Christmas in Dallas 2016

This Christmas we did things a little differently and spent it in Dallas.  We found out my sister Lisa and her girls, Taylor and Victoria were coming plus Auntie Jen and Robert and Allie and since Christmas fell on a weekend and Chris was going to have the whole week off, we decided to go on the 23-26.  This way, we got to see everyone AND Chris would be at home for the rest of the week to play golf, do some things around the house, and have the 3 of us have time together.  We stayed 2 nights at Mama and Papa's and our last night at Auntie Ashy's house.  Driving to Dallas was not as painful for Pearce because he had his new DVD player that GG had given him and I brought tons of movies!  We got to Auntie Ashy's house in the afternoon and Pearce was so excited to see Nay Nay and Charlotte!!!!  Everyone else arrived soon after and he had a great time visiting and playing!  Pearce loves seeing Rusty, Nay Nay and Charlotte's doggy, and now Mama and Papa's doggy, Annie.  Poor Rusty got in trouble that evening because he chewed up a toy :(  Pearce passed out that night at Mama and Papa's house...it was a big day for the little guy.  On the 24th, we took it easy that morning and Pearce and Mama made an orange Julius for us and we played with Annie a lot.  Pearce is always talking about Annie and what a good little girl she is :)  Mama and I then took took Pearce to give Grandma her Christmas gifts and to hang up her pictures in her new room.  I noticed that Grandma was more confused this time and although she was happy to see me, I could tell she didn't quite know who I was.  BUT, what melted my heart was when she saw Pearce, her eyes just lit up and she smiled so big and said "There's that sweet little boy!"  Pearce gave her lots of hugs and kisses and helped her unwrap her gifts.  He is ALWAYS so sweet to Grandma and to all of the people he sees at her nursing home...makes me so proud of Pearce!  We met Auntie Jen and Allie and Robert for lunch and then went back over to Ashley's to open our family gifts.  We all got so many nice things and it was fun seeing everyone open their gifts.  After some more playing and visiting, we headed back over to Mama and Papa's house to get ready for Santa!  Pearce had so much fun setting out milk and cookies and food for the reindeer.  I was so anxious to get Pearce in bed so that we could get everything set up!  Pearce finally fell asleep and Santa went to work :)  We were all so excited for Christmas morning!  Pearce woke up around 8:30....early for him!  Mama and Papa were already awake and Papa had even gotten donuts for Pearce....he does this every time Pearce visits :)  We all went to the living room and then told Pearce he could come out.  He was so excited when he saw everything Santa had left him!  The two big things he wanted was the Scooby Doo Pirate Fort Megaset and the Imaginext Shark Ship.  Santa also brought him a remote control car, the Operation game, the Dude Perfect Basketball goal and lots of other stocking stuffers.  Pearce was genuinely so happy with what he got and had fun playing with everything and of course, we had fun watching him!  He also loved seeing that Santa ate most of his cookies and drank the milk and then ran to the front door to see if the reindeer had eaten their food.  He was so excited to see that they had!  After a while, we all got dressed and then headed back over to Auntie Ashy's house for Christmas lunch.  Pearce loved seeing what all Nay Nay and Charlotte got.  Uncle Wayne had told Pearce that he would take Nay Nay and Pearce and Chris to the new Cowboys Stadium to play football, but that Pearce had to eat all of his lunch in order to go.  Pearce cleaned his plate!  So, the guys went to the football stadium and the girls decided to go to a Christmas Day movie.  After the movie, we dropped Mama off at home and then went back to Ashley's house and had a ping pong tournament!!  It was so much fun!  We all got pretty competitive about it.  Chris and Robert were the pros!!!!!  The kids stayed up late and played and by the end of the night, we were all exhausted!  We left late morning on the 26th and it is always sad for Pearce to leave his cousins.  The thing that kept him from completely falling apart was that we planned a ski trip with Ashley and Wayne and the kids, so Pearce knew we would see them again pretty soon :)  We took our time driving back and the traffic wasn't too bad.  When we got home, Pearce and I quickly set up some birthday decorations we had gotten the week before and then had a little birthday celebration for Daddy!  Chris's birthday is on the 26th of December, so it's a hard day for a birthday just because we're usually out of town or traveling, so I wanted to make it silly and fun for Pearce and Chris!  Chris really enjoyed his little party and Pearce had fun helping Daddy open his gifts!  The rest of the week, we had fun being home with Daddy and doing whatever we wanted!  We had such a wonderful Christmas holiday with all of our family and made great memories this year! 

