Goodbye, 2011!

I have to admit, I kind of had mixed feelings about 2011 coming to an end. This past year has been probably the hardest of my life, with the loss of my Dad. So, in that regard, I'm happy to see a new year come. But there's also the thought that my Dad won't be a part of 2012... you know, he was still here in 2011. So that made me a little sad. While 2011 was hard, there were still many, many wonderful memories made. I am looking forward to all the great things God has in store for 2012!

We went over to Danny & Amy's house on New Year's Eve. It used to be so easy to stay up until midnight, but we only made it until 10:30! We had pizza & apple pie (you know, before the New Year's diets started!), the kids watched movies & played xbox, and we visited. Then we went home & Brian and I watched the ball drop on tv, after putting the girls in bed. Goodbye, 2011!

Quick Trip to the Lake

The night before New Year's Eve, we went to Lake Eufaula and spent the night with Grandma & Grandpa Baldwin. We watched the OU Bowl Game, looked through old pictures, put together puzzles, and of course we ate delicious food! The girls slept in their new nightgowns that Grandma Baldwin made for them. They had fun sleeping in the little bunk beds in our room. We always have a great time at Grandma & Grandpa's house!

They will probably be mad at me for taking pictures like this one of these days...but it was just cute. They were bonding!

The Week After Christmas

We had a good time hanging out at home the week after Christmas. Daddy was off work, and G-Ma stayed until Thursday, so we all got to be together. We took down Christmas decorations, tried to figure out what to do with all of the new toys, colored, played, ate, potty trained Madison, and relaxed. It doesn't get much better than that! G-Ma was pretty serious about coloring this castle! While she was at our house, G-Ma found a dog from the Sooner Golden Retriever Rescue in Tulsa. She picked him up on Thursday & took him home with her. It turned out that he was a little too hyper & not exactly the right dog for G-Ma, so she took him back so that he could find the right home. She is still looking for the right fit for her. The whole month of December was so busy & non-stop, so we really enjoyed some down time after Christmas.This is Murphy #1...he was a sweet little dog, but he chewed up many, many things in G-Ma's house, broke out of his crate, wasn't house trained at all, oh, and he made a little escape at Best Buy! This picture is funny...I had Brian dress the girls & this is how they looked when I got home!Madison decided she was safer in the house, than outside with the dog. =0)On Friday, before going to Lake Eufaula, we ran errands & exchanged a few things at the mall. The girls were very happy about getting to ride on the carousel!

Finally Potty Trained!!!

I decided the week after Christmas would be the perfect time to work on potty training Madison. Finally, after months and months of trying & talking about it, it finally worked! I pretty much just took the Pull-Ups away and put her in big girl panties. The potty seat followed her wherever she went for the first few days. I think she was just finally ready to do it. She had a few accidents, but she figured it out!!! (Well, the pee-pee part anyway.) Going poo-poo is another story...she refuses to use the potty for that. She will go get a Pull-Up and bring it to me. I have tried to hold off & "make" her use the potty, but it gets to the point where she is in pain and I can't stand it anymore. She says, "Momma, my bottom stings" when she needs to go...I know she will eventually get the hang of this too. It has been a couple weeks now & she is only wearing Pull-Ups at night. I am SO, SO proud of my big girl!!!

Christmas with the Baldwin's

For the past several years, we have gone to Lake Eufaula in the afternoon, on Christmas Day. Thankfully, there was just enough time in the car, that Madison got a little nap before we got there. Mack & Madi are always so excited to see their cousins & Grandma and Grandpa Baldwin! Everyone arrived around 4:30, we had dinner, opened presents, visited, and headed home a little before 10:00. It was a fun, fast evening! Grandma Baldwin is always so good to make special gifts for the girls...this year she made them doll clothes, nightgowns & new blankets. So sweet! Grandma & Grandpa also got all of the kids new "piggy" banks for Christmas. Both of the girls got Butterfly Banks! It's so funny to watch the kids play together...they usually pair up...Collin & Jareck, Bailey & Mackenzie, and Cole & Madison. How fun to have cousins to grow up with! Some other favorite gifts for Mackenzie were: a horse for her new doll, a mermaid Barbie (from Uncle Danny & Aunt Amy), a tiny little teacup piggy, Zoobles (from Aunt Tomi & Uncle Jason), and a hair styling doll (from Uncle Stephen & Aunt Tamara). Some of Madison's favorite gifts: a Rapunzel doll (she calls her "Tangled" and loves her hair!), an Aquadoodle (from Uncle Danny & Aunt Amy), Color Wonders stuff (from Aunt Tomi & Uncle Jason), a Cinderella bath baby (from Uncle Stephen & Aunt Tamara), and Squinkies! And of course, Grandma Baldwin picked out lots of cute, cute clothes for the girls! I actually think Madison may have been most excited about the chocolate candy she found in her stocking...she didn't waste any time...she dug right in! By the time Christmas was over, the girls had opened a TON of presents. We are so blessed with a wonderful family. It was a very Merry Christmas! I'm with Madison...Christmas is exhausting! Mackenzie & her new "American Girl" doll, Jenny!
Silly faces!I don't know what this was about, but I looked over and Madison was sitting in Mackenzie's lap & they were both just happy as could be! =0) I love it that they love each other so much. (Well, most of the time, anyway!) They look so much alike in this picture.Time for stockings! She likes her chocolate!Fun, sweet memories! I guess they were working off some of the candy & dessert they ate!
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a Good Night! (Boy am I glad to finally be done blogging about Christmas!)

