MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas in case I don't get on here tomorrow! Hope you and your families are as blessed as we are this year!!












Can you guess who's who LOL ;)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAVERICK JAMES!!!

Happy Birthday baby boy...we love you so much!!!


Then...












Now...

How can it be...

...that my "baby" is 1 already??? Seriously...where did the time go? And who's cruel joke was it that he turned one the same week as I turn 30??? Am I being punked or what???

Here is how his day is going so far...

Just waking up












Happy Birthday to you!!!

Seriously....I get to eat it ALL?!?!?!?

Mess...what mess???












Sesame street cars from Mommy, Daddy, and Kiki

















All cleaned up...isn't he handsome ;)

Fryday Contest anyone???

Yeah, I know I misspelled Friday...but for good reason ;) If you don't know already, I follow a blog called My Charming Kids...along with thousands of other people! Go check out her blog and enter the contest going on if you so wish :) While you're there, read about the MckMiracle known as Stellan...you will leave amazed and awed at the power of prayer and God!!!

We Are Thankful!!!

Here's a pic from the kids' Thanksgiving playgroup on Friday. Do you know how hard it is to get kids to sit still for a picture...darn near impossible! I have other pics, but I didn't want to post the other kids' pictures without permission from their parents ;)

Clifford

Completely forgot that we also saw Clifford at the mall yesterday. There was a storytime, but we decided to go look at the toy stores instead since there was another 30 min wait and the kids were tired of sitting still. Here are a couple pics of Kiana giving him hugs though.

Here comes Santa Clause, Here comes Santa Clause.....

Yeah, yeah...I know...it's not even Thanksgiving yet. But the mall had the grand entrance of Santa today, and we decided it would be the perfect thing to do on a rainy Saturday!

As we stood in line (for an hour...after the hour long wait and performance before), I kept asking Kiana if she was going to sit on Santa's lap and tell him what she wanted. After last year, with her not wanting ANYTHING to do with sitting on his lap, I wanted to make sure the wait would be worth it. She kept assuring me that she would and was SO excited about it!! I was very relieved when she followed through with her promise. Not only did she sit on his lap and smile for pictures...even if it was for my camera instead of their photog's..but she also told him exactly what she wanted. The ice cream parlor (http://www.hasbrotoyshop.com/ProductsByBrand.htm?BR=837&SBR=675) and fashion puppy (a puppy in it's own carrier that she carries around Walmart every time we're there). I was so proud of her!

Mav is of course a ham for any kind of pictures, and I was so glad that he took the waiting in stride and was perfectly behaved...as others were having meltdowns around us! He even got "interviewed" by the news while waiting in line LOL. He's destined to be a star..this is the second time in the last two months that he's been in the news/newspaper while at events. First for Halloween, and now for this. Maybe he can support his mama someday ;)

Without further ado..here are a couple pics of the kids with Santa...
























Looking at my camera....

Still looking at my camera....

Hey....what's under this beard???

My personal fav...Mav is looking at her like "you want what...and you really expect to get that...???"

All Aboard the Polar Express

We took the kids to the mall today to see Santa's grand entrance. They were giving out "train tickets" to the first 200 kids in line to redeem for a "special gift". We were numbers 24 and 25 :) And we only had to wait in line for an hour ;)












Then, we got complimentary cookies and hot cocoa and settled in to watch a preview of The Polar Express. It was performed by a very talented local performing arts studio. It was really cute...the kids were in a trance ;)

Next, we headed up to "Santa's house" in the mall to wait in line for another hour for pictures and our "special gift"...which turned out to be much better than I expected!!! A complete Polar Express set with the book, CD, and cassette, and the special bell! Just like the one I have...so now they each have their own copy!

Trick or Treat

We took the kids trick-or-treating tonight. They both looked so cute in their costumes!! Here's my little scarecrow and Lion. Kiana got a ton of candy, and was a great Big Sister and gave Mav some too! She is now passed out in a sugar coma ;)

Pumpkin Patch

I took the kids to the pumkin patch today to pick out some pumpkins, and of course get some great photo ops ;) Of course, Mav was the only cooperative one who sat through my endless attempts at taking pics. Everyone knows you have an obligation to take certain pics every year at the Pumpkin Patch for Mommy's scrapbook LOL. They seemed to love the smaller pumpkins, so we picked out a couple to take home. Then Kiana played on the swingset for a while. The weather was perfect!

Mommy's Little Helper

Last night Kiana decided she was a "big girl" and could brush her hair and teeth all by herself. She did a pretty good job too :)














Then, Mav came crawlin' in, and she decided she would brush his teeth too. Little did she know that he would bite her LOL. She really is a great Big Sister!!

National Day of Remembrance

Today is The National Day of Remembrance for pregnancy and infant loss. I never knew how many women suffered losses like this, until I suffered my own last year. Like many other trials in life, it's one of those things that you think could never happen to you. From the beginning of the pregnancy, I felt like something was wrong, and was anxious for my first doctor appointment to hear the heartbeat. I thought that once I heard the heartbeat, I could relax and enjoy the pregnancy. That day never came. About a week before my appointment, my sweet baby went to Heaven.

Unless you've gone through that pain and heartbreak, you may not truly know the emotional roller coaster. On one hand, I felt a sense of peace, as strange as it may sound. Peace, that my baby wouldn't have to suffer. Peace, that I knew he was in God's loving arms surrounded by love. Peace, that I would one day meet him in Heaven.

On the other hand, I was deeply sad that we would have to wait to meet him and see what a wonderful person he had become.

Even if you personally have not gone through a loss such as this, you can still lend your support for others on this day. Spread the word and don't let these wonderful angels go unnoticed another day!

Teddy Bear Fair

We took the kids to the Teddy Bear Fair today at the local hospital. It was all set up to teach the kids about x-rays and other things done in a hospital to help them feel more at ease if they ever had to go.

They got to make their own teddy bear (similar to Build-a-Bear) complete with a little heart placed inside.

They also had all kinds of games and jump houses for the kids to play...Kiana loved this part!

Kiki also got to make a wooden firetruck in her lovely Home Depot smock :) We also got one for Mav to do when he's older.

Then, she got to meet the Teddy Bear and even got a teddy bear tattoo. Then, she went and got her face painted.

Mav mostly hung out in the stroller, but here's a couple pics of him ;)