Christmas 2012 - Part 2

Whew! Okay, here's the second part of our 2012 Christmas tales...



Southern, Lindsey, Remington, and Dustin on Christmas Eve, 2012

We started off our annual Christas Eve trip to Yoakum with a stop at Dustin's granny's house. We had lunch there, opened a few presents, and visited with family.

 

Then it was naptime. It's always difficult to stick to our schedules when we're away from home. Remington won't just nap at someone's house, so we thought he may fall asleep in the car if we drove around. Well, after an hour of driving backroads in Yoakum and Sweet Home, he was still wide awake. Boo.

 

So we went ahead with our plans and stopped by the cemetary. Instead of sleeping in the car though, Remington joined us in our visit and helped leave the plants we had picked out at each grave. We use this time to tell the kids about our relatives that have gone before us and to try to answer all of Southern's "why"s. Southern still remembers Poppy which is bittersweet.





 

We were also planning on stopping by the nursing home to visit my Hahn grandparents at this time, but my granny had called the day before to tell us that a lot of people there were sick with the flu, and she didn't want us to bring our kids around that.

 

The next stop of the day was DeDe's house for the Wyatt Christmas. We all had fun opening presents, snacking on food, and visiting with family.

 The last stop of the day was my Perez grandparents' house. The boys had a blast with their boy cousins.

 

And it was good to see my cousins. Everyone was able to make it this year except for Dayne, McKey, and Sutton (he had the flu).

 Can you spot the changes from Picture 1 to Picture 2? Yeah, I think the whole not-napping thing was catching up to Remington.

 

And, the highlight of the day for Southern, a visit from Santa! He was so excited to get his gift and to sit on Santa's lap.

 

It was a jam-packed day. We ended up bathing and dressing the boys in pjs before we left Yoakum because they were bound to fall asleep in the car quickly. I think Remington made it as far as Dairy Queen, and Southern lasted until Hoccheim. Once we got home, we put the kids straight to bed and the started unloading the car. It was PACKED!

 

Then, finally, it was time for some sleep for Dustin and me. On Christmas morning, we started with a yummy breakfast. Then it was time for more gifts!



 



 

What a great Christmas Day!

 

We had two more Christmas parties after this, so our Christmas season was as busy as ever.

 

Boy or Girl?

Nope, we haven't found out the gender of our newest Wyatt baby yet. But that's the question that's usually on everyone's mind. Dustin and I have talked about it, and we're not hoping one way or another. With Southern, we were hoping for a boy. With Remington, we were fine either way. And, again, we're feeling neutral.

Growing up, I remember always wanting 5 kids. I wanted 3 boys, a girl, and then another boy. I had names picked out already. Among others, I liked Michael, Steven, and Everett the best. I don't think I ever really settled on a girl name that I really loved. Turns out I married a guy who had two really close friends - Michael and Stephen - so those were out. And Everett Wyatt?? Too many t's, I think.

So, my plan so far is panning out. But now that I'm a mom and am living in this moment - do I still want 5 kids? Maybe. Maybe not. I'm on my fourth pregnancy right now, and we plan on just taking it as it comes. No firm decisions just yet. And we've been so blessed.

We have two wonderful sons. They can get loud and rough, but they can also be so sweet and sensitive. And the relationship between a mother and son is precious. (I know father and son relationships are precious too - they're just different. With us, it's more emotional. With the dads, it's more physical.)

Southern can tell if I'm ever sad, and he'll hug and kiss me. Then he'll ask if his kisses made me happy. And, of course, the answer is always yes. How could they not? He also likes to snuggle. At bedtime, he'll always ask me to hold and rock him. I know I won't always be doing that so I try to take advantage of it as often as possible. We'll rock in the dark listening to his sleepytime music. And he has this little head nudge that he does (Dustin does the exact same thing!!) when I'm on the couch. He'll climb up next to me and rub the top of his head on my shoulder or chest as he settles in.

