Christmas Day!

This will mostly be pictures, but a little explanation too. :)

Last night, Luke was very tired- so he went to bed and Rebekah got her stocking. She was tickled to find presents inside. She intuitively knew to show everyone in the room by holding the gift in both hands and waving it around, saying, "Look! I got ______(fill in the blank)!"

Getting to use her new markers and gadgets.

This morning, Luke got his stocking and also enjoyed all his loot. He is looking rather festive i his holiday garb. :)

A wee bit excited for gifts!

Evidently I was too...no idea what I was doing.

Just wanted to document Luke opening gifts. He loved tearing all the paper.

Fancy Nancy slippers from Aunt Sarah.

Fancy Nancy boa.

Balls!!!

Both my children, but especially R, were eager to aid in gift-opening.

Ages ago on Facebook, I posted I needed some parenting books for Christmas. :) My m-i-l complied and I am already reading! Josh also ordered me: Grace-Based Parenting and Shepherding a Child's Heart.

Luke enjoyed stuffing himself in various boxes.

We got a lot of DVDs!

My faves were the 2 sock monkeys Nana got the kids- this one is Rebekah's, whom she named Cici without hesitation. (Luke's is Ping because he has an Asian-looking hat. Politicaly correct we are not. Anyway, he LOVES his sock monkey.)

We also got lots of books!

Nana got Rebekah the DVD Snow White (which she keeps calling Cinderella), and she and Luke really enjoyed it this afternoon and evening. Luke snuggled in to Josh for part of it. :)

..and watched with Papa, too.

The kids also enjoyed laying with Griffin.

Why, yes, that was 45 pictures. You're welcome.

Texas Zoo 2009

Sarah and I took Rebekah and Luke to the Texas Zoo yesterday. It was another 70-degree day, so it was a great day for zoo adventures. :) The Texas Zoo is a very small and small child-friendly zoo that you can tour in about 45 minutes.

This is for my dad- every time I see a turtle, I want to grab it, but from the look of the head and tail, this one seemed to be a snapping turtle.

Sorry- it was very sunny. (This is Luke's first zoo experience by the way! Now that he practically doesn't sleep at all (what the what??), we have so much more time to go adventuring. I have really, really enjoyed taking him new places, such as the beach and the zoo!)

I always love the tigers. The kids were nonplussed. Rebes kept asking for an elephant they simply don't have.

Looking for the elusive elephant perhaps?

Petting the goats was Rebekah's favorite.

Identifying every wheeled object as a "cah" or "truh" was Luke's favorite. Seriously, there must be a boy gene that attracts them to all things round and/or wheeled.

Also for my dad...

Luke was very excited when he spotted the turtle and pointed to it like he had discovered a new planet. :)

It was really cool to see the roaming peacocks, chickens, and birds.

Luke loves watching animals, so he was very happy to stay in the stroller and point. :)

The group shot rarelt works- I do like how Luke is realizing there is something behind us.

Luke also learned a new animal sound- bok!

Gotta love low-budget, small-town zoos with roaming wild life.

Walking brings such freedom!

You may remember that Nana, Papa, Rebekah, and I hit this same zoo the summer of 2008 before we moved to S-land. Here are a few of my favorite pics.

I can't believe that Luke will be this age (2) in 4 months!