Wednesday, December 30, 2009

The Big 30!

With the help of a few friends, we threw Ben a 30th surprise party a couple of weeks ago. He was completely shocked! We ordered pizza and let the kids run around until we were all exhausted. Even after a full night of fun, we were still home by 10pm. Ha. Are we getting old or what?!
Daddy's little girls
Man, that's a lot of candles
Addi & Elana helped
coming back for seconds
everyone + Mickey

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Nightly routine

We try to ware Addi down every night, getting out every last drop of energy. It usually involves jumping off of the bed or spinning in circles. This one was particularly entertaining...

Night in Bethlehem

Our church held a wonderful event for toddlers last week that put the average nativity to shame. Not only did they have Mary & Joseph, but they had a petting zoo, ornament decorating station and real live angels! The pictures just don't do it justice.
Mary & Joseph (a.k.a. Jordan & Katie, who are due with their little girl Kendall in just a few weeks). I hadn't planned to be in the picture, but Addi wasn't sure about the whole thing.
Ben & George had everything under control while Lindsay and I took pictures.
This was at the pottery making station right before I asked Addi to take the play-doh out of her mouth.
We loved the angels. Addi wanted a picture with her.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

cookie break

We had a sugar cookie decorating party this morning. I wasn't sure how it would go, considering we had 9 two & three year olds, but it went great! I baked the cookies beforehand & had plenty of icing and sprinkles to go around. The moms monitored the icing usage, but we let them go wild with sprinkles. I'm now dealing with the sugar rush aftermath. Nap time can't come soon enough.
the whole gang
would you like some cookie with those sprinkles?

Jake & Levi lovin' the icing
sweet Hudson didn't even need parental guidance

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Give Thanks!

I have SO much to be THANKFUL for!
  • I'm thankful for my Lord and Savior who will never leave me nor forsake me.
  • I'm thankful for Ben, who stands by my side. My best friend for life.
  • I'm thankful for Addison, who makes me laugh every day.
  • I'm thankful for Sydney, who still likes to cuddle every night.
  • I'm thankful for friends, both old & new, who bring out the best in me.
  • I'm thankful for family, who know the best & worst of me and love me anyway.
and the little things that make a big difference...
  • I'm thankful for Target. What other place can you find toilet paper, pj's, and home decor?
  • I'm thankful for my washer & dryer. Laundry is almost fun. Almost.
  • I'm thankful for Bethany, our college roomie, who watches movies with Sydney, keeps Addi off of the kitchen table, helps with dishes...you get the point!
  • I'm thankful for those grocery carts that have the car attached to the front of them. Addi LOVES those.
  • I'm thankful for our pest control guy. I've only had to kill 1 scorpion since his last visit.
  • I'm thankful for the tabs on the aluminum foil box. Did you know that the ends fold in, to help keep the foil from falling out? A good tip to know for those holiday left overs.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Fall fun

Don't you love this weather?! I've been finding every excuse I can, just to go outside. Yesterday, Addison & I decided that the yard needed some grooming. Well, I decided it. Addi kind of just went along with it. You can only do sidewalk chalk for so long, ya know.
My little helper
Already puckered out. My plan worked!
Corbin came to play today, so we ran through yesterday's piles.
This was much more fun than raking!
Future Aggie running back.
I don't know what they're looking for, but so cute.

Friday, November 20, 2009

So sweet!

Here are some adorable newborn pictures of Sydney that I've been wanting to post. They were taken by my sweet friend (and awesome photographer), Kelly Hornberger. Kelly took Addi's newborn pictures a couple of years ago, so it was really special to have her capture Sydney's sweet little face too. I just love 'em. Kelly is SO talented. The last one with Addi is classic. THIS is the story of my life. Thanks so much Kel. Love ya, girl!
kellyhornberger.com

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween everybody. We had a great week, beginning with our church's Fall Festival. Addi enjoyed the petting zoo, the bowling game & the basketball toss. We practiced putting treats in our pumpkin throughout the week, hoping that by Saturday we'd have "trick or treating" down. Instead, Addi decided that everything needed to go into the pumpkin; Sydney's bottle, dirty diapers, Fruit Loops, etc. Fun times. Saturday night, we ate hotdogs and hung out with clowns. Literally :) Here's some pictures.
Let's take a closer look, shall we?
Some friends: Ella, Emily, Millie & Skyler
What an athlete!
Nothin' but net.
You want me to wear what?
My little ladybug.
Addi was too excited to sit down.
She only interrupted the magic show twice.
Not a framer, but the best we could get.
Happy Halloween!

