Parade of Champions

in a daze... just up from her nap :(

Daddy and Mr. Loochie in the paradewatching the Cavalettes dance! The Cavalettes were the opening act in the Rose Bowl Parade this year! watching the fireworks show!

Hello 2012

Ryan & I laughed, cause apparently we are old and boring! We were happy to stay at home with our girl for New Year's! We finished off the sparklers from last year and the ones left from our wedding (almost 5 years ago) and they still worked! Then we put the munchkin to bed and stayed up to look for Katie on Time Square! It was nice to wake up feeling good on New Year's day and to go to church that morning.

Our little bride!

I saw this cute idea on pinterest and just had to do it! You're supposed to photograph your daughter in your wedding dress, so she can use the picture at her wedding! So when we were home for Christmas, I got out my dress and snapped a few pictures. She's such a ham, here lately I get a lot of cheesey smiles and less of the sweet smiles that I love!

The Lights of Lakeway

Loving the Lights!We took our 3rd annual trip to the Trail of Lights in Lakeway...which happens to be right by our house! It was sooo cold, but we had fun. We have to drive by the light everyday on our way home, so Addison wanted to go look at the lights everday! It's hard to believe that Addi was just a little baby the first time we went to look at the lights and now she's a big girl!

Christmas Morning

This year, we came back home Christmas Eve night so we would be home for Santa Claus Christmas morning. Addison is old enough now that Christmas is lots of fun! She left Santa some of Mick Mick's animal cookies and some choc milk. Her big gift this year was a Jeep. I decided on a blue one, mostly cause I'm not a huge fan of the Barbie Jeeps and we are going to decorate the blue one with removable stickers! Here it is, the middle of Jan. and I am still explaining that Christmas is OVER and we are not opening anymore presents! Christmas has spoiled my child into wanting a new toy everyday! The little toot still wants to sing Rudolph and Frosty everytime we get in the car.

JESUS: what Christmas is all about

On the way home tonight I was talking to Addison about the presents she got and how Santa Claus was going to come to her house tonight. Trying to explain (over and over) the whole Santa Claus thing is pretty exhausting, but I asked Addi if she had been a good girl, cause Santa only brings presents to good boys and girls. She immediately started to whine and said she had been a bad girl! Of course, I felt bad and explained to her that she had been a good girl and Santa would bring her presents. Then I started feeling bad because I don't want Christmas to be all about presents and Santa Claus.
I was telling Addi how tomorrow is baby Jesus' birthday and that is why we sang "happy birthday" to him tonight. Then she asked me where baby Jesus was and if we were going to have a cake for his birthday. I told her that he was in Heaven because he lives there. She said, "I want to go see him!" After explaining that it is really far away and we will see him when we are older, I told her that we could talk to him. So I told her that we could pray. So we prayed for our sick friend to get better (because Jesus can make sick people feel better) why? (because he loves us and he is smart and strong). Then all of the sudden Addi started to cry (we are driving) and I asked her why she was crying. She says," I want to take Holly with me to Heaven". I told her that when it's time to go to Heaven she can take Holly (her stuffed cow) with her "{by this time I am crying...driving in the dark rain!} Then she asks when she is going to see baby Jesus (I say he's gonna come again one day) she says (I think he should stay at our house). I laughed and said that would be okay (she says she will give baby Jesus crackers, play ponies, and they can play Angry Birds). I can't remember how it came up, but she she said something about wings and I said when it was time to go to Heaven she would have wings... she says "good so me and Holly can fly to Heaven and see baby Jesus".
This year has had some big "ups" and some big "downs" and we have lots of wonderful presents and a big wonderful family that we have shared many memories with, but I think my favorite part of Christmas this year was having that conversation with my 2.5 year old. She might not fully understand CHRISTmas but she has such a big sweet heart and no matter what happens I know that one day she (and Holly the cow) will be in Heaven with baby Jesus...maybe they will be playing Angry Birds...who really knows... I'm just thankful that my family loved me enough to tell me about baby Jesus, so that I can tell her about him.

May you all know the real reason for the season, Merry Christmas.

We have a very exciting week ahead of us! We beat Pearland Dawson Friday to advance to the state championship game this Friday at Cowboy's Stadium! Poor Ryan (and the other coaches) have been working tirelessly for months to get to this point and this week they are working twice as hard to ensure a victory. Ryan goes in early, works late, and his laptop is alway infront of him (watching film). The boys have worked hard too :) I don't think anyone really understands just how much work goes into a single football season. We are so lucky that the parents and administrators here really notice all the hard work. Throughout the year parents cook meals for the coaches and always offer heartfelt thank-you's for all their hard work. They also acknowledge all the sacrifices their families make too :) I just can't wait to see all that hard work pay off when we make history and become the only team in state history to win 5 championships in a row. This could be a record that my hubby will be a part of...one that might never be broken again...pretty cool!