It's beginning to look alot like Christmas...

Decorating for Christmas is one of the millions of things I love about the Christmas season. This year has been extra special because I get to decorate with my precious baby J! Here are a couple of ways he has helped decorate...

 Helping Pops put the star on the tree!

Putting the first ornament on Mimi & Pops' tree...a picture of his first visit to Santa.

 He quickly decided ornaments were much too fun to put on a tree and leave there!

 His very own tree! He LOVES the lights, but would much rather the ornaments be on the floor to play with.

Look, a star!

 And now for my favorite... We got J his very own Little People Nativity Set (Which I am very impressed with except for the lack of a shepherd.) and he loves it! We told him the story and put everyone in place. Then he decided to show the nativity members around his house.

The angel slides nicely down his race car ramp! Click and the above picture to make it larger and take a good look at that face. Too cute!

 No worries, she got to slide down about 20 times!

 Next, Mary and Baby Jesus take a ride in the dump truck.

Lastly, he loves putting the figures on the nativity advent calendar. He can even say "frankincense" and it is too precious!

We pray that J will come to know and love the true meaning of Christmas...God sending His son, Jesus, to redeem a lost world. And we pray you have a very joyous Christmas season!

Christmas cards...

Are one of those things that I hope modern technology never replaces. I love getting actual mail and hearing from good friends, so a Christmas card really is a present to me.

The past few years, I have used shutterfly endlessly. I use it to post and share pictures, to make photo books, to create photo products of our precious baby as gifts, and design my Christmas cards. They have numerous wonderful designs and their software is super easy to use. Here is our Christmas card from last year.

This year, J was very cooperative at our photo shoot and we have some awesome pictures to use. Below are a couple of my favorite designs.

Poinsettas - Very Vintage, yet Classic
Multi-picture - Perfect for me since I can never choose just one!

I also really like the new calendar backgrounds. The older versions were adequate, but these look so much nicer and more professional. I plan on making a few of these as gifts and they are 30% off through Decemeber 8th. Click here to see the new designs.

I am excited to get my pictures and start designing. I hope you are too. And send a Christmas card our way!

ALCS Champions!!!

I am married to one of the biggest sports fans I know. He is an avid Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers fan, and has been since he was 5. On one of our early dates, we went  to coffee at Barnes & Noble. After hearing him talk about his love of these sports teams, I picked up a Texas Rangers trivia book and asked him the first question I flipped to. He answered it, and 90% of the other questions I chose, correctly! I was so impressed, I decided I had to marry him! :)

This year was very exciting as his beloved Rangers made it to the playoffs, won the ALCS and took their first trip to the World Series! Thankfully, we had splurged on playoff tickets ,at the discounted season ticket holder rate, so my amazing husband was able to attend these games.

Streamers after the Rangers were named ALCS champions!

 Can you see the excitement?!?

These guys are true friends. They all sold their World Series tickets to go to Jason's wedding and miss World Series Game 3!

Look how handsome he is? We had a great time at the wedding.

World Series Game 4...

 Scott's Dad has been taking him to games for 20 years. So cool that he got to come with us!

I got to go as well. I actually felt very special to get such a coveted ticket!

 World Series Game 5...

Yes, J got to go to his first World Series Game! Scott is such a good Dad and wanted to make sure he was there. Jackson loved the lights, food, and most of all, the blimp and airplanes in the sky!

Our little monkey...

What fun we had around Halloween this year! J cooperated more than expected in wearing his costume, and next year, I am going to make sure and get a costume that is cooler. It is still very hot at the end of October.

J had an absolute blast at our church's Fall Family Festival. He would have stayed in those bounce houses all night and loved his sno-cone. We began carving a pumpkin together, but J lost interest very quickly. We'll just try again next year! :) Trick-or-treating was what he enjoyed more than I expected. We bought a plastic pumpkin at Target and practiced at home. He learned to knock on the door and say "Trick-or-treat". Then came his favorite part, he was a pro at putting that candy in his pumpkin! Thankfully, he didn't even know to eat it, but he sure enjoyed carrying it around in his pumpkin.

What a blessing he is each and every day!

We had so many great pictures, that I decided to make a facebook photo album. To view them, click HERE !

Texas State Fair

Did you know the State Fair brought in $37 million in ticket sales alone this year?!?! We went and got out pretty cheap, thanks to free tickets from Mimi and bringing in some food. However, we had a blast!

 J loved Big Tex or "Tex" as he called him!

 We are all suckers for oreos. So, we tried their fried version. J approved!

 Next up, the Bird show! J loved when the birds would fly overhead!

 The airplanes flying overheard were his absolute favorite. :)

                                  And the GIANT African bird...I have never seen a bird so massive.

 Getting in line for the Texas Star.

                                This was J's favorite fair activity, by far! He would say "Up, Up, Up!" So cute!

Love these two more than words can express!

 J got very adventurous!

Needing a little security after all of his climbing. :) 

I am always surprised by what excites our little man. The ferris wheel was a huge hit! 

However, the corny dogs were not.

Normally I am right there with him on resisting the corny dogs. I kept telling him that this was a Fletcher's and it was the best out there. It didn't matter as he had made up his mind, and that is a hard thing to change! 

Puppies... 

I realize he would love a puppy. He can have one as soon as he can feed and walk it! :) 

The pig races were awesome. Do you know they race for an oreo?

J was not very interested in the pig races, but he did enjoy his cookie! 

 The light parade was the second biggest hit of the day.

One more picture with Tex before heading home! What a fun day!



Pops & J at the Arboretum...

One of my favorite things about Fall is the Arboretum. J and I have been regular visitors this month due to the beautiful weather and all the fun activities they offer. We have attended KinderMusik, mommy&me work-outs, had picnics with friends, and J's favorite, the petting zoo! Pops & Scott joined us today to see J in his element.

 Look at my little man. He is so handsome in his Halloween outfit!

 Petting a goat

 Pops showing J the bunny.

 I love that little squat. :)

 Juice Break

 J thought it was hilarious when Pops put the pumpkin on his head. He is so much fun!

 This might have been J's favorite part today. We found a pumpkin house with old kitchen utensils in it. Pops diligently showed and named each item for J. I think he would have stayed here the whole time. J especially liked the coffeepot & coffee grinder.

 He keeps us smiling!

 And, who needs to sit in a stroller when you can push it!