Another year!!

I can't believe it is 2009...in an hour. I am a huge loser right now because I am sitting at home alone, well, Reese is in bed. Lance went to the Tech game tonight which turned out to be a horrible game. Reese and I spent some time earlier at a friends house with their family/friends. It was nice to get out of the house a little bit for the evening.

I am never a huge celebrator of New Year's. It is neat to see the year change but other than that it is not too exciting to me. I also never really set New Year's resolutions. I have goals for myself for the year but why make it January 1st that I am going to start getting in shape? We also don't do all the crazy eating things that people do to start the new year. I never did that as a kid and I don't plan on starting now. I really don't think that black eyed peas and collard greens are going to do anything to spark something new in my life. One thing that I do remember from being a kid was if we were acting up (probably because we were up way past bedtime...we were usually perfect, right mom?) our mom would say, "How you are acting at midnight of the new year is how you are going to act the rest of the year. You don't want to be bad the rest of the year do you?" Haha!! That was probably paraphrased. I always remember that every year and I try to be as sweet as possible at midnight because I want to be sweet the rest of the year.

Happy 2009 to everyone! May it be your best and most blessed year so far!!

Christmas Extravaganza...

...is now over. This week has been full of Christmas celebrations. On the 23rd we started our Christmas celebrations at my Dad's parents house. Most of his side of the family was there (minus our Florida family who we greatly missed). We had dinner and talked (really loud as usual). We ALWAYS have a great time when we are together and I am so lucky to have ALL of them in my life. I can not imagine going one day without them. You can tell the second we get together that we are all related and have grown up together. We pick on each other, tease each other, and love on each other as if we were all siblings. I took so many pictures that I had a hard time deciding which ones to post. So I will stick with these four from the night.

Reese and I posing while obviously something much more fun was happening off camera that Reese couldn't take her eyes off of.


Daddy hugs


Probably Reese's favorite toy. She can write all over it and Mommy doesn't tell her no. It was a fabulous entertainer in the car on the way home too. Thank you Aunt Lissa (pronounced Lisa...not to be confused with Lissa).


House divided. We got my grandparents dueling rocking chairs. Hers says Georgia...His says Georgia Tech. Apparently Tech chairs are not sold so we had to make our own.



Christmas eve we went to Lance's sisters house to celebrate Christmas with them. From the moment we got there the three kids were wild and crazy. They had a lot of fun together and the boys definitely entertained Reese. Dalton started the evening off by serenading us with "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer". I, of course, joined in because that was one of mine and my sisters FAVORITE songs growing up. He was so cute dressed up as a Christmas tree.

Reese wanted to be the tree too.


Every year Santa calls the boys and they get so excited. They said that Santa calls them because they are a little scared to go and see him. Some how he has to know what they want for Christmas!! Brody has been talking to him for a few years now but I think this was Dalton's first year to really understand and want to talk to him. He followed Brody around everywhere with the phone and kept saying it was his turn.


Reese was trying to figure out what they were so excited about. Here she is looking at Dalton on the phone and she looks so serious.

Christmas morning we woke up and had Christmas with just the three of us. It was nice to be able to spend some time together and enjoy celebrating. We are so excited to be able to start our own traditions as a family. Reese's big present from Santa was a kitchen. She has enjoyed "cooking" on it. She will walk up to it and say "cook". She will also stir in the pot and then taste it. So funny.


Then around 10 or so my family came over for more presents and eating. Reese really racked up on presents!! Here she is going for a ride around the house in her new wagon. She was very excited about it.

Then while Reese was taking a nap that afternoon, Lance, my sisters and I entertained my parents and grandmother with a little American Idol on Wii. It is a lot of fun. Not to brag...maybe...but I won every round!! I am definitely not a singer but for some reason I rock that game. We played for TWO hours! I am sure my parents and grandmother felt like it was all day. Here Leah was getting ready to compete against me in the finals and she dressed up like Becca. Haha!!

