YAY Bo!

Tuesday night Brent and I went to the Mavericks game. Memaw drove down to watch the kids. On the way to the game, I got a call from a VERY excited Darla. "Mom, Bo poo pooed in the potty!!!" We have a little potty set up in his bathroom and Bo usually sits on it before his bath, but we haven't done too much potty training yet so I was extremely surprised when she called. Memaw said Bo came walking in his bedroom naked and holding a People magazine and said "I poo pooed". And yes he did! Darla asked me "Mom, do you want us to save it for you until you get home????????" I told her "no, that's okay. We'll see it the next time!" ha ha

Santa

Every year, we meet Jesse & Reese to see Santa. This year the plan was to go to the new Allen mall, but it's all outside and it was 40 degrees and raining, so our plan changed and we went to Bass Pro Shops.

The kids were so excited - they ran all over looking at the reindeer, the fish, and BO was obsessed with this little puppet sticking out of Santa's shop and kept saying "stuck", "stuck". I wasn't sure how Bo would do with Santa this year because last year he screamed! I think it helped that Santa had a big bowl of candy canes next to him. In fact, if you look at this picture, I think it sums up my kids pretty well. Bo is focused on the candy, Darla is reading her list to Santa. She has organized her list this year and marked who's getting her what...Santa, Mom, Dad, Granddad, etc. If any kid deserves to be at the top of Santa's "good" list - it's my sweet Darla!!

A few things on Darla's list this year: Barbie Pet Vet Station, white tiger cub, Penelope Puppy, Pet Vet DS game, some other Barbie/vet puppy, Barbie & 3 Musketeers DVD, Harry Potter DVDs. She needs to add her two front teeth to that list!! She is really into animals more than dolls and even told us that she wants to be a dentist or a vet when she grows up.

On Bo's list - a train table, basketball goal, t-ball set, toys, and clothes. Darla likes to add things (that SHE likes too) to Bo's list when catalogs come in the mail.

After Santa, we went next door to Primo's to eat. Jesse & Darla sat at their own table while Bo & Reese were stuck with me & Cortney. After we ate, I realized I couldn't find our picture with Santa, so we went back inside BPS and luckily someone had turned it in.

A few of my FAVORITE things Bo is saying right now: "Steam up" - stand up. "People" is purple. "Doora" for Dora. "See-tan Claus" - Santa. "Icicle" - popsicle.

Happy Birthday Bo

Today my baby turned 2. It's such a cliche, but it's so true - they grow up soo fast! As soon as Bo woke up, we loaded up in the car and went to get "no-nuts" and sausage rolls because they are his favorite. He ate them in his chair while watching "Doo-Ra" and then we had to get dressed to go to Drew's party.

We had fun at Drew's - Granddad fed Bo a ton of chocolate cake and ice cream which kept his sugar high from the "no-nuts" going!! We left Darla there to play with Presley and then I get an email from Granddad that says "Tooth Fairy coming tonight".
I open it to see Darla's other front tooth is gone!!! We couldn't believe it! So she is officially toothless on the top.

We had Bo's party at Peter Piper Pizza. Daddy missed most of the OU game while we were at the party - poor planning on my part. Papaw definitely earned a gold star for coming to the party and missing the game!!! The kids had so much fun...Bo was running around crazy the whole time. I think they all ran out of tokens in the first 2 minutes, but luckily Uncle Andy & Nana kept everyone's cups full! Last year he cried really hard when we sang, but this year, he was so cute. He sat real still and made his "I'm trying not to smile face" where he cuts his eyes over to the side but then he started grinning ear to ear. And he even blew out both candles all by himself! He sat there and at his piece of cake for about 20 minutes - it was definitely the quietest/stillest moment of the day. Nanaw spent most of the party chasing him around, so I'm sure she was happy for the break too!!

We came home and opened presents - he got lots of good toys and clothes. Memaw gave him a card with her voice recorded in it and so did we, so he played with those things for almost a half hour. I think he was pooping his pants while he played with them which also explained why he was being so still, but it was so much fun to watch him open those and then sing with the songs.

