Trail of Lights

A good friend suggested that we take a little road trip to Marble Falls to walk the Trail of Lights and I am so glad we did, our kids loved it! Gotta love free holiday fun!

Christmas at Preschool

Today was the Christmas Sing-a-Long at our preschool. Hudson's class had two songs to sing, Jingle Bells and We Wish You a Merry Christmas. He has been singing/screaming these songs for weeks. I just knew this was the year...umm, no. Not one word. But he shook his bell the whole time. I love him.

After the sing-a-long is time to wait in line for Santa, a very hard lesson of patience for a two year old. But we made it and all was well. We haven't talked much about Santa, so Hudson doesn't really know about who brings presents and what-not, so he just got his candycane and moved on!

And then he and Jack spread some holiday cheer/ran around like crazies in the church foyer. Love them. And Ellie just took it all in and looked like a Christmas cutie!

Away In a Manger

If you have little ones, I would highly recommend investing in the Little People Nativity set! We have loved watching Hudson make the Christmas story come alive while playing with the manger set. He talks through it and sings Away In a Manger and Happy Birthday Jesus...makes my heart so happy! Ellie likes to eat the animals and throw the manger on the floor...she's a sweet baby!

Stay tuned for the big performance this week! He's telling everyone that he's going to sing on the stage at church. We'll see.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

These two are ready for Christmas! December is a very busy month in the Brewer household, but we are working on slowing down and talking each day with our kids about the reason we celebrate! We hope you enjoy this holiday season too! I've been a bad blogger lately, so I'll work on lots of Christmas posts!!

We Are Thankful!

We are loving that Hudson is old enough now to have actual conversations about character, giving, loving on others, being thankful, the true meaning of the holidays, etc. We started this week by making an Operation Christmas Child shoebox for a little girl that we ended up having to name "Sarah" because Hudson would not stop asking her name! He did really well for a while at the store as we shopped for her, but he kept picking out things with Lightning McQueen on them, so we helped steer him toward princesses and pink. :) We were very proud of him and it makes our hearts so happy that he has continued to ask about "Sarah"!

We ended our week by making this little guy. We each took a turn to say something/someone we were thankful for and then we came up with some together. It was so sweet to see him excited to share. Our family is very blessed and we want Hudson to know that every good and perfect gift comes from above!

Pumpkin Festival!

Woody and the sweetest little strawberry made their way to the Preschool Pumpkin Festival at church this morning! Hudson was in heaven...bouncehouses, petting zoo, hayrides, games! He still really hasn't caught on to the play the game and they will give you candy thing, he would just play and run away! Okay! Less sugar is fine with mommy!

Ellie took it all in and accepted many compliments on her adorable costume! (Thank you next door neighbor for selling it for $2 at your garage sale! ) She even got to go on the hayride with daddy, Hudson, Kate, Jack and Steven!

Another fun year at the Pupmkin Festival! And Halloween Part 3 coming tomorrow! Can't wait to see Hudson and Jack trick-or-treating!

Halloween Part 1

Our preschool has a costume parade for Halloween and after some major costume drama (I'll spare you the details) Hudson ended up being Woody from Toy Story! He was very excited about being a cowboy! He kept saying "Yeehaw!" and making a lasso motion!

I missed Hudson getting candy from the staff, but I caught him at the end walking with his class! So cute! And the only picture I got of Ellie was a quick shot before school. Let's just say that party day at a preschool is cra-zy! More Halloween fun to come!

Where Everybody Knows Your Name

Dusty and I just returned from a little vacay to Boston!






This vacation was a dream for Dusty, who loves history and well, planning things. We had a jam packed four days of tours, sightseeing and lots of walking. So many things to see and experience. Not to mention Boston is absolutely beautiful in the fall! It never got over 60 degrees and was in the 30s at night...buuurrrr! The fall foliage was unlike anything we had ever seen...so amazing! We toured Fenway Park, walked the Freedom Trail, drove to Plymouth and Cape Cod, ate a LOT of great food and slept in every morning! :) A-Mazing!If you are looking for a weekend trip, we recommend it!

And a special thank you to Mimi and Paw-Paw for watching our rugrats and to Juanette for your generosity! Couldn't have done it without you!

Wish we could have brought the crisp fall air back with us!

9 Months

Thank you to Aunt Angie for this adorable bandana dress!




Ellie is 9 months old! I can't believe it! It has definitely gone by faster the second time around! I really need time to slow itself down!

Ellie is growing so fast, and by that I mean she adds fluff and rolls by the day! :) I love me some baby fluff! She is crawling like a pro, pulling herself up, babbling all day and still has no teeth! She thinks big brother is either hysterically funny or totally annoying...hmmmm. But the best thing is her sweet, full mouth smile! And just for the record (my record) she said "Mama" first!

We are so thankful for our sweet baby girl! We love you Ellie Reese!

It's Pumpkin Time!

It was a beautiful Fall day yesterday, so headed to the cutest pumpkin patch in Austin with our friends the Testone's and the Campbell's! There were a TON of pumpkins and lots of gated room to run...perfect! The kids had a blast and the parents acted like lunatics to get the kids to smile for pictures! Ha!

Ellie got to wear the sweet pumpkin hat that Hudson wore as a baby, I love it! And I realize these pictures look like we could possibly favor her, but she is just much more cooperative with pictures! But I did get one smile out of the little man!

I love this time of year...pumpkins, fall leaves, Pumpkin Spice Lattes at Starbucks! And fun with these little ones...






Steven took some pictures too, so I might have to post a part two of our trip!

Happy Fall from our little pumpkins!!

Dad's Night...All Aboard!

This was preschool Dad's Night #3 for Dusty and Hudson! And even though Ellie goes to school too, she didn't really know what was going on! It was all about Hudson and Daddy! It was a train theme this year and even though he talked ALL day about the train, he didn't care for his first ride! But he did go back for another round and loved it!

I love that this has become a yearly tradition! Hudson and Ellie have the best Daddy!

Do The Hustle!

The 3rd Annual Krista Hustle!!







We love being part of the walk each year to benefit Krista's scholarship program. Hudson was in full party mode, after all there were balloons and well, people! And Granny is definitely an added bonus! Wish we were closer to our Gainesville family! Love you all!

It has been two years since we lost our sweet Krista. I am so encouraged by the Brewer's strength and the joy they have found in helping others through their loss. And as I am staying home today with two sick kids, I am going to hold them a little closer, a little longer and thank God for giving me such precious gifts!

Back to School

Despite the fact that it rained ALL day and getting in and out of school was very wet, everyone had a great first day of school! Hudson walked right in with his backpack, put it away and went straight to the sensory bin to play in the rice! Sigh. He's such a big boy! I love him to pieces! And he came home in his original clothes...score!

Ellie did amazing! Every time I checked on her, she was as happy as can be! My theory is that she was glad to have a break from big brother's "love"! No one to bother her, get in her way, take toys away, etc...she was all smiles today!

I know I've said this before, but Dusty and I are so blessed to be with our kids. I am so thankful that I am able to teach right down the hall. Because I'm pretty sure I would never make it on time anywhere else!