Christmas with the Garrett's

Back when Grandma Jean was still alive, all of the Garrett's would come to Grandma & Poppa's house on Christmas Day. Those were such fun times. Since we were changing things up a little this year, Debbie & Mark invited us to their house for lunch on Christmas. It was wonderful to spend time with family, even though we were only there for an hour and a half or so. The girls' loved their new Barbies & books from Debbie and Aunt Barbara. Poppa and Grandma Shaw headed back to Newcastle after lunch, and G-Ma stayed at Debbie & Mark's until we got back home later that evening. We had a great time & were so thankful for the warm welcome!I love my Mom so, so much!Mackenzie & Miles had fun playing together.

A Very Merry Christmas

It was so special to have Poppa Jim, Grandma Shaw & G-Ma at our house on Christmas morning. What made it even more special was that they got to come to church with us, since Christmas Day fell on a Sunday this year! There is no better way to celebrate Christmas than worshiping our Lord.

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

Thank you, God for the wonderful gift of grace you gave us on the day we call "Christmas!" How unworthy we are, but how WORTHY you are! Blessed be your Name!

Looking at this picture above, I really, really miss Pa. He would have loved it that we were all together like this on Christmas. Christmas Day flew by in a blur...opening presents, getting ready for church, going to church, back to the house to change & grab a few things, then on to Debbie & Mark's for lunch, then to the lake for Christmas with the Baldwin's, and finally back home. Whew! It was a long, fun day, but we were exhausted by the time it was over. We had a very Merry Christmas!I love my family so much!Mackenzie picked out these little babies to give to Madison for Christmas. She's a smart cookie...she decided right off the bat that this would be a great present for "Madison" because there was a baby for each of them! (And of course she has the pink one!) =0) It was really very sweet...she was so excited for Madison to open the present she got her.What a blessing Grandparents (and Great-Grandparents!) are!!! Grandma Jean, Pop Shaw, and Pa will always be missed, remembered & loved. I love that someday we will all be together again in heaven. What a great day that will be!

Christmas Morning

This was our first year to ever be at our house on Christmas morning. I always loved being at Pa & G-Ma's house, but I was excited to be at home this year. Now, I really tried not to overdo it on presents this year, but.... I think I'll use G-Ma's excuse, and say "It was therapy!" =0) I just love buying things for my girls. It is soooo fun! My original idea was to go with the "Three gifts" idea, representing the gifts that the Wise Men brought when Jesus was born. I had really good intentions, but ended up with about 8 presents instead of 3! But, in defense of myself, I got some really great sales! The main thing Mackenzie asked for this year was an American Girl doll. I went back and forth, trying to decide if we should buy her the real deal or not, and finally decided that a cheaper version would be okay for this year. She actually doesn't even know the difference, and loves her "American Girl Doll, Jenny!" Madison just asked for a "Baby Doll" so I found her a really cute Disney baby with a Winnie the Pooh outfit on. From "Santa", the Mack got bunk beds for her dolls & Madison got a Princess Carriage baby play set. They also got a Princess Castle that you can color, and some art supplies. We also got them each new Leapsters and a new game, musical jewelry boxes from Disney World, rain boots & backpacks, new games for Mack & an apron and cupcakes for Madi, hooded towels & bedtime books, and some clothes for their new dolls.
For as long as Mackenzie has been able to hold two sticks/pencils/markers, etc. in her hands, she has pretended to play the violin. She has told us many times that she wants to play a real violin. Well, sometimes God just does cool things...a few weeks before Christmas, G-Ma mentioned this to a friend of hers, Becky Johnson. And what do you know...all of Becky's kids play the violin & she had one that they had outgrown that she wanted to give to us. What a huge blessing! I was probably most excited about giving Mackenzie the violin for Christmas. She loved it! Madison had to have an instrument too, so we got her a keyboard with a microphone. Maybe she will learn to play the piano & they can make music together!

I learned how to fill a stocking from G-Ma...it is just so much fun to buy stocking stuffers. I think we may need bigger stockings next year!

It was so special to have G-Ma and Grandma Shaw at our house on Christmas morning, while the girls opened presents. We woke them up around 8:00, opened presents, and then got ready for church. I love my sweet babies so much, and had so much fun with them on Christmas morning at our house this year. These are precious times, for sure. Merry Christmas, friends!
Here they come...Mack was so excited about her violin! I can't wait for her to learn to play it.

Sweet Madi!I just have to say that I put this together myself...I was very proud of myself! There were a lot of pieces & it wasn't exactly easy, but I did it!Mack's "American Girl" doll!
I thought this baby was so cute! We found these little jewelry boxes at Disney World & I bought them and saved them for Christmas. Madison got a necklace with her name on it, and Mack got a necklace with an "M" from Disney too. They were excited about their Leapsters! I'm just glad they don't have to fight over the old one anymore!Grandma Baldwin made the girls & their new dolls matching pj's...so cute!New rainboots!This was the aftermath...yep, it was a big, big mess!