A short and sweet visit to Corpus Christi

We did manage to squeeze in a very quick trip to Corpus Christi to meet Coop's "brother from another mother", Connor (obviously just a figure of speech...not his real brother....because they look so much alike..ha!) ) Since it was only a 2hr+ drive away from Laredo, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to meet the little man and let Jen meet Cooper. We had such a wonderful visit, with some excellent food (thanks to Matt, his sister and his dad....and thanks again guys for sharing your family time with us!!) and great outside eating weather! Even though it was short and sweet, it was well worth it to get some pics of the little ones together while they are still little.

Well, I wouldn't call it playing together, but they definitely spoke each other's language :-)

Next Stop....Texas...BeBe and Boss' House

The day after Christmas we flew to Laredo for our visit with BeBe and Boss. The weather when we arrived was almost a little too warm, but felt pretty good after having such freezing cold weather in Oklahoma. It was perfect for Evan to play outside with ALL the toys BeBe and Boss bought the boys (you'd think they were their only two grandchildren or something!!!). I can't believe I never got a picture of their tree with literally a hundred presents underneath. I must have been so busy helping Cooper open all his presents that there wasn't enough time for pictures!! Seriously, there were so many gifts that Evan actually got tired of opening all of them. There were so many things to play with that he didn't care what was in the remaining unopened boxes! What kind of kid doesn't love opening gifts....one with too many! Since we obviously didn't have the luggage capacity to bring back 1/10 of what they got, my mom is planning on bringing more of it over when they visit in May for Coop's 1st birthday. The rest they will just have to play with when we visit again or move back. If Evan's grown out of them by then, at least little Coop can get some use out of them. Anyhow, we thoroughly thank BeBe and Boss for all the gifts, but I've told my mom she has to learn to practice some restraint next year!!

Opening the first of many.....

And the opening of presents continues.....

Going in for the last of the gifts...yes, those are Evan's feet under the tree!! To be fair, we actually told him to go under and get them, we thought it made for a good pic...and it did!!!

Cooper loved the swing...unlike Evan, who hated it last year!!

Better move out of the way....crazy driver on board!!

Evan also enjoyed his and Cooper's room at BeBe and Boss'. Evan had his brand new toddler bed this year and loved it. It was actually pretty cute because when my mom showed him the room, he went straight for the bed (shoes and all) and laid down with his head on the pillow as if he was testing it out...it was adorable! He actually slept in a toddler bed for the first time at his Nana and Pop's house (his cousin Drew was nice enough to let Evan use it while we visited) and amazingly, did quite well. I told him he wasn't to get out of it and that he should call us when he was ready to get up in the morning...and sure enough, that is exactly what he did! We thought we might have had to convert his crib to the toddler mode when we came back home, but he hasn't seemed to mind with being back in his crib thus far. I plan on keeping him in it as long as he'll allow, but at least I know it shouldn't be a big adjustment any longer once we do make the move.

Evan loves his books and puzzles, so BeBe had him well stocked

Cooper ended up liking E's bed better than his own crib!

Needless to say, Evan had the best time playing with his Boss again. He had him outside playing every chance he got....riding in his new jeep (which Santa brought him), playing at the park (although he enjoyed tossing rocks more than going down the slides), taking wagon rides with Cooper, and running down the small slope in my parent's backyard falling on top of Boss (it's always the little things that are the most fun, right?!?!). BeBe also took him to the play area at the mall and for a carousel ride (he seemed to enjoy it much more this year than last year when we took him!). We also got to spend time with Honey which was really nice. She came to spend Christmas with my parents and stayed with us through the time we headed to New Braunfels for New Year's. It was so good to spend some quality time with her since we only got to see her for a day last Christmas! Cooper seemed to take to Honey the quickest...they became instant friends and Honey and Boss even babysat a couple of times while BeBe, Andrew and I took Evan out. He is so happy-go-lucky, that as long as someone is showing him some attention, he is good! Unfortunately, since we had so many things going on during our visit to Texas we were unable to go visit my grandmother in Eldorado, so Cooper didn't get a chance to meet his other great-grandmother. We will definitely have make a special trip to see her next year when we are in the states again! We also didn't get a chance to make it to Houston (or Tulsa while we were in Oklahoma for that matter) to catch up with any of our friends. We sure would have liked to, but there is only so much you can get in in 11 days!

Saying bye at the airport at 4am....getting ready for a really long day of travelling!! Luckily, our trip back was just as easy as the one over, so we were so thrilled. Surprisingly, the boys (as well as Andrew and I) fell back into the new timezone really easy. Cooper has even been sleeping really well ever since we returned...thank goodness!!

