The best Christmas Ever!

Christmas 2008 certainly turned out to be one of the most memorable for our Family! It started out with Santa Webb, bringing Jaden everything he wanted. His favorite toy was his first "Jeep" which he drove up and down the street all morning. Josh then got a wii system, which more importantly included "Rock Band"! He was so surprised and thought, at the time, that this was the most glorious Christmas of all! He did not realize that the most precious gift had yet to arrive!

Rock'in around the Christmas Tree!! We had a Happy Holiday!

Jaden burn'in rubber up and down the neighborhood!

After a day of fun and excitement (and a few cotractions) Natalie decided it was time to head to the hospital just before bedtime. The best gift of the day came at 1:50am on Friday morning! Brody obviously was ready to join in all the fun. He topped off one of the best Christmas' ever!

Jaden is going to be quite the older brother. We are all at home now and doing fantastic. We cannot wait for you all to meet baby Brody! For more pictures of Christmas, click on Bibler Family Photos to the right. Merry Christmas to all!

Spreading Christmas Cheer

We have had a busy week of Christmas activities. Here are some pictures from a few of them. And yes, I am still pregnant.

We went to the Trail of Lights at Zilker Park with The Matison's. It is about a mile of light displays. The kids really liked it.

The Zilker Christmas Tree

Jaden had a Christmas program at school. Notice Jaden is front and center. His class came out last and sat in front. My class and I are on the left side of the picture. All of the kids did a great job singing.

Jaden did great. They tried to get him to sit down with the rest of the toddlers, but he wanted no part of that and stood during the entire thing. He did not dance like he had been doing in practice, but he looked really cute shaking his Jingle Bells.

I thought Jaden would really enjoy decorating sugar cookies, but he was much more interested in eating the icing. He gets that from his daddy.

Christmas Exchange with the Kloesel's

Every year we try to get together with our great friends the Kloesels. Renee and I have been friends since high school, and our husbands have been great friends since we started dating them, and now our boys are great friends too. We ordered mexican (I know really festive) and hung out til the little boys got tired. My wonderful husband decided not to wait for Santa and bought me a new camera, so I am back in the picture taking business. Thanks honey!

Colten and Jaden have so much fun together. They were running from room to room, wrestling, laughing and having a ball.

Jaden got a Santa towel as one of his presents. When he sees Santa he says "HO, HO, HO". I don't know where he learned that from, but I think it is too cute.

Waiting...

We went to Breakfast with Santa last weekend. Unfortunately, the line to see Santa was so long we did not see Santa. Jaden did not mind, he was having to much fun in the bounce house, and riding on the train. Santa Who? I am sure he will get Santa a little more next year.

Most people are waiting for Christmas, I am waiting for this baby to be born. My official due date is DEC 31st, but my doctor says things are already moving along. This very last part of pregnancy is the hardest, the waiting, and the unknown. I am hoping that Brody does not make his big arrival before Christmas. We have to many things going on. Jaden and I have one more week of school, and he has a Christmas program next Friday where his class sings Jingle Bells. Jaden has not been singing in his practices, he has been dancing, which if you know him makes perfect sense. We will make sure and get it on video. I am enjoying all of the holiday cheer around, we even had a little snow the other night. All of my Christmas presents are bought and wrapped, and we are ordering Luby's for Christmas dinner, so I am ready. I hope everyone else is enjoying the season and remembering why we celebrate Christmas.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We spent Thanksgiving at the ranch with the rest of the Bibler's. It was nice and relaxing, great food and great company. We took Jaden to the Exotic Zoo, and to the Hill Country Lighting in Johnson City. I unfortunately dropped my camera in the pool and it is no longer working, so these pictures I took off of the websites. Santa if you read this blog, I have been a good girl this year, and would like a new camera for Christmas. :) Jaden loved the zoo, we hand fed tons of animals and played with the goats. We all enjoyed the lighting of the courthouse in downtown Johnson City. They had a firework show to display the lighting and Santa appeared afterward. There were tons of people there, especially for such a small town.

35 weeks

If you are Happy and you know it

Here is a video of Jaden dancing to "If you are Happy and you know it" He is quite the dancer. This is my first video attempt with my new pocket size video cam, so it is not the best. I promise to get better.

