Christmas continues...

We had another Christmas celebration on Thursday.  Can you believe this still isn't even our last one? Ruston is one spoiled little boy!

My mom, stepdad, brother and sister came over Thursday evening.  We had lasagna, roasted green beans, and some yummy red velvet cupcakes.

Ruston racked up on the sporty gifts.  He got a golf set, a t-ball set, and a tricycle!

He's very cautious of big items at first.  He wouldn't get on unless Danny rode with him. (And I'm sure you can tell by Danny's face that it was hard to convince him! ha)  Ruston eventually got used to the idea and let us push him around on it.

Lots of smiles, all around. :)

Another family Christmas in the books! We are so blessed to have so many loving people in our lives.

Modified Christmas

Our Christmas was a little different this year...modified, if you will.  We knew in advance it wouldn't be completely ideal.  Danny had to work both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day evening. Bummer.   Lucky for us, they ended up letting him have off Christmas Day, so he got to stick around a little longer than planned.

We had big plans for Christmas Eve.  We were going to try and swing my by Aunt's house with my mom, Suanna's house to visit with Melinda's family, Christmas Eve church service, and then out to Rockdale for Nana's house.  We did.... none of it. :/ The only trip we made that day was to the doctors office.  

Ruston had been dealing with a nasty cough and runny nose for over a week.  I'd called my doctor 4 times.  When he woke up early Christmas Eve morning with fever (again), I knew he needed to be seen.  Luckily, the on call doctor's office was open for a few hours that morning.  She got us in and said he had pneumonia! She said it was in the beginning stages, but I still felt awful.  Poor guy. 

 On a positive note, I really liked this pediatrician.  We are going to switch over to her from now on.  I like the doctor we've been using, but I feel like they brush me off a lot.  They always tell me to wait, wait, wait.  I felt like this doctor was listening to me and really offered me some helpful suggestions.  

Anyway,  we spent Christmas Eve at home.  Ruston slept most of the day, which he needed.  It was a bad day for me.... I was totally upset over the fact that my baby had pneumonia and I had just "let him go" for a week.  And I was incredibly lonely.  Christmas time has always been such an enjoyable time for me....lots of family time.  I kept thinking about how bad I wanted to be spending time with all my families.  Honestly, Christmas just hasn't been the same since my Grandma's been gone.  I can't help it, I just always feel like something is missing. :/

Lucky for me, Ruston woke up and snapped me out of my funk.  My loneliness flew out the window, and we started making our own Christmas traditions...I had no time to dwell on what I thought was missing.

First up was a birthday cake for Jesus.  Ruston is an expert sprinkle adder.  He leaves no space untouched. :)

Then we did some cookies for Santa and Chippey. (our Elf on the Shelf)  Christmas Eve was Chippey's last night with us.  He had to leave with Santa to start getting ready for next year.

All finished! He was so proud of his snacks.

Next up was bubble bath and Christmas PJ's! Our last project for the evening was to draw a picture for Santa.  He was so excited about leaving Santa something special.

All set up and ready for bed! Ruston even left Santa his Charlie Brown cup with some milk.

Christmas morning was fun! We woke up and Daddy was home!! And when we walked into the living room, we saw that Santa had come!  Santa brought Ruston 3 gifts.  Something he needed (clothes), something he wanted (Monster Trucks), and something he could use (a new carseat).

The monster trucks were definitely the favorite.  Chippey left him a monster truck too.

The carseat was also a hit.  He has a spot for his drink and the sides have little spaces for him to store his toys.

Mommy and Daddy got Ruston a Cars tent. 

It has a tunnel attached!  He also got a really cool John Deere book from Diesel.

We had a special Christmas breakfast.  Christmas shaped pancakes (don't mind the slightly brown ones...it took me a minute to get the hang of pancakes in a cookie cutter. haha) and Jesus' birthday cake!

Ruston seemed to be feeling alright, so we went over to Gigi and Pawpaw's for a few hours.  Ruston got his very own tractor and trailer!  I think Daddy liked it too. :)

Pawpaw showed Ruston how to work the radio (yes, it has an FM radio!) and how to push the pedals.

Ruston was just as content to ride in the trailer and be chauffeured around.

Amanda's driving wasn't quite as smooth as Dad's. :)

Ruston got a lot of other fun gifts too.  Some tractors, monster trucks, farmers, some iPad games, and even some cows with their own fence.

His stocking was full of goodies too!

Family Christmas pictures!

We came back home and Ruston got a good nap in.  He was coughing a lot again, so we didn't make it to my Grandpa's Christmas.  Pops and Mo brought their gifts over that evening.  We had planned on doing Christmas with them the next Thursday, but since Danny ended up getting off, we decided to go ahead and do it.

Ruston got some more fun toys.... a big tractor, a coloring book, a chalk board, some books, a movie, and a trampoline!! 

Ruston took over some of our gifts, as well.  He decided that Danny's wheel liners were a couch. :)

While our Christmas wasn't quite what we'd expected, it was still a wonderful time.  Lots of smiles, laughs, hugs, and cuddles, which makes it a success. :)

More Holiday Fun!

Ruston is still enjoying getting to open up a Christmas book each night.  This particular night, he got The Gingerbread Baby.  He really liked this story.  After I read it to him, he grabbed it and read it himself. "Gingerbread flying.  Gingerbread fall down.  The end."  Pretty good reader, huh? ;)

We did a little grinch project at school where my kiddos wrote about how they'd make a grinch grin.  I thought Ruston would enjoy making a grinch too.  I cut all the pieces out for him and put the glue on, then he stuck everything down and drew some "teeth."

Wednesday was Suanna's birthday.  She invited me to join them and some friends to go look at Christmas lights that night.  And we went in style! They rented a stretch excursion for the evening.

As much as I think Ruston would have enjoyed the "big car" and looking at the lights again, it was really nice to have some adult time and catch up with friends. :)

We headed to 37th street first.  I was pretty excited because that's where we went as kids to look at lights too.

Unfortunately, it wasn't quite as awesome as we all remembered.  There were still some cute houses though.

There were also some rather strange houses.  This particular house had sock monkeys EVERYWHERE.  Hanging from the trees, tucked in the bushes, there was even a makeshift "shrine" in the driveway.  Hey, keep Austin weird, right?

Me and the birthday girl!

I thought these little Yoda lights were cute. :)

We snapped some pictures while we waited for the limo to come pick us up from the end of the street. 

The girls were much more cooperative than the boys.

They couldn't even look at the camera. :)

We stopped at Target for a potty break (haha!) and ate our sack lunches in the parking lot.  It was chilly and sprinkling, so we just stayed in the limo. Suanna made all kinds of tasty sandwiches and desserts.  After that, we headed to Cedar Park and I took them by the places we like to go.  Yes, I just went Saturday, but I still enjoyed seeing them again.  I love the Christmas lights.  I could sit and watch the ones that are synched with a radio station all night. :)

Thursday Ruston painted his jars for the gifts he's giving his Grandpas.

I went to dinner at Texas Land and Cattle for Brian's birthday that evening, but I forgot the camera. :/

My mom and sister came over this evening for pizza and to watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas.  Ruston worked on his little treats to give all his cousins, aunts, and uncles.  This year we did Nutter Butter Snowmen.  Ruston put on all the buttons.

They turned out pretty cute.  Has anyone else out there had trouble with their Pinterest projects not coming out as perfect as they look when you pin them?? :)