Christmas Eve

On Christmas Eve, we went out to our ranch for our annual celebration at the log cabin.  My mom's family has celebrated Christmas Eve out there since long before I was born, and I think it's my favorite holiday tradition.  There is something so exciting and special about going out there for Christmas Eve.  Even now, I remember the excitement I felt going out there on Christmas Eve--it felt almost magical from beginning (playing with cousins) to middle (opening presents, taking a hay ride), to the end (riding home, looking at Christmas lights, and looking for Santa's sleigh the whole way).  It's even more fun now that I have kids and can watch them running around with their cousins the way that I used to.  We usually have beautiful weather and spend a lot of time outside, playing football, soccer, or baseball, and walking around the ranch.  Unfortunately, it was cold and raining this year and we had to spend most of the day inside, but it really was still a wonderful day.  Charlie had so much fun--I think this was a perfect celebration for him.

Charlie was racing around all day and I could not get a picture of him standing still.  This blurry action shot is probably the best depiction of him that day. :)

Pausing for a quick smile...

 Dede and Julia are a sweet duo.

 I LOVE little Charlotte.  She is the youngest (aside from Evie), but you would never guess it.  She is a tough little one, and totally holds her own with the big kids!

 Jackson and Charlie.  See why Charlie loves this guy?

Missed my siblings this year, but so good to see my cousins!

 Best buds.

 Jane Ann loves babies and was just thrilled with Evie.  And Evie loved all the extra snuggles she got!  [JA got a new doll, Baby Alive, for Christmas.  I had never seen anything like this Baby Alive before--she even poops!  I tried to get JA to change Evie's diapers as well, but she didn't fall for it... :)]

Evie loved Christmas Eve--she got cuddled all day!

 I couldn't believe how much little Samuel had grown up!

 Sweet posing girls...

 Elec sent Julia markers for Christmas and they were a huge hit.  Perfect rainy day entertainment!

 This was my favorite picture.  Note the caption: "Me as a bird with Santa Claus."  Jackson is so random!

 Precious Baby Katie.

 Evie relaxing with Ali.

Christmas Evie. :)

 Charlie got to open one gift on Christmas Eve from his cousins.  He LOVES his racetrack!

Despite the nasty weather, we decided to continue our annual tradition of an early-evening hayride.  I was so glad we didn't let the rain stop us--it was so much fun riding around the ranch, even with the wet, cold weather.  Charlie loved being a part of this tradition, and got into the caroling.  He even started requesting songs, but didn't quite get that we were trying to stick with a "Christmas" theme.  Luckily, my cousins are good sports and took a break from Christmas carols to sing a rousing rendition of "Wheels on the Bus" for Charlie. :)

 We got home from the cabin pretty late, but baths were essential after all the mud and dirt (and hay!) we collected during the day.

There is something so magical about Christmas Eve.  I still feel the same excitement and anticipation that I felt as a child when I get in bed on Christmas Eve (maybe because Santa still comes to my parents' house for me :).  Can't wait to see what Santa brings!

The Twelve Days of Christmas

Ok, so it wasn't actually 12 days of Christmas, but it sure felt like it (in a good way :).  This holiday was hard--Clint was scheduled to work the night shift all during the week of Christmas Eve/Christmas, so he was completely unavailable for a Christmas-day celebration.  Since he was going to be working and sleeping all week, Charlie, Evie, and I traveled down to Seguin to celebrate with my family, and then headed back up to Dallas when Clint finished his night-shift work and celebrated Christmas on his day off (the 30th). It was really sad being away from Clint on the big day, but the three of us had a wonderful time with our extended family.  And our belated Christmas celebration with Clint turned out to be really special as well, so it was a blessed holiday!  (Turns out, it's kind of fun to extend the festivities... :)

Charlie, Evie, and I arrived in Seguin on the 23rd and headed out to the treehouse for Dede and Robie's 40th anniversary celebration.  It was a COLD night, but very fun, and we were proud of Evie for being such a good sport about the cool temps.

