Heartland Family

Haddie's First Mavericks Game

2012-01-07T20:05:00.001-08:00

Haddie got to go to her 1st Mavericks game tonight. She loved it ;-).

She was alone with her momma & daddy with no interruptions. She loved our attention along with everyone around us. Precious!!!

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All Lyla

2012-01-06T12:58:00.001-08:00

Today I tried to play with Lyla & do whatever she wanted. Haddie was sleeping a lot today & the boys were at school, so it was a perfect day to spend with Lyla.

We started out playing with her "dollies & dollhouse".

Next we had a picnic at the beach. She chose PB & J with cheetos. Delicious!

Finally we dressed up & went out to check the mail. Fun day!!!!

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Christmas Vacation

2011-12-31T21:50:00.001-08:00

We left the day after Christmas for a little vacation...
Yep, we took the kids to the beach. We went to our favorite place in Gulf Shores, Alabama & had the most wonderful time.

We woke up at around 10 everyday, ate as much junk as we wanted, watched some movies, played with some new toys, shopped, swam....

Not a lot of anything, actually!

It was fabulous!!!!

Christmas Day!

2011-12-31T21:49:00.006-08:00

Santa came!

Lyla's face when she first saw what Santa left. I love how she had Dora with her. This is how she holds her baby. Just like the way her momma holds Haddie :)
Gavin opening presents

& Caleb

& Haddie surrounded by her gifts!

Caleb & Gavin were so excited to watch Lyla open her Dora Fairy that they gave her.
I have been working on these t-shirt quilts for months. I'll have to take a bigger, better picture. They are made from shirts of the boys that have become too small. The quilts are twin size and so soft!

Our family went to my dad's house Christmas night.

Ashlee with her kids

Skylar & Haddie

My Daddy with his three girls
Belle & Tristyn

Noah, Blaine, Skylar & Caleb

Lyla & Grandaddy playing with Tristyn's babies. So sweet! I love this picture!

Scott & Amanda

I love my family!!!

Christmas Eve

2011-12-31T21:49:00.005-08:00

Christmas Eve

Candle Light Service (no pics)

Poor Baby wakes up like this a lot.

New pajamas & slippers
Cookies & milk for Santa

Pulled Pork

2011-12-31T21:49:00.001-08:00

One of our favorite meals...

I got this from Pinterest & my family loves it. And I love it! I'm not a big fan of cooking, but I've been a lot better. Well, if you count cooking in the crockpot. My boys are actually starting to eat and it is expensive to eat out! Plus we just have too many kids and too many meltdowns. And I'm just too tired and lazy. :) So, about the food. Here is the original recipe.

You will need:
pork butt
a soda of your choice
Lawry's Seasoning Salt
Sweet Baby Ray's barbeque sauce
Kaiser Rolls

Coat the pork butt in Lawry's Season Salt & place in crock pot

Cover with about 1/2 - 3/4 of BBQ sauce

Pour in the soda & cook on high for about 4 hours. Once almost ready, pull apart with 2 forks & let it soak up the soda. Serve on kaiser rolls. Delish!!!

Gingerbread House

2011-12-31T21:22:00.000-08:00

I'm soooo excited about this new gingerbread house I found in Canton! It's called The Candy Cottage and you can go to their website here or their blog here. Seriously, this is a must have!
One of our favorite traditions is to make a gingerbread house, but let's be honest. Who wants to sit holding the house walls together as they start to stick? Not me! This is a plastic house that you spread store bought icing on and decorate. It is just all the fun! It is simple to clean in the dishwasher too!!!!
Lyla love decorating, but her favorite was eating the candy :)

Yes, she is still eating!

The kids did a great job using all of our Halloween candy on our Christmas house!

Winterfest at Pinecove

2011-12-31T21:04:00.000-08:00

Caleb & Gavin went to Winterfest at Pinecove the weekend before Christmas. This was their 3rd time at Pine Cove, but their first time to spend the night away at Camp. They went with their friend Enzo (other boy with glasses) & they met another friend Ethan (from Dallas). They had a great time & got the same counselor as this summer. His name is Aaron, but is called Heisman at Pine Cove. It was great practice for doing an entire week away during the summer. AND, it was an awesome time for Scott and I to get things wrapped for Christmas.

School Christmas Parties

2011-12-31T20:50:00.000-08:00

3 school Christmas parties in one day....

Scott & I started out at Lyla's little school where they had cupcakes and gave all of the parents a wrapped gift. It was a cute little angel made from their handprints.

We then made our way to the boys' school where they each had a party. Scott & I went back and forth across the hall to each boy's room. I've said it before, but it must be said again. Caleb & Gavin are the best big brothers. Here Gavin is letting Lyla play Christmas Bingo for him.

And Caleb shared his snacks and seat with her. Precious!!!

Santa Visit

2011-12-31T19:02:00.001-08:00

Our visit with Santa Clause went great! No tears. Everyone was excited. Well, maybe not Caleb & Gavin, but they faked it well. Santa loved Lyla's outfit and wanted my Matilda Jane business card. So funny! Lyla was super excited to tell Santa what she wanted.

Her wishlist:

a Dora kitchen,

Strawberry Shortcake movies,

a Dora Fairy

Christmas Photo Shoot

2011-12-31T18:47:00.000-08:00

4 kids to get to look at camera AND have a pleasant face.

3 decent photos.

2 attempts for Christmas card photos. on our own.

1 mom who can't seem to get it together.

too many days late to get some cute cards made.

maybe next year will be better!

the photo we used
lyla, our little stinker

i loved this one, but Haddie was spitting up :)

Our Elf

2011-12-16T04:07:00.001-08:00

Our elf, Criddle has been so much more fun this year. He has been surprising our kids by doing silly things around our house.

We first found him in our fridge. He had turned our milk green! Lyla especially loved drinking green milk that day.

We caught him fishing out goldfish crackers using Lyla's tiny petshop fishing pole.

Criddle got a little cold.

He must love Legos like Caleb & Gavin. He took these from their Lego advent calendar.

Criddle found everyone's underwear & diapers & hung them on the stocking holders.

We were left a message in post it notes one morning.

It has been lots of fun this year & again a great reason to get those sleepy kids up in the mornings! ;)

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Catching Up

2011-12-14T10:18:00.001-08:00

I'm so behind on blogging, but I have been keeping up with everything on my app Photo 365. Love that app! I'm able to take a photo everyday & do a little journaling about what went on that day. I took this photo of the app on my iPhone. Not sure why it is sideways. Just turn your head ;)

A lot has happened since Thanksgiving...

We put up & decorated our tree.

Haddie Jane turned 3 months old.

