Here we are, 2016!

Last month was chock full of holiday affairs, gatherings and events. Oh what fun, indeed! We think this was the year that Elias started to comprehend and appreciate this particular season.

AND unlike last year, Santa photo SUCCESS! Hahaha. So Mommy and son were at an arts festival and they were offering Santa photos with NO LINE. He had been waving and saying hi to all of the Santa’s at the mall and other places but we never cared to wait in queue. This particular one also benefitted a team going on a missions trip so why not? Granted, he wasn’t “spruced” up for it but what the heck, aren’t the spontaneous moments the best? ;)

Can you guess the “pro” shot vs. Mommy’s? :)

And hey, Mrs. Claus was there for an added bonus! Hehe. E did get a little disappointed after getting down from his lap because he thought he would get a “surprise” (aka gift) from Santa right away. Mommy had to explain that it came on Christmas and it wasn’t Christmas yet. No tantrum but a few confused tears.

He’s been into sporting this “angry face” (further encouraged by Daddy) lately.

At a Marché de Noël in Dallas. Ran into our macaron friends. :)

E’s first… :) We ordered some for his new teachers this year.

Thumbs up for Frisco Safety Town’s Holiday Lights. E (along with a bazillion other kiddos!) could not get enough of the indoor fire engine (slash paramedic on the other side). :)

The “mini Frisco” outside was the cutest!!!

Stickerin’, stampin’ and craftin’ at Blue House Too, a small but tasteful new gallery and arts space.

Can you believe he remembered he cried last year when the fireworks when off after the Galleria tree lighting? ;) This year was all smiles, especially after Legos at Dallas Cityscape.

Daddy, are there any toys at this mall? :D This was the closest we could find…

So he used to be horror-struck at costumed characters of any kind.

Looks like he’s gotten over that fear. :)

Santa’s Village with all the tiny dwellings for kids to visit was enchanting but some of them got crazy cramped. E’s favorite was the music one. He sat in there for a good amount of time.

See what we mean about this wild countenance? ;P

Guess a free sugar cookie warrants drooling.

Christmas Eve service at WM Plano. It was surprisingly UN-crowded, which we found solacing.

E took joy in our own candlelighting and singing Happy Birthday to Jesus!

We broke down and finally got a “real” (fake ) tree this year. Our “abstract” one wasn’t cutting it for E. So there’s our scrawny, miniature pop-up tree shrub. :)

So E didn’t wake up ’til after 10AM on Christmas morn! That was his gift to Mommy. J/K. He was chirpy and ready to dive into presents.

Part of the aftermath…

The rest of the day was play, play, play! We had Uncle Dan over for our opening hot pot (at home) of the winter.

As always, it was good seeing out of town friends! Sorry, we didn’t get a pic with all of you. With kids now, it’s even tougher.

So originally we had planned a road trip around Tejas for the week between Christmas and New Year’s. Well, a huge tornado hit pretty close to us the day after Christmas and then the Ong boys fell sick. So with the weather (forecasted rains) and illness, we had to back out.

We did take a short trip to Austin for a wedding for one of Y’s old youth kids.

E was very well-behaved. To our astonishment, he totally owned the dance floor!!! And made us go with him. :) Take us back to the unabashedness, carefree, spunky innocence of a child.

Not first wedding but first wedding cake – petit fours!

Gangsta.

Smile!

SHHHH!

Congrats to groom’s sister and our friend Natalie on your new baby. :)

The next day, we went to the Texas Farmers’ Market at Mueller for lots of good stuff. And then Daddy requested a stop at the “world-famous” Round Rock Donuts. Another E-first… (Looks like December was one for lots of candied inaugurations!)

Mommy was pretty relieved when E was just “meh” about the donut, could barely finish it and didn’t ask for another. Atta boy! :)

Then we went to the Inner Space Cavern, a preserved cave. We descended in for the Adventure Tour, the shortest one.

E’s pressing question was “Will we see Batman?”

The guide did a pretty good job mixing up the narration with facts/info/history, jokes and stories.

We saw a group coming out from the Wild Cave Tour where they go off-trail and explore undeveloped sections of the cave.

E did okay except he wanted to be held most of the way. With the damp, humid underground and lugging a 30-something pounder, Daddy was sweating buckets. Also, near the end, he lost his soldier toy (“soldier-man”) that he had been holding. We tried to retrace steps and find it but he was pretty much lost in the cave. :( So much for no man left behind. Haha! He started whining a bit but then we saw the light at the end of the tunnel… :D

Trying out the spelunker hats.

Oh and we went to see and hear Meb talk again. :) Compare with 2014. :))

Mommy’s friends couldn’t make it so this gregarious one made buddies of his own.

The beginning of the year calls for a reset, some slowing down, routine, planning and laze-around-the-house weekends. :) And that’s exactly what we shall do.