Crayons and Keyboards: November 2009

'Tis The Season: It Has Begun

The first ornament on the tree:

The process continues. There seemed to be a large collection of ornaments in this certain area when he competed his decorating. We had to come back the next morning and space everything our just a little bit more.

The completed task (notice the large grouping of ornaments at the lower right portion of the tree.)

Riding The Radio Flyer

Fort Worth Parade Of Lights 2009

Daddy's Little Elf

Friday after Thanksgiving means one thing: Putting Up Lights.

With Jaxson off with Boo and Pops, and Momma fighting the crowds at the sales; Belle and me were left to do the annual chore:

Buddy's Thanksgiving 2009

Belle's Thanksgiving 2009

The Feast:

The Aftermath:

Trotting: Snapshots Of The Cousins

Turkey Trotting: The Fourth Coming

Year four of an annual tradition is in the books. This year's group was smaller than years past, but its the quality not the quantity that counts.

Miss Belle joined the group for her first of many, and enjoyed watching all of us push, drag, heave, and struggle to get the rest of the kiddos around the course in their custom decorated wagon.

12,000+ runners, walkers, dogs, strollers, and once-a-year-workout junkies showed up to support the local YMCA and prepare for a day of feasting and bloating.

Little Longhorn Lady

Strikers Come To A Close

First soccer season has officially come to and end with the Strikers end-of-season party.

Closing out an undefeated season (no score is kept, so technically we never lost) Coach Dave had the entire Striker team and families over to their house for a party to close out the season.

Coach Dave was an incredible coach and person, never showing any frustration while trying to teach twelve 3-4 soccer novices how to play soccer. Chasing that many kids on one soccer field is not easy, especially when their main focus is their own shadow.

A huge Thank You to coach for all you did for the kids. You made his first season a special one.

Jaxson's first trophy will be one we all remember.

Pearly Whites

If you squint your eyes just right, you can see our two newest guest in the house:

Tooth #1 and Tooth #2 - no relation to Thing #1 and Thing #2

Dancing Underoos

Life Lesson #237

How to successfully crack, shell, and eat a pecan:

Step One:

Find a good one. Don't be too picky and don't worry about dirt on the outside, the good stuff is on the inside.

Step Two:

Crack it open. Use too much force and you'll crack the goods on the inside; not enough force and you won't make it to the next step.

Step Three:

Peel away the cracked portions and enjoy.

Day Dreaming

Chic Soccer

Any Progress Is Good

Slowly the little lady is taking in "human" food. We have progressed from flinging apple sauce with a spoon to actual ingesting mushed up sweet potatoes and crackers.

Who's Got Next?

As the first soccer season comes to and end, Jax and Blake are already thinking baseball.

Could be a good double-play combo in the infield...

Being A Dad

Become A Fan

Social networking sites are slowly taking over our world, one "Friend" at a time.

Crayons & Keyboards was a giant step into a new realm of mixing the real world and the digital world on an everyday basis; the next big step has just been taken.

Join the Crayons & Keyboards fan page on Facebook, and get even more of the digital/real world kool-aid than you ever wanted. Not sure what I am actually going to do with the Fan page, but we will figure that out together.

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/Crayons-Keyboards/167641219333?ref=mf

One of Fort Worth's little gems, is the Forest Park Miniature Train. For about $2, it is 45 minutes of relaxation typically not found with toddlers. Always full on the weekends, it is a staple for all kids. I rode it as a kid, and now we visit it frequently with Jaxson; but from now on Annabelle with be part of the tradition.

The long shadows from the setting sun and the spectacular colors from the season changing made for a beautiful Saturday evening ride.

Belle's First Ride: