Christmas Fun

I love our Santa picture this year. I know I'm a cruel mom for watching my daughter scream out of fear... but a moms gotta do what a moms gotta do for a santa picture!

Mrs. Claus wasn't near as frightening. Ha ha

Riding the train to the North Pole

Mimi and Adalyn look worried.  The train driver was pretty crazy!

We also went to the lovely "Odessa Christmas Parade".  We had a good time as usual.  Unfortunately, these were the only pictures I took. 

Jaxon and his best bud April from school.

My sweet girl waiting on the parade.

Polar Express

We had such a great time at the Polar Express in Lubbock. Jaxon's love for trains is undeniable so going on a real train for the first time was a blast.  Mimi and Papa came along too which made the experience even more fun.  I have to say that it was totally worth the ticket price when we saw the kids faces as santa and his elves came on board.  Santa was so sweet and he came right up to Jaxon and spoke to him in such a sweet way. He got down on his knee on Jaxon's level and whispered to him, "Do you believe?" and handed him a bell. If you haven't read the book or seen the movie, if you believe in Santa, you can hear the bell ring.  I couldn't help but get tears in my eyes.  It was beyond sweet. I absolutely love watching Jaxon learn about the magic and joy of Christmas.  Adalyn had a great time too and didn't scream when Santa spoke to her, so we considered that a success!  

So glad that Mimi and Papa were there. 

Such a sweet daddy/daughter picture

Watching the show

Silly Daddy

Loving the Hot Chocolate

Both kids enjoyed hearing the Polar Express story

Santa giving Adalyn her bell

Such a sweet moment

Both aren't so sure about this sweet elf

Mom had a great time too!

Adalyn's First Birthday

 My sweet girl turned one last week. I must say I am a little saddened by the fact that her first year has already passed and her baby stage is over.  This year has been an absolute joy.  

Adalyn was the best baby any mom could ask for.  She is a great sleeper and an even better eater.  She is almost always happy and loves to have all eyes on her.  When going to restaurants, she loves to wave and give her corky smile to anyone who will look her way.  She is very cautious when it comes to walking. As of now, she only walks when we are holding her hand.  She loves music and dancing to it in the car.  I love looking back at her when a good song comes on and watching her clap and rock back and forth.  This has become quite a distraction (ha ha).  Adalyn is already a very "girly" girl. She loves all things pink, kitchen stuff and dolls.  But, at the same time, I can tell she is going to be one tuff girl thanks to her brother.  Adalyn can say "hi, bye-bye, baby, da-da, mama, puppy and thank you".  The best sound she makes is "Mmmmm" when she sees food.  It is music to my ears.  She is already very much a daddy's girl.  She loves flirting with him. Boy is Micah in trouble!  

I am so in love with this sweet, beautiful and precious girl and I cannot express how amazed I am that God gave her to me.  It is truly an honor and joy to be her mother.

We had a small family party for her first birthday because I really wanted to soak it all on and enjoy it.  I was very happy with that decision.  We had such a great time watching her devour her cake and open presents.  I even hired a photographer so that I wouldn't have to worry about missing any special moments on film. Best decision ever (as you can see below).

Pinterest Obsession

Ok... if you have not been introduced to "Pinterest" yet, you have no idea what you are missing.  Now that I am a "stay at home mom", pinning has become my new favorite obsession.  Here are a few of the things I have actually tried....

I did Sweet and Salty Treats for Jaxon's class for their Halloween party. They were very time consuming but worth the effort. They looked adorable and tasted even better!  The only thing the blog didn't mention was that it takes 1 to 2 HOURS for them to cool. So, be prepared if your in a time crunch.

I got these labels from tiny prints. Thought they were pretty cute.

And I made these mum pumpkins for my fall Super Club party. But, I used fake pumpkins & flowers so I can use them every year. I bought bunches of fake mums and sunflowers and used an awl to poke the holes and stuck the stems to them.  I used as many flowers as possible.

This burlap wreath was fun to make with my Sister-in-law, Blair. Ended up using it as a centerpiece for my Fall Supper Club Party.  The only thing she didn't mention was that it takes LOTS of burlap strips to make the wreath look full and good.

This pizza was inspired by this Butternut Squash Tart but I used the ingredients for a pizza using Jersey Girl Pizza dough instead.  Supper yummy fall dinner!

I also made this Pumpkin Cream Pie in mason jars for my Fall themed Supper Club.  They were super easy and a good fall treat.

Halloween 2011

This year, Jaxon decided he wanted to be Jake from the Neverland Pirates (his favorite Disney show at the moment) and we dressed Adalyn up as his parrot. This year was more fun that any other. Jaxon absolutely loved his costume and Adalyn was pretty comfortable in hers.  They had so much fun going to many parties and trick or treating.  Getting a decent picture of them both together was not as easy.  This is the best we could get.

And here is my handsome Pirate

His "Ahhhrrrr" face

And my Precious Parrot

Golf Cart Trick or Treating is so much fun.  

I think Adalyn is saying "STOP!" She cracks me up.