Santa Claus aka Uncle Kenny

Today we went to the fire station to see Santa. Every year they give out presents to the kids and grandkids. Uncle Kenny dresses as Santa and each kid gets a present. We didn't know how Gracie would react since her past sightings of Santa were not good. But she had no problem getting her present from him. I am not sure if she knew his voice or if she just wanted her present.

Christmas in the Oaks

Last weekend we took Gracie and Emma to Celebration in the Oaks. I don't think we looked at many lights but they had a lot of fun in Storybook Land. So much fun that they couldn't be bothered to take pictures but I snuck a few.

Santa Parade

A few weeks ago we went to a Christmas parade at Aunt Amanda's in Norco. Gracie and Lily had a lot of fun collecting beads and candy. Of course they were both sleeping by the time Santa passed. Than that night we went to see the Christmas lights in Westwego.

25 days of Christmas

1. Eggnog or hot chocolate? Hot Chocolate
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? both
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? colored
4. Do you hang mistletoe? no
5. When do you put your decorations up? week after Thanksgiving
6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? lasagna
7. Favorite holiday memory as a child? getting my first record player and wearing out my Uptown Girl record
8. Do you collect anything for your Christmas decor? sort of collect gingerbread men
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? sometimes
10. How do you decorate your Christmas tree? with various ornaments collected over the years
11. Snow! Love it or dread it? never get it
12. Can you ice skate? no
13. Do you remember your favorite gift? my laptop last year
14. What's the most important thing about the holidays for you? being with family
15. What is your favorite holiday dessert? dirt cake
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? baking cookies for Santa
17. What tops your tree? star
18. Which do you prefer, giving or receiving? both
19. What is your favorite Christmas song? All I want for Christmas is You
20. Do you send Christmas cards? If so, handmade, store bought, or photo cards? photo cards
21. Favorite Christmas movie? Miracle on 34th street
22. What do you leave for Santa? cookies and milk
23. Have you ever shopped on Christmas Eve? yes
24. Red or green? green
25. Do you get ready before opening presents on Christmas morning or do you go straight to the tree PJs, bedhead, and all? straight to the tree

Thankful

www.scrapfreak.com challenged us to blog about eleven things we are thankful for. So here is my list.

1.
No I am not thankful that Rickie is a great poker player. I am thankful that he is such a patient and loving husband and father. I am also thankful that after 11 eleven years he still puts up with my crazy ideas and my goofy incidents.

2.
I am thankful that I have a beautiful, healthy, and silly daughter. She is a gift that I thank God for her everyday. I am so thankful to be her mother.

3.
I am thankful that Gracie has two cousins her age to grow up with. I hope they are always as close as sisters.

4.

I am thankful for ALL of Gracie's grandparents. Each and everyone of them love her so much. Her Maw Maw, Gammy, MiMi, PePaw, Paw Paw Rickie, Paw Paw John, and Paw Paw Joe.

5.
I am thankful for Tory who is our little angel on earth. I am thankful that I get to be the godmother of such a strong little girl.

6.
I am thankful for my Silly Lily. I am lucky to be the godmother of such a sweet girl. And I am thankful for the hugs and kisses that she always has for her Nanny.

7.
I am thankful for my neice Emma. She is so wise beyond her almost 4 years. The thoughts she comes up with always keep me laughing.

8.
I am thankful for my nephew Aden. He might have had a rough start but he is determined to show how strong he is. And for Logan my nephew on the way. I am so glad to have these sweet boys to love.

9.
I am thankful that my best friend and I are so close our kids think they are related. They are as close as any real cousins could be. (I am also thankful that we managed to get a picture of the three of them looking in the same direction. I have to say this is not an easy task.)

10.
I am thankful that I have my obession I mean hobby. Scrapbooking is my stress reliever, my outlet. I am thankful that this hobby led me to scrapfreak where I have met some terriffic and talented women. And where I have made some friends who are always there to listen and encourage me.

11.
I am thankful that I have someone to remind me to enjoy the small things. She gets so excited about the most simple things. A cupcake, a dress that twirls, or even a cartoon she has seen a thousand times. She stops to smell the roses and I am thankful that she makes me stop and smell them too.

This is just a few things I am thankful for. I am thankful for all of our family and friends who love and care about the three of us. My list could go on and on. But the rules said 11.

Here is more proof.

The girl will fall asleep no matter when or where.

Halloween

Here a re a few from Halloween night. She was so cute as Dorothy and she had so much fun eating all of that candy. And she was not willing to share. Just ask Beth.

Dorothy

Here is Gracie for Boo at the Zoo. We had the whole Wizard of Oz crew. The good witch, the wicked witch, the crazy monkey, and Dorothy. However it was not possible to get a great picture of them all.

I told you.....

the kid can sleep anywhere. This is Gracie when we were shopping at Cabela's. I guess she could only take so much camoflauge.

Freakfest

The place where I get most of my ideas for scrapbooking is a website called www.scrapfreak.com It is a message board with a wonderful group of scrappers. This past weekend I participated in an online crop. (For the non scrappers this is like a weekend retreat where we create different projects and pages)This is some of the projects I created.

Baby Pumpkin Where Are You?

On Sunday we went to the pumpkin patch. We told her we were going to look for a baby pumpkin for her. So she walked around the patch shouting at the top of her lungs: Baby Pumpkin Where Are You? Once she found her baby pumpkin she began to look for the mommy daddy pumpkins in the same way.

Later when Rickie carved the pumpkin she did not want to stick her hand in it. She repeatedly said eeww! eeww! eeww!

Silence is not always golden

Always check when it is quiet.

Going Pink

My blog is going pink for October
in support of breast cancer awareness month.
Go here for more info. http://pinkforoctober.org/

They Grow Up too Fast

Gracie is 2 and a half today. Yesterday I took some pictures of her because I thought she looked so adorable. Afterwards when I looked at the pictures it hit me how grown up she looked. Her face no longer has it's baby like features. Staring back at me is the face of a "big" girl.

The First Dance Class

The first class started out great. She was so excited to go in the room and dance. She was so happy dancing to the hokey pokey and was even getting the other girls to dance with her. Then they had her practice walking on her toes. She was fine with that but she didn't want to sit when her turn was finished. So she ran around the studo dancing and twirling in front of the mirror. But then I guess she got bored because she started looking for me. And she wanted juice. I did not have any since the rules are no drinks or snacks allowed. For the last twenty minutes of class she cried. She cheered up at the end though when she got candy and a sticker. Afterwards we went to Sicily's pizza and she enjoyed her ice cream cone. Hopefully this week's class will be better.

Gracie and Lily

Here are some of Gracie and Lily throughout the week. It might be hard to tell at times but they truly love each other.