Christmas Card Photos 2015

Dec 2015

Any sort of planned pictures that will be going on cards are always a struggle. I have always relied heavily on photoshop, replacing heads, cropping backgrounds, etc to get a decent card worthy shot. This year I was determined to not photoshop anything and just send pictures straight from the camera. Of course it was freezing and windy the day we took pictures, but in the end I got one that works, ironically in our backyard. I guess we didn't need to go anywhere after all (I'm sure AJ will remind me of this next year as he LOVES helping take pictures).

A little photoshop magic and TAA DAA! Christmas cards are done and ordered! Happy Holidays everyone!

By the end this kid was OVER IT.

As a side note, I also took pictures for Paul this year for his Christmas card. He has a long running tradition of sending the best Holiday cards hands down. I was SUPER happy with how this one turned out (it was all his idea, I just designed the layout). If you've never watched Breaking Bad it won't make any sense haha.

Sundays are my favorite

Christmas Caramels

My little helpers and I made Christmas caramels this year and I'm pretty sure these 2 need a cooking show. They are hilarious. Unfortunately the caramels turned out to be less Christmas Caramel and more Sugar Daddy toughness, but they still taste good, hopefully they don't rip out any fillings!

Bass Pro Santa Trip

I took the kids to Bass Bro Shops again this year for Santa pictures. Since we had to wait for hours last year on a Saturday, I decided to try out a Monday to see if it was any better. While less wait for sure, it was still almost an hour from start to finish. Every year I swear I'll get Santa pics done earlier to avoid lines, but next year I really will HA.

I didn't know exactly how they would handle Santa seeing as our previous years have been nothing short of glorious:

I'm not going to lie, a little part of me (ok a big part of me) was sad they happily ran right up to Santa this year with high fives and smiles ready to tell him exactly what they want for Christmas (a Frozen microphone and a Lightning McQueen Phone).

In addition to loving their Santa visit, they also loved playing with the toys set up while we waited. Bub would live in this store if he could. It is his heaven. And of course Bug found the only doll in the store (a camo hunter girl no less lol). These two are so predictable and crack me up.

Of course no trip is complete without this stink face.

Random videos ...

Random videos ... You're welcome


Bug loves to read to Bubba, and he loves it too:

This girl has no fear:

He's got moves:

Lacking Dramatics she is not:

Stereotypes

I really do not like gender stereotypes. I hate the idea of boys toys or girls toys and boys activities and girls activities. I recognize the difference in genders and it is totally fine, but I hate that girls are expected to only wear pink with butterflies and boys can only wear blue with trucks.

Enter my children. And realize that with doing nothing different these two are walking stereotypes in so many ways. While Bug loves playing with legos and blocks and Bubba is SO sweet with baby dolls and babies in general, they fit the bill of All Boy and All Girl.

Bubba is OBSESSED with dirt, construction equipment, tractors, cars, planes, trains, balls, swords and pretty much anything that would be stereotypically labeled for boys. Bug on the other hand is obsessed with nail polish (so is Bubba haha), clothing, makeup, purses, baby dolls, princesses and pretty much anything that would be stereotypically labeled for girls.

The other day we were at Target and I let them each pick out a toy from the cheapo spot section ($3 and under) Bubba found the only sword / light saber and Bug found the only Elsa item left that she did not already own. It is hilarious really, and a good thing they have each other to help balance the other out!

Bellaire City Christmas Party

December 3

I took the kids to the Bellaire City Christmas party this year. Bellaire goes all out, and it includes snow, sledding, Santa (who makes his entrance in on a firetruck, Bubba was thrilled),  bouncy houses, train rides, a petting zoo and pony rides. It wasn't super cold (in the 60s), which was nice, but also meant tons of people showed up. Thankfully we got there right at the start are were able to go on 2 sled rides and play in the snow before the lines got insane. We did however wait 30 minutes for the bouncy houses (where I lost Bug for about 5 minutes, the worst 5 minutes of my life for sure) and over 30 minutes to ride the ponies, but it was all a lot of fun and I'm glad we went. Next year I will buy another pair of gloves tho (doh!) and we will ride the train and ponies right after sledding so the lines won't be as long.

His expression towards snow haha.

Mommy, it's to cold! Pure Texan boy right here.

She rode all by herself! And loved every minute of it (all 3 lol). About half way through the wait she wanted to skip it but I was committed at that point and I'm glad we stuck it out. Both kids really enjoyed it

He rode by himself for a little bit but then let me hold on again.

Bub: "I'm riding a pony"
Me: "Are you a cowboy?"
Bub: "No."
Me: "What are you?"
Bub: "I'm Bubba."

Lately he will only be referred to as Bubba, and corrects anyone who calls him sweety, hunny, or anything else. Such a funny kid.

Parks and more

November 24

Flash back to when it was actually cold in Houston for a few days. We broke out hats and coats! Pretty sure it was still 20 degrees warmer than Idaho, but it felt cold to us haha. Of course it didn't last, and half way through the park Bub ditched his coat since it was almost 70.

Also, I'm pretty sure this aviator hat is the bast $5 I've spent in a long time.