New Year's Eve 2012

 

Happy New Year's Eve from the Frazier Four

 

 

Our yearly tradition continues of spending the evening at home as a family of FOUR filled with sparklers, junk food, movies, laughing, singing, dancing, white chocolate smores and secret handshakes (Daddy is undecorating the tree too). Notice my sweet boy is holding his sparkler upside down.

 

 

We almost forgot the sparklers until Emma asked when we were doing them.  We told her we did not get any this year because the weather was yucky and she was crushed.  She started crying, "Are ya'll kidding with me?  We do sparklers every single year, please tell me you are kidding. We love sparklers so much,"  It was funny, but her little heart was crushed that we even entertained the idea of breaking tradition.  Ooops, Momma went and got the sparklers and perhaps we need to stop kidding so much (these poor kiddos don't know when we are serious).

Sparklers equal happy kiddos and it was fun to watch them swing them around this year.  They were much braver than the years past.  I think in their little minds they think a firework show like the one at Disney is going to shoot out the end of that stick. 

 

So many great things happened for us in 2012 and God continues to OVER-BLESS us daily.  These kids have filled our home with so much love, laughter and hope.

 

 

Emma turned FIVE at Disney this year with the most magical celebration imaginable, graduated from Pre K, joined the swim team, lost her first two teeth, started Kindergarten, had her 2nd ear surgery, started swimming competitively, got her ears pierced, continued to dance, became a reader and moved upstairs at church. 

 

 

Gavin turned THREE walking the plank at the biggest Pirate par-tay in town, started sleeping in a toddler bed, said goodbye to diapers and hello to boxer briefs, started a new MDO program, took gymnastics, got his teeth cleaned for the first time, played Soccer, took survival swim classes, learned to ride a tricycle/scooter and caught his first fish.

 

We are praying that 2013 is a great year for our family, friends and our nation. We pray that God continues to bless our home, our family, our careers, our finances, our spiritual life, our health, our children's education, our church and so much more (this is our prayer for you and your family too!)  

 

Looking forward to making more memories in 2013 as

 

The Frazier Four

TWAS the NIGHT before Christmas

The Night Before Christmas at our house is filled with many traditions that I hope carry on when my children are grown.  Can you tell that these two are beyond excited?

 

 

They are bathed, matching Christmas PJ's are on, list have been made and they are ready to get this party started. First up on our list is making sure the Reindeer have enough food to eat when they land after that long flight. 

 

 

We leave our Christmas lights on all night, so Santa is certain to find his way to our house.  Gavin enjoyed sprinkling his reindeer food for Santa's overworked herd.

 

 

Emma was very meticulous about sprinkling hers down the sidewalk and a little beyond.  She wanted it to be evenly distributed so each reindeer got their fair share.

 

 

Every year we have hot chocolate to warm up after the reindeer food is sprinkled.   This was Daddy's 6th year to pick a different illustration of The Night Before Christmas and we all sit in front of the tree and fireplace while he reads it to us.  These books are dated and put away, so that we can give them back to Emma and Gavin for their children one day.  Curtis came up with this idea after Emma was born and each year he goes on a special hunt to find the perfect one to add to our collection.

 

 

After our special story time we get the table set for Santa and leave some carrots for his reindeer too.   This year we left chocolate chip cookies and milk for the Jolly Ole' Fella.  The kids put their letters to Santa out, Emma poured the milk, Gavin sat the cookies on the platter and they both arranged the carrots.

 

 

As you can see they are pretty appreciative of Santa Claus and they want him to be taken care of when he stops to visit the Frazier Four.  So thankful for the many traditions that we continue to celebrate year after year and I hope Emma and Gavin will always cherish them as they grow older.

Merry Christmas 2012

God gave His greatest gift to us on that first Christmas day...

 

 

Sharing with you, the GLORY, the WONDER

 and the MIRACLE of this HOLY SEASON.

 

Wishing you a Merry Christmas

 and a Blessed New Year!

 

THE FRAZIER FOUR

Curtis, Laura, Emma and Gavin

2012

Camryn turns SEVEN

Yesterday we celebrated my sweet nieces SEVENTH birthday at Sweet & Sassy.   Her birthday falls two days before Christmas so she chose to have her and Emma go to the spa for the day instead of having a big party.  They had a blast, enjoyed all the pampering and having the entire place to themselves.

 

 

Emma has lots of friends but hands down she will tell you her cousin Camryn is her best friend.  They love each other so much and when they get together they are in their own little world, inseparable!  They have the sweetest little friendship and Emma looks up to Camryn so much.

