Reading Together

I have been getting so many requests from friends and family for a blog update on our Disney World trip! BUT...I am STILL sorting through our photos and hopefully in the next week I will have a Disney blog! We had a BLAST---and everything was so MAGICAL for Ben. Ben's face was priceless, and there were so many times that I just had tears in my eyes at the sheer joy on his face. Logan also had a wonderful time and loved riding the rides just as much as his big brother! He was such a good baby.

So, in the meantime, here is a picture of my sweet boys, reading books together after bath time.

Daddy Time!

Logan loves to imitate everything he sees his big brother and Daddy do. This includes playing the Wii. If either, or both of them, are playing the Wii, Logan has to have his own controller, pretending he is playing too! I guess time will come very shortly, that we will have to buy a 3rd controller for Logan! If nothing else, it is good, fun time the boys have with their Daddy.

Falling into Leaves

With the cold weather that has hit South/Central Texas, the leaves in our trees have fallen in record time. And recently, the boys had fun helping Daddy rake them up....and mess them up too!

Big Shoes to Fill

With the holidays, Randy was home more than usual, and the boys and I loved having him home. He has been working so hard, and such long hours, that many times he is lucky to get kisses and hugs before the boys head off to bed in the evening when he gets home. But, with Daddy being home for the holidays, so were his shoes....


And those shoes are hard to fill....but here is one proud baby trying his darndest to be like his Daddy. These boys love their Daddy more than anything...

Christmas 2009

Our Hood family had a wonderful Christmas. It was filled with gifts, love, joy, and family. Our festivities began on Christmas eve when we met Randy's dad and related family for lunch at our favorite Mexican food restaurant, Amorcito's. Then we all headed back to our home for a gift exchange. Then in the late afternoon, we headed to Christmas eve church service. On Christmas day, my parents were with us all day---and the boys, as well as Randy and I, really enjoyed the day with them. We played games, read books, ate food, and took naps. It was a perfect Christmas day. Then Randy and I headed over to his mom's house for some good food and gift exchange while the boys napped. All in all, we had a wonderful day; received many wonderful gifts; while never losing sight of the real meaning behind Christmas. We truly celebrated our Savior's birth and paid reverence to the fact that without his miraculous birth, we would not be where we are today. Everything we have is because of Him. And we Praise Him for it, on Christmas day, and every day.

Here are some family photos of our Christmas morning.
Ben and Logan, on Christmas Eve night, ready for bed----and ready for Santa!

The Christmas loot from Santa!

My Hood boys anxiously awaiting to see what Santa brought them on Christmas morning!

Ben is really into dinosaurs. Have I told you that before? I mean, really into dinosaurs. He can name all dinosaurs, tell you if they are herbivores, carnivores, or omnivores, tell you what prehistoric period they lived in (whether jurassic, cretaceous, etc), and even tell you some stats about his favorite dinosaurs (how tall, how big, etc). The kid is REALLY into dinosaurs. SO, all he asked for was a "Spinosaurus". Now, most people don't know who Spinosaurus is....well, Ben will tell you that Spinosaurus was the meanest, deadliest dinosaur that ever lived. Even meaner than T-Rex. But with the general public, lest most children, not knowing who or what a Spinosaurus is....can you imagine the trouble that Santa encountered finding a Spinosaurus to add to his dinosaur collection? Ummm, yeah.

But here is a picture of....Ben finding his Spinosaurus from Santa. If Ben only knew how hard Santa worked to get that Spinosaurus to him for Christmas....thank goodness for our trusted Carnegie Hall and USPS! (phew!)

Logan playing peekaboo through his new Farm House Fisher Price toy. He loves it!

Ben, proudly showing off his new Nerf swords that Santa brought him. (Oh Santa, really...you shouldn't have...)

Logan, checking out his new CAT dump truck ride-on toy.

Logan loves his new chair and his new books! One of Logan's favorite things to do is read! His Mommy loves this!

I spent a lot of time in the kitchen baking and cooking---I just love all of the yummy smells on Christmas day!

And even Bonnie was "spoiled" with a new coat this year! (If you can't read her coat, it says "spoiled".) :-)

Parkhills Preschool Christmas Program

Ben participated in his very 1st Christmas program at his Preschool this year! He has been singing Christmas songs since Halloween! I didn't take that many still shots with my camera, because I was too busy filming the program---but here are a few! He was so excited, and sang SO loud! He was a very proud little boy! (And I was a very proud mama too!) :-)

Here is Ben with one of his best buddies, Drew. Drew and Ben have hit it off as buddies in their preschool class this year. They seem to like and do the same things---they are 2 peas in a pod!

Our beloved Gramma June even came to Ben's 1st Christmas program! We were so proud that she joined us! We love (and miss!) our Gramma June!

Ben's Birthday Party

Lordy, Lordy, I have been in a tizzy for weeks now...because I haven't been able to find my USB cable to download pictures from my camera onto my computer!! So after having a minor meltdown today (after scouring the house for the darn cord) my sweet, loving, handsome husband went to Radio Shack and bought me a new one. :-) Now I am happy and can continue blogging...(sigh of relief!)

SO, Ben had a "Dinosaur" themed birthday party this year at Pump-It-Up. A lot of family was in town, and this was the first year we invited a few friends from his preschool class to join us too! Ben had a ton of fun---and so did his friends and family.

Here is Ben and Logan with his "Rees" cousins, and Mimi and Gran. Jenny, Ryan, and Kara. (Ryan and Jenny have announced that they are expecting another baby in mid-April---and it's another BOY! The family is SOOO excited!)

Ben received so many cool gifts from friends and family---with his birthday so close to Christmas, this kid is set for another 12 months for sure!

Ben had a really cool Dinosaur birthday cake. There was an automated dinosaur in the middle of the cake that would roar and pop up when the motion sensor was triggered. It was really cool, and a big hit with all the kids at the party!

Some Pump It Up fun!

Everyone had fun sliding down the large slides!

Even Mommy and Logan loved them! (Logan, it seems, is our adrenaline junky. This kid is afraid of nothing and LOVED the slides at Pump It Up!)

All in all, everyone had a great (and silly) fun time!

Happy 4th Birthday Ben!