And Remington has always been our little Mama's boy. He too likes to hold my hand, but with him, it's more often than Southern - especially when we're out in public. But he also likes to walk around the house holding my hand too. And he likes to snuggle and rock as well, all while sucking his thumb. His first word was Mommy.

So have I "missed out" by not having a daughter? Not at all. I'm thinking everyone else has missed out by not having my boys! ;) I know I'm biased, but they're so beautiful. And they're such good friends. They do everything together - and want to. When one wakes up in the morning, the first thing they want to do is go check on the other. They play so well together and really enjoy each other's company. It's been great having these two.

And I'm still able to shop for cute clothes and dress them up. (No, I probably don't buy as much since there are no frilly dresses to worry about - but that just means I get to spend more time and money buying dresses for myself! haha). They like to go to Hobby Lobby with me and pick out fabric. They like to go shopping with me anywhere really. They've had a blast at Target, Kohl's, and Victoria's Secret. Southern will even pick out different clothes to show me what he thinks I may like (he was showing me different panties at VS!). They like to help me in the kitchen. So they're doing (and enjoying) all of the things a daughter and mother would. They just pick out racecar and football fabric instead of butterflies and flowers. But that's unimportant.

Plus, I'm thinking ahead to those milestones - getting your period, trying on bras, getting dumped by your boyfriend, not getting asked to prom, etc. - that we won't have to worry about. And think how much we'll save on weddings!!

But, if we were to have a girl next, we would certainly embrace the change of pace. I've never really wanted more than one girl though, so that may affect our how-many-kids-to-have decision. I'm not trying to paint out a picture that daughters are horrible - I am one! - and I know my niece has been pretty awesome! ;) But I'm just suited well for my guys. (And we do have so many cute clothes in storage just waiting for another little boy to wear them.)

So... it's up to God. It's His plan. And He will do what's best for us when the time comes.

Right now I'm living my "best" as the mother of these two boys.

Christmas 2012 - Part 1

I know, I know... it's late. But better late than never!

Our month of December was super busy. There were so many local activities that we participated in this year.

One of the events was held at the Sophienburg Museum. We enjoyed music from an antique German Wurlitzer (which is similar to a calliope like you would see at a circus). We got to hear a story about St Nickolaus and learned a German prayer to say to him when he arrived:

Ich bin klein
Mein herz ist rein
Soll niemand drin wohnen
Als Jesus allein.
English translation:
I am small,
my heart is pure.
No one shall live in it
but Jesus alone

Then he talked to us in German for awhile, and the kids were able to go up to him. He gave each child a candy cane. They had a craft station set up as well where the boys made Christmas ornaments. Then we were able to tour the museum which was very nice. Here's a little history about the museum:

"In 1845 Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels and a group of emigrants set out from Germany to start a colony in the Republic of Texas. The Prince chose a site on the Comal River because of its abundant water, lush vegetation, and "a good omen." He and his band of pioneers founded New Braunfels, named for his hometown in Germany.
Prince Carl chose a hill overlooking the beginnings of the town and began his plan to build a castle on the site. His home was to be called Sophienburg — Sophie's Castle — for his fiancée, Lady Sophia, Princess of Salm-Salm. He returned to Germany to bring Sophia to Texas, but she refused to leave. Prince Carl chose his fiancée over Texas and stayed in Germany to marry Sophia. He never returned to Texas. Today the Sophienburg Museum and Archives stands on the hill chosen long ago by Prince Carl."

The next week we went by our church/Southern's school to visit with Santa and get some pictures.

The following weekend we got to see Santa again at the park. We signed up for the Dine-in Flick with St Nick where we were able to meet Santa for pictures, write letters to Santa, decorate cookies, and have a yummy meal. After that, we all got on the Landa Park train which was decorated with Christmas lights to ride over to the dance slab. They had a projector set up with a movie screen, and we watched The Polar Express while sipping hot chocolate and eating popcorn under the stars. Very cool.