So to BeBe and Boss - we had a fantastic visit! Thank you so much for EVERYTHING and we can hardly wait for your visit in May!!! It will be like Christmas all over again for the boys!! Love you and miss you both!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

While we were in Muskogee, Andrew celebrated his 34th birthday, so Nana and Evan baked up his favorite - his Memaw's famous lemon cake. Since I am by no means a baker, Evan hasn't really been exposed to making sweets, so he had a really great time baking a cake for Daddy with Nana. He used a mixer for the first time and loved licking the beaters (almost as much as Nana did!!). We didn't get a picture of the final product, but it sure was tasty!

First Stop.....Oklahoma...Nana and Popsie Popsie's House

We arrived in Tulsa on Dec 14th for our visit with Nana and Pop (or Popsie Popsie as Evan decided to call him). It was about 45 degrees when we arrived...and it felt wonderful!! Nita and David mentioned that the temperature had dropped about 25 degrees during the 45 minute drive from Muskogee to Tulsa as a cold front had rolled in (guess the Lord knew we needed cold weather after being in the heat all year long). The cold weather remained, but unfortunately we never got to see any snow during our visit (although we did have some flurries the 2nd night we were there!). Andrew and I seemed to get over the jet lag within the first day or two, but it took Evan a good 4-5 days to get back to normal (the first few nights he had Andrew up with him watching Madagascar 2 from about 3 in the morning until 6 or 7). Since Coop's sleep schedule still had him up 1-2 times a night, it wasn't much of a change for him. He seemed to adjust back to a good nap and bedtime schedule within the first couple of days.

And the matching clothes continue!
Nana (on her birthday) and our smilerNana and our serious one
Cooper had tons of fun just hanging out!!

Evan's train ride after going to take pictures with Santa....he didn't care for the train so much when he rode it by himself...but he loved it the 2nd time when Mom and Cooper rode with him!

We had a wonderful visit and thoroughly enjoyed all the downtime we had just hanging out and doing lots of nothing! Andrew's brothers and their wives (as well as our two nephews) came in on the 20th to celebrate Christmas early. We got to meet our newest nephew, Max, and spend some time with both him and his older brother, Drew. Evan and Drew had tons of fun playing together and we had a great time watching them play. I think Nana and Pop were in heaven having all their grandsons together at one time.

Our new nephew, Max
Evan loved playing outside with his cousin, Drew. His Nana said the first time he went to run around outside, he actually bent down to smell the grass....I'm not sure he knew what it was since he never gets to see it here!

Cooper and his cousin, Max, already bonding!

I think we may have a thumb-sucker on our hands!

As you can tell, the picture with everyone looking was NEVER going to happen!!

We even had the opportunity to see alot of the extended family. Nita hosted a Christmas lunch at her house on the 20th for her side of the family, so Cooper got to meet alot of his aunts, uncles and cousins. It was a great visit with everyone and we were so glad we got the chance to catch up with everyone. Then on Christmas Eve, Aunt Diane hosted the traditional Thompson Christmas Eve get-together, so we got the chance to catch up with David's side of the family too! As always, the food was wonderful and we had a great visit with everyone.

I thought this was a fantastic picture that Aunt Jenn got of Evan (smiling and all)...although he looks as though he has chicken pox with the red marks on his face (which are from mosquito bites he got right before we left, that he continued to scratch at!)

Cooper and his great-aunt, Trisha

Cooper and his second-cousins Katherine, Emily and Hannah

Since we celebrated Christmas early with the family - John, Leigh, Drew and Max left back home before Christmas day so Drew could have Christmas morning at his own house to see what Santa had brought him. Jeff (or Uncle Woody as E calls him) and Jenn stayed through Christmas day with us - so we had some extra downtime catching up with them which was really nice (thanks again guys for hanging with us for a few extra days, we really had a good time). Jeff went and bought a Wii while he was in Muskogee, so we spent the last couple of days getting in some bowling and tennis which was too much fun!

So on Christmas day once Jeff and Jenn had left, we decided to get our things packed up and ready to head to our next destination...Texas...for Christmas with BeBe and Boss. Nita and I agreed it didn't feel like it was really Christmas anymore since everyone had left and there were no presents under the tree any longer...so she decided to go ahead and pack up her Christmas tree and all her Christmas decorations!! I told her she was being a bit of a scrooge, but I couldn't really blame her for wanting to get her house back in order since everyone was gone!

Evan (with hat head), Aunt Jenn and Uncle Woody

Keeping warm in the cold Oklahoma weather!

On our way to ride the train a 2nd time

On our way to the airport, but first had to get at least one picture with Pop!

Nana and Pop, thanks for a wonderful time, for all the wonderful gifts and for letting us take over your house for 11 days! We love you and miss you already!