Christmas: Installment 2

The Polar Express

12/18/2010

This year we took the boys on the Polar Express train in Connersville. My mom, Jim, Ada and Owen came too.

It was really neat. On the way to the "North Pole" they read the story "The Polar Express" over the loudspeaker and gave the kids Christmas cookies and hot chocolate. As you can see, Dallas thoroughly enjoyed his cookie. I couldn't shovel it in fast enough for him.

So for his dessert, he licked the window. Gross, but too funny! (Justin had wiped off the window shortly before this, so it's not quite as gross as it seems.)

Here we are at the North Pole, and Ty sees Santa! He's very into Santa this year because he has figured out that Santa brings presents.

The conductor came around and punched all the kids' tickets with their first initial.


On the return trip, we sang Christmas carols.

As you can see, by the end of the trip we were getting a little antsy. Wayyyy past bedtime.... Poor Dallas was so exhausted and was getting very cranky, but he wasn't able to fall asleep because there was just too much action going on around him.

Finally, Santa came to see us and gave all the kids a bell like in the book. Ty has hardly put this bell down since. The next morning he came and woke me up to ask me where his bell was. I asked him where he got that bell, and he told me that Santa gave it to him on the Polar Express. Dallas likes to try to eat his bell.

Owen and Santa

Ty and Santa

Dallas and Santa

Ringin' the bell.

Once Dallas got his bell from Santa he cheered up some because now he had some real entertainment.

Christmas: Installment 1

Decorating the Tree

If you can't tell, Ty had to pee.

Ty's so fun this year. He's really getting into Christmas and Santa and the whole nine yards. He did a great job helping put up the tree.

The finished product

Dallas has done better staying out of the tree than I thought he would. I had almost considered only putting up a little tree that I could put on a table so it would be out of his reach, but after some initial curiosity he hasn't paid it much attention. However, Ty was obsessed with this train and played with it nonstop. It was broken within 2 days.

Christmas at Grandma Shirley Mae's and Grandpa Jerry Lee's (as Ty calls them)

Dallas' first picture with Santa..and he didn't cry!

He sort of even knew what to do with the presents. I guess this will be good practice for his birthday party in a few weeks.

They got a new bedtime story book to share.

Thanksgiving...A Little Late

I intended to do this post around Thanksgiving, but you know how life is with work and 2 little kids, so...better late than never.

What I'm thankful for this year...

My best friend for almost half my life now, Justin. While I have, on occasion, wanted to strangle him, I couldn't ask for a better husband. He's helpful, supportive, understanding (most of the time...), smart and he's quite the handyman (not to mention a good-lookin' one too. I swear that man can fix anything!) Perhaps the most impressive thing about him, though, is how good a Dad he is. I wouldn't be the least bit disappointed if our boys turned out just like their Daddy. And in today's world that's not something many women can say.

My two healthy little boys. What a blessing they are. How we got the two cutest, sweetest little boys there ever were I don't know, but I sure am thankful for them. I couldn't be more proud to be their Mommy. Watching them grow fills my heart with joy. (I do wish it would go a little bit slower, though.)

My little house. Even though I shouldn't, I complain alot about my house. It's small, cramped, old, has crazy wiring, awkwardly placed light switches, no light in the living room, etc. etc... But I'm still thankful for it. My kids have a roof over their heads and warm beds to sleep in at night. I have a lot of good memories in that house too. Plus, in an economy where so many people are worried about how they're going to pay their mortgage, our mortgage payment is an afterthought. There's always a silver lining.

My extended family. I have an awesome family, which is one of the reasons I'm in such a hurry to get moved.

And a thousand other things...our jobs, our babysitters (I can't express the relief I feel that I've never had to put my kids in "daycare"), Reecie and Buddy, Spook, the fact that our vehicles are still running, etc. etc...

Happy Late Thanksgiving!

Those Crazy Barnhart Boys

Useful skills being passed down from father to son.

This is Dallas' new favorite face to make.

Where are my pants???

Dallas loves eating apples. It's hard work and obviously very exhausting, though.

More Fall Portraits

If it isn't obvious, I really like getting the boys' pictures taken. What can I say, they're just so photogenic. These were taken by a family friend of ours, Cliff Ritchey.

The Writing on the Wall

A few weeks ago, I caught Ty grafitti-ing on my bedroom wall. After I scolded him he said, "I'm sorry, Mommy. I did it over there too." And my other wall looked like this...

I asked him if he did it anywhere else and he took me to his room where he had colored on his closet door, bed and toybox. Luckily, all this was done in a washable crayon, so it turned out not to be too big of a deal. At least he fessed up to it...

Trick or Treat

This year I let Ty pick out his costume, and he chose Thomas the Train.

Dallas was a spider, and he was so cute crawling around with his little spider legs at his sides.

Dallas' first taste of chocolate. He loved it! But he loves about anything as long as someone is feeding him.