Christmas Celebration...Happy Birthday Jesus!

This year the Laird family stayed in Texas. We did NOT go back home to Louisiana to celebrate with family...Scott did NOT have any more days to take off from work plus they are super busy. BUT we were so blessed that some of our family members came here to visit us! First Granny came over on the Tuesday evening. We were so excited that she was able to spend Christmas eve with us. She has never been able to spend that with us! I loved that we were able to stay home and NOT go to any parties because I have always wanted the kids to have a nice quiet evening preparing for the big day. We started off on Christmas eve with having to bring BOTH Ryan and Noah to the doctor..they both had croup! grrr...so lucky! they were not sick all season, but then SPLAT!!! SICK! So then we went for some Coffee (the grown ups) and Hot Chocolate (the kids)...we then went to early Mass to Celebrate Jesus's Birthday! The boys were so handsome!

I was playing with the flash on the camera to get the best photo :)



Surprisingly, Ryan did NOT fight me to NOT wear this adorable Janie and Jack Sweater :)



After Mass, We all started baking LOTS of different cookies for Santa...also I prepared the rest of the meals (as much as I could) for the following day..Granny was able to make some Gingerbread cookies with the boys...rolling out the dough, making the shapes (they made gingerbread men, Santas, and snowmen), Playing with the flour, and decorating their cookies. IT was such a treat for all of us!

Rollin it out


Ryan having a blast making his gingerbread man


Noah with his man


Granny with the boys


I was checking on the cookies...


Ryan decorating


Noah decorating



YUMMY and Beautiful! LOL


Me with the boys



Santa's cookies are READY!



After ALOT of Baking and EATING, the boys had their baths, and 2 books read and went to bed....

I read Rudolph and


daddy read Twas the Night Before Christmas!


Alas Christmas Day was here and the Boys LOVED their gifts...they received many many gifts from Santa, mom and dad, and all of our other relatives! The big presents were Noah got a Razor Motorcycle Scooter and Ryan got a BIG Ford F-150 Electric ride on. They both love their gifts!

wooohooo..MOM, the radio works! LOL



Ryan posing in his RIDE


Noah's


Yah cool guy Noah!



Noah also received a REAL guitar






Ryan also got an Espn TEE ball set, a Brand new Scooter! (thanks RANDI for the heads up on the best one...he LOVES it), a vsmile Motion, a wooden tool box, a bunch of monster trucks and cars, and thomas the trains...and lots of other goodies. Noah also got Guitar Hero, some Wii and Nintendo games, Ben 10 toys, and other various remote control flying things. LOL and he also got clothes (which he HATED but mommy LOVED)!

On the day after Christmas, My mom and sister came in town...this was GREAT!! so we had alot of fun visiting with them! Ryan loved his little cars that he got even though he had much bigger items. LOL


He has managed to lose the blue car that you see in his hands...where O where have you gone, blue lightning McQueen?? wahhhhhhh.

Thanks for spending so much Time with us Granny!


We love you and Miss you Already :)

Merry Christmas Everyone... :)

Body World and Leonardo

were the 2 exhibits that we saw at HMNS right before Christmas. They were both GREAT! I do not have any photos of Body World 2 since they did NOT allow photos...Yah I know it is a bummer...a real bummer if you have ever seen it and know what it is all about. I could NOT believe that they were real bodies...but anyway, I am not sure if Ryan loved it or hated it. LOL He kept talking about 'cool guy'...that was his term for the "bodies"...This exhibit is a MUST SEE if it ever makes around to your part of the globe.

The other exhibit was Leonardo...that mummified dinosaur that Scientists? found in Montana...they brought it to Houston where it was x-rayed and this is the first time that they have found a skeleton with SKIN...and they also know where the organs were from the x-rays. It was SUPER cool. The boys loved it.

Bethelehem Bed and Breakfast

was the name of the Noah's school play. YES it is the same exact play EVERY YEAR but with your child in a different grade so his or her part is different every year..but I find this to be excruciating for me...especially with a 2 year old who was feeling a bit under the weather and we couldn't really see the play......ahhhhh.....but I made it through and what I could see of Noah, he did a nice job singing and being a shepherd boy.
It is almost Jesus's Birthday...

Christmas Cheer with Friends

is always nice to be around. Today our neighbors had the cutest party for the kids. It was an Ornament Party. It was a WONDERFUL hit! The children were able to make different kinds of ornaments while enjoying a yummy breakfast. Ryan ate a donut and a handful of M&M's. LOL Noah ate strawberries....He isn't a very big Breakfast eater.