We also enjoyed the Christmas lights downtown followed by another visit to our favorite local bakery.

 

 

Southern picked out the Holiday Armadillo cookie. I love it! I was an avid watcher of Friends throught high school and college. So if you haven't seen it, this cookie is a reference to the episode where Ross dressed up as the "holiday armadillo" since the costume store was out of Santa suits. Too funny. 

Remington picked out the Santa Claus cookie.

Dustin enjoyed his bread pudding.

 We also drove around neighborhoods (including our own) to check out Christmas lights a few times that month. At one, we found "The West Pole", and they had a real show going on. It enough for us to park and get out to dance to a few songs as we watched. They had the lights coordinated to the music which was playing in our car from the radio station created by them. Very cool.

The boys were dancing to the music at The West Pole. (You can see the house next door had a lit sign in their yard that said "ditto" with an arrow pointing at the house with the crazy awesome light show. Love it!)

 

 

 And here's a video clip of one of the songs. See if you can spot Santa in the window.

 

 

And that's just some of the local stuff that we did this month. I will have to make another post sharing the family Christmas activities in NB, Austin, and Yoakum.

Our Growing Family

Dustin and I would like to announce that our family is again growing...

We are having another baby! And that baby is due on August 9, 2013. Yay!

My next appointment is at the beginning of February - stay tuned!

2012 Year in Review

As 2012 was coming to an end, my husband and I sat together on our couch sipping sparkling grape juice (more on that later) reminiscing on all that has happened in the last 12 months. It was a great year!

In January, we welcomed a new baby cousin. Isaiah Alexander Rainosek was born on the 11th. We had a few trips into Yoakum. One was for a birthday party for my mom :) We went to Austin for a visit to the children's museum and a ride on the train in the park with Carly and Parker. We met my dad's girlfriend for the first time.

February brought about dentist visits. It was Remington's first. My Hahn grandparents were moved into the hospital (Granny) and nursing home (Hon). Dustin and I celebrated our 13th Valentine's Day together. We saw Dierks Bentley in concert!

In March, we celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary by spending the weekend at the Serengeti Resort in a tent. We spent Spring Break in Breham - so much fun! Southern turned 3 years old on the 31st. We had a Yo Gabba Gabba birthday party for him

Tennis season started slowing down in April for Dustin. We celebrated Easter in Yoakum. I met one of my favorite authors in person - Susan Wittig Albert. Dustin became Seguin High School's head golf coach.

We went to a few birthday parties in May (Caleb, Dylan, and Alex). Dustin had jury duty for the first time. Remington turned 1! We had his first birthday party at our house on the 26th.

June brought more birthday parties (Brooke, Kate, and Aidan). We had a family get together to celebrate Dustin earning the golf position - and he had no idea everyone was meeting up to celebrate him! Southern started his first week of Vacation Bible School at Peace Lutheran Church, and two weeks later, he attended another week at Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic Church.

July 4th was spent on Lake McQueeney. Southern started swimming lessons for the first time this month. We had my Grandpa's birthday party at Werner's. We took the kids to the zoo in Austin. We spent three days in Port Aransas with Dustin's grandmother DeDe and cousin Mikayla.

August brought about baby showers - we went to Cassie and Kyle's in Hallettsville and Carly and Parker's in Austin. We also spent a weekend in Sealy to celebrate Brandi and Buddy's wedding. Dustin worked on coaching private tennis lessons and going kayaking with friends as often as he could. Southern started the Little Athletes program at the Landa Rec Center. I turned 27 years old! We celebrated with an overnight trip to Castroville. I took the boys to Schlitterbahn for the first time.

