11.29.2012

Tiny Tales Thursday...


As I dropped him off at school this morning...

"Mommy! Tomorrow is Friday. That means I can wear clothes like Daddy to bed. (read athletic shorts and tshirt). And we can have movie night and snuggle. It's my favorite!"


As I lay Emmy to bed tonight...

"Hold you, Mommy. One more minute. Just hold you." 

If every day could begin and end like this, well... I'd be just fine with it!

11.28.2012

Santa's Wonderland...


Saturday was spent doing not much of anything - you know the perfect day. We enjoyed a delicious breakfast, cooked the best Thanksgiving left-over meal ever for lunch, the men went to see Skyfall, the kids napped, and then GiGi, Pops and MaMaw headed back to Waco.

But not before taking the cutest picture ever... 


And the second cutest picture ever. 
#heartismush

(Mom, the above is what people "tag" things on Twitter. It's called a hash tag and followed by a funny/sarcastic comment.)


We walked them to their cars and then the gang headed to.... 


SANTA'S WONDERLAND!

Now, you may recall our experience last year. 


Well, we had the exact opposite experience and our spirits were definitely lifted as we walked through and entered the magical place known as "Santa's Town!"

The key was timing. And lessons learned versus lessons applied. 

I knew that park opened at 6pm. I also knew that the Aggies were playing at 6pm, which meant that roughly 50,000 people from the area were all in one location. But, we showed up at the parking lot at 5:30pm just in case. 


We were not disappointed - and this guy thanked me lots for thinking ahead. 

I do what I can, babe. 
(excuse the overexposed selfie)


We walked in and did the following (in under 2 hours)...

Santa pics (couldn't take my camera in).

Live music/dancing


Outdoor movie and smores...



Train ride to see the lights (kind of)...



Emmy was beyond excited about riding the purple train... 


And Radley was just excited to play with Owen!


Walked around "town" and then headed out but not before taking pics in front of an oversized Texas State Flag.


Even the Californians love Texas!


It started to get a little chilly and Landry was getting a little grumpy so we headed home.


Maybe one day we will get to spend our Christmas morning with them too!




Especially if this is what gets to be under my tree!


11.26.2012

Tired turkeys....

We stuck with our usual "day after Thanksgiving" tradition and started pulling out all the Christmas decorations and this year we had an extra special elf to help with the festivities. 

I seriously can not contain myself....


If there is not one package under that tree with my name on it - I would be content. I think Aunt Sonya feels the same way! She definitely gets her baby girl fix around us. 


While we were inside all holiday spiriting, the boys were putting some final touches on the tree house. Owen was very excited about this new addition since his last visit and let Jody and Sonya know that he needed one too. They asked him where he thought a tree house would belong inside a horse stall which then made him think he maybe didn't need one after all. 


The rest of the day the women folk went shopping while the boys stayed at home and did whatever boys do on Black Friday. :) That night we were treated to spaghetti and meatballs thanks to Gigi and MaMaw and stuffed our tummies once again.

Then things got interesting. 

I had noticed that our sink was kind of leaking lately but as I was doing dishes for the 1000th time in two days the water was really noticeable. I thought it may have just been from the faucet but when I opened the cabinet I saw that it was leaking underneath. I made a reference about this to Ryan that we should probably get that checked but didn't really want to worry about right then because, well I wanted to do dishes and hang out with my family. But. He decided at that exact moment that it needed fixing. 

(He may have indulged himself a little while the women were shopping which made this even more interesting).  

So while I was then cleaning up the mess HE made (love you) this was going on outside... 



Tree houses and pjs... a perfect night for little boys! 



They also got the fire pit going and I think Emmy was having a hard time deciding if she liked it or not. 



Landry quickly got bored of the whole thing which was just fine with Pops. 



Eventually the fire ran out and Landry woke up so we moved the fun inside and enjoyed watching these cute cousins play. It makes my heart so happy to see them together To hear them laugh and to watch them become friends. Owen may be the sweetest 7 year old boy in the world. He LOVES his "baby cousins" so much!


And what family fun night is complete without a game of cards? We used to play Phase 10 but Jeremy and I may or may not have gotten really good at cheating helping each other win. So we decided on Uno Attack and left the winning up to chance. 

Someone is a pretty serious card player.


But someone else "won TWO TIMES"!!!


Then the night got sillier. We have somehow created a game of who can lift Emmy the most times. I generally always lose, but she thinks it's pretty fun!



We finally managed to settle them all down and read a few Christmas stories.



We tired our tiny turkeys and tucked them in tight and on each of their heads kissed them goodnight. 

:)

11.25.2012

Thanks Giving...


Like any good major holiday - ours started with putting the finishing touches on lunch  - namely desserts. And lucky for me, I had two tiny assistants to help me.


Their main job was to make sure everything tasted ok. 



We were filled with thanks giving this year because we also got to celebrate my oldest brother's 40th birthday! It was a huge surprise that we had been planning since July - he had NO idea that he was coming to Texas. 



