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!!)