Joshua's 4th Birthday

Joshua is our Christmas baby.  Well, almost. December 28th to be exact.  For the past three years, we have had his party on or near his birthday.  Which doesn't work well because many people are out-of-town.  This year I decided to have his party early.  We celebrated on December 12th.  The theme was Scooby-Doo.  To begin, the kids made puppets.  If a monster was too scary, it could be anything they wanted. 

After lunch, we had cupcakes.  Joshua really enjoyed his.  And look at the table near Tabitha.  Yes, she decided to decorate all by herself.  Blue sugar everywhere!  (Friends Grace and Jaedyn in the photo.)

The party wouldn't be complete without a mystery to solve.  The Scooby pinata went missing.  The plan was that Papa would take the pinata and hide in the garage.  Uncle Dustin laid out the clues while the kids decorated the cupcakes.  There was pinata fringe, footprints, and empty candy wrappers.  The kids each got a magnifying glass.  Joshua is at the bottom of the photo.

Joshua is off finding the clues.  We had to slow him down so his friends could catch up.  It was funny because I never told him what to do.  He knew all those things were clues to a mystery.

Our house was so full that I wasn't able to see him find the pinata.  But I did hear Papa.   He said the classic line from Scooby-Doo, "I would have gotten away with it if it wasn't for you meddling kids."  Well, he was pretty close.

After the party I asked Joshua what his favorite part was, and he said it was the mystery.  Yea!  I'm glad he had a great time.

In between his party and birthday, Joshua would switch his age on us.  When it was convenient, he was three.  Such as having to change his own clothes or put on his own shoes.  And when it was convenient , he was four.  Such as doing arts and crafts whenever he chose.  Smart creature!

On his actual birthday, Josue had to go to work so I took Joshua to Jumpy Gym.  He really had a great time.  It's hard to take pictures in mid-air.

Gigi caught up with us, so we went to lunch.

When Daddy came home, we went to Dairy Queen.  It was 30 degrees out but Joshua still wanted the ice cream.  Daddy is having to warm him up.

I can't believe he is now 4! He knows he is 5 next year, and he'll tell you he is going to school.

Cookies, cookies, and more cookies!

The kids have been busy making cookies this month.

First, we went to visit Ella and make chocolate chip cookies.  Elizabeth had Santa aprons for the kids.

Ella measured flour while Tabitha and Joshua measured sugar. 

Tabitha quickly realized how good her hands tasted.

The end result.  Yummy!

Our neighbors, Grace and Lucas, then had us over to make reindeer cookies.  Look how nice Grace's turned out.

Joshua and Tabitha really liked their cookies.

And Lucas.  So cute!  The green frosting was probably the best part.

We have also been baking for goodie bags at our home.  No photos, but they are delicious!  I better enjoy all these cookies before the New Year is here!

Gigi's Birthday

Gigi's birthday was on Dec. 2nd so we went to eat for her birthday.  Joshua helps her open the box.  He chose some nice fuzzy red socks while Tabitha chose pink ones.

Here are the kids with Gigi and Papa. 

Joshua really enjoyed the birthday cake.

Happy birthday, Gigi!

Josue's Birthday

Yesterday was Josue's birthday.  Unfortunately he had to go to work, so our family festivities didn't begin until he got home. 

It began with him opening his cards and present from the kids.  They got him a pair of slippers.  He was the only one in our home without them so we thought his feet should be warm also.

Here they are posing with him after the gift was opened.

Joshua then took our picture.  Pretty good!

Josue then opened his gift from me.

It was a blindfold.  His gift was waiting for him at our next door neighbor's house, which was a total surprise.  It was a grill.  We've been talking about it for two years, and now he has one.  (I like December birthdays...you can roll Christmas and birthday into the same gift. :-))

Next was dinner at his favorite place, Texas Land & Cattle.  Buela accompanied us also.

The grand finale...our family. 

Birthdays are so much fun with the kids involved.  We are so blessed!

What a week!

Josue was home from work all week, and we had so much fun together as a family! 

We made a couple of trips to the park.

We also went to the Hex Rally against Texas A&M.  The kids are getting pretty good at "Hook 'Em".  They also learned to do "Texas"..."Fight".  If Tabitha leads, they can keep it rolling a couple of times. 

Here she is with Daddy trying to do "Hook 'Em".

She and Mommy in the crowd of college kids.

Joshua watched from Daddy's shoulders.

Joshua's awesome "Hook 'Em".

Josue wanted to take them to Kiddie Acres on Tuesday so off we went.  It was a miniature theme park with rides just the size for pre-schoolers. 

And don't forget the pony ride.

This last picture is my absolute favorite!  We took them today to the Chuy's Parade, and who did we run into?  Shaggy, Velma, and Scooby.  They were riding in the Mystery Machine.  Joshua was so excited, yet wouldn't get close to them. 

What a great week together!

Freaky Friday?

This Friday, the 13th, is far from scary for us.  It began last night with a fun puppet show Joshua and Daddy put on.  Joshua really is quite the artist.  I have found that Josue is also an artist.  Well, he can make really good puppets.

This morning we did a Bible lesson.  We are learning about the virtue of cooperation at KidZone, and this week's Bible story was about Nehemiah, who rebuilt the wall.  Joshua and Tabitha listened to the story again this morning and built their own wall from cereal.  Great practice of cooperation.

Then we got a surprise phone call.  Gigi was coming to visit!  We took her to the park that has butterflies.  I love this picture of Joshua in action chasing a butterfly!

An attempt to catch one.  Actually there were several attempts, and all unsuccessful.  But everyone had a great time!

Tabitha enjoyed her time by having Gigi push her on the swings.

It was a very fun, not so freaky Friday!  Now we wait for Daddy to come home and enjoy the weekend with us.

Happy Halloween!

This was a much anticipated event in our household this year.  It just might be Joshua's favorite holiday.  I'm not sure exactly why, but he was so excited about it.  Tabitha, on the other hand, doesn't like it.  She is scared of all the mummies, ghosts, witches, etc.  She liked the idea of getting candy, but not all the spookiness that goes along with it. 

Their costumes were made by Gigi and were complimented all over the neighborhood.  Here they are posing.

Scooby kisses the princess.

Here is the family.  I dressed up as Daphne in honor of Scooby.  And Joshua had Josue wear his Cubbie jersey.

Now they are ready to go.

The highlights: Gigi and Buela joined us trick-or-treating.  The kids came back with bags full of candy.  Tabitha figured out how to help herself to candy.  Joshua's costume was off the minute he came home.  Halloween is now over!  Now on to turkey!