A Bigger McKnight Christmas Party

Did you think that our Christmas ended on the 25th? Well, think again, lol! We had the bigger family Christmas party on the 27th and the kids as usual got their own toy store (of course that's an exxageration but you get the picture). I'm not gonna talk too much. Here are some photos from that day. You can always view the rest on my friendster gallery.

This is my MIL's Christmas tree and believe me when I say 75% of these presents went to the kids.

Just because he's cute and it's his first Christmas too!

Christmas Lunch

I'm probably boring you with all my pics now but I still wanna share these anyway, lol! Thanks for looking! By the way, I'm not a very good cook and as you can see, this turkey is falling apart because apparently, it was overcooked! LOL! Ah, it tasted good and I think that's all that really matters. It's just kind of upsetting that it didn't stayed whole for me to take photos, lol!

I don't like the way I look on this pic but I thought Aerell looked so cute so, I'm posting it anyway, lol!

Christmas Morning

Christmas this year was a bit different from all the past years because my mother-in-law didn't get to spend it with us. She's really sick right now so she had to stay home. We pray that she'll get well soon! Anyway, I have tons of photos but these are my faves...

Actually, this photo was taken on Christmas eve.

After Santa came and left...

The kids and some of their presents...

Merry Christmas

Co. Christmas Party for the Kids

On Christmas eve, the kids got the chance to see Santa again for the second time. This time Santa himself paid the kids a visit at the office where Bear works. It was really a surprise for them because they had no idea Santa was gonna be there. They each got to sit on Santa's lap after which, they were given goodie bags. Aerell didn't like it though. I think it's because he was alone, haha! Here are a few pics from that event...

Aiden was really interested in the Elf movie, lol! I think this is the first time I saw him looking like this...

Here comes Santa Claus!!!

Then, his mood changed as soon as he saw what was inside the goodie bag, lol!

Meeting Santa Claus '08

Happy Monday everyone! A few more days and it will be Christmas. I haven't wrapped a single thing and I got the sniffles on top of that. Will I ever get my chores done? Oh boy, it's tough to get sick when you got a lot of things to do but I think I'll manage. Anyway, the kids finally got to visit with Santa yesterday. That's part of the reason why I haven't started wrapping because I didn't want them to wonder how they got the presents before they told Santa what they wanted, lol! Kinda tough to have a 5-yr old who can read and will question everything he can think of.

If you remember last year, Aiden refused to sit on Santa's lap but this year, he was so excited and just run and climb on Santa's lap by himself, lol! It was so funny. We also went to a different mall this time because I was not happy with the other mall's 1 mommy shot policy. At this mall, we were free to take as many shots as we want as long as we buy one of their packages, which is fair enough for me.

This is where Santa lives at the mall, haha!

Lots of big presents on Santa's yard...

A quick shot before our turn, Aerell just wouldn't be still, hence the blur...

We thought that Aiden will be put in the middle so we got him a green shirt but it's also because they didn't have the red in his size, lol! Oh well...

They have great entertainers that Aerell forgot he was actually scared of Santa when he first looked at him, lol! I have no idea what it is with Santa that scared the little ones. This Santa is a very nice guy.

And this is what we paid for. I have no idea why Aiden's green shirt turned brown on their camera. You see what I mean about Aerell being scared of Santa? Well, this is what it looked like, lol! The lady said it was the only picture where all 3 of them were looking straight. Most of the time, Aiden was posing for mommy, lol!

Here's Aerell enjoying the sucker that Santa gave him. It's his first time so it should be photographed, right? LOL!

Thanks for looking! I need to go and start my chores now. Have a great day everyone!

Kindergarten Christmas Party '08

Happy Weekend everyone! I can't believe I missed a whole week of posting, lol! I have been very busy, who isn't anyway? Just a quick upate, last Saturday and Sunday were 2 of Bear's work Christmas parties. We had so much fun. The foods and companies were great. I was just so upset that I forgot to turn my camera off (on Saturday), which over heated the battery. In other words, I didn't get to take photos, argh! On Sunday, I was able to take photos but since it involves a lot of people, I don't think I'm supposed to share those.

So anyway, since I'm here to post about AJ's class Christmas party, I suppose I should do that, huh? AJ along with all of his classmates had so much fun yesterday. The theme was "Happy Birthday Jesus" since He is the reason for the season. I volunteered to bring some cupcakes, which I baked myself. Here are some pics. I'm not sharing pics with other kids in it and I assume you already know why. Oh by the way, please don't tell Santa I sneaked out and opened my present a week early to take these photos, lol!

Some of the presents he got...

Thanks for viewing everyone! It's cloudy here today but I'm sure we'll find something fun to do. Enjoy your weekends and happy vacation to all of us moms who have school kids, lol! Thank you for all the comments on my previous entries as well.

Itty Bitty Snow

It rarely snows in Houston so it was a big surprise that we had a tiny bit of snow last Wednesday night. It didn't even cover all of the ground but the kids and I had so much fun, lol! Compared to a lot of snowy states, ours were just like sprinkles, hehe! It was actually my 2nd snow (first in 2004) but I didn't get a chance to take pics back then because I waited till the morning thinking it will be thicker and whiter only to wake up and find out that the snow melted, lol! So, this time as you can see, I didn't waste any time. I didn't even get the chance to comb my hair and powder my face but what the heck, it might take 10 or more years before another snow comes by, lol!

AJ thought it would be fun to write his name here...

Can you tell he's having so much fun?

Aiden didn't get to play in the snow too long because he was sliding here and got himself wet from the ice.

