College Station Christmas

So we flew back from Amarillo on Monday evening and ended up beginning the Roach festivities right away, because we coordinated with my sister Julie at the airport who was flying in from Colorado. It is always so good to see her.

Unfortunately there were a few delays so an already sick Connor ended up getting home around 8:00pm (an hour after bedtime) and then put to bed around 8:20. We put him down and he immediately started crying. At first I thought he was just ramped up from the flight and everything, but then we realized he just didn't feel well. We gave him tylenol and some ear pain drops in case he had an ear infection and eventually Jeff rocked him to sleep by about 9pm. Poor guy. Welcome home to us.

At this point I was soooo glad I had a doctor's appointment already scheduled for the next day. Thank goodness. As I said before, it turned out he had pneumonia and a slight ear infection, so it was definitely good we went and our trip to College Station would have just been miserable had we tried to power through. As soon as he started taking his medication he really started improving.

On Tuesday during the day, besides going to the Pediatrician's office, we also unpacked our bags from Amarillo and repacked for College Station. It was a little hectic, but we got it done and by 6pm we were back on the road. We had a fabulous dinner in College Station that night and let the celebrating begin. It always seems like a party when my family is all together, especially now that there are 7 adults. We certainly follow the saying, eat, drink, and be merry.

We decided that with 4 kids, the best way to keep everyone sane, was to keep them really busy. That seems to make everyone happy. So on Wednesday, we decided to take the kiddos to the Bryan College Station Children's Museum. The kids and the adults had a blast. For being such a small town, it was actually a really cool place. We really enjoyed it.

Wednesday night, my parents were able to secure a babysitter, so after we put the kids to bed, the adults went out to a yummy dinner at a Mexican restaurant on Northgate, which is where a lot of the fun bars are in College Station for the Texas A&M students. After dinner, we went to a local Irish Pub, had a few drinks, and played darts. Then we went to the Dixie Chicken and had a pitcher of beer, since it's such a College Station institution. It was a really fun night out, which we don't often get to do.

Thursday for our family was Christmas day. Before we opened gifts, we decided to do a candy cane hunt in the back yard. It ended up being a total success and even Connor and Libby found a few. Martin and
Winnie of course liked it the best and were just overjoyed when they'd find one. It was adorable.

We all agreed from the past couple of years, that it works best to let the young kids open their gifts in the morning and then let the adults open their gifts at night, because it just gets too crazy trying to do both. The kids loved their gifts and the adults could just help them open and drink their coffee.

During the day, the kids played with their toys, which mostly involved trucks (sorry Libby). After naps, we spent almost 2 hours at a local park and Connor got to try out big boy swings. He liked them a lot.

Thursday night, the adults opened gifts, drank wine and laughed a lot. We like to drag out the process and open one gift at a time so it takes forever, but we wouldn't want it any other way.

On Friday, the activities continued as the kiddos went to check out an entire field of trucks. My Dad golfs with someone that owns a diesel fuel company and they have lots of different trucks and he said the boys could come out and check them out. All the kids LOVED it. They got to climb around all sorts of trucks and at the end, a garbage truck even came and did its work. For truck loving little boys, that was the icing on the cake.

The day got even more exciting for Connor and Martin as they got to go to their very first Aggie basketball game. My Mom and Jeff took them and of course they expected that they might have to leave early, but the boys loved it. Apparently Connor just sat on Jeff's lap the whole time watching in amazement. I guess he really is a sports fanatic.

Friday night was New Year's Eve. We stayed in and toasted the New Year together as a family. We did our traditional New Year's poppers, complete with crowns and fun prizes. We also did a fun white elephant exchange that always gets really silly. Jeff's gift was the biggest hit. The item can't be more than $20, so he got 20 items from the Dollar Tree. It was hilarious.

We also finally told my Mom the big surprise that we were all leaving the very next morning and going to the Hyatt Lost Pines Resort outside of Austin to celebrate her 60th birthday. Again, I took a million pics, so that will be another blog post, but stay tuned. We had a blast.

