Our Christmas Gift To Our Parents...

Jason and I assembled the ultimate grandparents brag book for Christmas this year, and gave one to both sets of grandparents...this was an extra special gift for them since they adore their grandchildren! Below is a slideshow of some of the 50 pictures that were included in the Blurb book...Enjoy! :)

Make a Smilebox slideshow

It's Christmas Time!!!

On the 23rd, we all met at Dede and Big Daddy's house to decorate a Gingerbread house and eat pizza! :) We try to cram as many family things into this week as possible..so it gets hectic, but we love every minute!
Back in November, I got Sailer and Maddie an ornament to put on the whimsical grandchildren's tree at Dede's. Here are Kristin and I about to hang our ornaments on the tree! Aren't they cute???

Here's Noah decorating the gingerbread house...it kinda got messy....but, that's what makes it so fun, right?

Noah was very careful and meticulous with this gingerbread house...this was surprising b/c he's not typically the "artsy" type.

Sailer was really into the icing...:)

I was so thankful for this night, and for the kids feeling good...they had both been sick with a cold for about 4 days leading up to Christmas, so I was trying everything in my power to get them well before our fun began! Thank the Lord...they were great, and they loved Christmas week!

Christmas Eve...

First of all, I'd like to say that this Christmas Eve was the best that I've had in years! Two reasons....first, Jason got to spend it with us! Second, I found out that I got an "A" in my first graduate class! What a great start to a great Christmas Eve! It was wonderful getting to have breakfast together, play with the kids, and just relax. I got a big surprise when I was wrapping a few last minute gifts....Jason was playing with Noah and Sailer, and he brought Sailer in to see me. I looked up and she was holding a small black velvet bag....so, I just laughed and asked Jason..."What is that?" So...as I opened it, my jaw dropped...it was princess cut diamond earrings!!! Not for me though!! For SAILER!!! :) Jason and I had discussed getting Sailer's ears pierced, and we decided that her first birthday would be appropriate (actually, we met in the middle..Jason wanted to wait until she was old enough to ask!). So...this was a shock to say the least...they were the pointed kind with the click on backing to get her ears pierced with. He had even called our pediatrician to ask some questions about what kind would be best, etc. So..I have to say, I was impressed, and they are so dainty and beautiful! :) Jason sure does love his little girl!

Here are some pictures from our Christmas Eve dinner at Poppa's and Granmama's...this is one of my favorite nights of the year b/c we all get dressed up, and come together in the spirit of Christmas...it's a wonderful time! Here is how we usually open gifts...Granmama has all of the gifts hidden in the back bedroom, and Uncle Chad and Noah bring each gift out...one by one...and give one gift to everyone. Then, we go around and everyone opens their gift for all to see! And, yes...this can take a few hours! It's crazy! But, we love it, and Noah was especially excited this year! He helped everyone open their gifts, and he was in awe of every gift...even if it was a shirt...he would say..."Whoa....this is cool," or "Aww...that's cute." (Jason cringes when Noah says anything is cute :) It was truly a special night....

This is about as close as Sailer got to opening her gifts....she liked to climb on them, and play with the wrapping paper!
Lounging with Dede and Big Daddy! :)

This was about the best picture I could get of Sailer's outfit...it has her initials on it...I think she looked like a little candy cane in her tights!

Here's Noah racing around the corner with another gift!!!

Christmas Day!

Here are an assortment of pictures from Christmas Day....we took about 150 pics over a 3 day period, so I am just highlighting our time! We are SO very grateful for ALL that we received....seriously! We got way too much! To be completely honest, I would be satisfied to watch my children receive and receive....it's just not as important for ME to be showered with gifts, but my wonderful husband and family never let that happen! They are extremely giving, and it is humbling to me.

Anyway, Jason FINALLY got a playstation 3, along with some much needed clothes for work, some Ugg slippers, an electric razor, a scarf, shoes, and casual clothes.

