Whirlwind Christmas!

The Christmas preparations began BEFORE Thanksgiving (much to Ryan's chagrin) in the Sims' Household this year, and I feel like we did not STOP for a month... As soon as Christmas was over, the decorations came down, and the birthday party planning began (more on that later!). Christmas was awesome, but I. Am. Exhausted.

Yaya and Boompa arrived the day before Christmas Eve and unloaded a truck load of gifts (literally!). They didn't even have a chance to get settled before Avery demanded Yaya's undivided attention! She was attached to Yaya for the week that they were here...

On Christmas Eve, we headed to church. I love, love, love the children's service at our church - the pressure is off since there are more kids than adults in the sanctuary! We sang lots of Christmas carols, saw a living nativity (well, semi-living since some of them were stuffed) and heard the Christmas story. Then, we headed home for a tamale dinner- a Christmas tradition!

Christmas morning started early! Anna was the first one awake, and wasted no time finding the toy that Santa left for her!

Avery came down the stairs to an audience awaiting her reaction... she was very excited to see the "painting thing" that Santa brought. And of course she decided she needed to paint her first masterpiece right away.

Santa also left a princess tunnel for both girls to share:

Avery spent most of her time opening her presents:

And Anna spent most of her time begging for some homemade Pioneer Woman cinnamon rolls:

These shoes were a big hit - shoes that squeak when she walks! SO wish I would have video-taped her jumping around and cracking up!

This was by far our favorite Christmas! Avery was finally old enough to understand what was going on, and there is just nothing better than seeing seeing her excitement as she opened and played with each gift (and Anna's excitement over all of the paper and boxes!)!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!!

'Twas the night before Christmas...

Christmas with Pops & Jannie

Last weekend we celebrated Christmas with Jannie, Pops, Cooper, Rizzo & Gonzo! We had a great time, ate yummy food (hello chocolate pie!) and the girls opened some fun gifts! Thank you Pops & Jannie for a wonderful time! We love you!

ONE!

My BABY is ONE… and my heart HURTS!! I cannot believe this past year has FLOWN by so quickly. I remember vividly – one year ago (yesterday) standing at my bathroom sink and “thinking” my water broke. Your daddy forced me to go to the hospital, and thankfully he did! The next day, it took a few drugs to get labor underway, but once you were encouraged, it didn't take you long to show us your perfect little self!!

Last year was a really tough year … my mom (your Nini) passed away in February, my Grandma in July, and my Aunt Kathy in November. I was so ready for last year to just be over, but YOU, little miss, had other plans. God knew that the first Christmas without my mom was going to be hard, and so He, with his perfect timing was not going to let that happen. He was determined to end 2009 on a good note, and to say that you were a “good” ending to the year would be an understatement. Thankfully last Christmas was not a sad one because I had you, the very best Christmas gift I could ever hope to receive. You made me thankful, hopeful, peaceful and overjoyed for the first time all year long. On Monday, December 21st at 2:16 pm, 3 weeks early, you entered the world and changed our lives forever. I have cherished every moment with you as a baby, so if you're ok with it, then I'm going to go ahead and put a brick on your head to keep you a baby for just a little bit longer. :)

Love you baby girl,
Mommy :)

Here are a few of my favorites over the past year:

- You have been such an easy baby, so content with whatever is going on and so happy to be wherever you are.

- I love it when I wake you up in the mornings… You perk up quickly but will usually lay your head down on my shoulder for a minute. I pat your back, and you pat my shoulder – it is my FAVORITE!

- I love when you see me across the room, and you crawl right up in my lap for a quick little cuddle before you are off again.

- You are my adventurous one. You like to stand up in your high chair, and daddy caught you swinging from the oven door!

- You have started REALLY splashing in the tub!

- You are standing on your own for long periods of time, and you are starting to walk behind push toys.

- You have started yelling to voice your dissatisfaction... and it's usually at dinner time or when I leave the room.

- You have 8 teeth, and you are still a good little eater. You are starting to like your veggies less and less though. :(

Happy FIRST Birthday Sweet Girl!

A Christmas Miracle

For weeks, Avery has repeatedly told us that she does NOT want to sit in Santa's lap. Easy to understand when the past couple of years have looked like a version of this:

For some reason, something changed this weekend. Avery decided that Santa needed to know what she wanted for Christmas, so as long as Anna would sit in Santa's lap with her, she would go for it.