These three.....I am sooooo thankful for sweet Nathan and Charlotte for loving Pearce just like a little brother!  Pearce completely adores his cousins and LOVES being with them any chance he gets!

Santa's bag is the best thing ever.....he doesn't wrap his gifts, just fits as many toys as he can in there and leaves it for Pearce to open.

I love this stocking Mama made for Pearce for his first Christmas.  This is all needlepoint and every stitch was made with love!

Pearce was a VERY good boy this year!

The Ping Pong Tournament of Champions!

I love these two!!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!!

Christmas with Pops, Mimi, and GG!

We had an early Christmas celebration this past weekend with our Little Rock grandparents.  Pearce was so excited for everyone to get here!  GG got here Thursday afternoon and Pops and Mimi came later that day.  They came bearing lots of gifts and it was all Pearce could do to wait until Saturday to open them....but he was very patient :)  GG did let Pearce open one gift which was a plant that he got to plant....hopefully we will keep it alive!  We enjoyed visiting that night and had a BBQ dinner.  Friday we went to Phil's Ice House for lunch and to play.  We always comment about how Pearce always makes a friend or two to play with wherever he goes, which makes me so happy to see.  We came back to the house and just had fun watching Pearce play and be silly.  We took the grandparents that night to drive around and look at Christmas lights, which Pearce really enjoys.  Chris made chili for us on Saturday and we decided that since Pearce had been soooo patient waiting to open his gifts, we would let him open his Saturday afternoon and the adults would open theirs after dinner.  Pearce had a pile of presents that he was practically drooling over!  He got so many nice things from his grandparents....Pops and Mimi got him the cutest cowboy boots, western shirt, and wrangler jeans!  Oh my gosh, he looks adorable in it all!  They also got him Scrabble Junior which we discovered is the perfect game for him to learn all of his letters and sounds.  Pearce has really started loving board games, so this game was perfect!  Pops also gave Pearce a sock filled with coins, LOL!!!  Pops said he would just empty his change every night and was able to fill up a big sock with the coins....Pearce said he can't wait to take it to the bank and spend it all....which he totally will!  GG gave him a portable DVD player that is going to come in so handy for car trips since Pearce doesn't have his iPad anymore.  She also gave him a great collection of new movies!  He also got a fun collection of Star Wars bubble bath and a Star Wars Snuggie...perfect for snuggling up to watch a show!  His favorite toy from GG was an army playset and a container of little army guys....he LOVES these tiny army guys!  We all loved watching Pearce open his gifts and I'm so thankful for grandparents who like to spoil our little guy with fun things.  Thank you Pops, Mimi, and GG for all of the nice things you got our little Pearce!  Later that evening, we had the best chili that Chris made and then it was time for our gifts to each other.  Pearce was "Santa" and passed out our gifts.  We all got some really nice things!  I got a gift set of perfume that I had been wanting, Beautiful.  I LOVE this perfume!!!!  I had forgotten how wonderful nice perfume is...LOVE it!!!  GG also surprised me with the cutest pajamas and slippers....she knows how much I love cute new pajamas!!  She also gave me a skin care set from Lancôme that I am loving!!!  I told Pops and Mimi that I was really wanting some new bedding since ours has gotten pretty worn out.  I decided that I would love a duvet cover so that it would be easy to wash...I've learned that washing a full sized comforter is not fun or easy.  So, they gave me a gift card to Pottery Barn and I wasted no time at all getting my new bedding.  I went the next day and the lady there helped me decide on what to get and I just LOVE it!!!!  I've never had really nice bedding and it just feels so good to walk into our room and see our bed looking so pretty.  I also changed a few things on my night stand to make my side match the bedding a little better.  I love how it turned out!!!  Mimi also gave me a fun makeup kit from Ulta.....she knows my heart, LOL!!!!  Chris got some gift cards for new clothes which he is needing badly since a lot of his clothes are too big now!  He also got a sound machine from GG that is really relaxing to have....Pearce said his favorite sound is the rain :)  He also got a charger/organizer station for our phones.  It's really cool because it has several slots for iPhones and iPads and keeps them all nice and organized while being charged.  Thank you Pops, Mimi, and GG for all of our gifts....you all definitely spoiled us, as well!!!!  Thank you, also, for making the drive to see us and spend an early Christmas with us.  We love you all so much and can't wait to see you again soon!!!!

Apparently this is a shirt that goes WAY back....I think it was Cliff's years and years ago and now it gets gifted back and forth between them.....so funny!!!!