Round 3: Hillje, TX

Round 3 was in Hillje, TX on Sunday, 12/21. We celebrated Christmas with Tom's Dad, Grandmother and lots of family.

Highlights from the day ...because it's taking a lot of time to write these and Aubree needs a bath! :)

Grandma Benich got to have all three of her Great Grandchildren together at the same time!! I love this picture of Dorothy & Aubree. Their colors go perfectly together.

Aubree held her bottle all by herself! (OK, so not consistently, and she still requires help...but she's growing up so fast!)

The very "cool" snowman cake, courtesy of Aunt Maureen! And consequently, Brock's 2nd Black tongue of the Christmas Holidays!
Grandma, the Benich Boys, and the Benich great grandkids!

Spike made his grand debut! Thanks Grandpa Tony & Grandma Julie!
Aunt Lori enjoyed more time with her one and only precious niece, Avery!


And a more typical picture...beer in Tom's hand...and kids not cooperating for a picture!

More good times in Hillje! So...let's bring on Round 4! (There are only 7 total...we're almost done...hahahahaha!)

Round 2 - Christmas in SA

Round 2: 12/20 - Christmas in SA with Tom's Mom, Sister, Brother, Sister-in-law and our precious niece!

We began round 2 on Friday night. Craig, Cathy & Avery came to our house after the graduation celebrations had ended. This brings us to the beginning of OPERATION NORTH POLE!!
Through our conversations Friday night, we discovered a Christmas Disaster! After opening two gifts to verify, we discovered Grammy & Aunt Cathy had gotten Brock the same gift...because Mommy told them both the same thing when she thought she told them differently! Under normal circumstances, no big deal...but, for a month leading up to the big day, any time you asked Brock what he wanted Santa to bring him...he replied: The track with the barn. (aka, the geotrax airplane set with the fly-through barn) So, now the kid has two fly-by bridges (the coordinating pieces), but no barn!
What a WONDERFUL FATHER AND UNCLE he has! At MIDNIGHT, Tom and Craig set off for walmart. They stop in at the walmart at 281 & 1604 and are disappointed to see not one barn in sight.
Not ready to give up, they get back in the truck and head west on 1604 to the walmart at DeZavala & I-10. About 5-10 miles down the road, on a very foggy night, an SUV flies by, and about a half mile later loses control, swerves, and flips! It was a good thing Tom was paying attention. The tailights were barely visible through the fog, but his alertness kept them from T-boning the SUV for a real disaster. Knowing the fog may catch other drivers unaware, Tom and Craig jump from the truck. Craig runs to the scene of the crash as Tom dials 9-1-1 and tries to re-direct traffic on 1604 with his flashlight! When the 9-1-1 operator asks who they should send...he hastily replies: "Send EVERYONE!" He calls me at this point saying...they may be a little late!
No less than a Christmas miracle, the man climbs out of the upside down SUV without a scar and pulls the woman out. She had a very bad head wound and Craig used everything in Tom's mediocre first aid kit he could find to help the man apply pressure to the woman's head. I feel I may be painting a bad picture, so let me assure you that the boys both believe the woman was just fine...but probably required quite a few stitches. They were all VERY lucky!
Ok, so at this point...maybe 2am by now? A normal dad may have given up and gone back home. Not Tom & Craig! ON TO WALMART! So off they go again.

On DASHER,
ON DANCER,
ON PRANCER & VIXEN
ON COMET,
ON CUPID,
ON DONDER & BLITZEN!
...AND I HEARD THEM EXCLAIM AS THEY DROVE OUT OF SIGHT...
WE WILL FIND THIS BARN IF IT TAKES US ALL NIGHT!