First Professional Haircut

I have cut Jaden's hair a few times before, but this was his first professional haircut. Daddy got his hair cut first, and then Jaden got his done. He did great. I am sure the lollipop and toys helped out, in fact, give the boy a sucker and he will do pretty much anything you want him to. I realized I have not updated you on all of Jaden's progress lately. We transferred him to his big boy bed right after his 2nd birthday, and he took to it like fish take to water. He went to sleep and slept all night from the very first night. He has gotten out of bed a few times since then, but we just tell him to get back in bed, and he goes to sleep. He is also doing very well at preschool. He has a girlfriend named Abby. The run around together on the playground holding hands, and they sit next to each other at snack time. I can't believe he is already chasing girls. He is such a sweet boy, and I am soaking up all of our one on one time together before baby Brody gets here.

Mommy's Little Monkey

We went to a Halloween Party yesterday at The Ackman's. We ordered pizza, had a bounce house for the kids, and went trick or treating around the neighborhood. It was Jaden's first Halloween party, and first Trick or Treating. He did great. He rode in a wagon with Connor, and at every house they would jump out of the wagon and run to the door. At the first few stops he was not sure of what to do, but by the end he would not let go of his candy bucket, and couldn't wait until the next stop. Josh and I think it is probably one of his favorite holidays, since he got to hang out with friends, jump in the bounce house, eat pizza, stay up late, and have 3 lollipops. It doesn't get much better than that when you are two.

We Voted

This picture has nothing to do with us voting today, but it put a smile on my face, so I decided to share it. Josh and I both did our American duty today and headed to the polls. At least this way, if our choice of candidate does not win, we can complain about it, because we actually voted. Plus they give you a sticker. :)

Baby Shower

My best girlfriends threw me a baby shower brunch this weekend at Chez Zee. It was such a wonderful time shared by all of my closest girlfriends and fellow mommies. We left the husbands and kids at home and enjoyed each others company without any distractions. I had a great time and our newest family member will have plenty of diapers when he gets here. Thanks to everyone who came, especially those of you who came in from out of town. And in case you haven't heard yet, and did not look at the cake picture, we have decided to name our bouncing baby boy "Brody". Not sure on a middle name yet, we will have to wait and see.

31 weeks pregnant

We are all cruising right along through this pregnancy. Josh and I are getting excited to have a newborn again, since Jaden is such a big boy now. Jaden knows there is a baby in my belly and gives my belly sweet kisses and pats. It is enough to make any hormonally charged pregnant woman come to tears. I can tell my body is getting more tired and it won't be long before I give this new baby an eviction notice.

Pumpkin Festival

Jaden and I went to a pumpkin festival at Canyon Creek Church. Josh is out of town on a deep sea fishing excursion, so we went on our own. We met Jaden's friends Connor, Walker, and Colten there. They had tons of fun activities for the little ones, inflatables, a petting zoo, pumpkin painting, games, and snacks. Jaden's favorite thing was the petting zoo. They had pigs, goats, chickens, bunnies, a pony, and ducks. He got to hand feed them. We decided you have to be careful with the ducks and chickens because they eat very quickly out of your hand, and it tickles. I think he wanted to bring an animal home, but I told him our home owners association doesn't allow goats in the backyard. :)

Date Night

For date night, Josh and I went to Cheesecake Factory for dinner and watched Fireproof as our movie. The movie has a great message and is good for all married couples to watch. I would suggest waiting for it to come out on DVD. The acting is not the strongest, kinda like a Lifetime movie. But we still enjoyed our evening out together. We have been trying to squeeze in as many as possible with baby #2 on the way. We know that once he gets here, it will be a little while before we can venture out again.

Jaden's Big 2nd Birthday!

Grandma brought Jaden a "Dino Sprinkler"
Jaden's 2nd Birthday was yesterday. We used Jaden's favorite TV characters and had a "Backyardigans" party with lots of activities in the backyard. The weather was perfect. All of the kids had such a great time. They swam, painted pumpkins, hit a pinata, and ate hot dogs and cupcakes. It is so fun to watch them run around and play together. I can't believe that he is already two years old. The cliche about time going by so fast is so true. Thanks to everyone who came, especially those of you that drove in from out of town. Jaden is a lucky little boy to have so many people that love him so much.

Another Kid Birthday Bash

We all loaded up Saturday morning and headed to Cole's 2nd birthday party. It was at a pool at Avery Ranch. Notice Josh is in the pool with Jaden, not me. Let's just say I am not the biggest fan of wearing a bathing suit while big and pregnant. All of the kids had a ton of fun. Josh and I met Cole's parents, Cindy and Scott, at our baby birthing class when we were pregnant with Jaden. Then, we discovered we all go to the same church. Jaden and Cole get to play together on Sundays in church daycare. The soul revolution group that Josh signed up for is lead by Scott. They are a great couple and I am happy that we met and connected with them.