Reese received plenty to "push". She got this cute little stroller, a grocery cart, and a musical push toy. Now she doesn't have to push our boxes everywhere.

Today, part of my mom's side of the family came over. Half of my cousins were out of town and Leah had to work so we missed all of them. Reese and Caleb were the only babies there. We ate lunch and babies (and Grandma) opened presents. Caleb is thinking, "what is this crazy girl doing?"


We had a fun day visiting with them but I was so run down and not feeling well today. After everyone left, I put Reese down for a much needed nap and took one myself. Even though we were soooooo busy this week, Reese has been so good and has had so much fun. I can't wait to see her enjoy all of her new toys. She is going to have a blast...and now Daddy can stop complaining that she doesn't have enough toys. She has plenty now, right Daddy??

What is my deal??

Several times this week I have woken up when Lance's alarm goes off (around 5) and have not been able to go back to sleep. This morning was one of those days too. It stinks!! And now here it is 11:45 pm and I am wide awake. What is my deal? I have no idea. So since I can not go to sleep I will amuse you with pictures and stories while I am not amused AT ALL.

Yesterday morning we got up and went to run a few errands. We went to the mall planning on going in to Belk and right back out. However after we made our purchase we looked outside and it was pouring down rain. So we walked around a bit...which can always get us in trouble. We (or I) always find a way to buy Reese more clothes. So I did. At my favorite new store, Crazy 8. I have a hard time in there because I want to buy it all and it is great prices. Then last night we went to my friend Nicole's house (whose little guy is Mitchell) for a Christmas party. The kids were so cute together. We haven't really seen them interact too much together before but last night they were too cute.

This morning we had full intentions of getting up and going to breakfast before church. But as usual we were running behind. We left the house with enough time to get something quick to eat but probably would not be able to enjoy it. But half way there I realized I forgot Reese's teachers gifts. So we turned around to get the gifts and decide to just grab some donuts at Dunkin' Donuts. That is never a good idea. Finally we make it to church and heard the most amazing music EVER. I am not a stand up and praise kind of girl but the female singer sang "Ole Holy Night" and it was tempting to get emotional. I seriously have never heard it sung that beautifully before and I am pretty sure Celine Dion sings it on the radio. After church we went to my parents house to visit with my grandmother who is in town from Florida. Reese was wild and crazy while we were there. Once we got home and put Reese to bed, I headed out to shop...some more. Nicole had given me an invite only invitation to Gymboree. They opened up their back room and let you ransack it. It was all last season clothes (and maybe even two seasons ago). But everything was discounted and then you got an additional 25% off that. And then Nicole had a 20% off coupon so I got that on top!! I spent $23 and the most expensive thing I bought was $5. I also bought the bubbles from there...if you have babies who love bubbles, Gymboree is the place to buy them.

Reese ready to take her lunch to work...


Reese is cutting four more teeth so her hands are constantly in her mouth. I think they have finally all broken the gum. Once they are bigger she will officially have 16 teeth!! That is crazy!!


We seriously love playing with the new camera...it is so much fun. When we pull it out Reese immediately says, "Baby", and points to the camera so she can see herself. So most of her pictures are up close.

Couldn't you just...

Eat her up?!?! Ok, maybe it is just me. I could definitely eat her up.

Thank you Amy for the hat. She loves it. Even today with the temps in the mid 60's Reese wore her hat while we were at the park.


Mommy Secrets...

Reese has started calling me "Ma-me" (drag out the ma) now. It is the cutest and sweetest thing. I guess when I refer to myself I call me "Mommy" so she has picked it up. She woke up in the middle of the night earlier in the week and that is what I heard down the hallway. I just smiled...even at 1 o'clock in the morning.

Almost done

The last of our Christmas presents arrived today. I did most of my Christmas shopping online this year. I am not sure why. Maybe because I remember how hectic it was last year trying to shop with a baby. I have two more gifts that I need to buy and I will be done. Yeah for me!! I am usually a last minute shopper but this year I have been on the ball. Hopefully I can get those last two gifts bought this week and enjoy how hectic next week is going to be!!

