Merry Christmas!

We had a WONDERFUL time celebrating Christmas this year! We started our celebration on Christmas Eve by going to decorate my grandmother and grandfather's grave. It was a very special time for us and Evan enjoyed helping. Later that afternoon, we went to church and then ate Chinese food with Grammy and Granddaddy. Unfortunately, Evan was not in the mood to worship and had to be taken out of the service early. Carl took him to Grammy and Granddaddy's house to get some of his energy out and to get in a better mood. (I was VERY thankful for that!) Dinner was nice and laid back. We then headed home to read The Night Before Christmas and to get ready ready for Santa.

On Christmas morning, Carl and I got up around 8:00 and were ready to open presents with Evan. Unfortunately, Evan was still sleeping! (We did not want to wake him because he had a been so grumpy at church the night before and we knew he was tired.) He FINALLY woke up at 9:30 and the fun began! Evan came downstairs to find that Santa had come and left lots of presents! After playing with his new basketball and goal and riding his new bike, he wanted to open the rest of the gifts. He was quick to open them all this year, which was lots of fun!

Later in the morning, we headed over to Granddaddy and Grammy's house for more presents and lunch. The Nickels were there and as soon as we got there the present opening began. It was a bit hectic with three small boys opening their presents together, but it was nice to be together. After presents we all ate lunch and then the boys and Emily played with all of the new toys.

We left that afternoon to come home and look for our dogs. (Our gate blew open that morning and they escaped!) Thankfully, they were back home. They were tired and cold, but we were happy to have them back home safe and sound.

Ron came over that evening for our junk food feast. It was nice to sit around and relax! Bonnie Mom and Grandpa also stopped by to see Evan. Evan loved showing them how he could ride his new bike!

On Sunday morning, Carl's family joined us at our house for presents and brunch. Evan was VERY patient and helped pass out the presents and waited his turn to open his gifts. He got a really cool truck from Uncle Teddy and Aunt Rachel and Buzz and Woody for from Grandpa and Bonnie Mom. After opening presents we all enjoyed a delicious brunch. It was a nice and relaxing end to our Christmas celebrations!

Merry Christmas to Great Grammy and Great Granddaddy!



Evan left Santa a special snack of rasins and soup! The reindeer received Cheerios!



Santa must have enjoyed his snack! He left Evan LOTS of gifts!



Evan was so excited to get a big boy bike for Christmas. He rode all around the first floor of the house.



This alphabet game is fun!



Yea! More presents!



The blue airplane was a hit!



Evan was thrilled to receive a big tractor for Christmas!



I think I know what is in here!



It is Stinky the Garbage Truck! Hurray!



I was THRILLED to have a white Christmas!



Caleb had fun unwrapping his gifts.



Jackson was happy to find that his gift was a Buzz Lightyear toy!



Evan liked his new truck from Grammy and Granddaddy!



Emily woke up in time for lunch. She really liked her roll.



This picture is not that great, but I wanted to include one of me and Carl. We had so much fun on Christmas!




After lunch all of the boys took turns jumping from the coffee table to the couch. It was so fun to watch! I STILL can't belive that my dad ENCOURAGES this type of behavior! Things have certainly changed since I was a kid!



We were SO happy that the dogs returned home! (They refused to look at me. I guess they were a bit ashamed with their bad choice to run away!)



Reece felt a bit better later and played with his new toy.



Kaiya had lots of fun on Christmas with her catnip toy!

Newport Aquarium 2010

Bonnie Mom and Grandpa treated us to a trip to The Newport Aquarium last week. We all had a really great time, even though Carl had to spend a lot of the trip working. Highlights of the trip included seeing Santa scuba diving and petting the sharks. Evan was tired when we reached the big sharks and found them "a little bit scary" and let us know that he did not want to see them. He did like Mighty Mike, the 800 pound alligator, the lorikeets and the little sharks.

Evan had fun petting the horseshoe crabs.



Scuba Santa was VERY brave! He was in the tank with the big sharks!



There were lots of cool fish at the aquarium. Evan liked the fish that glowed.



The seahorses were super cool. Evan showed us a seahorse that let go of the rocks and was swimming.



Mighty Mike was REALLY big! Evan really liked him and so did Daddy!



Evan got to feed the lorikeets! Normally the lorikeets are a bit timid around Evan, but this one came right up to Evan and ate the nectar he was offering.



This is not the best picture, but I like it a lot because Evan is SO happy to be feeding the birds!



The ray was really cool!



This is one of the big sharks that was a bit too scary for Evan. Evan normally LOVES sharks, but it was close to nap time and I think he was too worn out to enjoy the sharks.



Evan thought the little sharks were cool and spent a lot of time petting them.

Evan's Big Boy Bed

Evan loved his crib and never tried to climb out. Earlier in the week he was very tired and actually climbed IN his crib. We figured that since he could climb in, he could easily climb out and get hurt. It was definitely time for a big boy bed! We had the converter set for his crib, so we hauled it out of the basement and created Evan's big boy bed. He was so excited that he even helped Daddy fix his new bed!


The first night that Evan slept in his big boy bed was a bit of a mess. He got up, turned the light on, played in his room, made a mess, got out of his room, etc. Thankfully, it has gotten better each time we put him to bed for a nap or for bedtime. He usually stays in bed and goes to sleep. We are so proud of our big boy! (Now we just need to tackle potty training. He is SO stubborn with that!)

Evan helped Daddy carry the converter set upstairs so that we could make him his new bed.



Evan eagerly tried to help fix his new bed while Daddy read the directions.



Daddy started taking apart the crib and Evan lended a hand to help!



Evan got to help assemble his new bed!



Evan eagerly jumped intp his new bed!



I LOVE my new bed!



We got to start a new tradition. We now read our books in bed!



This is what Evan's room looked like after getting to sleep in his new bed for the first time! What a mess! Thankfully he is doing MUCH better now!

Santa Safari and Keeling Christmas 2010

We had such a good time at the Louisville Zoo's Santa Safari last year that we made reservations to attend this year as well. This year was lots of fun and it might have been even better than last year! Evan really enjoyed seeing Santa this year. He also liked seeing lots of cool animals. He especially liked petting the snake and the hedgehog.

Evan LOVES the orangutans. He got a great view on the way to the Santa Safari!



Daddy helps Evan with his first dot-to-dot activity.



Evan enjoyed coloring his masterpiece!




This cookie is delicious!



Daddy and Evan worked on making a picture frame.



Evan shows off the finished product!



I LOVE Santa!



Evan had fun playing with the icicles on his safari.



Evan loved his special map. He made sure to follow his map so that we knew where to go. It was SO cute!



Evan thought this snake was really cool!



After the Santa Safari and a nap, we headed to Aunt Linda's house for the Keeling Family Christmas party. We all had a lot of fun, especially Evan. Evan loved all of his gifts, especially his guitar. He and Evan "rocked out" all night long!

We did not get to take many pictures, but Carl got a great shot of Evan and Caleb enjoying their guitars. Thanks Aunt Bettie!

Ice Day

Usually school is closed due to snow, but this week, school was closed due to ice! I was happy that my Chistmas break got an early start and that I could spend some extra time with Evan. Carl got to stay home one day too. (The roads were a mess!) Although Carl worked a lot, he did manage to get outside with us to play for a little bit!

The driveway was covered in ice, so we let Evan ride his sled down the driveway. He had his helmet on and was ready to go!



"Whee!"



"That was fun!"



Daddy and Evan had fun sledding!



Evan liked hearing the ice crunch when he walked on it!



Daddy "skied" down the driveway!