Chistmas with the Fox family

We hadn't been to Sacramento in 2 years and missed out on the family celebration last year. We were a bit busy with our newborn! Can't believe how fast the year went. Now, Jonathan is one and we flew up to Sacramento to join the family for some holiday fun. Christmas Eve is spent at Kathy & David's house and all of Kathy's siblings and their families join in along with us and my cousins and their families. We have some time to catch up and eat some wonderful food and then it's off to the gift exchange.

Jonathan apparently didn't get enough to eat! He was loving the Christmas coasters Kathy had out. Grandma was supervising!

Matt played Christmas tic-tac-toe. Did I mention that Kathy has a TON of Christmas decorations in every imaginable place in the house. It's a very festive gathering.

Matt was coveting his cousin Collin's new Matchbox cars and car wash.

Matt & Collin helped hand out gifts, in between keeping an eye on the Matchbox cars to make sure no one got a hold of them!

After things settled down, the kids went into Kathy & David's room to watch a movie together while the adults gathered their things and said their goodbyes. Matt joined in to watch "Kung Fu Panda", while Jonathan slept in the next room. Now, Matt asks to watch what he calls "Ku Panda"!

"I want to ride Traveler!"

We stopped off at the Downtown Sacramento mall while we were in town just to do something different. The weather was a bit rainy, but after we wandered around the rain let up just long enough for the boys to jump on the carousel. Matt always chooses a white horse and tells us he has to ride on Traveler!

Ice Cream Birthday (Jonathan's Birthday, Part II)

We met my Aunt Trudy, Grandma, and my mom for lunch at their favorite sandwich/ice cream shop in Sacramento. We had decided it would be a birthday lunch for Jonathan. Since we were at an ice cream shop, we decided to forgo the cake and just go with the ice cream for the birthday boy.

Here he is enjoying his grilled cheese sandwich!

Not too sure what Matt was doing in this picture, but he was certainly making a silly face for me.

Jonathan's favorite - "TOUCHDOWN!"

Jonathan had no idea what he was in store for with the ice cream!

It was cold, but he was digging it after the first bite set in!

Matt enjoyed his "green ice cream" as well. He managed to finish his first ice cream cone! He's made it as far as the bottom of the cone before, but this one was eventually gone!

Build-A-Doggy

We packed up after Jonathan's birthday celebration and headed off to the airport the next morning for our Sacramento Christmas trip. Things felt so rushed, but we were all excited about the trip. Nick had been out of town until Sunday around naptime, the boys woke up and we opened all of Jonathan's gifts (many of which were battery operated - YIKES!) and the boys played up until bedtime with full volume and energy. The next morning was the start of our trip. I was worn out before we got to the airport.

We had everything and counted our bags at every stop to make sure we didn't forget a thing. I was so nervous about the kids not having eaten, and being cranky while we were waiting in line for boarding that I fed them a snack while we were sitting at the gate. Not wanting to leave a mess, I ran to the window sill, on which Matt left half of his granola bar in the form of crumbs. I quickly cleaned them up, while carrying Jonathan in the carrier and trying to keep Matt within arms' reach while Nick went to board ahead of us to save us seats. Yes, we were flying Southwest - board AFTER the A group. Matt likes to bring along his friend Doggy on trips so he has someone to hold and hug on the plane and while he sleeps during vacation. Doggy had been left in the truck at the shuttle lot for our last trip, so we were so pleased he was still with us. Well, in the rush to leave our seats and get in line for the plane, Doggy was left in the seat at the gate. We didn't even realize it until we were pulling away from the gate and Matt asked, "Daddy, where's Doggy?" I had leaned in to Nick and mentioned something just a second before Matt asked. I was crushed! I felt fully responsible for forgetting him and felt so bad for Matt. We formulated a plan to set out for Build-A-Bear as soon as we could in Sacramento. Matt had made Doggy there a year ago at a birthday party in Houston. So, long story not so short, here are the pictures of our Build-A-Bear experience!

