Wrapping up

We had a fabulous Christmas (week) full of food, family and traveling...what more could you ask for? I've got Brad home for a week and we have a LONG list of things we've been putting off. Just call me slave driver! I'll be back next week...maybe even with some pictures of FINISHED projects!!!

Merry Christmas

"But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord." Luke 2:10-11

Buy someone's dinner, it will bless them.

Tonight, after we played at the mall play area, we ate dinner at the Cotton Patch. Because that is where I cook when Brad is gone. The girls were very well behaved. They ate well, smiled and waved at strangers, talked to the police man and were just great to be with. Our waiter came by to ask if we needed anything. I asked for the check and he said it was taken care of, and "Merry Christmas". Wow. "Seriously?" was all I could say. I loaded the girls up and headed out before I started making a scene crying. So, to the couple that was at table 21, thank you for buying our dinner. I hope that is blessed you as much as it did me.

Success!

Well, after 4 tries at seeing Santa (and sitting on his lap for a picture), we finally succeeded tonight!

The girls got to see Santa at Brad's Christmas party for work. They have a fun tradition of reading the Christmas story to all the kids and then while they sing Jingle Bells, Santa comes out and passes out gifts to the kids. Mallory was still a little young (and way freaked out) last year, so this was our first year to participate. It was a hit! I think it helped (her, not us) that her gift was almost the last one picked up. She had a lot of time to stare at him and watch the other kids. When he called her name, she walked right up to him, turned around for a picture and told him "thank you".

Yesterday, we spent the day celebrating Morgan and finishing up some Christmas shopping. We tried Santa at our mall 2 different times and each time he was on a break! So, we made the trek to the next closest mall. We were talking it up and Mallory was super excited. But, all of that changed when she got within of foot of the guy. She would not sit on his lap (and he didn't do a great job at trying to get her there) and barely even stood next to me while I sat on the edge of the chair. So, mom was in the picture with Santa. Not exactly what I had envisioned forking over $15 for...so, we took our rubber ducky reindeer and continued shopping!!

We were really proud of Mallory tonight. She was a little timid at first, but after a couple of minutes, she got the nerve up to stand by Santa. Then, he slowly picked her up and put her in his lap while she talked to him. And, even more of a bonus, she smiled for the picture!! Morgan of course sat in his lap without any problem. No smiles from her, but she wasn't nervous or scared...just more curious about the hair growing out of his face!

Waiting...and waiting...and waiting. I think we are done with small bows on Morgan's head. After our trip to the doctor this morning, we found out her head is in the 90th percentile...I think you can tell!!

Our neighbors came to see Santa also! Mallory is obsessed with them. One of my new year's resolutions is to reach out more to our neighbors. It was 2 years before we finally met them!

A picture of the picture. With our laptop now, I don't have easy access to the scanner.

Birthday weekend!

Last weekend we headed to the metroplex to celebrate Morgan's first birthday, Sharon's birthday and to run/walk in the White Rock Half Marathon. All were a success!

Saturday was Morgan's party. We had it at my sister's house since we were going to be up there for the half marathon. The theme was "Winter ONEderland!" It was lots of fun and Morgan was a champ through it all. The poor thing did not feel very good the entire weekend. By Sunday she had a fever and then on Monday double ear infections at the doctor's office.

The invitation (the inside has the info):

"Snowy" cupcakes, brownies and sugar cookies.

I printed out all of her "chair" pictures to hang on the chandelier.

Those are snowflakes, not white spiders!

She was a fan of the cupcake. I wasn't surprised. We can't eat any sweets in front of her without her screaming for them! Mallory had NEVER had sweets until her first birthday. Ah, the life of a second child!!

Birthday party kisses!

I'm sure she felt like this on the inside, but luckily didn't act like it the whole time:)

It was mostly a family party (especially since it was out of town), but we had some special party guests come from Abilene! Kaylee, Brooke and Sydney got to come play! This is the first birthday party that Kara has gotten to come to. Usually one of our children is sick. This year was a first! Mallory and Morgan's cousins were also at the party. Julia, Johnathan and Tate helped celebrate the big day!

Baby Sydney hanging out.

Cousins...or sisters??

Everyone knows the tissue paper is much more fun to play with than the toys!

Saturday night we headed to Johnny Carino's to "carb up" and celebrate Sharon's birthday. Jason, Jenn and the kiddos met us there with Sharon and Larry. Jenn and I combined our creative efforts and made some aprons for BMom (aka Sharon). They turned out really cute and were a hit! There was one for each grandchild with "BMom's lil helper" on the front. We also made one for BMom. I'm sure she'll get some use out of them at Christmas!

My dad and Brad were the runners in the half. Both finished very well...especially considering the weather that day. My sister, me and my mother-in-law all walked the half. We all did pretty good too! Kelly has a great recap of the day here.

Tomorrow is Morgan's official birthday. It will be the last chair picture. This time last year, I couldn't believe I was about to be the mom of two girls. And now I can't imgaine life without them!

The tradition continues!

Hope you enjoy this as much as Brad and I have tonight!!

Behind again!

I have a feeling December will be crazy for the rest of our lives. Between recruiting, birthdays, Christmas and general busyness, we have been going, going, going. So, here is a sneak peek of what we've been up to. I'll give more details next week.

