CHRISTmas

O.k, after viewing the last blog, having nightmares about cupcakes and getting up with McKade, I want to clarify some of what I had wrote in my last blog about Christmas. In all the hustle and bustle and trying to buy for this person and that and making cookies for Santa, sometimes it is easy to forget the reason for the season.

I KNOW this is a celebration for Jesus Christ. This is a very special time of year where we get to celebrate the birth of our lord and savior. It seems like more and more every year people forget that. It has become more about gifts and sales than anything else. But, I want to take this moment to recongize that this is a birthday for Jesus who was born in a manger and saved us all. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS!! And, the best gift of all gifts is knowing the Lord.

O.k, I feel better, I hope I don't have anymore cupcake nightmares!!;)

Thanksgiving

Well, Thanksgiving is already over and it is almost time for Christmas. Time is just not my friend this year. My baby will be 6 months on December 20th and Mavs will be 9 years old in February! Where has the time gone??


So we had a really great Thanksgiving, we went to my Nana and Pa's where my cousins and aunts and uncles also came. McKade did AWESOME!! He loved everyone and was such a happy baby!! I guess his little personality is starting to adjust and he is realizing there are more people that love him besides mommy, daddy and sister. LOL! Mavery had so much fun playing with her little cousins, they were all outside most of the time due to the humid weather, it was quite a nice day. Her cousins, Gracie and Colton just got a new puppy and all the kids had to play and love on him, he was such a good sport and very sweet.



I get very nostalgic when it comes to going to Longview. I have some of the best childhood memories when it comes to my grandparents and my cousins. We really were more like sisters growing up than cousins. I didn't know very many people who were as close to their cousins as I was to mine, it seems like we were always together. But, Christmas and holidays had to be my favorite. We had so many little traditions and so much family time. We never have had a "perfect" family, but, who does? But, we all loved each other and had so much fun. I miss it. I hope I can keep tradition with my kids and show them the importance of family. I try now, but it is really hard. Hopefully one day it will get easier.

I guess now it is time for Christmas shopping and all the stress that goes along with it. I love this time of year, I just hate trying to find gifts for everyone that I think are perfect. I don't want to disappoint anyone and then there are people who have everything, and if they want something they can go out and buy it themselves so it makes it hard to shop. This year will be a bit harder with me not having a full time job, but hopefully it will all work out and still be a good Christmas. I am beyond blessed and this past year has been hard on so many people. I am thankful to have a home and have food on the table. I know this year will be hard for alot of families. I pray God will bless them all in some way. Well, I think I have rambled on enough.....here are some cute pics from Thanksgiving with my family.

Nana and Gene

Me and April


Mom and McKade

April and McKade


Aunt Barb and Brandi

April and my mom

Great Nana and Great Pa playing with McKade





McKade and his Gammy

Mmmmmm......Kitty!!!

Yesterday we met my mom for lunch so Mavs could spend the day with her. We had a great lunch and Mavs went shopping and to the movies with my mom and then she brought her back home. Well, one of the things Mavery got on their little shopping spree was the cute little stuffed kitty ornament that you can put on the tree, Mavery loves little bitty things and I'm sure this was the motivation behind the purchase. When she took it out to show me she also showed her little brother, who had a really surprising reaction.....he wanted that kitty!! BAD!! LOL!! He got so excited about it he was shaking!! He just had to hold it and of course it then went into his mouth. Below are some pictures I took and also a little video, I was laughing so hard I was in tears, it was the funniest thing he has done so far!!

My mom and Miss Mavs

Where's my kitty???


There's my kitty!!

Oh, thank you.....

YUUUMMMM....good kitty!!!

Sweet Siblings

The other night it was cold outside and both kids had baths and were sitting on the couch together watching cartoons (McKade doesn't really watch, he like to watch Mavery) and the fire burn in our fireplace. I was busy doing laundry, cleaning the kitchen and keeping an eye on McKade, but every time I looked over at him he was staring adoringly at his big sister. He LOVES her so much, she is the one and only person that can make him laugh over and over again. I grabbed my camera and caught a few of their moments together.....such sweet siblings!




Holding sisters hand...

Having a conversation...

Adoring his big sis!

Watching her play her PSP

Thanksgiving food + Friends= Wonderful Memories!

We had our annual Thanksgiving with friends last night. It was so much fun and there was so much yummy food! I am so THANKFUL for all my wonderful friends and family. I am blessed beyond my wildest dreams. Especially in times like these, I feel so very fortunate to be surrounded by wonderful people like them. I am truly in a great place and so happy to be where God has put me. Thanks to all of you for making our Thanksgiving so special and sharing your families with us!:)

Connie,Erin, Michelle and I

My mom and me, I swear I never noticed that our eyes are starting to be the same color.....


Mavery holding Ambers' new baby, Brady.

Some of the best girls EVER!!



Erin, Connie, and Michelle

Mom and cutie, Brady

Amber and her baby

5 months old today!!!

