Christmas in Leakey, TX

Unfortunately, we weren't able to make it to the Christmas celebration with my Dad's side of the family. I have 3 cousins on that side of the family and two of them have gotten married in the last couple of years. Between their new commitments and our traditions, our schedules just didn't work out this year. We missed them and hope to see them soon!

Our final Christmas stop was in Leakey, TX where Ross' sister, Leslie, and brother-in-law, Philip, live along with Jackson's cousin, Mitchell. Jackson LOVES his new cousin! He points to him saying baby and enjoys giving him hugs and kisses. Mitchell was a little tired for our Christmas celebration, but you only knew that because he kept doing this...

Jackson decided he was Ross' gift this year.

Jackson got his first phone from Aunt Leslie and Uncle Philip, which was a Catepillar phone, of course!

He also got some fun new wheels to drive around on a fun track!

After all of the Christmas fun, the three of us went for a ride around the ranch. It was a beautiful day, and we ran across several cows, which Jackson recognized immediately.

We stopped for a short walk along the Little Dry Frio where Jackson tried to throw every rock he could find into the river.

There are more pics from all the fun in the album.

Christmas in Shreveport Part 2

Our second celebration in Shreveport was with Ross' family. We had a wonderful brunch and spent hours visiting and opening presents. It was so much fun to watch Jackson open a present then play for a while before moving on to the next. Two of his favorite gifts were a jack-in-the-box and a pull-a-long alligator toy. Both provided lots of etertainment and even exercise for everyone. Jackson walked "Gator" around and around the house, but he insisted someone walk with him. Granddad and Ross happily complied. Here are a couple of pics, and there are more in the album.

After a full day of playing, we made our way to Ross' Uncle Ronnie and Aunt Laura's house for delicious dinner with the rest of his family that was in town. It was great to see everyone and catch up!

Christmas in Shreveport Part 1

Our next Christmas celebration was Christmas morning with my parents, now also known as Nana and Pop. By this point Jackson had become an expert at unwrapping presents, so he helped everyone when he wasn't too busy playing with his new toys.

Apparently, the sit n spin was one of my favorites as a little girl, and Jackson loves it too. It took him a little while to get the hang of spinning himself, but now he gets on, spins, and says, "Wheeeee!"

Jackson also got his first laptop, which Dad was happy to help him with.

He also loved digging through the stocking that was almost as big as he was!

Jackson also got a wagon the day before Christmas, which he enjoyed riding in and pushing up and down the street with Nana.

The rest of us got fun stuff too, but Jackson was more fun to take pictures of (and he was much cuter than the rest of us that early in the morning). My favorite gift, which was given to me by both my parents and grandparents, was Audrey's bedding! I'm looking forward to getting her room set up now.

It was lots of fun! Thanks Nana and Pop! Here are more pics if you're interested.

Christmas in Ruston, LA

We had several Christmases this year, so I thought I'd break up the posts a little...

Our first Christmas celebration was at home, which you've already seen in a previous post. Our second celebration was in Ruston, LA with my family. Since Jackson still goes to bed so early, we got to Ruston early so my grandparents could visit with him a little. He had so much fun opening his presents with his Great Grandmother and playing outside with my dad, AKA Pop.

We even managed to get a quick family shot before he crashed.

After we got Jackson to sleep we had an incredible meal and a great time visiting with the rest of my family that was able to come this year. There are more pics of everything in the album, and there's more Christmas fun to come.

Christmas at Home

We had Christmas at home today, and it was a great day. We started by going to church, enjoying the praise and worship and message, and visiting with friends. After lunch and Jackson's nap, our Christmas celebration at home began. Here are some of the highlights, but there are more in the album.

Jackson had fun stacking his new blocks.

Then he helped everyone else go through their stockings.

He eventually opened a Mr. Potato Head, and had lots of fun studying it and figuring out what to do...

His favorite gift was definitely the bubble machine! Although, we had no idea how quickly it would go through a bottle of bubbles. We already need a refill!

We spent the rest of the day playing with all of our new toys and hanging out at the park. Today contained bits and pieces of all the important things in our lives: God, family, friends, and fun! We couldn't have hoped for a better day!