Look Out Cheetah Girls!

I just had to take a picture of her cuteness today (thanks Baba). I also wanted to share my new addiction... I was seriously jamming with Santana tonight and got 93%. They are going to have to start a 12 step program :)

Cute Cousins

The kiddos and I got home yesterday from a quick trip up north to spend a few days with nanna, aunt R, and of course my new niece:) It was a whirlwind, but we celebrated Christmas on Wednesday night then attempted pictures with the three kids together on Thursday. They actually turned out pretty cute.

To Sum It Up

(sorry it's sideways)

Happy Birthday Jesus!

Early Christmas and a New Baby

We hosted Baba and Boompa last night for an early Christmas. We were celebrating early so that they could go to Mass. to be with my stepbrother who is expecting his first child. The baby was due on Dec 26. However, just as we had finished up our meal last night, Baba got a call from J, my stepbrother. The baby was on it's way! This is a pic of Baba getting the news. Baby R was born early this morning just after midnight. Baba and Boompa flew out this morning and will only have missed a few hours of his little life. Welcome Baby R! I'm now twice an aunt in just a little over a month!

Not As Easy As It Looks

We attempted our first gingerbread house tonight (thanks to A in Boston). It is a lot more tedious than you would think! I am not a very good icing artist.

I think we had our icing a little too runny. AP ate more gumdrops than she put on the house :) She even put a few on that had actually been in her mouth, so those have a nice shiny sheen to them. C, in true C fashion, spent the whole time trying to get one window perfect. It was a fun family project, but I have definitely seen more well crafted ones!

Hey Mom

This is what C asked me while we were washing AP in the bath tonight. "If I'm adopted, too, why don't my eyes look like hers?" Wow....I am always ready to answer adoption questions. I want the kiddos to understand as much as they can as they grow and their understanding changes. We talk openly and freely about where we are all from at our house. What surprised me about his question was that he already noticed her eyes? To me, they don't even look different, but I am her mother. But C has already noticed the differences in their appearances. We had a long talk about people looking different in different countries. We talked about how beautiful her brown eyes are and his blonde hair. I asked him what "adopted" means just to see if his answer had changed, and it had. He said "it means you picked special kids". He's exactly right...

New Niece Pic and a Tag

Here's the latest pic of my new niece. She turned 1 month on Dec 14th. Such a cutie!

Ok, so I was tagged a while back by Shea. This is a first for me, but I am usually one to play along. I am supposed to list 8 interesting facts about myself. Hmmmmm........

1. My eyes are actually 2 different shades of blue, but it makes them look like one is blue and one is green.

2. I still live within 20 minutes of the hospital that I was born in.

3. Both hubs and I grew up here, but our parents (some of them) have moved away. It's usually the other way around and the parents stay put while the kids move away.

4. I have 17 years of Church of Christ education (kindergarten through Bachelors degree), but was raised and still attend a Baptist church.

5. I usually try to avoid conflict (and I actually had a different number 5, but changed it b/c I didn't want to start a religious debate, hence my propensity to avoid conflict)

6. I don't claim to be a Republican or Democrat, and I don't usually discuss religion and politics :)

7. I have a tattoo.

8. I have had the chicken pox twice.

I tag: Lori, Denise, Jackie, and Gen

That wasn't too bad. The real kicker is that you are supposed to list 100 facts about yourself when you hit your 100th post, at least that's the way it goes in blogger world. This is my 90th post (I think).

AP Feeling the Music

I hesitated to post this video because it almost makes her look like she might be going crazy, but it's too hilarious not to share. This is what AP looks like when hubs plays the ringtone on his phone! She really gets down, even channels a little Stevie Wonder...

20 months

Our pumpkinhead is 20 months today! We are getting so close to 2 that it is scary.

We had a busy weekend and are just trying to get back into our routines. Saturday night we had a birthday get together for hubs with a few friends and family.

His favorite gift - a UT Dustbuster!

C and I made an orange cake. That was C's request b/c he knows that orange is his daddy's favorite color. I think we used so much orange food coloring that the cake wouldn't even stick together when I tried to serve it, but it was really moist and yummy.

