Johnson's Journal

Tea with Oma

2012-01-31T21:57:00.002-06:00

Last week Oma hosted a tea for the girls. Hailey talked on and on about going. At one point she even said, "and we get to drink real tea!" They were both pretty eager to go.

(here's a few pics of them at the house before we left to go down to Oma's... they accessorized themselves).

Once they walked into Oma's house, they were immediately drawn to the table that was already set and even had Mickey Cookies waiting for them.

You could say they barreled through the lunch and downed their tea.

Not much sophistication went on at this tea. Although Hailey did drink with her pinkie up.

I think they were so excited that they didn't really know how to contain themselves.
When Hailey told Andy about the day, she said, "We had Mickey cookies with chocolate on them!"
They were really good, they were like little shortbread cookies with chocolate on the bottom. Those were actually the inspiration for my Mom to do the tea for the girls.
My Mom even had cute little hats that she crocheted for the girls, so they wore those throughout the tea.

Oma helped Tegan a little, but she also did a little stirring on her own.

Along with the tea and treats, the girls had PBJ sandwiches, which Hailey wanted to cut up smaller,

and Mom and I had Chicken Caesar Salads.
There were also strawberries,

scone muffins and graham crackers with frosting, per Hailey's request, which was also one of my favorite snacks my mom made growing up too!

We also had cheesecake balls.

I think they had a great time!
They even ended the day with some dominoes with Opa. Hailey is very into playing dominoes now with Opa, and she even legitimately wins the majority of the time.

The girls love their hats! They want to wear them everywhere! They've worn them to church, to the gym, to school... pretty much everywhere we went this past week. Hailey even wore Tegan's hat today to school. I guess she wanted to switch it up a bit since she already wore her own?

Thanks, Mom, for a great tea and a fun memory and the darling hats! We all had fun!

Here's another day of them in their hats,

Natalie's 16th Birthday!

2012-01-22T21:17:00.083-06:00

To celebrate Natalie's birthday, at least with the family, Natalie chose to go bowling. (Her other celebration is a trip to CA.!)
Happy Sweet 16 Nat! We all love you and you know how much the girls adore you. Thank you for not only being their cousin, but their friend. We hope you had a great day and are so glad that you still wanted to celebrate with us.

Our girls were super excited. They each picked out their own gift to give to Natalie. Hailey couldn't wait to see Natalie or go to the "Bulling Alley,"

Natalie helped Hailey bowl,

Excited about their first strike,

After their first strike, Hailey decided she didn't like getting strikes because it meant only one turn.
Kelly helped Tegan bowl. I love that they even had little bowling shoes that fit little Teagie-Winkle!

Yay! T. got a strike too!

She loved the food!

Hailey did too. She loved the cheese sauce and kept wanting more. She even dipped her pizza in the cheese sauce.
Cookie Cake time!

Of course we sang to Nat, and the boys bowling next to us all joined in. It was pretty funny. One guy even said something like, thanks for inviting us Natalie.

I think Hailey was trying to figure out why they were all singing while Natalie was embarrassed.

When it came to presents, I don't think the girls really let Natalie open them,

but here are the baskets of gifts they chose for Nat. My favorite is the little 'I love you' bear from Hailey, super sweet!

Cheers! (with shoes). Here's to a great birthday for a super sweet young lady and many more years!

*so the whole family was there to celebrate; Chuck&Shell, Bruce&Cheryl, Andy&Me, but I guess the four girls were way to cute and I only took pictures of them.

Tegan's overnight at Oma and Opa's

2012-01-18T20:37:00.005-06:00

Tegan called up Oma to see if she wanted to come over and play. When she answered, Tegan said, "Oma, you come to my house an spend night?" So Oma replied that Tegan could come down to their house and spend the night.
She was super excited. As soon as Oma and Opa got here to pick her up, she made a be-line for the door. I guess she was afraid we would change our mind?

Hailey was really sweet about it, but we still reminded her that she has had her times where she gets one-on-one time with grandparents too. Sweet Hailey said, "I am so excited for her to have fun! She is going to have so much fun living there forever!" then she turned to Tegan and said, "Tegan, it's your lucky day!"
The next day, after dropping Hailey off at school, I had the whole day to myself! I did my regular workout at the gym and then just sat. I relaxed and got caught up on some of my blog book pages. It was great.
Some of the things Tegan did was make cookies and brownies,

which, apparently she found a new way of 'licking the spoon,'

and she counted some pennies,

(thanks for the pics Oma!)
She even brought some cookies and brownies home.

I think Hailey was starting to feel a little left out because she wanted to get her picture taken with Tegan's cookies too.

After school, Hailey was wondering why Tegan was still gone and said, "I hope they don't forget to bring Tegan back!"
After 'nap'/rest time, Hailey waited, and waited, for Tegan to come home, but she didn't get to see her until after she came home from Awana.

She was so glad to finally have Tegan home (to monitor her) that she had her crying on the floor within the first minute of her walking through the door. Such sweet friends, but still quarreling sisters at times (mostly when they are both tired).

Cookies at Mawga's

2012-01-16T21:25:00.062-06:00

One morning Hailey looked in the pantry and said, "Daddy, when can we make cookies?" I was sick, and he was going to get some work done at the office, so He suggested she call Mawga and see what she was up to. So she did. She called Mawg, and asked if she could come over and make cookies. Of course Mawg couldn't resist the sweet voice of Hailey asking to come over.
Hailey picked out her apron and wanted to wear the matching hat, she ran upstairs to show me that she was "dressed" for Mawga's house.

Tegan didn't want to be left out, so she ran and got an apron too.

They made Nana Karen's chocolate chip cookies, but substituted with butterscotch chips.

Hailey made big cookies and even told Mawg she wanted to make little cookies.

Tegan even got to help a little,

Hailey took some up to her daddy at work,

and was so excited to bring them in her lunch to school and even give one to her teachers and let them know that she made them.
She was pretty proud!

(thanks for having the girls and for taking pictures, Mawga!)

Residence Club Fun

2012-01-04T17:53:00.021-06:00

Our Residence Club hosted some fun events for the kick off of the new year. We picked up Kelly and then got to the theater room early so they can get "their seats." My girls always pick the back row.

The movie playing was Muppetts Treasure Island.
Then we went to the Art room and the girls got to do several crafts including bead necklaces, painting on wooden pieces as well as a ceramic piece. They also did a little water coloring just on paper.

I took the 3 of them for lunch at McD's then came back to the build-your-own sundae bar.
I think it was quite a hit.

Then they all showed me their wonderful art work!

First friend Sleepover

2012-01-03T21:16:00.050-06:00

Hailey and Tegan had their first friend sleepover! We've had a couple times where friends have stayed over and went to bed for a few hours until their parents came to pick them up, but this time, their friend Hannah got to stay the whole night! Hailey was super excited to wake up and Hannah was still here.
We had our friends Kevin and Sonya over for dinner and game night. We figured we'd put the girls to bed and see how it goes.
Hannah and Hailey got to sleep in Hailey's princess bed. (Hannah was pretty happy about that, she had been wanting to sleep in their for awhile).

Tegan was just so happy to be a part of it all. We actually moved the toddler bed into Hailey's room so that Tegan could join in on the sleepover.

After dinner, the adults started a game and the girls did a little dress up and princess play,

"Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair!"

Andy then read them all a bedtime story,

and then the 4 of us adults went to finish our game of Risk. The girls actually fell asleep pretty fast, we did have to go up a few times to remind them it was sleep time.
As for the game I just have to say, for the record, that we stopped before there was an actual winner, but, if we continued, yes, Kevin would have won. There. I admitted it.
It was such a fun night and we'll for sure have to do it again.
In the morning, when Sonya came to pick up Hannah, she also brought some donuts for breakfast.

I'm pretty sure the girls had a grand time.

Dad's Birthday

2012-01-02T20:40:00.018-06:00

Knock knock! Opa, we're here to take you out for your Birthday lunch!

My Dad insisted that he didn't want a party, and although we didn't agree, we respected that choice and asked if we could take him out to lunch instead. He chose the Olive Garden. We had a great meal and a fun time celebrating Opa.

Tegan always has a good time,

Happy Birthday Opa! We love you and we hope that you had a special time with us as we celebrated YOU!

Hailey's well-check up

2011-12-31T21:06:00.014-06:00

We went for Hailey's 4 year old well check up.
She is 39in. tall, and in the 40th percentile for her age/gender. (a little shorter than average)

She weighs 36.5lbs which puts her in the 64th percentile for weight.

But none of that matters, I think she's just perfect!
This time she even had her hearing checked. Yeah, that didn't work too well. She kept smiling and would look at me, but never raise her hand when she heard the beep as instructed. The nurse said that typically at her age she has to look for other cues (like the smiling) rather than the hand raise.
After the nurse left Hailey told me, "I have a secret for you," she's very into secrets lately... and she said, "I really heard the beeping but I forgot to raise my hand."

After the Dr.'s office, it is our tradition to go get a treat. This time, Hailey chose to got to Cracker Barrel and we got lunch, and then ice cream!

I have to include this picture too, just because I want it in one of my posts of her being 4. This is her "favorite" outfit. Every time she wears it, she asks if she can wear it again the next day. One time I kept tossing in the wash with different loads and she wore it 3 days in a row! (hey, at least it was cleaned each day). It must be comfortable or something. I mean it's cute, but there's nothing special about it as far as a color or picture, it's just gray.

Her other favorite outfit is one that is a soft gray, kinda the same style but has blue with pink polka dot leggings, and the top has a hood with little, what she calls, "mouse ears." I'll try to remember to add a picture later. She loves pockets and hoods, and that one has both.
I love (well sometimes) that she is starting to form her own opinion on things that she likes and doesn't like.

Miscellaneous December

2011-12-30T23:21:00.001-06:00

We stayed pretty busy in December, and although I've blogged the majority of the activities, there are still plenty that didn't get blogged yet.
Our church had set up a booth at the local Mall to wrap presents, free of charge! Some of our community group had the opportunity to go and serve one night,

Hailey came with me, isn't she such a cute little helper?

She was such a big help with putting on bows too.

This was an amazing outreach. I remember one guy was just floored that we were all taking time out of our busy holiday schedules and volunteering our time and that a church would work together to do something like this, all for free and not expecting anything in return (not even accepting tips). Our church set up the booth from after Thanksgiving until Christmas Eve and we had over 200 volunteers wrap over 15,000 gifts!! What a great way to show the true meaning of giving at Christmas.

One night Andy came home with all the ingredients to make homemade pizza's for dinner. Hailey made BBQ Chicken and Tegan made Ranch Chicken,

We went to a birthday party (for one of the boys in Hailey's class...but for some reason only got one picture of Tegan playing. Maybe I was too busy socializing?) It was at an Indoor Playground that just opened.

