Suess 'Do

The BEFORE

It is no secret that Knox's 16 month old hair has been beginning to resemble that of a certain beloved Christmas villian (see his shirt if you can't see past the mullet!). And after having been complimented on "my beautiful daughter" without having Lucy with me, I decided it was time to take the plunge and get him his first hair cut. This was tough for me. I have always wanted a little boy with long hair, but his is so stick straight it was getting way too unruly and just ended up being used as a napkin at the end of every meal.

TADAA!! The After!

I went ahead and got Lucy's trimmed, too, so everyone would look daper in their Christmas morning photos this week. This child is getting WAY into posing. This one was after she told me she wanted to take a "pretty" picture.

Lucy's BEFORE

Lucy after...way after. She was decorating a cake for Baby Jesus's birthday. She said he likes Christmas, so its a Christmas wreath. I at least talked her out of making a pink princess cake for him.

So now my little baby boy is walking-almost running-around my house looking every bit the part of a little boy. *sniffle* At lunch, I referred to him as "our baby" and Lucy said, "You mean our handsome, cool buddy." *Sniffle* *Sniffle*

And what happened then...?

Well...in Who-ville they say

That the Grinch's small heart

Grew three sizes that day!

And now we wait for Christmas....

Loving the Mall Santa.

I offer no shame in the love of getting the kiddos picture made with Santa every year. I love looking back at pictures of myself as a kid and seeing what I wore, how many times I cried, the meat department Santa at Kroger that my mom used in a desperate attempt to get my sister to sit in a santa (any santa's!) lap. This year I did request Dan go with me, because I had a sneaking suspicion that Knox would freak. He has a pretty sensitive "Stranger Danger" reflex. So, we hit up the mall and waited in line, rehearsing what Lucy would ask for (making sure it matched what was actually going to be under the tree!), and distracting Knox.

The Santa was very nice He held Lucy's hands and spoke directly to her. She answered all his questions, rattled off "Cinderella Magic Wand Computer"(sigh of relief from mom) and "car" for Knox. Then all of a sudden she froze, pulled her hands away, and jerked me down to the floor. Her eyes were so wide, I thought she was having a panic attack! She whispered in my ear, "look behind Santa!". Well, sitting perched behind Santa was an Elf on The Shelf, exactly like the one that has been "watching" and moving around our house. Santa saw this reaction and totally played along with a question, "lets see, what was that elf's name that I sent to your house..." of course Lucy exclaimed, "Lapa!" (don't ask about the name, I don't know either), and Santa replied, "Ah yes, Lapa, cute little fellow. You know he reports back to me every night and lets me know if you are being good...or naughty. " Lucy was simply awe struck. True Believing twinkled in her eyes. I totally wanted to slip Santa a fifty.

I had gotten to the point lately that I was afraid she was getting a little too smart for her own good, already asking questions about which Santa was real, and how our elf was just a doll and dolls can't have magic. I think now, she got back a little of that mystique that goes with the season. I plan on keeping it that way forever. Just ask my mom, Santa still visits our house every year!

As for the picture, Lucy did great. And Knox looks like he's going to puke. But he's not crying, so I am happy. Ah, memories.

Angels Heard On High

Getting instructions from Ms. Lynelle

I have learned that since being a parent, your life revolves around the silliest of things. This weekend was planned entirely around Lucy's first performance, and by performance, I mean first sentence spoken into a microphone in front of other people! Her Cherub Choir at church (made up of 3, 4, and 5 year olds)had their Christmas program. In the audience, Lucy had 10 family members for support! We waited anxiously for her to say, "and he sent them to Bethlehem and said, Go search diligently for the young child!". The greatest part was being able to see her cover one hand on the microphone and tell the mom in charge of prompting the kids their line, "I know how to say it, " as if to say, "Back off, I got it!". Her little voice coming across on the sound system was very angelic. The rest of the time she sang, waved, and fiddled with her hair and halo. Just how I would imagine a 3 year old angel would behave.

A little pre show feather fight!

Exclaiming, "Pap!" as she walked by us on the way to the stage!

There she goes! Note that every kid is looking in a different direction!

Snow Day

I am officially crazy. As a photographer, when you wake up to snow, its hard not to think "PHOTOSHOOT!" Luckily, the kids were anxious to get outside, so they hardly noticed when I dressed them in cute clothes instead of the usually playing outside rough and tough wear. We only lasted maybe 15 minutes before we were all cold, wet and to the point of tears, but we still got some cute pictures. The hardest part was getting Knox to look up at me...he was fasinated by the snow and wouldn't stop starring at it!




I am feeling the pressure to send out Christmas cards this year, so we will see if and when we actually do it! Its easy to say you'll skip it, but then all the cute cards start showing up in the mail and taunt me hanging up in the foyer of my house. The best pics will have to wait to see if they are fated for Christmas card glory!

can you make out the single frozen tear?!

Lucy's first comment when it started snowing last night was "Now its Christmas." I would say I have to agree! Its almost here, folks!

Run, Mamma, Run!

This past Saturday, I checked an item off my "bucket list": run a half marathon. Now, while that goal is obtainable by many people, it was a shot in the dark for me. Before August of this year, I had not run farther than 1 mile. I made fun of runners, running outfits, and found the mere thought of running for fun obsurd. But, I really began to like the idea of training and accomplishing something, so I have mentioned it to a friend, and before long, we were off and well, running! I would have never guessed I could actually do it, but I did-ran all the way, though my speed is pretty slow! Here are some pictures provided by Papa Goose and a few shout outs:

Me and Amy crossing the finish line! Amy has been my support along the journey both physically and mentally, and many days, spirtually! We stayed with each other the entire race and held hands as we finished so we would have the same time. Without her and our friend Ashley (who's time left us in the dust!), I would have never gotten the nerve to race!

My life long friend and cousin, Liz. We decided to both do this race seperately, then were surprised to find out that the other signed up! I am really proud of her for sticking to training and finishing in an impressive time, all in the same year she was diagnosed with Lupus. Take that, disease!

This is my buddy, Mike, crossing the finish after completing the FULL. Mike offered us running expertise and support during training. I still think anyone who would want to run one step past 13.1 is crazy, but this guy has now done it mulitple times.

Overall, taking 2 hours and 45 minutes to do something for myself that ended up as a feat of physical ability did wonders for my spirit. When you spend your day constantly rounding up children and rarely getting a thought completed, much less projects or tasks, getting awarded a medal for doing something means a lot. Now, little running vacation, then train for Music City. I guess I can add "runner" to my resume. Who would thought?!

Little Emmy

Robin ranks pretty high up there when it comes to nicest person ever. She fell in love with Seth, who just so happens to be in that same contest for the nice award. And together, they had Emmy. Know what else is nice? When good things happen to good people, and that is just what this little blessing is! Thanks, guys, for letting me experience your new family. Pure joy.

Gotta love that hat!