a very wallace christmas

"Buddy the Elf, What's your favorite color?"

Ha! Oh, how we LOVE the movie "ELF" this time of year. That's where we got one of Brynnie's nicknames! (Ninny Muggins)

On Christmas Eve we made about 200 cookies for Santa and our family dinner.

The last couple of years, I've 'traditionally' made the spritz/cookie press kind in festive colors.

This year I had some great help with the decorating. And taste testing.

The little kids and grandparents at the Christmas Eve dinner at the Morgans.

The Best Christmas Pageant. Ever.

Seriously.

Do you see Joseph break-dancing (with no music), in jammies, with a mallet from the bells? (the Joseph costume was a no-go and sent me into flashbacks from Halloween)

How about a Wise-Cow? (Who had to be bribed to the 'stable' with a cookie placed on 'Baby Jesus.')

Soon enough, Christmas morning was here.

Bailey got (among MANY other things): a large stuffed dog, an easel for the budding artist, a 'glow board,' a new dog outfit (for her) for every day of the week, and a camera. *SPOILED*

Did I say 'stuffed dog?' I meant 'speed bump.'

Yep, we watched, laughed, and took pictures while Brynnie struggled for 5 minutes to crawl over the giant dog lovey. It was too funny.

Benson got TRUCKS! Just about one of every kind, including a Cozy Coupe ride on car (you can barely see the corner of it), and a 'big mack' car carrier. Also notable: a "Benson Leapster," flashlight, cute clothes, and walkie talkies. *SPOILED*

So, there are no pictures of Brynley opening presents (poor third child), because we all thought it would be more enjoyable NOT to wake her for it. She did wake up about half way through and if you play "I Spy," you might see her in this picture playing in the aftermath. Brynley got a musical ride-on pony, a 'bead roller coaster,' clothes, and more clothes. *SPOILED!*

And she was awake in time for Dad's surprising and special presents (a piano) from "Boney Clause." "Boney Clause" came in after all the presents were unwrapped, with a black trash bag over his shoulder full of special presents for each of us that he picked out. By himself. I had no idea! Everyone had to take a turn sitting on "Boney Clause's" lap to get their present. "Boney Clause" said he wanted to give each of us a little something extra for being extra good and patient while he was at school. *CUTE!*

A new keyboard for Bailey.

A truck for Benson.

...and a nap for Mom! (among other things)

It was a truly wonderful, magic, and fun Christmas! We are so grateful for all of our friends and family who bring joy, happiness, and love to our lives. We hope you have a Happy New Year!

the nutcracker ballet

Last night Bailey had a very special 'date' with Guh and Papa Wallace.

(Can you see the excitement in her face?! It's precious!)

She wore her fanciest dress and fanciest hairdo and headed out for an evening at The Houston Ballet's Nutcracker with Guh and Papa Wallace, and Aunt B. and her granddaughter, Carmen.

Bailey was enthralled by the Ballerinas during the performance...

And entertained by the Ballerinas afterward.

A friend of ours, Sara, is one of the 'prima' ballerinas in the company (dressed in the "Arabian Princess" Costume), and she gave the group a backstage/onstage tour.

The girls got to try out many of the props...

...and being on stage.

Thanks, Guh, Papa, and Sara for such a memorable experience!

PS: To commemorate the even Guh and Papa offered to buy Bailey a souvenir, like a beautiful nutcracker, or book, etc. Nope. Bailey picked a DOG lovey. At least it's dressed in a tutu.

how we get ready for the holidays

In no particular order at all, here's how we are getting ready for Christmas this year:

We made Gingerbread Houses today. Yep, that's PURPLE frosting, leftover from Bryn's b-day cake. Bailey kept telling Benson that "The candy is for decorating, NOT eating!" Finally Benson said, "I decorate my tongue!" And that's exactly what he did. Ate most of the candy and didn't put one single piece on the house.

We make gifts for neighbors (chocolate banana bread wrapped in a festive towel), gifts for teachers (custom clipboards), and friends (fudge!).

We have parties!

At school, church (see Santa picture below), and with neighbors. I got to make cupcakes and take them and stay for Bailey's class party. It was so fun. Notice her funny smile from the fat lip?

We dress festively!

We write letters to Santa, Alvin the Elf, and make lots of Christmas cards.

We have a crazy Elf that hides whenever we're not looking. We never know where he might be or what he might have done (like clean the toy room, or make an Elf Snowstorm by covering the windows in snowflakes).

We (mostly me) decorate every square inch of the house. I just couldn't get enough of it this year. It's 2 days before and I'm still finding things I want to do or decorate. One thing that didn't get decorated was the exterior. No lights this year. Curse you MBA program!

And of course, we sit on Santa's lap!

Some enjoy it more than others.

smash mouth

What happens when two children collide in PE at school?

One of them ends up with a F-A-T lip and smashed up mouth. And Mom gets a call from the school nurse.