We met up with some friends that had moved away but were in town for a visit,

We spent time with Oma and Opa, playing catch in their yard and fighting over who got to help sweep and clean,

We also went to their church for a Christmas Music celebration,

Hailey made sure that we brought the church bank she colored and added coins to that she got from last time she was there. (She remembered the teachers said to fill it up and bring it back for their building project, so she did).

Andy was able to help welcome a wounded soldier home, they had an amazing turn out even in the pouring rain!

The girls wanted to do a little switch-a-roo one night for beds, and Hailey slept in Tegan's crib and Tegan slept in Hailey's bed. They even switched minkies and lovies.

We've been going back and forth with Tegan with her crib and her toddler bed. She seems to like her toddler bed though.

The girls even had a great time with Harrison, while Rainer had watched them for me one day.

Yes, I will have to say, it was quite a busy December! Time for a little relaxation?

Polar Express and Cousin Sleepover

2011-12-30T23:20:00.069-06:00

Polar Express
While Tegan was, I think at the Hensley's, I took Hailey to go see the movie Polar Express with her good friends from school.

We decided it would be cute to have the girls go in their jammies. (Ava was going somewhere after, so she had on her pretty dress). I just love Vivi's dress jammies and knee-highs... Uh-dorable!

The girls loved the movie and loved walking downtown Franklin like big girls to go out to lunch.

Of course they all doted over baby Maggie,

Then they ran around and played by the tree with sticks and rocks as the Mama's got to chat it up, (the beauty of out door seating).
We always have so much fun with this group of friends!

Cousin Sleepover
Natalie orchestrated a sleepover for her, Kelly, Hailey and Tegan all over at Gamma and Papa's house. Tegan's ready!

I hear they had a lot of fun, making pizza's for dinner and hanging out. (of course I left a camera with them, so thanks for taking pictures guys!)

Natalie ended up going out with a friend and Kelly went home, so it was only Hailey and Tegan who actually slept over, but I think it was fun while it all lasted.
When I came to pick them up the next morning, Tegan was in the middle of her self-taught piano lesson,

I love that the cousins get a long so well, despite the age difference, and get the opportunity to grow up together as not only cousins, but friends.
Thanks for having them Gamma and Papa!

Holiday Hangover

2011-12-30T20:31:00.092-06:00

After Christmas and all the activities we decided that we needed to stay home and recoup. In fact, Andy even wrote: "Holiday Hangover" across several of the days on the calendar.
The girls loved playing with all their new toys. They set up Squinkyville, played with the doll house, rode the skateboard, hopped on the pogo stick, jumped on the trampoline, played dress up, did each others makeup... the list goes on and on.
Yes, we even let Hailey skateboard in doors,

she watched a few YouTube videos to learn (kinda like when she learned to hula hoop),

but it wasn't quite as successful. At least not yet.

Hailey painted a few of her princess canvases,

did a little makeup,

and even did Tegan's make-up, hair and nails,

oh yeah, and she "pierced" Tegan's nose too,

How about makeup to go skateboarding?

Lots of dress-up went on,

they even dressed up their lovies,

and dressed up along with getting ready to go "pogo sticking"?

Well, and okay, after a few days of all this, we did get a little stir crazy and needed to get out, so we went to Sodium. It's a place to encourage family togetherness and things to do for everyone. I had been a few times last year when they first opened and really thought it had potential, but, it has changed, and we were a little disappointed. However, the girls still found some fun.
They did several watercolors,

The climbing wall kept the girls pretty entertained.

Tegan enjoyed running back and forth on the padding more so then climbing.

She was amped up and would sing, "gid up gid up, ride-in gow-boy, knee-hu!" (giddy up, giddy up ride 'em cowboy, yee-haw!) and something else that translated into "run like the wind bullseye." Both girls were being super cute, even if they were wild.

Christmas ~ Part 4 of 4 ~ My Parent's house

2011-12-30T20:27:00.085-06:00

On Christmas Night we went down to my parent's house (a whole 20 minutes away) for Christmas dinner and to celebrate with them and my brother, Christina and their new baby. My parent's also had some friends of theirs from church come for dinner. (Yes, Hailey brought her dog, Sally-Ariel)

I loved that we already did gift exchanging between my parents and us, as did my brother and family, so this night was focused more on dinner and fellowship with each other.
We had a fabulous dinner!

David Jakob's first Christmas! Only 11 days young.

Hailey was really into the show on The Food Network. So much so, she pulled up a chair pretty darn close!

We did have gifts to exchange with Nate and family, since he was working and Chris was at another Christmas celebration when my parents came up to our house for Christmas morning. So after baths, the girls each had a gift to open,

then we Skyped with my other brother, Aaron's family in CA., then played Settlers of Catan,

I think Andy had the best seat in the house, getting to hold Baby David.

Even though my parent's only live about 20 minutes away, we stayed the night at their house so that we could do "Christmas Breakfast" the next day.

One of my favorite breakfasts my mom used to make was the dutch baby pancakes, so instead of our traditional Ollie Bollens, I asked if my mom would teach me to make those. YUM! We all thought that mom and I did a perfect job,

then Hailey played dominoes with Opa. She loves to play dominoes with him whenever they are together. She is getting really good at it too, and even beats him! I'm sure she'll love when he teaches her chess.

We then headed home and for the next several days we stayed in with Holiday Hangover and the girls played and played and played with all their new stuff.
I know we are very blessed to live near so much family, but it is extra special to be around them all during the holidays. Each and every day of our Christmas celebrations was very special and memorable to me and our family of 4!

Christmas ~ Part 3 of 4 ~ The Hensley's

2011-12-30T20:26:00.074-06:00

After having a few hours with my parents at our house, enjoying the leisurely Christmas morning, my parents headed out to a service at their church and we walked over to The Hensley's all in our pj's for our Christmas Brunch.
Of course Hailey was thrilled to be able to walk her birthday dog Sally, (oh wait, she changed the name to Ariel), over to the Hensley's. One of the reasons why she wanted the ~~stupid~~ cute thing, was so she could walk it to the Henley's, so that she did.

(you probably can't see, but Tegan has her new baby Ariel in her hand too).

Mmm! I love brunch!

After we ate a little, okay a lot, Kelly showed the girls all her Santa stuff, and did a little make-up on the girls,

Hailey has "elf makeup" on, because she and Kelly were going to help pass out the presents.

I'm sure everyone is so happy that I'm posting Christmas morning jammie pics, but hey, it's a fun tradition to stay all cozy and so of course I have to document it. Plus, everyone looks so cute anyhow.

Tegan's giving me the stink eye, I think Aunt Shelley is too?

Andy made sure I was caught in my jammies too, so there ya go.

Present time... again!

I love how Tegan is making her 2 new baby dolls kiss. Baby Ariel is welcoming bath splash baby to the family.

A ca-ute lil Ms.Olivia!

I'm sure y'all know how big a fan Andy is of Dave Ramsey and FPU, so what better book than, "How too GET INTO Debt!" So funny! Seriously, who needs a book for that?

Well, okay, there is a better one, "1001 ways to reward employees" ... a great book to get from your employee! Um, thanks Shell?

If anyone comes over and uses our bathroom, these 2 books are our bathroom reads for those who must stay awhile.
Gamma and Papa reading their picture books from us. I think theirs were better,

Lil Ms.Olivia eating again,

Hailey dancing to her new Justin Bieber toothbrush. Okay, she's now a fan. Thanks Aunt Shell.

These were the best gifts of all.. the gifts we gave to Jesus.

Christmas ~ Part 2 of 4 ~ Our house

2011-12-30T20:25:00.109-06:00

We got to celebrate Christmas morning at our house. My parent's came over before they headed over to their church and before we went to the Hensley's for brunch.
Hailey woke up about 5 minutes before Oma and Opa got here, so we played up stairs a bit so that my parent's could see the girls reactions to Santa coming.
Five minutes is a long time to a 4 year old. The first thing Hailey asked when she woke up, was, "Did Santa come?" "Let's go see if Santa came!"
It looks like Santa came, and brought the girls exactly what they asked for. Hailey got her pogo stick, and skateboard, and Tegan got her Jack(princess)-in-the box and since that was all she asked for, Santa thought she'd like a doll house too. Hailey so sweetly said, "I guess he forgot my light up Barbie who sings," so we explained to her that Santa doesn't always bring everything on our list. She was actually okay with it and was so appreciative of the things that she did get. What a sweet girl.

The first thing Hailey said was, "look Tegan, Santa brought you a pogo stick and a skateboard!" I think even though that is what she was adamant about wanting, she didn't really know what to do with either of them. (oh but she has learned and loves them both!)
Time for stockings! Lots of lip gloss, nail polish, movies, drawing pad, etc etc...

Tegan playing with her doll house with Oma and Opa,

She had to stop to put some lip gloss on though,

Hailey's skateboard came with chalk, so she got to design her own. She thought that was super cool!

Hailey couldn't resist the jack-in-the box!

Pogo stick time! It's pretty neat, it has a base at the bottom, so you can learn to jump in place first, and then as you get older, and get the hang of it, the base can come off, but Daddy pulls up on it and bounces them all around the house on it. They love it, and I love hearing their sweet giggles of glee!

Presents from Oma and Opa!!

Tegan is in love with her baby Ariel,

and her little nursery,

of course we made Oma assemble it. What?, you don't think you can get a gift with several pieces and then make us assemble it, do you?

Opa had his work cut out for him too in assembling Hailey's make-up counter

Look at all of Daddy's medals! He sure runs a lot of races. Now, he has somewhere to hang and display them all.

MORE presents!

The light up Barbie that sings!! She thought Santa forgot! Nope, he just knew that Mommy and Daddy got it for her. You can't really tell by this picture, but she was SO happy! She really was a bit bummed when she thought she wasn't getting it.

This one's for you, Joy! Super cute! Thank you! I thought I got a picture of Tegan in hers too, but didn't come across it.

And here's for you Holly and Schners! The girls loved all the trinkety stuff! The favorite item was the growing ballerina's

They both wanted theirs in the water at the same time. I tried to talk them into putting one in so we can compare it in size, but that didn't work. Later, however, we were able to take one out and let it shrink back down, so here is the comparison,

She was still growing, but I was ready to get my bowl back and off the counter, so we stopped her growth at this point. The girls are still super obsessed with these things and want to take them with them in the bath.

Oma and Opa reading the photo story book from us, I think they loved it ;-)

Me and my new apron with pearls and the NEW Puffy Muffin cookbook! I even got to go to lunch with my mom there, what a special time that was!

You'll see some of these gifts in action in my Holiday Hangover post. I can't wait to post the picture of Hailey on her skateboard!

