Let the festivities begin....

LCRA hosts a kid's Christmas party for their employees every year and we decided to take advantage of the invite this year.  We headed out to the Ledbetter Lane of Lights last week and were treated to a hayride, hot dogs & hot chocolate and a visit with Santa. 

Gymnastics Christmas program

"What's the Buzz?"

 St. Paul's CDS Christmas Program

 Kindergarten Christmas cards telling us messages about Christmas.

There's nothing like sitting back and listening to the voices of our littles ones tell us about the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of Christ.  We've heard bits and pieces of the songs that were performed, it always makes more sense when you see the full production! 

After the program we headed to Chili's to celebrate Toppe's birthday!  

Caleb's 1st hunt

Want to see the look of one little boy who loves his daddy more than anything else in this world?  One who loves him so much that he insists on dressing like him, especially at bed time?  One that helps his daddy stay awake all the way to the deer lease (4 hrs) with nonstop chatter?  One that insists his daddy rub his back every night?

 Caleb was SO excited to get some one on one time with his daddy at the deer lease. 

 Maurer tradition - first hunt, you get your first pocket knife.  This is a pretty big knife for a little guy, but it is something he'll have to hold onto forever. 

 Getting ready to go sit in the blind.

This was the big kill of the weekend, a wild turkey.  Caleb was all excited when Wes shot him.  He gave us the full recap when he got home.  As I have mentioned, Caleb is our talker.... sometimes it is nonstop jabber.  I think Wes had plenty of the one on one chatter.  They wound up coming home a day early due to heavy rains in Mason.  So glad Caleb had such a great time on his first hunt.

Downtown Tinsel Town

We kicked off the holiday season with the Downtown Christmas Stroll and Lighted Parade.  What a great event for our little town!  St. Paul's CDS went with the Downtown Tinsel Town theme for their floats and each grade portrayed a different Christmas movie. 

 Kindergarten Kingdom - "The Nativity Story"  Look who was chosen to be Mary and Joseph!!!  Avery was so excited.  She toted around Baby Jesus all week and practiced swaddling him. 

Bouncing Bears - "Polar Express";  The kids got to wear their jammies on the float and boy were these three excited buddies - Ethan, Caleb & Jase. 

This year and from here on out I will be in charge of the Christmas Stroll and parade event though work.  It is fun, yet exhausitng.  I missed out on helping the kids get ready and loaded on the float, but was able to see them as they passed the courthouse square.  Good times!

Little "Shuga" Red

Meet our adopted elf, Little Shuga Red....

Little Red showed up under the playroom Christmas tree when we got home from Santa pictures Thursday night.  Caleb found the box under the tree and we were all excited to see what was inside... it was our very own "Elf on the Shelf."  The book we read let us know that Little Red was a scout elf who will be watching over Maurer Party of Five and reporting back to Santa every night until Christmas.  He has magic powers and we can't touch him or he will lose some of his magic and may not be able to make the North Pole journey.  The kids weren't that into it at first, but as I was sitting by the Christmas tree in the living room reading to the kids, Little Red got out of his box and magically appreared on the mantle.  It even took me by surprise, but Wes was being sneaky and ever since then the kids are true believers.

There are websites and blogs dedicated to this little guy and creative ways for him to be found every morning.  So far we have found our elf in the on top of a mirror, in the coffee pot, and sitting at the table enjoying a powdered donut and chocolate milk out of a straw....  not sure what tomorrow will bring.
As for our elf's name, the kids were set on Little Red the first night.  Wes convinced them that he needed a middle name and Caleb thought it should be "Shuga", like Malcolm Shuga Brown from the Brenham Cubs... future longhorn.  So Little Shuga Red it is....  We are having a lot of fun with him so far!

3 for 3 with Santa this year!

 Caleb was a bit hesitant to climb on the jolly ol' guys lap, but after a little convincing, he hopped on and was all smiles.  This is the first year we haven't had any tears and boy did pics go a lot quicker!

 Look at those smiles!!

Letting Santa know what all is on their lists this year.