On a different note, it is much harder to get pictures up on my blog now that we have a new camera. With our old camera all I had to do was put it in the cradle and upload the pictures. Now with our new camera I have to attached the camera, go in and find the pictures, upload them and then resize them so they will fit on the blog. It is much more work so it happens less often. And since I have to resize the pictures then the number of pictures put on the blog is much smaller as well.

Here is a picture from this morning. Yes, this is the same box from all of the other pictures. It holds all of our wreaths that we hang on the windows. I kept thinking we would eventually get around to putting them up this year but we just haven't had time...and it is a two person job. I finally gave up and took the box back upstairs this morning...resigned to the fact that it is just not going to happen. Reese has enjoyed being able to push it all around the house and use it as her stage/playarea.

Christmas Already?

This months lesson for the elementary school kids at church is generosity. One day part of the lesson was about cleaning out your old things you don't use anymore, such as toys, and giving them to other people who would use them. Well today we went to have lunch with some friends from church. This is our Wednesday night babysitter's family. They have an almost 18 year old, nine year old, and seven year old. The nine and seven year old cleaned out a bunch of their toys that had not been used in a while, put them all in a HUGE bag, and gave them to Reese. She was so excited to get all of these new toys.

She got more "My Little Pony's" than I have ever seen. The girls must have loved these. I swear there was a trail of them around the house 10 minutes after we got home. She also got a fun little barn with farm animals, stables for the ponies, a purple Noah's Ark and animals, several purses/bags, bows, and a couple dolls.


Here she is putting her rings in one of the stables...what, that is not what goes in there?


Daddy got roped in to playing with the girly toys. Get used to it Daddy...this won't be the last time!!

Thanks, girls, for all of the fun toys and your generosity!!

In love!

I have given away my first Christmas presents of the year. We gave Reese's babysitter a cozy and warm scarf with her name embroidered on it from Monogram Chick. When it arrived in the mail I was in love. I am so sad that I did not order myself one!! We bought a couple of other ones as gifts too. Hopefully they will all love them as much as I did.

Cute as a button

No, this post is not about Reese. Today I hosted a baby shower and the theme was "Cute as a Button". Several little things had buttons involved with them but definitely not over done.

The first thing that started the theme was the invitations.


I made a "Daddy Diaper Duty Toolbet" for the Daddy to be. It had diapers, wipes, burp clothes (with buttons on them), and several other must-haves for baby. The ribbons below tuck back in to the pockets and I sewed them on with buttons.


The favors didn't really have any buttons but I love how they turned out. They are jars of m&ms with flowers on top.

I made a diaper cake as my gift. It has buttons on the ribbon.

I also decorated a photo album with buttons for the big sister to be.

And here is Reese enjoying her time before the shower.

I think the shower went well and they got some great baby gifts!! We can't wait until the baby gets here!!

Reese's World

We're just living in it!!

The world is Reese's stage. Any thing she can climb on, she will. Here she was singing and dancing for me. Check out those lips.


Taking Daddy's new bike for a spin.

This is what she looks like before her hair is done. That is why it is ALWAYS in a ponytail...her hair is wild!!

Stylin' even in her pajamas.

Reese Updates

I haven't done many updates lately on things Reese is doing so I figured I would do some now.