Then, I was SHOCKED to receive a Nikon Cool Pics camera....at first, I thought...another camera??? But, seriously, this camera is SOOO me. I think I make Jason nervous lugging around our big camera, so he put his mom up to get me this super tiny camera that has vibration control,a nd takes very clear pictures! (I took pictures of Sailer getting her ears pierced with it!). So, thank you Dede! Also, I got some RayBan aviator sunglasses that I had wanted, toggle boots, hair accessories, clothes from White House Black Market (love that store!), Burberry perfume that I really wanted, and a beautiful parrot colored handbag. I feel so blessed...and so guilty for getting things for me! Seriously! In the days leading up to Christmas...Noah kept asking me..."Mommy, what do YOU want for Christmas?" I would say...."I just want you and Sailer to be happy!" Then, he would look at me like...."Huh? That's a funny answer!" But, it's SO true! That's all I wanted for Christmas. And, the amazing part is that out of all of the "things" that I got...I am most thankful for Jason and my beautiful children....for our health, happiness, and togetherness. God is very good to us. Thank you all so much! I love everything that you got for me and for my family! Here a few pics....

My mother-n-law got Sailer and Maddie personalized dresses from Chez Ami...Sailer's is 12 mos. size, and Maddie's is 3 months, so we can get their pics made together! I love them! :)
Some adorable ladybug shoes that Sailer got from Dede...she wore her "Ladybug outfit" to get her ears pierced....see post below...

MIA! Sailer's American Girl Doll! We are still waiting on her snow skates to come in and her muffs, but we were SO glad to receive Mia!

Chad and Kristin got Terry and Darlene a stepping stone that reads...."BEST BUDDIES...Terry, Darlene, Noah, Sailer, and Maddie....isn't that the PERFECT gift for grandparents???? We love it, and we cannot wait for Noah and Sailer to meet their 1st cousin really soon!

More From Christmas...

I always admire my mother-n-law's presentation of Christmas...she truly LOVES decorating and wrapping....this was the view from the top of the staircase on Christmas morn....I think it is breathtaking. We met around 7:30 on Christmas morning, and had a gourmet (seriously!) breakfast, which consisted of country ham, cheese grits, bacon, biscuits, pigs in a blanket, sausage balls, and scrambled eggs....I think Big Daddy must have started cooking around 5 a.m.! It was fabulous though..and we all appreciated it!

Noah's BIG gift from Santa was this life-sized tractor...it's amazing..it does all of the things that a big tractor does, but it's the perfect size for Noah! It was funny how Noah found this...we were all eating breakfast downstairs, and Noah roamed upstairs to his playroom (this was where the tractor was hiding!), and all of a sudden, we heard him say "Whoa!" Ooops! So...we all went running upstairs to see what Santa had brought...he really loved it!

This was Noah's biggest gift from Santa at our house....his Spiderman bicycle! He has been asking for this for months! In fact, all he wanted for Christmas was his bicycle and a candy cane...:) The Dinosaur in this picture was from Gran-Gran's house the night before....he also REALLY REALLY loves his Spikey (his name for the dinosaur). In addition, Noah got his mailbox with play mail that he had REALLY wanted, and tons of clothes! This year, our job was actually easy b/c the grandparents got SO much for Noah and Sailer...that we didn't have to get that much. Just a few big gifts! Don't you just love grandparents??? We are SO thankful!

Noah's Imaginext toy, and the two pics of Noah and Sailer that "Santa...a.k.a. Jason" got for mommy! :) Sorry there are no pics of Sailer's stuff from Santa...Santa was very gracious to bring her a pink and purple learning purse, some pink baby Uggs, and TONS of clothes and trinkets to put in her purse and play with! Of course, all she wanted was her bottle....:)

Me and Kristin with our Disney Princesses stocking for Sailer and Maddie! We were like two little girls opening these...it was SOOO fun! :)

By the way..I must mention that by the time we got to my parents house, we discovered that we had left our camera at home, so we weren't able to take any pics of Noah and Sailer's gifts from Nene and Paw-Paw...HOWEVER, just to mention a few things that they got....Noah got a craft table with paint markers, a learing laptop, a megadoodle, books, TONS of clothes, and a writing toy. Then, Sailer got a stroller and first baby doll! :) Then, she got a dancing penguin (so cute!), TONS of clothes (thank you mom!), and baby toys.....Jason and I are SO burned out of assembling ALL of these toys and gadgets...it's crazy! I think we spent over $50 on batteries for all of these things! Anyway, there are more pics to come of Noah and Sailer enjoying all of their new things...they love them!

Sailer Got Her Ears Pierced!

