Christmas at Aunt Beth's

Today we spent the afternoon with my Daddy and his family celebrating Christmas. It was really nice to see every one...Being that we all stay so busy, this is the only time we see each other. It was nice to my Daddy, he looked better today than the last time I saw him. It still isn't easy watching him confined to a wheelchair, but he is always in good spirits and happy. I had Mark take some pictures of me and the girls with my Daddy, being that we don't have any of all of us together. My Aunt Beth and Aunt Pam made some delicious food for every one. My Aunt Pam makes the best sweet potato souffle ever, Mark loved it and said it is definitely the best one he has ever had. He even made me bring some home for him to eat later. Beth made butter beans, they were yummy and believe it or not Mark thought they were really good too...He doesn't like any kind of beans except green beans. I guess he has learned to try new things! We don't usually do presents for every one, but Beth and Derrick always buy something for the kids and Pam does too, even though we tell her every year not to! Beth told me that the UPS man waved Derrick down while he was in Monroe to give him the present they ordered for Gracie...It was driving him crazy and now we know why...The whole way back home this afternoon, that toy didn't stop talking. It is a bowling set, the ball is a cow and the pins are milk bottles, it is really cute and the girls LOVE IT! It has been a big hit since we got home. Hayden got a baby doll and a princess book, which she was very excited about. She loves anything that is Princess! Pam and Mike gave Hayden got a newborn little puppy that talks when you pet it and Gracie got the ELMO phone. Of course since we have been home Hayden absolutely loves the ELMO phone. It is so funny how much Hayden still likes baby toys! It was good to see every one and spend some time together. Today was the start of lots of presents and Hayden and Gracie are very excited!!! I can't wait until Santa comes, in fact if it were up to me Santa would come TONIGHT!!!

Me, Daddy and the girls:

What a cutie, in her pretty dress:

She loves her new baby doll:

Happy Birthday Jesus Party

Today was Hayden's Happy Birthday Jesus Party at school. Gracie and I got to the party a little early and helped everyone set up. Gracie and Mark Brantley played a little...Well Mark Brantley sat in his stroller and Gracie pulled on his feet and hands. This is the first time Gracie hasn't had to sit in the stroller! She had a lot of fun walking around and visiting with every one. Hayden was excited, as usual to see Gracie and myself! She ran right to me and gave me one of those BIG special hugs! For the party they got to have pizza and cupcakes...Every kids dream! Hayden decided she wanted a piece of cheese pizza and she ate about half of it, but it was a big piece. The other half, Gracie enjoyed very much! The cupcakes were decorated with green icing, which turned all their little mouths and teeth GREEN! After they all got done eating the cupcakes took effect and they all started running around and going crazy. Oh, and Gracie beat up her first little boy today. I am not sure what happened but I looked over and she was knocking him over on the floor and ended up laying on top of him. Hayden, Kierstin and Addie were just standing there watching the excitement...I guess they knew they would get in trouble and end up on the yellow light. Gracie has a lot to learn! I apologized to the little boys mother, but she just laughed and said he probably deserved it!

The dress she picked to wear today:

Mark Brantley at the party:

Hayden and Kierstin waiting to eat lunch:

Yummy, Pizza:

Green teeth from the cupcake:

Gracie beating up a little boy:

Hayden always makes me a proud Mommy, but today was one of the proudest moments ever. Mrs. Christie told me that Hayden is the most loving, caring, patient and wonderful little girls ever...And yes she did use those words! Mrs. Christie says that Hayden never gets upset or acts out. Of course, I knew this already, but when she told me all those wonderful things about my precious girl I thought I was going to cry(proud cry). I guess this means that Mark and I are doing a great job with our children! Mrs. Sue also shared with me that Hayden is a very sweet little girl and that she loves the fact that we have a dog named Ms. Sue, I can only imagine what she has told them. Mrs. Sue did know that our dog is a hunting dog and stays in a cage(ha ha)!