• She has eight front teeth and four 1-year molars.
• She LOVES Elmo and Abby on the TV and on the computer. She will grab Lance's hand when he gets home and say, "walk" and lead him to the computer where she will say, "watch".
• She loves to color with pens and crayons. She also has bath tub crayons that she loves to color with. This has gotten us in trouble with knowing where it is ok to use her pens and crayons. She decorated the wall and kitchen floor for us with a pen.
• She throws major tempertantrums when she doesn't get what she wants or has to do something she doesn't want to do.
• She will eat pretty much anything.
• When we say "night-night" to her she says, "ni-ni" really high. And then when we say "I love you" she says "yu-you". It is so sweet to hear.
• She will push anything and everything. We really could take back any toys she has and put boxes around for her to push and she would be happy.
• She likes to take a bath but hates to have her hair washed. I have to do it while she is playing with her crayons and she is usually ok with that.
• She will test ANY limit that we put in front of her.
• She now only sleeps with one pacy and her kitty but she has added Elmo to the mix.
• She says "poop" when she has done that. And recently when ever she sees the Soma Intimates commercial where they show the lady in her underwear, Reese will say "poop". I have no idea why or where that came from.
• She loves to read books.
• She is dusting for me right now as I type this...haha. So funny!

I am sure there are more updates to add but I can't think of any right now...I will update as they come.

Playing with our camera!!

We have been having a lot of fun playing with our new camera this weekend. We can't wait to capture Christmas on it!!

Here is what I did Saturday morning...baked and baked and baked.


Reese is hugging on our snowman door hanger.


One of my favs.

I see you!

I see you 19 days left...minutes and seconds counting down. I have finished all of Reese shopping except for a few stocking stuffers. Both nephews are complete, all babies in the family are done, I actually think all of Lance's family is bought for, grandparents are done, my dad is done, now I have to shop for the rest of my family and Lance! Oh my!

It's here!!!

We have been saving and finally ordered our Canon XSI!!! And it came today!! Oh my goodness...we are so excited!! We can not wait to play with it and take a million pictures on it!! WOOHOO!!!!

Christmas...

IS IN 21 DAYS!! Holy cow! How did it get so close?? I still have tons of shopping to do!!

Our next door neighbors have lights all in their front yard with fake reindeer...the works. Tonight as we were leaving to go meet some friends from our small group for dinner Reese looked out the window and just said, "Wow!" She was so impressed with all of the lights. I think she is going to love Christmas time!!

Back to work

This past week we have had a "staycation". Lance took all of last week off and today. It has been great (minus Reese's stomach bug) but I think we are all ready to get back to our routine. We were very productive while being lazy. Several things got accomplished but cleaning the house did not. On Friday, Lance replaced our kitchen sink...and I am in love!! I HATED our old sink. It was white want-to-be ceramic...which was probably actually fiberglass. It never looked clean even after cleaning it. It grossed me out.

Before


So we went to Lowe's and bought a new sink and faucet...and we are SO pleased!!

After

Friday night I took Lance to dinner for his birthday. I surprised him with several of his friends being there. I think he knew something was up but he didn't know who would be there. I was glad he got to celebrate with them.

Saturday was actually Lance's 30th birthday! He went to the UGA v. GT game with one of my friend's husband who is a UGA fan. They had a great time and Lance was super excited to get a win on his birthday. Tech has not beaten Georgia since Lance and I have been together. Reese and I spent the day at my parents house. We did a little Christmas shopping, cheered on the Jackets in her white and "gold" dress, and enjoyed some quality time with Gigi and Granddaddy. We also got to see Bek-Bek's new apartment. We loved it and are so excited for her!!

When we got home Saturday evening we gave Lance his birthday present...a new bicycle and helmet. I bought it on Friday while he was working on the sink and then hid it in our locked powder room downstairs so that he wouldn't know what we got him. We had to go back to the bike shop today to exchange it because I bought him a size too big...oops. Now we are having to wait on the new one to come in because it had to be ordered.

When we were at my parents house my mom pulled out my old piano from when I was little. My grandparents, Moka and Papa, gave it to me for Christmas in 1982!!! Reese loved banging on it so we brought it home and she has since had so much fun with it.

Today we got most of our Christmas decorations up. We still have a little to do but for the most part it is done. Reese isn't sure what to think of everything. Here is a picture Lance took of me and Reese in front of the mostly decorated tree.