So the journey continues. At the DeZavala walmart, with hopeful hearts...they are disappointed yet again!!!
Tom knows of another Walmart, just about 5 miles further. So back in the truck they go. And arrive at the Wamart at Vance Jackson & I-10. I believe it was nearly 2:30 at this point. Cathy had woken up and could not figure out why Craig and his truck would not be home by then. She wakes me up and through my sleepy head, manage to mumble something about a wreck, 9-1-1 and 1604. Do you think I freaked poor Cathy out just a bit??? I guess I managed to wake up enough to give her more context and calm her fears...but knowing it was really late by now, I decided to give them a call.
As Tom answers the phone, you can hear Tom and Craig cheering in the background and I hear something like: "we just won the superbowl"!!! Are they delirious? Nope, but they FINALLY FOUND THE BARN!!!!! IT'S A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE!
So at nearly 3am, I wake up as they come home and knowing the night they had...and Tom's wrapping challenges, I wrap the final gift of Christmas. Brock will get his barn!
Before heading back to bed, Tom asks: "Do you remember what you told us before we left?" "No", I reply. Tom says: "You said this would be a night we never forget". DOH! Guess I jinxed that one!!! But they will NEVER forget it!

The INFAMOUS BARN!

So, later on Saturday morning, Brock is very excited to open his and anyone else's presents. Avery & Aubree enjoyed themselves as well.

The Benich Cousins: Aubree, Brock, Avery


More of the new Airplane Tracks! We need a whole room just for Geotrax!

I just love this picture. Avery looks like she has just swept into Geotraxland and taken the natives by surprise...and they look a bit disgrunted! :) Brock better get used to it...Aubree will be checking out Geotraxland soon!

Santa was nice enough to leave a thank-you note for Brock. Even if the cookies were 3 months old! (So, Mom wasn't all together this christmas!)

We all had a great day and that afternoon, went to Chuck-E-Cheese for some fun! Can you believe it was the first time for Janet, Jenna, Avery and Aubree to go to Chuck-E-Cheese? This mom was checking out birthday prices and found them to be quite reasonable compared to what we normally spend on a house birthday!

We are pretty sure Tom & Craig had more fun than the kids!!

ROUND 1 - Graduation

We made it! We are home from our Holiday Tour of Texas!

First of all, let me wish Everyone a Very Merry Christmas! I hope your Christmas was full of love, happiness, new memories, and recollection of cherished old memories too!

We had a wonderful vacation and thoroughly enjoyed visiting with so many of our family members! There were actually very few that were missing from each gathering this year! At the same time, it's very good to be home! Tom and I have spent the past three days trying to regain some order to our house after unpacking from the holiday adventure!!
It's hard to try to re-cap such an eventful seven days, but I'll try! Here goes! To try to keep each post at a manageable size...I'll divide them up! Happy Reading!

Round 1: Friday 12/19 - Graduation!

We celebrated Tom and Jenna's Graduations!

Tom graduated with his Masters from UTSA. He did it in just a year and a half and with a 4.0!!!!
Once he takes his Principal Certification Exam he will be a fully certified Principal! Look out Kids...here comes Principal Benich!
Jenna graduated with her undergrad in History from Texas State. She is contemplating Grad school as her next stop.

Brock really enjoyed the cake! He wanted Darth Vader's face! Therefore, we ended up with a black tongue!!!

Aubree just wanted to show off her tongue! ;)

I am so proud of Tom! He worked hard throughout the program and now has given himself a next step in his teaching career. I also must say I'm proud of myself! Through his entire degree, I was working full time. Through 3/4 of his degree, I was a pregnant mom of a 3 year old and still working full time. And through the final semester, I was a new mother again, on maternity leave, with a 3 1/2 year old and a newborn...who by the way had colic and reflux!! It was NOT easy. I had my bad days. But look where we are now! Tom was very successful, and now it's time to focus on us again. And on our family! I love you babe!

Here Comes the Fun!

Those of you who know us, know or have heard about the "Tour of Texas". That is the name we have given our annual Christmas traveling adventures.
We now have parents in Cuero, Rosenberg, Houston & Conroe.
We have grandparents in Victoria, Hillje, El Campo and Houston.

We are SO THANKFUL to have so much family...but it does make traveling and holiday planning quite challenging!
We've decided to take this year in stride and try to stay as relaxed as possible. (Who's laughing right now?)

So here goes our plans for the 2008 Tour of Texas! (It's actually a little more condensed than years past!)

