Back to Going Bonkers

I know I already posted about the super cool indoor playground in Lewisville that we went to earlier this month, but I wanted to post again! We went there today with Grandma Sharon and Aunt Jennifer and I got a couple of cute pics that I wanted to share. Also, a new first for Daniel. He got his first bloody nose today. It happened at the slide... He was trying to climb up the slide. So I went over and was telling him that we go down the slide and not up the slide. Right about then, another kid came down the slide showing Daniel why we don't go up the slide. Knocked his feet right out from under him and he hit his face on the slide (the only hard surface in the building). A few minutes later - blood. It wasn't bad and stopped really fast, but it was a milestone (of sorts). And so it begins! Not sure who is in for more pain, Daniel or Mom...

Coming down the slide head first

Making sure the gate to the play area was shut.
He is a little OCD about some things like this.

Playing Hard

Cruisin'

Race Cars!

Daniel Sleeps in the Big Boy Bed

We moved into our new house here the week of Christmas. It has been a chore trying to get everything unpacked and put away! Since we were already transitioning, we thought it was best to go ahead and get Daniel sleeping in his new big boy bed. He hasn't slept in his crib since the end of October (when our household goods were shipped), so it wasn't too hard actually. I think he was just glad to be out of the Pack 'N Play! Of course, we got sheets from the movie Cars - his favorite. Every time he climbs in the bed he says "Vroom" or "Queen" - for Lighting McQueen, the world's fastest race car. Here are a couple pictures of his room and the new bed.

Daniel on the bed - No Cars sheets yet

This one is a little blurry. I took it the morning after he first slept in the bed.

Christmas

Even though Allan wasn't here with us, we had a wonderful Christmas with family. On Christmas Eve we went to Mimi & Granddad's house. We opened lots of great presents! After presents, we tried to get a family portrait with the self-timer. Daniel kept running toward the camera tripod, so I got lots of close-ups of him! Later that day, we braved the snowstorm to get back to Grandma Sharon & Grandpa Joe's house to sleep. In the morning, Santa had come with tons of presents for all! Everyone was there - Grandma Sharon, Grandpa Joe, Aunt Jennifer, Uncle Allan & Aunt Rachel & Cousin Aidan. We had a crowd and took forever to open our gifts - but it was fun! We even got to talk to Allan on the phone and text for a while, so he was able to share in our fun as well. For Christmas, we all got quilts made by my Granny Zuber and we all got our picture made with our quilts. Went pretty well for everyone but Daniel - he just wouldn't sit still! Hope you enjoy my Christmas slideshow! Happy Holidays!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

SNOW!!

It snowed here on Christmas Eve! We were visiting with Mimi & Granddad and went out for Daniel to play in the snow. He has seen snow in Germany last year, but didn't really remember it. At first he didn't really like it, because it was very fine and blowing in our faces. The winds were gusting up to around 40 mph. But after a little bit of adjusting, he enjoyed playing a little bit on the patio and cried when I made him go inside. Enjoy the slideshow!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Stars Game

My sister Jennifer and I went to the Dallas Stars hockey game tonight. She got totally awesome 4th row tickets from a student for a holiday gift. The seats were amazing! We also bought Mystery Pucks, which are autographed pucks. They are wrapped up and you don't know who you are getting until you unwrap it. I was so excited that I got Brendan Morrow #10 - my favorite player. Now I have an autographed puck to match my autographed jersey!

Melissa & Jennifer with Pucks

View from our awesome seats!

Trains at Northpark Mall

Today we went with Grandma Sharon to see the Trains at Northpark Mall. They have a really neat display of miniature trains with all kinds of neat background and layouts. It was really good for Daniel because they have lots of spots open where littler kids can still see the trains. Daniel loved it. He kept running back and forth whenever he would see the trains going by. Enjoy our slideshow!