This was such a treat for me! :) On Saturday, I planned a little girls day out for me and Sailer...my plans were to get her ears pierced, and do a little exchanging/shopping afterwards. Well...as you can see, Jason and Noah finished up their errands early, and met up with us. Honestly, I think that this was "planned" so that Jason could be with his little girl....after all, he is the reason why we've waited this long to get her ears pierced! Anyway, things went great...of course, there were a few tears, but Sailer did wonderful, and she looks absolutely precious with her new bling! :) I was a little disappointed that we couldn't use the princess cut diamonds that daddy surprised her with for Christmas (they were not sterilized), but we will be putting those in after the first six weeks....enjoy! By the way...I just realized that it's pretty much impossible to see her earrings in these pictures, so I'll try to post some where you can actually see them....:)

Pretty! Pretty!

This looked much worse than it was...I was just SO afraid that Sailer was going to jerk her head, so I was very careful to hold it in place...

A Lovely Christmas Breakfast :)

This past Thursday, I took the kids to an early breakfast at Jason's work.....it was great for the kids b/c they got to see Daddy, Big Daddy, Dede, Nene (my mom), and Uncle Chad ALL at the same time! (They all work together). This was our third year going to the breakfast, and we love seeing everyone and their families. It seems that I'm always carrying a new baby OR pregnant when we go! :)

Anyway, Sailer was a sweetie, even though she had to forego her morning nap to be there. She has recently started clapping at EVERYTHING, and she began clapping just as Big Daddy began saying the blessing...it was so cute! I adore my children!

My Two Loves...

This is the "Sailer look." She looks like a combo of sad/mad, but I promise she's a happy girl! :)
Sailer LOVES LOVES LOVES Baby Einstein videos...her fave is our animal one entitled "Noah's Ark." And, Noah likes that one too...for obvious reasons! :)

Noah and I made Mickey Mouse Christmas cupcakes this week. After going to Playhouse Disney last Sunday, this was ALL he could talk about! These were made with red velvet cake mix, and cream cheese icing. There is actually a very thin layer of icing, and a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of the cupcake. Then, of course, oreos are Mickey's ears, and M & M's are used for his eyes and nose. Noah's fave candy was the Twizzlers, which were used for whiskers....this was a FUN little baking project for us! We love Christmas time!

Right before Noah demolished his ice cream cupcake!

More Playing...

This is how Sailer attempts to stand up, although she cannot stand without pulling up on something. She has come close a couple of times though. My mother-n-law and I always crack up at her feet....they look like they are gumby feet! She can bend them in ANY direction, and when she stands, she stands in a perfect plie.....I don't know...future ballerina?

Love those chunky thighs!

Noah loves her!

Time To Blog!

I cannot BELIEVE that it has been this long since I've posted! Sorry for the monster-size update, but my life has been quite the soap opera lately..:)

First of all, I am back in school...this has been a decision that I have been struggling with for about six months. It's crazy, but it's a good feeling to be doing something for "me." I am one of those types of people that give and give and give....and, I don't give to myself, so this is one example of how I am giving to myself. Back in October, I took the GACE assessment (for Georgia educators), and that was my first step towards re-entering school, etc. As I awaited my results, I applied, and was accepted into a Masters program with University of Phoenix. My entire program is online, which is great for me (especially since Jason's hours are unpredictable). So...fastforward to November 24th. I have to wait ALL DAY until 5 p.m. to learn that I passed the GACE! Yeah! One hurdle down!

Then, the next day was my first day of class! This was a 3 week, jam packed class with 3 powerpoint presentations, 3 graduate papers, and two team projects! AHHHH! So, as I began working on these assignments, Thanksgiving rolls around, and Jason has to work ALL DAY, so I took the kids to eat lunch with Jason's family, and then we went to eat with my family. It was fun, but crazy without Jason. In the midst of all of this, Sailer turned 8 months old, and started crawling...everywhere!

Then, two days later, Jason broke his hand!! After spending six hours in the ER, and visiting an orthopedic, he had surgery about five days after he broke his hand. So, now, I have a LOAD of school work, an 8 month old that is crawling everywhere and pulling up on everything, AND a husband that cannot even change a diaper! Poor thing....his poor hand has two pins in it, and it has a splint in it that keeps his hand in an awkward position, so that it's difficult to hold things, etc. So, it has been rough!

But! I am doing great, and my kids are healthy, and I'm SOOOO thankful for that! Plus, I told Jason that this was a major reality check for me b/c I didn't realize just HOW MUCH he does for me to help with the kids. Now, I promise to be more thankful when his hand gets better! He will go visit the orthopedic tomorrow for a check-up. Please pray that he is healing properly!