After the kids got done with their lunch, they made a reindeer ornament...Or should I say all the parents made a very cute reindeer ornament! Hayden did help stuff the reindeer and glued the eyes, nose and mouth on it...I just did the harder parts for her. It is cute, except our poor little reindeer has already lost an eye, but I hung it on the tree anyway! Mrs. Christie had all the kids line up after they all finished their ornament. Kierstin was the line leader today, and she did an excellent job leading them all back to their classroom. Mrs. Christie had them all sit on the rug for rug time. They had been working on two songs to sing for all of us parents. It was so cute. They first song they passed around a candle, star and Shepard's hook...When Mrs. Christie would ask "Who has the Candle?" whoever had it would say "I have the Candle" it was sweet and Hayden actually did a very good job and didn't get shy and scared (yay)! The next song was about baby Jesus and they all sang together...You are not going to believe this but Hayden was the loudest singer...Yes, my little Hayden was the loudest. She was so proud of herself, even Stephanie told me how proud she was of Hayden for not being shy today. I guess school is starting to pay off in that area! Gracie however tried to get in on the singing and kept walking through their circle for rug time. Mrs. Christie kept telling me she was fine, but I wanted all the other parents to be able to watch their little one instead of my little entertainer in the center of the circle.

Mimi, I am so sorry you were not able to make it today, it was so much fun and you would have been very proud!

Reindeer ornament, we forgot to fix the ears before the picture:

Rug time:

Showing off what they have learned:

There goes Gracie to be the center of attention:

Hayden singing the loudest:

Family Traditions

Good news...Hayden and Gracie both got a letter from Santa saying that they were on the nice list. Hayden was so excited...We received her letter priority mail on Saturday morning. However, she spent the night with Mimi and Pop Friday night, so we took the letter with us when we went to decorate Mimi and Pop's Christmas tree. Hayden was a little distracted when we got to Mimi and Pop's house. Pop had bought Mimi an early Christmas present yesterday...She got a little kitten, named Tiger. Hayden was very excited about Tiger, I must say it is a very easy going kitten...Tiger let Hayden carry him everywhere all night. Mark even asked Hayden one time if Tiger knew how to walk. She looked at him like he was crazy and she said "yes, Daddy"! After her excitement about showing us the new addition to the family...I pulled out the letter from Santa for her to open. Although she had a hard time pulling herself away from Tiger, she came over and let me read her the letter. Mark video taped the whole thing, but once again I still don't have the right cord to put it on the computer. He said that while I was reading the letter to her, she would turn around with BIG eyes and OPEN mouth, like she couldn't believe that Santa had sent her a personal letter. She also got with her letter a candy cane ornament that Santa wrote her name on, a one dollar bill with Santa's picture in the middle and a sticker that says she is on the nice list. It was so sweet! I can't wait to see her face Christmas morning. Gracie also got a letter from Santa, but of course she doesn't really understand what is going on, but she will next year! After all the excitement of the letters Mimi and Pop gave the girls another special gift...A Santa Key, it is silver and we have to put it out on our door knob on Christmas Eve night, so that Santa doesn't have to come down our chimney and get burned in our FIRE! Hayden and I decided we will leave our Buttermilk Pie and Milk on the fireplace...Yes, that is correct Santa LOVES Buttermilk Pie! She also says that we have to leave carrots for the reindeer, apparently Rudolph left her a message too! I am having so much fun this year!!!!

Hayden, Gracie and Tiger:

Mimi and Pop have started a new family tradition this year...That all of us get together to decorate their tree! Mark and Pop put the tree in the stand and stood it up. Mark put the lights around the very top and then Kim and myself finished the rest of the lights. Kim decorated the top of the tree, being that I am all of the sudden a little scared of heights(go figure)! I decorated around the bottom, well that is when Poot(Gracie) wasn't crying at my feet(she was getting very tired and hungry). Gracie had so much fun showing off...She made laps around Mimi and Pop's house all night. She threw a couple of ornaments at the tree and Hayden put all of her ornaments in one spot. So if you go to Mimi and Pop's I bet you will see where Hayden decorated! Although, we almost had a catastrophe, I suddenly realized that the tree was getting closer to me...So I started yelling Whoa and Kim grabbed the tree. Mark then says "I think I forgot to tie off the top of the tree after I put the lights on." He ran upstairs and tied it up and then Kim and I had to fix some lights and ornaments. We all had a good time and the tree turned out beautiful! Mimi made her famous Ham Pie for dinner and Hayden was a huge help when it was time to put all the eggs in it! It was DELICIOUS!!! It has been a while since we have had it. In fact I ate the leftovers for breakfast this morning(YUMMY)!

