Visit With Parker

We stopped by to visit Parker, Erin, and Danny last weekend on our way out of town.  The kids exchanged presents and then played like there was no tomorrow.  I guess they knew it was a quick visit!  In about 6 more months we will all be at the lake again and will get to visit much longer!  Kick our shoes off, put a drink in our hands, relax!  Bring on SUMMER!

Merry Christmas 2012

Christmas Eve we said goodbye to Eric the Elf and left cookies and milk for Santa by the tree and carrots for his reindeer outside.  The girls didn't want to go to bed after story time with the excitement of Santa coming, but eventually fell asleep.  One of the books we've been reading lately is a recordable book of God's Christmas Promise.  Pappy and Grams recorded themselves reading the book and the girls love to hear their voices.

Christmas morning was filled with excitement.  I put the sausage balls in the oven and the girls checked out all of the presents that Santa left under the tree.  The joy of watching your child on Christmas is immeasurable.

Later Christmas morning we celebrated Christmas via FaceTime with Aunt Katie and Uncle Jimmy.  Technology is a wonderful thing to make us all feel like we are together.

Time to read before bed

Our beautiful tree with a crooked star

I think she was surprised!

Opening the stockings

Helping Buddy open his stocking!

We should have got blinged-out Hello Kitty headphones a long time ago!  Now she can play on the iPad/iPhone without us telling her to turn it down.  

Second Christmas of 2012

Our next stop was at Memaw's house.  We got to see Logan, Arabella, and Eli!  Such sweet babies and we miss them so much.  Alyssa got a little kitty with a leash and once again, Addison kept trying to take it from her!  We ended up stopping by Toys R Us on the way home Sunday morning and used Addison's Christmas money to buy her a stroller and kitty with a leash (picture is at the bottom).  All of the other gifts didn't get fought over and they shared nicely.  Just the stroller and kitty seemed to the trouble makers!

This year we started playing Dirty Santa.  It was fun and I think everyone got something they wanted/needed.  We brought a Hello Kitty Chia pet and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation DVD.  I figured one of the gifts should be something that we would really want and that was the chia pet.  We ended up with a board game and the chia pet!  There was something for everyone.  I can't wait to do it again next year!

First Christmas of 2012

We made it to Papaw's late Friday night and woke up bright and early to start our busy day.  The girls opened their presents and loved all of the new toys.  Alyssa got a doll stroller from Papaw and Addison kept trying to take it away from her (remember this for the next blog post).  They had a great time and got lots of goodies!  It's nice to be within driving distance to visit family and friends.  Even though the drive home isn't always smooth sailing, once we get there the drive is forgotten.

Benches & Flowers

We left our outdoor furniture at the old house for the new tenants.  It was 10+ years old and wasn't worth moving to storage.  We recently found this cute bench at Academy and got one for the front and one for the back.  I love them!  Now there's a pretty place to sit and watch the girls play.  They are all about digging in the flower beds and making their own little flower pots.  Maybe Santa will bring them some gardening tools!

Yesterday, we went for a walk to check the mail and when we got back home we had a visitor.  A nice man with great news!  The HOA was here to look at the backyard and tell us to go ahead and get started building the swing!  He said there was one more signature needed before I receive the letter stamped 'APPROVED', but that wouldn't be a problem at all.  This came at just the right time because we got the email letting us know the swing arrived at TRU and is ready for pickup.  The girls are going to be so over the moon when they see the swing set all put together!

No Title (creative, huh?)

It's a nice sight to see when the girls aren't fighting over the iPad!  Lately, they've been seeing who can wake up first to get the iPad.  Really!  It's time to come up with some iPad rules.  Like, no iPad before sunrise, no iPad if you pinch your sister, no iPad if you don't eat your dinner, no iPad if you chase Buddy.  This may become a very long list!

Eric the Elf was found hiding in my flowers.  Blake is really great with ideas of where to put the elf.  The girls get so excited to find him every morning (after the iPad race).

The Kinect has been getting a lot of attention from us recently.  Let me just say, if you play Kinect, you will get a workout!  We play Nickelodeon Dance, Once Upon a Monster, and Kinectimals.  The girls can play these games without help, but seem to enjoy watching mommy and daddy play instead!  

Backyard Blues

The girls are getting a swing set for Christmas from Grams and Pappy!  Only one little problem.....After I ordered the swing and was searching the Internet for someone to install the swing for us, I came across lawsuits from HOA's against homeowners for not getting approval, etc.  What?  We are new to living in the HOA community and I knew about getting approval for additions, exterior painting, landscaping, and other major changes.  But, nowhere in our 'rules' does it say anything about a swing set.  I emailed the HOA and got this response 'If your swing set is "regulation" with no elaborate forts, tall climbing structures, etc, you need no application.  If it has a fort or other elaborate structures that accompany the swings, you will need to fill out an application.'  Now I have to fill out this very detailed form and have it go up to the board and they will approve or deny within 30 days.  I was able to search past meeting minutes online and found 2 cases from 2011 where the board approved a swing set and a playhouse.  Fingers crossed we get approved!

Clean Napping

What?  Doesn't everyone take naps with socks on their hands and a vacuum by their side?  I often find Alyssa napping with the most random things, but this was too funny not to share.  I guess all the cleaning wore her out!

Waiting for Santa

We heard that Santa was going to be riding around our neighborhood last Saturday morning on a fire truck, so we waited....and waited....and waited.  Finally he rode by the end of our street around 10:30am.  I wondered if he would be coming back down our street, but figured since the girls got to see him that was better than nothing.  After lunch I put the girls down for a nap.  About 15 minutes later we hear the fire truck siren.  I looked out and wouldn't you know, Santa was right in FRONT of our house.   we hurried and got the girls outside just in time for Santa and his elves to throw some candy and wave to them.  It was pretty exciting.  I wish I could have gotten a picture of it, but everything happened so fast!

Santa 2012

**EDITED TO ADD NEW AND IMPROVED SANTA PICTURE!  We had to go shopping at the mall today, so decided to give Santa another try.  Alyssa refused to sit on his lap, but at least she stood by him and smiled!  Addison was very excited and didn't hesitate to sit on Santa's lap this time!**

Why do I do this to my kids?  Why do I insist on a picture with Santa every.single.year?  Yes, I'm that mom.  The torture only lasts a few seconds and then there's a picture that lasts forever.  My girls will either love me or hate me when they are older.  Although, I can't imagine them ever saying "Gosh, I wish mom didn't have so many pictures of us".  If Alyssa has nightmares from her visit with Santa, then I'll cross that bridge when we get there.  Addison still won't sit on Santa's lap, but she happily talks to him and stands by his side for a picture.  Maybe next year there won't be any tears shed in the Santa picture.

Walk down memory lane...

New Park

We have discovered another new park in our neighborhood!  It's nice to see how the towns around here keep up with the parks and recreation areas.  There's plenty to do on our own, but now we just need to make some friends!  I've been hesitant to get involved with anything since we moved here in May only because it was supposed to be temporary.  Now we have a house and it looks like we will be here for a while, I'll do my best to make friends for myself and the girls.