Bo is such a funny little boy - tonight he and I laughed and laughed while he was in the bathtub just because he started laughing which made me laugh and then he'd get going. He is so busy - he hardly ever slows down. He hasn't been taking naps lately, and I really don't know how he gets through the whole day without being exhausted. He makes his Daddy & I tired, that's for sure! He loves to watch Dora right now - he gets up in our bed (which he calls "Bo's bed") and gets in my spot under the covers. It's pretty cute.

He can definitely say anything, and I do mean anything so you have to be very careful these days about what you say around him. He loves Darla so much - he will do anything she does or asks him to do. But he can be mean to her - hitting and pushing. He's really quick to say "Sorry Dar-wah". He went to Timeout this week @ school. When Brent went to pick him up he was sitting in the chair and started crying when he saw his Daddy, so he knows when he's doing right/wrong. At Amy's Tueday night, Anna came over to me and said "Bo just hit me." I said "Bo, no-no hit Anna" and he came walking towards me with his head and shoulders down showing how sorry he was. It was so funny - I was trying to keep a straight face.

I am trying to stop and remember every single moment that I can right now. This is the best age and Brent & I say all the time how we just want to enjoy it and take it all in. It goes by so fast!

Darla had a great week. She was selected for another "Hunt Hound Award" for Outstanding Behavior. They pick 2 students in each class each 6 weeks. She now has two dog tags for her collection - she got the same award in Kindergarten. She's doing such a great job in Ms. Garner's class, but we aren't really that surprised!! She & her Daddy went to Pumpkin Math Day on Friday and Brent said it was a lot of fun. They had to weigh, measure, count seeds, etc from their pumpkin. I think Brent made up a new Hunt Elementary song about the crossing guard to go with his "Mr. G-W" song.

Bo - we are so proud of you. You are such a sweet, good boy and we love you so much. Happy 2nd Birthday!!!

A Lot to Catch Up on

I am feeling a little like the worst mom ever tonight. Maybe it's because I'm working Mon-Wed this week so I'm off my normal schedule, but Bo's 2nd birhtday is in a couple of weeks and I don't have anything planned. No invitations, no party details, nothing. And it's Oct 5th and we still don't have Halloween costumes...I know that sounds like I have time, but every year we have our costumes by now.

And then I looked to see I haven't written an entry in over a month! Where does the time go? Darla lost one of her front teeth a few weeks ago. She went to Nanaw's for the weekend and I got a picture on my phone with the tooth missing. It wasn't even that loose so I was SHOCKED to see it gone! Nanaw said Bo kept trying to pull one of his teeth out so he could look like his sister. He will do ANYTHING she is doing. Luckily, she's always setting a great example so that can be a very good thing.

Darla was chosen as Star Student of her class last week. We made a poster about her and then she got to take her favorite book and toy to class. The kids all made her a book on the last day and I have to tell you, it's the funniest thing that she's ever brought home! To see what the kids wrote about her is just too much. For example "Darla, Galushins (congratulations) on being Star Student" or "I hope you aren't sick. I hope you don't have a fever. I hope you don't get sick?!?!?" I will keep it forever!

Bo has grown up so much in the last month. He can say ANYTHING now and repeats everything we say. It's so funny to see him use words/sentences the correct way. Like last night Darla took off running to the playroom and said "Bo, come on." And he took off after and said "OK, I'm coming". He also got a haircut this month and likes to pat his head and say "Haircut". He can tell you that Nanny & Papaw live in "Homak" (Oklahoma) and I love to hear him say the names of the kids in his class "Caro-wine, Brody, Camin (Camryn), Heidi, Miss Doora (Miss Vera)".

We also got rid of the bottle last weekend. I know it should have happened months ago but it didn't. Oh well. Bo has really been good about it. Last weekend on Sunday night he asked for juice at bedtime so I gave it to him and we haven't looked back. I hid all the bottles and when he asked for one I just said "we don't have any" and I know he didn't really believe me but he went along with it. He loves cranapple juice right now which is very confusing becuase he'll say [very clearly] "apple juice" but he wants cranapple, not apple so it can be quite a battle if you don't know what he wants. Even at the grocery store while your checking out, he'll see the juice and then say "apple juice" about 50 times.

