First Snowfall and First Real Tree

Feast Your Eyes on this Bambina!

Talk on the Phone?

James' new favorite pastime?

CALLING EVERYONE HE KNOWS!


Everyday he picks someone that he wants to call
and he asks me all day long if he can call them.

"Talk a Daddy?"
"Talk a Grandpa?"
"Talk a Auntie Gini?"
"Talk a Auntie Amy?"
"Talk a Grandma?"
"Talk a Auntie Kimmy?"
"Talk a Garrin?"
"Talk a Dennis?"
"Talk a Matthew?"

(If your name isn't on this list it just means
that he isn't to the point of torturing me with calling YOU yet.)


He concentrates very hard when he is on the phone.
His favorite topics are playing cars, riding the red tractor
and what he had for lunch.

I snapped this shot of him the other day
when he was talking to his Grandpa.

PRICELESS!!!

My Baby Girl

I just love her.

I love the way she sleeps so peacefully.


I love that rosebud mouth, the cute little nose,
her long fingers and her soft, perfect skin.

I love her crazy-just-out-of-the-tub hair.

I love her smile.

But right now, most of all, I love her smell.

I hope I never, EVER, forget it.

I hope when I am an old woman I still remember
how sweet she smelled as a baby.

Adventures in Potty Training

CAUTION: Extreme cuteness and underpants shots are included in this post.

We are in the midst of potty training. James was just about there when we had Ella, moved out of our Vegas house, moved into Gini's house for a couple of weeks, moved cross-country, Chris started a new job where he is gone all week, and just basically threw as many changes at him as possible. It's no wonder he regressed.

I decided to take a relaxed approach and just basically started to slowly ask him again if he had to go, and then rewarded him when he did. I bought him cool underpants, made him reward charts, etc. He was doing pretty great and then just dropped any interest in it.

The issue has never been (ahem) #2. I can say that I haven't changed a poopy James diaper in the last two weeks. He tells me when he has to go, and he does great. He even told Dennis' Mom at Thanksgiving and said "Hurry, hurry!" Very cute.

So, we are starting again. Today is the big day. We did a few dry runs (ha ha) yesterday, and are in total BIG BOY underpants today. As of lunch time today we haven't had any accidents.

He is very proud.


Here is his Big Boy Potty chart. He gets a Cars sticker every time he pees, and two stickers for #2. He tries to go #2 A LOT. HE WANTS THOSE STICKERS!


I'd like to say a special thank you to Disney / Pixar, and to whomever the marketing genius was who came up with this sticker book. That's right folks, OVER 700 STICKERS! (That's a lot of poop!)


Additionally, a shout out to the same person who probably came up with the Mater underpants. James' favorite. Here's a hint. Not every two year old wants an assortment of Cars characters in their underpants pak of 3. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE start making packs of JUST TOWMATER.



This post is sure to prove delightfully embarassing for James when I show it to his future fiance! Yes, I asked him to show me his butt and then say cheese. OMG. There is so much cuteness in this picture that I just CAN'T STAND IT!!!!!

Wish us luck this week! (And we are accepting any and all gifts of Cars stickers and Towmater underpants. Size 3T, please.)

Turkey Day Rewind

We accepted an invitation to have Thanksgiving with Kimmy's in-laws and headed over there for a big feast, some cards and assorted Thanksgiving fun.

Dennis spent some time showing James the "barn" and letting him ride on Dennis Sr.'s riding mower, or "tractor." James kept asking Dennis where the geese and the sheep were. CUTE!!!


Here is sleepy Ella with Mrs. Egan.


Danielle had fun playing with James, and showed him the proper way to wear a block box hat.


Stacker was a favorite of James' this Thanksgiving, and was obliged to give many hugs.


Of course, being my son, James had to entertain everyone with about 100 renditions of the ABCs. The best part? When James asked everybody, "Now sing it backwards!"



I had to keep my eye on Denise all day, as I was fairly sure she was going to steal my little girl. Hey, thanks so much Denise for watching Ella so her Mommy could play cards!


Finally getting a little sleepy?



Chris and I. Do I smile that big all the time? HOLY COW!



My sweetie pie, honey bunches, Ella.



Thanks to our hosts! It was great!

Licking the Beaters

My Mom was a baker. I don't mean an every-once-in-a-while whip up some cookies kind of a baker. Nearly every day she could (and still can) be found up to her elbows in flour making some fantastic treat. Pies, cookies, breads, and more--our house was always filled with the scent of something just about to come out of the oven.

Like most kids, my favorite part about having a mother who loved to bake was being able to lick the beaters!


I think James likes licking the beaters too!

Here's hoping your Thanksgiving Day is sweet!

4 Generations of Women

I've been thinking about my maternal grandmother, Betty Lou, a lot lately. I have been wishing that she was here to see her great-grandchildren.

Here she is in 1945. I often say that I was born at the wrong time. Even though this was a tough period for our country, I do sometimes feel as though this is the generation that I would have loved to be a part of.


Here is a picture of my mother, Judy. I believe this was taken in 1950.

Here is another, later photo of my mom. There isn't a date on it, but I am assuming it was around 1953.


My grandmother (we called her Meemaw), me and my mom. This is from January, 1974.

I think Ella looks a lot like me here.

Here is another picture that I love of my mom in 1980. That's my sister, Amy crawling on the floor.


Here is Amy on her first birthday. Is this where Ella gets her blue eyes? I know it is still early, but I am hoping that her eyes stay blue . . .


And here is Ella and I.


I love being a part of a line of strong, creative and compassionate women. I am sure that Meemaw can see Ella and James from wherever she is. I just hope that she knows that we think of her often!

Uh . . .

Glad YOU'RE COMFY, Henry!


And, I had to post this pic for my Mom.


My lunch.
Old-Fashioned Potato Soup with "Animal Crackers for my Soup" by Stauffers.
(It's no wonder that I can't get Shirley Temple out of my head!)