I love her sweet, easy going personality. She sleeps 8-10 hours every night. She laughs a lot & loves when we talk to her. If we are talking to her, she is smiling. She is a great eater. She still spits up, but it seems to be getting better. She wears size 3-6 month clothes & size 2 diapers. Love you so much HJ!

I have to share this sweet little thing Lyla did. Again, I love this app because without it I would have already forgotten. Lyla was playing hide & go seek with herself & she kept yelling to us, "You'll never see me again. 1,2,3,4,5. Here I not. Here I come". Here she is hiding ;)

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Little Miss Hollywood

2011-11-14T13:02:00.001-08:00

It's hard work being this cute.

Looking at yourself in

your pink mirror

while wearing your pink shades

can be so draining!

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Precious Haddie

2011-11-05T12:53:00.001-07:00

I am so thankful for this precious girl.

She has the sweetest,

most laid back personality.

Love you HJ!

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Shopping at Goodwill

2011-11-03T13:39:00.001-07:00

Christie & I went to Goodwill today looking for wool & cashmere sweaters. She is felting wool & I'm wanting to make a sweater quilt. Fun! Fun! I love my crafty friends! Oh I found a vintage suitcase there too. I can't wait to decorate it somehow ;)

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Halloween

2011-11-01T19:55:00.001-07:00

We had a great Halloween weekend! We went as the Waldo family to a Halloween party on Saturday. On Sunday night we enjoyed fun times at our church Fall Festival. On Halloween we went trick or treating in our neighborhood with some friends. The kids had a blast. Lyla actually understood what to do and was so proud of herself every time she said "Trick or Treat" & "thank you." She seemed to always choose pink wrapped candy when given a choice and wanted to eat the lollipops :)

Haddie - 2 months

2011-10-30T19:38:00.001-07:00

Haddie Jane is 2 months old! The past 9 weeks have flown by. Haddie is still a dream baby! She is so pleasant all of the time. We are so blessed!

*Haddie started sleeping 7 hours at about 5 weeks.
*She gave us her first smile on Oct. 12th.
*At 6 1/2 weeks she started sleeping 8 hours. Woo hoo! Thank you Haddie!
*On October 13th Haddie stayed with someone other than me. My friend Marla came over and loved on her while Scott and I went to Lyla's toddler fair at school.
*Haddie is our little spit up baby. Poor thing is on reflux meds and she has hiccups A LOT!

Haddie, you are so precious to us and we are so thankful that God placed you in our family. I can't imagine our lives without you in it. We love you so much!!!

Corner Bakery Cafe is OPEN!

2011-10-30T09:44:00.001-07:00

Finally, after months and months of planning and talking and building, IT IS DONE!!! YAY!!! Last weekend we did the Friends & Family and VIP events and the restaurant actually opened on Monday, October 24th.

The store looks wonderful and the food is even better! I love it!

My friend, Christie wanted to be the first one to order, so she was :) Things like this make her happy!

Robert, Scott and all of the managers.

Boys & Football

2011-10-09T16:10:00.000-07:00

It's football season again. Scott & one of his college roommates, Tim are coaching our boys this year in Upward football. The team is doing great so far. We have won our first two games. Yay!

Gavin throwing a pass

Caleb getting ready

Something serious must have been happening here. I love Caleb's expression and check out Scott yelling something in the background.

Shaking the other team's hands at the end of the game.

Haddie 1 month

2011-10-01T19:42:00.001-07:00

Our little Haddie Jane is one month old! We have been blessed with THE BEST BABY ever! She is so precious. This month Haddie has slept and slept and slept. Of course, she has eaten a lot too. She wakes up long enough to eat and then goes back to sleep.

She weighed 7 pounds, 8 ounces at her 2 day check up, but she quickly got back up to her birth weight plus some by her 2 week check up. She weighed 8 pounds 13 ounces at her 2 week visit, so I'm sure she she is well over 9 pounds now. She is wearing 3month clothing and size 1 diapers. Haddie started sleeping 6 hours at night by 3 weeks. We have never had such a great sleeper. I could truly eat this girl up. Love, Love, Love her!!!

Happy Birthday to Me!

2011-10-01T19:40:00.001-07:00

My sweet kids made this poster card for me with a bunch of gift cards to some of my favorite places. So sweet!

Zoo Field Trip

2011-10-01T19:11:00.005-07:00

Lyla, Haddie & I went to the zoo with our friend Megan and her 5 boys. Lyla had been to the zoo before, but this was her first time to get excited and enjoy it. On our way I asked her what animal she wanted to see. She was excited to see the frogs. :-)

She loves Tate and followed him everywhere.

Lyla was showing me what a bear says.

The whole crew minus Haddie & I. Haddie slept the whole time. She is such a dream!

Is she ever going to just sleep?

2011-10-01T19:11:00.003-07:00

So, I've told you about Lyla jumping out of her baby bed and going to a big girl bed. Well, we are still dealing with this. She wakes up just about every night and cries OR she we find her in Caleb's bed in the morning.....

She takes all 4 of her Dora dolls when she goes and it is always Caleb's bed she goes to. Sweet babies!

Sweet Haddie

2011-09-11T13:08:00.001-07:00

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New shoes

2011-09-08T15:21:00.001-07:00

Caleb & Gavin got their new shoes! Before school started C & G got to design their own shoes on the Nike website. They are so excited to finally have them & they did such a great job!!! They love that their name is on their shoes too ;-)

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Maternity Photos

2011-09-07T16:06:00.000-07:00

Two weeks before Haddie was born we had these pictures taken. I'm so glad we did it and love the way they turned out :-) Thank you Beth!

Lyla was convinced she had a baby in her tummy too. Sometimes she would say she was having a boy and one day even told us his name was Caliou :-)

Haddie Jane

2011-09-04T08:13:00.001-07:00

We are so thankful for our sweet blessing. Haddie is such an easy going baby so far. Can you tell she likes to sleep? Of course, she sleeps best when being held. She is also a great eater and eats a lot! We all 5 think she is precious and just can't get enough of her sweet smell and snuggles.

Lyla starts pre-school

2011-09-04T07:54:00.000-07:00

Lyla had her first day at pre-school on the day Haddie was born. My friend Megan took her so that she didn't miss it. Lyla goes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so Scott and I took her on Thursday & took pictures and all just like it was her first. She was so proud and felt so big.

Taking Haddie home

2011-09-03T20:17:00.000-07:00

We were released Wednesday almost exactly 24 hours after having Haddie. They wanted to check her blood sugar for every 3 hours for 24 hours so we had to make sure that was all ok.

Dr. Harris and baby Haddie. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful doctor.

