Christmas Trip 2021

With Covid still being a very real and present thing and the kids not being fully vaccinated yet, we decided to just do a simple in-state trip for some Christmas Break fun.  We headed over to San Antonio to see Mimi and Pop-Pop for an early Christmas celebration, to finally check out the Christmas offerings at Morgan's Wonderland, and to enjoy a family favorite, Sea World at Christmas time!

Little Sweetie had a half day on the Friday going into break, so we took Little Buddy out of school early to start our drive over.  It was so nice to spend time with Mimi and Pop-Pop!  

The Christmas crew is ready for some Christmas fun!

     

Presents!  Christmas came early on Saturday!

     

Mimi and Little Sweetie worked hard on decorating some gingerbread houses!

Mimi and Little Buddy watching the Charlie Brown characters moving and making music!

     

Little Sweetie enjoyed a tea party and LEGO time with Pop-Pop!

          

Little Buddy loved reading his new books with Pop-Pop and playing with his new toy with Daddy!

Saturday night, we finally had the opportunity to head over to Morgan's Wonderland to enjoy their holiday activities.  It continues to be one of our favorite places and, because of the cold snap that kept native Texans away, we basically had the park to ourselves for rides, cookies and hot chocolate, and all the activities!

     

Beautiful views from the Ferris Wheel!

     

Simulated ice skating rink was a lot of fun!

     

Cuddles and smiles on the train ride!

The glove that tried to escape, lol!

We got to see Santa!!!

The Sensory Village had some really fun upgrades even since we were there in June!

     

     

Cool live animation studio!

     

     

Enjoying the interactive topographical map!

     

Little Buddy enjoyed the interactive screens and the adaptive X-Box!

     

A quick ride on the carousel to close out the evening!

Really enjoyed our evening!

Being that Morgan's Wonderland and Sea World are on the opposite side of town from Mimi and Pop-Pop, we moved over to a hotel for our two outings.  Little Sweetie was enjoying her hotel life!

Sticker time with Daddy!

Loving her continental breakfast!

The last stop of our trip was Sea World and, once again, I cannot be more happy with our choice to go.  With two children of very different developmental ages, Sea World has enough offerings to keep them both very happy.  Little Buddy loves the Sesame Street characters, the kiddie rides (which are designed for parents to ride with kids, so he has plenty of room), the room to walk around, and the animals.  Little Sweetie is now old enough to appreciate the big kid rides while still enjoying the animals too.  Momma and Daddy enjoy the beautiful Christmas lights and the music.  Plus, it was still cold, so we again had the park to ourselves!

Fun treat:  We ran into Little Sweetie's friends, C and R!

Little Sweetie was tall enough this trip to ride some REAL coasters!  We wanted to do the less intense Wave Breaker coaster BUT it kept being shut down because of the light rain.  So, she chose to start with the 150 ft. drop and 65 mph of the Steel Eel!  She survived and, while not sure during the ride or immediately after, decided a bit later that it was great!  She then decided to go on the Texas Stingray next!

     

The beginnings of a Coaster Girl!

Ready for the Clyde and Seamore Show!

We finished the day with fantastic lights and the Sesame Street parade.  What a great night!

     

Little Buddy definitely approved!

We head back home tomorrow to enjoy Christmas and the rest of break, but I'd say our little trip was perfect.  Such a great family time together!

Until next time, 

LB&LSM

Little Buddy's and Little's Sweetie's Momma

December 11

And here we are, heading getting ready to end 2021 and move into 2022 already!  What an odd ride the past two years have been with living through the Covid pandemic.  But, we make the best of everything because we have each other and that is all that matters.  We've been enjoying the holidays and are excited for Christmas to be coming!

We finished out November with a lot of fun!  First was World Sanfilippo Awareness Day and our annual Purple Week, then we enjoyed our Thanksgiving traditions, and followed by hitting up the Texas Renaissance Festival for the first time in nearly a decade!  The fall weather has also been warm, allowing us to enjoy time outside.

     

Spreading some WILLPower and raising some awareness during Purple Week 2021!

     

Starting Thanksgiving with our annual run!  The rain held off for the kids' race but wasn't as kind to the grownups!

Someone enjoyed one of his best race times in a few years!

     

     

We then enjoyed some time together as well as some delicious food.  Of course, Little Buddy was most excited for the PIE!

We didn't get but one picture of Little Buddy at RenFest!  It was a fun day and he enjoyed walking around the seeing the sights and eating the treats!

     

Fall bring pumpkin pancakes and someone is all about it!

Our spring gift arrived in time for Christmas...a new boat for Little Buddy to enjoy and that's easier to get him in and out of!

     

Park swinging and dog walking.  Enjoying each day with our boy!

We start getting ready for Christmas right after Thanksgiving.  Time for all the Christmas magic!

     

Pat the Elf has returned!

     

Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree!

     

Enjoying the holiday lights at the Light Park!

     

     

Excited to see Santa and get our pictures!

     

I just really like taking pictures of him by the Christmas tree in all his holiday attire!

And, our big news for the month...someone has finally started his Covid vaccination process!  Hooray!  Half vaxxed and my anxious heart starts to unclench a bit.

Our brave boy!  Doing everything we can to protect him.

Height and Weight

Our dear boy looks to be growing again, breaking 100 pounds at 100.6 and now outgrowing his growth chart by passing up 61 inches.  It's hard to believe, but we're so happy he's still growing healthy and strong.

Our 11.5 year old!  Happy half birthday!

Personality

Such absolutely perfect beautiful smiles this month!  So happy he's happy.  The holiday spirit must be agreeing with him!

     

     

You can see what a tall drink of water he is getting to be!

     

I adore when he looks into our eyes and smiles at us...we don't need words to feel his love!

Developmental Changes

Little Buddy is still rocking the middle school life!  We've been happy with how he's doing at school with his new teachers and aides.

Making (and eating!) a train snack at school.

Adaptive Faith Formation is still going very well too!  We got to participate in a Sensory Friendly Mass (which marked the first time all four of us got to sit in a pew together in about 5 years) and it was a lovely experience.  Afterward, we enjoyed a potluck fellowship and a visit with Santa!

     

Little Buddy loving Santa and loves being loved on by the Amazing Grace volunteers!

Fun Tidbits

Someone REALLY likes cuddling into his bed and he is the sweetest while doing so, but never more sweet than when he's cuddled in, being read the Christmas books that Pat the Elf brings by Little Sister.  

     

I mean, it's really the sweetest!

The kids have just another week of school left and then it's time for some more Christmas fun.  We're looking forward to a trip to Mimi and Pop-Pop's, visiting Morgan's Wonderland and Sea World, and maybe hitting the zoo and a few other activities.  And then on to 2022!

Until then,

LBM

Little Buddy's Momma