Sunday was his actual b-day (the big 3-3). That night the kiddos had dinner with Boompa and Baba so hubs and I could have dinner sans children. I also surpised hubs with my present :)

O Christmas Tree

We finally got our tree up. It had been partially up, we sort of did it in phases. The kiddos had lots of fun putting up the ornaments. AP took them out of the box then threw them at the tree, she hasn't quite gotten the concept of carefully placing them on the tree.

C is a great ornament hanger. He contemplates the placement and everything.

He was a little obsessed with the star this year. He repeatedly asked if it was time for the star.We took a cookie break, that has become somewhat of a tradition.

Then we decorated the little Charlie Brown tree that goes in the kitchen and bears all of the unique ornaments that don't match my themed tree. I know eventually I'll have to give up the color coordinated tree for one with homemade ornaments and strung popcorn, but that day hasn't come yet!

Saturday with Santa...and One Year Ago

Yesterday was all about Santa at our house. We got up early and headed to church with some friends for breakfast with Santa. We had a talk in the car on the way there about the meaning of Christmas and Jesus' birthday. I knew C would be inundated with Santa stuff all day and I wanted to remind him what we are really celebrating. The breakfast was pretty good, but we didn't really eat with Santa. After breakfast the kiddos got to play little games and go into a child size shopping area and pick out secret presents for whomever they wanted to shop for. C came out of the little door with a wrapped present for me. Then he went in again and shopped for daddy. It was really cute. Santa was set up by the games. C went right up to him and said "I know you can't make Aquadots anymore because they make people sick, so I'll take..." He finally gets it. AP had a "deer in the headlights" look the whole time she was sitting in his lap. She wouldn't look him in the face and was definitely not going to say anything. I don't blame her. It's kind of weird anyway, in my opinion.

Afterwards, we headed home and both kiddos pretended to take naps, neither one actually went to sleep. Then we went to our little community Christmas parade, complete with the Shriners and Santa on a motorcycle! We are slacking and still have not put up our decorations at home. I was hoping to do it today, but it's not looking good.

One year ago today, our little AP became legally our child and we did not even know it! We didn't find out until 2 weeks later that we had had a court date on the other side of the world and that it was a success! What a difference a year makes.

That's How You Know

You know you are raising a girly girl when she asks for a bow to wear with her jammies to bed :)

Our Big Girl

As sad as it is for me, AP moved out of our room last night and slept in her room like a big girl all night. We felt like having been thrown out of our normal routine for the last few weeks was a good time to make the change before she got comfortable with us in our room again. I really liked having her there, but know it is best for her in the long run to get used to her own room. We feel like she has come a long way with attachment and knows that we will be there to get her in the morning. She doesn't need anymore night time reassurance, and really never did, I think it was more for me. It was still sad to see her walking to her room dragging her blankie behind her knowing that a part of her "baby" days are gone.

Last Day in NC

Today is our last day in NC. We are biting the bullet and making the long drive home in one day. It will take about 11 hours (ugh!) If we left today we might miss part of the UT game on TV and the world would just not be right. We have enjoyed visiting with extended family the last week and a half, but I must say we are ready to be back in our own child-proof home and back on our schedules. You can only say "no" so many times. This morning AP was so excited that she found a cradle of "babies" at her great-grandmother's house, but those babies happened to be antique and not babies that she could play with, that's too hard for her to understand yet. "Baby" is her new favorite word since we were visiting with my sister's new baby last week. Yesterday we set out to find something for the kiddos to do and found a little family fun center. There was one of the big bouncy things there and C loved that. There was a zip cord in it and he had lots of fun pretending to be Diego. AP did her share of bouncing, too. Hubby and I took a few turns in the batting cages. It's been a while since either of us had swung a bat and we both have blisters today :(

There is a tree in hubby's grandmother's yard that is just the right size for tree climbing.

On Thanksgiving Eve

I am thankful for...

beautiful weather...
a day in the park...with the ones I love.