Party, Recital and Kirkendall Christmas!

Wowzer! I have a lot to catch up on! We are in California until Thursday and I would love to say the trip has been super awesome but the stomach flu and the weather had other things in mind. But we are having a blast with my family and that's really what counts! More on that later!

Before we traveled to CA Katie had her Christmas party at school! All the kids were so excited. They had a yummy lunch, present exchange and even went outside and made "snow." So fun!



Then it was time for the Kirkendall Christmas celebration! I hosted it at my house and had a lot of fun hanging out with the family.






The same night Katie had her Holiday Recital! She did great although she admitted the lights were a little bright and she didn't do everything perfectly :P So stinkin cute although the iphone didn't do as well as I'd hoped recording it :(





And if you'd like to see my little ballerina last year CLICK HERE!

A Moment

We were playing Santa last night...it's Katie's favorite thing at the moment! I was snapping pictures of her "presents" wrapped in dish towels and pillow cases when Ryan came up and gave her a hug. Of course the lighting was awful...the grain is off the charts, but the moment was priceless!

Singin' for Seniors

This year I signed Katie up for "Music with Mary" at her school. I've heard such wonderful things about it and thought it would be perfect for Katie (and extend her day for an hour and a half...yahoo!). Well, of course my little diva loves it and this morning they put on a little program for one of the local senior care facilities. Much of the group was 3 and 4 years old and it was amazing what she got them to do only having 45 minutes a week plus half of the class as on a different day so they never practiced together! They were definitely cute!


I'll try to get some video up soon....after I forgive myself for messing up and totally missing her solo! Uggh!!!!

Cookies, Cocktails and Darn Good Time

Last night my pal Colby and I hosted an annual Cookie Exchange party here at my house. If you don't know how it works, you make multiple dozens of your fav cookie (or candy) recipe, bring it to the party, and then you get to fill up a container of everyone's cookies to take home! At ours we also got to have have some savory appetizers, to die for Cranberry Peppermint Martinis, Wassail (Hot Spiced Apple Cider), Egg Nog and a ton of WONDERFUL friends to hang out with while you stuff your face. :D

Some pictures of the spread...


Some pictures of the girls! (Sorry for those I missed!)


By this point the wine and martinis were kicking in. These girls had never tried Egg Nog before...Had to get their reactions :P



Meh...


The Littlest party ladies...Katie was so excited to have a friend over to hang out with upstairs with Daddy and Ryan!


I made Red Velvet Whoopie Pies...not impressive. Maybe I'm not a fan of red velvet. But they sure looked Christmassy! Here's the recipe:

Red Velvet Whoopie Pies

Thank you to everyone who came! I had a blast and the cookies/candy were beyond incredible! See you next year!

PS: I'm wearing my stretchy pants!

Seeing "The Big Man"

This morning we went down and saw Mr. Claus. Katie...EXCITED! Ryan...not so excited. We got there a bit early and while the kids ran around I grabbed a few snaps :)

Katie...loving the camera these days!


Ryan despises it and actually looks like he wants to beat me up lol!


About the closest thing to a picture together plus Santa pics!

Oh Shmoodle!

We call our animals all sorts of wacky names. Here's a sampling of what you'll hear us call our animals during the day...

Jack (The Cat)
- Jack Jack
- Jackson
- Jackson Fatson
- Ratson
- Jackson Fatson Ratson
- Fatty

Cali
- Shmoodle
- Shmoodle Doodle
- Poodle
- Shmoo
- Poodle Bear
- Cocka Poodle Doodle
- Doodle Bear
- Shmoo Moo
- Shmoople
- Cal Bear
- Cali Bear

Anyway...now that you know how extremely nuts we are here are some snaps of Cali modeling her new sweater. Fresh hair cut + cold temps make for a cold doggy! She didn't like it at first but now she's wearing it like a pro!


"Does this sweater make my tongue look big??"

Iphone Madness!

I share so many pictures from my phone on Facebook but know some of my family does not have Facebook. Here are some snaps!





I noticed quite a few pics that I didn't take....so photography by Katie!

Birthday wrap up and random other things!

