Merry Christmas Party at Jack and Shirley's! 12/23/13

Merry Christmas started for us on the 23rd. We celebrated with Jack and Shirley at their house. We had a festive Christmas spread of beautiful snacks and treats and exchanged gifts. This was the first year that you REALLY GOT IT! You anticipated the gifts and were excited about Santa coming to our house! At Jack and Shirley's, you kept telling me you wanted to get the party started! I thought maybe you thought there would be dancing etc. In reality, you were simply ready to open gifts! The evening ended with a dance party anyway! You and Shirley especially enjoyed rocking around the Christmas tree!


Before the party officially started, you took some photos! You are a fantastic photographer!

You and Shirley were Santa's helpers! Shirley would give you the gift and you would deliver the presents!

Jack and Shirley gave you a Mrs. Potato Head...and it was a HIT!

Silly Cole-Cole!

 Daddy got some Chief's golf balls and they were a hit!

After gifts and snacks, you started the dance party! Jack and Shirley gave you a Chipmunks Christmas CD and you wanted to hear it immediately! 

Each year (for as long as I can remember...we have tried to take a timed group photo! If we could see Gowah's face, this one would have been great! I'm not sure what I said just before the timer went off...but you are looking at me for some reason :)

Kicks! 12/18/14

Yesterday was a crazy day! I had the first swim meet of our season. Gowah picked you up from Sally's and then you two played at The Golf House for a while until Daddy got home from work. When I got home, the two of you were snuggled up in bed watching Prep and Landing. You were a super cute little elf in your Elf on the Shelf pajamas, and scrambled out of bed to meet me! We all cuddled for a while. Baby Bingo was wild last night and for the first time, you felt him kick! The expression on your little face when you felt him kick was absolutely priceless! Your eyes were huge and you squealed with delight! You wanted more and more! Like a good little brother...Bingo obliged your requests! What a special moment :)

Silly Elf

Sick baby girl

Out if nowhere (other than a head cold) you woke up Thursday morning at 3am with a horrible temperature! At 5:00am it was 102.2! 

You stayed home with Gowah Thursday.

Friday we went to the Dr. Turns out, you just have a nasty virus :(

MORE Christmas Decorating!

A crucial part of Christmas decorating (tree trimming etc.) is THE FAMILY STONE! Daddy and mommy started that tradition our first Christmas as a married couple! Daddy has to hook up a DVD player so we can watch!

You are playing elf and Santa in your sleigh! Maggie is your reindeer :)

It's so fun to see you enjoy toys and decorations!

It was time for bed, so we're going to have to finish tomorrow!

Your bathroom remodel!

Decorating a little girl bathroom has always been a dream of mine :) The idea of a beautiful, frilly curtain, coordinating bath mat, and towels...the entire idea is exciting to me! Your bathroom in The Golf House however, is probably the one bathroom in the world that is furthest from the chic little haven of my dreams. (See below.)

 

The glass blocks...not my idea of an adorable bathroom (many visitors to The Golf House were intrigued loved the glass blocks...claimed they added character! Grandma Pat was especially fond of the blocks. She will likely shed a tear when she realizes that Daddy busted them into a million pieces and pitched them in the garbage.)

 

The witch on the window was our glorious attempt at decorating for Halloween! Dorothy was on the window in the master bathroom!

 

More to come in later posts. Daddy has been totally gutting this room down to the studs. I can't wait to have a beautiful-white-tiled haven to decorate for you!

 

 

 

 

McDonalds (post from early August)

We started off our Saturday with brunch at McDonalds with Mike! Mike is one of daddy's college roommates...you love hanging out with Mike!

 

This is your favorite McDonalds ever! It's on Johnson Drive and it looks old fashioned on the outside and in! Plus it has this super cool video game :)

Jack-O-Lanterns

Since you love to paint we decided that painting the baby pumpkin Gowah and Grandma Pat gave you was the best way to enjoy creating a jack-o-lantern!

 

We were correct! You spent well over an hour layering paint on your beautiful little pumpkin!

Christmas Wish List

RerffgStackable Laundry! With soap :)

Ironing board!

THE TELEPHONE!!!

THE MUSIC BOX!!!!!!

NO SCHOOL!

I've worked until 8pm the last two nights (conferences) and now I have today off! Since daddy is working from home, we're all off together! Daddy's gutting your bathroom, and you're playing like crazy! 

Enjoying some lunch at your table with a view :)

Silver Dollar City With Gowah, Grandma Pat, and Blair Blair!

Such a fun day today at SDC! We had a great time riding rides and walking around! We watched an awesome dog show too!

Kids Fest is still goin string and you loved the blocked. You even asked if we were at Lego Land :)

Face painting still ranks super high on your list of to-do's.

You were totally in love with the doggie show!

When they asked for volunteers, you were in the middle of picking your nose...so naturally, you simply raised your other hand :/

The rides are THE MOST FUN with Grandma Pat!

During Kids Fest there is a big wooden train set up at the entrance to the park. You love to play on the train and always make a few friends!

Our hotel was the Hilton at Branson Landing. It was super fun and convenient!

Our room overlooked the shops!

We walked around and you played for a while while we decided where to eat. 

There was a super cool clown making balloon characters! You requested a purple kitty (the kitty is sleeping with us tonight).

The clown made small talk with you while he constructed your kitty. You very politely answered all of his questions! 

We had hear that the Bass Pro restaurant was especially tasty and since noone in our party had eaten there before, we decided to give it a try. We only had to wait for 12 minutes! During our wait you fed the geese and ducks swimming around!

  

The restaurant was awesome!!!!! After our meal, you played on the boats and we headed to the hotel!