Nutcracker

Sydney "performed" in her first ballet last weekend! She was an adorable peppermint patty and did a beautiful twirl up on stage. To celebrate the special occasion, her fan club went out to dinner before heading to the show. Mimi and Papa took a side trip on their way to drop Reid off at Uncle Doug and Aunt Cecilly's for a play date (thank you again!!). :)

This is Miss Natalie and she is really sweet with the kids. They were SO EXCITED to be on stage!

All She Wants for Christmas

Mommy: What are you going to ask Santa to bring you this year?

Sydney: A princess monkey.

Mommy: Wow, that sounds cool. I've never seen one of those. What does a princess monkey look like? 

Sydney: You'll see when Santa brings it on Christmas day.

That's our girl... why pick out a toy from the toys 'r us catalog when you can dream up a perfectly fun princess monkey! We only hope Santa's vision of this toy is the same as Sydney's. :)

Brown County

Last weekend was our annual trip we take in the fall,

Being with family we had such a ball!

 Namaw, Aunt Pat, and Uncle Phil were part of the crew,

Uncle Bunny, Aunt Anna, and Evelyn were there too.

The leaves were the perfect spot for outside play,

While the rest of us hung by the firepit all day.

Early to bed and early to rise, 

This booth in the kitchen was just the right size.

A game of Balderdash made us all laugh so hard,

We never knew what word we'd get on the card!

 Relaxing family time is just what we needed,

"Let's stay FIVE nights!" Sydney pleaded.

Thank you, Namaw, for treating us like royalty,

We are incredibly blessed to have such a great family!

Howdy Partners!

We hope ya'll had a galloping good Halloween and all of your neeeigh-bors gave you lots of treats!

 

Wizard of Oz

Mimi and I had a girls night last Friday with Sydney, Natalie, and Libby. We started out at the girls' favorite spot, Chick-fil-a, before we headed down to the children's theatre to see The Wizard of Oz. It was such a fun show and we topped the night off with an ice cream stop! :)

Murder Mystery Night

A big THANK YOU to Namaw for watching the kids so that Andy and I could enjoy a very late night out with friends!  We dressed in our finest resort wear and headed to a friend's home to help solve the mystery of murder in margaritaland. We were each given roles in the mystery ahead of time. Everyone took their roles very seriously and had the best time! Andy was elderly millionaire, Thurston Howard III, while I was his gold-diggin' fiance, Candy Cotton. It was an evening of murder, mystery, and many margaritas!! ;)

Coney Island

Glamour Girl

Bringing in the trash cans has never looked so glam!

Down on the Farm

We celebrated Sydney and Reid's birthdays down on the farm.

Our family and friends joined us for pony rides and a party at Parky's Barn!

Click on the picture to see a larger version of the collage!

Birthday Traditions

Sydney helped to make and decorate Reid's birthday cake this year. She also picked out her own present to give him (a book about safari animals). She was a great birthday helper!

 Here she is enjoying the fruits of her labor!

FOUR

Sydney turned FOUR today! She is the most beautiful girl, inside and out, that we know. Her sassiness has become pure sweetness. We celebrated her special day with lunch out and a 3D movie!

Four words to describe Sydney:
loving, imaginative, bright, strong-willed :)

Four things that she loves do:
play with baby dolls, dress up, dance, and play outside

Four favorite foods:
strawberries, mac 'n cheese, pineapple, and oranges

Four things we are especially proud of:
her kind heart, patience with her brother, polite manners, independence

Happy Birthday, boo-boo!! We love you so soooo much! :)

Bassmaster

Daddy recently brought home the "largest bass" title from a recent fishing tournament. We were so proud of him!

TWO

Two years ago today, our precious Reid was born. We are so blessed to have this sweet little cuddler in our family. He makes us smile and laugh every day. He is a content, clever, fun-loving little guy that has an infectious giggle and absolutely adores his big sister. He loves his snugglies, tooties (cookies), books, choo-choos, pudding and any/every kind of sports ball. We are so lucky to be your mommy and daddy, Reid, and we love you very much.

Chillin' and a Grillin'

Grandma, Aunt Anna, Uncle Bunny, and Evelyn came over for a cookout a few weekends ago. The weather was perfect, the kids had a ball, and it was fun to enjoy a relaxing Sunday evening together.

Back to School

Sydney had her first week of preschool last week!

 This fun, sassy girl lights up our world. :)