The Christmas Countdown

Once December hit, it was full steam ahead for us -
with birthdays, decorating, movie watching, shopping and tons of holiday fun.
Here's a little peak at the past few weeks leading up to Christmas.

We finally got the chance to leave "the bubble" of the Park Cities

and explore more of rural Texas,

thanks to Tate's farm birthday party.

 We saw the very same buddies the following evening at Disney On Ice

It was a really enjoyable show,

and since we were fresh off our trip to Orlando,

Lexi and I felt like seasoned veterans when it came to all things Dinsey

 Harry, our elf, just so happened to return

the very day we put up Lexi's new pink tree. 

Imagine her excitement coming home from school and seeing 

all of this in her bedroom!

Harry had a real sense of humor this year, 

and the girls delighted in finding him each morning doing all sorts of crazy things

like sledding down our staircase inside a roll of toilet paper,

and hanging upside down from our blinds,

and spilling sprinkles all over the kitchen counter.

A huge ice storm hit Dallas…

the very same weekend I had planned Vic's surprise party for.

Plans were changed since the city basically shut down for a few days.

With school closed and the roads a mess, 

we spent a lot of time baking, watching Christmas movies, 

and even "sledding" with some neighbors.

We did venture out Saturday to see the movie Frozen with 

Kim, Chris and their family (it's an adorable movie). 

The only place Cody would sit was right on Lexi's lap. 

The three PreK classes at Lexi's school 

held a bake sale and homemade ornament sale

to raise money for two local children they "adopted" for the holidays.

The children raised close to $500 

and surely made one little boy and girl very happy on Christmas morning.

What a wonderful lesson they all learned in the process!

 This preschool knows how to party…

the kiddos were so excited to host a birthday party 

for their beloved teacher, Miss Lauren.

She shares a birthday with Vic…no wonder she's so awesome!

What better way to spend a Friday while in PreK

than going to school in your pajamas and watching the Polar Express?!

Lexi's dance class put on a little holiday performance 

for all the moms and dads.

The ballet dance was set to "O Christmas Tree",

 and the tap number was to "Jingle Bell Rock"

This deserves a post all its own, as our Lexi was no wallflower!

More to come soon...

Lexi and Ryleigh are both in playgroups 

with children they will go to Kindergarten with at UP Elementary. 

It's a fantastic way for them to make friends in the neighborhood 

as well as for Vic and I to meet great moms/dads.

The PreK girls from this group all got together for a cookie exchange 

which was so darn cute. 

 It was such a beautiful day, 

that this is how we headed over to 

Eliza's house for the party

 We joined a few buddies for the local ballet performance of 

"Twas the Night Before Christmas",

which was largely adopted from The Nutcracker.

This was no Lincoln Center-caliber performance, 

but all the girls loved it just the same. 

 That evening, we finally got to have Vic's surprise party at The Rustic.

We lost a few couples who already had plans on this new "snow date",

but it was great fun regardless. 

 The Santa here at the NorthPark Mall is hugely popular.

As in, you have to get a number early in the day 

and then come back hours later to take your place on line. 

Good thing he was worth the wait. 

He told a Christmas story to all the children,

was so kind and gentle that Ryleigh willingly sat on his lap this year,

and then he gave the girls a Christmas book to keep. 

We got a pretty cute picture, too

(even though Santa's blinking!)

 Just like Lexi's class, our family adopted two children from the mall's Angle Tree.

She was so excited to help me shop for the boy and girl we selected.

We covered both their "needs" and their "wishes",

and it was so heartwarming to watch her excitement 

about helping those less fortunate.

She is still grasping the concept of exactly what "helping those less fortunate" means,
and later that day, Lexi collected money from her biggie bank
and brought it in to her teacher 

who she thought "had less money in her wallet that you, mommy".

This is especially funny since I NEVER have any cash on me. 

 Next, we celebrated this little lady who had a birthday on the 16th!!!!!

 Finally, it was the last day of school before the holidays,

so Ryleigh and I joined the PreK class for their Christmas party. 

 And that week, Vic and I joined some of the playgroup couples 

for an adults' only holiday party.

I was so happy for him to meet all the husbands,

and for us to celebrate the season with some great new friends. 

We knew Christmas must be getting really close when this guy

drove down our street, handing out ring pops and shouting "Merry Christmas"

 to all the neighborhood children!

And, just like that, Christmas was upon us.