Santa Claus Came to Town

We had a nice Christmas with Bella this year.  We had ended up spending more than we anticipated, but that's how it goes sometimes.  We thought we were finished and then we would find something else to get her, then something else, and so on.  Oh well!!  She's only little once!!  She has a love for baby dolls so a lot of her gifts revolved around her babies, from outfits, to a diaper bags to little baby diapers.  She also loves art and puzzle, so we got her a little table top easel and several puzzles, which she already has mastered!  We also added to her Littlest Pet Shop collection which she has started.

A last minute gift was added to all her loot, we got her a toddler bike with training wheels.  (This is actually part of her birthday present for next year.)  The were running an awesome sale at Kmart and had them for $25!!  We had yet to find a bike for that price.  They have all been $50-$60.  This is something we were wanting to get her for her birthday and we couldn't pass up the price.  So she got it really, really early!!  Can't wait to start teaching her how to ride it this Spring!!  I'm sure by her birthday she will be a little biker babe :)

Hope everyone's Christmas was Merry!!  Until next time...

Family-Filled Christmas

This year we celebrated Christmas with my family on Christmas Eve.  We wanted to do something different so we had a brunch.  It was so yummy!!  We had all kinds of good food, from biscuits and gravy, sausage, bacon, french toast caserol, muffins, and bacon and cheese biscuit pull-apart.  After we ate, all the kids opened their gifts.  Bella got some Littlest Pet Shop animals and a house, a Dora camera, and some My Little Ponies.  She loved them all.  (I think I have a little photographer in the making!!)

On Christmas Day, we headed to Monrovia.  It's been several years since we have actually been down there on Christmas.  We had a nice dinner, then we watched the girls open their presents.  We went from youngest to oldest when we opened gifts.  It was so cute, we caught Nellie whispering to Bella, like she was trying to say, "Go ahead and open yours, its okay" and Bella gives her the look as to say, "No way!!  I'm not getting in trouble!"  Kids are so cute!!  We had such a great time.  Bella got a bathtime baby that has a diaper she can change, a Dora doll, Toy Story 3, Veggie Tales, a Belle doll and blanket, and lots of other little goodies.  She's one spoiled little girl!!

I love this time of year and getting to spend so much time with family!!  It's one of my favorite things to do!  We hope that everyone had a blessed Christmas and enjoyed their family time as much as we did!!

Until next time...

Who knew...

 ...making hair bows could be so addicting.  I have my sister-in-law, Rachel, to thank for this :)  She told me she had gotten the idea one day while out shopping and she saw bows at the store and knew she could make them herself.  So while we were down at their house this past weekend we made some.  Here are the ones that I created:

It was a lot of fun and so easy to do.  Plus, there are so many different ways, colors, and patterns you can use to make a bow.  When we got home, I dug out the ribbon and buttons I already had.  Then I went to JoAnn Fabric (by the way Rachel, their Christmas ribbon is 60%off now) and WalMart to get some more to add to my collection.

This morning I spent a couple hours making some more bows.  These are what I came up with...

I can't wait for Bella to get to wear them.  She already had fun modeling some of them for me today.  I also saw some really cute ribbon at both places that I can't wait to go back and get.  Thankfully, not only do I have Bella to make them for but I already have 3 little nieces and 2 more on the way!!  Thanks Rachel for my newest hobby.  

If you like to talk to tomatoes...

Today we took Isabella to see VeggieTales Live...Sing Yourself Silly.  We had a great time and she really seemed to enjoy it.  I can't believe she actually sat still for the entire thing!!  She was so fascinated with the large vegetables and she loved dancing to the music.  I'm so glad we had the chance to go!  Here are a few pictures of our family fun today...

It was a very cute show and entertaining.  Plus, it was cheap so that's why Jason let us take Bella to see it...LOL.

Until next time...

And the Stockings were hung...

I usually put up our Christmas tree and decorations the day after Thanksgiving. Well this year, I have to work on Black Friday, plus Saturday and all day Sunday, so I knew that wasn't going to happen. I ended up putting the tree up last week. Last year, after Christmas, we got a new tree from my sister. For those that have seen our old tree, it was tiny and pitiful. The new tree is about twice the size of the old one. Of course, I didn't have enough decorations in coordinating colors so I had to get some more. The tree looked so great when I got it finished!!

(With the flash)

(Without the flash)

I also got some new lighted garland for the fireplace, charms for our stockings, and my mom gave me my grandma's Christmas houses so I got them all set up on the fireplace too. It looks so pretty! I've plugged the tree and the garland/houses in everynight since I got them put up. I just love this time of year!!

(With the flash)

(Without the flash)

As the days go on, we are getting more and more excited about Christmas and Bella just can't wait until Santa Claus comes.

Until next time...

Crafting Fun

In the past, Jason and I have made gingerbread houses around Christmas. I thought that it would be a fun project to do with Bella but I knew it wouldn't work out because she would want to eat the candy decorations and not put them on the house. So I was happy to find, on one of our WalMart shopping trips, a "gingerbread house" project made out of craft foam that didn't require any glue (plus it only cost $5). Bella and I had a lot of fun putting it together. I put the house and base together and a few of the big decorations and she put the "gum drops" and "dots" and a few other decorations on. She had so much fun putting the stickers where she wanted too! Suprisingly, our house turned out cute!! Bella was so proud of our gingerbread house, as you can tell by the pictures!



