Birthday Sleepover

Instead of a big birthday party, Jacob decided to have a special sleepover with one friend to celebrate this year.  We were going to have it in mid December, but then the flu took us down!  So, we rescheduled it for the week after Christmas.  It turned out perfectly because it was something to look forward to after Christmas was over and we could have it on a weekday!

We picked Carson up after lunch and the boys headed to Main Event to play laser tag, bowl and play arcade games.  After a few hours there, they went to the movies to see Night at the Museum 3.  Then, it was to McDonald's for a special "birthday" dinner.  We decided that because of Jonah's age it was best that I stay home with him and let the boys and Nathan have some time together.  It's so hard because of the age difference between our two boys!

Carson and Jacob came home around 8:30, got in pjs and played some games before bed.  They were seriously so good.  Our boys don't usually stay up that late, so Jacob was definitely ready for bed!

The next morning we got donuts for breakfast and they boys played for a bit before we took Carson home.  Jacob had an absolutely BLAST and it was a nice change from a big blowout party! 

Merry Christmas

Since we celebrated with the Finkelstein clan on Christmas Eve, we had Christmas morning at home and then the Cox family was headed our way in the afternoon.  We were up at 4:30 even though it was made very clear that we weren't getting out of bed until 7.  Unfortunately, Jonah cannot tell time yet!!  We kept the boys occupied upstairs for a bit while we slowly came out of our early morning fog and went downstairs around 6.  What's always so sad to me is how fast Christmas morning goes.  By 7 o'clock, all of the presents are unwrapped, toys taken out of boxes and are being played with.  It takes so long to get ready (no joke, we were up until like 2 the night before!) and then it's over so quickly.  The boys were so excited, it was so much fun to watch their little faces light up!!

Later that day, the Coxes came to the house and we enjoyed present opening and dinner together.  We didn't get a ton of pictures because we were too busy having fun!  Both of Nathan's brothers stayed with us and we loved having extra time to visit and get plenty of cuddles with Clementine!  I was worried how the boys would be around her (particularly Jonah) but they loved her!!

Christmas Eve

This year, Christmas was a bit different than usual.  Mim and Poppa were going to South Carolina on Christmas day, so we headed to their house for lunch on Christmas Eve.  We ate and opened presents (I think in record time!) and then all went to Christmas Eve service at their church.  Nathan and I absolutely love our home church, but it feels so special to attend special services like Christmas Eve and Easter with my parents at the church where we were married. 

Handsome (silly!) boys!

Reading the Bible story about Jesus' birth

Someone is excited!!

Jonah is obsessed with cars!

Helping Mim with Jesus' birth story

Mim and Poppa's downstairs tree

Whoa

In their new pjs, putting out cookies and milk for Santa.  Maybe a little excited, maybe.

Birthday Celebration!

Every year since Jacob turned one, we tried to set aside his birthday and take time from the holiday craze to celebrate him.  Some years it's a simple lunch or dinner at a restaurant and other years it's a bit more.  This year the holiday season has been stressful and crazy for the Coxes, so we decided to do something a little extra special to celebrate our birthday boy!!

Jacob knew we were going somewhere special for the night after church on Sunday, December 21st but didn't know where.  His first guess was New York.  Nice try.  Seriously, he is obsessed with visiting New York and is even more so now that he met his newest cousin, Clementine, over Christmas! 

We loaded up the car after Jonah's nap and headed to The Gaylord.  We arrived in mid afternoon (it only takes 30-45 minutes to drive there depending on traffic), got all checked in to our room and started exploring.  All of the hotel restaurants were already booked that evening (note to self: book reservations ASAP), but it worked out for the best!  We got our car (praise valet!!) and drove over to Grapevine Mills to eat at The Rainforest Cafe.  None of us had ever eaten there before, but we thought the boys would enjoy it.  It exceeded our expectations!  The food was good, but the boys had a blast!!  We were right next to the tigers, which the boys loved.  After dinner, we went to Build a Bear and let each boy choose a stuffed animal to make.  The line was crazy long, there were only two ladies stuffing and it was HOT.  But, we tried to keep them excited and occupied while we waited!  Jacob chose Rudolph and Jonah chose Frosty.  When we were (finally) finished, we headed back to the hotel and watched Arthur Christmas.  It was such a fun night!

Checking in

Testing out the bed!

The face of excitement!

Sweet birthday boy

Jonah would NOT turn away from those tigers!

Scary faces at dinner

Each boy got a balloon animal.  Jacob chose a lion and Jonah chose a tiger

Jonah just won't look at the camera!!

Picked his friend!

Making a wish...

Helping!

Jonah's turn!

Lots of hugs!

Ready for bed with his new friend!

The following morning, we ordered room service for breakfast, got ready and headed down to the atrium to enjoy all of the decorations.  There were only a handful of people milling about so we had plenty of time to look around and enjoy without all the big crowds.  It was wonderful!  Jonah particularly enjoyed the trains and I could not get him away!  We did a little shopping and bought a few new ornaments for the Christmas tree then decided to head back home.

We had grand plans for the rest of the day.  But, Jacob was exhausted and just wanted to stay home and play with his birthday presents!  It was such a fun little "getaway" and we're hoping to make it a yearly tradition.