Until then, it was a very Merry Tivo Roach Christmas. Check out the pictures and see for yourself.

Before we left for College Station, Aunt Julie got some precious alone time with her nephew Connor at our house in Sugar Land.

Partners in crime, the two men who married into the Roach family were enjoying their time in the pub as they waited for dinner to be ready Tuesday night.

I had to take a picture of our ever-growing group of stockings hung by the chimney. It's getting pretty crowded. I hope Santa has enough stocking stuffers for all of us. Hee hee.

Here is a close up of Connor's stocking.

Here we all are sitting down for our first meal together.

Having fun with my family. That's for sure.

It was a chilly night, so we warmed up by the fire pit.

The next day, we went to the Children's Museum. Of course Connor found a truck right away.

He also played with legos. Wait, is that Daddy playing with legos?

He also made beautiful music.

He got to climb in a really fun room.

He also got to make a big mess in the craft room. It was a big hit with all the kids.

If you need to keep Connor occupied for a little bit and he's getting a little anxious, you can always get him to watch trucks on You Tube. He loves it. He becomes glued to the computer.

Daddy and Connor being silly.

On Wednesday night, Grandpa read the kiddos "Twas the Night Before Christmas." It was a little difficult keeping them all wrangled, but he did it.

I didn't take a camera out with the adults when we had a babysitter later that night, but we sure had a great time.

Before we opened gifts on Thursday morning, we had a candy cane hunt. Cousin Winnie had a blast.

We offered some assistance during the exciting candy cane hunt.

Here Connor is looking carefully to find candy canes.

Unfortunately though, once he found one, he just wanted to eat it. His outfit makes him look exactly like a candy cane so I guess it's appropriate.

After the candy cane hunt, the kids were ready to open gifts, so they dug right into their stockings.

Then we had our traditional HBBJCC (Happy Birthday Baby Jesus Coffee Cake) and sang Happy Birthday to Jesus. Libby helped to blow out the candles.

Martin excitedly opened the biggest gifts first.

Connor finds his favorite truck amongst the wrapping paper debris.

After the kids opened their gifts in a hurried frenzy, they took their favorite trucks outside to play. We on the other hand enjoyed coffee cake and coffee while we watched them play.

The cousins having fun together.

Connor and Uncle Arthur bonding.

Martin showing off his cool toolbelt.

We went to the park after the kids got up from their naps and of course they had to take their trucks with them.

Connor and Libby climbing on the playground.

Grandpa pushing Connor on the big boy swings.

He looked so cute in the big boy swing and he seemed to like it.

Libby liked swinging on her belly.

The whole gang hanging by the swings.

My Dad put on his Santa suit and talked to the kids to ask them about their Christmas. Martin and Winnie were excited, but Libby and Connor were hysterical.

Santa is terrifying.

That evening, the adults opened gifts and had a great time.

Martin is very proud after completing his lego boat with his Dad.

Libby doesn't have much hair, but we were able to make a mini pony tail. It was pretty cute.

On New Years Eve, all the ladies, including little Libby, gathered for a picture.

Now the men get together. What a happy group.

Julie and Jeff ringing in the New Year in College Station. We sure had a blast this Christmas.

Amarillo Christmas Fun

We had so much fun over Christmas. Well perhaps too much fun since Connor ended up with pneumonia and I ended up with a sinus infection, but that's alright, because it didn't slow us down one bit. Yes, you can say we're troopers.

We began by opening gifts together as a family on Wednesday, December 21st. Connor showed us right away that he was going to like opening gifts this year, which was really fun. He dug right in.

Then on Friday, we flew to Amarillo. That evening was Christmas Eve, so we attempted to go to church, but after sitting on a plane that morning and going out to lunch that afternoon, this toddler had had enough sitting around. He wanted to explore. We made it through some of the service, but then we went home. We forgot "Twas the Night Before Christmas" but the Treadways had "Twas the Night Before Christmas in Texas" and that was a hit. It was pretty funny and Connor enjoyed it.