I forgot just how much fun this age is where they do something new every single day and you actually SEE your kids learning/growing right in front of your eyes.

Monday was the first day of 1st Grade. We were really excited for Darla and this new chapter in her life. I feel like 1st grade is going to challenge her more than Kindergarten.

The morning started off pretty easy - the alarm went off at 6:30 and I woke Darla up at 6:45. Let me insert here how I wake her up...I walk in the room, turn on her TV, pat her on the back and say "Darla, time to get up". Unlike my childhood where my dad would walk in the room, turn on every light and say "Up and at 'em...let me see your feet on the floor." I swore I wouldn't do that to my child and so far, promise kept. Or, I would hear my mom's houseshoes coming down the tile hallway and I knew when the sound stopped she was on the carpet which meant she was almost to my room so I would jump out of bed right as she got there!

Darla got up, dressed pretty quickly, had cinnamon rolls and then started on her hair. We washed & dried it the night before but she wanted it super straight so we ironed it for the first day. We were all supposed to walk her to school but Bo was still asleep so Daddy decided to hang back with him. I wasn't about to let this day go without following her in the school to take pictures!

A few quick pics at the house and off we went. When we got there, Darla marched straight to the 1st Grade Hall and then walked that long hallway to Ms. Garner's room. She put her backpack in her locker and then to her desk. She was such a good sport about letting me take pictures while she put her stuff away. She sat down and started coloring a "welcome to first grade" picture and then I said, "Darla, can I get a picture of you & Ms. Garner". Darla gave me a "NOT NOW MOM" look, but luckily Ms. Garner (LOVE HER) understood the importance of this moment to me and said "Sure...come on Darla" so I got the pic. I know my days of getting these kind of pictures are limited, so I'm so grateful I got to sneak 'em in one more year!!!

When we went to pick her up that afternoon Brent asked - "how was 1st grade? Is it like Kindergarten?" Darla's response "No, it's not anything like Kindergarten. It's totally different."

And that was pretty much it. She's a first grader now. 6 years old and growing up too fast. This year wasn't as hard for me because I'm more excited for her than anything. I felt like Kindergarten was fun, but I think this year's she's going to learn so much.

I have to share Ms. Garner's note home today (Thursday - 4th day of school):
Darla is just precious. She loves learning. She has a thirst for knowledge that keeps her engaged all day. She is a model student and a lot of fun to work with.

Meet the Teacher

We met Darla's 1st grade teacher, Ms. Garner, on Friday night. I'd heard great things about her like she is the 1st grade coordinator and she got Teacher of the Year last year. I couldn't have been more excited when I met her. She seems like the most perfect 1st grade teacher EVER. I just wanted to sit down at a desk and be her student. Darla really seemed to like her too. And she's excited about some of the friends in her class so I think it's going to be a good year.

Brent told me a funny Darla story. This morning they went to McDonalds to get us breakfast. On the way back, they drove by the house across Murphy Rd that has all the baby horses. Brent said he asked Darla if she wanted one. Darla's mind started turning and she said they should find out if they have a daughter and if they did, then she would trade 2 of her baby dolls that she doesn't play with anymore for one of those little colts. She was NOT willing to let go of her Webkinz though!

I can't believe the summer is almost over. Today was our final "Swim Club" at Coco's house. We look forward to it every single Tuesday and I'm so sad that it's over. I have to say I love Swim Club so much because I get to spend a few hours each week with everyone and their kids. It's such a great time to see the kids' personalities and I always learn so much. Like today, Peyton told Amber & I that she no longer lives in Texas. I asked if she lives in Oklahoma or Louisiana and she said "no, we live in Muh-Kinney".

