Christmas Day

I always loved Christmas growing up.  It was so much fun having everyone together and opening presents.  I used to help my mom wrap the gifts and decorate the house.  I have always wanted for my children (well child right now) to have that same experience.  I think we are on the right track so far.  There is something about Christmas that gets that much better when you have kids.

Jim and Patsy came to spend the day with us this year.  They arrived shortly before Katelyn woke up so they were there when she came down to see all of Santa's gifts.  A bit overwhelmed at first, she quickly caught on. 

After present opening, it was time to get the cooking started!  I wanted to try a new dessert, Creamy Lemon Squares.  Katelyn wanted to help, so she inspected the lemons!

Next up...the BEEF!  Prime Rib to be exact.  To go along with Prime Rib, we had garlic mashed taters, peas with proscuitto, asparagus, and rolls.  It was yummy!

While dinner was cooking, we enjoyed some play time!

After dinner, it was time for bed for Katelyn and time for Jim & Patsy to head home.  It was a fantastic Christmas!

Christmas Eve

We had a nice relaxing Christmas Eve!  After a very busy December, it was nice to finally have some family time.  Since the weather was nice, we headed to the park with Katelyn.  She had a blast on the slides, swings, and watching the ducks and flamingos!  Yes, you read that right, flamingos.

And a few of Chris trying to go down the slide...

After a good nap, we scurried off to me the Kelly's (minus Craig) for dinner at Pappasitos.  Both Erin and Katelyn were very well behaved (Merry Christmas to us) so we were able to enjoy a nice dinner and conversation.  So nice to not have to cook!

Being Christmas Eve and all, it was time to open some gifts after dinner.  When we got home, we told Katelyn it was time for gifts and she dove right in.  What a big difference from last Christmas!  Shes very delicate when opening presents.  1 little strip of paper at a time...haha.  Oh and that little strip had to be cleaned up before she would move on.  Too funny.

Once we finally got her in bed...kicking and screaming...it was time for Santa to come.  Santa and Mrs. Claus got to work putting together Katelyn's new toys.  When we were done, oops, when Santa and Mrs. Claus were done, Katelyn had a new kitchen and tri-cycle waiting under the tree for her.

Merry Christmas from the LeBlanc's 2010

Our annual Christmas letter....

Well, 2010 is in the books and what an amazing year it was. We experienced many milestones this year as well as enjoyed lots of time with family and friends.

Unfortunately, the first major event of the year was a big birthday for both Kristin and Chris. Since the both of us were born in 1980, 2010 brought the big 3-0. Kristin’s Mom came in for her birthday and decorated the house for a surprise party, which was lots of fun. Just 8 days after Kristin’s birthday, it was time for Chris’ big day. Kristin woke up extra early and went to Chris’ office to decorate. The decorations brought many laughs to Chris’ coworkers.

Right after our big 30th birthdays, we had a special someone celebrate her 1st. We decorated the house and invited friends and family over for the special occasion. It was a great time and Katelyn enjoyed her gifts as well as her very own cupcake. We put her in the kitchen sink to clean her up after cake time, so that should tell you how much fun she had. It was wonderful to have both sets of Grandparents help celebrate the special occasion.

In May, we were faced with the news that Katelyn would have to go back to Texas Childrens Hospital for her second set of ear tubes. The first set of tubes was put in November 2009 and we found out in early 2010 that one of the tubes had fallen out. As she did the first time, Katelyn went through the process like a champ and we are proud to say that both tubes are still in and working perfectly! Thanks to our doctor and the hospital for their support during this ordeal.

Memorial Day weekend we headed to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to race and Chris was lucky enough to win one race and runner up in another. It was an awesome weekend and one we will never forget. Katelyn was even a trooper and stayed up until midnight to make sure she was in the picture!

In July, we went to Austin to celebrate the 4th of July with Kristin’s Mom and Mark. We had a great time at the Round Rock Express baseball game and Katelyn enjoyed the fireworks show afterwards. Katelyn was also officially introduced to Cotton Candy, and shockingly she liked it!

In August, we headed to Shelbyville, Illinois to spend a week with Kristin’s friend Jill and her family. We had full accommodations provided to us in the form of a brand new houseboat on Lake Shelbyville thanks to Jill’s parents. We had a blast spending time with them as well as relaxing on the lake. Nothing better than sun, water, boats, jet skis, ice cold Coronas, and great friends.

On Labor Day weekend, we took Katelyn to her first Aggie Football game at Kyle Field. We had a great time and there will be many more games in her future.

In October, we were surprised with a chance to go to Richmond, Virginia to race for a national championship. We decided to make a week long vacation out of it and spent several days with Kristin’s cousin Trish and her family in North Carolina. We had a great time visiting the University of North Carolina and Duke campuses as well as spending time with Kristin’s cousins. The racing didn’t go as well as well as we had wished, but it was an amazing trip and we are looking forward to trying to get back there for another shot at the championship in 2011.

We wish everyone a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year! Hope to see all of you soon!

Love,
Chris, Kristin, Katelyn, and the
Zoo too! (Haley, Callie & Flo)

Halff Kids Christmas Party

Since we did not have an office Christmas party this year, we decided to have the kids up to the office for a kids Christmas party.  As usual, it was lots of fun.  We had donuts, arts and crafts, movies, pizza and lots of sweets!  I think all of the kids, old and young, had a blast.  I know Katelyn did, she took a 3.5 hour nap when we got home..haha.