Christmas ~ Part 1 of 4 ~ Andy's parent's

2011-12-30T20:24:00.135-06:00

We started out with Christmas Eve Service at our church, with just our immediate family. Hailey had the option to go into a classroom or sit with us. She was pretty excited to be in the big church service with us and loved the manger sticker/activity book they had for the kids. At the end, we did a little candle light service. Hailey was happy to be a big girl holding her own candle,

that is until some wax dropped on her hand and she let out a cry, but we were so proud of how she composed herself rather quickly afterwards (so I think it was more scared than pain).

After church, we went straight over to Bruce and Cheryl's for Christmas dinner, and the Hensley's met us there as well, after their Christmas Eve Service at their church.

The girls played the piano,

we hung around,

(where's Hailey?)

acted silly,

and we opened some gifts,

played with some gifts,

and appreciated the gifts! I love the expressions captured,

while others were "chainsawed", (there's app for that!) It's a family inside joke that clothes are a chainsaw gift (but really some of us, ME, love them!)... so Andy found an app on the ipad to chainsaw his running pants, the running pants he asked for, (and now you see one of the reasons he got his nick name 'brat boy').

We ate some cookies that Kelly, Hailey and Tegan made earlier in the day (but saved some for Santa!)

and even got to Skype a bit with the Oregon Johnson's. Tegan still refers to Bodie as HER Bodie!

Once we got home, Hailey put out the cookies and milk for Santa.

Cinnamon Rolls and "Coffee" / Cookies for Santa

2011-12-30T20:20:00.075-06:00

Cheryl had made some yummy cinnamon rolls one morning for us. Hailey decided she needed some hot coffee to go with it, so we made some. Well, okay, we made hot chocolate.

Um...Tegan, where did your pants go? After Tegan finished eating, she went off to play. I'm not sure at what point she lost her pants though. I've heard of unbuttoning your pants after stuffing yourself, but taking them off completely? Silly girl.

Cookies for Santa
Kelly, Hailey and Tegan got to go over to Gamma's house to make cookies for Santa again this year. Hailey was excited to make cookies, but she kept telling me that they weren't for Santa, because she was going to leave chocolate chip cookies with chocolate milk and some chocolate candy for him. Although I agreed that that was probably Santa's favorite, Andy said he thought Santa's favorite was sugar cookies with butter cream frosting, either way, we didn't have time to make the chocolate chip cookies. We compromised and Hailey said she'd leave him the cookies she makes at Grandma's but she'll leave out some chocolate milk. Deal.
Cookie makers are ready!

(poor Hailey had a headache and wasn't feeling too well, you could just see it on her face, but she still tried her best to have a good time).

The artists at work

Hailey and Tegan's cookies,

While the girls were making cookies, I went home and finished wrapping my little heart out!

Hailey was pretty excited to see all the wrapped gifts under the tree when she got home.

Opryland

2011-12-29T23:00:00.002-06:00

We love going down to the Opryland Hotel, especially when it is all decked out for Christmas. I believe we've gone every year since we've lived here, except for the year after the flood (May 2010).
I don't think that they went as all out this year as they have in the past or maybe because we only went through a section or two, or perhaps they're still recouping from all the floods damage and costs, but it was still beautiful and festive.
We went with Gamma and Papa and Kelly too. It was so fun to have all of us in one car! (Our MiniVan)
I think the girls had a really great time there,

My favorite is the huge nativity scene

We figured Hailey would just love all the lights. She did. I love how they put lights on every branch on all the trees. It's so pretty. I know the pictures don't really do it justice though.

Kelly and Tegan were both thrilled to be there.

Hailey loved being so close to these lights,

The big tree,

the balloons from the ceiling,

We even ate at our favorite buffet at Water's Edge along the indoor Delta River amid the atrium gardens.

We decided to do a funny pose, I love this! I like how Tegan even understood to do silly. She, who has never sucked her thumb, does a silly pose with thumb sucking! Silly family!!

There was a Dreamworks sponsored theme this year, so we even walked past and got to see Shrek. Hailey said that she wanted to get closer to feel his skin.

Awe, what a glorious place. We walked by the area they do the water show, but it was getting late, so we didn't wait for the show.
We had a great time there as always. I love making new traditions for our family, well, 5 years is still new, right? I'm so glad that they restored the hotel after the flood and can't wait until the whole area of Opry Mills is restored as well.

Annual Gingerbread House Making

2011-12-29T22:58:00.004-06:00

Every year since I can remember, my mom would make gingerbread houses, from scratch, for us to frost and decorate. This is one of my favorite traditions and I am so glad she is still willing to do it for the family. Natalie and Kelly have even done them the past few years and love it too!
Kelly helped Tegan with hers a bit, but Tegan was pretty vocal and active on where she wanted what. She also pulled my brother Aaron's trick, and stuffed candy in the inside!

Hailey was pretty meticulous and lined all her candy up, counted it, arranged it by color, stacked it, etc.

Adding some "snow,"

adding some finishing touches,

Mom working on hers,

Cheryl and Shelley working on their masterpieces,

One of the best parts, eating some of the candy! One for me, one for the house, one for me...

Here's my house!

Tegan's house,

Hailey's house. After being so precise with the candy (she lined up on the board, but never used frosting to hold it down), she knocked it all off and said, "Act-ture-re (actually), this is too much candy, I don't want to get a tummy ache."

Natalie and her house,

Kelly with hers,

I love Aunt Shell's. She went with all white (to Tegan's disapproval, since it didn't have much candy on it).

Oma and Mawga's houses,

After we made our houses, the girls played for a bit. They got into the dress up clothes that Oma keeps at her house,

We had a yummy lunch,

then everyone left, and my girls stayed with Opa and had some rest time, while my mom and I went shopping. What a fun, memorial day it was! Thank you Mom for keeping on with the tradition! Maybe next year you can start teaching Hailey how to make the gingerbread and frosting (it'll just skip a generation).

When we got home, we showed Daddy our houses, since he had to work and couldn't join us.

Hailey's Family Birthday Dinner

2011-12-29T22:57:00.003-06:00

After Diva's and Dudes, we came home to our family and a few dear family friends for some dinner and celebration.

Hailey walked in for her grand entrance, but clung to my leg. I think it was a little overload for her.
Princess Hailey and her chariot,

and Tegan too,

Hailey was brought to her surprise gift!

I would say she was pretty excited about her new trampoline,

We had some pizza and enjoyed each others company. Tegan was the keeper of the drinks,

Tegan 'hangin' out with Opa,

Papa being a princess too!

Hailey was pretty anxious to open her birthday gifts,

Our family and dear friends,

She wanted this dog pretty bad, any time she saw it in the store, she'd run up to it,

it was my favorite quote of the party "This is the one I wanted for Christmas! It's just what I wanted!" She had in her mind that she wanted this dog so that she could "walk it to the Hensley's house." (as you will see in my Christmas post, she did just that!)
Maverick must've thought Hailey got some good gifts, little cutie,

Then we had a second cake!

Hailey picked this one out herself, and was excited to let everyone know that this was the cake she picked.

Happy Birthday Hailey Bug!!

I think Tegan liked the cake too. Not sure though if it was because it was chocolate or because she could play with the princesses,

Hailey loved making sure that the girls got their Princess Cup of goodies and that she and Tegan got one too,

and the boys got their swords!

Even David Jakob. We knew he came early, so that he could come to Hailey's birthday! He's only 6 days young!

Compared to one of the girls baby dolls, isn't he a tiny 'lil guy!

The dog (first named Sally, then renamed Ariel), wasn't sure which one the diaper went to,

This was the stocking that Hailey came home in 4 years ago, so we had to see how she fits it now. I was going to put the one of her in it from then, but it's on another computer.

It was pretty late by the time we wound down, but Hailey got to play with some of the presents

and even got into the new makeup.

Hailey was thrilled to do Ms. T-gee Winkle's makeup!

and Tegan was just as happy to be the one getting the makeup done.

Thank you to all our family and friends for making Hailey's celebration so special, and for being such amazing people to our sweet Hailey! We are blessed to be the recipients of your love and friendships!

Hailey's 4th Birthday!

2011-12-29T22:56:00.008-06:00

For Hailey's Birthday, I debated on whether or not to do an at home party or a location party. We knew she wanted it Princessy and Girlie. I like to plan her party themes on things that represent her and what she likes. Her favorite thing lately had been lip gloss and make-up. She's always asking me what each thing is as I put it on. So, we decided to do a makeup party! I just wasn't feeling very energetic and knew December was just crazy, so we went to Diva's and Dudes to check it out, and Hailey was thrilled about having her party there. Since it was a location party, I told Hailey she was limited on the amount of friends she could invite. She decided to invite her friends mostly from school and a few from the neighborhood.
She talked on and on about her party that was going to be at "David's and Dudes" but yet said "NO boys!" not even Daddy, Papa or Opa! After awhile though, she decided she did want Daddy to come. (Good, because he was going to come anyways).
I would say she was pretty happy with the decision,

In preparation, we got the invites ready,

Hailey applied her own lipstick,

and decorated the envelopes!

Sealed with a kiss and ready to be sent!

All but 1 friend we invited RSVP'd YES! Oh my! They were all super excited!
The day finally came,

Hailey greeted all her "customers" as she said, upon arrival,

Once they all arrived, it was time for dresses, makeup, and all things girl. They all got their hair done, makeup done and nails painted.

Princess Hailey! Beautiful on the inside and out.

I love how they are showing each other their nails,

Hailey checking herself out,

We were going to let Tegan get all dolled up too, but she, surprisingly, didn't want to. She was content to line up cars and play with the toys.

She liked cuddling with Daddy though in order to watch the fashion show. I think she was a bit intimidated.

They got to dance around and play on the runway stage while everyone had their chance to get ready.

they even watched themselves on the tv, they thought that was pretty cool.

Then when they were all ready, Hailey lead the Diva line throughout the place for all to see.

and then walked the runway.

Hailey wasn't too sure about that part though,

until we told her it's just like doing the attitude walk in dance class.
They each had their name announced to walk down the runway themselves.
Here's Miss Hailey, Birthday girl!!

They even recorded a portion of the fun on DVD for us. I was hoping they'd do the whole thing, but it was still cute to have a little of it.
Well, maybe it was a good thing they didn't record the whole thing... since some of us Mommies took over the stage once all the girls were headed to get cake. What? The music was still playing and the stage was calling our inner Diva's to dance too!

Cake Time.

*(thanks to a friend from church, Becca with A Cake Boutique for doing the darling cake!)

Hailey loved all the makeup pieces!

All the girls got to leave all dolled up and with a little 'pearl' necklace and a group picture
I think we all had a blast!

Hailey and Vivi putting their feet up after all the dancing. What a day!

Tegan too!

After the friend party at Diva and Dudes, we headed home to meet family and family friends for dinner! (next blog post)
Not sure I'd do it all in one day/night like that again, but I thought it would be fun for Hailey to make her appearance to her loved ones all Diva'd out since they didn't get to see the friend party stuff.

Larson's Birthday

2011-12-29T22:55:00.065-06:00

Our good buddy Larson turned 4! He had a Star Wars themed party.