Pop, Hayden, Tough and Tiger: Making Ham Pie:

Candy Cane Ornament from Santa:

Princess ornament, which completes our tree for little Princess Hayden:

New Outfits

Esta(one of Mimi's good friends) sent Mimi some outfits for Hayden and Gracie and I thought today was a great day to show them off. They looked so cute in them! Hayden said every one at school liked her dress except for the little boys, apparently they told her she looked awful. She is learning that boys can be very aggravating and unfortunately it gets worse the older they get. Oh well, she told them it was very pretty and all the little girls agreed with her.

Gracie and I went by to see Mimi this morning after we dropped Hayden off at school. I had to print something off Mimi's computer. Gracie was able to show off her new outfit and the fact that she is officially WALKING...She hasn't knee walked or crawled all day today. It has been so sweet hearing the pitter patter of litttle feet on my hardwood floors. I love it, I am so excited that she is finally walking good! Anyways, it just so happened that Santa was at GWA today, so we took Gracie up to see what he looked like. He definitely wasn't as good as the one we went to see last week but we put her up there for a picture anyway. She ended up pulling a whole handful of his beard out, and yes the beard was REAL. I don't think Santa enjoyed it very much, but he smiled and took a picture with her anyway. It was funny because she isn't shy at all...She wanted down as soon as we walked in the library so she could check out all the other kids.

Hayden and I couldn't help but laugh at Gracie while we were taking the pictures this afternoon. Every time I would put her in front of the tree...She would be gone before I could move back to take the picture. When she figured out that we were laughing at her she got even more entertaining. It was almost like she running away from the camera and just laughing as hard as she could. In other words the pictures are more like action shots all over the house, but they are cute:

Oh, how sweet:

Looking sweet and innocent:

Hayden caught up with her in the kitchen and I tried to get a quick picture:

She thinks this is so FUNNY:

Making another lap around the fireplace, look at that confidence:

15 Month Check Up

I took Gracie for her 15 month check up this morning and Dr. Beeber confirmed what I already knew....That she is PERFECT! She is going to be a tall and skinny girl. She weighed 20lb and 8 oz but she was 31 1/2 inches long! She doesn't look that small to me but she is only 15th percentile for weight, however she is 85th percentile for height! She did much better on this visit, I think it helped having her big sister there with her. Hayden was very pleased that she wasn't going to be checked out today! Gracie didn't cry as much this time, she did cry when Ms. Pat tried to weigh her, so Ms. Pat left me in charge of the scale so we could get an accurate weight. Gracie talked, walked and played while she was waiting for Dr. Beeber. As soon as he came in the room and went to check her ears and listen to her heart she went CRAZY! Dr. Beeber says that she is very VOCAL! He says she is a happy, healthy 15 month old little girl and to keep doing everything we are doing and he will see her again at 18months. However, she did have to have two different shots, which Hayden was very excited about...I guess she figures it is time for someone else to have to get shots for a change. Gracie did cry when she got her shots today, but she didn't almost pass out this time so I guess that is improvement. I think her little legs may be a little sore but other than that she has been happy this afternoon. She is finally walking around a good bit now...Last time I posted that she started walking on her knees again!

I had to take Hayden with us this morning because Gracie's appointment was at 9am and Mimi had a dentist appointment at 8am. The original plan was to take Hayden to GWA this morning and let Mimi take her to school when it was time to go, but we changed it up and Mimi came by Dr. Beeber's office when she got done at the dentist and took Hayden on to school. Mimi got to walk Hayden into school when they got there. Mimi said all of her classmates were very excited to see her and that Paxton run up and gave her a BIG hug...I think Paxton may be her first preschool boyfriend, she says he has kissed her too, but don't worry Mark is prepared to have a little talk with Mr. Paxton if this continues!

Thanks Mimi for helping out! Hayden was so excited that you took her to school today!!!