 

 

After their spa day they got to prance around on this little stage and neither of them lacked in the area of "strutting their stuff", so cute and a bit scary (ha ha).

 

 

I love this picture and this sweet girl so much.  Hard to believe that she is already 7 years old. I so vividly remember her Daddy pushing her little 3 lb.  body quickly down the hall at the hospital when she decided to join our family a little too early.

 

 

They are cousins by birth, friends by choice and they love each other beyond belief.  So thankful for this little girl in so many ways.  We love you Camryn, Happy 7th Birthday.

Santa's Wonderland

There were several things we put on our "Holiday To Do list" this year and Santa's Wonderland was one of them. 

 

 

Today we decided to head out for a little road trip to see visit Santa's Wonderland and have some fun, it did not disappoint.

 

The kiddos all bundled up, ready to go visit Santa and give him their final Christmas list since he was coming in 2 more days.  It ended up not being as cold as we thought, so we ended up shedding all our coats and mittens.

 

Christmas in Texas is like none other and Santa Town in Texas is the best for sure.  Where else can you go and have all the southern goodies you want, see Reindeer, enjoy a folk band and see Longhorns?  If I am being honest, we are dreaming of a Christmas in Florida at Disney sometime soon. 

 

 

It is not Rudolph, but I am certain it is Dasher or Dancer, what do you think?  Emma said, "Mom that poor little guy has so far to fly in a couple days."

 

 

She made her list and she checked it twice. At the top of her list was an American Girl Doll with red hair, green eyes and freckles.

 

Sweet Mrs. Claus, what a great wife she must be to put up with Santa always working so hard. 

 

We opted to tour Santa's Wonderland with a horse and carriage.  We did not figure the hay ride was our best option since our sweet girl is highly allergic to Bahia Grass!  So worth the additional money to take the carriage ride with my sweet family and enjoy the festivities alone. 

The light exhibits were amazing and so detailed.  Our driver gave us the grand tour and told us how one family (Mom, Dad and their Son) had the vision of Santa's Wonderland 15 years ago.  The son is an electrician and he is responsible for all the scenes and lighting on the property, BREATHTAKING! 

 

One of my favorite scenes by far.  Jesus is from The House of Wax in LA and he is the only piece of the display that is taken down daily because he will melt.  The first year they had him his hands actually melted from being to close to the lights, so they had him repaired.

 

My favorite by far and such a special reminder of the gift he gave for ME and for YOU!  Simply beautiful, so blessed by his unselfishness this holiday season and always.

 

Santa's town also had a petting zoo, train rides, movie on the big screen, marshmallow roasting, bands and a dancing Frosty the snowman.  Of course my kids loved the petting zoo and Gavin fell in love with the fattest pot belly big I had ever seen.  At one point he sat down on this poor fella to take a break.

 

A visit to Santa's Town would never be complete without a pony ride for Emma and Gavin, there was no way they were walking away from this.

We had such a great time visiting and learning the history of Santa's Wonderland,  I was so thankful we worked this into our Christmas plans this year.  So blessed to be a part of The Frazier Four today and everyday!

Nana Claus

Last night we had Christmas with Nana Claus, Aunt Stacy and our cousins.  Nana loves Christmas, buys the best gifts and celebrations with her are always over the top.

 

 

Every year she makes us all these little bags, wraps gifts, fills them with presents and so much more.  I think she starts shopping the day after Christmas for the next year, seriously!

 

 

Emma was super excited and ready to get started.  All of the kids got dream lights and stompies from Nana and they were a FAVORITE for sure.

 

 

Gavin got tons of Jake and the Neverland Pirate toys from Nana and he loved them. He was hilarious when he opened his stuff and would run around and scream like a wild man after each one.

 

Hunter got this super cool Texans Robot and so much more, he is loving the Texans these days.

 

 

This was one of Camryn's gifts from us, a Princess Perfume set to match the one that Emma has hidden in her secret drawer. 

 

 

Daddy got this shadowbox from Nana and it was such a sweet gift.  This is Curtis' glass bowl and cars from Disney he got in 1981 on a trip to Disney when he was 6 years old, pretty awesome!  

 

We had a wonderful evening celebrating with Nana and all of the kids.  Nana always makes sure we have a very special Christmas with gifts that she puts so much thought into.

Class Parties 2012



Both of the kiddos had the cutest little class parties with their friends at school and I was blessed to be able to attend. 

 

 

Gavin gets so excited about his little parties and when I walk in.  I love the way he screams, "Mommy" every single time.

