heavens gain

My grandmother went on to heaven one year ago today. It was a Saturday afternoon and we were all with her. We had said our goodbyes and told her that she could go if God was calling for her. She must have heard us. She was so peaceful.

The Alzheimer's took her mind many years before that day, but it didn't take her smile. I will never forget the way she would light up when I came to visit. She rubbed my belly when I was pregnant with Addison. I would sit next to her and she would still run her fingers through my hair just like she did when I was a kid. The day she met my baby girl was one of the best days of my life. The joy on her face was priceless.
I'm sad that she never got to rub my belly the second time around. I'm sad that Morgan will never get to know her. I'm sad that I don't get to see her smile anymore.

But I'm happy that she is in heaven. With grandpa. With her baby girl.

And every once in awhile I can feel her smile down on me.

what I see

We recently started eating in the actual dining room rather than the table in the kitchen. Morgan is big enough now to sit in her own seat and I've always been a believer of eating as a family. From my chair, I see this every night.

On my left - this sweet little thing. She usually finishes first and then entertains herself until all others are done.

The problem with this form of entertainment? Trying to explain to Addison that it is not okay for her to put her feet up near the table.

On my right - this mess. I surprised Addison with a cupcake Monday night.

Did I mention that my dining room is carpeted?

the last of the christmas posts

And it only took me a month to do. But aren't you glad you get to go back and relive the holidays?

I'm such a loser. I'm really not. I'm just a busy mom that works and takes care of two children and my free time on the weekends is not spent editing and posting pictures. Or maybe I'm just making excuses. Whatever.

Addison walked out Christmas morning and saw her car in the living room. I expected her to be so excited and happy and we got the exact opposite. Confusion and wonder. She really hasn't received a lot of big gifts from us so I think she really wasn't sure what was going on. That changed after a few minutes and she realized the car was really hers.
And she was all about the car. I think it took us over an hour to open the presents. She would open something and then go back to play in the car. By the end of the morning she had all sorts of things stashed in there and even had to have her snack in the car.

Morgan had a great time banging on a couple of boxes and watching her sister open all of her presents. She did love this little ornament my dad got her.

Saturday morning we headed to my mom's do to Christmas at her house. Addison was spoiled rotten, but had fun playing with all of her new stuff. And Morgan enjoyed hanging out under the tree.

On New Year's Eve we took the kids to a Japanese steak house and let Addison watch the fire. She loves it! Morgan put on her party clothes and looked as cute as ever. And Addison let me snap this shot of her and Michael. The child was hating my camera so I was lucky to get this.

And there you have it. Our Christmas holiday. Addison really 'got it' this year and it was so much fun to see her open presents. I'm looking forward to next year to see the interaction between her and Morgan. Hope your holiday was as magical as ours was.

she's our sick one

Morgan has a double ear infection. That's the third ear infection in four months. She is so making up for Addison only having one in almost three years. Even though she looks miserable she really has been in good spirits. She wants to be held a little more than usual, but who doesn't when they're not feeling well.

I took this Sunday morning. Look how happy she is. She's always like this. She makes me smile.

And while at the doctor today she had a weigh in. She's up to 16 lbs, 13.5 oz. Growing like a weed.

christmas eve

Eight hours in the car and we made it back from TN late afternoon. Just enough time to bake some cookies for Santa. When you are pressed for time you take the easy way out. Break and bakes. I love how Morgan looks like she is tasting the cookies.


Checking on the status. Man my oven door needs to be cleaned.
Morgan didn't feel good at all. She had a fever when she woke up and then battled it the whole way home. Her little face looks pitiful. The fever stuck around for Christmas and she wasn't herself all weekend.
And this one. She won't let me take a picture of her unless she's taking a picture of me.
This one is technically Christmas morning, but was all set up Christmas Eve.

on the menu tonight

Spaghetti...with a side of grape jelly.
I put the plain noodles on for dipping, but she decided on a mushroom instead. Whatever. I'm not the one eating it.
I tried to talk her out of it, but she wasn't having it. What's it going to hurt?

tennessee christmas

This year we spent the week before Christmas in Tennessee with Michael's family. Addison loves her cousins and really enjoys spending time with them. Even though they are all quite older, they still run around and play with her. I always hear them laughing and giggling in another room. And of course they all love holding Morgan as well.
Aunt Angela has the biggest bathtub Addison has ever seen. Add in some bubbles and Addison is in bath heaven. It's always a highlight to go over there one evening and get in the tub.
We did our Christmas dinner and present opening on Tuesday night. Morgan was loving the sweet and mashed potatoes that she had for dinner.
This Christmas proved the theory that grandparents were put on this earth to spoil their grandchildren. We came home from Tennessee with two suitcases of gifts for the girls. And they loved every second of it.

I don't have a lot of Christmas pictures this year with Addison in them. Why? She refuses to let me take a decent picture of her. This was the only way I could get her to look at me. There's a bunch more where this came from.
We were hoping to see some snow while we were in TN, but it didn't happen. We made the annual trip to see Michael's college friends and it was a whole new experience. This year we had all of the little ones running around. A whole new generation of friends was formed. It's always a fun time when we get to hang out with family and friends and this Christmas was no different.

excuses, excuses

Not that anyone cares too much, but I care. And that's all that really matters. :) I kid. I'm working on all of the holiday pictures and I'm hoping to overload the blog this weekend. We're all finally back on a schedule and I have some serious catching up to do.

bye bye 2009

2009 in review. (Click the purple to view the links.)

In January we lost my Grandmother. I miss her bunches everyday.

In February Addison was addicted to Olivia and had a little mouth infection called Stomatitis that freaked us out a little.

Addison moved into her bid girl bed in March and we happily welcomed Spring.

In April Addison turned two.

May brought us our sweet baby girl Morgan.

That little incident where Morgan fell out of her car seat happen in June.

The laughter from Addison on July 4th made me smile the entire month.

In August Morgan started treatment for her Torticollis.

Addison had mastered swimming, so we spent most of September at the pool.

In October we made our first family trip to Sea World.

Morgan turned 6 months old in November. We also had some great family pictures taken.

In December we celebrated Morgan's baptism and did a lot of dancing.

I'm looking forward to a great 2010. I'm going to try and have more patience with Michael and my children and not sweat the small stuff so much. I'm also starting to sleep train Morgan which so far is going good.

And just so everyone can see it, here is our Christmas card from this year. Taryn from tarynlewisphotography.com took the pics and did the card for me. I think they came out pretty darn cute.

Cheers to a great 2010.