Haddie going home. We had a little excitement on the way out of the hospital. Scott went to get the car and a nurse was getting me in a wheelchair ready to wheel down to the car. Once we made it to the elevator all of the alarms started going off and the elevator quit working. There was evidently a child alarm going off and everyone was looking at me! They finally realized it was on the pediatric floor and located the child. We went on down and every single person in the hospital stared at me with the baby in my arms and asked if I was the one. Lots of questions about the baby being mine and all. Drama! Eventually they opened the doors and let us out to get in the car.

Our kids were so excited to see their little sister. Lyla loves holding Haddie.

Gavin and Haddie

Caleb & Haddie

Haddie is Here! - 8-30-11

2011-09-03T18:45:00.000-07:00

We were so excited to finally meet our little Haddie Jane. We had to be at the hospital at 5 am to be induced. Once we arrived we got checked in and had to sit in the labor and delivery waiting room along with 2 other pregnant couples. Finally, at 7 am we were taken back to triage. What a way to get started! They got the pitocin going, IV in and all the monitors hooked up to my belly. The labor and delivery floor was full. Apparently lots of babies are born in August & September. At around 9:30 am they finally had a room ready for us.

Our kids all spent the night away, were taken to school and then came up to the hospital at 11:30. The 5 of us...

Here she is! Haddie Jane weighing in at 8 pounds, 4 ounces and measuring 21 inches long. She wins our biggest baby award :)

Our family of 6!

Lyla meeting her baby sister. She was so excited!

The details:
check in 5:27
triage 7:05
Pitocin around 8
Room 276 at 9:30
Epidural at 9:55
Dialated to 4 and broke water at 10:15
Dialated to 6 at 11:36
Still at 6 at 12:22
Dialated to 10 at 1:25
Started pushing at 1:45
Haddie was born at 1:56 pm

Last belly shot

2011-08-30T03:57:00.001-07:00

My last belly shot with Haddie Jane. Two days away from being 40 weeks.

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Haddie's Room

2011-08-29T21:02:00.000-07:00

I thought I would leave you with a few pictures of Haddie's room. I had so much fun decorating this room. I still have a couple of little projects to finish in here, but overall it is done and I am loving it. Tomorrow there will be a baby to go in here! I'm so excited!

I'M READY TO POP!!!

2011-08-28T16:48:00.001-07:00

It's about that time! Strangers are whispering behind my back about the twins I MUST be pregnant with. Other random people are not afraid to ask now when I'm having this baby. My ankles are officially cankles. All of my maternity clothes are too small. I am ALWAYS hot! I am definitely ready to POP!!!!

Tuesday, August 30th I will go in to be induced and I am so looking forward to finally holding this sweet baby in my arms. Please pray everything goes smooth!

First Day of School 2011

2011-08-22T08:26:00.002-07:00

Today is Caleb & Gavin's 1st day of 4th grade. They will be going to the same school, but they will have 3 teachers and will change classes each day. They say they are not ready to go back, but I can tell they are actually excited and a little nervous. I always remember feeling the same way on the 1st day. I'm praying they have a great 1st day and a wonderful 4th grade year!

Caleb

Gavin

C& G with their sad little sister. Lyla wants to go to their school. She is really going to miss her brothers!

I can't believe they are so big!

Gavin & his teacher, Ms. Lowe. I tried to get one of Caleb & his teacher, but he is just too cool.

38 weeks with Haddie

2011-08-22T08:26:00.001-07:00

I'm 38 weeks here. I'm dilated to a 2 & I am soooo ready to meet this baby!!!

36 Weeks

2011-08-04T20:25:00.000-07:00

Today I'm 36 weeks with baby Haddie. I am so excited we are getting so close! At this point my stomach is huge (as you can tell) & heavy! My ankles are swollen and it is WAY too hot to be preganant. I just knew at my appointment today my doctor would tell me I was ready to have this baby. Nope! When she checked me nothing is happening. Haddie is happy inside and I know it is best for her to cook a little longer :) Man, I look huge!!!!

Lyla's Big Girl Bed

2011-08-04T20:10:00.001-07:00

I purposely left Lyla in her crib because she sleeps great in it and I did not want a baby who was not sleeping through the night AND Lyla who was able to get out of her bed. Caleb & Gavin never tried to get out of their baby beds. We finally moved them out when they were 3. I just assumed Lyla would be the same. Sadly, I was wrong. One day when I put her down for a nap her door immediately opened. I wasn't sure what happened. The next night at around 2am we heard Lyla screaming "Momma, I want out." We then heard a thud. Great! Scott made her crib into a big girl bed and decided she still needed her bumpers. :)

This was her first morning waking up in her new bed. She actually does great in the mornings. She sits in her bed and waits for us to come in & then she slides out.

34 weeks with Haddie

2011-07-23T14:56:00.001-07:00

I was 34 weeks on Thursday with Haddie Jane. I can't believe she will be here within 6 weeks! I had an ultrasound on Thursday. Everything looked good. Her heartbeat was 150, her legs measured 36 weeks and everything else was measuring between 34-35 weeks. Once all was measured, the ultrasound told us she weighed 5 pounds 9 ounces already! A 34 week baby should only weigh 4 3/4 pounds! Oh my goodness I'm nervous now. She already weighs more than Caleb did when he was born at 37 1/2 weeks. He only weighed 5 lb 6 oz and my biggest baby so far was Gavin weighing 7 lb 9 oz. An 8 pound + baby makes me nervous (not the baby, but the gettting the baby out part!) I'm so thankful she looks healthy and I pray that she continues to grow perfectly. I just hope my due date was calculated wrong!!!

Lyla driving with Daddy

2011-07-23T14:52:00.001-07:00

Lyla loves driving with Daddy when we come home from Grandaddy's house. I remember loving do this with my own Daddy :-)

Pinterest - My new obsession!

2011-07-19T19:02:00.001-07:00

I stumbled upon Pinterest several months ago and I have become totally obsessed. I love seeing all of the fun ideas and it has helped me be so crafty! If you would like an invite, leave me your email and I'll invite you. It is so much fun! Here are three of the projects I have made:

This project is made with perler beads. We have a million of these. We love making little projects with them. Go here to see the original idea. It is in another language, so if you want to try it you will need to get a bowl that can go in the oven, spread oil all over the inside and then place your beads in. Next stick in the oven on 400 degrees. Caleb's bowl (on the left) was only put in for a few minutes while Gavin's was left in the oven. We forgot about it, but like how it turned out.

Lyla's nap mat.... The inspiration can be found here. I didn't copy it exactly, because I have a problem with following directions, but I love how it turned out!
The mat...