We picked out the tree! It's officially decorated and ready for a pj picture of the girls soon.

Someone turned 2 over the weekend! Tate's party was at Gymboree. It was the perfect place for a group of 2 (ish) year olds to hang out together!

I love it when the girls wear matching outfits, but not so much when I match them. I didn't realize that I was matching Mallory until I was putting her shoes on her this morning. We were in a hurry to get out the door, so I just made sure to leave her jacket on in the stores!!

She may look really sweet and cute in this picture, but shortly after it, all you know what broke loose. There was no playing after her bath, no milk to drink and no using her Dora toothbrush tonight. It was straight to bed for the grump.

This might disturb some of you

When I was pregnant with Morgan, I always heard the funniest stories about older kids mimicking the mom breastfeeding. I waited and waited for Mallory to do it. It didn't happen for several months after Morgan was born. But, when it did happen, it was hilarious! She would put her baby (or dog, or whatever stuffed animal was conveniently there) up to her belly button and just hold it there for a couple of seconds. So cute...and weird, I know. Then, she started using my nursing pads and started pointing at our chests saying, "Morgan's food". I thought the obsession would be over in August when I stopped breastfeeding. It was...until last weekend!

My parents got a treat on Friday when they watched the girls for a couple of hours. Mallory was holding this stuffed bunny and acting like the bunny's mommy. All of sudden, she stopped and asked the bunny if he was hungry. She proceeded to lift up her shirt and "latched" the bunny on. Mom and Dad were rolling when they told me the story. I don't know where this came from. Her little memory is amazing.

So, it didn't surprise me this morning when I looked over and saw her doing this:

I think she has a future as a Lactation Consultant!

Thanksgiving 2008

Well, it started out kind of iffy (is that a word??), but we made it to my parent's house on Thursday without any more puking incidents. There were poop incidents, but I'll spare you descriptive words!! Poor Morgan was not herself for several days. Between low grade temps, a decreased appetite and poor sleeping, she was a mess. Friday was the first day she ate normal and acted like herself. So sad!!

Since Morgan wasn't feeling great, we spent Wednesday kind of low key. We took a picnic to the train park and then played for a while. We love this park. It's right beside a working railroad and trains go by every few minutes. The girls love it!

The "pb&j face" aka "the joker":

The girl loves to swing!:

My sister had the great idea to head to the Fort Worth Zoo for a few hours Thanksgiving day. It was great for the kids, great for the parents and great for the cook...my mom! You can read some of the recaps here or see a funny video here. It was a fun trip.

I know none of the kids are actually looking at the camera, but this picture cracks me up. It looks like Mallory and Morgan were posing and Tate just happened to walk up like, "Hey guys, I didn't know you were going to be here too!!"

Thanksgiving dinner did not disappoint. There was plenty of yummy food. Stuffing (that is what my family calls dressing...those west coast people!), turkey, fruit salad, pumpkin pie, deviled eggs, apple pie. Everything was so good and even better leftover!

Two (of three) of my favorite turkeys:

Friday morning Brad left way too early to head to Austin. Every year there is a showcase soccer tournament the weekend after Thanksgiving. It's great recruiting for him, but kind of a bummer that he has to leave the festivities. We drove separate cars so we could stay a little longer. Wade came by to pick up Mallory for a doughnut date with him and Tate. To say that Mallory was excited was an understatement! She was so cute waiting for Uncle Wade to come and pick her up. I heard they had a blast and rubbed their glazed hands all through their hair. Better you than me, Uncle Wade!! Kelly and I met in Southlake to do a little "coordinating cousin Christmas picture outfit shopping". We enjoy shopping for our mom. It's fun spending someone else's money:)

Friday night we celebrated my dad's birthday. It was over a week ago, but the first time we were all together. After dinner we headed to the Gaylord Texan with the intent of getting a picture of the grandkids in their super cute (and on sale!) Janie and Jack outfits. What we didn't account for is everyone and their dog thinking the same idea!! It was INSANE trying to find a spot that wasn't in the way of the crowds, had a Christmasy background and getting all 3 to look at the camera and smile. Why is it so hard? And, will it ever be easy??? Morgan wanted to crawl everywhere, Tate was fascinated by the big train display and Mallory looked at the camera, but didn't smile. We're trying again this weekend. We'll see how that one goes!

Saturday, Kelly and I met up again to do some miles for the half marathon. It's so much better walking with someone while you train. The weather was perfect and we got 8 miles in. We "celebrated" with leftovers from Thanksgiving. Mmmm!! After naps, we loaded up and headed home. It was a great time with my family. I am thankful for each one of them and that we all live so close to be with each other during the holidays.

Brad made it home right before naptime Sunday afternoon. The girls went crazy when he walked through the door. I love it!! He loves it too:)

I still can't believe it, but as I made Morgan's birthday invitations last night, it started sinking in a little more. ONE. She is about to be ONE!!! Crazy.

We went to the tree farm to pick out our tree tonight. Such a fun tradition, but Brad and I agreed we'll try to get an artificial one when they go on sale this year. It's such a mess, and kind of pricey when you add it up every year. I think we'll still take the girls to the tree farm to cut down a small one for them to decorate. We love the idea of picking one out together as a family every year, but maybe on a (much) smaller scale!!