We've never made Valentine's Day a "big" day in the monetary sense of the word. I don't necessarily want expensive gifts or flowers that wilt, but I do love spending the day together and making it special for our little princess. We try to make holidays special for her, even if they don't benefit us much and any excuse for us to buy her a gift, is always a good one. She requested a picnic for breakfast, so we spread out a quilt in the living room floor and ate there while watching our morning cartoons. Since Sunday mornings are hard on us anyway, we opted for pink, strawberry muffins instead of something more involved. They were yummy and I ate a few too many butter-slathered ones myself. We gave Beemer a toy FULL of peanut butter and treats to buy us a little time to eat ...
family
Snow on the ground…
I learned my lesson the last time they said it was going to snow in Alabama... I did not tell Ella that there was even a chance. I got her up and dressed for Valentine's Day, packed treats for her friends and sent her off to school. Lucky me, our offices were closing at noon so I left a minute early, grabbed lunch and picked up a VERY excited little girl. She couldn't believe that I'd kept the snow a secret. I couldn't believe the forecasters actually got it right. This is what we saw when we pulled in the drive (please ignore the fact that our CHRISTMAS wreaths are still hanging... I'm a procrastinator these days). We passed a big, pretty house on the way and I commented on how pretty in looked in the snow and Ella said, "Just wait until we get home, mama. Our house is gonna be ...
What a Funundrum!
Last weekend, Josh & I took Molly & Ella to the Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus. Nana & Cookie treat us to front row seats for Christmas every year and we look forward to it over the holidays. Ella has been asking about it since Christmas Eve! This year, our tickets were at the end of the arena, directly across from the performers' entrance. It was such a neat perspective from which to watch the animals and clowns come into the show. This was a funny age for Ella - she was extremely excited to be there, but she thought it was way too long. I don't remember her caring about that last year, so I'll be interested to see how next year goes. We did make the decision never to go in the evening again - it made for a really late night! Being so close to the ...
Date with Daddy
I decided to take the week off between Christmas and New Years Day so that Ella and I could stay home and spend lots of time together playing with our toys, resting and enjoying the last of the decorations. Unfortunately, daddy had to go back to work so we were on our own for much of the week. She begged all week to go outside and play with her new golf clubs and t-ball set, but it was freezing around here! I convinced her to wait for daddy and finally on the Sunday afternoon after NYD we managed to pull it off. It was cold, but we managed to last for about two hours and had a wonderful afternoon in the sunshine. Here are a few of my favorite moments... taking a swing with SD one of the few times she didn't let the bat go flying towards her daddy! concentration at its ...
Bowling for Pop, 2010
As usual, we took my grandfather "Pop" to dinner at Cracker Barrel for his birthday followed by an always laugh-inducing evening of bowling. We had lots of people out of town, sick or working this year, but those who made it had a wonderful time. I snapped this photo namely because she looked so darn cute in those corduroy pants and floral top AND she couldn't be happier that she got to wear bowling shoes like the big kids. She wasn't old enough to require it, so I thought I could skip out on that $3.50 purchase, but she was having NONE of it. My philosophy is if $3.50 is all it takes to keep her happy, then shell it out! I don't know if you ever seen a 6.5 month pregnant woman attempt to bowl, but it isn't a pretty sight. Instead, I saved my money, found Ella a 6 pound ball and ...
Umm.. Roll Tide.
I have a few more fun pictures from our night, but it's late and cold and I'm pregnant. ...
Game Time!
Yes, I know it is January 6th. Yes, I know I haven't officially finished recapping Christmas (final round to come!). BUT, I've been busy cleaning house, organizing, working on Sophie's nursery and nesting. I'll get it finished; I promise. In the meantime, I thought I'd share a few pictures of the million games we got and played over Christmas. We are a game playing family and Ella is learning quick. She has had a few games since her birthday and is pretty good at them, actually. We decided to add to her collection over Christmas and she managed to spank us in all of them! Not pictured: Hello Kitty Bingo, Fancy Nancy card game and Old Maid. The adults also managed to squeeze in Taboo, Shang-Hai, Rook and Trivial Pursuit. Competitive, anyone? ...
Christmas, Round Four
Okay, back on track... Christmas round four brought us to Garan & Poppy's house for a day of fun with about 50 people. My "immediate" family is so ridiculously huge and our family get togethers would be completely overwhelming for anyone who has never been before. My parents cook a huge turkey and everyone else brings a side dish or dessert. I should have taken a picture of the buffet, because the amount of food was staggering. Ten hours after we started the food was still there. I swear it was like Jesus feeding the multitudes - our food just kept multiplying! Since there are so many of us, buying presents can get a little out of hand. Instead we play a few rounds of dirty Santa and have such a good time. All of the adults bring a $15 gift and we play a "man" round and ...