A Texas Christmas!

After a great first Christmas weekend...we headed to San Antonio to enjoy even more holiday celebrations! Always good to be back home in Texas and we kicked off our stay right with some tasty bbq at Rudy's! Watching Hannah eat ribs, brisket, chicken, and bread while enjoying it yourself is awesome - so proud! Eating was a common theme throughout our Texas stay...both home cooked meals by my mama and yummy outings to delicious restaurants!



I LOVE Christmas Eve! Love getting dressed up for Christmas Eve Mass, love getting together with family to eat tamales and other goodies, love opening up my Christmas PJ's, love listening to Christmas music, watching Christmas movies...what's not to love!? I was so busy loving my favorite night that I failed to capture most of it with any photos! Oops! We had a great evening - my Aunt, Uncle and cousins came over to my parents house after church and we all ate, visited, and watched the little ones play! Hannah began her love for the Radio City Music Hall Rockettes this Christmas Eve...my parents gave us the 75th Anniversary DVD and Hannah requests it daily! She loves to copy the dances, kicks, arm movements, and some of the simple choreography - I cannot wait to sign her up for dance classes! Like mother, like daughter - I also loved dance and began as a a toddler and continued up until middle school!




Christmas morning was spent opening presents, hanging out in our pj's, and eating of course! Delicious grilled steaks for our Christmas meal - heaven! Hannah received even more gifts from Santa including a nativity set, cowgirl sleeping mat/pillow, AND the biggest hit of all the gifts - a stroller for her baby doll (well, my old doll while we were in Texas)! The adults received some very generous gifts as well...thanks so much mom and dad! What a merry day for everyone - best gift this year was being home in Texas for Christmas - makes this homesick girl so happy!




Best part of the holiday was that Hannah and I were able to stay longer to eat, shop, enjoy the weather, and spend time with family! Love and miss everyone so much! Thanks for such a great trip! Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas From Alabama!

The weekend before Christmas is when we kicked off our 2011 Christmas celebrations - starting in the kitchen of course! Hannah and I baked traditional sugar cookies and make chocolate, pecan, date bars - packaging some of them up to share with neighbors. Hannah was a much better helper this year - so excited to help!



I made a yummy dinner of braised short ribs and champagne risotto with asparagus - which we ate wearing our Christmas pj's in the dinning room (pj's is the one gift we open every Christmas Eve) so much fun! With a little help from daddy, Hannah was able to hang her 1st Christmas ornament on the tree, a tradition I hope to continue every year! Santa was very generous and sent Hannah a beautiful new kitchen set and monogrammed chair! (Thanks mom & dad!)Hannah was so happy and excited for her new toys and gifts - I love the look of pure joy and peace on her face!



We headed over to Granddad and Grandma Pillsbury's house for dinner and more Christmas celebrating. Hannah received an awesome shopping cart, pink trike, and basketball hoop to name a few - thanks for all of our gifts and a very special evening! Merry Christmas!

19 Months Old!

Busy, busy, busy! Hannah is always busy playing, exploring and discovering new ways to play! She loves to climb up in the big comfy chair in her room to read stories - sometimes with mommy or sometimes by herself - and her favorite story right now is Llama llama red pajama. She drinks milk from a regular cup, eats with a fork and a spoon, prays before meals, and uses a napkin to wipe her hands and face (she does not like her hands to be messy during a meal!) Hannah loves to eat meat - most recently she tried and loved lamb chops! She loves to snack on cheese (she tried and liked Gouda the other day), any type of cracker or chip, and loves those on-the-go squeeze pouches of applesauce!

Hannah loves to play with her baby doll, and carries her around the house all day - so sweet! She still loves shoes and finds mine or some of hers to put on - they always match although sometimes they are on opposite feet - but we are working on that! Hannah loves to clap, sing, dance, and loves almost all types of music. She has perfected her motions to Twinkle Twinkle, and we are working on many others! She likes to draw and scribble with crayons and her color wonder markers, loves to watch Elmo and Abby on Sesame Street, plays with her dollhouse, blocks, and wooden puzzles.


What a happy little girl we have! She is so much fun to be around - laughing, smiling, and chatting up a storm! Oh how I love being her mommy!

We give thanks...

For our family and friends,
For our health and happiness,
For our beautiful daughter,
For the food at our table,
For all of our many blessings this year.

"I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving." Psalm 69:30

18 Months Old!

Why does time fly by so quickly this time of year? I cannot believe that Hannah is already 18 months old and that Christmas will be here before we know it! Our little girl has been busy playing, learning, chatting, eating, and growing! Two growth spurts this fall have led to two closet reorganizations and countless trips shopping to find pants, shoes and tights that fit! With rainy and cold weather...playing outside has been less frequent but we are managing with weekly trips to storytime at the library - which Hannah loves - plus we have made some new friends! Hannah loves to try on shoes and likes to wear my blue slippers around the house - so cute! She likes to play with Elmo and her baby doll, her little doll house, stacking and lining up items, reading books, and "helping" mommy with almost any task!



She most recently decided that she was going to drink her milk out of a cup all by herself and does an amazing job with little to no spilling! She is also not in her high chair anymore and sits in a booster at the table with us - so grown up! So proud of her daily accomplishments, her good manners, and overall happy personality! Love you baby girl!

Halloween was a Hoot!

Trick-or-Treat! Our little owl had a blast this Halloween! Hannah looked oh-so cute in her handmade owl costume and pumpkin tote! Mike did a beautiful job on the matching owl pumpkin and H monogramed pumpkin for the front steps. We had to bundle up this year as it was a bit chilly, but luckily we "made it work" and Hannah's costume looked adorable!







The Sunday afternoon before Halloween was gorgeous and we took advantage of the weather and headed outside to carve our pumpkins! Hannah was an excellent helper and we all enjoyed the afternoon together! Happy Halloween indeed!