Feliz Navidad

Well, as quick as a wink, Christmas day has come and gone. Of course, we had a great celebration with our families and of course there are lots of pictures. Not all of them are from Christmas Eve/Day, but they are all full of Christmas spirit. So enjoy!

Side note: I will not be adding captions because there are WAY too many pictures to explain each one, but if you require more information about any one shot, let me know and I'd be happy to oblige.

The Day We Thought Would Never Come

Grace finally spoke to Santa - she told him loud and clear she wanted some "princess stuff" and "a scooter" for Christmas. She would only speak to him from a distance of about 3 feet, but that's more than we've accomplished before. Mommy and Grace cheesed for a picture and she gave him a high five - Mission Accomplished!! (oh yeah, and we rode the Christmas Express)

And . . . just cuz he's so stinking cute, here's Bubba looking . . . well, ADORABLE.

I probably won't post again until after the big day, so have a Merry Christmas! and God Bless Us, Everyone.

Some Christmas Morsels

Here are some of those delectable Christmas pictures I mentioned before (hopefully there will be many more to come)

Meeting Santa for the VERY FIRST TIME!

Making holiday treats for real

Making pretend holiday treats

Reading with Mimi at the St. Nick party

(above and below) Enjoying the Holiday Village at Daddy's work

December is almost here

We had a great Thanksgiving - we were actually lucky enough to have 2 turkey dinners. Tony's mom had a pre-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving last Sunday and then we had the traditional celebration with my family on Thursday. It was so nice not to have to scarf down our food and rush around like crazy people. Thank you Peggy!

Unfortunately I didn't remember to take any Thanksgiving pictures (and nothing else really exciting has happened recently), so I don't have any new snapshots to post. Christmas activities will start soon enough though, so you can count on lots of Kodak moments there. In fact, Tony put up our outdoor lights yesterday and they look great (as always, if I do say so myself). So, maybe we'll get the inside of the house decorated by the end of the weekend. And St. Nick comes next week, so Christmas time is officially here! Bring on the crowded shopping malls, the bundled up babies, the mountains of presents to be wrapped and most of all, the abundance of 'family time.'

OH and . . . Congratulations and Happy 28th Anniversary to my Mom & Dad (aka Nana & Papa) !!

Sorry that was kind of a boring post - not every update can be spine tingling :)

Let's Raise a Toast

Here's to my husband . . .

Tony's been out of town for the last four days and it has been a powerful reminder of how much I depend on him.
Let's be honest here - I like to think I'm a pretty 'together' mom, that I can 'handle things.' But clearly that is not the whole truth. God, in His wisdom, gave me a helpmate to be the peanut butter to my jelly; to be the gasoline in my tank; and the last couple of days have helped me see what a blessing Tony truly is.
So, even though I get frustrated that he often watches 'This Old House' while he's playing in the family room with the kids and even though he sends every single one of his shirts down to the laundry inside out, I truly could not do this without him. I know I am very blessed to have found the sort of man who faithfuly and lovingly takes care of me and our children. I love you.

my knight in shining khakis and a polo shirt!

A Hodge-Podge

Here's a brief review of our fun family trip to Columbus two weeks ago:
Saturday - visited the Columbus zoo & aquarium for their Boo-at-the-Zoo event and then went to a local mall and visited the Disney Store (aka the Princess Store). The zoo was lots of fun, but because it was so cold, most of the animals were hibernating or something; but our kids looked cute in their costumes, so it was worth it. The Disney Store was like a dream come true for our little Princess (I thought her head was going to explode she was so excited). We spent quite awhile testing all the toys but managed to walk out with less than $20 worth of merchandise.

Sunday - spent the first part of the day at COSI Children's Museum. IT WAS SO MUCH FUN!! There's a whole wing for preschool aged kids and Grace - and even Lincoln - had a great time. As their souvenir, they both came home with colds :). That night we spent at the hotel pool.

Monday - we visited a Graeter's Ice Cream factory and got a guided tour of the Anthony Thomas Candy Company. They were both very yummy experiences.

We had a great time - Tony did an EXCELLENT job of planning our little get away. Here are just a few pictures.

And, just because I know that wasn't enough cuteness for you all; here are some Halloween pictures. (They are from Mimi's super fun Halloween party and from Trick-or-Treating). For those of you who don't already know, Daddy was the Prince, Grace was Cinderella, Mommy was the Fairy Godmother and Linc was the Pumpkin (that turns into Cinderella's carriage).

A Halloween Laugh

Click on this link if you have a minute to crack up . . . . frighteningly funny :)

http://www.monstermashup.com/0c5465

Happy Halloween!

And coming next week . . . a review of our weekend getaway to exotic Columbus, OH!!

Fall Family Fun

October Already?!?!

So in the seven days that have passed between now and my last posting, I think I had one activity actually scheduled on the calendar - so, needless to say, it's been a slow week. NOT to say we've been lounging around watching Cinderella all week, but it has been kinda nice to have some down time. We celebrated Nana's birthday, hung out with Angela and Baby Brecken, did some work around the house; you know, the usual.

There are no new pictures to publish, so here's a quick written review instead :)
- Mom started volleyball again. Grace and Linc came to cheer me on (sadly, we lost miserably).
- Linc had his 6 month check up. Our big boy is now 17 lbs, 3 oz. and 28 inches long (still tall and skinny for his age)
- Dad spent literally a cumulative 8.75 hours on the phone with Sprint trying to fix a problem with his CrackBerry. We've concluded that God does not want Tony to have a BlackBerry :)
- Some of Grace's most recent favorite phrases:
'Come sit nextta by me' = Come sit by me
'That guy is mean at him' = That person is mad at that other person
'I don't want to' = self explanatory and very irritating when it is said to you 343 times a day

We're headed to the river tonight to help take out the dock tomorrow and then we'll see what next week holds for us . . .
Hope you're all doing well!! xoxo

Autumn is Here! (Post #1 of 2 today)

Halloween is only a few weeks away, so Thursday night we got out all of our ghoulish decorations to kick off the marathon of holidays that is coming.

Here is a quick preview of how adorable the next couple of months are going to be . . . (that is a ghost hat on Lincoln's head, and it is hilarious, he will be wearing it every day of October)

ALSO, a big congratulations to Cousin Chris and his new wife, Erin. They entered into wedded bliss last night and we are so happy for them. The weddin' was beautiful and the reception was a blast. Tony was in the wedding party though, so I couldn't take any pics because I was juggling two kids - so send me your pictures Lauren and Amanda and I will post some and treasure the rest :)

Picture Time (Post #2 of 2 today)

So our camera is back in working order now, thanks to the generosity of Papa and A&S Electric Supply!

Since you've all been so patient, here is a surplus of pictures. Enjoy some of our recent Kodak moments, and the accompanying captions. (Sorry I didn't take the time to put them in chronological order)

Squeaky Clean Bubba

Six Months Old and already trying to stand - oh my!

Grace's First Jetski Ride

Labor Day Weekend :( Last Boatride

Linc's First Swim

Ready to take his place as a 4th Generation A&S Owner

What handsome men!!

Grace's 1st Tattoo