Oh What Fun!

This is our Christmas card. We had a great time doing our very own family photo session. My sister, Jamie, acted as my "second shooter" for the group shots and my mom played the role of cattle (er..baby) wrangler.  Also thought you might like to see some of the stuff that ended up on the cutting room floor!

Hope everyone had a beautiful, magical Christmas. I'll post pictures from our family Christmas soon!

Criss-Cross Apple Sauce

Yum!!!!

The Candy Cane Story

I ate my first candy cane the other day. And I really liked it! I was helping mom crush candy canes for peppermint bark and she let me have one for myself.

While I enjoyed eating my candy cane, Mom told me about how candy canes are a candy that we enjoy at Christmas because they have special meaning. Mom couldn't remember all of the special things about candy canes, however, so she looked it up. I thought you might like for me to share it with you:

"There once was a candy maker who wanted to make a candy that would be very special for Christmas. He decided to make a candy cane because he knew he could include a lot of signs and symbols to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas.

            He began with a stick of pure white hard candy. He used white as a symbol that Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary who was always so pure and holy. He made it hard and crunchy to symbolize the solid rock on which the church is founded.

            He bent over the top of the candy cane to make a hook like a shepherd’s staff. He remembered that Jesus called himself “The Good Shepherd” The candy maker remembered too that the first people who come to worship Jesus at the manger after he was born were shepherds. Then the candy maker looked at his candy cane and thought it looked a little plain. “It needs some color,” he said. Something red,” he thought. “That will give it Christmas look!” So, he began to stain the white candy cane with red stripes. First, he put on three thin red stripes. You see, he remembered that Jesus went through terrible torture before he died and was whipped across his back. The candy maker decided that the red stripes on the candy cane would remind everybody that Jesus shed his blood for us when he died on the cross on Good Friday.

            The candy maker was doing well with his candy cane. He had a lot signs of Jesus in there but he wasn’t satisfied. Then he began to pray, “Dear Jesus, help me to make my candy cane show the true meaning of Christmas.” Then suddenly the candy cane slipped from his hands. It fell upside down on the floor. When he looked, he noticed that the candy cane was no longer a candy cane, but it was the letter “J”. It stands for “Jesus.” Jesus is really what Christmas is all about."

(p.s. Mom got this from this website)

More from the Bahamas

Congratulations to Hector & Anna! Thank you for including us in your special day!

Ho Ho Ho!

Guess who I saw yesterday? I'll give you some clues. He wears red, he has a beard, and his belly shakes like a bowl full of jelly.

SANTA CLAUS!!!!

(Did you guess right?)

When we got in line to see Santa I was really excited to see him. I spotted Santa right away and pointed to him and said "Santa!" When it came down to actually meeting him, I was a little wary, however. I didn't freak out but I would have preferred that my dad sit on Santa's lap with me.

Still, I can't wait for Santa to come to our house in a few days!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

(Prepare yourself for picture overload)

We are a little late to the game but our family is finally getting in gear for Christmas. We picked out our tree this weekend and Mom and Dad decorated it. I helped put my choo choo ornament on the tree. I also helped take some ornaments back off the tree. Mom has been wrapping presents and Dad put lights on the outside of our house.

Mom told me all about the nativity in our house and who the people in it are. My favorite part is  the sheep. Mom has also been making lots of goodies for office parties and to take to my teachers. Yummmm!

We are so excited for our family to come stay with us for Christmas. Less than two weeks to go!

Our tree...

Decorated...

Oooooh Aaaaah....

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care....

Mom's peppermint bark...

The chocolate dreidels Mom made for her office party...

Mom made me include this picture to commemorate the purple ornament. Unfortunately, it is no longer with us. You might be able to guess why...

Discovering the tree with all of its decorations...

Playing in the snow for the first time this year...

In case you're wondering, it was not quite cold enough for the snot to freeze...

Extended Family = Extended Love

(mom blogging)

We spent Thanksgiving this year with some of our extended family in Minnesota, including Adam's aunt and cousins. Although we both have only one sibling, Adam and I count ourselves lucky to have such large extended families including aunts and uncles, cousins, step sisters and brothers, grandparents, friends and many more. The way we see it, the more people in our family, the more love there is to go around! We hope Max will grow up knowing how very many people love him!

While we were in Minnesota, I got the chance to take some pictures of our extended family. We always have so much fun with these guys. It's now wonder -- Just look at how happy they are!

Greetings from the Bahamas

(mom blogging)

Actually, we are not in the Bahamas anymore (where we are, it is about 10 degrees outside and that's an improvement), but we were in the Bahamas and it was fantastic. I am way behind on my blogging. I have an engagement shoot, a family shoot, and a wedding all to share with you! Plus you'd probably like to see some pictures of Max sometime, huh?

That brings me to the Bahamas. We travelled to Exuma last weekend for my stepsister Anna's wedding. Everything was gorgeous: the island, the wedding, the weather, the bride. All of it. I have so many pictures to share but so little time as we get ready for the holidays! To start with, I'll share these shots of the wedding's littlest participants.

Hang in there. I have so much more to come!

Lellow

Lellow = Color/Crayon/Yellow. Take your pick. I love my lellows.

(See all my lellows!)

("Lel-low")

(Giving my lellows a kiss)

(Using my lellows like a pro)

Sharks and stuff

Yeah, yeah

I know I need to update. We've been super busy. Soon, I promise!

Apple Holler 2009

Last year when we went to Apple Holler,  I was just a baby and I hung out in my baby bjourn the whole time. This year, I was running! And this year was extra special because we had special visitors with us: Grandude & Grandma Sherry! They came to visit us last weekend and brought the nice Alabama weather with them.

I had a great time running around at Apple Holler. We saw goats and a llama (no seriously). And I played on the playground. My favorite thing was to sit inside the green train. I could have sat there all day. Mom and Dad said they'd never seen me so still. I also got to do pumpkin bowling. Have you ever been pumpkin bowling? If not, you should. It is fun (and fun is good).

We had a great weekend with Grandude and Grandma Sherry. Thanks for coming to visit us, guys! Come back soon!

Gymnastics

Several weeks ago Mom and I started going to gymnastics on Saturday mornings. Even though I'm the youngest kid in my class, I have a great time running around the gym, climbing and jumping and sliding. Oh what fun! This weekend was "camera week." Mom had Dad come with us to help me out so she could take some pictures of me doing my gymnastics. What do you think? Am I gold medal material?

Foam Pit

Obstacle Course

Balance Beam

Rings

Trampoline

High Bar

Goooo Gymnastics!

Trick or Treating

My favorite part of trick or treating was climbing up the steps to each house and ringing the doorbell. Somehow, we never got a picture of that. Oh yeah, and the candy. I liked the candy too.

p.s Happy Birthday, Dad!!