Here comes Santa Clause....

Anxiously awaiting the big man's return from a "cookie break!"


Earlier in the week, I decided to go ahead and take the kids to see our favorite Santa for pictures. Maddie was sooooo excited, yet nervous to see him. When we got there, he was on a "cookie break," so we had to wait for him to come. We were the 2nd in line when he came back and Maddie started shaking when he walked up. I thought, "oh great, here we go!" But, much to my dismay, little Madeline walked right up to him and gave him a big hug! Way to go girl....I think she's really buying into the fact that he's in charge of bringing her gifts!!! :) She climbed up on his knee, then pointed to Isaac and told Santa, "This is my bubba, Isaac!" all excitedly! She sure loves the little dude! This is the shot of them posing for the "professional" photographer:




Then, when Santa asked what she wanted him to bring her for Christmas, she holds up her foot and says, "I want some new boots!" What??? I wasn't prepared for that!


Alrighty then!!! He kinda chuckled then said, "I usually don't make promises, but I think I can handle that one!" And he winked at me! I truly felt for the first time, like I was in Santa's club. It was so neat to know that she is so excited about Christmas and all. It's so neat to see it through her eyes. Here she is, after we were done, staring and smiling at Santa as he was sitting with other children. She couldn't take her eyes off of him!




I tried to get some cute pics of the kids together with all the other decorations, but they weren't cooperating with me. One would smile, while the other would look away, and vice-versa. Sigh!! This is what I ended up with:





P.S.: I don't even know what she is doing in the one where she's standing behind him! Seriously...I couldn't pose them that way if I tried!!! :)

And then, there's the classic, "Maddie squeezing the tar out of baby Isaac!" Good times! :)

Maddie-isms

Oh my little Madeline! She is such a source of entertainment for Marty and me. I thought I'd share a couple of little funnies that have happened with her recently, seeing as I just did a whole post in little brother! :)

As you know if you've been following my blog, Maddie is going to be a flower girl in a couple of weeks at our friends' wedding. This whole wedding thing has been in the back of her mind I guess, because every once in awhile, she'll say something about being a flower girl. Well, the other night, Marty, Maddie and I were watching "Jon & Kate Plus 8" (one of mine and Maddie's favorite shows!!) and it was the episode where they all were in Hawaii renewing their wedding vows. As serious as a heart-attack, Maddie looked and Marty and me and said, "I wanna get married." WHAT?!?! We both bust out laughing and Marty quickly said, "You will a long time from now! But until then, you are married to ME!" That sweet, silly goose!

Just tonight, she was helping Marty build a fire in the fireplace for the second time this week, and apparently he's taught her some of the basics. Because tonight, she handed him the wood and said, "Let's build a teapot!" He told her, it's called a teepee, not teapot, but it was so funny to hear her. Then, a little later, he was messing with the logs and pushed them around and she said, "what did you do to the teapot?" She's got that stuck in her mind I guess.

I know these stories probably aren't as funny to you all as they are to us parents, but she truly has a silly-hearted spirit. It's precious. I sometimes wish I was a fly on the wall, just to be able to watch her play without her knowing I was there. But knowing her, she'd notice me even as a fly. Nothing gets by her! Hope these put a smile on your face. Oh yeah, the picture above is from P.J. day at our preschool, and she was dancing during the Eddie Coker concert. Love that girl!!! :)

Birthday party pics!

Isaac's 1st birthday party!

Okay, so I am FINALLY getting on here to post Isaac's birthday party that we had last weekend, November 9, at our house. We've had a lot going on since then, most of which started with a bad case of a stomach bug that was looming around at the party. On Monday, Nov 11, we were taking Isaac to his 1 year check up and while sitting in the exam room waiting for the doctor, I suddenly felt flush, nauseous, dizzy, and needed to use the restroom badly! I broke out in a sweat and ran to the restroom to splash water on my face. Thank goodness Marty had gone with me and stayed in the room with the kids. From there, it went downhill. That night, I had a fever (don't know how high of a temp as I could only find the rectal thermometers...and I am not going there!!!), was up all night in the bathroom and the next day, I was dizzy as all could be! Marty was able to come home from work to help me with the kids, thankfully, and I went to bed early and slept in until 12:00 on Wednesday! When I woke up Wednesday, I felt much better. It was a 48 hour bug! And, after talking to several other party-goers, I found out about 1/3 of the people who came had the stomach bug too! The good thing is that none of the kids got sick, just the adults! So weird!

Isaac had a GREAT time at his party though! He loved all the food and being carried around by many. He really dove into his cupcake, which was so cute! He went in with both fists shoving it in his mouth as fast as he could! Precious! I remember Madeline at her first party, and we had to feed her a bite, and that's all she wanted. Marty rubbed icing on her face, just to make the pictures look better! But not my boy.....nope....he LOVED every bit of that cupcake! :) I decided to make the cupcakes this year myself, instead of ordering a cake from somewhere. I decorated them as baseballs, basketballs, and attempted at soccer balls. After failing at 3 of them, I decided to write "#1" on those instead! All in all, it was a great party for a first one! Hope to have many, many, many more for my little dude!

Getting in the Christmas spirit....

You Are a Cranberry and Popcorn Strung Tree

Christmas is all about showcasing your creative talents. From cookies to nicely wrapped presents, your unique creations impress everyone.

What Christmas Tree Are You?

I found this on a blog I stumbled on and thought it was pretty cute, so what the heck! :) I promise I'll post pictures from Isaac's party later. I'm off to go scrapbooking right now! yay!!!

Happy Birthday Baby Isaac!!

Happy Birthday sweet boy! Just wanted to say that my little man is 1 year old today! I know every mom says it, but I TRULY can't believe how fast this past year has gone! Crazy! One year ago today, I fell in love for the 3rd time in my life....when I looked into my sweet son's eyes. We had an immediate bond and still do. I've told Marty that Isaac has all of the best qualities of Marty's wrapped up in the most amazing little package. He's absolutely a momma's boy and it delights me to no end. I love that when he's crying and I walk into the room, he instantly grins and gets to me as fast as he can. Having grown up with 2 sisters, I was worried at the thought of having a son. Everyone kept telling me it would be amazing, and that we would have an instant connection, but I never knew how true those words were until I held him in my arms for the first time. I think Marty is a little jealous, :), but Isaac is my little dude! I love him with all of my heart and wish this next year of his life is filled with even more awesome memories for us. Here's to you bubs!

Seven prayers a day

I stumbled on a blog back near the beginning of the year and have become addicted!!! It's from Angie Smith, the wife of singer Todd Smith of the Christian group, Selah. Well, they have a long story with pregnancy troubles and I encourage you to go and read through it if you have time. She is an amazing communicator and has developed quite a following. Tonight, she had a new post on praying for your children. Here's the link. As the US heads in a new direction, I think it is crucial to be praying daily for our children, for they are the ones who are going to face the biggest challenges. I hope you all are just as blessed by Angie's blog as I have been. :) ((hugs))