Anyway, I think that's all for now! Thank you to all of you who checked on me over the past 3-4 weeks...I feel like I've been a bad friend, but the truth is, I've been pulled in every direction possible! I'm so sorry! I'm hoping that things will calm down..SOON!

Playhouse Disney Live!

Here are a few pics from Playhouse Disney Live at Philips Arena! This is part of Noah's Christmas...we knew that he would absolutely LOVE this show! We were right! All of his fave characters were there...Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Minnie, Little Einsteins, Pooh, and Handy Manny! He was in heaven! We had the best time!

The Little Einsteins characters...

Heading into the arena! It was so COLD!!!

My two precious babies! :)

Our American Girl....MIA!

I have always wanted to go visit the American Girl Cafe & Bistro at North Point Mall! Finally, we made it! As a little girl, I LOVED my baby dolls! I had every kind you could imagine, and I treated them like my children...really! This year, my mother-n-law has ordered Sailer her very first American Girl doll! I was eager to go meet her...her name is Mia! Mia is the 2008 American Girl Of The Year! Since Sailer was born this year, we thought this would be a special Collector's Doll for her. Here is a pic of Sailer and I in the boutique, and the second pic is of Mia in the glass case. She is an ice skater, and Dede also ordered some ADORABLE fur skates with muffs for Mia to wear.

I couldn't believe this place...these girls that come into the boutique walk in with their American Girl dolls....they are pushing their way through the store to make sure they are able to get the outfit that they want, and it's so competitive! Crazy!

Anyway, we were so happy to finally go! I think that this will be one of MANY trips for me and Sailer!

Santa is great!

Here are Noah and Sailer with Santa at North Point Mall this past Saturday. Noah has almost the exact same expression on his face as last year....the "not sure I want to be here look." It took a few minutes, but he warmed up to Santa, and was very glad that he got an opportunity to tell Santa that he wanted a bicycle. Before we left our house, Noah told me that he wanted a bicycle...with wheels and pedals! Hehe! He is so funny!

As for Sailer, she was perfectly content with Santa....when it was time to go, I think she would have been fine if I would have left her! She was having a great time pulling on poor Santa's beard! I apologized to Santa b/c I felt so bad...she was yanking and pulling...it looked painful! He was SUCH a sweet Santa, and he told me that he has lost many white hairs over the years! He was too cute!

By the way...if any of you haven't seen Santa yet, go to North Point! This Santa made an grand entrance, and it was SOOO fun to watch all of the kids who were in line go crazy! Noah was frozen. Santa is like a celebrity to him!

Here is a video of Noah and Sailer with Santa...please forgive how cheesy Jason and I sound!

Noah's Jingle Jam Part 1 & 2

Noah was in his very first Christmas Jingle Jam at our church on December 7th. He had been rehearsing every Wed. night for two months, and he was SUPER excited about singing, although it's hard to tell from these videos. Noah is a spirited boy, who is FULL of energy and zest for life! He is passionate about everything that he does, and he finds so much pride about his accomplishments. As I watched him on stage, I just melted, b/c he was SOOO reserved and quiet...much UNLIKE himself. I just wanted to run up and squeeze him! When he first came out with his class, he was the only one not wearing his angel halo. So...I wondered why. When I asked him later, he said "I just didn't want to." So, I said..."Well, okay." Then, I remembered that before he left for his show, I had put a new product in his hair that I bought at my friend Kara's salon. I dried his hair, and I told him that he couldn't wear his jacket with the hood b/c I didn't want his hair to be messed up for his performance. Hmmmm....now, I'm starting to think that he didn't want to wear the halo b/c maybe it would have messed up his hair! HA!

Here is our mantle this year...I decorated it the week of Thanksgiving. I am very proud of myself. This is our second Christmas in this house, and as many of you know, this used to be Jason's parents home. My mother-n-law had garland made for this mantle, and she let me keep it since it was the perfect measurements. Last year, she came over and helped me arrange it, and she showed me how to curl the ribbons. But, this year, I did it by myself! Yay! This is one of my fave rooms in our house around Christmas b/c I like sitting by the fire and watching TV, and having that all of the decorations around us....it's such a cozy room. Only one thing....it is NOT childproof at all!