Celebrating Christmas begins

The first year I wasn't going to be with my family on Christmas Day, my mother decided to make the day we did celebrate as a family very special. I really like this - especially now that we live in the same town. We gather as family often so we need to do something different to make holidays feel special.

This year we celebrated on Friday, Dec. 22 since Clay's family arrived late that night to spend Christmas Day with us. Due to the ages of the children, finding an activity that we will all enjoy proves to be a bit of a challenge. This year we chose to go to the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History. They have a great area downstairs (call KidSpace) tailored for kids under 6. Everyone seemed to have a great time. We ventured upstairs to the hands-on science exhibit and got to hear the Texas All-Girls Choir sing a few songs as we passed through the lobby. Jbird loves music so much and this just thrilled his soul!

We braved eating out and then headed to my folks to put the boys down for a nap. Jbird didn't sleep long, but he was entertained by Kadyn while others tried to rest. Once Dylan woke up and the boys had a snack, we opened presents. What an adventure that was! Jbird kept leaving the area...Dylan wanted all the toys...and then Jbird face-planted on real tile. There was little blood and a nice bruise in the middle of his forehead, but new toys were a great distraction. It was a wonderful time to spend with family.

Family gatherings have changed quite a bit - much more chaotic than they used to be - but there is lots of laughter and a great appreciation for the blessing of doing life together in the same town. It was a great way to start the holiday weekend!

Enjoy these pictures from the day - just click on them to get a larger view!

Jbird's favorite toy in KidSpace - electronic finger painting! A TV he can touch and it has fun colors too! We kept trying to get him to do other things, but he always kept heading back to it.












He did get a kick out of turning the lights on and off in the little house - of course he enjoys this at home too!







We did distract Jbird with the water area for a bit. He loves to splash! And he was quite intrigued with the hand dryer...









Pictures in the car (across from the electronic finger painting)... I love the action shot (like his daddy).









He even let Dylan get beside him for a moment! Pop enjoyed trying to wrangle the boys for a picture.









The first present Jbird opened was the only one he was interested in for a while so we didn't take too many pictures!