Dan's birthday was last Monday. He's the big 2-9! I told him he's got to live it up since it's his last year in the 20s. He suggested that we go streaking on the lawn at UVA. (Click that link if you dare.) J/K. Well, there is a cartoon of a naked man, but you can't see anything.

Dan asked for an iPod Shuffle. He got it. He loves it. He also got a drawing from Sam, a card from me, one from my parents, some books, and a lot of cupcakes. I love Dan. He's the best.

We didn't tell him to put his hands up.

This picture is unrelated. I just thought it was cute.

Friday I decided to be a good mom and take my kids to the zoo in the afternoon. Once I got there, I realized I forgot the stroller for Afton. So I carried her around for 90 minutes. And she barfed on me twice. After the zoo, we picked up Dan from work, grabbed some dinner, and then drove around a fancy area downtown to look at their Christmas lights. There are tons of old live oak trees that they wrap up. I love it! These pictures don't do it justice, but here ya go.

This one reminded us of Dr. Seuss.

Saturday was our ward party. It was really nice, but once Santa came out, Sam was ready to book it out of there. We told him that Santa was coming and he kept saying, "All done see Santa. All done see Santa!" And then when he finally appeared, Sam said, "Ready to go now! Ready to go now!" So I guess his visit with the big man last week was about all he could handle.

The past few weekends

We toyed with the idea of going out of town over Thanksgiving break, but in the end decided to stick around and relax. I'm really glad we did! Thanksgiving morning was spent baking several desserts and later that day we headed over to Kirk and Gretchen's house for a delicious meal and delightful company.

The hostess with the mostest. And the host with the most.

 (Check out my nail polish in this picture. It's gold. Actually, it's called Glitzerland. I was feeling very adventurous. Dan thought it was outrageous. I told him that at least nail polish is temporary, right?)

Friday Dan and I got to go on our first date since Afton was born. We went to see "Tangled." And we LOVED it! It was really cute.

It's so nice to go out with Dan. I feel kind of anxious now when we go out because I worry about our kids (or those who have to watch our kids...), but it's great to get to hold Dan's hand and watch a movie! Thanks to the Wards for the baby swap.

Saturday we put up all the Christmas decorations, did some shopping, and just relaxed. We loved every second of it.

Yesterday our neighborhood put on their "Winter Festival." When you hear winter festival, you probably think of snow, sleigh rides and hot chocolate. A Texas winter festival involves pony rides, petting zoos, train rides, horse-drawn carriage rides, and a meeting with Santa. It was 75 degrees.

 Sam really liked riding the pony.

 And petting the animals. Although he always stands behind goats and things and I'm afraid he's going to get kicked.

 He didn't really like sitting on the llama.

He's been talking about Santa a lot, but talking about him and meeting him are two very different things. Sam got really nervous and almost started to cry.

He's getting better, though... Last year:

At least Santa gave him some toys.

Dear Daddy,

Thank you for working so hard for our family. I miss you during the day, but look forward to snuggling when you get home! Mom took lots of pictures of me today. I thought you might like to see some.

Love,

Afton

P.S. You may notice that I'm wearing three different outfits. That is not due to vanity. It's due to a few unladylike accidents.

For the Grandparents - others might not be interested

Our Weekend

We found out that Dan's brother and his family were driving down to Austin (where Dan's other brother lives) for a visit. We decided to head over there as well. We hadn't seen Matt and Amy and their kids in 3 years! It was a lot of fun to see them and spend time together.

Saturday we went to a nice park, had BBQ at Rudy's, played a game, and sang lots and lots and LOTS of karaoke. Dan can really reach those high notes. You should ask him to sing "How Do I Live?" for you. It's amazing.

 Cecilia and Noah.

 Ethan.

 Audrey. (Sam and Audrey would play with each other sometimes. It was cute.)

 Luke.

 Zev and Sam.

 Carmen.

Sunday we went to church, played a game, walked to the neighborhood park, had DELICIOUS steak, and drove home.

 Smiley girl.

 Matt, Dan, Adam, Yinelli, and Amy in front.

 Hunter.

 Mack. (Mac? I'm not sure. How sad is that?)

 Matt striking a pose.

 Most of the Durst grandkids. We're missing 4. I think Sam looks very similar to the twins. (Hunter in the front in green and Luke in the plaid.) They have cowlicks in the front of their hairlines, too. Noah was nice to hold screaming Afton.

 The brothers.

It was a great weekend!

Dan is cute. He likes to match whatever I'm wearing. Thanks to 6 years of marriage, we own quite a few of the same shirts. (Family reunions, Virginia shirts, etc.) This week I performed a mini-experiment. Everyday, before Dan came home from work, I would change into a shirt that I know he also owns. I took a picture of myself, and then sneakily would take a picture of Dan, too.

Monday:

Tuesday:

Wednesday:

As you can see, he really likes to match me!

In other news, Afton's belly button looks pretty much normal now. This isn't the best picture but it now looks like this:

Instead of this:

It's like someone stuck a pin in it and deflated it or something. I'm glad it didn't take 5 years like the doctor said it might.

I've been practicing applique, as I said before. I made this rocketship a few weeks ago. Dan thinks it's too feminine, but I made Sam model it anyway.

Sam likes it when Dan throws him up in the air. He's on his way down in this picture.

I really hate that Daylight Savings Time is over. Sam wakes up so early. That means I have to wake up earlier than HE does so that I can be ready before he wakes up. The other day, I just wanted to sleep, so I hit snooze on my alarm. 30 minutes later I hear, "Hiiiiiiiii." I open my eyes and there's Sam standing in the doorway. The past two days, he's come into the bathroom while I'm getting ready for the day (around 6:45). It's such a bummer that he's up that early!