My friend Sarah (Larson's Mommy) is so artistic. She made this ~~cute~~ cool sign,

The kids went searching for androids,

pinned light sabers on Obi Wan Kenobi,

and threw rings to lollipops attached to R2-D2,

both games of which Sarah the artist made.
Happy Birthday Lars!

I think this was one party Andy didn't mind going to. Daddy and Hailey played with Star Wars figures,

then Daddy and Tegan played light sabers... "Tegan, I am your father"...

How cute is Austin with his little light saber too! "Hey guys, can I play?"

The two big 4 year olds! They were running around shooting each other with the nerf balls, it was quite cute. Hailey is concentrating on reloading.

Jedi mix! Complete with Darth Cheddar, Wookiee Cookies, Anakin Raisins and C3PO Marshmallows

Clint and Sarah have two boys and we have two girls, so Sarah and I decided when she needs a girl fix and wants to go shopping or do hair, make-up and play princesses, we'll trade, and I can get chased with nerf guns and stabbed and bruised with fake swords, while she's doing beauty pit.

Thanks for a fun party, Sarah, and including my girls, they loved it! You did a great job! Hope you had a great Birthday Larson!

The Academy Preschool Openhouse

2011-12-29T22:54:00.048-06:00

The Preschool/child development center that was being built in our neighborhood just had their open house to tour the facility, so of course we had to check it out.
It is an amazing Preschool that's for sure! I think they have a fantastic program and tons to offer.
However, it's pretty pricey and a full service school (M-F 7am-6pm). They have things like enrichment programs included in tuition which includes; Art, Spanish, Computers, Music and Fitness, full on nutritional meals including breakfast time for the family. You can choose to do just a few days a week on more of a regular preschool routine, but it's not too much of a savings. We aren't wanting to pay private tuition costs for preschool, but I am considering enrolling Hailey in their Kindergarten Boot Camp the summer prior to Kindergarten. It sounds pretty helpful and fun for Kindergarten readiness and helps teach "important, yet sometimes overlooked skills needed to navigate Kindergarten with confidence" ... and I think Hailey would actually love it! She is so ready to go to Kindergarten, she'd probably be perfectly fine to go this next year if she were allowed too.
Anyhow, we had fun at the open house. We got to have a delicious homemade pancake breakfast (complete with orange juice and hot cocoa!)

Seriously, they were so good! I want to enroll Hailey just to eat these pancakes again!
We even got to put our own toppings on, which Hailey loved,

okay, and yes, me too.
While Andy and I got a tour around the facility, the girls opted to stay and do crafts.

*(picture courtesy of Don Wright Designs)
They made gifts, wrote letters to Santa, played a bit,

*(picture courtesy of Don Wright Designs)
and even got to visit with Santa.

*(picture courtesy of Don Wright Designs)
Hailey was so excited she actually got to meet Mrs. Santa!!

*(picture courtesy of Don Wright Designs)
She talked and talked and talked to her and asked her so many questions. The site that had photos taken at this event, had tons of pictures of them together! She gave Mrs. Santa hugs and told me, "Mom, I love Mrs. Santa!!"
They also got to meet a snowman, an elf and a reindeer. But Hailey assured me it wasn't a real reindeer, it was just a costume, and that the snowman wouldn't melt because he's a costume too. Tegan on the other hand, wasn't too sure and wanted nothing to do with them.

Hailey loved watching the "snow" from their snow machine fall outside, but preferred to just watch it fall.

Where's ~~Messy Marvina~~ Tegan? Oh, she's getting cleaned up from the chocolate milk she spilt all over herself and somehow was sitting in a puddle of. Good thing we were only a few blocks away from home so she could change before the next event we were off too!

December 17th ~ "Our house is made!"

2011-12-29T22:53:00.002-06:00

Even though Hailey knows her birthday is December 17th, as you know, she still insisted that she already turned 4 when we celebrated at preschool. So we decided that we would just have it be another day, since her party was going to be a few days later.
However, Mawga and Papa thought Hailey needed something special ON her day, so they surprised us with such a great gift! They knew just what Hailey (and Mommy) would love.
You see, Andy did a great job at putting up a garland around the door and some red ribbon with bows making stripes go down on the pillars, but it just kept falling down and ended up looking pretty pathetic and Andy got pretty discouraged.
So while we were out, Papa and Mawg fixed up and spruced up and added so much to our outdoor Christmas decorations!
Hailey loves lights and decorations, and loves to have her "house be made". (and Mommy loves acts of service),
By Hailey's little run to the front door, I'd say she pretty much loved it!

Look at me and my house!

The first thing she noticed (from inside the car) was the stocking.

Isn't this great!

Andy and Hailey admiring a job well done!

The complete look with all the lights on. Just beautiful!

Thank you SO much Mawga and Papa, this was surely a gift you gave our whole family, and our neighbors too!

Papa also gave Hailey some pink roses. So sweet.

Hailey's Christmas Party at School

2011-12-29T22:50:00.001-06:00

Okay, so I don't know what I was thinking when I signed up to do craft for Hailey's Christmas Party. On top of all the normal holiday stuff, I had Hailey's birthday party and birthday cookies to make for her class... not to mention my nephew decided to come that week too and just a plain crazy insane week! SO... I had no idea what to do, didn't plan anything, until a few days before when another mom gave me the idea to do wrapping paper! What a great craft idea indeed! I already had tons of craft paper on a roll, I just cut off pieces of that, then bought a few cheap (50% off even!) stamps and such at HobLob, maybe spent all of $5 and brought in pens in shades of green and red, some older stamp pads and stickers I had on hand and another mom offered to bring in a few of her stamps as well.
The kids had fun doing it,

My favorite was this little drawing, she said it's a picture of Mary and Baby Jesus,

since Hailey wanted to wrap Kelly's present it in, we had to make a little more of it once we got home. I think it turned out A-Dorable!
This one was a drawing of "Papa when he was a baby because he doesn't have hair, Kelly, Me (Hailey), and Tegan."

at the bottom of this she turned the ink pad upside down and said, "look, I know how to do this." She had watched me make some cards that way, by blotting the ink. Little observant girl she is!

All snug under the tree (she didn't want to cover any of her artwork with a ribbon or bow).

I don't know if you can see it well, but on the top, I think she said that was Shrek, or a monster, I thought it looked like a Christmas Tree.
The only problem is that the paper gets ripped into, especially on a 9 year olds present. At least I fully appreciated it for the week before.

So for the rest of the Christmas party, they played a game, ate some festive snacks, and one of her teachers read a little story. Tegan thought she was hot stuff sitting with the big kids for story and I think Hailey secretly liked it too!

and while Hailey worked on her wrapping paper, Tegan was busy playing,

We always enjoy going to visit Hay Hay at school!

Birth of Baby David Jakob

2011-12-28T22:59:00.001-06:00

My oldest brother and his wife, Christina, had their first baby! David Jakob was born on Wednesday, December 14th, 2011 @ 3:53pm via C-Section, Weighing 5lbs 14oz, and is 17.5 inches.

(We weren't actually there for the birth, so the above pictures were "borrowed").

However, Hailey and I went down to the hospital to see them later that evening and were able to love on the precious family of three.
We stopped by the store because Hailey wanted to get her new baby cousin a BIRTHday balloon and a toy. She was so thrilled to get to see and hold him. (this was the same spot I had Hailey, and Tegan, all bundled up at when they were a baby, ready to go home from the hospital!)

I wonder what does go through a child's mind... Hailey must have remembered the feel of the hospital or something from when I was there (different hospital) this summer, because as we were waiting for the elevator she says to me, "Mom, I'm sad that the baby in your tummy flew away..." I stooped down and looked into her eyes and said, I know exactly how you feel, sweetie, it's okay to feel sad, but we do get to love on Uncle Nate and Aunt Chris' baby!" She then replied, "I'm glad that my baby cousin came out of Auntie Chris' tummy!"
It was definitely a flood of emotion when I got to hold my tiny precious little nephew, especially since the last time I held a baby was my own lifeless little boy this past Summer.
Nate and Chris were so sweet and understanding and so supportive (in allowing me to show that emotion), I will always be grateful!

This was a joyful time though. The reason I even mention the emotions is because I want to always remember. I never want to forget any bit of love and emotion I felt for our son. I wouldn't even call it bitter sweet. Just sweet.

Emotional yes, but no bitter with the sweetness of this precious new life.

I think because of the year my brother and my family both had, I had unknowingly been holding my breathe, unattached, in fear for this little guy. It was so good to finally have him here to hold.
Hailey's comment when she held him was, "he's so precious,"

"he's so precious and soft!" Yes, Hailey, that he is! (and she gave him sweet kisses).

Hailey holding her new cousin, with Uncle Nate. She wanted to know when he'd grow up so she could play with him.

Hailey wanted to watch everything the nurse did. She even wanted to watch her "give the baby his flew shot."

Hailey calls him, "Baby David Jakob". Not David. Not David Jakob, but all three names, Baby David Jakob.
Here's his little feet,

Ahh, nice and stretched out,

My parents were there for the birth, and had been at the hospital all day, but had left before we got there, but they they came back the next day. (we weren't there, so these next 2 pics were "borrowed" too).
Oma then Opa with their 8th grandchild!

Then we went back down on Friday, (kept missing my parents) this time Andy and Tegan got to go visit too. We stopped by to look in the nursery windows on our way to their room, (my stinkin' battery died, so I had to use my cell phone to take the pictures on this day).

then wasted no time in loving on and holding the little guy. Andy even made sure we got him a Titans outfit. He said somebody's got to do it! (...double meaning since growing up, I was always "somebody").

Tegan didn't quite know what to do,

but she knew she didn't want to miss out on holding him.

Hailey got to hold him again too,

while Tegan played on jungle-gym-Nate.

I know it was a bit heart tugging for Andy as well, as we both thought how David Jakob, and Jacob Christopher would have been such great friends.

We are so grateful for this new addition to our family, and are thrilled to have a boy cousin around for the girls to grow up with.

I'm sure Hailey will be teaching him to skateboard in no time... that is after Uncle Nate teachers her... and Andy will do the football coaching for D.J., he's got to fatten up first though.
Congratulations, Nate and Chris, we love you and your perfectly precious little guy!

He sure is darling!

Christmas Parties

2011-12-28T11:45:00.000-06:00

I don't know why, but I tend to not take too many pictures when it comes to things for Andy and I... I guess I figure I don't need to capture every second of what we do like I do with the girls. Anyhow, this season we had a few parties, we had to 'just say no' to some events, but some that we did get to do included a Progressive Dinner Party with our small group and some other couples from the church. While we went to 3 different houses here in our neighborhood, all the kids got to play together at the Residence Club.
I did a few things with my mommy friends, like a Cupcakes and Cocktails party,

and an 'ugly sweater' party - sorry, Mom! ;-)
The best was when Lindsey got a cat ornament to match her cat sweater!

