Easter 2013

It's been several weeks since I've blogged. I have a lot to catch up on but before I even figure out where to begin with all of that I think I should blog about our Easter celebrations before summer has come and gone. (Time really feels like it's going by that fast!) And you know the worst part about this trying to catch up stuff? I actually started this post about a week ago and am just now getting to finish it.

So, before I get sidetracked again here's Easter. . .

We made Spring time sugar cookies for everyone. Taylor loves anything to do with baking or helping us cook so she was thrilled when I told her she could decorate the cookies all by herself.

It wouldn't have been Easter without our traditional Bunny Cake. I think I look forward to making this more than Taylor does. I love that we have a tradition to look forward to every Easter and that hopefully one day she will pass it along to her kids.

Her favorite part has always been coloring the coconut green to look like grass. We used a 'Funfetti" cake this year so when we cut into it, the bunny would look like it swallowed jelly beans!

Dying eggs gets so much fun as Taylor gets older. She can do most of it by herself now without a lot of the eggs cracking. And now that she can write a few words she was showing us how to write the words on the eggs. I don't think I got a picture of it but she snuck off to the stairs with one egg because DJ and I weren't allowed to see what she wrote. When we took it out of the dye we saw she had written "Mom" and "Dad". This girl really knows how to melt my heart :o)

The Easter Bunny always hides her basket. A few years back we saw the Easter Bunny at the Gymnastics egg hunt and she still hasn't recovered. She was so terrified that the bunny would come into her room while she was sleeping so I told her the bunny may just have to leave her basket on the front porch. 

The Easter Bunny sure did good this year though! A new helmet, swim suit, sidewalk chalk, a four-square ball, a few summer clothes and some candy.

Taylor is getting better every year about hunting for Easter eggs but she still over looked quite a few! The past two years the weather has been nice enough to hunt for eggs outside and I hope that continues for years to come! 

I'm so glad I got a picture of Taylor and her beautiful Aunt Jessica. Soon we'll have an extra little girl in all of our pictures :o)

Funniest part of our Easter celebration was when Taylor convinced Great Grandma to jump on the trampoline with her. It was Great Grandma's first time on a trampoline ever and DJ was so scared she was going to get hurt!

It's amazing how this little girl can sweet talk anyone to getting up on the trampoline and jumping with her

We had such a nice Easter. It doesn't get any better than a day full of good family, good food and good weather!

Merry Christmas

From our house to yours we'd like to wish you a very Merry Christmas!

And. . .

Santa came to our house last night and we were able to capture it on camera for Taylor!

I think we may have surprised him just a little!

But now Taylor has proof that Santa can get into the house even though we don't have a fireplace!

I hope everyone enjoys the magic of Christmas as much as we are!

Here We Go A Caroling . . .

Not really. We didn't exactly go caroling unless Taylor and I singing along to Christmas carols in the car counts.

Every year before Christmas we take Taylor out to see Christmas lights. There were some pretty amazing lights this year.

My favorite was the house of one of her teachers. On the last day of school Ms. Chris gave us all directions to her house and told the kids if they went to her house and found their names in her decorations they would get a prize when they came back to school.

How cute is this?!? Just one more reason why we love her teachers as much as we do. Every student in class is listed on Santa's list here. When we got back in the truck Taylor asked us how Ms. Chris knew Taylor had been a good girl. :o)

I loved the little Gingerbread Village at this house!

I want a Mater blow-up for our yard now!

This last house we went to is always amazing. He has decorations spanning from one end of his yard to the next. I couldn't even get it all in one picture.

   

Now today we are getting ready for our traditional Christmas Eve gathering at our house and waiting for Santa to come. I can't wait to see what he brings this year :o)

Here Comes Santa Clause

Taylor was so excited to go see Santa. We went to the Bass Pro Shop again and I was excited to see that it was the same Santa she's seen for the past two years. Now when she looks back on the pictures she won't ask why Santa has changed so much!

Every year we get a picture of Taylor in front of this old red truck. I love it!

While you wait for Santa they have a whole slew of things to keep the little ones occupied!

Taylor was so excited to see Santa this year. She does have one concern though. Taylor thinks that because we don't have a fireplace Santa will just bypass our house. DJ told her that Santa has the code to get into the house through the garage and I told her that if he forgets the code he has magic powers.

I love that he is listening so intently as she tells him she'd like a pink Barbie Razor scooter and fake long nails for Christmas.

I'm glad this isn't on her Christmas list this year!

The girl version of A Christmas Story!

 "You'll Shoot Your Eye Out!"

Santa text me the other night when a certain Miss someone was misbehaving and told me that she better be careful not to get on the naughty list! I felt a little bad afterwards because I didn't think she would react so strongly to it. She sat strait up and was on her best behavior the rest of the night. The next morning she even asked me to text Santa again and tell him that she was being very patient and acting like a good girl. This is such a fun age! (I made a contact in my phone named Santa Clause and used my own phone number. I can just send a text to myself and delete some of them to make it look like Santa and I are having a real conversation. I got the idea off Pinterest). :o)