away in a manger

It has been such a joy to hear Arden talking and singing. What a blessing she is to us from our Father! She really got into opening presents at Christmas, and her responses were great..."how cute!"..."oh, how pretty!" She also really got into Christmas music and her two favorites through the season seemed to be "Jingle Bells" and "Away in a Manger." Well, although it's January, you'd think it was still December around our house. I hear "Away in a Manger" at least 10 times a day! This video was taken last night right before bedtime, so she's a little more mellow than normal. If you want to see hand motions stick through the whole thing. She had a book in her hands and didn't decide until the end to do the motions, so she repeats part of the song to show you the motions! I love it!

a new law

Could this be the end of second hand clothing and toys?? I've heard about this from a couple of people and it's crazy to think this could really happen, but it looks like that might be the case. Check out Baby Cheapskate for more info and take action!

our resident fairies

"Esther, are you ready to fly?" ~Arden

and last but not least

Our last stop before coming home after Christmas was in Statesboro to see my family. As you'll see the girls had a princess/fairy Christmas and have become experts at tea parties! Thank you for everything G.G. and Papa, The Deals and Aunt Martha for making the trip back down to see us! We also got to see Betsy and Jack again-that's him and Arden playing on the trampoline-what fun! :) And I think this post finally wraps up our trip!!

short but sweet

The day after Christmas we drove to Watkinsville to be with Woody's mom's family for the day. We had a really great time seeing everyone, and I know it was an especially precious time for Gram and Bill to have their whole family in the same house! We love you all and look forward to the next time we're able to see you!

Christmas day at Nonie and Dagan's

We had a fun day with Nonie, Dagan, Hannah, Michael and Kai! Thank you again for everything. We had such a great time with all of you!
And yes, in the first picture our child is wearing Lightning McQueen on her feet! She loves "Cars" and Woody and I gave her these as an early Christmas present before coming up. I think it took about 72 hours before she would wear any other shoes! Thankfully we didn't go out in public a whole lot during this time, although there is something cute about a girly girl in her pink velvet pants with red race cars on her feet! :) Here she is in her Christmas pjs with her new "Cars" ball...

leading up to Christmas...

Our week leading up to Christmas was spent in Birmingham. We were able to go to the Zoolight Safari with Nonie and Dagan, Hannah, Michael and Kai. I must admit the only time Arden's been to the zoo was when she was in the womb and I took my class on a field trip. I know, it's so sad, she's about to be 3!! So of course, she was really excited and seemed to enjoy herself, but the poor thing still didn't get a real zoo experience. It was more about the lights and if we'd wanted to stand in line for an hour or so to ride the train, I'm sure we wouldn't seen more animals. Thankfully the petting zoo was open and that seemed to meet the need! Afterwards we enjoyed ice cream at the Mountain Brook Creamery-yum! A couple of days later we were able to spend time with the extended Baugher family that we haven't seen in a while, so this was fun as well. We also were able to get some time with our friends, The Byrds, The Hunters and The Blackmons, which is always a treat. (Girls, we've come a long way over the last 12 years and I'm so thankful for you and love that our kids are growing up together, even if it is only seeing ya'll a few times a year now!) And lastly, another highlight that came on Christmas Eve was Arden getting her first "real" haircut! We took her to this place called Sweet and Sassy and surprisingly she did really well!! She even got sparkles in her hair and a sucker and would've gotten a purple star on her cheek, but she quickly opted out of that option for some reason. Anyway, I was so thankful she handled everything so well! We were able to see our friends, Amanda and Ian, while at Patton Creek and do lunch, so it was a special outing for Arden and Mommy. (Thank you Kay/Nonie for keeping Esther for me!) We really enjoyed our extended time with everyone! Thank you Nonie and Dagan for letting us stay for so long! :) Below are just a few pics from our adventures and I hope to post pics from Christmas day soon.





Arden resting up for Christmas Day!