Christmas Time with Willie the Elf

Willie the Elf joined our family this Christmas to make sure Maximus and Camille were good little children.

It was pretty impressive to see how fast Max could find Willie each morning. Max requested that Willie go to visit Santa with him so that he could tell Santa how good he had been, I emphasized (again) that Willie goes each night to tell Santa but Max didn't believe me so he wanted to be there when Willie told Santa.  Thats our kid making sure that the "truth" is being told to the big man in the North Pole. It was also a little sad when he wanted Willie to see how many toys he got this year for being good ... "I show Willie" ... and I had to explain that Willie had already gone to the North Pole to be with Santa.  As much as I was excited and dreaded the Elf on the Shelf, it wasn't as hard as I thought to entertain a 3yr old and due to Max being so good at finding him I didn't lose too many minutes off my morning routine.  I look forward to Willie returning next year.  See you soon Willie as I am aware how fast a year can fly by.  Here is a tribute to our little Elf ...

    

Jingle All The Way!

Firstly, I just realized that this is our 200th post. Thanks for hanging in there with us. We love and miss all of our friends and family all over this crazy world. Hope to see you all very soon. Christmas time is here and we have been busy taking it all in. Max is at an age where he can truly appreciate what's happening around him, and that includes music. After having mastered classics like Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and Happy Birthday! he has now moved on to Christmas tunes, with Jingle Bells being the most coherent. So coherent, in fact, that we had to share it with everyone. I wanted to be extra special for everyone to hear his magnificent voice, so I mic'd him up :-)

We also went to ride the Polar Express (unofficially the North Pole Express in Grapevine, TX) with some of our friends in town and their kids. Besides being excited with the obvious train obsession he has, this was also his chance to see the big man himself, Santa Claus. Max did great while Camille...well...didn't. I guess her Daddy is the only man with a beard deemed not scary in her life. That's ok though; they both still enjoyed the whole trip.

3 Munchkins waiting in line, dancing on candy canes

Mille also had a bunch of fun waiting

Getting ready to board the Polar Express

They really went all out on the decor

Tickets in hand, ready to GO!

Non-stop Christmas music kept them active the whole trip

Mrs. Claus with the photobomb of the day

We got off at the North Pole and it was "Snowing"!

Making cookies for Santa

Eating her Christmas hat while Max makes cookies for Santa

We wrote our first letter to Santa. He just wants Christmas Lights and Squirrels.

I hope we get a letter back!

Of course, a classic Faison-style picture with Santa. Cue the tears.

The Great Christmas Wreath Artist

Max has had quite the career as an amateur artist, particularly in the art form known as "painting." His gallery of masterpieces that adorn the walls of Faison Hall would put the Louvre to shame. Not to be outdone, Camille has taken to the arts to express her inner-Christmas spirit. I present what may possibly be her magnum opus, simply titled Wreath.

Warming up with a painting for a local charity auction (no, not really y'all).

This is the teaser, as we would call it in TV. "Oh my! What's she painting!?"

The artist's tools of the trade

We present for all to enjoy...Wreath. No pictures please.

Maximus (left) with Tree (circa 2012) and Camille (right) with Wreath (2014)

Winter Is Coming

Ok, ok. I know it's been a while. For that I apologize. To make up for it, I bring you a few gifts in the form of adorable photos of Max & Camille. Aunt Caitlyn has been busy helping take care of Camille while I'm still working on the road. I should know because I get daily updates in the form of the latest cute pose that Camille has learned. Trust me, there are a lot of them! I've had some time here and there to be home, but it's never much and never enough. When I AM home, I try to make the most of it. Sometimes I keep Max out of school so we can hang out and go to the "ice cream store" (I hope Mommy isn't reading this ;-). Coming up on Christmas break will give me a month to be home (as the schedule currently stands), so hopefully I can play catch up as best I can.

Our Thanksgiving break consisted of traveling back to Alabama to see Courtney's family in the Birmingham area and then onward to the Iron Bowl (that was fun) in Tuscaloosa. We decided to take our camper out for it's first real weeklong journey. I gotta say, we all had a blast. It was rather cold weather most of the time, but a few tanks of propane, electric blanket and campfires kept us warm and we had plenty of room to run around with Max and Lucy.

Mille getting closer to standing

It's never too early for roasted marshmellows!

We're ready to work

It's also never too late for roasted marshmellows

These three amigos crack themselves up

Play hard. Sleep hard.

Lucy got in on the action by finding the largest "stick" on the campground

We found some great BBQ in Mississippi on our way back home

Who loves his sister? 

Never a dull moment with MaxMan

Thanksgiving was blast. It was awesome to see some family followed by an incredible Bama game. Always a good time. As soon as we got back though, I had to immediately hit the road for work again. However, the episode we are currently shooting is in College Station, TX and I had a chance to drive back home to see everyone on my off day. It was short lived, but I did manage to capture Mille's teeth that have come in. Just look between those gigantic cheeks!

Smile so we can see those chompers!

Mille loves her some "Aunt CayCay"