Merry Christmas!

I think this might be the last post that I do until Christmas! We have been quite busy this weekend. We had some our friends over this weekend to make ornaments and for some playtime! We had a great time. Today we went over to another friends house and made some Christmas cookies! A little more than we normally do for a weekend! It was so much fun! I have attached a video that I took today of the kids on the way back to the house. Evidently, Jake has learned how to say "Merry Christmas!" It's so cute!

I have also attached some cute pics of Hannah and I. She actually wanted to take pictures last Wednesday before her tumbling class. Notice her leg warmers....can you believe they are bringing those back?? YEA!!! I had some when I was a little older than her! We hope you all have a very Merry Christmas! Love to you all!

Party Time!

Last night was Brent's Christmas party down in Dallas. As always it was very fun and exciting, no not really! This will be the last Christmas party for Club Marketing in Dallas and I'm sure Brent is thrilled! Since we hardly ever have any pictures taken of Brent and I, I thought this was a good opportunity since we were all dressed up. Don't get me wrong, I will take any time to get to be with my husband, even though he doesn't really care for the party! I still had fun just being with him!

Where's Hannah??

The past couple of naps that Hannah has had, she has ended up in the plastic storage box that we keep her stuffed animals in. At first, we would come into her room to wake her from her nap and would find her nestled in her curtains on the floor. When you would first walk in the room you couldn't find her. It's been kind of funny to go in and see where you will find her! The other day Brent was home and got the chance to wake her up from her nap. When I got home he said "you're never going to believe where I found Hannah." He told me that she was in the box! So that last 2 days she has wanted to sleep in the box! Whatever it takes to get her to take a nap...I don't care! I got a couple of snap shots of her in the box!! Now when she takes a nap she says "Mommy, I want to sleep in the box!" I guess it like her secret hiding spot that we all know about now! Cute,cute,cute!

yesterday at nap time!

today at nap time!

My Q & A with Hannah

Hannah decided that she didn't need a nap today. Instead, she came out to the living room and talked to me about the Christmas tree. After a couple of minutes I thought...this would be a cute video! There is a little added bonus of Hannah's version of singing Jingle Bells. Check it out!

Deck the Halls!!

Today I accomplished quite a bit! Hannah was in school today and Jake was home with Mommy. We had a late start but, I soon came up with the great idea of wrapping presents. I started about 10 a.m. and finished about 11:15. I had already finished all of our Christmas shopping last Friday and now I thought it was time to conquer the world of wrapping. I did pretty good and got all of Hannah's gifts wrapped except for the kitchen, of course. That will be assemble by her Uncle Robert in his free time over at Dad and Mom's. I don't even think we're going to wrap it. We can't wait to see her face Christmas morning. Anyway, back to wrapping...I started on Jake's gifts since he was busy watching CARS! He didn't really notice me grabbing his gifts that were nicely hidden on the top bunk bed (It has to be used for something...storage works well for now). I had one more gift of his to wrap and I went in and grabbed it and all of the sudden I heard this loud gasp! I thought, "on no, he's in here!". I turned around and his mouth was wide open and he had the look of amazement on his face. I had in my hands....his firetruck! I ran into the kitchen and tried to cover it up with paper as fast as possible(while he is trailing fast behind me). I got it covered up and thought...he has short term memory loss right now, he won't remember as long as I distract him with something else. As I was trying to cover the firetruck up with paper, I ran out of paper and the roll was left behind. I handed him the roll and he thought this was the best thing ever!! He started running around the house, in typical Jake fashion, whacking whatever he could with it! Problem solved!!!

After most of the gifts were wrapped we headed out for some more shopping! For the past 2 years I have bought the kids their very own ornament for them to put on the tree. A little late this year but, I got it done. I got Jake a choo-choo train and Hannah a frosty the snowman! I also found some great silver and red jingle bells! Our tree has never been very creative, just the plain-jane balls you get at Wal-Mart! But since the kids have come along, they really get into putting their very own ornaments on the tree. It will be fun in 20 years to look back at each and every ornament that we have collected over the years. It may looked a little funny right now with not so many ornaments over here but plenty in just one spot. That's the way we like it...because those little critters did it themselves. Our little elves!

Catch up!

Well, I am going to try and play catch up on this post. Since last Wednesday we have had a lot going on. On Wednesday morning we got the results back from Hannah's allergy testing and it came back negative. She's a perfectly healthy girl! So, since that exciting news, I got together with 2 other mommy's (from the tumbling class) and we took all the kids to the park! I think that there were 6 kids total, all the same ages as Hannah and Jake. There is even a little boy Jake's age. It was perfect. I think we spent 2 hours just playing at the park. We had been waiting for a couple of weeks on taking Hannah outside, just for the fact that we didn't know if something outside was making her sick. She and Jake were so excited to get some fresh air.