Make a Smilebox greeting

Pictures with Santa

This week Daniel saw Santa a couple of times. On Tuesday we went to the mall to visit Santa, where we weren't too happy to see him! I didn't get a very happy shot, but the professional picture turned out pretty good. On Saturday, we saw Daniel at Mimi's school Breakfast with Santa. Daniel didn't want to sit with Santa, but he sat on Mimi's lap next to Santa. Enjoy the pics!

Going Bonkers

Today we went to a really cool indoor playground called Going Bonkers in Lewisville, TX. They have an amazing climbing and play area. It was just what Daniel needed to run around, climb, slide down and get some of his excess energy out! We will definitely be going back!!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Baking Christmas Cookies

Today we baked Christmas Tree cookies with Grandma Sharon. This is one of my favorite cookies and we only have them at Christmas time to keep them special! Daniel even helped out by putting on the sprinkles. I also decorated a gingerbread train. I let Daniel choose at the store if he wanted a gingerbread house or train and he picked the train - big surprise!!

Daniel putting sprinkles on the cookies

Gingerbread Train

Allan Leaves TX

Allan left Texas to head back to Germany today. He will be there for about 10 days before heading off on his "business trip." We had a nice lunch before saying "Auf Wiedersehen!" at the airport!

Decorating the Christmas Tree

After we got back from College Station, Melissa and Daniel helped Grandma Sharon decorate the Christmas tree. Daniel mostly wanted to pull off the glass balls to play with, but we said no. We are so mean! We also set up the Christmas train that Santa drives around the base of Grandmas tree. Daniel loves to watch the train and press the buttons to make Santa say "Ho, Ho, Ho!" Daniel says "tree" when he wants to go in there and also says Ho Ho Ho!

Texas A&M vs t.u.

After Thanksgiving lunch, we went down to College Station to watch the A&M vs t.u. football game. It was a great game and even though we didn't win, we had a good time! We spent the next day in College Station eating at our favorite restaurants and doing a little shopping. We also stopped by the Former Students center and got pictures with the new giant Aggie Ring. Enjoy!

Kyle Field

Melissa & Allan at the game

Special emblem on the field to remember the Bonfire fallen - 10 years ago

The Aggie Band

Allan & Melissa in the Aggie Ring

Dan, Mary Ann, Melissa & Allan in the Aggie Ring

Early Christmas

Since Allan won't be home for Christmas this year, we had a little early Christmas with Mimi & Granddad. We shared a wonderful dinner and opened a few presents. It was great for Allan to get to see Daniel enjoying his gifts and playing with some new toys! Check out our slideshow!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

More Daniel & Family Photos

Just a few more cute photos from the past few weeks!

Cousin Aidan plays with the BIG BALL!

Daniel with Aunt Rachel

Daniel playing at IKEA

The other little boy wouldn't go through!

Daniel trying to push the big cars - it was too cute!

And finally sitting in the car. :)

Chuck E. Cheese

Today we met a bunch of friends and their kids at Chuck E. Cheese. It was Daniel's first time! We had a lot of fun hanging out and catching up while the kids played. Thanks to my sister Jennifer for putting together this cute Smilebox scrapbook! Enjoy!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

We are in Texas!

We arrived in Texas on November 19 and have been pretty busy looking for a place to live, running errands, visiting with family, and eating lots of yummy food - especially Tex-Mex! One of the first nights home we went to a Hibachi grill with some family and got some great pics with Daniel. Daniel loved eating with chopsticks and even got a little bit of chicken with the chopsticks. Enjoy!

Daniel with Aunt Jennifer

Daniel with Grandma Sharon & Grandpa Joe

Daniel eating rice with his chopsticks

Cute Daniel Pics

Here are just a few cute pictures of Daniel from early November while we were still in Germany.

Movie Star Daniel

Daniel sitting inside a footstool - we called it the "pod".

Daniel helping do laundry!

Allan's Farewell Dinner

Today we went to one of our favorite German restaurants for Allan's Farewell Dinner. We enjoyed great food and friendship as the squadron said goodbye. We will miss everyone!

Lt. Col. Stoff presents Allan with his farewell gift.

Allan enjoying his farewell gift.

Enjoying some local beverages!