The Gath Family: December 2011

So the last time I blogged was May. I definitely haven't kept up with that, and I definitely haven't kept up with the crafting part of the blog I said I was going to do. I'm catching this up and getting on with thew new, okay? Okay. So, 2011 started off to be a rough year for us, but it did get better. It all started out with Mike's mom being diagnosed with cancer just before the New Year, then in January my dad had a heart attack. In February we had to put our dog Chloe to sleep after she had a slipped disc, surgery, and ended up being paralyzed in the back legs. We would have had to make her a wheelchair dog and express her bladder everyday. Along with that she was having stomach issues and not able to keep anything down. She was 12 and we opted to have her put down, feeling it was the best decision. We still miss her a ton!

During all of that I had a gum graft done on one side of my mouth and had stitches for about 4 weeks. It was so uncomfortable to eat! Mike ran his first every marathon in February and did awesome! He will be running again this coming February as well. We continued on with spring t-ball and had fun with that.

We enjoyed Easter with friends and family.

My hydrangeas were in full bloom again this year. I do not have a green thumb, but for some reason these come back bigger and better every year.

In May Bryson graduated preschool. He has been at that school since he was 18 months old! Such a big day!

Then we headed into the summer time. We took a small family trip to Hyatt Wild Oaks in San Antonio, and loved that getaway. We ate good, slept good and played hard.

We watched some baby birds hatch from a nest on our back porch, watched them being fed for weeks, and then actually saw their first flight out of the nest, all 4 of them. It was the sweetest thing!

Finley started her first dance classes, and has fallen in love with that.

We spent some time at the lake at Mimi and Poppi's house.

Bryson lost his first tooth just before heading to kindergarten.

In August Bryson and Finley were in my cousin Amber's wedding as a flower girl and ring bearer along with cousin Eisley.

Shortly after, Bryson started kindergarten. He has loved it and has a great teacher! We love her!!! Over the first few weeks of school he made some new friends in class and the teacher says they are all so cute she says she envisions them being college roommates because they are so tight. :) He took her some of her favorite cookies to start the year off right.

Soon after he started school, Finley started back at preschool 3 days a week, and we love her teacher too! Bryson had Ms. Marie when he was at this preschool too :)

We then celebrated Bryson's 6th birthday at the jumpy castles with a baseball theme.

He then lost a second tooth soon after.

In the fall Bryson started playing coach pitch baseball. He has done great, and was loving it!! We are looking forward to picking it back up in the spring after we have a winter basketball season.

For Halloween this year Finley wanted to be Minnie Mouse, and made a darn cute one! Bryson had gotten a Rangers jersey for his birthday from his Mimi and Poppi and wanted to be a Rangers baseball player for Halloween.

In October Bryson and his class enjoyed their first field trip to Crowe's Nest Farm, a place I went to on a field trip when I was little too :)

In early December we celebrated Finley's 4th birthday with a Rainbow Art Party at home. They painted, played and had rainbow cupcakes that Finley and I made. She had a blast, and the cupcakes were a hit!

In December, right before Christmas we were able to surprise the kids with a trip to DisneyWorld that we had known about for a while. They were so excited!! We had a great time!

At the airport we ran into Santa before boarding our plane.