She LOVED sitting in the big chairs.

Playing with the girls...Ophelia and Yazmin.

None to happy with Santa.  Took a cell phone to calm her down enough to even sit there.

Sassy K

Thanks Aunt Becky for this adorable outfit!  Katelyn looks adorable in it and her personality fits it well.

Thanks Megan!!

My very very dear friend Megan from college has started up a business making shirts for kids and adults.  They are SO cute.  Last year, I asked if she would make my mom and I Christmas shirts.  She did and they are awesome!  A couple of weeks ago, she called to say she was sending a package for Katelyn.  It arrived a few days later and I was so excited to see she made Katelyn a shirt to match ours.  So cute!  When mom comes for her Christmas visit, we will be taking a photo of 3 generations with cute matching shirts.  Here is Katelyn in her new shirt...

Family Picture

Christmas 2010

Chris' company Christmas party was Saturday night.  Since Chris and I were all dolled up, I thought it would be a good time to try and get a family picture.  My in-laws were over to babysit and were gracious (and patient) enough to take a few pictures.  As you can see, Patsy did a great job!  I cant wait to get these printed and sent out.  Merry Christmas!

Christmas Tree

I love Christmas!  Its such a fun time of year.  Its even better when you have kids.  They just seem to make the best things even better.  One of my favorite parts is going to pick out a Christmas tree and getting it all lit up and decorated.  I am so glad my hubby loves it as much as I do.  Hopefully Katelyn will look back on those outings and have lots of happy memories!

Our Tree...

Rocking

I was rearranging some furniture to prepare for the Christmas tree.  We like to have the tree in the family room where everyone can see and enjoy it, but that requires moving a chair out of the way.  In doing this, the rocking chair from our room ended up in the family room for a few min.  When Chris and I didnt hear anything, we started looking around for Katelyn and this is where we found her.  She climbed up all by herself and was rocking away just giggling. 

She did the same type of thing this past week when I was getting the guest bedroom ready for visitors.  I pulled out the trundle bed and went to get sheets for it.  When I came back, she had grabbed her blanket and a pillow and snuggled up on the bed.  It was so cute.  Unfortunately for me, I couldnt get the camera in time to get a picture.  Maybe shes ready for a big girl bed?  I sure hope not, cause Mommy is not ready for that yet.

Big helper

Katelyn is becoming quite the helper these days.  On Saturday, she decided it was time to learn a little something about changing oil and decided to help Chris.  She was running tools back and forth to him (some he didnt even need) and kept looking under the car to see what he was doing.  It was so cute.  I am sure there will be many more pictures like these.

The pictures that survived...

Having lunch with Dad at the Oasis Thanksgiving weekend.  After trying to schedule time to visit with my dad while we were in Austin and having to reschedule due to someone being sick, we finally met him for lunch on Saturday.  It was good to see him and Katelyn enjoyed some Papa time.

 Feeding Haley her snack outside.  This was the first time I actually got her to wear her hat and keep it on for more than a second.  I think just about the time she gets used to wearing it, it will be hot again.  Oh wait, its supposed to be mid-70's on Friday.  No wonder we are sick all the time.  80's Saturday, 30's Monday morning, mid-70's Friday. 

Enjoying her frist piece of chocolate from her Advent Calendar Grandma got her.  She loves it and now knows that she gets chocolate out of there, so she pulls it off the counter everyday wanting more chocolate.  Chris and I might loose weight afterall since we cant keep anything sweet on the counter or within eyesight of Katelyn.  She definately has her mama's sweet tooth.

Playing in the tunnel.  On Saturday we had our first play date with Luke, a friend from her previous daycare and fellow Future Aggie!  The kiddos has a blast swinning, playing in the rocks and sliding.  Hopefully we will have more play dates in the future.  PS- I had more pictures of the 2 of them, but they mysteriously disappeared with the other pictures.

Patiently waiting for the Pearland Christmas Parade to start.  This was our first year and we had a blast.  It was just Katelyn and I so we winged it.  Hopefully we will be able to go back in future years.  Katelyn loved the music from the high school marching band and from the floats.  She also enjoyed the lollipops people were giving out.  I let her have the first one, a dum dum.  The second one, she helped herself too while I was putting something back in the stroller.  She was happy as a clam.  And...someone gave her some beads and she has been playing with them since.  She might have some girliness to her afterall.

Cereal for dinner!  Katelyn LOVES cereal.  She loves it so much that she would eat it all day long if I let her.  Tonight, she had Trix for dinner.  Yeah I know, real healthy.  At least she ate!  On Sunday we went to the grocery store to get groceries for the week.  While there, we re-stocked the cereal.  When she saw me with a box of Trix (or balls as she likes to call them), she got the biggest grin on her face.  When I would not give her the box and open it, she had a total melt down in the middle of the grocery store.  Crazy kid.  Gotta love when Grandma gets them hooked on something...haha!  Truthfully though, I am kinda enjoying it because I love cereal too, so now I get to eat more of it.  Kinda a win/win for  me.

Annoyed

As I tried to get my pictures ready to update the blog, about 30 of them disappeared.  It just so happened those happen to 30 or so great pictures and from 3 events that were firsts for Katelyn.  Gotta love technology when it deletes cherished moments.