"San-HA" is Coming to Town

This year was Short Christmas and we traveled down to McKinney to spend the holiday with Stephen's family. This was our first long car ride with both boys, and while Stephen and I were apprehensive, they did awesome! Carson mostly slept or gazed into the distance while Miles played, snacked and watched some shows on the i-Pad. If it hadn't of been for the traffic we ran into in Dallas, the drive would have been no sweat.

Once we pulled in, I got everything ready in the boys' rooms while Stephen played with the kiddos downstairs. We had a chill and relaxing rest of the day just hanging out.

The next day was Christmas Eve and we made plans to visit Chris and Amber to see all the progress they've made on the house renovations. It looked amazing!! Miles was in heaven once Dom showed him his matchbox car collection and couldn't get enough of the big trampoline in the backyard. I thought I'd show off my flipping skills and hopped up there like it was nothing. Yall...I've never felt so old. I got off that thing all shaky. While I can still flip, I might prefer to limit said flips in the future haha! We all headed back to Denise's to hang out, play and have a big family dinner.

Ray let us drive the golf cart over to the playground. Miles' face says it all!

Christmas eve tradition - one gift! 

Miles got a super cool fire truck

Carson - a new toy with all the goods. Crunchy belly, tags, rattles, teethers and more

The wait was over and the day was here! We woke up, snuggled a bit in bed while Stephen and I got ready for the day and headed downstairs for the big reveal. Miles is getting bigger and understanding more and more and this year was so fun! It took him no time to figure out what his job was. Open all gifts!

Chef Stephen made breakfast - french toast, bacon and mimosas YUM while we waited for Chris, Amber and Dom to join. While Miles wanted to tear into everything, we held him back a bit so it wasn't a huge madhouse. He got to open some gifts at a slow pace before everyone arrived which actually worked out great because after each gift, he just wanted to take it out and play. After everyone got there, it was a free for all and so fun to watch. That is...watch Miles open everyone's gift for them. ha!

Love this one!

Stephen was in charge of Dom's gift. Money, inside balloons, wrapped box inside a box inside a box inside a box etc. He had to blow up and pop each balloon to find the cash. Highlight for sure :P

We took a walk out on the golf course - Miles practicing his putting

Santa (San-HA) brought Miles an awesome scooter and it didn't take long for this guy to figure it out. 

All in all, such an awesome day! Merry Christmas everyone!! Love, The Shorts

The next day was mostly spent packing up and getting ready to leave. But, we made sure not to head out of town before visiting my Grandma in Plano. The Gates joined so we could capture another amazing multi-generational photo. So cool

And, after a fun filled stay, we headed back to Austin hoping and crossing our fingers the ride home wouldn't be total a nightmare. 20 min into the drive.....

Hard to see but Carson is passed out

I'd say they had a good time :D

Thanks for hosting Denise!!

Countdown to Christmas!

This year, Christmas came quick! I felt like we had to squeeze a lot in in just a short period of time because Thanksgiving fell late this year. But, like always, it's all worth it!

First up, photos with the kids. I had to do this in secret because I was using these photos as part of a gift for Stephen -  a new mug and ornament! The boys did great and I got some keepers for sure.

I didn't get any photos of the white elephant Christmas party I had with my group of friends, but it was so great to get together with everyone and I look forward to it each year. It's one of those groups that you may not see often, but when you get together, it's like no time had been spent apart. It's was a great time.

Becky and Todd hosted our neighborhood Christmas party again this year and the theme? Minute to Win it + As seen on TV. Definitely a win.

We started off with a game Becky found that the adults likely wouldn't be AS interested in. So? We got the kids to do it. Shower cap + shaving cream + throwing of Cheetos. Yes.

The adults got into the rest of the games and showed off their random skills. The winner of the skill test? Beth. The object of the game - unroll an entire roll of crepe paper in under one minute. Todd was on the other side and literally as I cued up the camera, Beth was done. Insane!

One of the favorites. A banana tied to a string which you have to use to hit an orange across the room. SO funny to watch!

And the final game - shaking ping pong balls out of a kleenex box taped to your waist. I think this one speaks for itself. haha!

Such a fun time with everyone. From here - prep for Christmas in Dallas!

I low yoo

Because it's just too cute not to post, and the holiday pics are going to take awhile to get through. This should hold yall over :)

A Whole 8!

Dear Santa.... It's Carson.... Guess what?!

That's right! I'm a whole 8 months old!! To see all of my photos, click here!

I had trouble choosing the "official" photo, because let's be honest. Carson is a ball of cuteness! Here's the runner up:

All about this little booger:
- He is SO close to crawling "normally". But he's figured out his own army crawl and is getting faster and faster moving across the floor.

- Still rocking on all fours and planking. No pulling up yet
- Still just the 2 teeth on the bottom
- Drooling and spitting so we're thinking some new teeth are on the horizon
- Doing so much better at eating solids and is on 2 meals a day
- He's about at a 50% accuracy at feeding himself finger foods. He like cheerios and nom nom crackers so far. He hasn't quite figured out the puffs yet
- Current favorite toys:  rattle ball, train activity table, things with tags and pretty much anything and everything Miles has
- Thinks socks and strings are super interesting and will army crawl to inspect them
- Infatuated with the Christmas tree and the lights
- Has graduated to 12 months clothes and size 4 diapers. We're trying to make use of all the 3s, but we may have to leave some behind
- Still kicks his legs all. the. time. Such a wiggle worm
- Anything Miles does makes him laugh but he's starting to engage with the girls as well. So cute :)

- Carson, like Miles, also doesn't koala when being held. He just kind of hangs there.... ugh haha
- We've noticed he is tracking about 3 weeks behind Miles as far as gross motor, but his teeth came in quicker. We'll see how this theory stacks up as he gets bigger.
- Loves looking at his hot air balloon mobile and chats with himself while going to sleep/waking up
- Starting to make himself giggle with toys

- We are just starting baby signs so we'll keep an eye out for new moves!
- Army crawls to toys off the blanket, but if they're on it, he just pulls the blanket towards him until the toy is close haha
- Because of Miles being in school, a consistent schedule will be difficult with Carson. He's our car seat baby and one who has to be woken up from naps. A bummer for him. But his flexibility is incredible. Such a trooper.

Carson is such a sweet, tolerant, inquisitive and happy little boy. I cannot wait for the clap clap swish swish! Keep working on that crawling bud :)