Getting Ready for Santa

Each year we make a Happy Birthday Jesus cake.  This time we were able to make a REAL cake thanks to Kendall's cured food allergy. 

Licking the beater is always the best part.

While the cake was cooking Kendall wrote her letter to Santa.

Then it was time to decorate the cake, sing, and eat!  We left a piece for Santa as well.

Christmas Eve 2011

Christmas Eve Day we went to see Gabe's family.  Of course the best gift wasn't wrapped or under the tree.  Kendall wore her Big Sis shirt to break the news to the family.  Everyone was thrilled, especially Papa who realized he'd have to get a second job to pay for the additional loot next year. 

Here's Gigi with her two granddaughters, Kendall and Lleyton.  Will it be a clean sweep of three next year, or will there be a little boy baby??

Lleyton was just as thrilled with Kendall's new wheels as Kendall was.

One of her favorite gifts was her baby Cinderella doll.

Priceless

Matching stockings from Pottery Barn...about $25 each

Thinking ahead and buying a fourth one for "one day"... an extra $25

Being able to get the fourth one monogrammed for next Christmas...PRICELESS

Merry WHO DAT?! Christmas

Daddy Dat

Mommy Dat

Girly Dat

Who Dat?!?!

Yes, the newest member of the Who Dat Nation is scheduled to come marching in some time  mid-July!!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Eve Eve!

Christmas is so fun with a three-year-old!  Mommy cooked a special Christmas dinner tonight in celebration of Christmas Eve Eve.

Kendall thought it was way cool.  Good thing Daddy snapped pictures quickly because the nose and eyes were gone within three seconds afterward.

I know I haven't been blogging much this month, but I promise it's because we've been so busy with Christmas activities around here.  Look for much more to come by the end of the weekend!

Have a merry and blessed Christmas!

Tis the Season

Tis the season of business, festivities, checklists and never ending holiday preparations for even the most prepared.  Every year I say I'm going to make it a priority to start early, pace myself, and not get swept away in the holiday rush.  Result this year?  Well, this is the first blog post in two weeks. BUT...my to-do list is getting scratched off quickly.  And I haven't been TOO stressed.  Sigh....just busy. 

gifts bought...check

gifts wrapped...check

holiday decor....as much as is gonna happen

cards mailed...check

office gifts...check (always a stress)

school party...DONE

menu...planned

And in the midst of it all we've been counting down on the advent calendar, reading Christmas stories nightly, and watching endless Christmas videos.

So this week Kendall helped make Christmas cookies for all the teacher presents.  Let me just insert that I LOVE Pinterest.  If you are not a fan yet, check it out.  You'll be hooked.  I got all these cute ideas from there.

Here's our peanut butter reindeer cookies.  Yes, Kendall has my aversion to peanut butter so neither of us were tempted to eat any.  Though a few m&ms managed to disappear.  Hmmm...

And that's pretty much where Kendall's enthusiasm to help ended.  (I'll explain in a minute after I finish showing off my goodies.)  Next was the reindeer cocoa mix happies.

And the reindeer donuts.  They were the easiest of them all. Yet it still wasn't done until they were boxed and wrapped with a cute bow and reindeer gift tag. 

So what captured Kendall's attention?

Drew Brees and Elmo.  Her favorite Saint and favorite puppet together.  That equaled to one enamored three-year-old.  Drew made a celebrity appearance on a Sesame Street segment with Elmo this week.  Of course the video has gone viral in New Orleans for the past week.  And the funniest thing is that Kendall recognized him even out of uniform!  Now that's one true little Who Dat!

And then the next day we handed out all the teacher gifts we Mommy slaved over the next day at our Happy Birthday Jesus party at school.

Merry Christmas, bloggers!  My prayer for you is that in the midst of all the hype, holiday glamour and endless to-do lists, may you truly experience the meaning of Christmas.  God sent His son, Jesus, to Earth to be born as a baby so that He could save us from sins.  What an awesome God.  What a mighty Savior.  What a sacrificial love.  For God so loved YOU that He gave His only Son so that YOU could believe (and receive His gift) and have everlasting life.

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God.

Ephesians 2:8