Later that day my in-laws came into town for Thanksgiving. We enjoyed some yummy lasagna and chessy bread from Papa Murphy's. If you haven't tried them yet, they are outstanding and pretty cheap! I started a couple of things for Thanksgiving and then we called it an early night, since I was running the next day. I didn't end up running in the Turkey Trot in downtown but, did an awesome 8.5 miles here in Mckinney. Dad had spent some time in the ER earlier that morning and he didn't think he could make it down there with 30,000 other runners! For someone who has a pinched nerve, he did fabulous!!! Way to go Dad!

Friday morning came around and Randi and I got up at 5 a.m and hit the stores!! I can't believe that I got out that early to shop! We actually had a great time and didn't really run into too much mayhem! Then we got to Toys 'R' Us...that place was crazy! We had to wait in the check out line for 1 hour! But, I have to say they were very organized! I got home at about 10 a.m. and enjoyed some time with Brent's family before they left! I think we had a pretty good Thanksgiving! No fires (remember Randi??), nothing was burned and every thing was done about the same time! Very relaxing, good company, and a very easy clean up. Thanks to Brent for the great idea of buying paper plates and plastic silver wear! That was the best clean up by far! Brent ended up having to fly on Friday and got back late last night. We didn't end up doing too much while he was gone. Just chillin'!

Today has been a fun day. We took the kids outside to ride their bikes. And much to our surprise, Hannah has picked up riding her bike really fast. We have been working with her off and on for a while and she just couldn't get the pedaling part down! I think that it helped a little that Jake got a tricycle for his birthday and she has been practicing indoors on that. We got a lot of pictures and even a video to share!

working hard to get up the driveway

She's so proud of herself

Aren't they super cute?

Almost a collision...thankfully Hannah got out of the way!

We hope you enjoy the video!

Poor Hannah!

Yesterday, Hannah was playing with one of Jake's big Tonka trucks when her face met the floor! Bless her heart, she bit her lip really good and skinned her nose up! We didn't even know about the nose until this morning! I guess it took a little while to appear! We felt so bad for her. Jake runs around the house and is always running into or bumping into something and really never sheds a tear! Usually the next day there is a scratch or bump or something and we're both like...where did that come from. Hannah on the other hand is pretty dramatic when she gets hurt. This time she had reason for the dramatic crying....she was bleeding pretty good! She seems fine today but, I had to share the picture! She smiling though!

We've had a pretty lazy day for the most part! I got out and ran with Dad. We ended up running 8.2 miles!! Pretty crazy, I didn't know I could actually go that far! But, good news is...I can run the 8 miles at the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving day. I was a little worried that I might not have it in me to do it! Turns out, I was wrong! We have really enjoyed having Brent home this weekend. We accomplished a lot. The kids got their pictures taken for the Christmas greeting card and school pictures....you'll see them soon! I got to take Hannah to her very first movie! We went to see Madagascar 2! She seemed to have fun but, couldn't really sit still! Oh well! Anyway, that's it from us! I have added a couple of pictures that I took this weekend! Enjoy!

Prior to her little accident...in her new sweater!!

The little man eating applesauce and chessin' it up!

Update!

Well, it's been way too long since my last post! If you didn't hear, Hannah was in the hospital last week for a couple of days due to, what they say, Asthma. The cause of it....they don't know. She is back home now and is doing well and is getting back to her normal bubbly self every day! She headed back to school this morning and evidently didn't skip a beat! Sorry for not blogging lately. I was just not in the mood! Now that Brent is back home (after being gone for nearly 2 weeks) life will be back to normal for us North Texas Reubin's. I will update the blog soon with some new pictures of the kids and from Jake's recent birthday party!

Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and prayers for Hannah!! They were greatly appreciated and needed!

A day of fun!

Yesterday was quite a busy day! Hannah had her very first birthday party that she was invited to. The little boy,Cameron, is the son of one of my friends that I went to school with. We played softball and danced together on drill team. Small world....her and her husband live not 2 miles down the road from us and their son goes to pre-school with Hannah. In fact, she came home the other day and told me that Cameron was her boyfriend and that they were going to play baseball together. When I told Katy this, we both laughed. How cute is that? Any how, back to the birthday party....I went in to drop her off and she froze. She didn't want me to leave! It was...one more hug Mommy, no just one more! I was about to die! I told Katy I have to just turn around and leave, I know she'll be fine once I'm gone! I left and never got a call to come and get her. I went to pick her up and saw her playing with all of the other boys!! That's right, boys! She was the only girl! Didn't seem to bother her one bit! She evidently got right in there and had a great time. She talked about it all the way home!