The mat rolled up and the tiny quilt front made with the scraps...

The back of the quilt...

Another project with the boys - go here to see original idea. I just happened to have a couple of canvases, so we pulled out some tape and paints and got to work.

Both boys taped their designs. They filled in each shape with the color of their choice and then we waited. The waiting took the longest.

Finally, one the paint was dry, we took off the tape and saw the masterpiece! These are now hanging in my laundry room. I love them.

Last week

2011-07-19T18:47:00.000-07:00

Man, summer is just flying by! I can't believe we are nearing the end of July! WOW! Last week Caleb & Gavin went to Pine Cove day camp. This was their 2nd year and they loved it. Three of their friends went too. On the last day their counselor gave them a little award and told us about them. So proud!

Lyla & I hung out together all week. I actually took her to her first movie, Winnie the Pooh or as she says Winnie the POOP. She did so well. I was pleasantly surprised. Other than screaming out "That's my momma!" a couple of times, she did very well. She sat in my lap and had her first popcorn.

This week Lyla also found a new hiding spot. Where's Lyla?

There she is!

Thank goodness for the iPad playing Dora! If it wasn't for Dora's voice I'm not sure I would have found her!

Baby #4 has a name!

2011-07-13T20:05:00.000-07:00

I don't think I ever posted the name we chose for baby #4. We chose to name her....

Friends

2011-07-13T19:54:00.000-07:00

Caleb & Gavin have been having a great summer swimming, going to camps, and having friends over. Kenner came over last week and spent the night. Lyla loves him as much as my boys do. She thinks she is as big as they are and thankfully Kenner is wonderful with her.

The boys decided to do a lemonade stand around 2:00 in the afternoon at 100 degrees. I really did not think they would stay out too long. Was I wrong! A couple of hours later they had made $21! Pretty good guys!

32 weeks

2011-07-13T19:49:00.000-07:00

This was taken last week. I'll actually be 33 weeks tomorrow. Woo hoo! I can't wait to meet this sweet girl. I am feeling great. My only complaint is the heat. I truly never feel cool, but it is worth it :)

13 years ago today

2011-07-04T20:45:00.000-07:00

Thirteen years ago today I married my very best friend. We were married in Longview, Texas at 4:00 PM on July 4th.

Scott, I am so thankful I married you that day. I love you so much more today and am so blessed you are mine. You are the best daddy to our kids and are the most amazing husband!!! I love you so much baby!!!

Lyla at 2 years old

2011-06-18T19:11:00.000-07:00

So Lyla is now TWO years old! I cannot believe it. These 2 years have flown by! We have so much fun watching her and just loving her!!! She is so very different from our boys and truly a joy!!!

We had a Fiesta Birthday party at our house. We invited our families and had a great time eating tacos & cake outside.

Two silly brothers who love their little sister more than I could have ever imagined. They may fight with each other and they may not be the sweetest to everyone, but with Lyla they are totally different. They would do anything for her!

Lyla's cousins on my side...

Poor Diego! ok, so the Fiesta was inspired by Lyla's obsession with Dora. Scott & boys picked out the pinata. He was the size of about a 5 year old boy. Before the party started it was really strange seeing him hanging in the trees. Lyla was not too sure about hitting him, but she finally realized he had candy inside and got into the action.

Lyla really got it with the whole present thing. She loved opening everything and I think we now own just about every Dora thing out there :-)

Happy Birthday Baby! We love you!!!

At 2, Lyla you can...

* count to 14 in English & 10 in Spanish (gotta love Dora!)
* sing ABC's, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Jesus Loves Me, Patty Cake, Rock-a-bye Baby & loves to be sung to
* not sit still. one of your parents day out teachers said she checks your pants constantly for ants :-)
* you go to Parents Day Out on Tuesday & Thursdays
* you think you are as old as your brothers and want to do everything they do
* Say ANYTHING & EVERYTHING. You are the easiest person ever to comunicate with. You can tell me if you are hurt, what hurts, how it happened. We all understand you and you talk A LOT. You like to say "bless you", "Where's my ipad?", "Can I have my ipad please", "what?", "hey," "Its all better now", "I had a good nap", "I love you", "I sorry, Mamma", "Caleb, come here!" "It's cute," "so pretty."
* work ipad and iphone
* Likes to watch Macarobi (Max & Ruby), Elmo, and Dora
* name your animals and babies and calls them by name
* dances and then poses and says "superstar"
* loves to eat fruit, jello, macarobi (macaroni), ketchup, chocolate anything
* still drinks from bottle, whole milk
* weighs just under 25 pounds, measures 34 inches, wears 12m-2T (according to what it is), wears size 3 diapers and size 6 shoes
* love getting your hair fixed, taking a bath and putting on momma's makeup
* sleeps with a baby in each arm, on your tummy, with your tush in the air
* likes to "rock it" (be rocked) before she goes to bed
* loves to be read to
* usually takes an afternoon nap, but is ok without it

Happy Birthday Lyla Grace!

2011-05-29T19:15:00.002-07:00

Yesterday we celebrated Lyla's 2nd birthday with a fiesta. Our niece, April, took some pictures of Lyla for us, so I do not have much to share. As soon as I catch up on my sleep and get some of the pictures back from her I will add more to this post. We love you baby!!!

Field Day

2011-05-29T19:15:00.001-07:00

Another Field Day at the boys' school. They love these days. Above Caleb is with his friend Bryce. Scott and I were able to go for a little bit. It was so HOT. Everything is hot to me these days :-)

Gavin is here with his class doing one of the obstacles. The family who puts all of this together does such an awesome job!!!

Scott & Lyla watching all of the kids.

My Baby

2011-05-27T12:26:00.000-07:00

I just love her!!!

I look at her long legs and arms and cannot believe she will be 2 soon! AND that she will no longer be my smallest baby in just a few short months! Where does the time go?

I love you so much Lyla! You are so precious and such a blessing to our family!!!

Iron Man

2011-05-27T11:49:00.001-07:00

Last weekend we were invited to my favorite college roommate's home for the Iron Man contest. We had a wonderful time cheering on Kent and visiting with friends. Audrey, I hope you don't mind that I stole these pictures from your blog. :-)

GO KENT GO!!!! Kent did an amazing job competing in his first Iron Man contest. I do not see how any of these inspiring individuals swim for miles, then bike for LOTS more miles, and then run a marathon! I could never do even one of these things much less ALL three!

Lyla being pushed as we walked to find Kent and eat at Audrey's family restaurant.

Just a few of ALL of our kids eating dinner.

Amy, me, Marlo, Audrey & Carrie

Most of our kiddos....