Friday 12/19 - San Marcos for Tom's sister's graduation
Saturday 12/20 - Christmas in San Antonio with Tom's mom & siblings
Sunday 12/21 - Christmas in Hillje with Tom's Dad, Grandma and whole extended family!!
Monday 12/22 through Tuesday 12/23 - Lori, Brock & Aubree chilling out in Cuero while Tom goes hunting with his brother & dad.
Wednesday 12/24 - Christmas in El Campo with Lori's Dad, Grandma and whole extended family!!!
Thursday 12/25 - Christmas in Victoria with Lori's Grandma (maternal) & whole extended family.
Friday 12/26 - Christmas in Cuero with Lori's Mom and siblings.
Saturday 12/27 - Head back home to San Antonio to pick up poor Sarge who is getting boarded through all this fun!

SO, all this fun...with a nearly 4 year old and a 4 month old! Who is excited???? (There will likely be a box-o-wine accompanying me through this adventure!)

Merry Christmas to Everyone just in case I don't get another blog in before or during the adventurous holidays!

4 months!

My baby girl is FOUR MONTHS OLD!! I'm so torn with her. On one hand, I wish I could go back and hold on to the baby-ness of it all for just a bit longer, seeing as how this is most likely our last. On the other hand, I don't think I could re-live the first three months!! She is of course a blessing from God...but a very challenging blessing!

She passed her 4 month exam with flying colors. We may have another brainiac on our hands. She's exactly where she needs to be developmentally and her extra special talent is that she can almost fit her entire fist into her mouth!! Believe me, she'll manage to squeeze the whole darn thing in one day! She's a determined little thing and doesn't give up. Just keeps trying and trying, knowing one day she'll find victory. I told her she better hurry before she cuts any teeth because they might make it harder to fit the fist in! ;)

Her stats from the checkup (versus Brock's stats at 4 months):

26 inches (Brock - 25 ¾)
15lbs, 5 ozs (Brock - 14lbs, 9oz)
She’s in the 97th percentile in height (go figure) and 75th percentile in weight. That one actually surprised me! I thought she’d be off the charts. ;)
She’s staying on zantax for reflux. Turns out that could have been a contributor to the first three months of fussiness & colic! Wish I’d known that the first month!!!

She smiles and talks all the time. She is so happy that sometimes I wonder if it's the same baby! While the thought of the Christmas "Tour of Texas" doesn't thrill me, I do know that we're going to have a wonderful time this year. Four more days and counting!

Santa Claus is coming to town!

Brock had his first ever Christmas Program this past Thursday! It was the cutest thing ever, but pictures don't do it justice. His class sang "Santa Claus is coming to town" and had adorable hand gestures to go along. I was a very proud mom! Make that...AM! I AM a very proud mom! And so thankful to have two perfect little children. Perfectly terrible sometimes, but still perfect. ;)

Our little Aubree had her big debut as well...see the LARGEST of the baby footprints on top of the tree? Yep, that's hers!

Where have I been?

Where do I even start? I can't remember what I had for breakfast, not to mention the past THREE weeks it's been since I last posted a blog!

I can't recap it all...not enough time in the day! I will fly through the highlights...

*Tom has COMPLETED his MASTERS degree with a 4.0!!! YEA TOM!!! We're so proud of him!

*I'm DONE Christmas shopping! (Wrapping is another story!)

*My sister found out she's having a baby BOY!!

*My mom and I have just about finished our project for her nursery! (Top secret though!)

*Aubree keeps getting better and better...though STILL not sleeping through the night.

*Brock got pretty sick over Thanksgiving but luckily was over it pretty fast and no one else caught the bug. Thank goodness!

*Christmas is in full swing in the Benich house. I LOVE Christmas decorations! I don't love putting them up!

*Brock has his very first Christmas program on Thursday! I'm so excited! I'm one of "those" mom's now!! Video camera will be fully charged and ready for the show!!!

*Big date weekend coming up for me & Tom!

*Aubree turns 4 months on Friday!

I'm sure there is a ton more, but that is the good stuff.

Here are some festive pictures to share!

Brock & Aubree - part of our Christmas pics:

Santa Baby!

Cutie Pie at 3 Months!

Tom & Lori in the deer stand.

Stockings filled for St. Nick's Day. (We celebrate that holiday - December 6th)

Brock, Aubree & Stockings!

"Wow! I have the coolest brother in the world!!!" --Aubree'08