These snowflakes we made were pretty neat, I brought mine home for the girls to try and Hailey said she wants to make some with me.

Thanks for hosting Tonia! Love my "Chicks" group!! Girlfriends and laughter is the best medicine!

The girls got to participate in a kids gift exchange party, thanks Lauren!

Hailey also had a party at preschool, but I'm doing a separate post for that.

and not to forget, The Annual Johnson Christmas Party!
Bruce and Cheryl hosted their annual friends and family Christmas Party.

I usually do it's own post for this one, but we didn't get to stay too long since the girls had already had several late nights and were just beat, therefore I didn't take too many pictures there. The girls, although really tired, were on their best behavior, as always. We are so proud of our girls and how they handle themselves. (well, at least in public, the 8:00 witching hour in our home isn't so pretty... melt down city!)
The food was great,

and dessert delicious,

the family was fun,

and friends were cheery! Holly and Mr. Bobby. (This one was for Keith).

The girls had a blast with their cousins as always,

Aunt Holly was still in town, and was able to attend this year... she and Aunt Shelley were very 'festive'!

Apparently the music was just as grand as previous years, but we left just prior to that. But we still had a good time!

Thanks to all our friends and family for opening their homes and hosting such fun memories!

Hailey's Birthday at Preschool

2011-12-26T16:26:00.068-06:00

Hailey is FOUR! (She thinks she's been four since her birthday celebration at school on the 13th, eh, what's 4 days). We had to celebrate early since she would be out for Christmas Break on her actual Birthday.
Something about these "modeling pictures" tells me she feels a year older too!

Hailey told me that she wanted to have Pirate cookies for the boys and Princess cookies for the girls to bring to her classmates. I told her that I didn't know how to make those, that I had never made them before. I asked her if there was something else we could bring. Her response, "It's okay Mom, we can bring whatever you choose or maybe just chocolate chip cookies." She was so sweet and understanding about it, that I wanted to try my darnedest to make those Pirates and Princesses!!
I searched the Internet and found some. I didn't have the right cookie cutters, but saw that for the pirate, I could use an ornament cookie cutter, but I ended up taking Cheryl's suggestion and cutting out the image and using wax paper. So I had to free hand cut them, but it worked out better that way.
Long story short, I tried something called "flooding" using royal icing. Well, I never got to try the flooding because my royal icing wasn't turning out. So, at 9:00 the night before, I ran out to buy frosting and just mixed the different colors and applied it how I already knew how. I think I actually did a pretty good job, they came out rather cute! (and they were delicious too!)

After the 1st attempt of the frosting fiasco, I actually had fun doing them, it was like coloring, very therapeutic for me. I showed Hailey when she got up in the a.m., and she was thrilled!

I like the artistic look to them better than the "perfect" look anyhow.

Hailey's response, "It's okay if you couldn't do it, but you tried it and you DID IT!" What a great lesson it turned out to be too.

Hailey got to choose a birthday meal for Daddy and me to bring her for lunch time at school (she wanted to stay there with her friends). She chose a cheeseburger with pickles, chocolate milk, and we even let her have fries instead of apple slices. She was SO happy!

She told us, "this is such a fun party!" Hmmm... McDonald's and sugar cookies at preschool with friends, so simple!
Hailey with her friends Vivi and Eleanor,

Hailey got to hand out the cookies,

it was so fun to watch the kids "play" with their cookies and eat them.

Tegan took full advantage of Hailey stepping away from her lunch to pass out cookies, and snatched a few fries and bites of the cheeseburger,

Then we went back into Hailey's classroom and they sang "Happy Birthday" to her,

and then we let them finish the day and Daddy, Tegan and I left.
Tegan wanted to stay and play though,

Hailey told everyone she was 4 after this, and even told me that we already celebrated her birthday when I mention her party. Hmm.. I guess I could have canceled the party then? She even laughed when Uncle Nate called her on her Birthday and she said, "It's not my birthday, I'm already four!"

Oh, Hailey, we love you so much!

It warms my heart whenever you give me big hugs and tell me how much you love me and that you are so glad that you are my daughter and I am your Mommy! Your sweet spirit and heart for God and other people is so amazing in such a "little" 4 year old! I love to hear you pray and be sweet to your sister. You have a natural talent for many things and it is so exciting to see you develop those traits and abilities. We love everything about you Ms. Hailey Sue!

Cookies and Aprons

2011-12-26T16:19:00.038-06:00

There are a few of Hailey's friends from school that us Mom's have clicked, as well as our girls and we enjoy getting together. They've been friends since being together in the same class last year.
So we decided to host some play time over at our house for a mini Christmas get-together.
They started with a little Princess play,

below: Ava, Hailey, Vivi, Margaret

Tegan kept Viv's "baby" (sister) occupied,

As Hailey's gifts to her friends, we got some plain white aprons and then they got to decorate them however they wanted.

Tegan even got to participate and she decided she wanted to paint her own hand to make a print,

I think they all did such a cute job!

The plan was to wear them as we made and decorated cookies, but they didn't dry in time and my hair dryer blew the fuse... so they just modeled them for us,

and then they got to decorate some cookies. Hailey and Margaret had their eyes on the cookies as soon as they came out of the oven!

I don't know what I was thinking... well, I wasn't thinking apparently, and when I got everything together in preparation, I totally forgot about frosting!
So, thanks to Karen, she 'whipped' some up using whatever was in the pantry! She's hysterical! Now, before you start thinking 'Martha', let's just say our name isn't the only thing in common. A hint: She put flower in to thicken the frosting! Here in the South, we'd just say, "Bless her heart."

Well, hey, it worked and the girls were happy, and it didn't taste too bad.
Even with the faux pas, we still had a great time.

Hailey

Vivi

Margaret

Ava

Tegan

Aunt Holly was still in town and was able to come say 'Hi' for a bit and meet some of Hailey's friends and join the fun too.

Dicken's of a Christmas

2011-12-26T16:17:00.000-06:00

Our little Historic Downtown Franklin holds several street festivals a year, but I would have to say one of my favorites is the Dicken's of a Christmas. For this event, they transform the streets back to a Main Street from the time of Charles Dickens.

You will find all kinds of characters walking the street, including; Ebenezer Scrooge, Marley, Tiny Tim, Bob Cratchit and his family, and many more, including Father Christmas.

We didn't see all of them this year, maybe because we went on a Sunday afternoon as opposed to Saturday... however, it was less crowded this way I think.

Scrooge gave Hailey and Tegan each a penny... he said it was for their college fund. Whatdn't dat nice.

Hailey sure was thrilled, and asked if we could see him again as we passed him a second time.

We took a horse drawn carriage ride down the street.

Every time the carriage would stop, the dog would bark once and go stand on the back of the horse. I thought it was quite comical. I'm sure there is some reasoning behind it, who knows.

The girls were intrigued by the play on stage.

It was a clip from the production "Oliver," they were singing Consider Yourself Part of the Family. Hailey walked right up and found herself a seat,

so Andy and Tegan did too.

Later that night, (possibly because we ran into the Mushroom during the day),

Hailey and I had a craving for some Mellow Mushroom Pizza!

Their advertising worked, and we took Kelly and went back to downtown to eat dinner at Mellow Mushroom.
The roads were still blocked off but everything was cleaned up. The only thing on the streets were the street sweepers and us. It was such a unique opportunity because typically it's a pretty busy street, so I had to take the opportunity for a picture.

I love our little downtown, it reminds me a little of where I grew up.

Christmas Dinner at Church

2011-12-22T22:23:00.002-06:00

I think the girls thoroughly enjoyed the Christmas Dinner event at our church.
I don't know if it was the indoor "snow", that at first they were very unsure about,

but soon couldn't get enough of and didn't want to leave,

or if it was the hot chocolate,

or the yummy meal that they liked best?

Perhaps it was the gifts of Christmas story where all the kids gathered around.

Oh, I know! It was the music that they were so intrigued with,

so much so that they were moved to dancing.

They had a blast. I love the looks on my sweet girls faces and the joy in their hearts. They have such a love of life!

Cheekwood - Magic and Cookies

2011-12-21T22:04:00.004-06:00

We had been wanting to bring my parents to Cheekwood when they got back from their travels, so we brought them one Saturday when they had an event called the "magic" of Christmas.

The girls got to do a little craft and then we saw a magician. He was pretty good too.

A little odd, and the tricks were a bit old school, but he was good, we had fun and laughed a lot.

I think the girls were pretty impressed and loved it.
After showing Opa and Oma the train set up,

we went to the kids art building and the girls got to decorate cookies.

They even decorated one for Opa.

On the way out, they had books set up by the fire, so as the girls finished their cookies, Opa and Oma read some Christmas stories to the girls.

Being cozy by the fire, we thought it would be a good family photo opp.,

Then we headed to the car,

but first got a little more wiggles out with Opa,

We went off grounds for lunch, and then Oma and Opa went back for one of the museum concerts.

Silly Opa and Hailey were making the salt and pepper shakers be different animals! Hey, whatever keeps 'em entertained!
(I think that was a cell phone pic., so picture may come later, once downloaded to computer if I remember).
We had a lot of fun and cherish our time with Oma and Opa, and try and spend as much time as possible with them when they are in town!

My Birthday Celebration / Christmas Tree Decorating

2011-12-18T17:36:00.004-06:00

First thing in the morning on my birthday, Andy took me out to The Pancake Pantry for breakfast. I already knew exactly what I wanted, the peaches and cream rolled pancakes. That is until our sweet waitress brought me a birthday stack! It was delicious.

I not only ate the whole thing, but apparently made an art piece in doing so.

My birthday meal of choice was to have Taziki's, a Mediterranean/Greek food, which I had been craving for awhile.

Hailey was glad to be amongst all the adults,

and we were so glad that Aunt Holly was in town to celebrate with us!

Hailey insisted that I wear the birthday crown (even though it was too small and kept falling off),

Since we have so many birthdays and have so much cake, I chose a non-traditional type "cake". A cookie cake! I'd always wanted one.

Andy thinks its odd that the Voss' choose things like moon pies/flan/cookie cakes and pies instead of cake.... It was never a tradition, it just seems to have turned out that way. Sorry Andy, no white sheet cake for ~~you~~ me, but no one else seemed to mind,

My sweet girls helped me blow out the candles, they are pros at it by now, with all the family they help with birthday candles.

I think the girls were on quite the sugar high.

Especially Hailey, she decided to bounce all over the ottoman and give a solo birthday dance production.

Then both girls helped me open gifts.
I had such an amazingly blessed day. Hailey was full of hugs for me all day long and everything Tegan did was "fer you bir-day!" I especially liked when she said, "I poop in tow-let fer you bir-day!"