Exactly what I have been feeling lately "radiant"

Dad's Night at Jaden's Preschool

Last night was Dad's night at Jaden's school. It was a chance for dad's to meet their child's teacher and see their classrooms, since most of the time mom's are the ones who drop off and pick up the kiddos. And of course if you are going to get the men to leave the house on their own with the kids you have to offer some kind of reward. There was hot dogs and hamburgers for everyone. I was there to meet the dad's from my class, and Josh was there to meet Jaden's teacher. She told us that Jaden has a girlfriend at school. Her name is Abbey, and apparently she is Jaden's favorite kid to play with. He runs around calling her name and trying to get her attention. Unfortunately, she is not as in to it as he is, and prefers to play with her girlfriends most of the time.

Jaden decided he would jump on and off the rock like the big boys were doing. For a mom ,it is one of those hold your breathe moments. As he grows bigger and more daring I am experiencing more and more of those.

Gateways' 10th birthday bash

The crowd in the outfield listening to live music

(Jaden and Connor dancing, yes his feet are off the ground)

Yesterday, we went to the Dell Diamond to help our church celebrate 10 years. They had tons of live music, fun activities and great food. I think Jaden had the most fun. He danced his little heart out to every song that played. He even got some recognition from one of the guys that helps set up Wide Awake as the best little dancer out there. I know some of you have seen him in action, but for those of you that have not, it is pure entertainment. He never fails to bring laughter and cheers to the crowd around him. His friend Connor was there as his dancing partner. The amount of energy those two had yesterday is astounding. Wish they could bottle it up and give some to us moms and dads who have to take turns running around to chase them.

I think Jaden wants a Zen garden....

So, Jaden and I spend alot of time in the backyard playing, and one of his toys is a sand box. I discovered the other day that Jaden has a talent I did not know about. He is a Zen Gardener. I wonder if pre school is stressing him out and he is trying to relieve his stress by raking sand. Just kidding. He is having a blast a school. I do wonder what inspires his straight line raking. I will probably never know, but I thought it was cool enough to share.

Soul Revolution

Our pastor has written a book which we think is fantastic. I started a bible study with a group of women a few weeks ago, and we are going to go through this book together at the end of September when we finish our current book. Josh just signed up for a group this past Sunday. The church is giving away the book for free if you promise to read it. I think that is amazing. And with all of us going through it at the same time, there is bound to be some soul revolutions. Click on the Gateway link on the right side of the blog to get more information on our church, or this book.

Yikes IKE

We have lots of family and friends in the Houston area, and we are very nervous for them as Hurricane IKE approaches. My mom and dad live in the Corpus area, and that is who we were worried about first, but with the storm taking a turn north, Houston is the big concern. Josh's parents live in Nassau Bay which had a mandatory evacuation yesterday. They went to Dallas to visit Faith, Aaron and baby Raley ( Jaden's only cousin). My brother lives downtown Houston and should only see lots of rain and wind. They are staying to ride out the storm. I'm sure they have gotten their hurricane supplies together and are ready to hunker down. All of you in the Houston area will be in our thoughts and prayers this weekend, and next week as the damage is surveyed.

My expanding belly

I am 24 weeks pregnant and almost 2/3 of the way done. It is really amazing how fast this pregnancy has gone. You would not have heard me say that during the first one. It took forever for Jaden to get here, and I was an emotional wreck. I was focused on every growing pain and weird thing that was happening to me. With this baby, I had the initial tiredness, and some nausea in the beginning. But now the new expansion around my mid line, and the little baby inside kicking me are the only real clues to my pregnancy. And I must be officially showing to strangers, since more are smiling and holding doors open for me. This pregnancy has truly been a blessing. I can't wait for our newest family member to get here.

Jaden was running back and forth in front of me while Josh was trying to snap a picture. He is such a cute little stinker.

First Day of Preschool

Well, Jaden and I both officially started Preschool today. He is a participant in the Toddler room, and I teach one of the 2 year old classes. I think he had a pretty good day. He was a little sad when I dropped him off in his room, but his teacher said he quickly got over it and played with the other kids. I think before to long he will be running to his room and waving bye to me. My first day was good as far as first days go. I did have one child who cried on and off most of the day. I did manage to get them all to sit where they were suppose to for story and snack and lunch. We made it safely to the playground, and got all of the things we were suppose to done. I would say that is a success. Teaching 2 year olds is much different than teaching elementary school kids. I'll let you know later which one I prefer after these kids get settled. I do know that it is much more fun to dance and make art than to do big kid work.