We had one more baby shower in September (Carly and Parker's in Sweet Home). Dustin turned 30 years old! We had a small gathering for him at our house, and the guys (and Carly) played poker. School started back up. We attended Paige's 4th birthday at The Jumpy Place. We spent an extended weekend in Port Aransas with my Perez family. Southern started Monday evening religion classes. We went to the Comal County Fair.

October brought us the birth of more cousins - Kaspyn Kay Franta was born on the 4th, and Claire Novella Park was born on the 13th! We were in Dallas for an extended weekend (Megan's wedding) when Claire made her way into this world. We cut our trip short, headed straight for San Antonio, and we able to meet her at less than a day old. One more birthday party (Emily) and Halloween were also highlights of the month.

In November, we attended Wurstfest for the first time. We also voted! President Obama was re-elected for another term. We lost a friend. Coach William Lehman passed away at 74 years old. He coached Dustin in tennis at TLU for several years, Dustin worked under him as an assistant tennis coach for TLU one year, and, he officiated our wedding ceremony! He will be missed. We celebrated Thanksgiving in Yoakum. Dustin worked in hunting at The River Place as often as he could.

December - one of my favorite months - was the busiest of all. We attended many local events that allowed us to spend time with St Nick or Santa. We traveled to Austin and Yoakum for family Christmas parties as well as hosted some ourselves. We went to Sea World on a very cold Thursday (the boys were bundled up quite snuggly). And Dustin and I rang in the new year together at home by talking on the couch together and playing some games together. It was so much fun, I think we're going to have these "dates" after the kids are in bed more often. He beat me in chess, but I beat him at poker and twice in gin rummy! :)

Here's to another great and busy year. Happy 2013, everyone!

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Note: Please forgive the lack of postings these last couple of weeks. Things have been crazy. 7 family Christmas parties as usual, and the last one hasn't even happened yet. Lots of fun, and lots of busy days. I haven't had time to edit my Christmas pictures, much less post them. So I haven't posted about Christmas yet - but I will!

Christmas Cards

Southern wanted to help me with Christmas cards this year. We tried a couple of times for him to help stick on the stamps or return address labels, but they came out a little too crooked. So then I thought why not have Southern work on his own Christmas cards? He was so excited. 

 

 

He told me who he wanted to give them to; I would tell him which letters to write to spell out their names, and he would write them. (The above envelope says Grammy - he decided to underline the m instead of writing two m's)

He was doing pretty good! The only letter he didn't really get was the u. He kept making it look like a t. (He also has the e to the left of the h here.) Oh well, I think it's really great for someone who is only 3! And the main part was that he felt so accomplished and happy about his cards.

Santa replies!

Santa has replied to the boys' letters! We got their two letters from Santa in the mail yesterday. Southern was SO excited when I read his to him. Remington was just excited that Southern and I were excited!

Here's what they said:


Dear Remington,
Mrs. Claus is helping me answer letters tonight.
She found your letter a pure delight.
We checked the list and found your name,
You're listed under "NICE" so we're happy your letter came.
When you take the time to send me a letter,
It makes choosing your presents so much better.
I'm proud of how hard you have tried this year,
To listen, play nice and be of good cheer.
So if you continue to be really kind,
Christmas morning you shall find,
Stacked up under your Christmas tree,
Presents from Mrs. Claus and me.
Love,
Santa
P.S. You've been so very good this year, Remington. I will do my best to get what you asked for.


Dear Southern,
I loved the letter you sent to me,
Listing the things you want under your tree.
You've been so good and very kind,
I'll do my best to see how many I can find.
Here at the North Pole,
Everyone's busy with just one goal.
The elves are stacking presents so high,
Mrs. Claus teases them about learning to fly.
The reindeer are busy practicing too,
Short take-offs and soft landings nothing else will do.
I have been checking my list twice,
To make sure your name is not under "Naughty", it's under "NICE".
Continue to be really good and kind,
And on Christmas Day, under your tree, presents you will find.
Love,
Santa
P.S. Good choice on the Lightning McQueen bike, they're fast.