Having a year of development under his belt, this experience went much better than his last one. He actually pushed the pedal to help fill up his new Doggy with stuffing.

He was picking out Doggy's heart and getting it to start beating before he placed it inside.

He gave Doggy his heart.

After Doggy was all finished with the stuffing machine, the boys went and gave him a bath.

Matt asked about his old Doggy a couple of times during our trip, so Nick and I let him know that we had left him at the airport and because he was afraid to fly on the airplanes he has been recruited to work with the security at the airport to keep us all safe when we fly. It seems to have worked so far. We'll see what happens the next time we fly!

Jonathan's Birthday Part I

Much like Matt's birthday, Jonathan's came and went, with about a week long celebration because of family visits over the holidays. We started out at home with opening his gifts the day after his birthday.

Here he is playing with some of his gifts. The gears were a big hit!

Matt's favorite was Jonathan's new Mickey Mouse plane. He still hasn't stopped playing with it.

Jonathan kept the Santa hat on just long enough for me to get this picture. He was in the process of taking it off right when I got this shot.

Now THIS is self-feeding a la one year old! I believe it was blueberry yogurt, and yes, some did get in his mouth even with a spoon.

Here he is signing "all done". You think?

A cheesy grin for the camera!

He finally got a turn on his zebra!

The toys were unwrapped and there was more playing to be done!

Bathtime Together

In a moment of insanity, I decided to honor Matt's request to take a bath with his brother. There was SO much water on the floor, but they had a great time!

So much fun to splash around like crazy!



Matt shows Jonathan how to take down the basketball hoop.

What a wonderful teacher!

There's nothing like pouring water on your brother's head.

Jonathan splashes so much at times that he gets himself in the face.

He keeps going!

I gave them crazy hair and Matt thought it would be a good idea to hug his brother from behind and pose for a picture. I had to quickly put the camera down because it was about to turn into a wrestling match!

Patio Fun

A couple of weeks ago the boys and I went out back and played. It was Jonathan's first time playing out back since he started crawling. He loved it. I was a bit nervous because of the step on the patio along with all of the cement! The boys, as usual, got excited to play together in a new setting!

I kept having to get Jonathan's attention so he didn't wander off into the flowerbeds.

Matt showed Jonathan how to play in the dirt.

Look closely and you can see some of the dirt on his mouth! Time for fishing!

The one time I get Matt to look at the camera, not saying "cheese" or screaming at me, and the sun's in his eyes!

Fishing for tires? Matt wouldn't let Jonathan near his tractor tires, but he also decided to play right next to him! It's a constant battle with Matt. He loves playing near Jonathan, but won't yet share his toys with him.

Matt finally took my advice, AND he left Jonathan some toys to play with this time.

We were checking on Matt's seeds he planted after Halloween, and Matt was spraying the plants with his spray bottle. If you look closely at Jonathan's right side, you'll see that he too got watered!

The guilty party!

More spraying!

Preschool Christmas Program

Matt's preschool class had a Christmas program that they had prepared for the whole month of November. Matt did a lot of rehearsing in the car as well as around the house. It was all worth it in the end! He did a great job and actually sang, with some gestures!

Jonathan & I sat and waited for the program to begin. Nick was filming the whole thing for us.


Here's the grand entrance! The outfits are a bit on the "dress" side, but the kids were adorable.

Here's the video of the preschool program. We broke it up into 4 parts so it wouldn't be so long. The first one is a bit long anyway, since it includes their entrance into the room.
Santa & Jingle Bells
Away In the Manger
S-A-N-T-A
We Wish You a Merry Christmas

Kitchen Play

The boys have taken to playing in the kitchen while I try to make dinner. It makes things interesting! They are quite occupied by a plastic container I put together along with some random kitchen items I don't use often.

I got them both to look at the camera, but it looks like I caught them by surprise.

After Matt & I showed him how, Jonathan began talking into the container as well. He also tried to eat it, or drink out of it. I am not really sure!

Oops! I got caught taking pictures!

Waving a bulb baster doesn't stop me from taking pictures!

Matt decided to become a bucket head!