I had a wonderful Birthday with all my family!
Both Nate and Chris were actually able to be there! (with their work schedules, we normally only get one or the other)

Thanks babe, for such a great day!

Christmas Tree Decorating!
To top of my birthday celebration, we decorated our Christmas Tree, it was so fun, and declared a new tradition!
Backing up a bit, Hailey kept asking where the tree was. She was worried that there wouldn't be anywhere for her Angel to fly.
Daddy got frustrated with our tree and the lights, so when Hailey asked, he realized we needed a tree stat and he went out and got a real tree. We put it up and Tegan helped with the lights,

and then it just sat there for a few days.
Hailey would put up things like her thanksgiving necklace, a bracelet of bells, and even her angel that she so desperately needed to have on the tree.

So I am sure that you could imagine how happy she was to be able to have her "whole flamily" help decorate her tree!

Aunt Holly visits!

2011-12-16T23:01:00.003-06:00

Aunt Holly came to visit for about a week. She came in the evening of the 8th, Papa asked if Hailey and Kelly wanted to go pick Aunt Holly up at the airport. Hailey was super excited!! She jumped up out of bed from her 'rest time' and ran to her closet telling me, "I need a hat. To go to the airport, I have to wear a hat." Not sure where the idea of a hat to the airport came from, but it was cute, and needless to say, she picked one out... and posed herself for a picture,

Waiting for Papa to come get her,

I hear the car ride was quite fun while eating cookies and drawing signs for Aunt Holly.
At the airport, waiting for Aunt Holly's plane to arrive, finishing up their posters, (thanks for the pic. Papa!)

Hailey's poster,

Back at home, Tegan got herself ready for Aunt Holly's arrival and we headed over to Papa and Mawga's

Awe! Hailey loved being in Aunt Holly's arms!

Doing what we do best, eating and gabbing. Looks like TT hijacked Hailey's dinner and hat!

We loved having you here, Holl, and miss you already!

(There will be a few more pics of her visit throughout some more of our blog post activities!)

Uncle Nate's Birthday

2011-12-16T21:26:00.004-06:00

Yes, my brother and I share a birthday on the 9th, but we both got to have our own celebrations this year. Okay, I admit, I actually enjoy having a joint party with him and kinda missed not doing it this year, but it was also nice to do our own... even if we did both have a few little helpers.

For Nate's birthday we went down to his house on the 4th. (Little did we know, only 10 days later, we'd be celebrating the birth of his son!!). Funny that we both have a child so close to our birthdays!

Auntie Chris made dinner and a delicious dessert! The girls couldn't wait to dig in.

Uncle Nate let the girls help blow out the candles,

Although Tegan was all too eager to lick the candle, I'm not quite sure if she even waited for it to be blown out before grabbing it off and licking it clean!

The dessert was so good that Opa and Tegan also licked their plate clean

Thanks Opa,

Oma and Hailey enjoyed there's too, but were a bit cleaner about it,

Nate even let the girls help open his presents, no wonder they love a party!

While the girls were entertained, I think Daddy enjoyed relaxing!

We hope you had a great Birthday, Nate, and thanks for dinner and delicious dessert, Chris! We had a great evening with you guys and Mom and Dad!

Aaliyah's Princess Birthday

2011-12-16T15:02:00.002-06:00

We helped Aaliyah celebrate her 4th Birthday, princess style!

It was a princess party, and everyone could come in their princess attire.

Tegan had her Snow White dress on, and she went straight to the picture of Snow White when she got there,

then she realized there were non picture princesses and they helped make fun crafts like masks and crowns!

Hailey played in the castle,

and she couldn't stop talking about Rapunzel. She told me this was "the real Rapunzel," she even got to have Rapunzel's little chameleon friend, Pasca(?) on her shoulder,

She told Rapunzel, "I love the boats you made, they are really yummy!" I thought it was so cute that she thought Rapunzel made them. Apparently Aaliyah liked them too. Sorry, Mindy, for not getting credit for your jello boats! We'll give you the acknowledgement now.

Tegan and the crown she made,

Daddy got lots of necklaces from Tegan,

He might have been a bit on princess overload, but he loves spending time with his princesses!

Cake time!

They even had some live entertainment. Hailey was worried that Hook would tie her up like he did Peter Pan.

Aaliyah and her family and the awesome drama team from a local High School,

All the kiddos with the prince and princesses,

Happy Birthday Aaliyah! We had so much fun celebrating with you!

Afterwards, on our way to Uncle Nate's birthday (post to come), we drove by a house that was all lit up. The girls were so excited. Hailey said, "I want you to decorate our house like this one!" The family was still out there decorating, even after all this was up,

They encouraged the girls to look around and even go to the spot they set up to pose for a picture. The girls were so good, as always, about keeping their hands behind their backs.

Annual Mother-Daughter Tea - Cookie exchange style

2011-12-15T16:23:00.003-06:00

Hailey had to choose between going to the tea party at our good friend, Rainer's, or a birthday party for one of her friends from school. She said she really wanted to do both and she knew that it would be so fun at Rainer's, but that she wanted to go to the party where all her friends would be. I thought she handled the choice really well. So Daddy took Hailey to the birthday party, while Tegan and I went to the tea.
Tegan was glad to hold the cookies we made for the exchange,

these were our cookies, (Andy's favorite, so of course I made extra for him!)

Each girl had a little set up with a coloring book and other fun goodies. Hailey was thrilled that Ava and Ms. Rainer saved one for her too.

What a big girl, ~~gulping~~ sipping her tea,

Coloring and working on another art project, foam gingerbread houses!

The girls showing off their projects,

Some of the Mommy treats,

Hailey thought it was "so nice!" that we were able to bring some home for her too.
Thank you Ava and Rainer for another fun Mother/Daughter Tea, we always have so much fun! Ava is quite the little hostess in the making, of course she has great footsteps to follow in!

The birthday was at Pump It Up, Andy said that Hailey was super glad to have her Daddy at the party with her and they played on lots of inflatables together. I'm glad she got some Daddy time too!

No pictures, but the cake, which Hailey apparently had 2 pieces of, as well as 2 pieces of pizza! She said she wanted a cake like it for her birthday.

See why they were on a sugar high by the time we went to the parade!

Franklin Christmas Parade & Mini photo shoot

2011-12-14T16:39:00.004-06:00

We went Downtown Franklin for the Christmas Parade.
Tegan and Daddy are ready!

So is Hailey!

We were on one of the side streets rather than the aesthetically pleasing cute town street, but it was so much less crowded, it was great! We were front and center without anyone blocking our view.
We still got the "feel" of the old town via the parade itself,

Um, a walking patriotic Rudolph?

We reminded Hailey that when she was younger, before we had Tegan, we went to a parade with Oma and Opa and it was so cold her nose was red and her lips were even turning purple, so Daddy went to go get the car and we were going to leave, but Hailey would say, "Mo Pade, Mo Pade!" and didn't want to leave! ... Well, she still loves herself a good parade!

She liked waving to all the people and getting candy that was thrown out. I think she had a crush on the firemen...

I liked this fire truck,

Both Hailey and Tegan loved seeing Santa,

and Santa's workshop float,

Hailey liked the Skateboarders, of course.

She also would say, "look at that one!" at all the big trucks or "race cars".

Um... what about the dancers and girl stuff, Hailey? (not sure why I didn't get any pictures of the ones actually dancing?)

Tegan enjoyed it too. She loved to do a little waving and candy gathering as well, and enjoyed the floats and trucks.

Afterwards we walked around, and even attempted to get some cute pictures since there are so many great photo opp places, but the girls were on such a sugar high (Hailey went to a Birthday party earlier and Tegan was at a cookie exchange - post to come) that they just weren't into posing for pictures. They still managed to be kind of still and smile.

Santa letters and Santa visits

2011-12-10T16:03:00.013-06:00

Santa came for a visit here in our neighborhood. The girls were both excited. They wrote out their letters to Santa before visiting.

Hailey told me exactly what to write and even wrote some by herself. Tegan told me what she wanted and I wrote hers and filled in the blank for her.

I love the last sentence in Hailey's letter, it really shows her heart! "Thank you Santa for giving whatever you want to give me." Then she herself writes "I Love you. Love, Hailey".
She also drew a picture of Mrs. Santa for Mrs.Santa.

Waiting for their turn to see Santa,

Sharing their letters with him,

Tegan was fine showing Santa her letter, but she wouldn't sit on his lap. She was, however, okay with standing next to her Yay Yay.

Last week in school, Hailey got to make another letter to Santa because he was coming to a visit to her school too! They got to have Breakfast with Santa!!

(I love how everything she wants to leave Santa is Chocolate! Chocolate Milk, Chocolate Chip Cookies and Chocolate Treats! Sounds good to me!)
She was thrilled! She kept saying, "Santa is coming to (insert school)!" Then she said, "It will be super duper fun! It's the REAL Santa, the same one I gave my list, from the North Pole! I'll have much much fun!" She was so excited, to say the least.
Here she is, ready for Breakfast with Santa! (We were excited that the shirt we made last year with her hand prints and foot print still fits!)

Speaking of her preschool, here's her gingerbread house she made at school,

There's plenty more to come!

Miscellaneous November

2011-11-30T11:02:00.296-06:00

We had another busy month in November, just like any other month. However, the sickness bug hit our home for most of the month and we had an overlap of 2-3 weeks total that one or more family member was down for the count.
I actually had completely lost my voice for 3 days! It was about a weeks time of having a hoarse voice. That was quite interesting.

TN Ragnar Relay
Andy ran in the Ragnar TN Relay. The teams ran from Chattanooga to Nashville, a total of 196 miles
Here's his "Sisters & Misters" Team

Some of them at the start line at Coolidge Park in Downtown Chattanooga

Andy and his perfect foot striking run

The hand-off

Andy ran a total of 16 miles. He ran 3 legs consisting of 4.5 miles, 5 miles and 6.5 miles up and down hills in the dark and in the cold, one was at 9:30 p.m, then again at 5:30 a.m! I'm not sure how this sounds fun, especially since he wasn't feeling well the next days and ended up in the hospital with Pneumonia a few days after.
Super thankful to Hailey's bud Vivi's Mommy for picking Hailey up from school that day and so glad Andy's better now!

Running is Andy's new found 'hobby' and it gives him goals and motivation, so I support him. I really wish the girls and I could go out and cheer him on in more of his races. Maybe on the warmer and closer to home ones that aren't so early in the a.m.... wait, when are those ones?

Crafting
I got a little crafting done and made some cards for the Holiday Market in Rainer's neighborhood. We had a great time talking and catching up. Maybe a little too much talking because that night was when I lost my voice.
We are wearing the cute hats that Rainer made and Ava stopped by to model the headband for a bit.

some of the card sets I made,

At home play
Since it was hit and miss with everyone home sick, we had lots of time to play at home and get into mischief. Tegan heard it was "Spring Cleaning" and thought I needed to weed out my tupperware cabinet...again. She built a castle around herself and needed help to get out.