My little man is 5 months today!! I can not believe how quickly the time passes. He has had a fun week, he got to start cereal this week and he LOVED it! It was so funny, he was seriously attacking the spoon. The Dr. said we can start with this and then in another week we can incorporate some non-green veggies and introduce a new one every week. He has had a little cold this week so sleeping has not been a high priority on his list, but we have had him in his swing so he is elevated a little bit and can breathe better. He has his very first Thanksgiving next week and I know he will love being with family. Here are some cute pics I got of him this week!!:)

Cold Weekend....

We had a really great weekend mostly at home since it was so chilly outside. Here are some pics from our weekend. Unfortunatley, little man started not feeling too well on Saturday and has gotten a little cold. I took him to the Dr. today and he is just fine, just has the sniffles. Poor baby!



















I am so very excited about it getting colder outside and it was so great to get to use our fireplace for the first time!

I also LOVE to cook as it gets colder, it is mostly comfort foods and of course baking cakes and cupcakes! I made Chicken Enchilada soup and a pumpkin spice cake that was so yummy!

Marks dad and wife, Susan came by since they were in the area and Susan had a little conversation with McKade.....he was quite interested in what she had to say.

We ended the weekend with the Cowboys game Sunday night, here are the kids and Mark all on the couch watching the game and playing Golf on Mavery's PSP.

Holidays, already?!

I can't believe the holidays are here already. It seems like it was yesterday that I was getting ready to have our baby boy, and next week he will be 5 months old already. Where is the time going?

Mark and I stayed up talking the other night about how fast time seems to have gone these past years. I swear when I was a teenager it seemed like time was never going to pass, school went on for eternity, and it felt like it took months for a weekend to come around. These days it seems like I blink and the day is over, or the week begins and a couple of hours later it is already the weekend again. At this rate my children will be grown in a couple of weeks and Mark and I will be in a nursing home before you know it! ;) It is unreal to me that my sweet baby girl will be 9 in just a couple of months....9 years old!!! I still remember when she was born as if it were just a couple of months ago. And now McKade is growing so fast. I wish there were some way to slow down this process and really and truly enjoy every single second of it. I try to catch every cute word Mavery says, and remember the sweet smile on Mckades face, but it is crazy how quickly they are changing. I pray that I can keep these memories of them as long as my mind will allow.

But, as I said before it is already the holidays!! I am shocked to think that in less than 2 weeks it will be Thanksgiving, and just a few short weeks after that, it will be Christmas. I feel so unprepared for all of it. I don't feel like it should be November and to think December is right behind it?? OMG, where is the time going, really?! I am excited for the holidays and the colder weather, it truly is my favorite time of year. I love decorating and being with family and friends. Plus this year will be Mckades very first Christmas and that is always very exciting! I guess I better start getting in the spirit of things, after all it will be here before I know it!

A day with Nana

Yesterday the kiddos and I spent the day with their Nana (my mom-in-law), we went to The Harbor (our favorite) and had lunch, we went into Harbor Girl and she bought Mavery THE cutest little outfit and then we went to see the new movie Madagascar 2. McKade has been to 1 other movie and he did sooo good, so I was hoping he would do well in this movie as well. He was very hungry when we first got there so he had some of his bottle and fell asleep at the beginning of the movie, but when he woke up we didn't even know because he was watching the movie. He was very cute, he even laughed a few times. Mavery loved it as did I and Sharon. It was even better than the first in my opinion!! I would even go see it again!!:) Here are a few pics I took of the kids with their Nana....

Getting a little wet!

Staring at the water fountain....

Animal Crackers......

This afternoon I was making a snack for Mavery and opened a bag of animal crackers for her. McKade is now my little shadow, he hates being alone in a room so he pretty much goes wherever I go. So, this afternoon he sat in his Bumbo watching everything his mommy did in the kitchen from marinating pork tenderloin, to boiling rice, he loves being there and observing. I didn't think much about making Mavery's snack with him watching he never really shows any interest in eating anything. Well, let me tell you, he showed an interest in the animal crackers!! He saw Mavery put one in her mouth and he saw me put one in mine and that was it.....he HAD to have one!! It was so funny!! I didn't let him chomp down or anything but he did suck on it and you could tell he LOVED it! He kept trying to get me to shove the whole thing in his mouth! Needless to say he got to suck on 3 crackers (they kept getting so gross I had to throw them away and get another). So, I guess it is time to introduce rice cereal now. FUN!! I can't beleive my baby will be 5 month in a couple of weeks!!:(


YUMMMMMM..........
Give me more!!

These do not taste like those crackers!!

The BIRDS!!!

This morning when I got up I went to talk to Mark who was in the garage. It was funny because I could barely here myself speak because of the overwhelming sound of chirping. I went and glanced in our yard and I was blown away. There were HUNDREDS of birds in our yard and when I went in I could here thumping against our back door and there were hundreds of birds back there, too. Mark and I both took a whole bunch of pictures. It was an amazing sight, also our cats completley freaked out, to them that was a giant buffet just waiting for them. LOL! The best part was when they flew away, they all flapped their wings at the same time and took off, but the sound was something I have never heard before, it gave me chills, it was so cool. Here are some pics I took...........