It's a Christmas Miracle!!!!

Some of you with young kids may be familiar with the holiday video, "Elmo's Christmas Countdown." In it, Elmo and Stiller the Elf* try to save Christmas by recovering pieces 1-10 of the Christmas counter-downer so that Santa will come. 

Christmas Eve

(Quick preface: there is not a dedicated blog post to the Calvert Christmas festivities of December 23. My apologies to the generous hosts, the Humphreys, and all of our Calvert comrades... frankly, we were worn out from our Winona road trip, and I didn't take pictures. Next year!)

Since all of my parents' kids got married, we have transitioned our Christmas gift-opening to Christmas eve night. Over time, it's evolved into a great tradition, and this year, it was even better because my sister Megan and nephew Parker were in town!

Roberts Christmas in Winona

We decided a few weeks ago that it would work best for all of the branches of the Roberts family tree to do Christmas before Christmas. This made for a very busy December 17-21: I finished a semester (and all of the grading that accompanied it), Jeremy had a killer work week, we both finished our shopping and wrapping, and... when we got in the car on Saturday the 22nd, we took a deep exhale. : ) Time to enjoy the holidays! 

Eubanks Christmas in Caldwell

For the first time in several years, we hit the road to Caldwell to see the Eubanks family at the annual Christmas celebration. To be honest, I can't tell you why it's been so long... I know one year we were planning to go and Luke got sick, and the other, who knows. But in 2012 we resolved that we would hit the road unless there was some unmitigated disaster... and thankfully, we were disaster-free! :)

It's a GIRL!

Well, it took us long enough because this little one would not cooperate at previous sonograms, but at long last, we have confirmation... 

Luke's Fifth Santa Visit

Today, we took Luke to see Santa. On our drive to the mall, we got to thinking, and we realized that though Luke is 4, this is his fifth visit to see St. Nick! Let's revisit those images, shall we? 

The Glorious Thanksgiving Break of 2012

In about ten hours, it will be bedtime on a school night... but since last Saturday, we've enjoyed an absolutely WONDERFUL extended Thanksgiving holiday! I am so blessed that my school district gives us an entire week off for Thanksgiving. I'm always so thankful for this, as it falls just when the teachers and students have about HAD it! :)

Halloween 2012

Happy Halloween! This year, Luke dressed as a firefighter. We still aren't quite at the point where he really cares what he dresses up as, but he has been all about his firetruck song, so we went with the theme. How precious is he? :)

We're Adding to Our Team!

If we're family, friends on Facebook, or coworkers, you already know this big news...

Happy 4th Birthday, Luke!

I'll include a confession in yet another post: I have dated this entry closer to Luke's actual birthday, but I'm really writing it after Thanksgiving. I say that to emphasize that although Luke has been four years old for over 2.5 months now, Jeremy and I are still having a hard time believing that our sweet little man is growing up so quickly! It's cliche but true - time DOES really fly!

A Trip to the Dentist

Mother of the Year confession time: it took me until Luke was 3 years and about 350 days old to take him to the dentist for the first time. At least earlier on, it was just about being busy. Then, once he was diagnosed with autism, I really drug my feet. I figured if we had complete and total meltdowns at the doctor's office, how in the world could we possibly get his teeth cleaned? 

Vacation 2012!

This summer, we took a family vacation to San Antonio. We road tripped it and had a wonderful time! 

July Goings-On

So this is super exciting: once I publish this post, I will be up-to-date on this blog! Hooray! I let the first half of 2012 get away from me, so I did about six months' worth of posts in about six weeks. I resolve not to do this again, so hopefully, this time next week, I'll post about our trip to San Antonio which we are taking in just two days! 


We've spent much of July in the summer grind. As I've mentioned before, Luke is going to  summer school through our district in the mornings and his ABA therapy in the afternoons. I've put MANY miles on my car and filled up the ole gas tank much more often! We did sneak in some time to have some fun though. 

My Rockstar Learner!

