Pistorius Family Christmas

We were able to see David's grandmother and two of his sisters and their families for Christmas this year. We decided to do a traditional Christmas dinner and it was SO good! Every family pitched in and made something to contribute to the meal. David even carved the turkey!

Here's David with his older sister, Lisa, on his left, and then his grandmother, and Wendy, his younger sister, on the right

Drake even got his own special seat at the table

The table was beautiful and the kids all sat together in the kitchen while the adults were able to sit in the pretty dining room by ourselves. It was so nice!

Can you see Drake upset in this picture? He was getting fussy so Aunt Wendy took him after that and let him eat off her plate. He was happy about that.

All of us - Pistorius family on left, Lucas family in the back, Saenz family on the right, and grandmother in the middle.

David and his grandmother listening to Christmas songs Lisa was playing on the piano. This was the biggest smile I saw his grandmother have on her face all night - you could tell she loved the music.

"the boys" as I call them - all born within the same year.

Drew is in the middle and he is the oldest by almost four months.

Dilan with her gift to open

Showing me what they got in the cousin gift exchange. Drew with a new Thomas movie and Rosie train, Dilan with three new Strawberry Shortcake movies. She would not let them out of her hands the rest of the night and she kept asking to go home so she could watch them in the car.

Christmas Train in Alvin, Texas

We met my brother and his family in Alvin, Texas, to ride the Christmas train. It was a lot of fun, especially for the cousins to be together. We watched the model trains, ate popcorn, and walked among the lights before getting onboard. But once we were on the train, it was worth the wait as the lights were beautiful and the message was centered on Christ.

Drew was loving the model trains - he could watch them for hours

Our walk outside with all the lights

On board the train - me, Drake, and my mom

My two oldest with my brother's kids on the train

Sea Center Visit

While in Lake Jackson for the week before Christmas, we visited the Sea Center. Lots of big fish to see there plus they have an aquarium where you can touch live crabs (de-clawed), sea anemone, and fish.

Me and the kids by their fishing statue

My mom and the kids once we were inside

This fish came up to Dilan and would not leave. And if you look closely, it has teeth! Either it wanted to kiss her or eat her but it also could have been that she was very close to the glass considering she completely ignored the ropes intended to keep her away. :)

Looking at the big fish

This lady introduced herself as "Janet Jackson" which I had to giggle at and then began to tell Drew and Dilan about the "state shell" of Texas. I didn't know we had one but here it is: the lightening whelk.

Dilan enjoying the turtles

Drew lost his first tooth!

On December 28, 2011, Drew finally lost his first tooth! It's been loose for a while now but he wanted it to come out on its own. Yesterday, he told me that his tooth felt weird. Sure enough, I looked at it and part of it had come away from the gums - it was definitely coming out. So, I just worked it back and forth (mostly back) and it bled a little bit until eventually I stopped. Knowing it wasn't going to come out unless we took a jab at it real fast and Drew not wanting to do that (can't blame him!), I let it be. When David got home, he saw that it now was half-way hanging out and offered to pull it for Drew. Drew didn't want to so we moved onto dinner. David remarked that eating would be a whole lot easier if he pulled the tooth out. But this still didn't convince Drew. Suddenly, with Drew's first bite, tears came. We rinsed his mouth out, I took a look at it, and then I pulled on it to see how much farther we had to go. Luckily, that was it! The tooth was out and Drew just looked at me with a mild "ouch" and was surprised to see the tooth was out of his mouth. He was so happy! He went on to eat dinner with no pain and kept saying how weird it felt not having that tooth there. We joked about how Drew is starting to lose his teeth and Drake is still getting his in!

The funniest part is that we put the tooth in a plastic bag to hide under his pillow and Drew woke up this morning telling us that he was holding onto the bag all night until he couldn't anymore. Then, he felt the dollar under his pillow! The interesting thing is that the tooth fairy reported this being a bit of a hard job because Drew did in fact have the bag clutched in his hands. He had to be rolled over and woken a bit to disengage the tooth. So, we are now on to the journey that has become Drew losing his baby teeth and getting his permanent ones in!

Merry Christmas!!!

