Christmas in Lufkin

Merry Christmas from the Seely Family!

Our morning started pretty much as hectic as any other day while we are in Lufkin. Of course we had to try and visit as many families as we possibly could and have Christmas on pretty much everyone's timetable but ours. Those of you out there who complain about having to share holidays because your in-laws live in another town, the other option has it's downside as well. That said, it was GREAT to get to see Gran, Granddad, Great Granddaddy, Uncle Mike, Mema, Papa, Mimi and of course Dash!

Here is a brief run-down of our day:

7 a.m. - Wake Up
8 a.m. - Off to pick up Great Granddaddy from Pinecrest
9:30 a.m. - Seely Family Christmas
10:00 a.m. - Cooper Family Christmas
11:30 a.m. - Lunch at the Seelys
Noon - Down for a "NAP"

I put NAP in quotations because Cooper is currently singing in his crib which is causing Mommy's blood pressure to go through the roof!



Here is Uncle Mike watching in awe at Cooper and Caleb's ability to bounce between playing with one new toy and opening not just their own gifts, but everyone else's as well.

Caleb just minutes before going into Sensory Overload!

Cooper opening the Batman bikes Uncle Mike brought them. This was definitely the hit of Christmas. Had I known that Mike was going to bring something this cool that was still in the box we might have waited until "NAP" time to put them together.

Jennifer insisted that this picture be put on the blog. Simply because our children are so OCD that they wouldn't quit unwrapping the gift until every piece of wrapping paper was off the gifts. I have no clue where he gets this. (There is no sarcasm intended there)

Gran meticulously following the boys while they made one of the biggest messes of all time.

Caleb is bringing Uncle Mike one of his gifts. He is such a good little helper!

Here you go Uncle Mike!

What an Angel!

Mema's house was our second stop of the morning and it was just as much excitement as the Seely's!

Cooper is about to open his new cell phone. It is a play cell phone of course.

This is the best pic of the morning. Caleb is practically begging to open his last gift. Good thing it actually was for him. This is also a great pic of the Santa Claus shirts Aunt Ann got them for Christmas. The mail man actually stopped us as we were pulling away from the house. I am sure glad he did, so we could have them for Christmas Morning!

Mema showing Caleb how to work the ladder on his new fire truck!

The funny thing abou this picture is that we didn't position the chair so he could play the piano. Caleb came up with this set up all by himself.

Here is one of the boy's many "New Choo-Choos!". If you see them in the next couple of days they will likely ask you for a "New Choo-Choo Now?"

The boys love Mema!

The boys love Mimi!

The boys love Papa!

Daddy's Deer

Here are a couple of quick pics of Daddy's deer from the Opening Day of Deer Season.

As you can see, Daddy did a good job this year. I actually think I was on the stand for about 15 minutes before this guy came out.

Why Don't We Go to The Movies?

Back in the Summer of 2009 (this past summer), Jennifer and Gran were stuck in Lufkin and it was 100 degrees outside. They got so desperate for something to do that they decided an early afternoon movie was appropriate. I don't really remember where I was during this little excursion, but upon hearing they were headed to the movies there was only one thought going through my head, "YOU HAVE GOT TO BE CRAZY!" Don't get me wrong, my boys are two of the sweetet, most well behaved little gentlemen you will every find. However, sitting still IS NOT one of their strong suits.

Ever since then Jennifer has asked me on multiple occassions if I wanted to take them to a movie. I have been able to effectively manuever and avoid this little activity until today. "The Princess and the Frog" was playing at our local theatre and Jennifer decided today was the day that I would get to experience a movie with my kids.

All I have to say is that the movies is another activity that we will add to the list of thing my children excel at. They did AMAZING! Obviously a kids movie is only about 1.5 hours. The first hour they both sat in our laps completely enamoured with the giant movie screen in front of them. The last 30 minutes was spent eating apple crackers in Jennifer's lap. The really funny thing was that at the hour mark Caleb realized the Cooper got to sit in Mommy's lap. Cooper wasn't willing to relinquish his spot, so Mommy got both of them and Daddy leisurely enjoyed his movie! Amy and her boys, Jacob and Joshua, joined us at the movie as well. No matter what we have going on, Amy is always willing to come join us. This work great for us because the boys just follow Jacob and Joshua around which give us a slight break.