First of all, the obvious: I haven't posted anything in almost six months. We've been super busy... not with anything in particular, I guess, other than the business and busy-ness of life. My job has really ramped up in the 2011-2012 school year as I've led our school's new AVID program. It's been really rewarding, but it's definitely made for a hectic year! Needless to say, I'm loving the slower pace of summer, even though it is busy, too. It's just the Roberts way, I suppose! 

Motherhood Musings and May Play

Let's start with some contemplations this post, shall we? It seems like at least twice a year, there is some big burst - whether in the mainstream media or the "blogosphere" - about some sort of Mommy War. Working Moms vs. Stay-at-Home Moms. Breastfeeding Moms vs. Formula-Feeding Moms. Monogamists vs. Sister Wives. (Okay, I made that third one up.) Time Magazine's recent cover of course inspired a lot of conversation, but some less in-your-face pieces keep these "feuds" going... or seek to resolve them. (I love this one, which is more heartfelt, and this one, which is fabulous smart-assery at its best.) 

Easter, 2012

Easter season snuck up on us quickly this year - as usual, time is flying by way too quickly. 

2012 marked Luke's first ever picture with the Easter Bunny. I know - I'm the Mother of the Century. But in my defense: 

1. I find the shopping mall Easter Bunny inherently creepy. I also dislike costumed mascots. Perhaps these things are related...
2. Our mall Santa experiences - particularly in the post-autism diagnosis era - have been awful. The noise, the waiting, the angst of taking a good picture once you finally do have your precious minute with Santa... these are stressful for every parent, but when you're kiddo's on the autism spectrum, the tension reaches another level. Luke had a craptacular experience with the Bass Pro Santa this year, so between that and the fact that I find the Easter Bunny a furry, creepy weirdo? I'm out. 

A New Play Set

Between a nice little tax refund and some found money, we decided to spruce up our backyard with a new play set! This things is pretty sweet, let me tell you! 


We've got three awesome swings, a pretty rocking slide...

Winona Trip: Going to the Zoo and Meeting Parker

To kick off our Spring Break, we decided to take a trip to east Texas - to visit Jeremy's parents and to meet baby Parker! We headed down Saturday morning and back home Sunday morning, so we had to pack a lot into our trip! 


We spent most of our time there heading to the Caldwell Zoo in Tyler. I have not been to a zoo since a field trip when I was in elementary school. I will further confess that I didn't expect much of this zoo, thinking it couldn't be as good as a "big city" zoo.

Can You Tell Me How to Get...

We made our second annual trip to the Verizon Theatre in Grand Prairie to see Sesame Street Live, and Luke enjoyed it once again! They really seemed to raise the bar this time around with more appearances by the characters - it was very cool! 



First, we posed with the still characters. We got to see Bert and Ernie (who are total favorites of his), Grover, and Oscar (whose personality he seems to have adopted of late :\ ). 

Then, Ernie and Murray came out - in the FLESH! Luke is right there by Ernie's pant leg. He was fascinated. 

Then, it was time to sit in our seat like a big boy! He did a much better job of this than last year. 

Then: SHOWTIME! A year ago*, we were cracking up at the Count in a track suit. This year, Jeremy and I couldn't stop laughing and Bert in a leisure suit.  Awesome. : ) 


*So I found last year's post to create that hyperlink, and I totally had a moment about how much younger he looks. He is just getting farther and farther away from being a baby and growing into such a big boy. *Sniffle*

Here they are all in the finale. I think they found the instruments or something...? I don't really remember the plot. Shoot me. : )

All that really mattered was that Luke dug it and watched it all. 

We had so much fun! 

Fabulous February - Trips to Aggieland and an Aquarium

The first weekend of February marked a special treat: Mom and Dad kept Luke so that Jeremy and I could go to a basketball game in College Station. Dad has gotten season tickets to men's and women's basketball games and football games for years, and it is such a great treat to go when we can. So in December, Dad emailed the kids a schedule, asking us to pick a game to attend. I took a rather cursory glance and picked: oooh, we should DEFINITELY go when A&M plays Kansas. They're a powerhouse! Jeremy will be so excited!