Christmas Dinner

Since Caroline wasn't going to be with me on Christmas day, I decided I was going to distract myself by making an extravagant meal for my family. I wasn't going to go to the grocery store, though, until Christmas Eve afternoon when Caroline was already gone...I was gonna trade one headache for another!! Well, the snow drift up against my garage was up to my waist, and no one on my block could even get into the alley! (I actually couldn't get my car out unil the 27th, and even then I got stuck...twice...trying to get out of the alley and a great neighbor helped me out!) Also...my brother was working, sister in law was out of town, dad had Christmas Eve service at the church he works out and my mom couldn't get her little car out...so there wen't my fancy meal!! Well...I still had a frozen turkey in the freezer, so out it came! I pulled enough together from my pantry to do a stuffing (even though I didn't end up liking it...), mashed potatos, green bean casserole and ginger carrots. Not too bad!

Christmas (eve) Morning!!!

Santa came a day early to my h0use! I let Caroline sleep in my room the night before so she didn't wake up and walk into the living room without me being able to enjoy watching her:) She got an easel, a digital camera, some movies, some books and a bunch of little stuff from Santa. He decided to not go too overboard this year....I must say, I was very proud of him!! hahaha

She also enjoyed opening presents from Mommy and showing each and every one of them off for the camera....here is a sample!!

SNOW!!!!!! After Santa stuff, breakfast and opening presents, we went outside to enjoy the snow! Caroline enjoyed making snow angels and starting on a snowman. Once she sprayed water in my face from the spray bottle we had out there, I decided we were going to have a short snowman and call it a morning!!!

Cookies for Santa

Santa came to our house a day early, so on the night of the 23rd Caroline and I decided to bake cookies for santa. We made some yummy oatmeal raisin cookies and banana, chocolate chip, coconut muffins (sounds strange...but they were great!).

Caroline also got to open a present that she could wear that night...new PJ's and house shoes!

Christmas at Jimbo's

The kiddos also had a great time at Jimbo's house. Caroline got a bike and was a natural!! We had to drag Zoe kicking and screaming out of her car to go eat!

Christmas at CoCo's

We had Christmas at CoCo's house with me and Caroline and Jace, Cyndi and the babies. Pop also came over. We had a great time opening presents and eating dinner.

New House

Starting to Feel Like Christmas

Getting into the Christmas spirit!! Caroline had fun making a gingerbread house again this year. She is so OCD, though, that everything had to be in a perfectly straight line and in patterns. She would not just throw the candy on there...she is SO my child!!

We also went to the Nutcracker, like we have every year since I was Caroline's age. She did much better this year than she did last year! She is now pretty insistent that she is going to become the Sugar Plum Fairy! CoCo gave Caroline a nutcracker before we went.

We didn't have much time afterwards for her to meet all of the cast, but she got to meet a few of the dancers...and she loved it!!

Basketball...

So everyone knows I'm a bit (yes...understatement) obsessed with sports. Well, this time of the year is my absolute FAVORITE!! Basketball season is underway, football games are still going on...perfect!! Caroline and I went to the TTU v. Washington game...yes, just the two of us! We sat right in the middle of a bunch of students and had a blast. Caroline wanted to rush the court with everyone else, but I had to be the responsible mom and say no:) She loves going to the games...she knows the difference between offense and defense and can switch out what she is screaming during the game...I am SO proud!! hahaha

Looks like the Red Raiders are going to have a pretty good team this year. I'm excited for Big 12 play to start and we'll see what happens! We are definately already better than I expected us to be this year.

November

Well...November was a little crazy! Caroline and I got moved into my new duplex, which I really like! My house was supposed to close 2 days after I moved in, and after 2 weeks of struggles, it all completely fell through...LONG story, but I am now a proud renter AND home owner!!! SO.....if anyone knows anyone who is looking for a cute starter home, let me know!! haha

Caroline and I are really loving the new kitchen....it has a good size island and we've been able to spread out and cook even more than we usually do!

Had a fun girl's night in November...always so fun to hang out with these ladies:):)

October

Caroline is back in dance class and loving it! Her class had a family viewing night in October.

Caroline got moved up to the Pre-K in October also. At Miss Robin's Day School, the day care is in one building and the Pre-K is across the street in a separate building. They have a more structured lesson time and it is more like real school. Caroline was SO excited to move to the "big kid school" across the street, and has been doing great in her new class!! It is absolutely amazing to see how much she is learning!!

A contract finally came on the house...so packing began! As most people know, we were moving into two separate houses, so organizing while packing was important!!

For Halloween Caroline dressed up as her favorite book character, Fancy Nancy!

And had fun at Trunk or Treat up at Monterey with a bunch of her friends!!