.  He spotted me first thing, and spent most of the program crying, trying to get away from his little teacher, and saying "mommy, my mommy" over and over again.  Yep, he was that kid. :)  That's OK though.  He'd get distracted every once and a while and sit still for a few seconds.  And look at how precious he was when the preacher said the opening prayer.

That night, I went to a Christmas dinner with my girls night group.  We went to Pappasito's and had an awesome dinner.  Talk about a wonderful group of friends.... I'm so lucky to have them to share my troubles and excitements with.  Love every minute I get to spend with them!

Last year we went to Cedar Park to look at some Christmas lights I'd heard about.  We ended up having dinner at IHOP on our way.  We decided to make that a tradition.  We went Saturday to check out the lights again.  Ruston loves breakfast food, especially pancakes, so IHOP was a great stop for us.  He got a Happy Face Pancake. :)

We went to a house on Sharon Drive first.  They have a huge display of lights and I love that it's coordinated to music.  I think Ruston's favorite were the deer drinking from the lake and the seal family floating on top.

Next up was the cul de sac at Chinati Ct.  The whole street participates in "The Night Before Christmas."  Each house has a big wooden scroll with a party of the story.  All of the houses are decorated so beautifully.

Ruston loved running to the next house and bending down to read the story.  The neighborhood also had a seating area set up in the middle of the cul de sac.  Santa was there taking pictures and collecting toy donations, they had the Cowboys game on a big projector, and they were handing out hot chocolate.  We had a great time and made many new memories with our boy. :)

Sunday, Grandpa and Lanell stopped by to visit.  Ruston got Grandpa down on the ground to play monster trucks! 

We've had a busy month so far, but I'm sure it's about to get busier! Can't wait! This is such a fun and exciting time for our little family.