Bennett's Christmas Program

Bennett had his very first program at school on December 19th.  Apparently these things are a huge deal.  There were about 30 kids and tons of parents, sibling, aunts, uncles, and grandparents there to watch.  It was adorable.  They sang a few songs and then we headed back to the classroom for the Christmas snack.

We were all sitting in our pews waiting for the kids to arrive.  Bennett's class walked in and you could tell he was totally looking for us.  He spotted us and waved to us for about 5 minutes.  Love it.

He was excited to be on stage!  He was on the center riser in the center of the row.  Oh Lord...what will he do?

He sang the first song beautifully!  This is the song called "Where is Santa?"  He loves practicing it at home.   

He noticed that his little buddy, Keegan was right behind him after the first song and it was all downhill from there.  He was so silly!   He stuck out his tongue, sang in a weird, loud voice, and they sort of messed with each other the rest of the program.  He was constantly turned around.

Jingle Bells complete with a hand bell.  

The kids were so cute.

See...he is talking to Keegan in this one

Oh and this was sweet.

I was a little bit embarrassed because a lot of people were looking at me with the "Bless her Heart" look.  Neil tried to tell me otherwise until one mom said "you've got your hands full" to me after the program.  :(  "At least he is cute" is what another mom said.  I just smiled and went on to the party!

We happened to have Henry's 15 month well visit the same day and I asked her about Bennett.  She said that he is going to be outgoing and a leader!  I was sooooooo encouraged by her statement.  I just held my head up the rest of the day thinking about my little leader!


Erin and I were in charge of snack for Christmas.  Erin bought little snowmen and Santa ice creams from Baskin Robbins and I brought the little Santa cups.  I love how festive everything looks.

The kids each brought a gift to donate to the class and a book to play musical books.  They got to open their class gift and then we played the book game.

Look what Bennett got!  Thanks, John Rives!

My adorably handsome boy!

Someone was soooooo excited that Grandad and Nana came to see his performance.  Pops came too but didn't get in a picture.

Henry at 16 months

Henry turned 16 months on Bennett's 4th birthday.  We were just now able to go to the doctor for his 15 month well visit because he is just now well enough to get his shots.  Poor guy!

So, Henry!  You are 16 months old!  As always, time flies.  What are you up to these days?

You weigh 24.5 pounds or 70th percentile.

You are 31 inches or 25th percentile.  And your head is 18.5 inches or 50th percentile.

• You still LOOOOOOVE your paci!  We will be taking it away during Christmas break.  I am hoping it will be easy because his teacher at school doesn't let you have it at school.

2 must be better than 1!

• 2 words to describe you are BUSY BOY.  You are into EVERYTHING.  You like to sit in boxes, cabinets, and pretty much anything else you can sit in.
• You are great at following directions.  I am constantly amazed at how much you understand.
• Dr. Crittell said you need to be able to say 50 words by the time you are 18 months old.  I can only count about 10 that you say.  We need to work on this!
• You can imitate a monkey and a tiger.  
• You love bananas and can point to them in books.

You climb right up on the trampoline like a pro!

• You are the happiest baby I know.  People are constantly saying how sweet you are.
• You are starting to get better at sitting and reading books.
• You love Gloria!
• You love balls.  In fact, everything that is a sphere is considered a ball to you.

You got to see Santa last week at school.

• You are a good sleeper and take great naps.  We love your Saturday and Sunday naps!
• You are not loving the car seat.  This is a total difference from Bennett.  He was always so easy in the car.  You do not like to be confined.

Ohhhhh!  I love this face!

• One of your ear tubes fell out a couple weeks ago.  We find out Friday if you need a new set.
• We love you to the moon and back!

Henry's school Christmas party

I just love that Henry gets to participate in parties and activities at his school. I had just had a sub for B's program and Henry's was the very next day.  I justified leaving because it was my planning period and I already had all my grades entered.  I called Erinn and Carol to reassure me that I was doing the right thing by leaving work for the party.

The only reassurance I needed was when he saw me walk in!  He was so excited for me to see him eat his Cheetos puffs and Little Debbie snacks.  I am still amazed at the party food.  He ate 2 Little Debbie trees and a handful of Cheetos.  

yummy!

I am still amazed that he drinks out of a regular cup,

Henry and Dawson

Me with H-Beautiful

Henry's class!  L-R: Jacob, Aubrey, Henry, Dawson, Chloe, Preston, Aiden, and Natalie (We forgot to wear PJs to school...oh well I wanted him in his Christmas outfit for the party!)

Mingle and Jingle

When I received my invitation to Erin and her mom's Mingle and Jingle I was so excited!  I love feeling festive while sipping on Christmas martinis and visiting with friends.  Erin's brother, Blake started a new catering business and catered the whole thing.  Oh, what fun it was!

me, Erin, Erinn, Leigh, and Lindsay

Leigh, me, Erinn, Lindsay, and Jenny

The mini desserts were delish!

Dad's hospital stay

We had a total scare last Saturday  the day before Bennett's party around 10 pm.  Carolyn called and said she was rushing my dad to the ER.  Neil and I rushed up there to meet them to find out what was going on.

We arrived to find my dad's leg in intense pain and not being able to walk.  It was so scary.  He was wailing in pain and needed meds.  Dad had just returned from hunting on Saturday night around 7 pm.  He went to Carolyn's for dinner and ice cream and felt fine.  As he was driving home, he felt excruciating pain in his leg and could barely get himself in his house.  Once he made it in, he called Carolyn and she rushed right over.