Drew's holiday party

Drew had his holiday party at school and we were able to go to it. Drew's school has a tradition where they dress their best on the day of their holiday party so Drew wore his Christmas tree tie. He was the most handsome guy there and the teacher even made a comment to me about how nice he looked. They enjoyed a lunch from Chick-fil-a, made a holiday card, and played bingo. Dilan ate multiple candy canes, Drake pulled things off the wall, and Drew simply enjoyed us being there. In fact, when I asked him if it was okay that we leave, he didn't want us to quite yet. So, we stayed a bit longer and I didn't mind it a bit. :)

The three people I love most in the world! (and david of course!)

Drew sitting at the red table having lunch

Drew is cracking up laughing because Drake is pulling the table cover off and all the kids are acting like he is a monster.

Drew showing me his name on Santa's nice list - it is written in pencil right at his eye-level but hard to see

Dilan's Dance Recital

Dilan had her very first dance recital today. She dressed in her recital costume, and we put her hair up in a bun. She looked absolutely beautiful! Dilan really enjoys her dance class and she did great. She added some funny moments as she chose to show us what "not to do" kicking her legs up and stomping on the ground when the teacher was asking them to do it quietly. She also had a few altercations with some friends when they were trying to get in a single file line. And when one friend tried to get closer and closer to Dilan, Dilan finally told her to stop, and Dilan moved to a different spot on the floor.

Overall, she did really well and participated in everything. She loved doing the stretches on the floor and twirling around in her dress. She tiptoed quietly across the floor with her hands on her hips and when it came time to do her "teddy bear" dance, she paid attention and did a great job of following her teacher. We are very proud of our little girl!

Before we left for the recital

Close up

Having so much fun dancing in a circle

Doing her stretches on the floor

Arms above her head

Walking on tip toes quietly

Dancing with a stuffed animal

Dilan and her teacher, Ms. Lynsey, and her friends

Daddy even came to watch his little girl dance

and a picture with mommy too.

The North Pole Express

The Pistorius family has Christmas traditions like everyone else that we've continued from both of our families and passed on. But we've created new ones as well for our little family. The one that is most important is riding a Christmas train every year. It started in Georgia when Drew was 3 at Stone Mountain Park, on to Wisconsin to ride the Christmas Express at the East Troy Electric Railroad, and last year we rode the Christmas train at the historical B&O Railroad in Baltimore, Maryland. This year, we rode the North Pole Express in Grapevine, Texas.

The kids have been looking forward to this train ride with Santa and the day finally came! They did a little entertainment show before you boarded the train that was actually not very entertaining. It was kind of like a bad Thomas the train movie, but luckily it was just supposed to warm the kids up for the ride. As we boarded, there was fake snow in the air and Christmas trees everywhere. The train itself was awesome. The kids sat on one side and we changed the seat to go backwards for David and me to sit across from them. Drew sat by the window of course because he loves to just look out the window at everything passing by.
The train conductor came by to punch our tickets and then Santa made an early appearance. He gave each child a bell with "North Pole Express, Grapevine Railroad" on it. They are so nice and the kids loved ringing them the whole way there and back. There were teenagers who preformed and hosted our train car. We sang many Christmas songs and each person was asked what they wanted for Christmas. Dilan said "presents," Drew said, "Thomas trains," we answered "more teeth" for Drake, I said, "new boots," and David said, "a new gun." The person asked David if he hunted and David answered "no." Later, we discussed that he should have said, "yes, I hunt zombies." (if you know David, he's obsessed with zombies and may or may not think they are real. And he dreams about killing them too. And yes, he watches, The Walking Dead.)

While on the train, the conductor came by to give each child a ticket for a free hot chocolate afterwards. A perfect ending to carrying on a Pistorius Christmas tradition!

Drew getting ready to exit the entertainment tent and onto the train!

Here we go!

David and Dilan in line to get on the train

Me and the kids in line

Getting on the train

Dilan, Drake, and Drew all in their Christmas pjs on the train

The conductor punching their tickets

Santa Claus visited them and gave them bells!

One of the young entertainers singing to Dilan and Drake

Here is a great picture of our precious boys!

Drew took a picture of David and me

Me and my boys

Trying to get a picture with David and the kids - didn't turn out so well!

The Pistorius boys in front of the caboose

Funniest picture ever! Dilan was definitely starting to melt down after the ride was over. She was upset that she couldn't hold Drew's ticket for hot chocolate, that she could only hold hers. It was so sad and unfair.

Drew in front of the Grapevine clock

The smile says it all and makes it all worth it.

A train ride followed by hot chocolate afterwards... how could this kid have a more perfect day?!?