This project was well worth the $5!! Until next time...

It's Beginning to look alot like Christmas!!

So last week Jason and I chuckled as we watched our neighbors putting up their Christmas lights, saying to each other "I can't believe they are putting up their lights already" and "Can you believe they are actually turning them on??" Crazy huh? NO! We are the crazy ones. We wait until it's 40 degrees outside, windy, and bone chilling cold, then we say "Hey, lets put up our lights!" The whole time we were outside today doing this we found ourselves saying to each other, "Maybe our neighbors were smart to put up there lights last week when it was almost 70 degrees." Don't worry though, we don't plan on turning them on until after Thanksgiving. We did however just turn them on tonight so Bella could see them! She was so excited!! She also loved the fact that she got to pick out a Santa Claus decoration to put out in the yard. Christmas is going to be so much fun for her this year!

I was really happy with how they looked, especially when it got a little darker out! Don't worry, the fall wreath will be coming down and will be replaced with a Christmas one once I find one I like or get one made.

Until next time...

Bella's First Award

Before we went to the pumpkin patch, we downloaded a picture for Bella to color and enter into Hensler's coloring contest. We turned it in when we went to pick our pumpkins. Well we found out today that she was one of the winners!! Bella won a $25 gift certificate for a Christmas tree from Hensler's Nursery. Looks like we'll be getting our first ever real tree this Christmas, well a first for Bella and I any ways!! I've always had artificial trees growing up, Jason's always gotten real ones. I'm looking forward to going and having the opportunity to cut down our own tree. Should be fun!! Look for pictures to come in a few weeks...

Sleepless Night

Last night, we had a rough night. Bella started getting a cold a couple days ago and it seemed last night it really started to hit her hard. The poor things started coughing a lot and gagging on whatever gunk she was trying to cough up. Then she would start crying so mommy would have to get up with her, calm her down, and try to get her back to sleep. This went on all night long!! So throughout the night I think we watch Toy Story (the first one) like 10 times. Everytime it was over it seemed like Bella would wake up and say "I watch Woody momma!" I think I can go without watching Buzz or Woody for awhile!

Bella's had plenty of colds before and we've always just tried to let them run their course. But this is the worst she's ever had a cough so I decided to take her to the doctor today. I'm so glad I did!! He said her lungs sounded crackly and it could have turned into pneumonia in a few days. So nows she's on an antibiotic, which is about impossible to get her to take. I'm hoping it will help and she will start feeling better soon! It's so hard to see your baby sick!!

So wish us luck tonight and pray that we get some much needed rest! Hope everyone avoids all the sickness that is going around!

Until next time...

Mommy, make my toes pretty!!

Isabella has never been one for letting me paint her nails. So imagine my surprise when she wanted me to paint them tonight. It probably helped that she watched me paint mine while she was taking a bath, but whatever works :) Once she got out of the tub and we got her jammies on she said, "Mommy, make my toes pretty!" I put her up on the bathroom counter and painted them orange, I thought it would be a good color for fall!! Of course, I had to take a picture of this monumental occasion. Bella was all for it too, modeling her feet for me. Here are the pics I got:

Until next time...

Trick or Treat

This year we took Isabella for her first true year of trick or treating. She was very unsure of some of the costumes that people had on, a few freaked her out, but she loved the idea of CANDY!! We did 2 rounds of trick or treating. The first round was from 1-3 in downtown Plymouth at the merchants. Bella made out pretty well here! (Mommy too). We thought we would go home and take a nap since door to door didn't start until 5 but we were wrong. Bella was too concerned when she could go get more candy. Finally the time came and she was ready. She was a woman on a mission!! We only took her through our subdivion and then we had trunk or treat at church. She would never say trick or treat at the door, only on the walk up to it. Every so often she would say a soft little thank you. She even took off running at one point and face planted into the road. She got up and started crying, not at the fact that she just fell, but because daddy was taking off with her basket of candy (that's momma's girl). All in all, we had a great time and a lot of family fun!! I'm sure next year will be even better. Here are some pics of our little Autumn fairy, without the wings because she wouldn't put them on!! Enjoy...

On a side note: Plymouth High School's Pride of Plymouth Marching Band competed at state on Saturday and placed 5th!! We are so proud and excited for our niece Traci who is a sophomore trumpet player!!

Until next time...

From the Kitchen to the Living Room

After several months, we can say the kitchen is complete (well almost, we have to put up some trim around the entry way to the den.) It came together great! What a difference a little paint and wallpaper can do. It looks like a totally different kitchen compared to how it was back in March. Here's some pics of what we have done...

After we finished the kitchen we decided to tackle the living room. It was quite a project but only took us a couple weeks to complete. We had to pop up the tile floor, paint the walls, lay the new wood floor, and then stain it. After all that, we were able to move all the furniture back in. We kept our purple chairs and then I recovered the couch. I just have a few more accesories to finish (throw pillows, ottoman, etc). We also have to do the little hallway that leads downstairs and the hallway upstairs. Eventually we are going to sand the wood floors on the steps and the bedrooms and stain them to match the living room floor. I'm so happy with how it all turned out. Here our some pictures of the process and then the finished room...

We only have a few more projects we would like to do and then our house will be complete. I look forward to that day :) Until next time...