After we got home, it was time to get ready to go to the farm! We say farm because this is where my parents hope to be very soon! They would love to have their land with a log cabin and a farm on it! For right now my Aunt and Uncle have some property up there with a lake and we go up there every now and then to have get togethers! Last night was a bonfire night! We got up there around 5 p.m. and had hamburgers and hot dogs and let the kids run around! We brought the John Deere tractor up there and the kids took turns playing with that! They also got to see some catfish in the lake! After a couple of hours of play....Hannah was tired and wanted to go home. Bless her heart, she had a long day! Check out our pictures from the "farm!"

What a day!

Today has been a day full of exciting new things for the kids. I didn't plan any of it, it just fell into place. Today was Hannah's first day as a Firefly at the Tumble Bug gym. She did awesome!! I was so proud of her! She did things that I didn't even know she could do! She was challenged more so than she has ever been before. She handled it very well! When we were getting ready this morning for her class, I noticed that it was particularly difficult to put on her leotard. It seems that she has grown quite a bit since I bought this one! We left early and headed for the gym to see if we could buy a new one. Since she is a gymnast, they wear different fitting leotards. So you have to buy them at the gym! Hopefully, this one will last a little longer...they're quite expensive but, nice! She got a new leotard that fits her perfectly! After class, the owner of the gym gave each of them a ring-pop for graduating up into the new class! Hannah devoured hers after lunch!!

After her class was over it was time to pick up Jake from down the hall! He made a BAT today in preschool! Very cool!! He did well in class and did extremely well being in underwear! The teacher is quite pleased with his progress in potty training!! I can officially say...JAKE IS POTTY TRAINED!!!! YEA!!! What a big boy! It had been such a great day, thus far, that I decided to see if Brent had left out of Mckinney airport yet! He hadn't, so we headed that way to share with him all the good news!! When we arrived, there was a fire truck helping out someone that had just arrived on another airplane. The kids love fire trucks!! Their little eyes got so big when they got out of the car and saw it. As we got through the gate they just sat there at starred at it!! I don't think they have ever seen one up close. The firemen came from around the truck and started talking to both of them and gave them some stickers and tattoos!! Then they let them sit in the front seat!! What a huge treat for them!!! Then it was off to Daddy's airplane! They got to play inside the Falcon for a couple of minutes and then it was off to lunch! This was such a great day for them! They will be talking about it for days!

Brent and I feel so blessed to have 2 wonderful and beautiful children! We love them so much and are so proud of them for all the new and exciting things that they are doing! They are so special to us and I thank God for them every day!

Hannah in her new leotard eating her ring-pop!

Hannah learned how to do a back bend all by herself!

Jake driving the fire truck!

Aren't they cute?

Hannah standing on the wing of the airplane!!

Sea World Fun!

This weekend I took the kids to Sea World for a little get away. Originally, Brent was supposed to be down there for training but, that got changed. Since, I had already talked it up to Hannah, I decided to go ahead down there. My Mom took off a much needed day off from work to go with us. She needed a little getaway too! After a long drive down there (I hit rush hour traffic in just about every major city) we arrived about 7:00 p.m on Friday night. We relaxed had some dinner and called it a night. We got up pretty early or earlier than normal for the kids (about 8:00 a.m.) and had breakfast and headed to Sea World. We got there right after it opened. The weather was perfect and there was not that many people in the park. I had bought a harness for Jake because he can only stand so much for the stroller. He likes to wonder around so the harness was great! Hannah actually held the leash for most of the time. We ended up renting a double stroller after a couple of hours, just to give them a break! We got to see the Shamu show, feed the dolphins, see the penguins, sea lions and all kinds of other sea life! They had so much fun! I'm so glad they got to experience it! Later that night we went to Outback for dinner and then watched a movie in the hotel. Hannah got to sleep with Mimi in her room and Jake stayed with Mommy. We didn't sleep well the first night all together. They kept waking each other up! We decided to get a really good night sleep and wake up extra early to go back home. I stuck to my plan and we left at 7 a.m. and got to Dallas at 11 a.m. They was so much better than going down there! We still had the whole day to spend with Brent! When they got home they were so excited to see Brent. It's like it had been eternity for them! They had a blast but they still missed their Daddy!

This was their first taste of cotton candy!

The Shamu show

They were mesmerized for 30 minutes.

Of course we sat in the splash zone!! Both Hannah, Jake and I got soaked. Mimi not so much.

Hannah thought it was so exciting to get splashed by Shamu!

After 5 hours of fun at Sea World....they didn't make it to the highway!

