Oh Christmas Tree

So, I know I may get some flack for putting up our Christmas tree so early. But, here goes. We LOVE Christmas. I could put up our Christmas decorations in September and be perfectly happy. I'm doing good to wait until now. And actually, it was Dave's idea to put it up this early. He brought the tree in on Sunday. Elizabeth and I set up the tree yesterday and then we decorated it as a family this evening. It was fun. Elizabeth loves to put the ornaments on the tree. We all get ornaments every year, so she loves getting to see her ornaments again. James did pretty well. His favorite activity was trying to climb into the box of ornaments. Thankfully none of them got smashed.
James & Elizabeth - James trying to grab the ornaments and Elizabeth trying to put them on. James still trying to grab ornaments.

Page hanging an ornament.

Elizabeth putting up an ornament - not sure what that face is about.

Dave hanging an ornament.

James looking at the tree.

Love this picture of the two of them.

The whole family. James was looking at the camera until the last second. Oh well.

James

James now gives kisses all the time. He loves to give kisses to people. And if you give him a stuffed animal, he will almost always kiss it first thing.
When we pray before meals he has started folding his hands. This is pretty funny because we always hold hands when we pray. He has been folding his hands and then saying something that isn't really clear. Today when he said it, it sounded a lot like "pray".
He walks all over the place and doesn't like to be in one place for very long. He's definitely keeping me on my toes.

Elizabeth

On Monday Elizabeth wore a ring to school - just a plastic ring with a big blue jewel on it. She asked if she could wear it and I said yes, but just let her know that it might get lost. She said ok and off she went with it on her finger. She got home and took it off and said, "I wore my ring to school to be fancy. I'm done being fancy for today."

Elizabeth LOVES animals. She is always either talking about them or playing with them. Some of the ones that she plays with are imaginary - her baby puppies, kittens, and a few others. She usually is tending to them because they are sick. She always trying to do things to take care of them and make them feel better - including giving them shots. I asked her what she wanted to be when she grows up today. She said she wants to train animals so they will get along with other animals. I'm guessing that this idea came from watching her Grandma's favorite show with her, "The Dog Whisperer." So, I'm guessing either an animal trainer or a vet. She then asked me what I did when I was old enough to be something. I told her that for the majority of the time I've been a wife and a mom - just what I always wanted. What a blessing!

Horsin' Around

Grandma & Poppy's neighbors got a new horse recently. This is supposed to be for Elizabeth to ride once he's been trained. His name is Romeo.
Romeo and James getting a bite to eat. :) Poppy, Elizabeth, Romeo, & Page - he is a beautiful horse.

Elizabeth feeding Romeo.

Poppy feeding Romeo.

Elizabeth riding Savannah.

Yeah, she's riding bareback. She could ride Savannah all day long if we let her. She LOVES it.

James & Elizabeth on Savannah - I'm so bummed this one was blurry because it would have been such a cute picture.

Another one that's not blurry, but that's not nearly as cute.

James riding Savannah. He will tolerate riding her, but isn't the fan that his sister is. At least not yet.

The Borski Boys, plus Romeo.

Elizabeth feeding Savannah.

Feeding the Goats

Elizabeth James & Dave

Elizabeth, James, & Dave

James getting the food out - was he getting it for the goats or for himself? Hmmm....

Four Wheelin'

Four wheelin' at the farm a few weeks ago.
James & Poppy Yes, we actually got the whole family on 1 4-wheeler. It was a little tight, but fun.

Elizabeth & Dave

James & Dave

Feeding the Cows

We fed the cows at the farm. This is the first time James has really been very interested.
James & Poppy

This is the first time we had been to the farm with Elizabeth in a while. She has been twice by herself since we all had been. It was so neat to see her out there. She was totally in her element. She knows how to do everything and is willing to tell you how you are supposed to do it. It was so fun to see her. We are starting to realize that her love for animals goes far beyond a typical child's interest in animals. She definitely has a passion for them. Maybe we can get her into Future Farmers of America. I'm not sure if they let 4 year olds join. :)

Elizabeth showing her cousin Shai (who is 12) how to feed the cows.

Elizabeth, James, and their great-uncle Ben.

Most of the calves are pretty skiddish and won't let you get close to them. But, this little guy was really sweet and would let you pet him and feed him.

Page and the calf

Visit to Grandma

On our way from Houston to the farm, Dave, James, and I stopped to visit Dave's Grandma (his dad's mom) in the nursing home. Elizabeth had gone back to the farm with Grandma & Poppy the night before. It was a very nice visit - the longest we've had with her in a long time. We went to the dining room and sat with her as she ate lunch. It was great because James quickly became the hit of the dining room. He walked around saying hi to people and smiling. That fear that his sister had of older people? Yeah, he doesn't have that. :)
James, Dave, & Grandma James was very interested in Grandma's wheelchair.

We must have worn James out that morning. We got in the car and grabbed lunch. Here he is eating his hamburger.

About a minute later I looked back and I couldn't see the hamburger at all and James was asleep. We later found the hamburger on the floor.

Granny

So, I know I promised I would be better about keeping up to date with the blog, but things have been crazy.
Two weeks ago, Dave’s Granny (his mom’s mom) died. So, we packed up and went to Houston for the funeral and to spend time with family. Then went to Grandma and Poppy’s farm for the weekend. It was a difficult time of saying goodbye, but a good time with the family and a fun time at the farm.
Dave grew up just a few blocks away from his Granny so he has many fond memories of her and the time they spent together. When Elizabeth was younger, she was scared of older people – anyone who had white hair. She would see an older person in the grocery store and start crying. We never knew where this fear came from, but she was never afraid of Granny. So, I always told Granny that meant she wasn’t old. She would just laugh and say I guess not. Granny will be very missed by her family.

Granny with Elizabeth in December 2004.

Granny with Elizabeth in July 2005. This was the stage where Elizabeth was scared of older people, but not Granny. :) Granny with her great-grandson, Aidan, her great, great-grandson Nolan, James, & Elizabeth (great-grandson and great-granddaughter) in November 2007.After the funeral the whole family went out to Granny's and spent time together.

Granny's four children - Betty, Ben, Joyce (Dave's mom), and Kitty.
Granny's grandchildren - Allison (Dave's sister), Mark, Luke, Calgary, Bill, Dave, Johnny, Lisa, Travis, Megan. Elizabeth is just running past - she's not a grandchild.

Granny's great-grandchildren - Abishai, Brittany, James, Aidan, Justin, Ashley, Candace, and Elizabeth. Two of her great-grandsons couldn't make it so they are in the picture Candace is holding - Kyle and Ben. There is one great, great-grandson that I didn't get a picture of - Nolan.

They had a bonfire, which both kids thought was very fun.

James and Poppy playing with fire. :)

Elizabeth loved playing with the dogs.

James hanging out outside.