It's also so much fun to see the kids growing up right in front of us. Anna started off the summer very timid and by week 3 she was swimming all over the place and jumping off into the deep end. Mia and Bo defintely grew as swimmers this year - as of today, they both were pretty independent in their Swimmies. Mia didn't really like sharing her little jump ledge & towel with Bo, but she was a good sport! And then, poor Amy (but Amy it was all your fault), I think today every single girl (sorry Bo) mastered the cheer stunt. Jesse did one of the best toe touches EVER off the wall today, and Reese managed to keep her swim suit on most of the summer. Darla stayed in character most of the time (kitten, dolphin, unicorn, you name it) but was always my extra pair of eyes to keep a close watch on her little brother.

I just hope that when all the kids are teenagers they'll still hang out with us at Swim Club...

Cheer Camp

Darla did a Cheer Camp at Whistle Stop this summer. We went to watch the Pep Rally last week. Let's just say it was very entertaining but I'm not sure if the girls learned much this summer! Darla's favorite chant was "We're number one, can't be number two, we're gonna beat the whoopee out of you." I don't think the teacher has won many awards on creativity.

How cute is this???? Brent found them in Darla's room reading together.

I am sure there are kids all over the world that had very exciting summer vacations and have seen things they will never forget. Maybe it was the Grand Canyon, the ocean floor or maybe even a solar eclipse. Things that don't happen every day and sometimes you might wait 2 decades to see. My kids also had this type of sighting this summer. And seriously, in my 34 years of life, I cannot recall a single time seeing this so I'd say my kids are extremely lucky. What is the great mystery? That would be GRANDDAD IN THE SWIMMING POOL!!!!!!!!!! I do not have pictures to prove it, so to all the disbelievers out there you'll just have to believe me. Nana & Brent can vouch for me. In fact, if it wasn't for Nana, he wouldn't have gotten in but she got him with a water gun and then he came in after her. It was pretty funny.

The kids have had so much fun swimming this summer. Bo is finally getting the hang of his floaties, but unfortunately for him, Walgreens only had a pair of pink ones left. But he doesn't mind. He even went off the diving board yesterday - my arms were so tired lowering him into the water and then pulling him back out again. Since he wants to take every step Darla does, he knows no fear in the water! He loves "Dahwa" so much.

She spent the night at Granddad & Nana's Sunday night and Bo walked around the house several times looking for her. And when she got home Monday, he was sooo excited! He ran up to her and gave her a big hug.

A few of Bo's funny words: "Ah-bee" is Barney; "God" is dog; "Eat-up" for ketchup and "yee yoes" are Fruit Loops!

It didn't take long - he's not even 2 yet. Bo took his first trip to the office today at school. He bit a little girl who was sitting on a chair he wanted. They took him down to the office and he had to sit on the time out bench. Ms. Beckie said he cried the whole time and did NOT like being separated from her. Hopefully he got the point and won't bite anymore. We'll see...

Happy 4th!!!

Darla & Bo had a parade at Whistle Stop, so they were all dressed in their red, white and blue here. Bo has red & blue paint in his hair if you can see it.

The kids went to Oklahoma this weekend. Brent and I went to our new spot at Lake Fork for a night. It was VERY hot but luckily we had a pretty good breeze so it wasn't too bad. We went out on the lake around 5:00 so it was starting to cool off. That night we went to watch fireworks and I have to tell you this was the coolest fireworks show I've ever seen. Brent will say I'm exaggerating, but I mean it. One of the guys that lived in this little cove shot off fireworks and it was AWESOME! It was so pretty with the lake right there because everything reflected off the water. And we could see about 5 other people's fireworks going off too. I will never, ever forget it. It was like something out of a movie. We are definitely going back next year with the kids.

Cute pics

This boy is growing so fast I can hardly stand it. The bottom pic is one night at 2am when he decided to wake up and rather than go back to sleep, he wanted to play in his toy box. But how can you resist that smile??

Darla turns 6

This is about a week overdue, but Darla celebrated her 6th birthday last week. We took her to Six Flags the day of her birthday. She woke up that morning and opened presents. Two boxes of clothes - she was NOT impressed. But then she got her pink ipod! She was so excited.