Ryan has so much fun playing with Noah and John Edwin (neighbors).

Noah playing

Ryan and John Edwin

As you can see my boy sweats alot. LOL Poor thing..I guess that it didn't help that his pants were insulated and the weather was in the 70's! Blah to that!

I had a blast talking to grown ups and I really enjoyed The Hamner's Company...I think I stayed a little too long as I was the last one to leave...I wish all neighbors were as sweet at that family!
These are the CUTE ornaments that Noah and Ryan made

There was once a Glittery Snowman

Ryan made the CUTEST Snowman at B&N today...on his weekly Story time group. We love going there...although, as I have said before, Ryan is not exactly WELL-BEHAVED! He is rather curious, I guess. He did NOT enjoy the books today and Ms. Sam does such an AWESOME job reading those books! They watched a little cartoon about a snowman...he wasn't interested because he could not get close to the tv without me...he is stuck to me like Glitter Glue. haha!!

BUT the CRAFT is what RYAN LOVES! I asked him where he wanted to put the snowman 'parts' and he glued them on there...

Ryan in the process of making his snowman, I was bothering him with my camera :)


Look at all that GLITTER!


I think he did a GREAT job, Don't you??

Hot Cocoa

is becoming Ryan's coffe! He had a taste of a child's hot cocoa or hot chocolate at Starbucks on Monday and he acted like he had coffee...Just as Scott does. LOL He was soooo super happy to have that cup in his hands. He actually asked for one today. I will bring him back there soon to get one...he is growing up too fast :(

Toddler Talk

Wow! I cannot believe how much Ryan is talking now. He is a parrot. He repeats EVERYTHING...like the word 'stupid'..this is NOT good. I have been hearing him say it more the last couple of days and I KNOW THAT I SAY IT WAY TOOOO MUCH! For example, He just said 'shut up stupid truck' OMG! and then before going into the grocery store today..He said something to me and said 'stupid mommy' OMG!!!! I told him that was NOT nice and NOT to say that...he would be in big trouble and he said he doesn't want any trouble.
Bottom line is that I NEED to stop saying it...it's gonna be hard since something STUPID happens everyday. LOL
Ryan wanting a picture next to the tree today


and Mommy posing with her new hat :)


If you have any ideas on substitutions for this word, please let me know...although I am sure that you know that STUPID is a substituion already :)

It Snows in TEXAS?

It sure did last week! The boys were amazed! It started in the early afternoon as a wintry mix and during the nighttime it just progressed and did accumulate alot on the ground...of course this was in the middle of the night...so the boys could NOT see all of it :(
Noah loved trying to eat it.



Ryan loved collecting it on his shovel!


This was Ryan's first snow experience. If it snowed here like normal winter places, Ryan would cry to play in it, I am convinced.
This is Ryan being so happy to see snow.

When the snow first started to accumulate...the thicker snow came when the boys were sleeping.

OH Christmas Tree Oh Christmas Tree

We never thought you would be decorated this year! Well there is about 10 days that our tree has been decorated. I never thought we would get it done this year. We were not home when we usually would put it up and then on the following weekend I was sooo sick. The boys and I actually put it up and I think we did a pretty darn good job.
The first ornament that Ryan put on the tree was the Polar bear. He loved that one. Noah put the T-rex on the tree, and I put a cute shiny fish. LOL WE don't really have a Theme for our tree, we just put on whatever we like...it's a kid tree, you know.
We had a blast with the Christmas music. Ryan loved dancing around the tree. His fav song was "Papa Noel"...so funny.
Here is Ryan dancing.


This is the second year that we use a fake tree...I have to say that it was awesome not putting the lights on the tree.

After the tree was decorated, Ryan was sad that it was all over.


They did have a blast posing in front of the tree though :)

Story Time

at Barnes and Noble is fun. I bring Ryan every week and most of the time he isn't that 'good' over there. HE fidgets, talks, and wants to read other books on his own. He does love the craft part though. He is trained and knows when we are going...on the way there, he tells me that he has to be quiet over there. So Yah he knows what he has to do, but he doesn't do it. So on this particular occassion, he made a Christmas tree. He did a great job too. He put all of the ornaments on by himself! I was proud of him.
Ryan working hard on his tree



Ryan with his Finished tree