Christmas with Santa - 2009

Let it snow!

CeCe didn't get to experience the real snow the other day but we were able to make it up to her by taking her to Flurries on the Green at Watters Creek. It was pretty neat! A huge Christmas tree towered over the courtyard and lights lit up the trees that surrounded the creek and green area. When the snow started to fall we walked over and C just looked up and pointed before she was ready to see what it was all about.

"The snow at Watters Creek is a soft texture that floats through the air and looks like the real thing. Each environmentally friendly flake is made of millions of tiny bubbles that evaporate upon contact without leaving a residue."

After the snowfall, we met up with some friends for a bite to eat. CeCe and her friend, Anna, enjoyed each other's company. They just talked and talked the entire time and even shared their food. It was so funny to watch them. It was a great time!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to our favorite man in the world! 28 years young and looking better than ever! We love you :)

Three of a Kind ~ 2009

           

Photos by Carter Rose ~ Dallas[In]Focus

Who beat Black Friday?

Yep....that's right....yours truly! I conquered Black Friday! I set out to get one thing and GOT it (plus a little more but we won't talk about that)! Being a black friday virgin, I had no idea what the rules were. 4 trips later and not much sleep...it was completely worth it...and I even had fun!

K, so here's what happened. On my wish list was the Kitchenaid mixer. I've wanted it for a long time but never could justify spending minimum $200 on a single kitchen item. Granted, it is a staple piece and they last forever, blah blah blah. But on one income you can find a way around it. Last year, when CeCe was just 4 days old, I was able to talk Josh into making the trip at 5am to try to get it to no avail. This year, I was determined! Wal-mart had it on sale for $139.

Trip 1: 8pm - Went to get some groceries and to get the scoop on how this all works. Didn't really find out much except that they would be passing out maps of where the sale items would be in the store at 10pm.

Trip 2: 9:45pm - On my way to get THE map! When I got there, they weren't finished printing them off yet so I waited with about 30 other people who were there for the same reason. I met a mother-daughter team who were pros and knew all of the ins and outs. While chatting with them, we realize that THE map was the same map that was already posted online and only showed a few of the hot items - tv's and laptops. So this wasn't going to help me much. Although lines weren't supposed to be formed until midnight, they went ahead and marked their spot. I was able to work it out so that they would call me if they knew more about where the mixer's spot was going to be and a good time to come based on the crowd. So I headed home planning to sleep a little before my wake up call!

Trip 3: 1:30am - My new black friday friend (bff), Kay, called me to let me know that the mixer was actually on the all day Friday sale list (instead of 5-11am) and they started to roll those out at midnight. She was able to snatch me one until I got there! So I got there, and surprisingly the parking lot was still pretty empty. [I'm generally not good at judging the amount of people in crowds but I'm gonna venture to say that at most there were 100 people in the store.] Hardly anybody. I picked up the mixer from my bff, then decided to check out what else was already available. I walked around for a bit then checked out...mixer in hand! Quick and easy! YAY!

Trip 4: 4:45am - I got home from the previous trip around 3:30am and couldn't fall asleep. Josh had woken up at this point and we were just laying there wide awake. 4:30am rolls around and I thought, maybe I'll go back up there to check out what all this hype is about. WHOA! In the hour or so I was gone, the gates opened and the flood came! It was completely packed. I strolled in because, no pressure, I had already won! There were lines formed all around the store at each item, cops standing by the bigger ones, and people with their hands on their item waiting for the clock to turn to 5am. It was crrrrazzy! People were grabbing anything and everything, even if they didn't want it, just to make sure they did have it in case they changed their minds later. This was apparent because after the madness died down, the 'throw back' items people had time to think about and decide against were in random spots all throughout the store. I picked up a couple more things and headed to the check out line. It was long but no big deal, I just chatted with the other people in line and it went by pretty fast.

I headed home and just as I lay my head down, my well rested, full of energy, sweet daughter woke up ready for the day at 6:45am. Luckily Josh didn't have to be at work until 9 so I was able to sleep in a little bit.

All in all, it was a lot of fun! I don't look forward to the day that we need/want to take advantage of the great sales on the tv's and computers because I imagine it won't be this easy.

So I lovingly say eff you black friday 2009! Wa Hoooo :)

Thanksgiving 2009

Isn’t my little turkey so cute?!?

My Girl is 1 :)

Wow...what a year!

It's hard to believe that it was a year ago that we welcomed our little angel.

Remembering that day...

(turn the volume up while watching the slideshow)

From her first smile, to her first laugh; her first sip to her first bite; her first crawl to her first steps; from the moment she arrived, to everything in between, to now, our Cecelia Raine has amazed us beyond belief.

Each day that goes by gets better and better. I love watching her as she plays and explores. I can see her mind working with every move... as she crawls under tight spaces, climbs over anything she can, opens a book, sees things for the first time, and figures out how to solve 'problems'.

My heart melts when she slows down for just a minute to come over and share a hug and kiss!

As she gets older, she gets more independent but for so long she relied on us for everything, had to trust that we would take care of her, trust that we would be there! Such a big responsibility as a parent to fulfill that need but also to maintain that trust. I pray that we will always have that relationship and she will know that she can always count on us!

CeCe has such a sweet, happy, and loving soul and I'm so thankful for that! She is a true miracle from God and we are so proud of what she is! I feel so blessed to be able to watch her grow into such a beautiful little girl.

I'm so amazed at how much she has accomplished so far in such a short amount of time. And I know there is so much more to look forward to!

~ Slideshow and photos by Carter Rose of Dallas[In]Focus ~