We only got one good pic of the boys at the movies, so I am having to supplement with pictures from our impromptu Mexican Fiesta / Cookie Decorating party at the house yesterday. The Timmy's were on their way to the airport so they stopped by and of course we invited Michael over from next door.

We ended our evening with the first installment of the new Seely Family tradition of feeding Santa's Reindeer. In short, we gave the boys bags of oatmeal with red and green glitter in them. The glitter catches Santa's eye and the oats are for the reindeer while Santa is dropping off the toys.

The Living Nativity

For the past few months the boys have been attending "Big Boy School" at a church here close to the house. They absolutely love school as well as their teachers Ms. Gina and Ms. Jennifer. One of the neatest things about their school is that at the end of every day (they only go one day per week) we get an email talking about how/what the boys did at big boy school that week.

This week The Living Nativity visited Big Boy School and the boys got to ride the donkey. Apparently Caleb would only get on the donkey when it was his turn if he could ride backwards. I don't know where these kids get their silliness, but I have to guess that it is from their mother.

Oh The Weather Outside is Frightful . . .

You will all be happy to know that the Seely's have survived the Great Winter Storm of 2009 and we are warm inside the house watching Blues Clues right now. Actually the boys missed most of the snow today because of nap time. We had some really good snow fall for a couple of hours, but none of it really stuck long enough to make a snowman and finally the rain washed it all away. We did get a chance to go outside for a few minutes, but as you can tell the boys rosy cheeks and red noses meant it was time to head back inside.

A B-Day Dinner, Crazy Middle Aged Housewives and a Wedding!

This weekend we celebrated my birthday with dinner at Grimaldi's followed by the "New Moon" premiere (Jennifer's idea) and then a Lufkin wedding in Dallas. A great time was had by all!

It is always difficult to get a good group shot at dinners like this but I think this one turned out pretty good!

The Timmy's drove all the way from Austin to go to the movie with us!

Amy and Jennifer

Amy and her boys, Jacob and Joshua

The Petersons (Kyle, Stacy, Riley and Kinzie)

The Basconi's (Jerry, Dana and "Mi-Mike")

Laura Koch. David was running a little late, but he made it for most of dinner, just not the picture taking.

Jennifer and Sarah getting ready for the movie!

The movie was definitely an interesting experience. The most interesting thing were all the middle aged women who were in love with the male characters in New Moon. This lady felt it necessary to carry a life size cutout of Robert Pattinson (Edward). They got out of their limo chanting "Team Edward, Team Edward!"

Happy Birthday Gran!

Today is a very special day because today is our Gran's Birthday. Gran is a very special person who loves us very much. Without fail, Gran loads up in the car and heads to Houston every chance that she gets. We love her very much and want her to know that on her special day.

Choo-Choo!!!!!

Prepare yourself for some cuteness. The boys pretend everything is a choo-choo these days. If they are in a laundry basket, under a table, or sitting in a chair..it doesn't matter. They are choo-chooing. They are at the most fun stage ever. They are totally exhausting and I collapse at the end of every day, but the days are so fun it is worth it. They are talking so much and really funny. On our walk today, Cooper finished his HUGE bowl of fruit and told Caleb, "Look Bubba, Sick Kitty!!" When Caleb turned to look at the cat (which has a LARGE tennis ball shaped lump coming out its stomach) Cooper grabbed a handful of Caleb's snack and said, "Bubba, I take more. Tanks."

Cooper has to go to sleep with a book. He picks a new one each time and asks you to take the old one out. Last night, he wanted the plane book from a set Aunt Ann sent him (greatest books ever...That's not my plane, That's not my truck...you get the idea) and I dug around in the dark and got him what I thought was plane and he kept saying "no no please plane mommy" and I just kept telling him he had the plane. Finally he said, "Please plane mommy" and I turned the light on and he had the train book and knew it! My children are very advanced : )

Caleb went to sleep for the first time without being rocked!!!! I was really upset because I thought he was never going to let me rock him again , but luckily today when I went in to put him down he said "ROCK PLEASE".