Happy Holidays

I can't believe Christmas is upon us already...where did this year go??? We have been busy as usual, but I am hoping things calm down a bit after the holidays and I can feel sane again. LOL
Shelby had her 1st Christmas program last night. She was adorable....a friend went to Miles City on Tuesday night and was able to purchase a Christmas dress for us--Shelby didn't think at Thanksgiving time that they were supposed to, so I thought I would wait. Well plans had changed a bit, and I didn't make it to Miles before the program. They did a play on diversity for the K-8 group. She got to be a Monkey...I was so proud of her. She even remembered to sit like a "lady" and not show her underwear--she was of course in the front row of the Kindergarteners (that is also why I picked white ones to wear also. Gotta think ahead) We were running slightly late (imagine that), so I totally spaced grabbing my camera-it worked out though since we sat on the wrong side and I wouldn't have been able to get very good pictures anyways. Shelby saw us in the balcony and waved several times....was pretty cute. She was pretty nervous as we were going to her classroom, but really got into the songs...she loves music. Thank goodness Alexis likes music too...she got into it by the end and was dancing a bit, but that was after the Choir and other bands before Big Sis got to go. She got antsy and she doesn't sit still for a minute unless she is sleeping, so it was interesting. Messed her whole schedule up though....we are used to eating supper between 6:30-7:00 with showers/baths right after, then cuddle time with Daddy for the night. Yeah...she was rather tired by the end. In fact we got in the house afterwards and she went straight to the fridge for her milk, then to the couch to get her pjs on....no fighting her at all..she was on a mission! She zonked right away too. I did manage to get a couple of pics when we got home of Shelby, but next year I will be putting the camera in my shoes so I don't forget it again! :-)
We are planning on heading up the the Ranch to see my folks for Christmas...as long as the weather holds out. I am really looking forward to it...we haven't done the actual Christmas Holiday with them in years.....but we may be changing things up next year as well and starting our own traditions-Shelby mentioned this year that she would like Santa to come to her house while we are there. She is smarter than I give her credit for sometimes. She is so excited to go to Papa and Grandma's though...she loves the Ranch. Then the little twerp will be turning 6 on me not long after that...my gosh! I think I will end this there, now I feel old. LOL
Hope you enjoy the pictures....just some recent ones.

Halloween

It's been a while, and it's been a tough road since June, but more so since the end of August. Seems like when it rains it pours, but it is getting a little better each day....needless to say, I definitely don't take things for granted and tell my Girls EVERYDAY how much I love them!!! I've taken several steps back and realized a lot of things...about me and Brad and life in general. Why does it take a major life changing chain of events to open a person's eyes?? Seems like it should be easier to do, but sometimes it isn't. (Miss you tons Kari!!)

Yesterday was the Bazaar at the VFW...Shelby and I had been looking forward to it all week. (Sad I know, we have no life-LOL) She bought a couple of BEAUTIFUL hair things that a local
Craftster made (she does an awesome job)...one a headband with a flower on it and the other a ponytail holder with a flower on it. She even spent her own money (even thought I paid for half of it too for her, but she wanted to pay for it "with my own money!!") I ended up buying a new purse (gasp...so hard to believe isn't it-LOL) and a new wallet to go with it...I figured it would be my Christmas present to myself. We had a good time--Shelby really liked the Chicken Noodle Soup, but the Pumpkin pie was the best she said. Alexis was in her stroller since I knew I wouldn't be able to contain her for very long....she was rather upset by the end that she wasn't able to walk around like Big Sis was, especially after lunch.
Then, last night we went Trick-or-Treating in town...we started out a little after 5:00 since it is a school night for Shelby and they would both need baths at night. We were ALL wiped out by 8:00 and headed home. Alexis was getting really tired and Shelby was getting cold. We didn't hit every place that we had wanted to, but the Girls still got a bunch of candy. Alexis even managed to get a Hershey's bar opened and sucked out some chocolate.....she ended up being the "mad cow" as Brad put it and Shelby and I realized she must be a "mad chocolate cow" at one point....it was fun! Here are a couple of pictures of our Girls...we had a wonderful time!

My Smiling Vampire

My Little Cow

What Goof Balls

Look at the Sisterly Love--a RARE moment

Got them BOTH looking!!

Thanks for looking....hopefully I can keep up with the Blog a little more, but no guarantees. LOL

Alexis turns 1!!!

I can't believe it has been a year already that our Bug-a-Boo was born in the back of the van. Time flies by way too fast!! We had her party on the 21st in the afternoon. Of course it had to be the HOTTEST day of the entire summer. I sent out cute little bumble bee invitations and did a yellow/bumble bee theme. She doesn't take to the heat very well at all. We thought she was sunburned once she turned red, but we had the sunscreen on and she wasn't on the swing but for 2 minutes. Come to find out, she was just really hot and was a ton better later on. Poor thing looks miserable. Shelby was disappointed that more people didn't come (we tend to make a big deal about Birthdays), so may need to rethink some logistics of things, but Alexis had a wonderful time!

Her Cake and Cupcakes Cones (Brad requested the mile marker sign cake)

Digging into her cake...she loved it (I had made her a little cupcake for her own, but the cat got it while I was taking a shower that day)

Daddy and Alexis (with her cute ponytail)


Making a mess



Loving that cake though (she is super red)

She wanted more! We didn't break out the ice cream...it would have melted on contact!



Getting ready to open presents--with Sissy's help



Shelby kept wanting to help...Alexis wasn't moving fast enough I guess



Having a drink of Tang....MMMMM!

It was a great day and I can't believe we are moving on to the second year with her!! On her actual birthday she was reliving her birth I think. She was up around 2:30 really restless, by 3:00 she had a new diaper, 3 oz. of milk and was getting ready to snuggle with Mommy in her bed. Finally by 4:00 she was asleep again, but was raring to go at 6:00 AM! The timeline fit with her birthday....2:00-2:30 were the gas pains, 3:00 the water broke and at about 4:00 she was born. LOL....I just hope it isn't an every year kind of thing, even though I thought it was pretty special to me.