The girls played really nice together and loved cuddling for movies!

Or playing dress-up,

or picnics, (yes, Hailey is curled into a plastic container... seriously, I gotta get this girl into gymnastics!)

We all took turns being patients and doctors,

Hailey was even the doctor for all her "sick" Princesses and Lovies,

We tried some new hairstyles,

and did lots of coloring. Here are some of Hailey's projects,

This one is of Hailey and Daddy. She said the grass is orange because it wasn't watered. Andy is very particular about ~~his~~ our grass/landscape and it is always well taken care of, so I'm wondering who's grass it is? Maybe I'll have to ask her.

Not to leave Tegan out with her food creativity.

Potty Training and Big Girl Bed!
Having the big girl bed set up in Tegan's room must have worked, because after she saw Hailey in it, she decided she didn't want her crib anymore. We told her she needed to start going on the potty chair then and she'd be able to sleep in the big girl bed, so it all worked out fine that we were housebound because look who decided to try the whole potty thing!

I think having the two transitions at the same time of potty- training and big girl bed actually work hand-in-hand. We realized that with Hailey too. Tegan loves her big girl bed so much, she keeps wanting to go potty on the toilet so she can keep her bed.

It's so crazy, it seems like overnight our little girl had just blossomed. She uses more words in her sentences and responses, and communicates on a whole new level. It's as if now that she's a "big girl" by using the toilet and sleeping in a toddler bed, that she's gained a new confidence that brings out a new little girl in her.
She even wants to brush her own hair, "I do eet my-shellsh peas?" (Translation-"I do it myself, please?")

It's so fun to see what she'll say or do next.

Finally not sick!

On the days in between sickness, we did manage to make it to one play date over at our friend Hannah's house,

and over to Ava's house from school,

I also went out to a brunch with some friends from the Chicks in the Kitchen gals from my 1st MOPs group. Hailey was in school, but Tegan got to come with me. Such a lady.

Tegan time
Since we spent so much time at home this month, when the girls were better and Hailey was in school, I took Tegan out a few times,

This girl loves her Ketchup! "Mo Kep-up!"

She even got to sit in on a meeting. Little Ms. Head Honcho.

Hailey Time
I made sure Hailey got some time too. One day on the way to Awana, we stopped off to have dinner at Sonic. Since it was Wacky Pack Wednesday, I decided I'd get a cheap dinner for myself too. We parked the car and I went in the back seat to eat with Hailey. She was thrilled and loved that I was back there with her. It was so fun!

BFF Family
Thank goodness we were all better by Thanksgiving, and we were able to meet up with some of our BFF's that came into town. We met with Joy, Jeremy and Chandler at Chuck E. Cheese's, the girls loved seeing each other again!

Joy and I got to meet up for 'coffee' and a little Black Friday shopping. It was so good to catch up with her and have someone to share even our sad times with. Thanks again, Joy, for being there for me through the good times and the sad times.

Princess Belle & Muppetts Movie!

2011-11-30T11:01:00.171-06:00

A few weeks ago we went to Sweet CeCe's and got to see Princess Belle. Hailey even gave her a picture that she colored and asked Belle to show it to The Beast. Belle told Hailey they'd put it on their refrigerator. Hailiey was pretty excited about that!

Yum!

After our yummy frozen yogurt and fun visit with Belle we walked around Franklin and The Square. It was great to get out and get some fresh crisp air.

Another fun family outing was when we took the girls to go see The new Muppetts Movie one evening. Really cute. Of course we had to stash up on movie snacks first,

Posed with the Characters... or movie poster, whatever.

Got Popcorn and Soda.

Ready for the movie!

They both thought they were hot stuff, but Tegan was pretty tickled being snuggled between a big 'ol soda and popcorn that we all shared, and of course our nacho dinner.

Thanksgiving

2011-11-30T11:01:00.140-06:00

This year we went over to my parent's house for Thanksgiving. I was so happy that we had the 1 long table this year, that's how I always remember Thanksgiving being.

My Mom did a wonderful job of preparing,

Hailey even set up this arrangement with Oma when she had an overnight there a few weeks back, she was pretty proud and told me that she did it.

Of course there was a little kid table too, and my girls had to have their cabbage patch dolls eat with them (they are actually my cabbage patch kid dolls from when I was little! How cute is that! The girls love playing with them when they go over there).

The girls also got to use their Bunny Kins plates for the first time! These are very special, as my brothers and I each had a set that we got to use for every special occasion. My parents found a set for each of their grand kids and my girls got theirs when they were born, (or at the baby showers for them).
We got there early so that the girls could spend some time with Oma and Opa before they had to go down for some rest time.
They love their Oma and Opa! Oma had a surprise snack for them too, one of my childhood faves, frosting inside of graham crackers! Mmm! Hailey couldn't get enough.

Oma and Tegan catchin' some sun and chatting over tea, or juice. Not a typical November morning!

Opa helped Hailey put together a Lego Christmas Tree, it was a difficult one, but she stuck with it!

She even finished it when Opa was on a walk, and was so very proud to show him!

Nap time! The crib was put away, so Tegan got a 'big girl' bed... yeah naps didn't last too long, everyone started coming and it sounded like too much fun downstairs.

My parent's hosted my in-laws as well as my brother Nate's, so they had a full house!

Our Family

Opa and Oma (my parent's)

Papa and Gamma (Andy's parent's)

The Hensley's (Andy's sister and family) - Charles, Natalie, Shelley, Kelly

Nate, Chris and baby David to come (My brother and family)

David and Roxie (Chris' parents)

We ate, or should I say feasted!

(every year I take a picture of Andy's 7-layer Jell-O perfection).

(Chef Tegan approved)

We played,

The girls are playing "Jack-in-the-box" with Papa,

Uncle Chuck finally got Tegan to snuggle! A bribe of reading a story will do it!

Natknee and T.

and of course we relaxed, watched Elf and slept!

I am very thankful for all the yummy food, great fun and naps, but most of all, I am so very thankful to have my wonderful family! I am blessed beyond measure.

Thankful and Giving

2011-11-30T10:57:00.097-06:00

One day when we were doing a little ~~Spring Cleaning~~ Fall Cleaning, we asked Hailey to choose 2 lovies from her "lovie patch" to give to a child that didn't have many toys and would love to have a lovie. She came back to us with 4, then said she wanted to give 2 more, then left and came back with 2 more again... this continued until she came back with a total of 18! Hailey is much more giving than her Mommy, because there was a super special one in that bunch that actually belonged to me that I just couldn't part with, so I may have snuck it out of the bunch and put it in a certain memory box.
Hailey truly spoke her heart when she said, "It's fun to share my toys!" The cutest is when she said, "I want to give my heart," and she came back with a purple plush heart. (Hope that one was okay to give, Oma!)

Since this was around Thanksgiving, I figured this would be a good post to add Hailey's school stuff from her Thanksgiving week at school. She made this headband thing to wear on the day of her "feast", along with a thankful necklace. The things on her necklace that she was thankful for were: "my teachers", "my Buzz Light Year" and, I can't find it right now, but it was something to do with "my family".

Tegan wanted to show off her Thanksgiving hat too. Um... maybe she was saying she's thankful for Firemen?

Tegan is so goofy! This is what I get now when I try and take a picture...so I take what I can get. It tells the story of them. :-)

These were the little turkey cookies that I made for Hailey's feast. I wanted to have Hailey help me with them, but we just ran out of time. She loved them though and told me she liked handing them out to all her friends at school.

This was Hailey's Teepee she made at school, and loved to eat right after this. She gobbled the whole thing!

She even explained to me how she made it and got to take a bite from the top to put the pretzels in.

Operation Christmas
This girl loves to give! She was so excited to fill this box for a girl that wouldn't get anything at Christmas. She loved shopping and picking out lots of gifts to fill the box with. Then when we dropped it off she got to put it under the tree and asked when the little girl will get it.

We did the 'track on line' thing this year, so we'll see how that goes. We even got these really cool forms to fill out and tell the girl about Hailey and her family

Tegan looks up to her big sis so much, I am so thankful Hailey is such a sweet girl with such a giving heart as her role model. I am so blessed to have both of these girls to train up and love God and love others.

November Birthdays

2011-11-30T10:49:00.196-06:00

Vivi
We were so sad that we had to miss Vivi's Birthday (in Oct). Since Vivi is one of Hailey's BFF's from Preschool, we just had to make sure we made it up to the both of them, so we took them out for cupcakes! I was told that that girls talked about it all day at school and couldn't wait for us to pick them up. I would say they had fun running around and eating their yummy cupcakes, they even included little Teagie-Winkle! (and gave some kisses and lovin' to Vivi's baby sister too!)

Happy 4th Birthday, Viv! Better late than never!

Sophie
One of our really good friends, Sophie celebrated her 3rd birthday at Chuck E Cheese's! (This was the start of Hailey being sick, so she didn't get to go, but she was glad to go to Gamma-Papa's and rest, since Daddy was doing the TN Ragnar Race).
Sophie was adorable as always, and so excited that everyone was singing and clapping...

...that is until Chuckie came out! Poor girl about had a heart attach! Is it bad if I say it was actually pretty funny?

Here we go, cake makes everything better!

Tegan could've rode The Bob the Builder tractor the whole time! Oh wait, she pretty much did.

Sweet Friends!

Happy 3rd Birthday Sophie! I'm glad Tegan and I got to celebrate YOU!

Ella
Another dear sweet friend, Ella also turned 3! We got to go to her house and celebrate 3 little pig style!

Hailey and Birthday Ella,

Sophie and Tegan

Tricia had supplies for little houses set up for the kiddos to build, Hailey and Tegan both chose brick houses (smart girls!)

Hailey did pretty good at the blind-fold game,

and even won a trophy for a 3-way tie in the game.

Tegan was very turned around... wrong way T! But still so cute.

Mmm! Cupcakes!!

Pinata fun! This was a pull-string pinata, and everyone got a turn to pull a string off. The funny thing is that Hailey pulled the breaking string and candy came out, but she wouldn't pick up any candy because she was sad she didn't get a string! haha. We had to encourage the kids to pick up the candy, and even then, some was left on the ground. I'm sure that'll change in years to come.

Happy 3rd Birthday Ella girl!

Anna
Hailey's friend Anna from the 'hood (also known as her "womb mate" since her Mommy and I were pregnant at the same time) celebrated her 4th birthday at Let it Shine Gym.

So crazy that they are both turning 4 now! It doesn't seem that long ago that I was introducing myself to Courtney in our birthing class and finding out we were neighbors!
Hope you had a Happy 4th Birthday, Anna!