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Pumpkin patch

Ahh...October. The cool crisp air, the new fall outfits, the $15 pumpkins. $15 pumpkins!? You've got to be kidding. I should have gone into the pumpkin business. Instead, I made it my mission yesterday to find the smallest, cheapest pumpkins I could find. I jokingly told Addi that if she could carry it, I would buy it. As if she knew exactly what I said, she walked down the aisle & picked up a generously sized $3 pumpkin. I almost did a cheer there in the parking lot.
"addi, can you sit on the pumpkin?"
she sat just long enough to snap this picture.
my bargain shopper
this was the split second before she dropped it.
no damage done, thank goodness.
my littlest pumpkin. thanks for the outfit, aunt Tami!
let the chaos begin.
and there ya' go.
sweet sydney, just hangin' out. how i miss those days :)
tada!
i hadn't planned on spelling "bats" with our initials.
just kind of happened.
a little cheesy? yes. but why not? :)

Sunday, October 25, 2009

All you Aggie fans!

Alright girls. Did ya'll listen to the A&M/Tech game last night? Ben & I found ourselves huddled around a radio in the garage (we don't have one set up in the house yet), yelling & cheering with every turnover and touchdown. Literally yelling! The girls must be good sleepers. It just feels SO good to win in Lubbock! Well around 11:30 (as I was brushing my teeth), Ben walked in, dressed in Aggie gear, and told me he was going to go greet the football players at the airport. What? Seriously? Yep, he was dead serious. "I want to go", I told him. That wasn't going to happen. So instead, he picked up George and headed up to the clubhouse. And they weren't the only ones there. Ben said there were probably 300 people up there, all waiting to cheer for the Ags when they got home. He forgot to take his camera, but we downloaded all of these pictures off of the TexAgs forum. Somebody randomly took these and posted them. Ben feels famous.
These guys are Yell Leaders. Class of 69. They led the group in yell practice before the buses arrived.
Hump it Ags! Ben is left of the A&M flag, in a white shirt.
Ben & George congratulating one of A&M's defensive lineman.
Ben didn't make it in the picture, but got a chance to shake the star quarterback's hand.
What a game, what a night!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Halloween costume preview

My sweet ladybug and flower. This was Sydney's first "captured" smile. Classic, right? Addi cried when I made her take her outfit off to have lunch. It's hanging in her closet and she reminds me every morning that it's still there, just waiting to be put back on. Thanks Amanda, for letting us borrow them!

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

stretching the $

Trying to furnish a house isn't cheap. I've been accumulating furniture pieces over the last few months, trying to buy them when they're on sale, shopping at markets, begging for discounts, etc. I've learned that more places than you think, negotiate on prices. I bought a dresser last week that was already marked down 40% because it was a floor model. I pointed out some surface level scratches and they waved the tax for me. Not a bad deal. A little TLC and it was as good as new. I learned last year (when we were selling our house), that if you rub a walnut into wood scratches, whether floor or furniture, you can barely see them. Our 1950's wood floor looked great after a bag of walnuts. Who would have thought?
Okay, back to my post. So since the bills are piling up and I still have rooms to furnish, I'm looking for every opportunity to cut corners. Here are some projects that have kept me busy the last couple of weeks.
This was Ben's old lamp from college. A little hot glue and flowers and viola, it's now on Addi's dresser. I may paint the base dark pink or off-white..any ideas?
This idea, I stole from Whitney. I found this closet door in Round Top for $5. It was pretty nasty. Ben asked why I was buying other people's junk. I painted it, added a cute door knob from Hobby Lobby and it now shows off Addi's art work.
I found this on Craig's List a few months ago. Who needs PotteryBarn when 3 cans of spray paint will do the trick.
Next on the agenda, some wicker chairs that I bought from a garage sale last week...

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Sweet Sydney

A new friend of mine took some adorable newborn pictures of Sydney.
Thanks Maleigh!