Cookies for Santa

We made cookies for Santa today. Just as I promised her yesterday. She was thrilled. I know it's a little early to be making goodies for Santa, but she wouldn't have it any other way!

Here she is working on the icing. Didn't you know that your cookies turn out much tastier if you dress like Ariel while decorating them?

The icing was a little difficult for her to squeeze so Mommy had to help.

Adding some sprinkles.

The finished product!

She was so proud of herself. I bought the pre-sliced sugar cookies and baked them, but she did everything else all by herself, even stacking them on this plate. It's too bad the furry dog ate more than half as soon as AC turned her back. No worries, she got a stern talking-to from AC!

Santa's House

AC woke up from her nap and asked me, "Mama, can me go to Santa's house today?" Ha! I said, "Sure!" So, we went downstairs, ate a snack, and left for Santa's house. But AC had to have her boots on and her backpack!

Just taking a stroll down the sidewalk towards Santa's house.

Running!

Taking a little break.

Ready to call it quits.

Before bed, she asked if we could make purple cookies for Santa in the morning! Looks like we'll be doing a little baking!

Thankful

Sorry for being MIA. Here's what has been happening.

Thursday: It was hot. So, we went to the park that morning.

Then we had turkey and other Thanksgiving goodies for lunch. And dinner. AC woke up in the middle of the night with chills, so we spent the rest of the night snuggled on the couch.

Friday: AC had a full-fledged cold. But that didn't stop us from doing a little shopping. We were gone for a total of 1.5 hours, but I got exactly what I wanted. One of the perks of living here is being 2 miles or less from any store you could possibly want to visit. We spent the rest of the day relaxing.

Saturday: It's been a slow morning so far. I'm hoping it's another lazy day and that my girl starts feeling better soon.

In the spirit of giving thanks, here's what we are most thankful for this year.

1) A healthy baby girl, most of all

2) Healthy families

3) That Daddy gets to go to his dream job everyday and that it provides such a good life for us.

4) A great school for AC and the wonderful people who work there

5) Friends from home that let us know we haven't been forgotten

6) Much, much more

We love and miss you all. Only a few more weeks until we see you again!!

Tiny Prints

I cannot believe that it is already time to send out Christmas cards! Where has the year gone?! When the time came to start looking for a cute Christmas card design, I automatically went to Tiny Prints. I love this website. I have ordered so many things from them (birth announcements, birthday cards, stationary, party invitations). Tiny Prints' products are of the very best quality. I have spent lots of time and money with this company, so I was thrilled to see so many wonderful Christmas cards available this year.

Here are a few of my favorite cards this year!

Click here for more info on this one!

Click here for info on this one!

I love the cards that consist of mostly one picture like these.

Also, if you want more info on Christmas cards or any other wonderful Tiny Prints product, click here: http://www.tinyprints.com/shop/picture-christmas-cards.htm

I can't wait to send each of you a darling card from Tiny Prints very soon!

Thanksgiving Feast

Today was the Thanksgiving Feast at AC's school. She doesn't normally go on Tuesdays, but I was asked to volunteer with the food. This meant she got to spend an extra day with her "Winnie"!

The festivities kicked off with a Thanksgiving song from each of the classes. Here is AC and a few of her classmates singing. I was impressed with how well she knew the words. I could actually hear her voice above all the others!

The singing was followed by the feast (if you can consider tater tots, chicken nuggets, apple slices, and marshmallows a feast)!

AC and her buddy, Dominque

The Gang (minus a few) enjoying the feast!

When we got home, I wanted to get a good picture of AC in her dress. I tried to get her to sit on the steps, but she thought lying down was a better idea.

I just want to take a minute to tell each of you how very thankful we are for Ms. Lyndi, AC's teacher. She is truly one of those people that I will forever feel blessed to have known. I'm grateful every day that my girl gets to spend so much time in her presence. She is a remarkable woman. Happy Thanksgiving, Ms. Lyndi!

Our Names

A little transcript of the video I took last night:

Me: What's Mommy's name?

AC: Sara Mommy!

Me: Sara Mommy! What's your name?

AC: Anna Claire!

Me: Anna Claire! What's Daddy's name?

AC: Mawoney!

Me: Daddy Maloney! Yay!

Back to School

Good news...AC is feeling A-OK. The first thing she said when she woke up this morning was, "Mommy! You drive me to Winnie's (her teacher) house in car today, peeeeessssee!" She didn't get to go on Monday because she was vomiting. She was really missing her Ms. Lyndi. Here she is before school having a little conversation with Daddy about her stethoscope.