Uncle Chuck
I think he turned 20 or something like that. Well, let's just say 21 and make him legal. ;-)
Hailey was thrilled to celebrate Uncle Chuck. She even told him that she wanted to get him a tie for his birthday. She was pretty adamant about it. So we went to ~~Goodwill~~ er, a very high-end department store, yeah that's it, and let Hailey pick out a tie, but she said, "but I need a shirt to go with it, I told him I would buy him a shirt and a tie!" So we let her pick out both a shirt and a tie. She thought she was hot stuff and even went to the counter and paid for it herself too!

She wrapped it herself,

and was pretty thrilled with a job well done,

When he opened his gift, or just before, she said "See, just like I told you, a shirt and a tie!" Her hand movement was priceless! I'm not sure I could put it into words, but it was a clenched fist and a swing of the arm, kinda like a 'golly, gee, wiz' sorta movement. Silly girl! She was so proud!
I think he like it,

Tegan helped out too, she helped arrange the candles on the cake AND helped blow them out,

Kelly made the cake! Mawg made her special Chuck-Lovin'-Lasagna and Papa shared his ice cream and cake piece with Hay,

and Nat was just happy to be there,

(actually she was, she was very helpful and brought out the cake and even cleaned up dishes from the table. What a great Teenager!) Aunt Shell hosted and prepared the salad and Andy took pictures since I hurt my wrist. And I... I smiled and ate Lasagna and Cake!
We are so fortunate to have Charles as a fun-loving Uncle, Bro-in-law, and Friend! We hope you had a wonderful (whatever number) Birthday Chuckie!

Sleepover - Fail (but funny)

2011-11-21T09:30:00.000-06:00

Tegan has lost total interest in potty training. We have tried every kind of bribe; candy, chips, ears pierced, big girl panties, big girl bed, preschool... nothing works. She wants all those things, but is okay just knowing that she will get them someday. She will say things like, "No, I uh baby". "No, I wan my die-paw"
So, we decided to put a big girl bed in her room so that she would see what she would get. That somehow turned into Hailey having a "sleepover" in Tegan's room.
At first Tegan thought she actually was going to get to sleep in the "bir gull" bed too..

and was not happy when she realized that her sleeping arrangement was the crib. "No KiB!"

But like everything else, she cries for a second and then is in compliance to the no answer.

Hailey had been pretty excited she climbed right into bed and "fell asleep",

she even brought many friends from her lovie-patch to share the bed with her,

Tegan on the other hand, just wanted to play and talk.

So the sleepover lasted about 40 minutes. We heard them, well I guess Tegan, talking, and thought it was pretty cute.
We then find Hailey dragging all her bedding and lovies back to her room and she says, "I'm sneaking out 'cuz she won't stop talking and I'm trying to sleep. I lay there and be quite but she keeps talking and I don't say anything... I'm going to my own room."
I wonder if Tegan will still see the big girl bed as desirable??

A penny saved is Aladdin earned

2011-11-18T14:36:00.001-06:00

Hailey loves her coins. She loves her piggie bank. She loves to save. When she got $5 more from Oma and Opa, she decided she wanted to save enough to buy an Aladdin doll.

So I ordered Mr. Aladdin and when he arrived, we counted up her money and got out the amount she needed to pay for her doll... and she even had some to spare!

I think 'excited' is an understatement.

I wondered what the big deal was about Aladdin. She just said that she has a Jasmin doll but needed an Aladdin to go with her.
The first thing she did when she got Aladdin, was get Jasmin, an then, uh, first kiss?

Uh-oh. I think we're in trouble.
We had a special movie night that night. Jasmin and Aladdin waited by the fire with movie snacks as the girls got baths and jammies on...

but at least Hailey and Tegan were the chaperone's for the movie, Aladdin!

Dr. Seuss Baby Shower

2011-11-13T22:37:00.014-06:00

For Nate and Chris' couples baby shower, I thought it would be cute to do a Dr. Seuss theme, since that is how they are doing the nursery for baby David.
(So grateful to my friend Jenni who let me borrow Mr. Cat-in-the-Hat himself, thanks friend!)

I had 4 days to take down, clean up and recoup after our Halloween party, and shop, plan and decorate for the baby shower, no big deal, right? Well, did I mention Hailey was home sick from school that week and then Tegan and I got sick too? Oh, yeah, and Andy had his Ragnar Relay race, so he wasn't home, AND did I mention I had cards to make for the following day to sell at a Holiday Market? (blog post to come later on that). I would have never been able to pull it off if it wasn't for the help of my parents and my prayers to God!
The girls were thrilled to go to Oma and Opa's for an overnight... so it gave me all day Friday and Saturday morning to shop, decorate and prepare. Thanks guys! The girls had a blast!

The adorable invitation
(created by: Photographer Designz)

The proud soon-to-be-parents,

Here are some decorations,

The food table,

which consisted of;
Green eggs and ham, (thanks to my Dad for helping me finish the eggs!!)

My mom made and brought fruit bruschetta and a veggie tray,

I made some Marshmallow Seuss hats,

we had Red Fish (for One Fish, Two Fish, Red fish, New Fish),

Yummy punch with fun straws,

and Thing 1 and Thing 2 cupcakes

As for the games, here's the game table and prizes,

We started off with the pin game, if you said the word 'baby' or 'boy' you got your Dr. Seuss pin taken away. Then it was baby food, diapers and clean up!
First off, the baby eats...guess what kind of baby food?

Secondly, the baby poops...what is in this diaper? Gross!

Lastly, you gotta clean up! So the "Winner takes ALL", guessing the coins in the baby bottle, the person who guessed the closest got to take home...ALL (laundry detergent!) and Baby David has some coins to start off his savings!
We also wrote creative names on the butt of the diapers for when David is crawling around, for example,

I forgot to get a picture of all the completed diapers, but I remember my favorite was the "ipooped" and the "Hi Oma!"
Oh yeah, and the yarn game. Cutting a piece of yarn to what you think was the size of Chris and her belly... the catch, since it was a couples shower, it was not only the length around Chris and her belly, but of Nate too!
All in all, I think it came out how I expected, and that everyone had a good time.

Even Chris' family back home in Nebraska, via Skype, who stayed for the party!

Everyone got to leave with a few swirl pops and a mini Seuss notebook,

Haircuts and Boots

2011-11-11T21:39:00.003-06:00

Poor 'lil Hailey, the day after Halloween she slept in and we let her be an hour late to preschool. We just thought it was Halloween Hangover, but she ended up being sick. We kept her home from school on that Wednesday and she was a bit better the next day, but we kept her home again anyway. We were getting a little stir crazy, so Mawg wanted us to go get the girls haircut.
Here's the before, (wow, I guess I should have at least brushed their hair?!)

and the after, in the same spot.

But, since you can't see Hailey's very well, here's another after, (once we got to the mall, and Hailey applied some of Mawg's lipstick).

Hailey wanted hers short like Grandma's, we compromised and told her we'd get it cut shoulder length.
"Um, shorter, please"

"Sassy Diva", yup, describes her well!

The girls loved getting the extra glitz,

I think Tegan likes her new haircut, what do you think? (I love this picture, it shows her little personality)! She bounces around and says, "Zoop Zoop"... still trying to figure out what that means.

The girls were good (despite Hailey crying for Daddy because she wanted her hair shorter, but we chalked it up to be her still being under the weather), and so Mawg spoiled them. We even went to the mall afterward and the girls got new boots! Stylish boots! Thanks Mawg!
The girls loved them! Hailey was having her own little fashion show.

and Tegan wanted in too,

New Boots! New 'do!

I tell ya, new shoes and a new 'do gives you a new 'tude! Hailey had to ~~walk~~ strut like 10 steps ahead of us, she was Ms. Independent! Off to lunch we go.

Little Ms. T had a strut in her walk too, as Hailey did a little window shopping.

Miscellaneous October

2011-10-31T23:59:00.003-05:00

Amongst the many other October activities I already blogged, here are some other things that I never got around to blog.
Time with Friends
Mary and Sophie came over one day and Tegan and Sophie got to hang out for a bit at our house and around the 'hood,

Our friends Gabby and Frank came over for dinner one night with their 3 boys. We hadn't seen them in-for-ever! So it was great catching up with them. Their boys are stinkin' adorable. Not only are they cute, but they are such sweet fun-loving boys with such personality! My girls loved 'em!

My girls loved to have friends to play in the dirt with!

The twins,

Hailey even got a kiss on the cheek from Cole! What a gentleman.

We got to watch Harrison one day. It was perfect weather so we walked around, collected leaves for a "leaf" drawing, ran around playing chase and then met Rainer at one of our neighborhood parks and had a picnic lunch.

Tegan: " My hiding!" ... my thoughts: hiding, or pooping?

We had more time with them when they came over one day to help in any way needed. What an amazing friend Rainer is! She helped me clean out and purge stuff in the play room, while Tegan and Harrison played in the bounce house and had snacks, then we treated them to an Oscar's lunch... where, on the way out, we ran into Daddy!

We also had our friends the Herrington's over for dinner one night. The girls had a fun time playing dress up/princesses and letting down Rapunzel's hair.

Baptism
Andy didn't want me to make a big deal out of this, that's why it's 'lumped in,' (and why his parent's didn't know until the night before) but on the 8th of October, Andy got baptized at our church.

Afterward we went out to eat with his parents, and Hailey made sure she asked Mawg for some lipstick! Tegan could care less about the makeup since there was chips and dip around.

Around the town, neighborhood and home.
Home Depot
I took the girls to Home Depot one day, (Yes Dad, I, your daughter, took your granddaughters to Home Depot, aren't you proud)! I took them to the kids workshop there and they each got to make a Fire Rescue Helicopter. They got a completion certificate and a achievement pin for their aprons too! (They were out of aprons though, so we'll have to get one next time). While using the hammer Hailey said, "I already know how to use this tool, Opa showed me how."

Tegan reading the directions before she starts,

Safety Fair
We had a couple of nice days, so the girls enjoyed riding their bikes down to the safety fair in the neighborhood. Hailey saw a demo of a car spinning with the people (dummies) not having seat belts (it was kid friendly), and now she makes sure we know its not just "beginst the law," but it's dangerous to not wear your seat belt.

Since it was so nice, the girls wanted to have lunch on the porch.

Dora's Halloween
We went to the movie theater in our neighborhood to watch the Dora's Halloween movie. Tegan loves her Dora! It's so cute to hear her interact. Hailey was always the quite observer type, but Tegan likes to respond.

McDougals
We love McDougals. I think Hailey likes it because she won a duck once. We told her you won't always win, but she still likes to bring her coins and try a few times.

Silly Girls
The girls found a new hiding place when we play hide and seek,

Tegan found a toilet paper roll to keep her busy for awhile,

Hailey decided she really needed some beauty rest,

One of Hailey's drawings,

Tegan!

Benefit Concert
Our good friends, Mark and Lindsey are in the process of adopting internationally, so we went to a benefit concert and auction for them. The girls had a great time running all around!