Sonya and I emailed back and forth and came up with a sneaky little plan - she even created a new email account so Jody wouldn't catch us. She picked him up from work, bags packed, change of clothes and my nephew, Owen, read him a poem revealing the big surprise. 

It may have been the best surprise I've been a part of!



 We even had a home made birthday banner waiting for him. 


As the oven was working over time, we put the final touches on the table and the kids played outside. 
(I would like to note that Ryan had to go run to the store for the inevitable forgotten ingredient (think Bill Cosby) and came back with 5 bottles of wine. Has anyone ever heard of "Decoy"?)



Landry was getting some practice in on solid foods...



and these two were getting some practice in on those Jedi moves. 
;)


It was just such a simple day - truly what Thanksgiving was meant for. It's always a great day when the "California Guercios" make it to Texas.


And it's an even greater day when we are cuddling with these cute turkeys!

I mean. I can't even deal.


It was finally time to eat and share what we were all thankful for. 

This year my list includes:
Family
Friends that are like family
Hand me down China
Good food


Sharing desserts 


Cuddling on the couch


and of course Santa and his elves. 



:)

11.21.2012

Gobble gobble - wobble wobble...

Our pre-Thanksgiving festivities began on Wednesday afternoon at the kids' school. They hosted a potluck sides lunch and provided turkey and dressing for the parents, kiddos and guests. 

Ryan had the whole day off so it was a fun way to spend our mid-morning/early afternoon before heading back to the house to get ready for Turkey Day.


As a special treat - we got to enjoy "dinner and a show!" 



I mean, what better way to say "Happy Thanksgiving" than with turkey legs on your head?


Just the two oldest classes participated in the entertainment and they also informed the audience what they were thankful for this year. I was all prepared to get misty eyed when Radley professed his thanks for his family per his usual nightly routine. 

But. He was thankful for "all my toys" instead.

Kids.
;)





11.19.2012

Happy Monthday...

Lillian Landry King

you are

EIGHT months old!!

What have you been up to lately!?!?



We've had some changes with your schedule lately! You went through a "I don't want to eat at school phase." Like you were only taking 2oz ALL day- which clearly worried me (and also meant that the liquid gold I was providing was being thrown out). So you now nurse/take bottles 4 times each day with breakfast, lunch and dinner +snacks. Something tells me you are doing just fine. ;)

You have about 10 size 2 diapers left and the size 3s are all lined up. This breaks my heart. Radley and Emmy both went from size 3 to potty training which means that you are growing way too fast. You weigh 16lbs (we had to take you in for a lingering cough a couple of weeks ago) and still the same on the clothes size. The onesie you have on in this picture is a 6month - so you aren't as big as it seems!

You are almost done with the swaddle. Another heart breaker for sure. We still try it sometimes but you get out of it pretty fast. The pro is that I can actually cuddle you instead of a blanket. 



You nap like a pro at home. Actually just one long nap at home with some cat naps here and there. You sleep pretty good at school some days and some days like the attention you are getting so you stay awake. 

It's clear that you are the favorite. 
;)
(Especially since Millie moved up - y'all were sharing the title before!)

You are usually one of the first ones to class and love getting hugs and kisses from Miss Pam and Miss Mabel - even though you generally have a present waiting for them from your car ride in. They love you anyway and I love hearing how much they love you. Makes me happy to know that you have such awesome care away from me. Miss Miranda would take you home if I let her. 


As you can tell from the picture above - you are never far away from your sister's reach. Y'all will be besties for sure. I'm sure she will be mean to you (bc she's mean to Radley already) but lots of secret sharing will happen between the two of you.

And dear big brother still loves to make you laugh. 

Glad that "the new" hasn't worn off yet!



We've seen more tears from you this month - but generally still the world's easiest/happiest/most adorable baby.

You move all over the place. It's a backwards crawl to sitting position and then you kind of roll into the direction you want to move. Pretty amazing strategy if you ask me.

You are inquisitive and love exploring your surroundings. Everything ends up in your mouth (including gold fish and cereal from your sister - awesome.)



You love the following:
Pacifiers
Chewing on anything
Sophie the giraffe
Your taggie from Aunt Jenni
PUFFS (like obsessed)
Hands/feet
My necklace
Hair
Blankets
Moving around



Big news this month:

YOU CUT YOUR FIRST TOOTH!!!
After weeks of drooling and the whole non-eating episode that tiny little thing popped through on Veteran's Day!

(Fun fact: all 3 King Kiddies popped their first tooth on a special event; Rad - Memorial Day; Emmy - Palm Sunday; Landry - Veternan's Day).

I feel like you will get a ton all at once!


And that is supported by the fact that you ALWAYS have something in your mouth.


We love you Lovely Landry!
These past 8 months have flown by - but I wonder how we ever lived without you!


(The above is a behind-the-scenes peek of what happens when Emmy helps with the "month day photoshoot"

;)