They got him right back to a room in the ER and started running tests.  They had to call in several people to do certain tests that were not too happy about being there.  One tech walked in about 1:30 am and said "Mr. Jones."  My dad startled and said "Oh, sorry I was sound asleep."  She said "So was I!"  Ugh, it took all I had to bite my lip.

They determined that my dad had a blood clot in his femoral artery.  Since Carolyn has been working in the Schumpert system for so long she was like a celebrity.  We got to go in to different back rooms and see things we normally wouldn't get to see or take pictures of!  The X-ray tech even let me take a picture of the clot.

It is crazy to think that my dad was hunting just a few hours before all this clot stuff happened.  This is a picture he received from Cousin Don while in the hospital.

We were very thankful for these things in the midst of all this scariness:

• Thankful that my dad was not still in tiny Corsicana, TX
• Thankful he wasn't driving on the interstate hours away
• Thankful that the nurse rushed him back
• Thankful that the clot did not cause a stroke
• Thankful we got to the hospital when we did
• Thankful for Rebecca being at our house to help with the party so Neil could go with me
• Thankful for all the prayers from friends and family
• Thankful for all the calls, texts, e-mails, and help from friends and family
• Thankful for Carolyn knowing all she knows and being a trooper for staying up for 36 hours straight

These arteries or vein (don't know which) are the 2 going down his legs.  The one on the left is obviously blocked.  It is just crazy to see this so vividly!

Carolyn was a total trooper through the entire thing.  She told me to go on home about 2 am from the ER and that she would call me if she needed me to sign anything.  Well, she called about 5 am and I was so dead asleep I didn't even hear the phone.  I ended up getting to the hospital about 8 am to sign off on the surgery.  When I walked in, my dad was under anesthesia and it was scary to see.  Like I said, Carolyn is a celeb up there and got us in all the fancy places.  The vascular surgeon decided Dad needed surgery to remove the clot and plaque that formed in his leg.

The surgery last about an hour and he did great.  Carolyn and I just waited and waited.  Neil brought us breakfast and Amy gave me a ride home so that I could go to Bennett's party.  I felt like I shouldn't go to Bennett's party but I was torn between caring for my dad and caring for my kids.  I knew he was in good hands with Carolyn, so I headed to the party.

Dad was told he was going home on Monday, then on Tuesday, and then on Wednesday.  He was not too happy and wanted to get home.  He did have to stay in ICU from Sunday-Tuesday.  We were able to get to a regular room on Tuesday so he could shower and walk around.  Carolyn was a little annoyed in ICU because the nurses were being lazy and wouldn't get my dad up to walk.  I've never seen that feisty side of her but I liked it!

Dad wanted Bennett and I to bring his Christmas tree in and decorate it so that is how we helped.  I am glad he got to come home to a festive house!

My BIG boy!

This is how we made ourselves useful.

We brought a couple things up to the hospital for Dad.  Bennett was a little scared, but Dad was glad to see him

Once he finally got to his room, he was glad to get up and walk around.  He looks good in his Sigma Kappa Parent's weekend t-shirt circa 2001

North Pole Breakfast

Bennett has had so many fun things at school this month.  It is very important for me to be at all of his events and this was no exception.  I have got to get a part-time job so that I don't have to feel guilty every time I take off to go to something.  His teacher really decorated the tables so cute and really made them feel special.  They all got to wear their pajamas, hear a story in the library, and eat a fun breakfast.

How cute is this table??

My sweet boy singing songs during circle time.

Bennett and Maddie

Library time

He got his ticket punched for the "Polar Express!"

He received a bell from Mrs. Rose for the Polar Express

Yummy!  Each teacher made a different food for the kids

Santa hat brownies, snowman donuts, and muffins!

Me and my boy!

3 Birthday Parties in 1 Day

Last Saturday was a whirlwind.  We had 3 birthday parties in 1 day!  We started at the Birthday Party for Jesus at church.  Ms. Billie and her team totally transformed parts of the church to look like the Polar Express.  The entire thing was amazing.  Bain Hall was decked out in white lights and had The Polar Express playing.  Each child received a train conductor's hat and a train piggy bank upon entering.  We were divided into groups and sent to different stations.  Our first stop was actually our Sunday School room...lots of train things to do in there!

Bennett loved the little "trains" on the track.

Henry liked the RR crossing sign.

Train bean bag toss...they received a "train" prize at each stop

Trains on tracks...trains galore!

This picture sums up how Neil felt about the train rides!

Yay!  

Neil said that during the whole ride he was singing  "Michelle, Tamika, and Tonya want to ride this train...c'mon ride this train and ride it" in his head.  

After the train rides we headed to Jumpin' Jupiter for Cousin Clara's 3rd birthday party.  We missed the jumping and Bennett was sad, but not to fear...another jumpy place party was on the schedule later on in the day.

My boys on the blow-up throne.

After we got home for Henry's much needed nap, I took Bennett to EJ's 3rd birthday party at In the Zone.  Ashleigh always does everything so cute and crafty.  It was Minnie Mouse themed and just adorable!  David, her dad even bought a Mickey Mouse suit to wear to the party!  Love it!

The whole fam!