Charlie had a great time running around with his cousins.  So great, in fact, that we hardly noticed when he took a "BIG FALL" (in Charlie's words) after it got dark outside.  It wasn't until we got home and turned on the lights that we realized he had a huge goose egg on his forehead.  Poor little guy hardly fussed at all!

Here is Julia (JuJu), Charlie, and Jackson.  Charlie is in love with these kiddos--I hear about them all the time!

 Sweet Lizzie joined the photogenic group.

 Emma and Julia were excited to meet their new baby cousin.  Evie got lots of cousin love over the holidays, and seemed to enjoy all the attention!

 Isn't the treehouse amazing?  It looked so pretty decorated with Christmas lights.  I cannot wait for our first camping trip here!

Congratulations on 40 wonderful years Dede and Robie.  Thanks for setting such a good example for us!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the Burrus fam!  Our holiday card/birth announcement, along with the full set of Evie's newborn photos, is below.  I hope you all are having a wonderful and blessed holiday!

Charlie & Evie Meet Santa

My mom and I took Charlie and Evie to meet Santa at the downtown Neiman Marcus this week.  It was such a fun outing (and made so much better by having my mom there!).  Mom and Evie waited in line while Charlie and I raced through the tunnel winding around the outside of NM (very fun, but realized why they had a 4-10 year-old age limit :).  Charlie was very excited about meeting Santa--he said "Santa," "HoHoHo," and "I sit. Santa!" while we were waiting in line, all leading me to the erroneous conclusion that he was going to enjoy his time with the big guy.  Alas, that was not the case, as seen below...

Evie is starting to look a bit concerned.  Santa, however, is not phased a bit.

Evie and Santa had a very nice conversation once Cargie made his way "off!"

Although it looks like Charlie was terribly distressed by his encounter with Santa, he was happy as could be the moment he got off his lap.  He bounded off happily and was talking about Santa the rest of the day.  I asked Charlie what he told Santa he wanted for Christmas and he responded, not surprisingly, with "Big Truck!"

After our visit with Santa, we went upstairs to the children's area to relax so I could feed Evie.  Charlie loved getting to play with all the toys.  His first order of business was to don this pink bike helmet and drive a jeep.  He proudly wore the bike helmet all around Neiman's...we had quite a time getting it away from him. :) 

Rolling!

On Evie's 7-week birthday today, we hit another big milestone: Evie rolled over (front to back) for the first time!  She was VERY proud of herself, but I think her big brother was even prouder.  Charlie and I were down on the floor with her when it happened, and it just thrilled him.  Her big moment was met with a resounding "Again! Again!"  Unfortunately, Evie couldn't make it happen again today (Charlie quickly decided we were "All Done!," so she didn't get a ton of practice), but we'll try again tomorrow. :)

Christmas Parties

We have had some fun Christmas parties this season, and two of my favorites were our playgroup Christmas parties.  The kids aren't old enough to really be excited about Christmas yet, but they are super excited about the sweets this year. :)  

Here are the kids (minus a few) in our Lakewood playgroup.  Charlie has been playing with these little ones since he was 5 months old, and it is so fun watching them grow up together.  It's amazing how much they've grown in the past year, but how little their personalities have changed!

Evie dressed up for the Christmas party as well.  Charlie was fascinated with the "Big Tree" and "Big Bow" on her onesie. :)  Luckily for Evie, a lot of my playgroup friends are having second babies right now, so the little ones won't get left out of the fun!

Sweet Evie was smiling, cooing, and telling Daddy all about the Christmas party later that night...

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get pictures at our other Christmas parties...too busy keeping Charlie out of the cookies!

Evie Meets the Harolds

My college roommate, Sarah, and her husband, David, were in town last weekend for a work Christmas party and stopped by to meet Evie.  It was so good to see them.  Evie loved getting some extra snuggles and Charlie was thrilled with his company.  He LOVED "Dawid," conned him into reading "Cars, Trucks, and Things that Go" with him, and even said "Go Jawhawks!" for him. :)  Sarah and David's wedding was our last big weekend away before Evie was born, so it was fun to get to introduce them to her.  Hope you two come back again soon!!