Taylor, Jodi and Frank met us out at Six Flags. Right when it opened we headed for the Shock Wave. Darla did NOT want to ride it but we talked her into it. Jodi wasn't there yet, so we were the only 3 people on the ride. Brent rode in the first car and Darla & I were right behind him. When we finished, there still weren't any people waiting so the guy was going to let us ride again but Darla said NO WAY! She rode the Judge Roy Scream, Mini Mine Train, Runaway Mine Train, Bobsled, Conquistador, but her favorite was the Yosemite Same thing.

For her party, we celebrated at Bounce U which was fun for me because I didn't have to clean the house. Memaw brought Bo to the end of the party and he loved the bounce houses so much!! Darla got a bunch of good stuff - Webkinz, gift cards, itunes cards, a Sony ipod holder/radio for her room and $50 cash from Memaw. She specifically asked for money so she could sign up for her deluxe Webkinz membership online!

Darla - we are so, so proud of you honey. You are incredibly smart, you have the kindest heart and a great sense of humor. You are an amazing big sister and we love you so much. XOXO

Tonight Brent is at the lake and Darla is at Nanaw's, so Bo and I got to hang out. He has really started talking in the last couple of weeks. He started at Whistle Stop about a month ago and while he still cries when I drop him off, I think he's starting to like it. His teacher, Becky, is really patient and spends a lot of time with him. He says her name so cute but it sounds a lot like "Blankie" so I'm sure Bo thinks his teacher's name is Blankie.

We've been swimming a few times this summer and he loves the pool. He loves it so much that he has no fear about going in and usually will just walk right off into the pool. He even wears his lifejacket in our backyard while he's playing!

Darla was pretty funny on Wednesday. She stayed home with her daddy instead of going to Whistle Stop. She usually dumps most of her stuffed animals out on the floor in her room and it makes me crazy to go in there and see 500 animals everywhere. When I got home from work on Wednesday I asked her "how do you think I'm going to feel when I go in your room?" She looked at me with the funniest expression and said "I think your going to feel great. I didn't get any of my animals out today." The way she said it was so cute and so matter of fact.

One of Bo's new favorite foods - KETCHUP!!! He'll dip anything in it. Bananas, cereal, grapes, waffles...

Take a look at Mugsy - this is how she stands while Bo's in the highchair just waiting on any tiny crumb to hit the ground.

I was cleaning out Darla's backpack and going through some of her schoolwork today and there's a sheet titled "Summer Plans". Her list for the summer...

1. Go swimming

2. Go shopping

3. Get a Tan

That's my girl! :-)

Also in her folder was a "Me & My Dad" book. They filled in the blanks so I have to share a few of her entries...

"My Dad & I like to eat....cheeseburgers."

"My Dad & I like to watch.....Man v Food."

"My Dad & I like to....play castle stuff."

Another fun discovery this morning...I found Bo in my bathroom playing with one of Darla's baby doll strollers and a box of tampons. He also took the time to wash my flip flops in the toilet. Thanks Bo.

Next week is a big one. Bo starts at Whistle Stop on Monday and Darla has her Kindergarten Song Celebration on Monday too. She said that Mr. Gomez told them "if your parents are crying when you come in the gym, it's because they are so proud of you after watching the slide show". Better take my Kleenex. I can't believe we are already finished with Kindergarten.

I better go - it's very quiet in my house right now and that can't be good.

Peanut Butter

We found out the hard way this week that Bo is allergic to peanut butter. He had his first PB sandwich at the babysitter's on Wednesday. Memaw picked him up early and when they got home we noticed a red rash around his mouth. I called the babysitter and she told me he'd eaten the PB about 15 minutes before Memaw picked him up. He was acting fine and the redness started going away, so we thought "no big deal." Brent & I left to go to a dinner for my work and as we pulled in the parking lot my mom called and said "I think you need to come home." Bo was covered head to toe in an ugly red rash and was itching like crazy. Memaw put the kids in the car and rushed to Acute Kids Care. When we got there, I walked in to find Bo with an oxygen mask on his face and asleep but he looked awful! His whole body was red and he had these huge bumps on his face. His hands & feet were swollen. They had given him a shot and some Benadryl which apparently made him sleepy. He slept for about 20 minutes and then he woke up to say "Bob Bob" (Spongebob) which was on the TV in his room. They monitored him a little longer and then sent us home. Luckily, our prayers were answered and he's fine...we just know we have to be very careful with peanut butter!!