Christmas morning, Connor was awesome. He sat and let us hang out and open presents from about 10am until noon. He was happy playing with his gifts and then coming over and helping us open our gifts. It was great. He didn't fuss once. His favorite gifts were his big Caterpillar pushing truck, legos, and books about trucks (can you see a theme here). He had a great time.

The weather was chilly in Amarillo, so we couldn't be outside too long, but we still had fun inside playing with toys and getting lots of love from Gigi and Pagger Don. He also enjoyed more pumpkin pie made especially for him.

Sunday he seemed a bit off, but we hoped it was just sleeping in a pack n play and not that he was getting sick...again. (We ended up being wrong). Anyway, we still had a fun day, but the best part was, Sunday night, we got a babysitter and went out, just the adults. Since the restaurant was about 30 miles away, the Treadways rented a limo to take us so no one had to drive. Isn't that cool?! We felt like total VIPs. We went to this place whose chef was the runner up on Food Network's Next Food Network Star. It was yummy.

That night unfortunately Connor did not do well. He cried and cried for a about an hour in the middle of the night and we knew something was just not right. Then the next day, Monday, he still didn't seem himself, so I scheduled a doctor's appointment for when we got home on Tuesday. I'm so glad we did, because it turned out Connor had a mild case of pneumonia. Ugh. We think he didn't really get the last bug cleared up, because he had only been off the first round of antibiotics a week. So annoying, but I guess it's for the best to get him and all the gunk all cleared up.

Despite the sickness, we all managed to have so much fun in Amarillo. As usual, we ate good food, drank good wine and had great conversations. This time, we also managed some rousing games of the dominos game 42 and we snuck in the Sound of Music and the Searchers. What fun.

After Amarillo we went to College Station, but I took so many pictures at both places I needed to do separate posts. Stay tuned for the College Station post. Enjoy for now.

Right when we got off the plane on Friday, we went straight out to lunch at a local hibachi japenese restaurant. Connor was thoroughly entertained, although he was a little scared by the fire in the onions part. Otherwise, he loved it all. It was really cute.

Connor loving his personal pumpkin pie from Gigi.

Friday night was Christmas Eve. Although we forgot "Twas the Night Before Christmas", The Treadways had "Twas the Night Before Christmas in Texas" and that turned out fine. It was pretty funny actually.

Here the three generations of Treadway men look on.

Connor seemed to like it just fine although he was a little weary of Pagger Don in the Santa hat.

Jeff holding Connor and letting him see all the gifts from Santa. Connor looks pretty pleased.

Connor enjoying his ride on/pushing Caterpillar truck. This was one of his favorite gifts. He loved it.

Connor really liked opening gifts this year and was always willing to help out. Here he is helping out Santa Don.

Can I help open your gift Daddy?

Connor pushing cars around on his car carpet track.

Reading his favorite "Duh Duh" book.

Looking cool in the Oklahoma State Cowboys hat Pagger Don got him for Christmas.

Connor always loves throwing out the golf balls at the Treadways.

This is such a fun game.

Checking out the ducks with Pagger Don.

Making tracks in the sand trap.

Getting a little assistance from Pagger Don in the rough terrain.

Taking a breather on some nearby rocks. He really liked climbing all over them. It was pretty funny to watch him climb them like they were giant mountains even though they were pretty short.

We checked out Christmas lights on Christmas day. There is this one neighborhood in Amarillo that does a wonderful display.

Gigi, Connor, and Stacey's dog Max reading bedtime stories.

Connor started his New Year's resolution to be more fit a little early. He really liked walking on their treadmill. It was fun but a little nerve wracking to watch.

It was another cold day on Sunday, but Connor wanted to be outside. His cheeks were red and cold, but he kept on bumbling around.

More "mountain" climbing.

I'm sure you can tell what "beautiful" music he is making.

We were shocked to be riding in a limo to dinner Sunday night. It was such a special treat. We also enjoyed Dom Perignon champagne. What VIPs!