This is Aiden and Aerell's first snow. Aerell didn't really know what was going on, lol!

That's it! I sure hope to be able to post some decent photos of myself in the future, lol! Oh yesterday, AJ's class had their Christmas Pageant in school and sang about 4 different Christmas songs. It was a lot of fun to watch them. I got pics but can't share because it's a group photo. Have to protect other people's privacy you know. Thanks for looking and enjoy your weekends!

The Christmas Shoes

About a week ago, while we were driving around to get our tree, I heard this song on the radio. I've heard it years ago as well and the moment it started, I knew it was going to make me cry again. I didn't know the name of the song so I thought I'd search it online and I got this link from youtube. I didn't know it was actually made for a movie with the same title. I haven't seen the movie but I'm pretty sure I'll just consume boxes of tissues, lol! I've played the song over and over hoping I'd get used to it and not cry anymore but I'm wrong! It must have something to do with being a "mama" myself and little boys. Then, when I saw this video, I noticed the boy was wearing a Boston Red Sox cap just like the one AJ had for his tee-ball uniform, lol! Anyway, like a lot of people would say, this is the last thing I wanna hear on my most favorite holiday but I think we could all learn something from it. Sometimes, the true meaning of Christmas gets lost in all the chaos of shopping and party preparations that we forget why we celebrate it. Here's the music video but before you hit play, you might wanna make sure a box of Kleenex is right beside you, just in case, lol!

Advance Merry Christmas to all! May we find the true meaning of Christmas deep within our hearts and enjoy its spirit. Thanks for reading.

Our Gingerbread House '08

The boys and I decorated our gingerbread house yesterday. It was a lot of fun and noisy because Aerell was yelling at us most of the time, lol! I'm sure he was just too excited and couldn't wait to get his hands on it, lol! If you can remember our first gingerbread house last year, I know you'll agree with me that we did so much better this year although I admit there's a lot of room for improvement. We'll work on that next year, I promise, hehe!

We started out with this...

Then, I iced the roof. I made the icing by the way and I think I added too much water to it because it was literally dripping, argh!

We ended up with this...

And here are the boys putting on some finishing touches, lol!

Happy weekend everyone!

2nd Quarter Progress Report

I was going to post something Christmas-sy today but I had to postpone it for AJ's progress report, hehe! Warning, if you don't care to read about a mother bragging about her son, you may leave now, lol!

Yesterday, we went to the teachers/parents/student conference to discuss about AJ's performance in school. I didn't know what to expect but honestly, I was not looking forward to it because he came home that day with a S- conduct for talking in church. I was thinking maybe they'll tell us how frustrated they were getting. Anyway, it was not what I expected at all. Yeah his behavior in mass/church was a concern but they didn't think it was all that bad. The teachers told us that they were very impressed at how smart he is. So, yeah pretty much what we already know but it's just different coming from the teachers if you know what I mean. AJ is like the only one in class who hasn't been to Pre-K; yet he did a lot better than anybody in the class. I couldn't breathe for a minute there when they said that, lol!

The progress report showed the following, which you can compare from the 1st quarter on this post.

no grades on PE because according to the teacher all they really do is run around and play, lol!

If you've come this far, thank you very much! I'll have my Christmas-sy post next time, I promise. Have a great night/day everyone and thank you very much for all the comments on my previous entry. I appreciate it as always!

Our Christmas Tree '08

Christmas has officially begun in the McKnight household last Sunday. I think this is the prettiest tree we've had so far. It's still a flocked fresh tree but not as white as the ones we've had in the past. It's also the biggest and tallest tree we've had so far. It's 7 feet tall! Here are my fave shots of our Christmas tree and some ornaments, which you can probably remember from last year's, lol! I didn't add any this year but I still wanna take some shots.

the kids' favorite from the Polar Express movie...

a closer look of the flocking or fake snow on the tree...

Good night (or day to some) everyone! I hope you're having a great time this Christmas season. It's my most favorite holiday of all, hehe! Till next time!

Thanksgiving '08

I have a really bad headache right now and I'm hoping that blogging would help me forget about it, lol! Anyway, I never got around to make an entry for our thanksgiving this year, so I thought I'd pop in here and show you some pics of the beautiful bird we ate that day, lol! I never really get to take a lot of pics during holiday functions here because it seems like I'm the only one taking pics and I get uncomfortable. Besides, everybody is busy chatting with each other (including myself) in other words, not a lot of time for picture taking!

We had our thanksgiving dinner at my brother-in-law's (Bear's big brother) house just like what we normally do each year. Now, tell me this turkey doesn't look gorgeous, lol! Fried turkey smells and tastes yummier than a roasted one; to me anyway.

The day before thanksgiving, we took the kids out to watch Bolt late in the evening. It was supposedly part of Aiden's birthday present. We came home past 11 that night but the 2 bigger boys were still wide awake. It was Aerell's first movie but he slept halfway through it. He was good and quiet when he was awake though. Playing with the popcorn kept him occupied until he knocked it off and spilled half of the bag. Anyway, it was a great movie especially for kids. Aiden was so into it that he got teary-eyed on a few emotional scenes. How often do you see a 3-yr old get so emotional over a movie? I loved the movie myself and I definitely recommend it to everyone especially those who have kids.

Well, I think I need to go and get me some Ibuprofen now. It's getting worse by the minute. Blogging didn't help a bit, argh! I tried changing my header this afternoon but I am not happy with the way it is right now. I'll try to change it again as soon as this headache goes away. Thank you for all the comments you left on my previous entry. I truly appreciate them all! Have a great day/night everyone!