Are they waving at me?

Yesterday Bo was in his high chair eating breakfast (usually a waffle and banana) and he started waving then he'd stop. A few minutes would go by and he'd start waving again...then he'd stop. I couldn't really figure out what he was doing and then I looked at the TV in the kitchen and realized the Today Show was on. Every time they'd cut to the crowd outside, they'd all be waving, and Bo thought they were all waving at him. :-)

A new word

Bo learned a new word today - this morning when I went in Bo's room to get him up, he pointed at a book in his bed and said "book". He's got lots of toys in his bed and usually will play with them for awhile before he starts screaming to get out of his crib in the morning. I love watching him on the baby monitor. This morning it sounded like he was singing because he kept making his voice go up and down, up and down. He can also say his name which is sooo cute!

Darla had her first spill on Saturday. We were at Brown & Kelli's and she fell off the trampoline. It was a pretty bad fall but luckily she just sprained her elbow and scared herself half to death. Aunt Renay was so sweet - she laid on the trampoline with Darla later that night and they looked up at the stars. Darla actually wrote about it for homework this week. The story went something like "Saturday I was at my Uncle Brown & Aunt Kelli's house. Aunt Renay and I laid on the trampoline to look in the night sky at the plethora of stars." Yes, she used the word plethora. She said it was a buzz word at school.

One more funny story about Darla Punkin...the other night I went in her room around 9:15. She's supposed to be asleep at 9 so when she saw me coming down the hall she tried to act like she was asleep. When I went in there she kind of "woke up" out of her fake sleep and said "oh, my left eye was closed and asleep...I'm just waiting on the other one".

He never sits still...

I caught Bo watching Barney the other day in this position. He is so crazy all the time running around, he can't even sit down to watch TV. This boy has more energy than I've ever seen!!! He almost made it through the dog door the other night. Brent was on the back porch grilling steaks and Bo tried to follow him. I looked up and saw only his legs sticking out...I think he would have made it through if I'd given him about 30 more seconds.

Hunt Elem Sock Hop!

Last night we went to our first Hunt Elementary Sock Hop. It was really fun getting Darla all dressed in her poodle skirt outfit. She wanted me & Brent to wear full-blown 50s costumes, but we decided as Kindergarten parents, we'd go to our first Sock Hop & see how elaborate the parents got before we went too far! It was really fun - Darla had so much fun out on the dance floor.

Poop on the floor

Sorry I don't have a picture to go with this...you'll just have to use your imagination. Last night I was filling up the bathtub while Brent was getting Bo undressed. Bo was walking around in his room naked and peed on the floor. Not too shocking as that's happened before. But then, I hear Brent say "uh-oh, he's pooping" and I walk in the room just in time to see two pieces hit the floor. I grabbed Bo and tried to get a diaper or blanket under him while Brent moved in for clean up duty. We were both cracking up. If he had waited 30 seconds more, he would've gone in the bathtub with Darla and that would definitely have been worse!

Little Climber/First Audition

We had to lower the mattress in Bo's bed this week - I think these pictures explain why! I don't want him to make the same mistake Darla did of climbing out of the crib. ... And I just realized that I never posted a picture of Darla's missing tooth...

Darla had her first audition today. She's always said she wants to be an actor, so I thought I'd let her experience an audition. Radio Disney had open auditions for kids 18 & under to be on the radio. We got up early this morning and drove out to the Cinemark Theater and then Darla wouldn't get out of the car. She said she was too scared and didn't want to do it. I tried & tried to get her to go in...I even promised a trip to Gatti Town, but she wouldn't budge. I certainly didn't want to look like the crazy stage mom dragging my crying 5 yr old into an audition, so we came home and got donut holes! I hope she thanks me in her first Oscar speech for trying...

Bo is 15 months old today!

Look at my big boy!!

