Merry Christmas! Part 2

We've had a great Christmas in the Hill Country.
Our Christmas will continue next week when Cannon makes
his first trip to the Texas Panhandle.
Here are a few pictures from the festivities.

Cannon arriving at Grammiki's for her delicious Christmas Eve chili

Carter was so excited it was FINALLY Christmas.
He's been asking every day for weeks.

This kid is good. Before he opened his present, someone asked, "what do you think that is?". "Its probably a Gordon," he replied.
He was right.

Christmas morning Carter was so excited to see all the toys beneath the tree. Santa's reindeer even ate all the carrots we left for them! Unfortunatley, Santa didn't get any cookies because mom & dad ate them all (with some of Carter's help) earlier in the week.

Santa brought Carter a new tool bench
& most importantly some safety goggles.
Safety first!

We had to have all of the battery operated toys going at one time.
Note to gift givers, next year please give lots of batteries!

Later in the morning, Grammiki, Nella, and Johnny joined us for Christmas brunch.
I made Pioneer Woman's Sleeping 'In Omelet - its soooo good.

Murphy enjoying a Christmas treat

Carter got what every boy needs, a John Deer wagon!

This is gonna be fun

must haul everything

After a long day, Carter went to sleep early
and Cannon stayed up to let his parents admire him
and take lots of pictures.

good night.

Merry Christmas!

All my parents got me was an Allen Wrench
Not really - here's a few Christmas pictures...more to followMaking Christmas cookies with Mom & Dad.

Carter enjoyed decorating them

Early Christmas Present from Cannon

SMILES!!!!

6 Weeks Old

Its been a busy few weeks - here is what we've been up to:

Cannon is now six weeks old!
Eating & sleeping are still high on the priority list. He's starting to coo a lot, especially after we change his diaper. I think its his way of saying thank you. :)
We went into the "big city" on Saturday and he tolerated our road trip well. He slept most of the way, waking up to eat a few times. He slept during our dinner and allowed us to enjoy some mexican food at Chuy's - Yum!

Cannon loves to lay on our bed, look out our bedroom window and gaze at the sky...

The temperature has been all over the place over the past couple of weeks.
Before it got cold, we got to spend some time outside watching Carter and Murphy play.
The start of a smile...

I'm not sure if this is just a serious face or a mad face...

Enjoying his swing...

Enjoying his playmat...
Murphy likes it too.

Carter is finally making progress with potty training. Why am I noting this in our blog? Because we are absolutely thrilled. This excites us more than many of you can even imagine.

He is still doing well in his big brother role. We've asked him to teach Cannon how to smile and how to hold his head up. Its both adorable and hilarious to watch Carter demonstrate how to do this.

Carter has also started sleeping in -- until 6:45 on some mornings. Yes, this is sleeping in.

He is wrapped up in the Christmas season, likes to sing Christmas songs (Rudolph being the favorite) and is worried Santa won't see our house because don't have lights on the roof. He tells Ryan, "You need to decorate the roof!". He also likes to look at the nativity seene, pointing out baby Jesus, Mary, their "horse", lamb, and Joseph, who Carter says is God.

Carter enjoying the warmer weather - playing with his baseball.
He can throw it up on the roof...

And he loves to watch it roll back down...
(Murphy is amused)

I tried to teach Carter how to hold a bat - he would just swing it wildly behind him.
So, I told him to hold it close to his ear. He follows direction well.
He actually had much better luck hitting the ball his way. Maybe he's on to something.

Carter has these "noculers" he keeps them in his "treasure box".

A funny mix of expressions...

And the temperature has plunged - and so did his willingness to smile for a picture.

Oh good, happy Carter is back (and oh so cute)

Carter is hiding from me - where on earth could he be?

Oh, there he is. How could I ever have missed him?

And let us not forget, our amazing dog, Murphy.

When Murphy is not running around getting into grass burrs, he likes to stare off to the North. I have no idea what he is checking out, but he is focused...

Sooooo focused....

Hill Country Sunset

Good Monday Morning!

Cannon is 4 weeks, 5 days old. He is staying awake for longer periods of time during the day and loves to hang out under his rainforrest play mat and in Mom, Dad, or Grammiki's lap. Carter loves to play "cheekies" with Cannon when he is awake, which basically involves touching his cheeks and saying "cheekies!" - its his own game.

Cannon is bright eyed this morning & having a great time in his swing!

Carter loves to have his picture taken with the camera on the computer
because he can see himself on the screen.
Lately, instead of "cheese", he likes to say "oh yeah!"
which makes for a nice, natural looking smile.