Pardon the singing ;)

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Katie chose Chick-FIl-A for her birthday dinner and then we came home for chocolate cake with purple frosting and sprinkles! Grandpa K came to enjoy the evening with Katie. Happy 5th birthday big girl!


Katie is REALLY enjoying Soccer Tots so we are doing our second session now. They are really great with the kids and she is getting better with her skills every day! Ryan on the other hand...not such a fan, but we keep trying!


Just a few xmas pics from around the house...

It's Beginning To Look....

A Lot Like Christmas!

Darn it....she did it....she turned 5!!!!!

My beautiful baby girl went and turned 5 on me...even though I strickly told her not too. We're going to have to have a big talk.

Five years ago I became a mom. Depending on the perspective 5 years seems so long ago, or just like yesterday. I can't really remember what life was like before I was a mom. It's such a distant memory. I can't remember how it felt to only be responsible for myself or go to the bathroom BY MYSELF (seriously!!!). On the other hand it feels just like yesterday that this tiny little 9lb person came into my life, head full of hair, and me not knowing what the heck I was doing. Katie and I were pals, figuring it all out together, breaking the rules and doing it our own way. She'll always hold a special place in my heart. :)

And as always...her birthday video highlighting this past year. Love you smoosh...

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Angelic

This evening Katie had the opportunity to play an angel in a live Nativity scene at The Woodlands United Methodist Church's "A Family Christmas." What a fun event complete with real snow, lots of animals, singing and wonderful people. The kids sure were precious up there!!

Before (and some of Ryan for good measure!)


During

Thankful

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

A Little Flashback...

Thanksgiving 2005
1 Week Before Katie was born
Large and In Charge
Swollen
Tired
Excited
Scared


What I would tell this girl in the picture? It's completely worth it :)

A Totally WILD Birthday!

I would like to remind the world that Katie doesn't turn 5 for 9 more days. Maybe this is only important to a Mommy with a fear of the (gasp!!!) 5th birthday for some reason. I don't know why, but it's big for me. I know I should be so happy and excited she's growing up up but secretly it's killing me!

Anyway...Katie had her party yesterday and it turned out so fun! So many friends and family came to celebrate as well as some furry, scaly, feathery, crawly, exotic creatures!

The birthday girl in her super fab outfit :)


The decor....I slacked in the picture department this time around.


We had Pam from Pacadu Exotics come share her awesome animals! She was so nice to let Katie get a picture with almost every one!


Some of the animal fun!




Grandma K's famous cupcakes and "Happy Birthday To You!!"


Family Love


Thank you to everyone who helped make Katie's day SOOOOO special! We love you all!

We Like To Move It, Move It!

Saturday I had the privilege of walking in the MS Walk on behalf of a super wonderful friend of mine. We raised enough money to get our own tent...and I must say that we DEFINITELY had the most spirit! What a great experience and such a fun morning with friends! Go Moms on a MiSion - Team Colby!!!

Zooper Fun!

I think the lack of pictures should show just how much of a good time we had at the zoo today. I took the kids by myself for the first time. We always have fun with friends or family but it had never dawned on me to go alone. It was REALLY nice! We went at our own pace...did the aquarium 3(!!!!) times, and discovered a building I don't think we have ever been in. What an amazing age my kids are at that they both are genuinely interested in all creatures, big, small, slimy, scaley, furry, hoofed, or feathery.

Ryan...not so much interested in having his picture taken. Katie...VERY much interested in having her picture taken. The two baby elephants were definitely a highlight!

Halloween Wrap Up!

It really seems like I've been celebrating Halloween for the entire month and I probably did. But alas...it all ended tonight with a wonderful dinner with friends and trick-or-treating fun for the kiddos. I think the kids were on a sugar high just thinking about all the candy they were going to get...they were excited to say the least.



Here are some pictures from Katie's costume parade and party at school. They were all so cute!

Sheriff Woody's Over It!

Today Ryan's playgroup had a Halloween party! The cuteness level was off the charts let me tell you.

We mama's always want that perfect picture with everyone sitting, smiling, looking so stinkin' adorable. Well we try.

Ryan cooperated for about .75 seconds


Almost had it! Ryan hiding from the mamarazzi...


Are they still taking pictures?


Aww..dang it!