Inauguration Day

Today, the 44th president of the United States took the oath of office...Barack Obama, the first African American president. All day today Bo & I were home watching the historic event. Millions of people flooded into Washington DC to see it. Just watching the inauguration, you could feel that you were witnessing one of the most important days in U.S. history. I'll always remember where I was - at home with Bo folding clothes!!!

OMG!

Since yesterday was a school holiday, Darla and I took Bo to the babysitter's and went to ride, had lunch and shopped at our very favorite store, Hobby Lobby. While we were walking around, Darla saw something that she thought was cute and simply said "OMG Mom, OMG." I asked her what that meant and she said "Oh my gosh" and looked at me like I was crazy for not knowing. I knew what that was in the texting world, but just wasn't ready for my 5 year old use it in conversation.
OMG!

More great pics from 2008

Catching Up

My last entry was over a month ago and the whole reason I started this blog was to keep track of the little things going on in our lives on a weekly basis. Well, I guess I'll try and be better in 2009. I've watched Oprah's "bestlife" series this week, so maybe I'll be inspired to keep the blog up date.

Let's see...I have a lot of catching up to do. Brent & I celebrated our 10 year anniversary on December 19th. He planned a very nice surprise weekend for us...we stayed at the Stoneleigh Hotel in downtown. On Friday night, we went to Chamberlain's for dinner - that's where he proposed. We hadn't been back to that restaurant since then, so it was really, really special. On Saturday, we both had a massage and then Sat nite we had my CBS Christmas party. Hard to believe we've been married for a decade. Time flies when you're having fun, I guess! Ha!

Christmas was wonderful - with the way the economy's been, Brent & I decided to buy for the kids only this year. I have to admit, it sounded easy at first, got a little harder as Dec 25th got closer to think about not getting "stuff", but on Christmas Day, I honestly didn't even miss the gifts. I thought about last year when we pretty much missed Christmas while Bo was in the hospital being treated for RSV. In 2007, we checked out of the hospital Christmas morning. This year, my whole family was home & healthy. Now that's something you can't buy at Super Target, right?

We went to see Santa at Collin Creek Mall. We met Cortney, Jesse, Reese, Amy, Anna, and Mia this year. Bo wasn't too crazy about Santa. Looking at Santa, I can't say I blame him. We may have to find a different one next year - this Santa looks like he might be smoking a couple of packs of cigarettes a day! Darla took her Toys R Us catalog and showed Santa exactly what she wanted. There was no one big toy this year, she wanted lots of little things. Jump rope, scooter, Nintendo DS games, Littlest pet shops to play with online. Bo's list was pretty small...a few toys, clothes and a new high chair. Brent spent some time at the "deer camp" as he calls it, but other than that, we were home most of the month.

I have to brag about Darla Punkin...they tested her for the PACE program (gifted/talented/honors) at school and she's been accepted into the program. Not sure what that means exactly when you're in Kindergarten, but we'll soon find out.

She lost her first tooth on Dec 20th! She was at Memaw's eating a grilled cheese and as Darla tells it "I bit on something hard and thought it was a seed. When I pulled it out, it was my tooth!" For those of you that don't know, I guess grilled cheese sandwiches have seeds?!?!? The tooth fairy actually came to see her at Granddad and Nana's and it appears the going rate on your first tooth is $6.

Bo is walking EVERYWHERE and babbles a lot. He says "Dar-duh", bah-bah (bottle), bah-bah (Barney), Mama, Dada; and sometimes we get "Papaw" or "cookie". This child never slows down when he's awake. If you take your eyes away from him for one second, he's on the stairs, crawling out the dog door, or doing something he shouldn't be. He's getting lots of teeth and his hair's growing in more. It's starting to hang over his ears a little, so it may be time for a first haircut soon.

New Year's Eve was uneventful...Darla went to Memaw's where they sang karaoke and played the Wii. Brent, Bo and I stayed home. Bo was in bed by 7:30p; Brent & I watched "The Dark Knight" on pay-per-view and were in bed by 12:10a. At least we made it to midnight!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!