Anna sunk right into Santa's lap while Avery stood 3 feet away to say "No fireworks, Santa!" (She's still traumatized from last year's fireworks when Santa came down the waterway)! Thankfully Santa promised her no fireworks, and she became slightly less nervous. She gave St. Nick a couple of high-fives, and then daddy plopped her in Santa's lap for a quick picture. She wasn't thrilled, but I'll take no tears as progress!!

Disney on Ice

A few weeks ago (‘tis the season to play catch up!), we had an awesome time at Disney Princesses on Ice, hosted by Miss Tinkerbell, herself.

It was such a great show! We had great seats (on the floor!), and they were worth every penny. We felt like we were part of the action! When a princess left the ice, Avery would immediately turn to me and ask, “Where did Ariel (or fill-in-the-blank princess) go?”

Avery. Was. Mesmerized.

And so were we!! Prince Eric swung in on a rope, his deck hands were catapulted, The Fairy Godmothers' wands sprayed fire, and the dragon… wow, the dragon was amazing. They even created fire on ice, and let’s not forget about the fireworks from Cinderella’s stagecoach! They had it all covered except for… The Beast. Avery was very concerned that The Beast was not part of the show. Really Disney? How do you have Beauty with no Beast? Glaring oversight. Avery was also disappointed that she didn’t get to see Tiana, but I’m sure she’ll be part of the show the next time this comes around, and no doubt we’ll be there…


This was my favorite, just in case you were wondering:

And these guys were a close second:


My little princess and me:


Here’s what $20 gets you:


Our camera pooped out for Avery’s favorite princess (Cinderella, of course), which was a bummer, but Avery loved every minute of the show (well, minus the fireworks from Cinderella’s stagecoach at the end)! Thankfully, it was a very entertaining show since I’m sure it won’t be our last! (I think Daddy actually had the best time, but that's our little secret! Shhh!!)

11 Months Old!

Well, I am late wishing my sweet baby a Happy 11 Month Old Birthday, but better late than never!

Still curious who is behind you...

- You are into everything now! Up the stairs, in the fireplace, opening drawers, snatching the remote... you are a mess!! Your latest adventure is crawling through things, under things and over things!

- You are starting to stand up on your own for a few seconds at a time.

- You love to crawl up to us and pull up on our leg so that we will pick you up.

- You love to imitate others... clicking your tongue, blowing bubbles, laughing, dancing - you are so much fun!

- You really, and I mean, REALLY hate putting on your clothes. You are either yelling in protest, or you are twisting and squirming around to make it impossible!!

- You have 7 teeth now, and there is another one about to break through!

- You are waving bye-bye all the time now, and you are starting to point!

- You can sign for "more" and "all done".

- You have lots of funny faces:

- And plenty of sweet ones too!

- And the best part?? You are still a mama's girl. :)

The End.

Turkey Day!

This Thanksgiving my heart felt very full, and I found myself feeling especially thankful... thankful that our family is blessed enough to have a place where we can always gather and thankful that my mom continues to live on through so much of my family. I am so thankful that I have a husband who loves me and loves our girls unconditionally... and also for our Aggies! :)

Shortly after arriving, Avery inherited some pink sparkly shoes from her cousin, Kate. She was super excited, and naturally they were the shoe of choice all weekend long. Her cousin, Ava had her eye on those shoes from the minute that they were on Avery's foot, and the second that Avery took them off, Ava would move in for the kill...

Getting ready to cheer on the Ags!


Avery & Kate (Avery was very upset that she had no Aggie DRESS this year. Bad, bad mommy.):


Anna trying hard to get in on some big kid action:

Avery & her buddy, Josh:


Most of Thanksgiving Day was rainy and very cold, so the kids had to play inside. Here they are writing their letters to Santa:

And the rest of us were watching the Aggies!


Luckily the rain was gone by Friday (and it "warmed off" according to Avery), so the kids were either outside or in the bunkhouse (or the "bumphouse" if you ask Avery) ALL day long:

Warming up (or off) with some hot chocolate:

Back outside for some more fun!!

A few of the cousins (hard to believe this is less than half of the little group!):

Avery & Kate again:


Kate, Sydney, Maclane ("A-pwayne"), and Avery still in her sparkly shoes:

Hope everyone enjoyed their families and ate as much as we did... Happy Thanksgiving!

Three and a HALF!