It was so funny, on the menu, there was an appetizer called "Bucket of Crap." We couldn't resist, we had to order it. As you can imagine, it was delicious.

What a wonderful Christmas visit and what a special treat to have a babysitter.

Happy 18 Months!

Connor turned 18 months on Sunday. That makes him a full year and a half and that means currently, he is closer to 2 years old than he is to 1 years old. Wow, I can't believe he's such a big boy.

We had our 18 month well baby check up Tuesday and he seems to be right on track. He is still measuring pretty large. He didn't gain any weight since his 15 month, as he still weighs 30 pounds, however I guess other babies don't normally gain weight at this point either, so he still measured in at the 90th percentile. He also grew a few inches. He is now almost 34 inches tall. That also put him at the 90th percentile. At least he's proportional right? Hee hee.

He seems to be on track as far as his development too. She asked about if he says 10 words and I could easily say yes to that. Before we had our appointment I thought about it and I figured for the sake of posterity I'd write out a list. Here it goes (I'm sure I'm forgetting some, but this is a start): Momma, Dadda, Daddy, Mommy, ZeeZee (Maizey), Ball, Duck, Ba Ba (sheep sound and word for most stuffed animals), Sound for an elephant, Roar sound, Bubble, Book, Moo sound, Eye, Noo Noo (noodle), Nigh Nigh (night night), Bye Bye, Hi, Bubble, Football, Bird, Choo Choo, Duh Duh (basically any big truck, farm equipment, or construction equipment), Nan Nah (this started as banana, but has morphed into meaning "snack."), Baby, Whoa (which he says every time he sees a cool truck or tractor. It's really cute.), Die (outside). That's about all I can think of right now. It's a pretty good list for now.

He has also started sitting in our laps to read stories at the end of the day. It's super precious, although he still struggles at getting into our laps. He usually needs a little help with that part.

He is also getting a lot better at climbing on playground equipment and sliding down slides all by himself by going backwards on his belly. He likes the swings a lot too.

He is still eating pretty well, although he can be picky at times and has started to even be picky about fruit. We're trying not to just give him what he wants, but it's so easy to fall into the trap of just fixing foods you know he'll like just so he'll eat happily. I have started feeding him earlier on some days and that seems to help him fuss less while I am fixing his dinner, but he still is not very patient when it comes to that.

He loves trucks and balls best as far as toys go. He really seems to like pushing around trucks of all sizes, either big, medium, or those small matchbox cars. He also still likes shooting hoops. Maybe basketball is his sport. He is in the 90th percentile for height after all. He can be the next Shaq.

He is still pretty shy around new people and recently we've had a few incidences where he had serious separation anxiety. He never really experienced that before, so I am thinking it's more what they call "stranger anxiety" which is just being nervous around new people. I left him with the church daycare for my MOPs group a few weeks ago and he screamed bloody murder. It was soooo sad and I was totally not prepared. They said he settled down pretty quickly, but it was still difficult to leave him crying like that while he was trying to cling to me. Poor guy.

While I don't think we are in the full swing of terrible two's he certainly does throw tantrums from time to time. He's got the arch his back on the floor thing down. He gets over things pretty quickly though, so we're managing together. For the most part I still think he's my sweet little boy. Let's see how I feel a few months from now. Ha!

Happy Birthday Little (Big) Man! Mommy and Daddy love you so very much.

Happy 18 Month Birthday on December 19th!

We finally turned the study into a game room and here he is playing in his tent/ball pit (notice the bandaid from the two shots he had to get at the doctor's office).

We had our friends Kahn and Ann over Sunday night for a visit and Connor just loved them. Here he is reading a story with Ann.

Newly engaged Ann and Kahn with Connor.

Checking out pictures on Kahn's phone. They were fast friends. I have seriously never seen Connor be so comfortable with someone so fast. He loved them. Come back anytime.

