PICTURE POST

I can't believe January is almost over. Here are some pictures to keep you up to date on our happenings. We haven't done a whole lot, but it sure seems as if we have. Hope everyone is having a great start to this new year.

Maggie's friend Will got a bounce house for Christmas. We got to go and enjoy a little bounce. I can't wait until this spring when they can really enjoy it.

Maggie went to our good friends the Tillers boys birthday party. It was at The Little Gym. She had so much fun.

As many of you know we got a lot of snow a few weeks ago. Here is Maggie in the snow. At one point she was up to her waist. She loved it though!

We hung out with our friends the Abrahams and played! It was fun.

BACK TO WORK I GO, BACK TO WORK I GO!

I know this pic is from last year of Maggie, but I had to post it. This is how I am feeling about the long break being over. I got into the job of teaching for several reason, one of which was to be off with my kids on breaks. No one ever told me it would be so hard to walk away from Maggie. We have so much fun, but dropping her off tomorrow morning will be very hard. I guess what I have to get me through will be the fact that I have Spring Break right around the corner. I have really enjoyed the time with her the past two weeks!


Happy 2011!

TOUR de CHRISTMAS...AS PROMISED

We had a very busy Christmas this year. We hit the ground running and had lots to do and lots of people to visit.

First stop... Houston, Texas for a Martin family visit. (Jack's family)

Our family photo. Maggie's 3rd Christmas..

Maggie had so much fun with her cousins in Houston. Kate, Max and Caroline were so excited to see her as well. The girls had so much fun making memories together.


Maggie's favorite gift #1 - her pillow pet. She rode all the way back to Dallas with her pillow in her lap. It would fall on the floor and she would say, "My pillow pet, my pillow pet."


Maggie loved unwrapping gifts this year. It as fun watching her get excited when a gift was for her. What a difference a few months makes. On her birthday she didn't care that much, but she loved it!


Next stop.... Home

We got up early Christmas morning to head home. We made a quick stop by home so Maggie could open up her gifts this year. She got some princess dresses and a tricycle. She loved the princess dress so much that she wore it everywhere for the rest of the day. She got princess shoes from Aunt Amy and Uncle T and loves to put them on with her dress. I see many princess parties in our future.


Next stop... Angie's house

We made a stop by my sister Angie's house to visit and play with them. Maggie and Brayden always have so much fun playing. One day baby Lyla (the newest cousin for Maggie) will enjoy playing as well. It was a nice visit with my mom, Angie, Josh, Brayden, and Lyla.


Last stop... Amy's house

The beauty of having divorced parents is all the fun you have over the holiday. We made our final stop for the night with my dad's side of the family. My sister Amy has hosted Christmas at her house for a while now. It is always a crazy good time. Santa stopped by for a visit. It is always so much fun. Once again, Maggie was not excited. She would not get out of my lap the whole time. One day, she will grow to love Santa. He brings gifts for all the kids, so it is so much fun to see what he comes up with! This is the cousin picture for this family. We are missing Robby who went missing in action.


We had a great, but busy and fast Christmas. We finished up Christmas 2010 with my mom on Sunday by going to breakfast. It was nice just to sit and let someone wait on us. We officially put Christmas away yesterday. It is always sad, but we have so many fun memories to remember it by!

I hope that each and everyone of you had a fantastic Christmas.

MORE PRE-CHRISTMAS FUN...

I have not updated my pictures from Christmas yet, but as soon as I do I will make my Christmas post. For now, I am posting some more pre-Christmas fun.

Last Monday we went and met my friend Sarah, her husband Matt, and their sun Brody who were in town from California. My friend Janet and her husband Anthony and daughter Maddie were there as well. It was such a fun time catching up and laughing. We haven't seen Sarah and Matt in over a year. It was fun to just hang out and let the kids play. Here is a picture of the three kids sitting on the bench outside. This is my pic, but I am sure someone got a better one. It is so fun seeing these kids grow up.



On Tuesday we had part of my family over for dinner. It was fun. After dinner the kids all made a rice crispy house. It was so much fun to watch them decorate. Maggie just kept eating the candy. She had so much fun.





The rest of the week we just spent wrapping presents and getting ready for our trip out of town. I can't wait to share all about our Christmas with you. Until then....

SILLY ORNAMENT..

You see this silly ornament that now hangs on my tree? I received it as part of a gift I received from a coworker. I had all intentions of "regifting" it, but today it hit me. This silly ornament now has a real purpose.

Today would have marked the 38th birthday for my brother Allen. Many of you remember that almost 5 years ago he was tragically killed in a dirt bike accident. Growing up we have always celebrated Christmas traditionally, but we always got together to celebrate my brother as well. My step mom has always done a good job of celebrating your birthday on your birthday. She did just that with Allen. In the middle of all the hustle and bustle and last minute shopping we always stopped as a family and got together to celebrate Allen.

Today, I am stopping to celebrate Allen. Allen was a huge out doors kind of person. We always played in the creek, rode our bikes, went to the lake, and he loved to fish. I am hanging this crazy fish on my tree as a celebration to him! Allen the fish will forever have a place in my heart.



Happy 38th birthday Allen. We will always love and miss you! Your memory will always be remembered.

CAN YOU FORGIVE ME?

Okay, can you forgive me for my lack of posting? This year has been the craziest year of my life. I am working so hard, that I just have not had the time to post things. It makes me pretty sad, because I'm not documenting the parts of Maggie's life. She has grown so much and just does the funniest things. Maggie and I have had the opportunity to spend the past few days together and it has been so much fun. We have had a busy time since her 2nd birthday. Now, we are at Christmas and the year is almost over. Before I know it she will be 3. Here are some picture post to keep you updated! Have a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year! I promise I will do better in 2011!

Maggie with her cousins at Thanksgiving.


Maggie and her crazy daddy in their mask


Maggie and her cousin Maddy at her other cousins birthday party


Maggie's santa picture


Maggie at mommy's favortie place, Chuy's!!!


Our new Christmas tradition: lunch at Chuy's then the trains at Northpark! Lots of fun.


On Sunday we also had our annual friend gift exchange. We meet at the Saavedra's house and opend up gifts with Jonathan, Michael, and Will. We all went to Babe's for dinner. It was a fun time even with 4 kids. After dinner we hit up Frisco Fire Safety Town for the tour of lights. It was so much fun. The kids loved everything. The fire truck in the last picture was the biggest hit!








We have lots more fun ahead! Again, I wish everyone a very happy holiday!

CAN YOU BELIEVE...2YRS

Can you believe that this little girl is 2 years old? I can't! It seems like just yesterday we were heading to the hospital to meet Maggie. She has grown so much, and just does so much.

Here are her stats:

Height: 34 1/2inches - 68%
Head: 19 inches - 71%
Weight: 25.2 lbs. - 30%

She is a long and lean machine.

Maggie has grown so much this last year. Her vocabulary is amazing and growing everyday. She will point to things and say what they are. Just yesterday we were at the Dr.'s office and she pointed out a little girl wearing a backpack. I had no idea she even knew what a backpack was!

She loves to sing. Everyday we sing Yo Gabba Gabba songs in the car. She also sings any nursery rime around. Ms. Nan, said she will walk around the house and hum or sing songs all day long. We call her our little song bird.

Maggie is not the best eater. We struggle everyday to get good things in her. She loves ranch and ketchup! Who did she get that from?? She also hates to change out of her PJ's. Daily, we fight over putting on clothes. Daddy is really good at that battle.

We just have so much fun. Maggie really makes our life so complete! We look forward to spending so much time with her and watching her grow!

Happy Birthday to my little baby!

We love you so much!!!