 

He was not going to put his balloon down or let it get away from him during the festivities. He kept saying it was his reindeer nose.

 

Sweet boy making his own sugar cookie and stopping to lick the icing off his knife during the party.  

 

It was a great to attend Emma Caroline's first public school party with her.  She was beyond excited to celebrate with her school friends.   Of course she wanted to bring a treat for everyone, but that had to be done the day before, the policy states that all parties must be exactly the same at school so it is fair to all kids.

 

One of Emma's best friends this school year is sweet Ellie that she talks about non stop.  I asked her after the party what she liked so much about Ellie and she said, "Mom, she is a hugger just like me and every morning she always gives me a huge hug."  I love that Emma is so affectionate with us and her friends.

 

Sweet girl making her sugar cone Christmas tree and enjoying her party.   There were so many cute activities for the kids and a book exchange too.

Of course we love Mrs. Hale and think she is the best Kindergarten teacher God could have picked for our family and most importantly for Emma. 

 

Megan is Emma's very best friend at school that she loves so much. These two started dancing at 3 years old together and just so happened they ended up in Kindergarten together.

 

Needless to say, Emma and Gavin both had wonderful celebrations at MDO/School with their friends and teachers.  Now it is time for a 2 week vacation with lots of celebrations to go.

Sweet Becca

Not sure we could do all that we do without our sweet nanny, Miss Becca.  We are so blessed that 5.5 years later we are still able to keep our kids at home when they are not at school.  So far we have had 3 Nanny's and each one of them have been wonderful to us and our children (oh, our kids have been head over heels about them too).

 

 

Emma and Gavin were super excited to celebrate Christmas with Miss Becca, looks like Beamer was too.

 

I think Gavin has a crush on Miss Becca, she is a cutie.  She is not allowed to walk out of our house each afternoon without kisses from this little guy and if she does he will chase her to the driveway.

Emma loves Miss Becca, I think she thinks they are BFF's.  She loves to tell me all the stories about Miss Becca running in marathons, her fingernails, her hair and her going to college.  Emma looks up to her so much and thinks she is the greatest thing ever (we do too).  

MDO Christmas Program

Tonight we attended Gavin's MDO Christmas Program at the Church and it was wonderful.   Gavin was super excited at home when he talked about it and he kept singing a song about Santa's big belly.

 

 

The bribe of a Starburst let me get a few pictures of him, he is not one for having his picture taken these days.  He loves to tell me, "that's enough Mom, that's enough!"

 

 

This boy loves his Daddy more than anything in the world, his favorite person by far.  He does not like to be away from Curtis and when he gets home every evening he is all over him.

 

Mommy managed to squeeze him while Daddy took a picture of us together.  I love his sweet little face and the fact that he is all boy.

 

We headed towards Church and when we arrived he was sound asleep. Uh oh, I knew it was not going to be good because he was exhausted.  Believe it or not, he woke up and he was in a pretty good mood but still exhausted.

Gavin's school is an amazing little place.  I am not sure I have ever witnessed people love their work and their kids as much as these women do. 

Their Christmas fundraiser this year was a silent auction for these adorable cookie jars that they made.

 

I loved the one from Gavin's class, but we left early and the bid when we left was over $100. Trust me they will end up being auctioned off for about $300-$500 each, if not more. This one had little candy pops with each kids name in his class on it, SUPER CUTE!

 

 

This is our first year at this MDO, so we did not know what to expect.  All I can say is WOW, they loaded about 100+ kids on this stage.   Gavin is in the center waving at us, red sweater and green shirt. Things seemed to be going well until the little girl in the creme dress beside him clapped and accidentally hit him.  No hesitation at all, in front of everyone he slapped her back (that BOY, he is a mess!). 

 

 

Gavin lasted for about 5 songs and he had enough.  We loved watching him sing and participate, it was the cutest thing ever.   I think it was just too late because he was stretching and yawning up there in between songs.

 

This is my attempt to get a picture of all the sweet babies loaded on the stage.  They even had the babies loaded in the buggies down front.  I love this place!

 

Enough is enough!  Find my sweet boy, yep that is him with his arms stretched out crying and screaming, "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy."  His teacher noticed him and called him over to her, but he was D.O.N.E.   I made eye contact with her and she sent him to me.  

 

Gavin, we were so PROUD of you tonight and enjoyed watching you for the first half of the show.  You did such a great job and your favorite song to sing was, Go Tell It On the Mountain.   We love you so much and you keep us laughing constantly buddy.  I am looking forward to your class party tomorrow at MDO.