Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve morning we went to the Aquarium in Kemah and had breakfast with Santa, just like last year, and Benjamin got to meet the Big Guy himself and tell him what he wanted for Christmas...a fire truck. =) 

We spent Christmas Eve at GiGi and Poppy's and had a wonderful evening with family.  And Benjamin got to get in lots of practice opening gifts from family. 

Benjamin loved the balloon that GiGi and Poppy had for him. 

And loved getting in some good conversation. =)

Benjamin got enough new toys on Christmas Eve that we could open up our own Toys R Us, but his favorite by far was this Dusty Crophopper airplane ride on.  Benjamin loved cruising around GiGi and Poppy's on that thing working the propeller and flashing the lights. 

And of course we had to have new Christmas pajamas.

By the end of the evening we were all worn out and ready to go to sleep so we could wake up and see what Santa brought.

Bass Pro Shop

We made a trip to Bass Pro Shop to see Santa because I had heard that they had a fantastic Santa's Wonderland area, and they did, I just didn't realize that you had to get a pass to see the Big Guy so when we got there at 11:00 A.M. the pass that we got was for 4:00 P.M. that afternoon.  Being that it isn't really close to our house, we decided to skip another trip to see the Big Guy but did enjoy exploring Bass Pro Shop. 

Benjamin loved exploring everything and checking out all of the fish and animals that they have on display.  I definitely need to remember this place for rainy afternoons.

Christmas Cookies!

Last Tuesday we decorated Christmas cookies for Santa.  We heard Santa likes sugar cookies with sprinkles, so that is what we made!

Benjamin was an excellent cookie decorator and also an excellent taste tester!

Zoo Lights!

Sunday evening we went to Zoo Lights, just like last year, only this year we went with GiGi and Popi and Aunt Matt, and we had so much fun!  Just as we were headed out the door to meet everyone for dinner Benjamin started to run a little fever so we gave him some Tylenol and luckily he was able to sleep in the car on the way to dinner since he didn't take a nap earlier in the day.  It was a very long day with no nap but Benjamin was a trooper and wanted to walk most of the way through Zoo Lights.  I think his favorite part was seeing the elephants before it got really dark.

Despite how we all look in these pictures, we really did have a great time!

School Pictures

I have been feeling less than stellar this week so I haven't posted much but I woke up this morning feeling back to 100%, thankfully, just in time for lots of holiday festivities!  Benjamin took Christmas pictures at school and they turned out so cute!

There are a few other poses, but this is my favorite by far!  My sweet baby looking so grown up! 

Weekend Recap

We had a very exciting weekend!  Saturday we bought a new car, a Ford Explorer and I am loving all of the space that we have now and I know the 3rd row seating will come in handy once little brother comes along and we have 2 car seats in the second row.  Car buying took up most of the day for us Saturday but Benjamin had a blast spending time with Poppy while we shopped. 



And Sunday we took a trip to Home Depot, one of Benjamin's favorite stores, to shop for Pergola supplies and drano followed by a trip to Target.  Hopefully the Pergola is up in time for Benjamin's birthday party. 

It's A...

Last week we got to take a peek at baby Grissom #2...

 

And found out that we are having a BOY!  Most importantly though, everything looks perfect and is growing perfectly.  And growing he is, right now he is measuring in the 87th percentile whereas Benjamin at this age was measuring in the 44th percentile.  Good thing I am having another c-section! =)  He has been very active and was moving all around during the ultrasound, but stopped to suck his thumb for a bit just long enough so that we could take a good profile picture.  Benjamin is excited to be getting a baby brother, but for the next 4 months I am going to soak up all of the alone time that I can with my sweet boy.

Baking Cookies

Monday night Benjamin and I "baked" christmas cookies, as in, we took them out of the package and placed them on a cookie sheet. =) 

 

And then we waited patiently for them to bake.  The hardest part of cookie making by far!  

 

Festival of Lights

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here!  We spent the weekend finishing putting up our Christmas decorations and putting  lights on the outside of the house and it looks so festive everywhere, I just love it!  And to get in the Christmas spirit a little more, Saturday morning we took Benjamin to see Santa in our neighborhood and spent Saturday night with MawMaw and Aunt Matt in Galveston at Moody Gardens Festival of Lights.

Ready to see Santa in Christmas attire of course!

And not so ready for picture taking that evening at Moody Gardens!  This was the best picture we could get and thanks to the flash Benjamin closed his eyes for every picture! 

Florida Keys

There was no Black Friday shopping for us this year, we woke up early Friday morning and headed straight to the Keys!

We enjoyed lunch on the water of course and it was delicious!  We had seafood, seafood, seafood of course!  And Benjamin enjoyed his 1st virgin pina colada!  

 Then we stopped at Robbie's Marina in Islamorada Key to feed the tarpon, shop around and enjoy the beach a bit.  It was so much fun!  Unfortunately  Benjamin wanted his pacifier all day since he was not exactly feeling 100% yet.  I cut all of the nipples on them  and am determined to get rid of it this month, luckily he only uses it at night or when he is not feeling well.

 

And stopped at a fruit stand where we enjoyed the most delicious key lime milkshakes and Benjamin and his cousin Annah got to feed animals and enjoy Benjamin's favorite thing these days-big trucks (or tractors!)

Such a fun trip to the Keys!

Thanksgiving Day

Benjamin woke up Thanksgiving Day feeling less than great and ended up with an ear infection and 102 fever that afternoon.  He felt a little better after Tylenol and ear drops so he did play outside for a few minutes but later that afternoon he fell asleep on me at the dinner table and was pretty much miserable the rest of the day.  I hate seeing Benjamin so miserable and luckily he was feeling better by Saturday morning.

 We did manage to sneak in some family photos that afternoon.

 But Benjamin was just not in the mood.

 And was much happier inside on the couch reading books and snuggling.