Christmas Eve

After we got home from church Christmas Eve night, Zack hung out with his Uncle Eric. He was so sleepy and ready to go to bed so that Santa could come!

He put out some cookies and milk for Santa.

Then had to pose again in his chair in front of the tree. What a little cutie!

Off to bed for Zack, and then it was time to help Grandma and Grandpa put together their present for Zack.

Happy 8 months!

Zack was 8 months on Christmas Eve. We did not have a cupcake, so instead we took 8 different Christmas cookies that we made and put them together on a plate.

He had to take a little break to check out the tree!

A little history behind this rocking chair... it belonged my great grandmother, so Zack's great-great grandmother. My grandpa rocked in this chair when he was Zack's age. So cool! I wish we could bring it back to Texas - he loves that thing!

Happy 8 months Zack!

Visiting Santa Claus

We went to go visit Santa - and Zack was not quite sure what he thought of him. This was the best shot that we got, before Zack really realized that he was sitting on some strange man's lap!

Get me off of here!!!!

Who are you and why did my parents give me to you?? This is such a cute picture though!

We hope that everyone has a very blessed Christmas.

Making Christmas cookies

Zack decorated (somewhat) his first Christmas cookie this past week. Notice how nice the gingerbread man looks, and the train next to it. By the time we were done decorating, the train no longer existed! He had fun playing with the dough!

Here Zack has figured out what dough feels like and that he can pull apart his cookie!

eating the sprinkles

The final product. So cute!!

Grandma also decorated cookies.

As well as Uncle Mark and his girlfriend Ashley.

Our first few days in Denver

We are now in Denver and are having a great time!
Kris is also here now, which is nice to have our entire family together. Here are just a few things that we have been doing while we are here.

Here is Zack hanging out with Uncle Eric.

Zack shared his pacifier with his cousin Marley (not on purpose - Marley found the pacifier on the floor and decided he would like to give it a try too!!)

On Sunday we cheered on the Denver Broncos! Although they did not win, they still have a chance to make it in the playoffs. Go Broncos!

Here Grandpa is entertaining Zack on the kitchen floor. What a Grandpa!

Zack is all bundled up for his first experience with the snow. The falling snow outside was not his favorite thing! He is so cute in his little snow suit though!

More to come from our adventure here in Denver!

We had a wonderful time in Florida. Zack got to meet his second cousing Sonny and they had a great time playing together. Can you tell which one of them is a little ham? Poor Sonny!!

Here is my handsome little man.

Here is my Grandma and Grandpa. They did not know we were coming to Florida, so we got to surprise them - and were they ever surprised!! It was so wonderful to see them and to have them meet Zack. We hope to see you again soon!

We sure do miss everyone. Thank you so much Aunt Marla and Uncle Joe for your wonderful gift of bringing us to Florida and graciously hosting us at your home. We will always remember this as a very special trip. Love you all!

As I am writing this, I am packing up for our next trip. Zack and I leave tomorrow for Denver to visit my parents and spend Christmas there. Kris will be joining us next week. After this, I do not want to fly for a long time!! (Unless of course Kris gets me a trip to Tahiti for Christmas). Hopefully I will be better about updating the blog while we are there, but don't hold your breath!

A busy week

This week we have been doing a lot around the Thornton house...

Playing,

Dumping our food over when Mommy wasn't looking, and then playing with it (Mommy still has to master the art of keeping everything out of reach),

eating the food off our fingers,

taking a quick bath in the sink to clean up,

posing for Christmas pictures (Mommy has decided to take all of the Christmas pictures herself instead of paying for them - obviously this one is a little blurred - but very cute! Also, daddy has fixed the camera so hopefully no more blurred pictures!) More Christmas pictures are to come later!

AND...doing laundry and packing for our big trip to Florida. Zack and Mommy fly out tomorrow (Saturday) to meet Great Grandma and Grandpa Ridenour, Mommy's Aunt Marla and Uncle Joe, and cousin Megan and second cousin Sonny. Please pray for safe travel and good behavior on the plane.

We will check back with you all soon and update you on our trip!

Happy Thanksgiving

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We had a busy, but wonderful day filled with family and wonderful food! We have much to be thankful for - God has blessed us greatly.

We are so thankful for our beautiful baby boy.

We are thankful for a wonderful family (on both of our sides). Here is a picture of Kris' grandma, Nanny, with some of her great grand children. How is it that the 7 month old is the only one looking at the camera!?!?!
Here is Zack with his cousins, Aiden, Skylar and Paris. They make cute pilgrims and turkeys!

After our great time at Nanny's, we spent more time at MeMe and Pappy's house.

AND... Zack took his first ride on the four wheeler. Mommy was a little nervous, but all was well - and I have to work on not being an over-protective mom!!

My handsome boys after their ride!

Our trip to Houston

This past weekend we visited our good friends David, Mandy and Watson Grantham in Houston. Here are Zack and Watson on Saturday morning. This was the first time they had seen each other since the 4th of July. They had a great time playing, and even started learning how to share!!!

After we all got ready, Mandy, Watson, Zack and I headed to Old Town Spring for a little shopping. Mandy and I have a tradition of shopping there around this time of year. Next year the boys will be staying with their dads, and we will be going by ourselves!!

The boys were great, but Old Town Spring is definitely not stroller friendly. Speaking of strollers, how cute are they in their matching strollers!

That evening we all ate at Freebirds and then went to Amy's for icecream. We set the boys on the table in Amy's, and then had a flashback to 4 months ago.

Here they are at Quiznos in July.

On Sunday, we got to see Camille and Pierce, our good friends who are currently living in Singapore. They are in Texas for a few weeks, and we were so happy to see them.

Camille with Watson and Zack. This is the first time she has met both boys!

Pierce and Zack

After the Denton's left, Zack and Watson were back to playing! Here they are showing off their just how much they have grown since last time they were together.

Compare the previous picture to this one in July. Wow - they have been busy growing!

How cute are these two! We can't wait to have these little guys grow up together and become great friends. Thanks for a wonderful weekend and we hope to see you all soon!