Decorating Christmas Trees

Today Hayden, Gracie and myself went to put up and decorate Mema and Nana's Christmas Trees. They have the fake kind, which this is the first year Hayden didn't really understand why their trees were in a box! She thought it was really SILLY! She helped me put all the ornaments on the trees, it is really cute she always puts them in the same place, but since Mema is older she thought it was so cute...She wouldn't let me move them later. I guess every time she looks at the tree she will think of Hayden. Gracie also tried to help...She threw lots of the ornaments at the tree. I guess she was hoping that they would automatically just hang there. It was cute and luckily she didn't break but One. After we got done at Mema's house we went to Nana and Steve's. Steve had already put the tree up, so all we had to do was help Nana decorate. I think every one in my family lets me do this every year because they know how much I love it. Hayden always makes herself right at home and goes in demanding FOOD. Today she had to have scrambled eggs...and yes, she had to help cook it too. Then she needed some toast. She is spoiled rotten at Nana and Steve's. They will cook anything she wants whenever she wants it! Gracie is very attached to Steve, it is really funny, instead of chasing me around like she usually does...She didn't even know I existed. Every time he would get up and move she would cry out until he came back for her. She also showed Nana and Steve how she CAN WALK. She walked all over the place. Last night she started moving around pretty good and I realized that the shoes I have been putting on her might be part of her problem during the day. She always walks better at night in her pajamas. So I went to the Shoe Dept and bought her baby's first walking shoes today..She has been wearing all of Hayden's hand me downs. She has done much better today! It is so cute when she gets that confidence and takes off. Last night we were finally able to get it on video, but I have no idea where the cord is that hooks up to the computer to share it with everybody. Mark is supposed to be figuring out where we can get another one! I tried to take pictures of the girls and the decorated trees today, but I couldn't get one of them together(I know every one is surprised). We had so much fun with Mema, Pop, Nana and Steve today! I hope they like their trees!!!!

This was one of my favorite Christmas outfits on Hayden:

This is what Gracie thought about taking pictures:

Hayden in front of Nana's tree:

Gracie in front of Nana's tree...Until she took of WALKING!

Hayden in front of Mema's tree:

Santa

Mimi and I took the girls to see Santa at Spring Street Studio Photography. It was so nice, I think they are going to be some of the best pictures ever! Mylinda, the photographer is very good with children. She had the most gorgeous set up ever! She also had Santa hide behind the Christmas tree until the girls got familiar with her, which I think was a great idea. Hayden, as always was very photogenic and Gracie actually laughed and had a good time. I can't wait to see the pictures of Gracie's real smile, usually we have to work very hard for good smiles, but Mylinda was able to catch some great shots. We started out in casual clothes because I wasn't sure what the back drop looked like. I had already told Mylinda that I brought their pajamas, after she took a couple in the casual clothes, she wanted to put the pajamas on, she was very excited about the pajamas. While she was taking some of the pictures...Gracie spotted Santa behind the tree, Santa said you should have seen those smiling eyes. Santa finally spoke to Gracie and Hayden turned around and couldn't believe what she saw. It was SANTA! He was a very good Santa...he was very nice, caring and loving. He kept telling Mimi and myself what beautiful, precious and sweet little girls we have, but of course we already know that, Right! He kept kissing them on the forehead, it was priceless! Melinda was able to get some great pictures of the kisses. Hayden wouldn't tell him anything that she wanted except that she wanted lots of surprises! Santa thought that was so sweet. Hayden did tell Santa everything Gracie wants for Christmas...I thought that was pretty funny. She was to shy to tell him anything she really wanted but was very open with what Gracie wants! I can't wait to see the pictures on Saturday, I know they are going to be excellent!

We now listen to Christmas music everywhere we go in the car...Yes, Mark is very excited about that. I love Christmas and everything about it. I try to make it fun for the girls, Hayden likes to listen to the songs very loud and she sings along. Today while Hayden and I were singing going down the road...Yeah, I'm sure every one else on the road thinks I am CRAZY...Gracie started singing and dancing too! What can I say, we have FUN!

This is going to be the best Christmas ever, Hayden is so excited, which I think personally makes it the best Christmas for every one in our family! Gracie is also excited but she has no idea what is really going on, but just wait until next year.