So, I could pretty much sum up this in one word... "WHY?" You ask us that question a LOT. :)

- To say that you are a girlie girl is quite the understatement! You love anything princess, and you love to play with your dollies (Barbies or little dolls). You rarely will let me put your hair in a pony tail - I hear "Mommy, I wanna have long hair" a lot. You love nail polish (thanks to Yaya!), you will only wear dresses or skirts and you are my little shoe queen.

- You looooove music. Topping the charts for requests from you are:

1. "George - The Fireman Song"

2. "Move it, Move it"

3. "Lady Gaga - Just Dance"

You love to watch Glee too, and recently fell in love with "Hello" by The Doors. You know almost every word!

- You love watching movies... Dora, Diego, Tap & Jerry (Tom & Jerry), all of the princess movies... You get to watch one show before bedtime and a few more on the weekend.

- Your favorite colors are purple and blue.

- My favorite mispronunciations:

1. Ing-uings (Earrings) Let's talk about how long it took me to figure that one out!!

2. Wap (Lap)

3. Fursday (Thursday)

4. The Pooter (Computer)

- You are a good eater. Our rule is that you have to try at least one bite of everything on your plate, and most of the time you comply. :) You could survive on grapes, tomatoes, tortillas and chips & guacamole. You actually just ate your first grilled cheese sandwich last week - up until now, you were not a fan. You are also not a fan of mac & cheese or peanut butter & jelly (actually it's just the jelly that you don't like).

- You take pre-ballet on Saturday mornings, and you also take dance at school. You love dance, but tumble team is your favorite! You also enjoy yoga and sports fun. You are getting much better at kicking the ball!

- You always want to sleep with at least one book, usually your Bible.

- You can spell your name and write it pretty well. The first time you wrote your name was on my birthday card!

- You can spell most of your colors (with the help of some songs!).

- You know your colors in Spanish and can count to ten in Spanish too.

- You have been learning about the seasons at school, and you are always talking about fall. You usually ask me why the leaves are still on the trees, and you are obsessed with acorns. You come home from school everyday with several, and you managed to get one stuck in your nose at school! You gave your teacher quite a scare...

- You do puzzles really well. 24 piece puzzles are a breeze, and you have a couple of 60 piece puzzles that you can put together in no time!

- You love to read books. Lately you have been all about your Bible stories. You like to read "The Snake" (Adam & Eve), and "The Boat" (Noah's Ark).

- Just like your daddy, you love gadgets. You can work my iphone and your daddy's phone better than me!

- You are sweet with your baby sister! If she's not around, you want to know where she is!

We love you Avie Bug! Slow down, sista. I'm not ready for FOUR!

Happy Halloween!

Hellllooo picture overload!

Halloween was a big deal this year since Avery was old enough to know what was going on this time around. We started the festivities on Friday afternoon at Avery's school...

Daddy & Cinderella (notice the gloves... according to Avery, they were a MUST to complete her costume. I got a daily reminder to buy some!):


Avery & her best friend, Campbell:


Lining up for the parade!

Pretty girl:

Somebody got shy in front of the crowd...


Cupcakes made it all better (notice the gloves were not as cool as she originally thought...)!!


Making a bag with mommy:


All done (look who spelled her name all by herself!!):


Sunday, we headed to our neighborhood Halloween party. Avery was very excited to dress up as Cinderella (again!), and Anna was planning to be her former stagecoach turned pumpkin. We had to move to plan B for Anna's costume since it was too hot to wear a fleece pumpkin (thank you, Cara!)!

Anna checking out the grass:


... and discovering that she's not a fan!


Anna & Mommy:

Avery & the inflatable pumpkin:

Dwight Schrute & Bret Michaels:


Notice how the bottle changes when Mommy's not around:


Lovely...

Avery & Finley... do they look 3 or 13?


After the party, we headed out to trick-or-treat with Deda & Joanne:

Here she is at door #1:

Avery's favorite part of the night by FAR was handing out candy. She would sprint to the door when the doorbell would ring so that she could hand out the candy ALL BY HERSELF. Cinderella decided that we needed to just leave the door open so that we didn't miss any trick-or-treaters... until I convinced her that bugs would get in the house and crawl in her bed, which caused her to close the door immediately. :)

Deda pretended to trick-or treat and surprised Avery at the front door:

Deda is HILARIOUS...

Halloween has easily become one of our favorite holidays now that Avery is old enough to really enjoy it, and we have another baby girl to dress up! I didn't think I was ever going to get my princess to bed last night, but thankfully the sugar finally wore off!