Santa Brunch...

I'm telling you, if only I could bottle up this Christmas excitement and energy the boys have right now... I'm just trying to soak up every minute of it. The elf on the shelf, Santa, the presents under the tree, the whole bit... Oh, the excitement and anticipation! I must say Drew's smiles and love for Santa this past Sunday were priceless! He was so funny and animated! Sorry for all the pictures, but it was just a perfect morning. They also had a ball decorating cookies and ornaments. Oh, and the requests from Santa this time... Drew: A bouncy ball (slightly more likely than the real shark) and Reese: A remote control helicopter. Reese was really excited to see Santa again too... And was quite meticulous in his cookie decorating and ornament making. Hard to believe Christmas is less than a week away. Tomorrow Reese gets to have a Birthday party for baby Jesus at preschool, and as we try and remember daily... That is why we are having fun and celebrating Christmas in the first place! :)

Preschool program

Awww.... I just love watching the preschool Christmas programs! It is pure entertainment seeing these kids sing their little hearts out. Reese sang off and on and was more distracted watching the little gal next to him sing with conviction... The whole program was just so sweet and the kids were very proud of their hard work. I can't wait to see Drew up there on stage next year!!

A few fun pictures.... Reese and Drew with Reese's preschool buddies... None of my pictures of the program really turned out... Too dark. I'll have to get some copies (and buy a better camera!) : ) The bottom picture is Mrs. Vancleave, Reese's teacher.

Basketball

Our official kick-off to the beginning of sports... And so it begins... Reese really wanted to play basketball and we enrolled him in the ever-popular "Omaha Sports Academy" basketball league. Whew - what an experience and certainly gives us a taste of what's to come. Reese did great, really enjoyed the sport and time with dad (Gabe helped coach his team). The first two Saturdays focused on skills while the following Saturdays were games against the other little teams. The age range was 4-6 years, so as you can imagine, there was a significant variation of size and talent just because of age differences. I was a proud mama watching him play and have fun.... He looked like such a big kid out there.

First snow!

Lots of fun playing in our first real snow of the season.... And If I'm not mistaken, this might be Drew's first experience playing in the snow. The boys and dad had a snowball fight, made some snow angels, and last but not least, made a big ole' snowman in the front yard. A good time was had by all and they were more than ready to come in and warm up with some hot chocolate by the fire.... What could be better! : )

The kept calling themselves "the cubbie brothers!" Pretty funny

Reindeers, Trees, and Santa, oh my!

It has become a tradition to go out to Mulhall's to kick off our Christmas festivities... They have so many things to do for the little ones... Hot chocolate, cookies, popcorn, games and craft stations, ball pit, live reindeer, and of course Santa. We have enjoyed doing this the past few years and not only is it a blast for the boys, we enjoy it as well.

As we approached santa (no lines, no waiting... yeah), the boys jumped right up on his lap and had no problem delivering their requests. Reese asked for a nerf gun and drew asked for a shark... Drew does think he's going to get a live shark and he plans to keep it in the bath tub! Ah... I love these little imaginations.

Another fun tradition we started last year was introducing our little elf, Ben - a name chosen by Reese. This is absolutely adorable watching these boys get up every morning looking for Ben. I never knew how much fun it would be living the magic and imagination of Christmas through the kids. Drew isn't quite there yet, he is learning from Reese, just starting to grasp the idea of Ben and Santa.

As the kids are excited about santa and the gift aspect of Christmas, we are trying to help them understand the real reason we celebrate Christmas... Religious and spiritual.... Helping others... I have really enjoyed my friend Wendy's blog and what they have done this year to help those less fortunate. The most recent post "blessing bags" was so moving... (see blog link to the left...sheffield this and that) What a fabulous idea!

We would love to do this and involve the boys.... Thanks Wendy for sharing!!

Here are a few pictures from our weekend...

The tree search begins...

Crystal and Chole...napping

The little girls in the back ground go to the same preschool : )

Crazy times in the ball pit

Whoa, check out the tree... it looks small up there... but it is 7 - 8 feet tall

My little helper with the lights

Check out the ornament placement, they were having so much fun... we just watched them go to work... : )

Drew's first haircut!

Oct 19th, 2011... Drew's first haircut. My little baby is growing up too fast. Reese made it until after 3 years old, but Drew's hair was getting a little wild so it was time. Plus, we had family pictures scheduled so I thought we'd better get it done. He did a wonderful job sitting so still and was really proud when she finished. It's amazing how much older they look after that first haircut... Cutting off those baby curls will do that... sniff sniff. My little guy looks so handsome and even though I get sentimental seeing them grow up so fast, I have to admit it just gets more fun watching them grow and change.

The before

The after : )

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from the Compton's! Okay, so the picture above might qualify for one of those "awkward family photo" cards that they sell at Walgreen's now. Uncle Tyson was wondering why I attempted black circles on the cheeks?? Who really knows, but we do odd things as parents trying to make these holidays as fun and memorable as possible... Hey, it worked for Drew! Ha!!

Despite how the photo looks, the boys had a blast walking the neighborhood with all the kids and the great weather made it a enjoyable evening.

Yes, those are really full-size candy bars!

Our little cowboy... boots and all!

One tired little zebra...

Happy Fall ya'll

We made it to two different pumpkin patches this fall.... Different not only in location, but very different in size as well. Vala's pumpkin patch is an Omaha favorite and full of so many activities you truly cannot do the whole thing in one trip (at least we can't). The other one is this adorable little pumpkin farmer out by our hometown of Kearney, NE. It was perfect for the boys given their ages right now. They still offered pony rides, a gourd slingshot, a giant slide, a little corn maze (although small in size : ), and the best part was a hay rack ride out into the field to cut your own pumpkin. So cute!!

In no particular order at all, are some photos from our pumpkin patch adventures and our fall festival at Christ the King. I could've posted so many, but here are a few....

And....Happy Halloween!! We had a great night and I hope to post some fun pictures very soon...

Jumping pillows at Vala's

Bounce house at fall festival

The cute pumpkin patch out by Kearney

Fall festival

Small pumpkin patch, picking out our own pumpkins.... the boys loved this

Reese's 1st day of preschool

Reese started preschool today! As to be expected, he was a little nervous. However, he was eager and excited as we walked over with our neighbors Elisa (also in his class) and Jennifer Lenz. Once we got to the classroom he was hugging my leg and a little teary. It was hard for me as well seeing him start this new chapter in his all-too-short childhood. He is definitely becoming a little boy with very little baby left in him. He wouldn't have anything to do with a "character" backpack that I had imagined him picking out at PB kids, instead selecting the sporty one from Dick's sports store. I just have to remember it's all part of life, growing up, and I feel very blessed to have this little boy as my son. Lots of pictures.... Probably overdid it, but feeling a little sentimental today.

A somewhat sad goodbye to little brother...

But happy again... Drew had some big tears watching us all walk away. It broke my heart

Outside the school, Christ the King (with Elisa Lenz)

Mrs Upton trying to convince Reese to wear his name tag