Grandpa and His Boys

Grandpa with (from left) Brenner- 5 months, Cole- 4 1/2 years, Caleb- 7 1/2 years, Carter- 5 1/2 years, Grant- 14 months, and Mason- almost 3

Steve's Favorite Gift

Merry Christmas! I have so much to blog about, but for now I thought you'd all like to see Steve's new Allen Edmond shoes (from his parents), Auburn mesh shorts (from his sister/family), and most favorite of all.... his New Moon t-shirt (from Stew).

Las Vegas and The Lady Bears

On Friday, Steve and I flew out to Las Vegas. Our boys went to Waco for the weekend and we had our first trip (just the 2 of us) in over 2 years.
We stayed at the Excalibur this time. I got a killer rate for the weekend. We have gone to Vegas many times together and are always open to staying at different hotels. We got a great view of the NYNY roller coaster and the rest of the strip. Here's the view of the strip. With the time change we were wide awake by 7am (9am central) so we took advantage of the morning and smaller crowds.

The Bellagio is on my "bucket list" of places to stay. Really I want to stay there with a great fountain view. Maybe one day...

(Please excuse the windshield photo) This is the newest place in Las Vegas. This is City Center with the casino Aria. It's a huge 12 billion dollar venture with hotel rooms, condos, casino, art museums, and upscale shopping. I played blackjack at Aria and did well. It was their 3rd night since opening. Really cool to be there opening weekend. I kinda felt like I was in a scene from Ocean's 13 being at a casino right when it opened.
Every time we visit LV we go to Paris for breakfast so Steve can get his waffle with strawberries and whipped cream.

Even Santa was in Vegas. I chose to take a photo of him without the scantily clad elf women around him.

We met up with a college friend, Geoff Moore, and hit the downtown casinos for more fun. Geoff is a screen writer in LA, so he drove up for the weekend. Since he had his car we were able to save lots on cab fares!

So here's what convinced us to go to Las Vegas this weekend. The Lady Bears were playing in a tournament. We got tickets and went to see them play Gonzaga on Saturday night and Arizona State University on Sunday night. Texas A&M women were also playing, but we didn't play them this weekend since we'll play them twice during regular season. As we were picking up our tickets the BU team was headed into the arena. Do you see the REALLY tall girl? Her name is Britney Griner and was the number recruit this year and named the best high school player in the nation last year. She's 6' 8" and has a wing span of over 8 feet. She dunks the ball with ease and is super exciting to watch.

Steve, Geoff, and I had seats down on the floor and really enjoyed being so close to the action. Watching Coach Mulkey yell during the games is as much fun as watching the Lady Bears play.

After the Lady Bears played, the Aggies took the court. They also have an excellent team. Should be an interesting season.

So how else do Baylor fans celebrate a big win? Beer and gambling, of course.

Just before leaving the casino and heading to the airport to catch our midnight flight, we saw Coach Mulkey wandering through the casino. She came right over and chatted with us for a while. Such a great weekend!

Blue Eyes

Will you keep your blue eyes? You father sure hopes so.

5 Months

I'm a bit late posting his 5 Month (should have been Dec 9), but at least I'm getting it done before it's his 6 month!

Our little Brenner is just growing so quickly! He holds his head up like a pro now. Not sitting yet, but certainly wants to be in the midst of the action. He's enjoying all of his play equipment- playmat, swing, bouncy seat, and some kind of jumpy exersaucer. If you walk in our family room it is clear that we have a baby in the house! He is especially loving the jumpy exersaucer. We have to stick a pillow under his feet since he can't quite touch the floor. He's even jumped so much, he's put himself to sleep!

Brenner smiles with ease. In the morning I greet him and wait for him to smile at me before picking him up (a trick I learned from Randi). And it takes no time for him to grin and coo. He is very taken with his big brothers. You can tell he just longs for them to come over and talk to him. And when Daddy comes home each night, Brenner instantly lights up. Steve really enjoys getting to see his baby daily- very different experience from C & C.

Brenner loves to play with his toes- he'll often suck on them like he's sucking his thumb. I love this stage!

Brenner sleeps all night (most of the time) and usually takes 3-4 naps a day. Poor guy often doesn't have a regular nap schedule because we are hardly home during those times. He's breastfeeding some, but taking more and more formula. I am delaying the cereal until after the holidays- just too much to mess with.

Our infant is growing into such a sweet baby! It's hard to say goodbye to the itty bitty stage. We are starting to see glimpses of his personality and hear his voice from time to time (and it sounds deep like Carter's voice!) We are just so thankful he is part of our family!

Christmas Parties

Merry Christmas 3 times over! I borrowed the photo from my friend, Julie's blog. Steve and I went to 3 Christmas parties this weekend and I didn't have my camera for any of them!