A short video of Hannah and Jake's first cotton candy experience!!

A reason to celebrate!!!

Today was a pretty good day, I have to say! Jake has started big boy underwear as of Friday! The weekend didn't go great but, I think that was because we were all over the place. Today though, he was in underwear from this morning until he went to bed tonight!!! No accidents!!! YEA!! He's such a big boy!! Good job Jake! What a relief to have this under our belts! I have to say, kudos to Brent!! He worked with Jake all day yesterday while I was out and about! He didn't get to do that with Hannah but, he was very patient with Jake yesterday and it paid off! I'm sure there will be the occasional accident but, I think we're off to a great start!

Hannah, on the other hand, had tumbling today and of course did GREAT! She had been doing so well that they bumped her up to the 4&5 yr. old class early!!! Yippee Hannah! After her regular class we went out to pass by time while waiting to pick up Jake from pre-school. When we got back, her tumbling teacher said that she was trying to get a hold of me. She said that they wanted to move Hannah up to the next level. She has been doing so well following directions and has excelled in the tumbling, they believe that she was ready to be further challenged!!! We were so excited for our little Tumble Bug!! She has graduated from Caterpillar to Firefly!!! Way to go Hannah! As a reward she wanted some new Crocs!! I know that sounds silly that she wanted some new shoes but, you don't know our kids! They love shoes, especially boots and Crocs! Since I didn't want to buy boots, I opted for the Crocs. She hasn't had any for a couple of months since she grew out of her old ones! We're a Croc wearing family!



Jake may kill me later down the road for this picture but, it's cute for right now! Hannah in her new purple Crocs and Jake in his Nemo underwear!! They actually posed for the camera!

Robert and Dad got home from there camping trip early so, they came over for dinner tonight! Uncle Robert is always chasing the kids around and playing with them to wear them out for me!! Check out what Uncle Robert goes through!! Poor Uncle Robert! Well, it's just pay back for what he did to me!!! Ha, Ha, Ha!!!!

The start of something GREAT!!!

It was exactly 5 years ago today that Mr. Brent Reubin proposed to Melissa Edge!! I can't believe how fast it has flown by. If you don't know that story...it's a good one. Brent told me that he wanted to take me up to Arkansas to meet his grandparents in October. Of course, I was really nervous about meeting them, just for the fact that Brent talked so highly of them and I wanted to make a good impression! He flew me up there (yes, that's right...he flew me up) in a pretty fancy airplane on October 8th. I met the grandparents and we hurriedly went to the lake. He wanted to show me all around Bull Shoals, which is gorgeous! As we sat in front of the dam he asked me if I would like a glass of wine and as he bent down he came back up on one knee!! He then pulled out the blue box. I thought I was going to pass out. It was the most beautiful ring I had and have ever seen (he designed it himself)! He asked me to marry him and I said "of course!!!" Those were my exact words! I hugged him and he sat back and said "okay, was that a yes?" Poor guy was so nervous all he wanted to hear was "yes" or "no". The rest is history! It's been 5 years and 2 kiddos later!! We have a great marriage and 2 wonderful kids! I wouldn't trade any of it for the world! I love you Brent!

Thank you Leon and Tommye for letting us share that wonderful moment up there with you! Oh and by the way, I had no reason to be nervous. Leon and Tommye are 2 of the easiest people to be around! I immediately felt right at home!

Engaged couple - Brent and Melissa

Leon, Tommye, and Brent

The Dallas Arboretum

It's no surprise that Brent is out flying this weekend...he's in Las Vegas. His favorite place...just kidding!!! I think he dislikes going there more than Shreveport and he goes there almost every weekend!! It has been pretty hard lately to keep the kids preoccupied while he is gone...which has been a lot, especially on the weekends. I think I have taken them to the park so much...they don't get excited about it anymore. Recently, I was talking to one of my friends and they told me about the pumpkin patch out at the Arboretum!! I thought this would be a great adventure for the kids! Hannah has been fascinated with pumpkins for as long as I can remember!

When we first got there I was a little hesitant that they may not like it but, 10 minutes into it I was wrong. They had a blast. Of course, it was a little warm...what do you expect..it's Texas! But, other than that it was perfect. The flowers were absolutely amazing, they had more pumpkins than you can imagine and of course the botanical gardens with water! Right now Jake is into water....he loves to play in it. So every couple of steps he would say "wa-wa!" This definitely was the day to go, it was totally geared towards the kids! I enlisted my parents for some extra help! I have to say...they were troopers. It's been a long time since they have had to chase around little feet! All in all I think it was a success! The kids are napping right now and I'm sure Mimi and Papa are too!!

I took a ton of pictures! Enjoy!