christmas with two girls

we had a super fun christmas ~ avery's fourth, addison's first. pictures tell it best!






Christmas Eve

We baked cupcakes and sang happy birthday to Jesus...and then left cupcakes and milk for Santa. Avery ate all the icing off of four cupcakes, maybe celebrating her fourth christmas, and addison just ate the cake.

Our Family

Addison, Pop and Nana

isn't life fun?

we're having such a great time right now with two girls! we have our moments just like any other family, but avery and addison are both so much fun these days. avery is drama, drama, drama and addison is 'anything you can do, i can do better...or at least i'll try.'

check out princess avery and the bathing beauty.

mom...these shoes don't match (really, that's what she said)

bath time is so much fun....

avery got a new movie.....

she got "hocapontas"

she's very excited.

we'll work on the pronunciation later.

fun times....

it was avery's first time to really trick or treat and she caught on quick! we really had a great time with the girls and benjamin the boy. add a little coman and tina and you've got the mix for a great night! lots of new friends joined us as we went door to door (and inside a few houses....). good times for all. here's a little peek at Ariel and Flounder....

it's a pj kind of day

for once we have a day with nothing to do (or should i say nowhere to go)....so we're taking advantage and having a pj day. avery still smells like syrup from her pancakes and has paint on her face from our morning activity - and thinks it's great. addison couldn't care less and just loves attention and i love not having to rush. there is plenty of laundry and cleaning in store for today...but for just a moment we're going to enjoy a little down time.
happy monday everyone - days like this are few and far between.

is she smarter than me??

now it doesn't always happen this way, but i like to have the house cleaned (straightened at least), dinner ready or cooking and the appearance that all is in order when allen gets home from work. i always help avery pick up the play room and give her a "list" of things to do. i asked her today why it was important to clean up after ourselves and she said "i don't know." so i said, "well what does the bible say about it," (thinking to myself...thinking...come on mom...you can think of one....). she promptly replied "honor your mommy and daddy....would that honor you and daddy?"
my jaw hit the floor.
totally unscripted and unprompted.
i love hearing what comes out of her little mouth...and heart!

who says a 3 year old can't bowl???

allen and i took avery (and addison) bowling....not really sure of what we'd get. she has the curse of her parents - if she is not good at something at her first attempt, she's done. case in point - the pinata...

but..............she LOVED it. loved the shoes, loved the music, loved carrying the ball to the lane, she even loved her bowling alley pizza. we had a great time doing something new and it was a great way to teach avery the importance of taking turns. she was actually pretty good....she must have my athleticism.

THANKS DAD!!!!

I DID IT!

Yeah, i love it too!

Tagged...

I've been tagged!
Jobs I have had:
~ bank teller, back in the day
~ public relations director
~ marketing coordinator
~ pr/fund development director
~ mommy

Places I have lived:
~ Tuscaloosa
~ Hueytown
~ Birmingham...... not very adventurous....

Foods I love:
~ fresh seafood
~ moms vegetable soup
~ allen's steaks

Places I'd rather be:
~ At the beach
~ in the mountains
~ pretty much any vacation

Books I love:
Okay, i love to read, so this one could go on a while
~ the Bible
~ the Mommy Manual
~ Redemption Series, Karen Kingsbury (yeah, you're going to need to get that today)
~ Ashley Wilkes Stockingdale series, Kristen Billerbeck...hyterical
~ I Love You, Ronnie
~ Goodnight Moon

I am Tagging:
~ Jennifer L
~ Kaitlin G
~ Michelle A

it's 8:40....and all is quiet

so it's 8:40 on a friday morning and both girls are still asleep. i'm not really sure what to do. avery normally gets up anywhere between 7:45-8:15 and addison would sleep til noon if i let her. i normally wake her up around 9:00 and that gives me some alone time with avery. so, i'm sitting here having my morning 'routine' and noticing the time. i think i'll go have another cup of coffee...and enjoy it!
happy weekend.

orange...it's nobodys friend

allen and i just got back from a whirlwind trip to knoxville. we were there less than 24 hours and managed to pack in several days worth of 'stuff.' all the while there was one phenomenon i could not seem to grasp. i cannot, for the life of me, figure out why orange is such a popular color. for one, it's not flattering to any skin tone or shape. second, no one can seem to find the same shade of the color.... there was orange orange, flourescent orange, orange sherbert, pumpkin orange, and red orange. the shade we saw the most of was the flourescent. a bright, blinding orange that could stop traffic (you know, because most traffic workers wear those orange vests....). third, the more orange a person wears, the louder they become.
now, true statements can be made of similar colors, like say...crimson. many shades, many variations, many loud wearers. it is, however, a flattering color.
so, we're back in town and seeing a lot less orange. i know there are some of you out there that are forced to endure this unfortunate blunder in the color world....for that i am sorry. and i do love you.

can we go back??

The girls had a super fun time at the beach...so did I. I'm pretty sure I could be a permanent vacationer. It was nice to have a week to just relax. Hope we can go back soon.

and so here i am

i'm one of those people who won't do something out of trend. other than clothes, that is. and even there i think i'm on a good line. i don't buy shoes that often and my haircut is pretty consitent. for all of you that got "the rachel" i did not follow down that path (though friends is my favorite show). so when a lot of my friends started this blog thing i immediately thought, "well, that will never be me." today i am eating my words. it all started with my friends, the Allums. i got hooked reading their updates on their family and adoption process. late at night, early in the morning before the girls got up...i read. then other friends had a baby and their blog link was sent to us via email...again...hooked. i've only seen that kid twice in person but i've tracked his growth through their blog. through both of their sites i've found friends i know...and i find myself wanting to keep in touch with all of these peoples lives that i don't get to talk to everyday. funny how that works.


my life is not very interesting but is full of surprises. i like to write, so this seems somewhat natural, almost therapeutic, for me. you'll hear about our kids, our marriage, and other peoples interaction with our family. don't be surprised if your name is mentioned....

as averys says (holding up three fingers like she's showing her age....)...."peace out"