After school, we went to the pediatrician to discuss some allergy issues. Once we finally got home, we watched an episode of Little Einsteins and played. She really enjoyed the fact that Daddy's beer coozie made a perfect shirt of Jessie.

I'm so tired. It's been a non-stop kinda day. Oh and it was 87 degrees here. Seriously. I was a sweaty mess before I even finished strapping AC in her car seat. There's just something unnatural about it being 87 on November 16th. Pray that we get some cooler temperatures soon!

Sick?

Yesterday morning, I heard AC squirming in bed at around 6:30. She wasn't talking, just restless wiggling. I waited for her to call for me, but she didn't. So I drifted back to sleep. About an hour later I heard her faintly talking, so I went to get her. As soon as I opened the door, I noticed that her shirt had a wet spot on the front. And then I noticed that she had drool hanging from her chin. The first words she said were, "Mommy, my tummy hurts." So I reached down to pick her up and she puked all over my back. She puked again at 8:30 and 9. She refused to eat anything yesterday. She did drink a lot but no food. She developed a fever at bedtime (100.7). She went to sleep before her head even hit the bed. This morning she appeared to be on the mend. She ate her breakfast and drank her juice. She hasn't puked any more today, but hasn't eaten anything other than 1 powdered donut today. Her fever is gone and she has been playing and running. I'm not sure what she had but I'm praying she starts to eat again tomorrow. Because I felt sorry for her, she was able to easily persuade me into buying these shoes for her.

They are 2 sizes too big, but she loves her Tinker Bell shoes. She wore them all evening.

I caved again and bought her these at Party City. She loves them. She doesn't want to drink from them. Instead she talks to them like they are actually figurines. This child has a wild imagination. She is constantly pretending to be some sort of animal, a doctor, a mommy, or a cartoon character. She has entire conversations with imaginary characters. I keep asking her is she's met anyone named Derrin (Daddy's famous childhood imaginary friend). As of yet he's MIA.

And here is a picture of this funny girl from Sunday. She's getting so big.

I hope she is feeling 100% tomorrow. We love and miss you all.

Sunday

When I can't think of anything to name the blog post, I just call it whatever day of the week it is. Like today. There is no theme or commonality to what we did today. So I couldn't think of a single title. "Sunday" it is.

By 8:15 A.M., we were at the park. AC asked to go as soon as she woke up. So we went. We stayed until 10. Two hours and I still had to drag her away. I was so tired and it wasn't even noon.

When we got home, she played for awhile. She loves to lay my magazines out in a row on the floor and pretend she is building a road. It was then that she found an old J.Crew catalogue. AC and I had looked at together when I first received it. She wasn't that into it. That is until we came to this page.

She yelled, "Mommy! You, Mommy, YOU!!!" She was convinced that this lady was me! HA! I'm pretty sure that the only thing this lady and I have in common is the crazy hair and maybe the sunglasses. Every time AC sees this picture, she brings it to me so I can see myself!

Back to today. She took a long nap and was so cranky when she woke up. Then we went to get groceries and walked Gracie. We stopped at Mia and Elise's house for about an hour. Elise is 4 and Mia is 1. It is interesting to watch AC interact with each girl in such a different way. She acts big for Elise and like a baby with Mia.

When we finally got home, we had dinner and practiced a few Christmas carols. She has suddenly taken an interest in Santa and snowmen. I guess they have talked about it at school. While we were singing, I gave my girl a side-ponytail. Because who doesn't feel like singing and dancing when you are wearing a side-ponytail. She thought it was weird at first but then wouldn't let me take it out.

In other news, she has learned that I have a name other than "Mommy." She has been calling me "Sara Mommy" all afternoon.

We hope you had a great weekend! We love and miss you all!

Early

We're up and at 'em this morning. The Daddy is in Hawaii, so my girl and I decided to do something we never do (mostly because we're very lazy in the morning). We went yard-selling. We didn't find anything. But AC was good so it was a nice morning.

All strapped in and ready to go!

I'm sure there will be more fun today!

Quickly

Happy Veteran's Day! It's a brisk November morning here. A wonderful 65 degrees. AC says hi and miss you all!

Watching a little Handy Manny before school.

Skype

This girl spent a little time on Skype today. Lots of fun.

Almost There

For the last 6 days, our time has revolved around these 2 things.

A Potty Chair

And Training Pants.

