Christmas

We made the road trip down to Texas again this year. With kids now old enough to push each others buttons and a couple of rough patches of bad weather, the trip seemed a little longer this year (or maybe have just forgotten since last year!). We had a fun time once we were down there though. We took a trip to Bass Pro Shop to get the obligatory Santa picture. It was a 2 hour wait, but luckily grandma and grandpa came too to help entertain the kids. They rode the carousel, drove remote controlled cars, and checked out the aquariums. Weston was very excited to see Santa until it was actually his turn. Then he wasn't quite so sure. Alex wasn't nervous this year and told Santa he wanted cars and hexbugs for Christmas.

When we pulled up to my mom's house, the boys were excited to see Mickey and Minnie greet them. Throughout the week, Wes frequently checked to see if Mickey and Minnie were awake (inflated) or sleeping (deflated). Alex and Wes went out on Christmas Eve to sprinkle their reindeer food on the lawn for Santa's reindeer.

Santa came to visit and boy did we have a lot of presents to open! It was a beautiful day outside so the kids got to try out some of their new toys.

One morning we went to go see Frozen at the theater. We all enjoyed the movie.

We spent the day after Christmas with our friends, Angela, Jason, Avery, and Addi, at the Fort Worth Zoo. There was practically no one there, which made it really nice to see all of the animals! Notice how the MN kids are wearing sweatshirts or light fleece jackets while the TX kids are in parkas, hats, and gloves.

One of Avery's favorite things to do at the zoo is feed the birds. You can buy seed sticks and then walk inside an enclosed area and the birds instantly flock to you. Alex initially freaked out and screamed, while Avery and Weston loved every second of it. The rest of us probably fell somewhere in between.

On the way back from Texas, we stopped in Wisconsin for one night of Ausman family Christmas. It added a little extra time to our drive, but it was worth it to see everyone, even if it was only for a night. Alex and Greta enjoyed watching a movie together, while Weston played with his new barn.

Preschool Christmas Program

Alex had his Christmas program at preschool today. Both Andy and I took off from work to come watch. Alex looked quite handsome in his fancy outfit and he did a great job performing! He sang along with his teachers and classmates and did all of the hand movements too. After the performance, everyone got to enjoy Christmas cookies. It was a fun afternoon. We are very proud of this guy!

Gingerbread House

Alex, Weston, and I worked together to put together and decorate a gingerbread house last weekend. They were both really into decorating it and took their jobs very seriously. It was a fun project to do on a cold winter day.

Christmas Tree

Alex was excited to put up the Christmas tree this year.  Both boys enjoyed putting the ornaments on. Now every morning when Alex gets up (which is often before his parents do!) he goes out and turns the tree lights on.

Best Buds

Happy 5th Birthday, Alex!

It's official, we now have a 5 year old in the house! Alex went in for his annual check up this week. He weighs 46 lb 9.6 oz (84th percentile) and is 3'8" tall (73rd percentile). Based on his current growth curve and Andy's and my height, they estimate Alex will be 5'11" when he grows up. We'll have to check back in about 12 years and see how accurate they were! This was a picture of Alex and Ms. Kay from his preschool birthday party.

We spent Thanksgiving weekend in WI. We went out to eat for a nice Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday and then Friday was birthday fun day. We spent Friday morning as a family of four at Action City. We played arcade games, mini bowling, laser tag, and go-karts. We all had a lot of fun!

Friday evening we had Alex's birthday party at Sara's house. Alex decided he wanted a Turbo themed party. Aunt Sara came through as usual with her amazing cookies.

Alex loves to play games and he recently discovered the game show Minute To Win It. I thought it would be fun to play some Minute To Win It Games at his party and it turned out to be a big hit. Everyone was such good sports about playing the games. It was really fun!

Happy birthday to one amazing five year old! We love you, Alex, and are so proud of you! You brighten our lives each and every day.

Halloween

We had a fun Halloween. I was able to sneak over to see Alex's fall program at preschool. The kids sang songs and then we got to go trick-or-treating around the school and play various games they had set up. Weston and Alex dressed up as M&M's this year. We went trick-or-treating with a group of friends. Both Alex and Weston loved it. They were pretty cute!