How'd you sleep?

I think it's funny that when I ask Tre how he slept he answers with, "Well." (Using "well" grammatically correct too!) When I ask William how he slept he answers with the literal, "Bed, Blankie, Bear!"

Merry Christmas everyone! Santa was good to us and the boys were happy, so we can't complain. Although, Santa did have a few mishaps. He couldn't find the Geotrax tower that Tre's been asking for and that was his first question. When I heard, "Where's my Geotrax tower?" in a sweet innocent voice, I nearly cried because I felt so bad. Ahh well, they can't get everything they ask for. To add to that, Santa was getting Tre's new Leapster ready and realized "he" bought the recharging system and not the actual Leapster. Santa sent Jack to the stores at 10pm to find one and of course they were all closed. Santa left Tre a note along with his Leapster games telling him to ask mom and dad to buy one. Needless to say, we are going to the store first thing in the morning. I cried last night because I felt so bad. Pathetic, I know, but I couldn't help it! Thankfully, he's fine and he loved everything he got!

Mimaw and Pop Pop, Jack's parents, are in from Arizona for Christmas. They haven't seen the kids in over a year so it's been fun watching them get to know them. Jack's birthday was on Monday and his sister sent him a singing card and William just got the biggest kick out of it.

Tonight is Christmas Eve and Tre is soooooooooooooo excited! It's the absolute sweetest thing ever. He asked to go to bed at 5:45pm and I usually have to coax him into bed at 7:30ish. He picked out the cookies he wanted to leave for Santa and then suggested that we leave him CHOCOLATE milk. How thoughtful!

I don't know who is more excited for the morning, him or me! I can't wait to see his eyes light up when he sees what Santa left him and his brother.

William is oblivious to it all, but I am sure he'll be excited in the morning too! :)

Daddy spell

Jack was gone for 7 weeks, and although I dreaded those 7 weeks, they really weren't THAT bad! The kids were amazingly well behaved and I could probably count on one...maybe two...hands how often they were in time out or were in trouble.

Since he's been home, William's behavior has remained the same. I guess he is so young, he doesn't really know the difference of Jack being home or away; that, or he just doesn't care.

Tre, on the other hand, did care. He constantly cried for him, asked about him, wanted to talk to him on the phone, etc., and now that Jack's back he's like a different child. I think that since Jack was gone for so long, he built Jack up in his head to be this wonderful man (which he is) that let's him do whatever he wants (which he doesn't).

It's hard not to get my feelings hurt (I know he's three and doesn't know how to handle all of these emotions), but after so many days and so many, I want my daddy's, it's soooo hard. Ever since Jack has been home, Tre has acted out and when I punish him he screams for his daddy (who is mostly at work), like Jack will save him! He is constantly telling me how much he loves Jack and if I want to help him do something he'll say, "NO! I only want daddy to help", which is sooo sweet, but it keeps me wondering if I am chopped liver! I know. I know. He's only 3 and Jack was gone for a long time. I have to keep reminding myself! It's just hard because I was the one watching him and taking care of him for those 7 weeks and now I feel like he's blaming me for Jack having to leave.

I have to give props to Jack because when he gets home from work he takes over the disciplining so I don't have to be "Mr. Bad Guy" all the time. Last night Tre was REALLY acting out and Jack was VERY appropriately tough on him! Tre actually said, "I want my mommy!", which secretly made me smile. I hoped that might have finally broke Tre from his "daddy spell," and it might have.

Tre has been SOOOOO much better today. We went to Barnes and Nobles to play with the train table and after only 20 minutes William had a major poop and I was unprepared with no diapers so we had to leave. Tre simply said, "Okay!" and that was that! I was very proud! No talking back. No tantrums.

William has stage fright.

So, William was SUPPOSED to be on stage, but the minute he saw me, he climbed into my lap. I wasn't surprised at all. When the kids started singing, though, I wanted to get some pictures of Tre and you can see what happened! My poor baby!

Christmas Program

This video cracks me up. Tre was the star and the angel knocked his star loose and left his ears curled the whole time. I know all mother say this, but is he not the most precious thing ever?

Biking and braking

Tre's REALLY LOVES his bike, and he's getting so good at it too! I'm almost tempted to see how he does without training wheels. He's recently learned how to brake really hard and skid a little.

Did you make me any money?

Every day Jack gets home from work, one of Tre's first questions is, "Daddy, did you make me any money?" We crack up every time, but putting money in their bank has become sort of a ritual. After Jack's 7 weeks trip to Fallon, he had saved up quite a bit of coins and the boys were thrilled!

Visit with Santa 2009

Jack and I took Tre and William to see Santa this afternoon. Surprisingly, I got a little emotional during the whole thing. I think it was because I missed them so much, but still. Tre was sooooo excited about see santa and when he actually got into his lap he was giddy happy. He told him that he had been a good boy and that he wanted Geotrax and a Transformer. William was scared to death. Poor thing. I have to admit, though, I almost wanted him to cry. Tre has the same picture when he was almost 2 and I have it framed. I wanted one just like it with William so that I could put them next to each other. Silly. I know. I love it though.

Then we went for the train ride that is right next to Santa. Tre was THRILLED and it was so sweet! Afterwards we went to eat lunch at the food court. Usually Tre only eats his fries and I have to coax him to eat the chicken (even though both are TOTALLY unhealthy). Today he picked up the fry and I told him that if he ate all of his chicken we'd go for another train ride (only $1...and totally worth it). He said, "OH! OKAY!" and enthusiastically put down the fry and chowed down on the nuggest! Needless to say, he went again!

Top Gun Graduation

Jack and I returned from Fallon/Reno, Nevada last night.

My lifelong friend/childhood neighbor, Ashley, babysat the kids for 3.5 days. It was the first time Jack and I had a "getaway" since both kids have been born and it was sooo nice! I showed up and Jack had made me a couple of CD's and a sweet letter to go with them! He also surprised me with some gloves and a hat because apparently I had no clue how cold it was going to be. When I arrived it was -19 degrees. When we left yesterday it was 34 degrees. That almost a 55 degree difference! Amazing! It was fun to see snow, though, so I was thrilled.

It was an experience to see "TOPGUN"! You couldn't bring your cameras or cell phones inside the building (but I did get to take some pictures during graduation). On day one, we toured the building and listened to a 3.5 hour talk from a Fighter Ace from Vietnam. In order to be an Ace pilot, you have to have 5 or more enemy kills. Even though it was VERY long, it was really interesting. That night, the Top Gun students, instructors, and any one else who had earned the Top Gun patch went into a private room to perform skits and receive their patch and drink...alot. This is also known as the patching. "Outsiders" aren't invited in because it's pretty politically incorrect and they don't want to offend anyone. I hung out with the wives at the bar. When they all came out, it was really exciting because they were all so happy to have their patches. It was a fun night.

The next morning was the graduation. It wasn't as "dressy" as I would have thought a Top Gun graduation to be, but it was nice. We left town after that and got a nice room in Reno. We did a little shopping, and then relaxed in the hotel room and got room service.

It was sooo nice to get some alone time with Jack. I felt like we were dating again and that felt good. I did miss the kids, but I would certainly go on another trip with my husband again!

CARS Dancing

It is so funny that my kids have seen CARS one million times and it doesn't get old. They dance every time. No one ever said they were good, but I think it's adorable!!!