It's been trying at times, but I can confidently say that I think we have made it over the potty-training hill and are on the downhill slide. She hasn't had an accident in 2 days! In fact, I took a gamble and sent her to school with no diapers. Only extra training pants. I was sure that she would have an accident once she became engaged in a fun activity. I was surprised to find her in the same clothes when I picked her up. Her teacher said that she did a great job. She told her teacher when she had to go. She was a champ at sitting on the real potty in the classroom. And she even pooped! 4 hours of school with no diaper and no accidents. That's a big deal! Woohoo! I'm so proud of her. Because she did so well, her teacher let her pick a prize from the treasure box. Here's what she got.

I kid you not, she put these glasses on her face, looked at me, and said, "Mommy, me so Hollywood!" She is hilarious! I have NO idea where she heard that! Anyway, we are soooo close to being diaper-free! And I am so proud of AC for tackling this challenge like the little champion that she is and of me for deciding she was going to do it and helping her learn to do it! We make a great team!

Ramekins

Whenever I give AC a bath in the sink, she begs to have 'wittle baff tups' for her friends. These little bathtubs are better known as ramekins. She fills them with water, sets them on the counter, and places friends inside for a soak.

Here are Jessie and Barbie getting their turn in the teeny, tiny hot tub. Barbie is being her normal self, waving at the camera. And Jessie, well, it seems that she may be trying to end it all.

It was a regular party over in this little hot tub. Even the horse got invited.

Patiently waiting for their turns.

Guess what else ramekins can make? Drums!!

These little bowls make for one happy, little bath-taker!

It's the little things...like tiny bowls.

Twitter Fun

I love Twitter. If you don't have a Twitter account, you should look into it. It's a great way to keep up with the daily news, celebrity buzz, sports happenings, and just about any other type of information that you find interesting. It is a refreshing break from the seemingly constant boastfulness or whining on facebook.

A few days ago, I posted a little about organic products. This is something that I grow a little more passionate about each month. Especially when it pertains to babies and children. I just so believe in it. Here is a little video that I found interesting. Please watch.

Also, these are a few of the best people to follow on Twitter if you want to stay updated on baby and child health:

@EarthMama

@Babies411

@Healthy_Child

Thanks for reading. I promise I won't continue to spew about all this stuff. I just want to share, in case your interested.

Morning Visit

This morning we met our friend, Melissa, for a long overdue visit. AC was super excited and kept saying, "Me play with Lissa!" Even though it has been a while since we saw her, AC acted like it was just yesterday. It's crazy how she instantly loved Melissa and still does even though we don't see her as often as we would like. They just have a connection. It's really sweet.

Here is AC waiting to see "Lissa". She had to bring her Jessie doll to show her.

AC and Melissa.

We had a great morning and hope that we see Melissa again very soon.

No News

Just wanted to drop by and say that I've got nothing new for you tonight. Stay tuned though...we have a fun day planned tomorrow!

Shutterfly!

The Daddy and I have been married for a little more than 5 1/2 years and I've only sent out Christmas cards once. It's not that I didn't want to do it more. I did. Every year I would search for really cute ones that mixed the true miracle of Christmas (Jesus' birth) with all the cutesy holiday designs. But my search would be abandoned when the countdown to Christmas break began with my students. I forgot about the cards and started dreaming of sleeping in, shopping, and time with family and friends. About a week before Christmas, just as we were getting many adorable cards in the mail, I would begin to regret my abandoned search and promise to do better next year. Well, it seems that this is the year. I planned ahead and am so excited to send out our cards!

It was a tough job, this picking of the perfect card. I started and ended my search at Shutterfly.

Here were a few of my favorite Christmas cards on Shutterfly.com!

Here's why I love these:

1) Our family celebrates Christmas. While we respect other holidays that happen during this time of year, our card will say "Merry Christmas" not "Happy Holidays". That's just one of our things, however trivial it may seem. I appreciate that Shutterfly provides cards for both preferences.

2) Each card has a religious theme or images. Again, we are celebrating one of greatest miracles in the history of Christianity. To us, it's super important that we take every chance to show our reverence.

3) AND I love that the layout allows for pictures! Our angel girl would look so precious on any of these cards!!

I just love this company. They have awesome products and are great to their costumers. I've ordered a lot from them in the past. Like AC's birthday party invitations and thank you cards. I've also ordered other greeting cards and prints of my most favorite pictures from Shutterfly.

Check out these links for more info on Christmas Cards! You won't be disappointed!

www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery

www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-cards

www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/holiday-cards

Perhaps the coolest thing about Shutterfly is this....Bloggers get frees holiday cards from Shutterfly!

Now, get excited! You'll be getting a fabulous card from my little family very, very soon!!!