What a fun weekend! Thanks again Brent & Audrey!!!

Boys' Book Signing

2011-05-27T11:44:00.000-07:00

Caleb & Gavin had another book signing at Barnes & Noble. Each 3rd grade class wrote a book and each student wrote a one page story and drew a picture. The books were super cute and so were the kids as they had all their friends signing their books!

25 weeks - Baby #4

2011-05-27T11:40:00.000-07:00

A peek at my 25 week belly and a little one who wanted to be in the picture. I am so thankful for such a wonderful pregnancy!!!

Corner Bakery Cafe

2011-05-27T11:34:00.001-07:00

I filled you in on an earlier post about us selling our restaurant. Well, it is still ours at the moment, but Scott has gone forward with his new venture with Corner Bakery Cafe. The first one is going to be built at an old Bennigan's site. It's pretty exciting seeing the work being done and all of the demolition. There is still lots of work to be done, but it is exciting to see something finally happening :-)

Mother's Day

2011-05-08T20:20:00.001-07:00

I had a wonderful Mother's Day weekend. Scott cooked for me AND stayed home with me when he had Mavericks tickets! That's huge! It was the Western Conference Semi-Finals and the Mavs needed to only win one more game to win and go to the Western Conference Championship! Thank you baby! My kids gave me some sunglasses I had fallen in love with when Gavin got his new glasses and Lyla told me all weekend "Happy Mother's Day." I am so thankful to be a mom! There were several years we wanted kids and could not have them and even one year after we had our twin girls where I was a mom, but had no babies to celebrate with. Being a mom is hard work, but I would never trade any of it! I love me kids and husband so much!!!!

A Sweet Wedding

2011-05-08T20:01:00.001-07:00

This weekend we traveled to Houston for a wedding of a sweet girl who I once babysat. I love her family and cannot believe she is now married!

We stayed in a hotel and got to spend some time with some old friends we consider family. We love you Mrs. Dot and Tracy! We also spent a little time at the pool. Ms. Priss looked too cute in her tutu swimsuit!

My babies at the wedding.

Kara, you were beautiful (as always). Congratulations!!! I hope you guys are having fun on your honeymoon and have years and years of happiness!!!!

Popsicles

2011-05-08T19:57:00.001-07:00

One sweet girl and her popsicle

Easter

2011-05-08T19:35:00.001-07:00

We woke up Sunday morning to some goodies from the Easter bunny

We then made Resurrection rolls for breakfast. It was a fun time talking about Jesus and the true meaning of Easter sunday.

However, while our rolls were baking I was killing the bunny. The night before I put the bunny cake in the oven because I did not have a big enough pan to put it in. I was planning on taking it out, but I preheated the oven and while we were preparing "Jesus" for the "tomb" our bunny was baking. Caleb and Gavin were pretty sad, but we just had to laugh.

Grandaddy went to church with us and then came over for lunch.

We had an egg hunt and Lyla loved opening up every single egg before she placed it in her basket.

Our family. I can't believe we will be have another sweet baby next Easter!

Trying to get all 3 kids to pose. Not so easy!

The Day before Easter - Traditions

2011-05-04T06:47:00.001-07:00

On Saturday we went to Scott's side and hunted eggs with all of our cousins.

Each year we make a bunny cake. Here is this year's. Caleb & Gavin were so proud - it was their favorite one so far.

Dying eggs

This was Lyla's first year to dye eggs. She loved it! However, she did not understand that the eggs would break and she was really rough dropping them in the dye and throwing them into the egg carton. So cute & fun!

Baskets left for Easter bunny

Lyla's 1st Easter Egg hunt

2011-04-22T20:09:00.001-07:00

Lyla had her 1st Easter Egg hunt at Mother's Day Out. Honestly, Scott and I showed up just as it was ending, so I'm not sure how she did. She was excited about her eggs though. She is so cute! We will do it all over again this weekend, so I can't wait to see her hunting her eggs.

We love you Lyla!!!

It's Potty Time!!!

2011-04-22T19:58:00.000-07:00

Lyla is so ready to be potty trained. One day she told me she wanted to poop in the potty. I sat her on it and she went. Afterwards we all 4 made a huge deal about it. She stood up, looked in the potty and said "Eww!" I thought she would be traumatized forever. The next day, she did it again! And again! THREE times! The third time she did poop on the potty and then she stood up and peed down her leg. Ok. Maybe she doesn't really get it. My boys were 3 1/2 and 4 before they were FINALLY potty trained, so I'm excited this may be easier. However, I am not ready to clean up messes and run to dirty bathrooms in stores. Oh well, ready or not, here we go!!!! :-)

More quilting

2011-04-22T19:52:00.001-07:00

My first quilt was a rag quilt. I wanted to try to actually quilt my own, so I took on this small project. I don't love the fabric, but knew my Lyla would. Check out her face. Can you tell Dora is her best friend? :-)

She was so excited!

She loves her Dora blanket.

Front...

Back...

My clean pantry

2011-04-22T19:43:00.001-07:00

I am in a total nesting mood right now and I am on a mission to clean out every single room, closet, cabinet and drawer in our house. I have done pretty well so far. If you saw our garage and trash you would know how much we are purging. The other day I decided to clean out our pantry.

This is the before picture. It wasn't just terrible, but I wanted it to look a little prettier. Plus, I'm sure there were things outdated and it was time to throw some things away.

Here it is all over my kitchen. This was an all day project for me.

The after... Not perfect, but let's face it. I have kids who are going to put things in the wrong spots so I've got to make it easy for them to find what they want and keep it neat. I'm pretty proud of it and love looking in at it. I would like to label the jars eventually.

I also organized the little hide-a-way cabinet that holds our spices, blender and toaster. So much better!!!

20 weeks with Baby #4

2011-04-22T19:33:00.000-07:00

I made it to the 1/2 way mark! YAY! At 20 weeks I still want anything and everything sweet. I would rather have dessert for every meal. I'm eating real food, but it's not my first choice. I'm still wearing a lot of non-maternity clothes, but I am getting close to not fitting into anything. I have gained around 15 pounds so far. I started feeling this baby move around 18-19 weeks. This is the first time I have craved Cokes while pregnant. I try to just have a couple a week, but I love them so much right now! I have not had so many soft drinks since college when I gave them up!

3rd Grade Field Trip to the Zoo

2011-04-22T19:22:00.000-07:00

The whole 3rd grade went to the zoo for a field trip to continue their animal study. We had a great day with great weather.

Caleb with 2 of his little friends, Bryce and Noah

We spent the most time eating snowcones and trying to catch birds. Gavin trying to get a bird on his stick.

Caleb caught several...