On Friday we went to Dallas for Steve's office party. It was held at a very big, beautiful home that belongs to one of the VPs for Baylor Health Care. There were lots of people there.... or let me rephrase, there were lots of doctors and spouses there. Even one of the bartenders was joking with Steve how hard it must have been to study for the MCAT. Not all were medical doctors; some were PhD doctors, like Sunni. And speaking of Sunni, I was so glad to see a familiar face at the party. We hung out with Sunni and Brad most of the evening.

Then on Saturday night we went to our small group party. See photo above. These friends have been in our lives for many years. They pray for us and hold us accountable. We have a Christmas party together every year that involves food, fun, and white elephant gifts.

Then on Sunday night we had our neighborhood party. This is our 6th year doing this party. That first year we had just a couple of kids on the street total. This year there are 17 children between our 7 homes, so we opted for babysitters and adult-only festivities. We had a huge Italian feast (love it when everyone brings a little something) and lots of wine. Our evening was finished off with dessert and learning about a great cause- God's Child Project that the Thomas family is deeply involved in. So, instead of doing a gift exchange we all donated money to help these children in Guatemala. It was another great evening.

Holding the Bottle

I'm starting to find a tiny, little bit of freedom. If I put Brenner in the boppy just so, and then place his hands just right... I can get him to hold the bottle. He took the whole thing without my help. When he was done he pulled away from the empty bottle and looked at me completely satisfied. We were both pleased.

From Steve

Hook 'Em Horns!

Last Saturday we went to the Big 12 Championship... Yep, we went back to the Cowboy Stadium! My in-laws scored 8 tickets (4 for Stewart and 4 for us) while they joined some friends in a suite. We arrived early enough to join a tailgate on the other side of the stadium. There were tons of Nebraska and Texas tailgaters.

It was very cold outside. I was glad to be bundled up. And, once inside the stadium we warmed up quickly. The roof was closed and the heat was on!

Here's some photos from Stewart of the inside of the stadium. It's just amazing. Some complain about how over the top it is, but I must say... it's very impressive. So this time around I cheered for the Texas Longhorns. Stewart had the "good seats" this year, so while we were in the endzone he had this view. Colt McCoy led his team to a victory... just barely. Anyone who saw the game probably watched in disbelief at the crazy ending. Texas fans went from complete confusion and disgust to jubilation at the game-winning field goal.

Texas did pull out a victory, but it was an ugly game.

Here's our neighbors, Russ and Melanie, who joined us for the evening.

Yep, I'm wearing burnt orange. Not my best color, but I did it for the in-laws!
Stewart took our photo from his seats and then zoomed in to find us. You can always pick out Steve wearing his Baylor hat! Love that guy!

Here we are at the end of the game. See the policeman behind us?? Guess he thinks we might storm the field! It was a super fun night. The game was such a defensive struggle on both ends. So happy that Texas gets to go to the National Championship Game....(and let me be politically correct: since the government is passing some new ruling stating that no one can be declared National Champion without playoffs in place I will just say that Texas gets to go to the game to decide who will be called #1.... that's to appease on the TCU fans) And why does the government get to have an opinion on football?

Baylor at the Cowboy Stadium

The day after Thanksgiving Andy, Emily, and the girls drove down from Sapulpa and joined my parents at our house. We let the kids have lots of "cousin time" together. Above is the 2 oldest- Kayla and Caleb. Both are in 2nd grade and love playing together.

And here's the oldest and youngest- Kayla and BrennerAll 5 Gorham grandkids are dressed and ready for the Baylor football game.
On Saturday we all went to the new Cowboy Stadium to see Baylor play Texas Tech. We were all excited to go to the new stadium. We really didn't have high hopes of winning, but just wanted to have a good time.

And here's your typical Red Raider fan. (no offense to my Tech friends)

Yep, as we're walking to the stadium the drunk redneck decides to whip out his thing and pee down the concrete slab. And his good buddy behind him is cheering him on and taking close-up snapshots. And of course I had to take my own photo for proof of what I saw! ;-)

Here's the view from our seats. At times it was easier to watch the big screen rather than look down onto the field. The screen is so gigantic!

There's the Golden Wave Marching Band!

Baylor was the home team.

The game ended up being much close than anyone thought. So glad we stayed for the whole thing! (Nanny and Papa did leave with the kids at halftime)

Such cute Baylor fans!

Here's the whole Gorham clan!

Caroline, the BU cheerleader

Even Brenner enjoyed the game!

The kids had fun. Their snacks cost $60, but nothing is too much for Nanny and Papa's grandkids!

Tech's band plays March Grandioso just like the Longhorn band. Caleb recognized the song and put up his horns. His Grandpa would be so proud!

We had such a great time at the game! Thanks so much, Mom and Dad, for treating us all to such a great evening!