Joys of the Season

For Thanksgiving we were blessed to have Megan, AnneMarie and AnneMarie's mother join us. Here are our place markers/holders for the table:

SJ enjoying a taste of cookie salad:

And now the countdown is on for Christmas! Here is the countdown I made with toddler mittens. Each day there is a treat inside one to enjoy. MJ LOVES it!! Oh how holidays are so much fun to enjoy with children around. They truly show the excitement we all feel.

Holiday it up with Shutterfly

About 3 years ago Shutterfly and I met. I started by creating photobooks through their site, and also have moved onto making calendars, magnets and now Christmas cards!! I truly have loved every project I have made through their site and I am also beyond impressed with the quality of the product when it arrives. Through their photobooks, calendars and other products I am able to preserve the precious memories of our growing family. We have already pulled out each of the photobooks I have made various times to reflect and remember. You can also use their site to create your digital scrapbooks. Through Shutterfly and Photoshop Elements I have been able to create photobooks that have been completely customized! In the following post I have posted one of the photobooks that I created by using Shutterfly and Photoshop. These books made great Christmas gifts last year! And now I am moving on to make Christmas cards through their site. I have never made or sent out Christmas cards. I am excited to do so!!! We really wanted to this year due to our big move and being away from lots of our friends and family who are very missed. They have the greatest selection of Christmas/Holiday cards on their site, and various styles to choose from. To view their Holiday/Christmas cards for this year go here or here. Their calendars would also make for wonderful Christmas gifts for anyone, even those that are hard to buy for. To view their calendars go here. Let me know if you want me to include you on my mailing list!

Also attention fellow bloggers!!!! You can receive 50 free, that's right FREE Holiday cards from Shutterfly. Find out how here.

Florida Digital Photobook

Click here to view this photo book larger

I'm not a Toy!

Now that MJ talks all the time (and by all the time, I really mean all the time!) she says the funniest things.

Whenever she is playing with something she's not supposed to I always tell her "MJ that is not a toy, go play with your toys." Well the other day I did her hair in pigtails and a little while later she was seated in front of me talking to SJ, I started twirling her pigtails around my fingers and she turned around and said to me "Mommy I'm not a toy!" Seriously??

That same day I asked her how she was getting to big and she replied "One at a time Mama, one at a time!" Yep one day at a time!
She is such a joy in our home. I love the times when her and I laugh together. I love that she has a great sense of humor.

Oh and this smiley guy is always in a great mood:
I love being a mother.

We're so cute it's SCARY!

Coos and Smiles

Our little SJ is already growing a little to fast for my liking. With MJ I felt that I couldn't wait till the next stage/age, but with him I have come to realize how fast each stage passes you by, I am truly LOVING his newborn stage. Those first coos and smiles just take my breath away. I feel a little silly posting so much and so often but I must remember that we are very far away from family and friends and they enjoy the updates.

And yes, he is pretty darn handsome.

In this pic MJ has covered him with a special little blanket she uses on her babies:

Dallas Arboretum

We had a wonderful time while DJ's parents were here. We were able to get out and do many fun things. One of the highlights was going to the Dallas Arboretum. During this season they have facepainting, a hay maze, and a petting zoo. Here are a few pics of our adventures at the Arboretum:


MJ would appreciate you noticing her cool butterfly face painting. :)
MJ's favorite was petting the animals. I LOVE this pic of her:
A big thank you to DJ's parents for making the trip to visit us!

Little Tuxedo Man

Truly a Remarkable Thing

It is so awesome to see how much MJ loves him. If I let her she would be by his side all day, but unfortunately she tries to be a little too "helpful."

Amiga Mia!

This past week one of my Chilean companions from my mission flew in from Chile to pay us a visit. We became really close while we were companions, and during that time together she made me a promise that she would one day visit me in the USA. After years of saving she was finally able to do it. We had good time catching up and remembering good times from the mission, I had a bit of a trying time brushing up on my Spanish though!


I was able to get away for a night with her and go to The Blue Man Group that was performing in Dallas. It was an amazing performance that was well worth it. If I were to go again I would definitely try and get tickets right in front of the stage where the people have to wear ponchos!


I was worried about her being around MJ with the language barrier, but I was very surprised to see how well they got along. They both adored each other. It was very neat to see them connect so well when they didn't even speak the same language.


The connection between the 2 was so strong that the day before my companion flew home she asked if she could get professional pictures taken of her with MJ. I was a bit surprised but it was what she wanted. It worked out nice though that I was also able to get some 2 year shots done of MJ.

Family Picture

He's here!!!

Our new little addition is here! He is so sweet and we are enjoying every moment. For security purposes I am not going to post his name or any further info. But his initials ended up being SJJ. If you would like further info feel free to email or text me!

San Antonio and the Big 2!

We had a great time while visiting my sister Megan and Annemarie in San Antonio! MJ and I flew in to spend a week and a half with them and DJ was able to come for a few days at the end to pick us up.
Here we are on the River Walk:


Children's Museum:





Swimming:

MJ loved being with their dogs and they were so good with her. She would get out a pan and a spoon from the kitchen and some packets of Emergen-C and "cook them up a meal." They were good sports and licked the spoon everytime (which didn't have anything on it of course)! :)

While we were there we celebrated MJ's 2nd Birthday. Thanks to everyone for the gifts that were sent for the occasion!




We ate at the Rain Forest Cafe for her Birthday:
The cake we were very proud of:

MJ feeding Mickey her cake:
A big Thanks to Megan and Annemarie for such a great time! We miss you already!