And Lyla loved trying to catch the birds. She was not afraid to pet them.

Washing Daddy's Truck

2011-04-22T19:16:00.000-07:00

Where has April gone? This month has been crazy busy for us, but I want to catch my blog up so that I'll have everything recorded in my blog books. Have I shown you them yet? I'll have to snap a picture one day. I love those things!

Caleb & Gavin have been helping Scott wash our vehicles since they were little bitty. They still love to help him. On this day Lyla helped for the first time.
She didn't like the water spraying her, but had fun outside dipping her rag in and out of the soapy water.

April Fools Day

2011-04-01T11:03:00.000-07:00

Because I am such a great cook and believe that everything that goes into my family's mouth should be healthy, I whipped up a balanced meal and took it to Caleb & Gavin for lunch. I started out with cupcakes...

My friend, Christie & I added peas & carrots to the first couple, AKA Jelly Beans shaped like peas & carrots.

We knew they would love some buttery corn on the cob, so we added some yellow icing and popcorn flavored jellybeans. Later on in the photos you will see that the corn begged for more butter. Our butter consisted of Banana Laffy Taffy. Pepper = poppy seeds

Everyone loves mashed potatoes and gravy. Especially when it is white icing, carmel sauce and Laffy Taffy!

The popcorn made of marshmallows...

The entire balanced meal. I didn't get a close up of my favorite, Spaghetti & meatballs. We used White icing piped through a baggie snipped at the corner, one Chocolate Truffle covered in Raspberry jelly. YUM!

Caleb & Gavin were so excited about their special meal. Just to clarify, I did give them a real lunch... if you count Sonic!

* I did not come up with this idea. We got it from a cute blog www.ourbestbites.com Check it out! Cute stuff!

Azaleas in Bloom

2011-03-31T18:51:00.000-07:00

I love the azaleas all around our town. Today I tried to get some pictures of Lyla in front of the azaleas in our yard.

Our sweet baby girl is growing too fast!

Check out his new Glasses

2011-03-30T18:11:00.000-07:00

We picked up the glasses today. Gavin was so excited! I think he looks really cute.

I just hope all of his friends are nice to him tomorrow. Scott and I have already given him some things to say to the kids in his class if they say he looks funny. One of the things Scott said to say is "if you think I WAS smart, just watch what I can do now that I can see!" Is that mean? I just feel like I need to protect my sweet baby. I'm praying he has a great day!

My first quilt

2011-03-28T07:09:00.001-07:00

I DID IT! I FINALLY finished my first quilt.
I actually started making it on Memorial day last year. In just under a year I'm done! Ha! It really DID NOT take me that long at all. I worked on it the one day in May and then life went on, I put it up and got busy with other projects. this week I got it out and sewed the border on, washed it and I'm loving it!!!!

It was super easy to make. I used the Stampin' Up bigshot to cut out all of my blocks and designs. I love how it turned out. What do you think?

17 weeks pregnant

2011-03-27T12:44:00.001-07:00

ok friends, I'm 17 weeks and want to find a name for this baby. We have some ideas, but cannot make up our mind. Please give me cute baby girl name ideas. Please! I know many of you look on my blog and never leave comments. I would love to see your comment here, your name idea for our baby girl.

Boys' Haircuts & Eye Exam

2011-03-26T06:44:00.000-07:00

Caleb & Gavin have not had haircuts since the beginning of the school year. It started driving me crazy not seeing their eyes and having to blow dry their hair all the time. Caleb started getting annoyed too by having it in his face all the time. He chose to truly get a haircut. Gavin, however, loves doing the hair bang whip thing and likes the longer look. You're probably thinking he didn't get his cut, but he did. More like a trim. I like it on him though. Caleb is more of a spiky guy and this cut just fits him.

Headed to school with the new look.

Before Christmas Gavin started telling me that he did not do well on his eye exam at school. He also said that he was having trouble seeing out of his left eye. I never heard anything from the school, so being the great mother that I am I just put it off. I figured if I didn't hear anything from the school that he was probably making it a bigger deal than it actually was. Well, I got a call from the new school nurse (there was a nurse switch around the end of last semester) & she let me know that Gavin had failed his eye exam. When she found the report she called him in and retested him. He did even worse this time! Wow! I feel like mother of the year! I made an appointment and just as Gavin predicted he cannot see out of his left eye alone. He is nearsided just like his momma and needs glasses. Here he is at the eye doctor. Next week he gets his glasses in. He is so very excited!

St Patrick's Day

2011-03-25T12:46:00.000-07:00

We are absolutely loving this weather! I know in a couple of months I will not be able to pay my boys to go outside because it will be so very hot. I love spending the afternoons out and eating dinner on our back porch.

My sweet babies on St Patty's Day

Gavin

Caleb

Lyla - she does not like to smile for the camera anymore, but I'm so in love with her funny faces

Love, Love, Love!

Spring Break

2011-03-25T08:06:00.001-07:00

For Spring Break we went to visit Scott while he was working in Dallas. We had a great time going to the Art Museum, Dallas World Aquarium and my favorite - EATING at yummy places we do not have :-) I think about food A LOT these days

Can you tell she is loud and dramatic? She loved the shark tank at the aquarium and obviously she had lots to tell us about it.

Caleb & Gavin loved the art museum. They enjoyed looking at everything. I love that they enjoy these things!

Baby #4 is a _____________

2011-03-19T18:51:00.000-07:00

I couldn't wait.

I had to know.

I called Sonocare on Thursday before lunch and the lady said to come now and she could get me in. I found out and had to keep it a secret until Scott came in from working out of town. So, on Friday night I gave him a little note from baby #4 and a frame with a sonogram picture. We decided we wanted to rush our reveal party, so we had it tonight with a couple of great friends.

Caleb & Gavin wanted to have everyone vote on what they thought we were having. They also wanted everyone to list their favorite ideas for names.

Everyone wore pink or blue (their guess of the baby's sex)

Team BLUE

Team PINK

Caleb & Gavin biting into their cupcakes.

Scott & I. I love him!!!

As you can see we are having a GIRL!!! Yea!!! We are so excited! Now to find a name!

What do you think baby #4 is?

2011-03-15T18:14:00.000-07:00

I had an appointment today. I'm almost 16 weeks! It seems to be going so fast, but at the same time so slow. This is my first pregnancy that is not high risk and boy is it different! I have not seen my doctor for 5 whole weeks. I am used to going at least every other week. When I went I was prepared for an ultrasound and all I got was a measurement of my belly and listening to the heartbeat. This is like a whole new ballgame. I shaved and everything :-) I am SO THANKFUL for a healthy baby!!! The heartbeat was right at 150 and I gained 6 pounds since the last time I went.