On Wednesday, Bailey and another student were both running for the same ball in PE and they collided, Bailey hitting the back of someones head with her mouth. The other kid was okay. Bailey, not so much. It knocked all four, front top teeth loose, and shoved one of those up into her gums (the left, side one), and split her lip. Her gums and lip are so bruised and bloody, still...4 days later. Her teeth have started to turn gray from all the blood draining into them. Right now it's a wait-n-see game to see what the teeth will do. If they continue to cause her pain and sensitivity when we go back to the dentist in two weeks, then some of them will probably get pulled. Thank heavens they're just 'baby' teeth! Poor baby!

happy birthday, cupcake!

I can't believe it.

Our sweet little cupcake, Brynnie, turned ONE on December 3, 2009! This year went by in a blink of an eye. Brynnie has been an absolute JOY to have in our family. She is such a calming, peaceful influence on us all. She is such an easy going, sweet, and happy, tiny little thing. She's our cute little "Fuzz Nut" (as she has been nicknamed as of late).

FUN TO BE ONE FACTS:

*17 lbs (3%) barely

*28.5 inches (25%)

*Sounds:

moo, woof, DADT! (all the time, just like that for 'dad' and anything else she really wants), Nah-nah (ninny), mommmama, BUB! (for Benson and Bailey), Hi!, and OoooH!

*Likes:

peek-a-boo, Itsy-bitsy Spider, So Big, This Little Piggy, and singing of any kind. She really likes to sing along in church or when carolers come to the door, followed by clapping. every time.

*Food:

cheerios, 'pebbles,' bread, rice, beans, but mainly eats baby food still. No dairy, as she is lactose intolerant. Still doesn't like to take any bottle/sippy/etc. Only ninny.

oh, but how she loves...

CUPCAKES!!

Can you tell how much she LoVeD the cupcakes?!!

On Bryn's actual birthday, Brandon had work and school in the evening, and Guh and Papa W. were out of town. Sooo...on 12/3, we had a 'little' cupcake party for Bryn and Kaitlyn, our neighbor who also turned 3 the same day. (Kaitlyn's Mom, Brooke, was the one that took those fab pictures!)

Birthday Girls!

We just had cupcakes for the neighbor kids after school.

And then on Sunday, 12/6 we had a big family dinner and party.

...and more cupcakes, of course!

...and more presents!

Brynley got totally and completely spoiled for her birthday. It was a 4 day long celebration, opening a few presents every day.

But by Sunday night, the party girl was partied out.

hey, it's my party and I'll cry if I want to.

remember the alamo {and} the riverwalk

So, everyone "warned" me that the Alamo was tiny, not much to see, blah, blah, blah. But, maybe I've lived in Texas long enough, or maybe I'm geeky enough about history, or maybe I've seen enough "Castles" in Europe to know that nothing is like how Hollywood portrays it....because, I really liked it. Whats not to like? There were a lot of things I didn't know about it either. Like, the Alamo is really a shrine...no photography allowed inside! Which was a bummer, because there are some interesting things inside, which you'll just have to see for your self (which I strongly recommend). But there were also some really interesting things on the outside too...

...Like really cool architecture!

Who'da thunk?

I mean really fabulous stuff here!

I thought it was just all adobe. Ignorant me. The grounds around the Alamo are really beautiful too.

After seeing the Alamo, I really wanted to go see the other Missions in San Antonio...but not with kids. The Alamo didn't hold their interest for very long. And I couldn't stop and read all the signs, markers, and information (yep, I'm a dork).

And check out the view across from the Alamo!

We went to Downtown San Antonio on Friday, which happened to be a BIG day down there. It was the lighting of the Riverwalk and Boat Parade. So, we went early in the morning, as to miss the 100,000 (!) expected tourists. (which, btw...after being down there, where the heck would they fit all those people?!)

After visiting the Alamo we walked a few blocks in the gorgeous weather to the Riverwalk for a River Cruise.

Apparently the walk was too tiring for some. Or could it be that they were just about vacationed out? (Yes, that is really Brynnie all sacked out on my back, not a rag doll.)

But she didn't stay asleep for long...

...and neither did Benson. They both woke up in time to enjoy the River Cruise.

Again, gorgeous weather, gorgeous sights.

We wrapped up our day in Downtown San Antonio with lunch and then headed back to our hotel for a rest. We finished out our vacation with a movie, "A Christmas Carol" (which we were so surprised that it was WAY too scary for our little kids. oOpS!), dinner, and ice cream. Friday night the kids all fell asleep at the hotel as soon as we got back. The next morning, we packed up our SEVEN loads of fun/dirty laundry and headed back to Houston.

It was such a wonderful vacation. The kids were marvelous and we had no major (or even minor) catastrophes. Most of all, they had so much fun, and so did Brandon and I. Yes, traveling with three little kids is VERY hard and VERY stressful. But I think this was the perfect place to start our vacationing adventures. I can't wait to go on another family vacation!