Holiday Happenings

We've already been full swing into the holiday season at our house. We started decorating soon after Thanksgiving, although, I will admit, we've gone a bit "understated" this year. Yes, you may read that as we got a little lazy with our outdoor decorations, but we just didn't have it in us this year. They still look alright, but we didn't do house lights or wrap the bushes like we normally do. Oh well, blame it on the toddler. Hee hee.

Inside we also downsized...quite literally. Our tree is only about 6 feet tall. Even though we'll be gone for both Christmas and New Years (Amarillo and College Station) I still wanted to get a tree: a real tree so I had Jeff and Connor go to Lowe's one Saturday morning and pick one out. We agreed that smaller would be good, because we weren't sure how interested our curious toddler would be and a big tree might really do some damage if it fell over, plus it would save us some money since we won't actually be here on Christmas.

When he brought it home, I couldn't help but laugh. 6 feet doesn't sound small, but when I stand next to it and can give it a hug it really seems tiny. It was very proportionate and lovely so it really was the perfect tree for us, but it's just so little and cute. It only took one and a half strands of lights. I had to double back the second strand. It still fit all of our ornaments and I had no trouble putting the star on this year. I didn't even need a ladder. Ha!

We also got into the Christmas spirit this past weekend when we went to my parent's house to celebrate my Dad's birthday and to attend a brunch with Santa at my parent's country club, Miramont. My sister's family was there too, so Connor got to see his cousins again, which is always fun and my Mom had decorated her house since Thanksgiving, so it was definitely Christmasy.

The brunch was on Sunday and right away it was clear that Connor was not going to like Santa. When he saw him, he sort of him behind a chair. As I picked him up to take him over to his lap, he started whimpering in my arms and then on his lap he was full on crying. He reached for me after two seconds and I ended the misery. Poor guy.

The rest of the brunch, Jeff and I swear Connor was frightened of a "Santa attack" because Connor had severe separation anxiety like I had never seen before. If I walked away, Connor would start wailing and the same with Jeff. We both had to go everywhere with him. It was bizarre. I do think he was partly overtired, but I am convinced he was also just really scared. So sad.

It was too bad too, because the brunch itself was FABULOUS. Not only was the food divine, but there was food specifically for kids and a crafts table for kids so they could be entertained. It was a perfect setup and everyone had a wonderful time. Connor was a bit fussy because of the trauma of Santa but he did have one amazing moment. He discovered jello. Man, he loved it. It was really funny. He gobbled that stuff down and almost giggled as he ate it. It was really funny.

I can't believe there are only 11 days until Christmas. Stay tuned for more holiday adventures.

Connor helping Daddy put up the lighted deer decorations outside.

He's had enough of that. Now he wants to run around the neighborhood.

As it got dark out, we went back outside and checked out the deer all lit up. He liked them. Also, note the new inflatable snowman.

Connor loves the new tradition of a chocolate advent calendar. Only 11 nights left. He's going to be sad when he doesn't get a piece of chocolate every night after dinner.

This is our sweet little tree before I decorated it. Isn't it precious.

Here is the tree all decorated and lit up. Connor has been amazing and really doesn't seem to disturb it. Occasionally he'll point at it, but that's about it.

The other day it was so warm out that we played with his water table. I had to take a picture, because I thought, "Man, how many toddlers still get to play with their water table in December."

Connor got sick AGAIN. It was another runny nose, that lead to a terrible cough that lead to fever and an infection. Before we put him on antibiotics again, we tried breathing treatments. You have to put this mask on his face for 15 minutes while he sits still. We thought, no way, but after the first night, he did OK. We put on TV and he got used to it. What a trooper.

Back to College Station, all the cousins were amazingly on the couch at one time. We had to take a picture.

On Sunday, Connor sees Santa for the first time and tries to hide behind a chair.

Connor's visit with Santa did not go so well.

Connor checking out the small buffet table that was filled with kid friendly fare. It really was a fantastic brunch.

Connor gobbling down his jello.

The gang at brunch.

Birthday boy Grandpa and Uncle Arthur.

Cousin Winnie actually really liked Santa and had a good conversation with him. It was really cute.