Christmas Parade

This morning, Steve and I took the buddies downtown to the Chuy's Children Giving to Children Parade. During this annual event, spectators bring unwrapped toys to the parade to donate to the Operation Blue Santa Program. Midway through, the parade stops and all children are invited to deliver their gifts to the floats.

The buddies saw some of their favorite characters: Elmo, Curious George, Big Bird, Bob-the-Builder, Rainbow Bear, Rudolf, and of course, Santa Claus. They were enthralled by the floats and giant character balloons and loved all the dogs, horses, llama's, and ponies in the parade. Ben danced to the beat of every marching band and Ace shouted for joy when carolers on a float sang "Jingle Bells".

Curious George, brought to you by Starbucks!

Ace, watching the parade from his perch on Daddy's shoulders.

Ben didn't take his eyes off the parade.

One of the toy trucks, filled to the brim!

2006 Turkey Trot

My family has participated in the Dallas Turkey Trot every year since 1994. So, when my folks decided to jet off to St. Croix this year, it became our responsibility uphold the tradition. We were thrilled to discover that Austin also has a Turkey Trot!

The Thundercloud Subs Turkey Trot is much like the one we love in Dallas, only on a smaller scale. The Austin trot is 8,000 runners strong, compared to Dallas' 26,000. We really enjoyed the smaller crowd - parking was easier (and free!) and we were able to let the buddies run around a little before the race.

After the race, plenty of snacks and drinks were available, including juice boxes and big cookies for the buddies. They LOVED the cookies! Ace drank his juice box plus half of Ben's - I think he liked using the straw like a big kid. This year, we didn't cart away all the free food we could carry or take pictures of each other as we exited the port-a-potties. Sorry, Grandma - some traditions can wait until next year when you join us.

We were the only participants wearing festive hats, but we're sure this tradition will catch on in a few years. I really think my folks were the first to wear silly hats to the Dallas trot. Now, so many people wear them at the Dallas trot that vendors actually sell turkey hats on race day. Of course, none of the hats can ever compete with Grandpa's bun-warmer turkey hat or Grandma's cornucopia hat. Look out, Austin - next year we'll have some experienced trotters in town!

A Photo Shoot at the Lady Bird Wildflower Center

Well, I've finally done it. After taking 200+ photos in that last two weeks, I finally have a picture for our Christmas cards. The buddies are fast and it is tough catching them in the same spot for even a second. I won't spoil the fun by posting our Christmas card photos, but these are some of my other favorites from today's outing.

We met our friends Allison and Annie at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center this morning to enjoy the nice weather and take pictures. It took all three of us to manage the buddies, their stroller, and the camera. I was so grateful that they could join us! The buddies were glad too, since they had more people to charm.


They loved running down the paths and climbing on the rocks and benches. The world is one big playground for these two.

The Wildflower Center was founded in 1982 by Lady Bird Johnson and the late Helen Hayes. The center protects and preserves North America's native plants and is known as the best place to take bluebonnet photos during Spring. We'll be back to check it out.

And the Winners Are...

Katie and Grandma!!! You two have correctly identified the buddies' bottoms. Congratulations! Below is a photo taken moments later, after they stood and turned around.

Cute bottoms

Quick Poll: Which bottom belongs to Ace and which one is Ben? Leave your answers in the comments section.

Now if only I could get a picture of their cute faces for our Christmas cards...

Dear Santa...

Can you believe the buddies didn't say one word to Santa today?? Here was their chance to ask for all the toys and goodies in the world and neither made a peep. They were a little afraid of their bearded friend and certainly didn't give us a smile, but they were pretty cooperative, all things considered.

A Shout Out to Our Cousins in Helsinki!!

I spent the afternoon breaking a sweat while planting my winter flowers in 80 degree heat. So, when the buddies woke from their nap, we filled their pool in the backyard and went for a swim. Yes, it is mid-November, I'm already preparing for the holidays, and we're swimming. You gotta love Texas weather!

Later, when I logged onto my cousin's blog, I learned that her family is enjoying quite a different November experience this year. I'm not sure I would enjoy their freezing weather and blizzards, but it would be nice to find a happy medium between the two.

Hello, cousins! We miss you guys!

November in Texas

November in Helsinki

Opposites

I've been trying for days to take one good picture of each boy in a Santa hat and their favorite overalls. Ace complied during our first photo shoot and gave me a great big smile. Capturing that same excitement in Ben has proved difficult. It's not that he's not a happy little guy - he totally is. He just gets really involved in whatever he's doing and can't be persuaded to stop and smile for the camera. Whether he's driving his cars or sorting shapes or stacking blocks, he gets completely engrossed in the task.

Today, I tried yet again to get that one picture. First, I wiped the crusty booger beard off his face (his nose won't stop running and he smears it all over himself). Then, I put him in his overalls and hat. Ace still hadn't been dressed for the day and was running around in his diaper. This is what I got:


Meanwhile, Ace, who was watching the whole thing with much interest, was trying to get my attention to take his picture. He's quite the ham for the camera.

Could these two BE any more different???

A Visit With Our Dallas Friends

We enjoyed our weekend with friends, Marc, Amy, and Lane, from Dallas. The buddies were busy entertaining their new younger friend. Lane is such a good baby and just sat observing our crazy little guys all weekend. Here are some of my favorite pictures:

We'll show this picture to their girlfriends one day...

The buddies, looking to get in on Lane's snacks.

Ready to eat barbecue at Rudy's.

We LOVE going for walks. Yippee!