Christmas Morning 2011

One of the big things she really wanted.

She also got a lot of educational, sciencey type stuff.

She wanted this so bad when we saw it in a booth at Harvest Homecoming, but I kept telling her no, and then I had the ladies help me buy it when she wasn't looking. It was all done right under her nose and she had no clue. I'm just glad she remembered she wanted it when she opened it!

She can't wait to do this one!

This is a really cool Eco Dome thing where you go out and collect bugs to put in there so you can observe them. I just made her promise me, no spiders!

Sydney got this for me and Chris. I think my mother was involved. I don't know. It's a Lenox rooster. It's got gold talons and a gold beak.

And this is the mess I was left with. Had to clean that up last night and today so we can do Christmas again with my family tonight. I'm sure there will be more pics to come from that!

Playing Dress Up

Last Thursday, Chris and I went to his office Christmas party. The invitation said "semi-formal" so we got all gussied up. We clean up nice, heh? Despite the fact that neither of us was excited about this party, we had a good time. I got to meet his cohort from up in Indy and she and I really hit it off. We're looking forward to the Indy office party coming in January. Where we can wear jeans!

And this is Sydney's Christmas dress. Too bad I couldn't have made this purchase before her Christmas program at school, but I didn't realize it was going to be so dressy. Anyway, she wore this to church last week and they had the youth group Christmas party where they watched the new Veggie Tales movie, did crafts, played games, ate lunch and then went caroling at 2 local nursing homes. She LOVED it!

So, Christmas is now just 3 days away and I was off work today, so we cleaned a bit, and played a bit. It was nice to be home with her.

Thanksgiving 2011

We had Thanksgiving at my brother and sister in laws new house. Turns out the layout and big amount of space works out very well for large gatherings. Above, my brother and my cousin Josh show off the food.

My brother and his wonderful wife, Jana, and her two kids, Sarah and Sadie.

Sarah and Sadie striking a pose!

Grandma and Grandpa. I am so glad to have them living back home instead of spending holidays in Florida.

My other cousin Josh (aka Little Josh) and his half sister whom he brought because she was going to be all alone on Thanksgiving. He's a sweetie.

My cousin Josh's (aka Big Josh, as seen in the first picture) little boy, Jeremiah. I love this boy. I can pick him up and hold him and he just holds on to me and doesn't say a word. He'll be 2 in January.

Sydney and my brother's dog Lucy (the greatest dog in history) snuggling in the papasan chair. Hope everyone's Thanksgiving was great!

Kids in the Kitchen Part 2

We went back to the local bakery for another edition of Kids in the Kitchen. It was Thanksgiving themed this time and Sydney got to decorate a turkey cookie and a cupcake. She also learned an Italian dance, which is what she's doing above. The family that owns the bakery are Italians originally from New York and the woman who does the Kids in the Kitchen, Grammy, is awesome! She has the patience of a saint!

Sydney with her turkey cupcake. She had her friend Savanna with her this time (that's her to Sydney's right).

Here she is icing her turkey cookie (which she gave me this morning as part of my breakfast in bed, which also included ceral, coffee and a flower on the tray!) with the help of a volunteer dad. We're looking forward to the next one!

Sydney's dental work

Sydney FINALLY got her dental work done. The above picture is her new silver tooth. This all started several months ago when we took her to her regular dentist to get a filling. They used nitris, but to no avail. They suggested that she be sedated, something they didn't offer there. So, we made an appointment with a pedodontist, only to find out that one can't write prescriptions. ?? So, then we had to wait another month or so to get in with the other dentist in the office, just for an evaluation. It was then that he determined she needed a crown AND a filling. Sheesh. Fortunately for us, this was done through Chris's work and it was free. After consulting with another dentist friend, I found out this crowning thing on a child's tooth was not completely out of the ordinary, they don't custom make them, they just find one on a whole tray of them that fits best. It's a baby tooth, so it will come out eventually. So, after that consultation, we still had to wait a couple more months for him to have an opening at the office on THIS side of the bridge, (the only way we could get it for no charge.) So, I took the day off work, doped her up with valium before going, and set out. He said she did ok, she also got nitris in addition to the valium, and she was restrained. But it's done. And she doesn't have to go to the hospital. Thank God!

My bees

This is my latest craft project. At Sydney's school, when they get in trouble, they have to "move their bee." He has a home hive and moving it once loses 5 minutes of recess, twice is 10 minutes and the third time, all recess is lost. So we decided to use this idea at home. I found the bee and hive art online, printed them out and "laminated" them with shipping tape. I attached some old magents to the back with glue (which may not be working out so well) and then put it all on the fridge. Now, we aren't doing the 5 minute, 10 minute thing, they just serve as warnings that if she keeps it up, she's going to lose all privelages. Things that can get her bee moved are talking back to us, giving us attitude, telling us no, throwing fits, etc... She's pretty excited about this, so we'll see how long that lasts.

Halloween 2011

Sydney decided to be batgirl this year. They make a pink batgirl costume and I was certain she would want to wear that one, but she wanted the black one. We took her to Chris's brothers subdivision so she could trick or treat with her cousins. Addison was Taylor Swift and Hensleigh was a ladybug. You'd never know in the above picture that she'd been sick with a fever and a stomachache, huh?

The whole gang. They had fun, but these kids nowadays have no stamina! We were only about 30 minutes into it and they were asking if we were done yet because they're legs were tired. Geez!

The Saturday before Halloween, we took her to a trunk or treat that we've been going to now for the past 4 years at least. It's usually ON Halloween and since they moved it up this year, I think there were a lot more people showing up. My mother in law tried to meet us there and they turned her away and said there was nowhere to park. We got there about 40 minutes after that and there were plenty of places by then. Crazy!

My sweet little batgirl, flying through the air!

Chris's Family Reunion

We headed down to the country this weekend for a family reunion. Chris's great aunt Lee and cousins Stacy and Lisa were visiting from VA. I have only met Stacy once and had never met Lisa. Above, Chris's uncle Bubby is manning the grill.

Cousin Stacy with baby Hensleigh

Grandma

Cornhole with Addison and Chris's dad

Sydney and Hensleigh

Sydney, Addison, and Cali on Jessie

I could just eat her up!! She's 10 weeks here.

Sydney giving Jessie some love

Yep, even I got on.

Papaw and Sydney

Even great Aunt Lee got on and she's 74 years old!

Chris's mom and the baby

The whole clan. It was a great day, nice cool weather.

1st Day of Second Grade!

I cannot believe that this is my child! Where did my baby go?
She loves her new teacher and has had a good couple of days so far. Let's hope it keeps up!

Our Trip to the Country

A couple of weekends ago, we went down south a bit to see Chris's cousins and their wives, and the twins, Ben and Sam. We'd never met them and the last time we'd seen his cousins was at the baby shower for them.

This is Sam, the one in the first pic is Ben.

Sam took a nap while Ben stayed up to socialize with us. They are soo adorable!

Chris's ex aunt showed up and brought her little puppy, aptly named "Puppy." She was a licker.

The day finished off with a 4 wheeler ride around the property with Jake (in the front, Chris's cousin Valina's son), Bob (Chris's cousin) and of course Sydney. It was so great to see them all. Hopefully it won't be so long till next time!