So, my big question is..... What do YOU think I'm having? We will find out at our next appointment. I can't wait! & I want to know your guess! Leave a comment :-)

Our Bedroom AFTER photos

2011-02-19T15:20:00.001-08:00

We have pretty much finished redoing our bedroom. Before Christmas I showed you a before picture. Here is the AFTER. I bought this bedspread & shams at Anthropologie forever ago. I found it on sale and just got it. Once I got it home I couldn't figure out what to do to make it look good. I had a sweet friend come over and she helped me bring out my WILD vision :-) The man who painted our bedroom questioned my choice in the turquoise color, but I tried to assure him it would be ok. I found the giant painting above the bed on sale at Kirklands and it just went perfectly. I love the final result!!! Now I'm on the hunt for a little chair or two to recover and sit by the window.

A Perfect Day for the Park

2011-02-18T17:18:00.001-08:00

Scott & I took the kids to the park today after school. I LOVE this weather! I think it was around 75 degress while we were there and it was perfect. The kids had so much fun just running around. It's so sad to say, but I think this was Lyla's 1st trip to the park. Last summer she still was not walking and when she finally started it was getting cooler.

Lyla loved swinging. We thought she may just fall asleep towards the end. She never had a nap today and who wouldn't love to fall asleep while someone swings you?

My sweet shaggy boys. Man, do they need haircuts!

Check out how much these boys love their sister. They loved helping her slide and sliding with her. I wonder if they will always feel this way about her.

Kids Reaction

2011-02-17T19:02:00.000-08:00

Several of you have asked me what the kids reaction was when we told them about this new baby, so....

When we told Caleb & Gavin they started laughing. They laugh when they are nervous or are just not sure what to say. Once they got over the initial shock they started getting excited. They decided that they both want another baby sister. Gavin wants her to be "teachable" like Lyla. That's my Gavin! When we ask Lyla if she wants a baby sister or a baby brother, she says "sister." I'm not sure if her brothers taught her this, but everytime we ask she has the same answer. I have absolutely NO intuition or preference. Scott and I are just praying for healthy!!!

Our BIG Surprise!!!

2011-02-07T11:58:00.001-08:00

For one month we have had a secret :-)

We got the surprise of a lifetime... one we thought would never happen!

We found out we were pregnant without the help of any doctors!!! All of our babies are miracles and all of our pregnancies are because of God & His plan for us, but this was just a fun surprise and I can't stop smiling :-)

I went to the doctor today and the baby measured almost 11 weeks putting my due date at September 1st. He/She was so cute & was very active! So fun!!!

I have been blogging (secretly) about this 4th baby since we found out. Go back to January 7th to begin reading from the beginning.

Snow Day!!!

2011-02-04T16:10:00.000-08:00

I was surprised when I got a text this morning saying "no school today." My sister had just said she thought it would be cancelled, but when I got in bed last night nothing was happening except cold air. Scott was already off on Friday and I was excited to have our whole family together for the day.

We were extremely lazy. We ate (several times) and finally put our snow clothes on around lunch time. Scott & the boys had so much fun wrestling in the snow, making snow angels, throwing snowballs, and trying to figure out a way to sled down our little hill. Lyla liked the snow for a little bit. Once Lyla & I started getting cold we were about done. We came in to warm up and eat (again). Lyla & I enjoyed a wonderful nap and Scott and I caught up on our TV shows... Bliss! I didn't realize how much I needed this day. And it's only Friday. :-)

Matilda Jane

2011-01-31T18:05:00.002-08:00

I am so in love with Matilda Jane's House of Clouds. Today was my premiere. Fun Fun!!!

Boys' 9th Birthday

2011-01-31T18:05:00.001-08:00

Caleb and Gavin wanted to go to Dallas to The Main Event for their birthday. We took 3 little friends, Trenton, Trevor, and Kenner. The boys loved it! They played arcade game, bowled and competed in a little laser tag. It was the perfect little boy spot. Happy Birthday guys! We love you so much!!!

Exhausted

2011-01-28T09:49:00.001-08:00

I don't ever remember being SO tired with any of my pregnancies. I seriously think I could just stay in bed and sleep the day AND night away. Everyday I try to take a nap and I go to bed with my kids now around 8:30 or 9:00. I am also starving. I'm sure I've gained a ton of weight. Things that I am craving are cookies, cupcakes, cakes, yogurt and fruit. I'm not very fond of meat, but can tolerate it. I also think I could eat mexican food for every meal. We are trying to decide if we are going to find out what this baby is. I'm not sure I can wait 9 months! :-) I would love to hear what you did or ideas on how to make it fun!

Lyla's new words

2011-01-26T09:25:00.001-08:00

NO MAM!

Can you tell what she hears all day?

8 Weeks

2011-01-24T17:42:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I was 8 weeks. I'm telling you, with each pregnancy this belly just stretches faster and faster. I did read that my uterus is the size of an orange which makes me feel a little better. I think it looks more like a canteloupe or maybe even a small watermelon, but I'm really ok with that. It is getting so hard to hide. I wear the same couple of outfits everyday to try to hide this big bump. Caleb & Gavin do not know that we are expecting again, but Caleb keeps looking at my tummy. He probably already knows. My kids are weird like that. They will figure something out and then when you tell them they just let you know that they already knew. They must get this from their dad because their loudmouth mama would just ask!

Saying goodbye

2011-01-16T16:39:00.000-08:00

We have been in negotiations since around August to sell our restaurant, Heartland Ham Company. We have been unable to say anything, but it finally all worked out and Scott's last day was Saturday. It is a little sad leaving our second home for the past 13 years, but we are so excited about this new chapter in our life. Scott began his new job this week. It's going to be an exiting 2011!!!

The heartbeat

2011-01-16T16:36:00.000-08:00

We went to the doctor on Thursday. Dr. Harris did an ultrasound and we saw a tiny heartbeat. So sweet! I was hoping she would say I was around 10-12 weeks along, but the baby only measured 6 weeks, 5 days. Now we wait to say anything & I stay a little nervous until the 1st trimester is over.

I did take a test everyday until my appointment. :-) Oh my goodness! I am so excited and so thankful!

THE TEST

2011-01-07T19:47:00.001-08:00

What? Positive? Seriously?

For those of you who know me know that we cannot (or thought we could not) get pregnant without IVF. We were given a 10% chance of getting pregnant on our own around 12 years ago when we started trying for a baby. Over the past 12 years I have taken MANY pregnancy tests hoping and praying we would have a miracle and they would be positive even when I knew what would happen. It sounds so mean to do this to myself, but you have to understand that the greatest surprise ever would be to get pregnant on my own.

Well, we were about ready for another round of IVF. We have 5 little embryos sitting waiting for us. I called our doctor last week & made an appointment for the 17th of January. The first step for IVF is to start your cycle so that you can start meds, so I've been waiting for mine. Anxiously... And nothing is happening. So, I decided to take the test... 2 lines? I reread box. Pregnant? Really? I practically ran to the phone to call Scott. I asked him to come home and then I waited. I think I was in shock. That 10 minutes was the longest ever and I think I just sat and stared at that stick the entire time. I also thought about all the snow skiing, falling off the lift, moving all sorts of furniture because I decided to rearrange everyone's rooms upstairs. Oh my goodness! I cannot believe it!!! Scott made it home, saw the test and got all excited. I'm still in shock. Only God! I'm so happy and so very anxious to see my doctor. I just happen to have my yearly appointment scheduled for Thursday. It cannot come soon enough. We are praying everything is ok. Healthy baby, long pregnancy. We are So blessed!

Oh yes, I HAD to do another test! :-)

Our Trip to Breckenridge, CO

2011-01-04T18:17:00.000-08:00

We left bright and early Christmas morning with the Daugherty's, Kelsey (our wonderful babysitter), and her friend Amanda. We drove all day and stopped along the way in Amarillo at the Big Texan. We ate and almost talked Dwaine into eating the 72 oz. steak. He was smart enough to say no. We did get to watch a guy try, but he did terrible.

Paisley & Lyla... they sure do love each other!

Our crazy kids. Check out the glasses my by boys found here. Are they cool or what? :-)

Sweet girl saying "cheese." She NEVER looks at the camera and smiles. This was a miracle picture!

Day 2, we arrived!!!! The kids knew exactly what to do. They were so excited to play and throw snowballs at each other.

We hurriedly got our ski boots, skis and poles so we would be ready to go the next day.

The end of ski school for the kids. They did so good!

Caleb skiing!
And Gavin! They were being so cool!
A little boy called me an alien lady and looking back at these pictures I can see why! Check out my bug eyes :-)

Can you tell how cold it was. This is my husband who told me he wasn't going to wear his jacket when he wasn't skiing. I will have you know he bundled up as much as possible and wore his jacket everywhere!

The Unpacking begins

2011-01-02T16:44:00.003-08:00

We made it home today and Caleb & Gavin could not have been more excited. They were ready to play with the new toys they had to leave on Christmas morning. I got to unpack and do laundry, but I am happy to say it is done! Yay!!!

Want to see our trip? I'm going to do my best to upload tomorrow.

Headed home

2011-01-02T16:44:00.001-08:00

Our first day of 2011 was spent traveling. We enjoyed a wonderful vacation in Breckenridge, CO from Christmas through New Years. January 1st it was time to drive home (all day). You know you are in the middle of nowhere when you have to change your baby's diaper like this!

Christmas Day!

2010-12-31T21:24:00.000-08:00

Santa came!!!

Harry Potter is Gavin's favorite. He is on the 5th book and so he is all into it. He hoped Santa would bring Hogwarts Lego set and he did!

I'm not even sure Caleb asked for this, but this is one of the only pictures I could find. He is not really into having his picture made right now. It kinda makes me sad.

Anything Dora makes Lyla smile. Santa gave her all kinds of Dora shoes, accessories, and purses. She is so much a girly girl. I love it!

The gifts on Christmas Eve

2010-12-30T15:06:00.000-08:00

We opened up all the gifts from us on Christmas Eve so that we would just have Santa gifts to do on Christmas morning. We planned on leaving at 8 AM to go skiing, so we had to change things up a bit. It was actually a lot of fun!

Caleb was hoping to get this game for the Wii.

We all love playing Just Dance and were excited about the 2nd one!

Lyla loved her Bambolettas. I found out about these adorable handmade dolls several months ago and actually scored 2 of them! They are a little hard to get. She loves her new babies. Check out their website at www.bamboletta.com

If you know Lyla, you know she LOVES jewelry. She got her very own necklace for Christmas and was so happy!

Christmas Eve

2010-12-30T14:51:00.000-08:00

After the Candle light service at our chuch we came home to open all of our gifts from each other. I love this picture. Can you tell someone does not like to have her picture made?

My sweet babies

Opening their first gift. It's always pajamas.

Doesn't Lyla have the sweetest big brothers? They always make sure she is taken care of. I love it!

Christmas with my family

2010-12-30T14:40:00.000-08:00

Everyone came over to our house this year on Christmas eve. We had to change things up for the first time this year because our family was going out of town and Amanda & Scott wanted to be home for Santa back in Houston.

Lyla loved her little drawing board. I love the Dora backpack my Dad is holding in the background :-)
The chaos of the gifts. We were so rushed that we never got everyone together to take a picture. We all went to church as soon as we finished for the candle light service.

Elf Lunch

2010-12-30T14:32:00.000-08:00

Last year we started this fun tradition. Caleb & Gavin couldn't wait to do it again. Man, who wouldn't want to eat all this junk for lunch?

Mini tacos, mini bagel bites, mini sprite, mini cupcakes, mini chocolate chip cookies, nutter butters, and oreos. I did add a little fruit to give the plate something healthy & colorful. I don't think anyone ate them though.

Christmas with Nana

2010-12-30T14:25:00.000-08:00

We celebrated with Scott's mom a little early because of our upcoming vacation. We went to visit on the eve of Christmas eve. She always fills gigantic stockings for the boys. Scott always had this size stocking growing up, so it's special in their family. Check these things out! They are as big as the boys! Lyla loved her babydoll the best. She is going to be such an awesome mom one day.

Around our home

2010-12-30T13:08:00.001-08:00

This year Caleb & Gavin had lego advent calendars. They jumped out of bed each morning to see what little figure or scene they got to put together. I seriously think we need one of these for every day of the year. It sure would help getting them out of bed each school morning.

Here is Gavin's - the Kingdom
and Caleb's - the City

I love having our home decorated for Christmas! Our tree that started out as a Noah's Ark tree 12 years ago when Scott and I got married. We have added MANY animals through the years to this wild tree.

I love my chandelier in my kitchen. You've seen it in other posts. My favorite thing to add to it is Christmas cards. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE gettting Christmas cards. I actually make an album each year with each card and picture.

Criddle came back to visit around the 10th of December. One of the boys' favorite thing is to find this little guy each morning.

Christmas Cookies

2010-12-30T12:58:00.001-08:00

One of our favorite things to do for Christmas...

It's an all day project and a continuous mess, but we have so much fun!

And then we get to eat them :-)