Tori's walking as of her 1st birthday!

Tori started walking on her 1st birthday! She's been taking steps for weeks but on Friday she started walking more than crawling. She is so proud! It is so cute to see. She holds out her hands to keep her balance and off she goes!

Here are a few pics from the family party we had for her in San Antonio last weekend. She wouldn't eat the cake and cried when we sang happy birthday.

She had her 1 year check up yesterday and is measuring 90% in height and head circumference and is down to 50% in weight. She is right on target.

My Christmas

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Both
2. Real tree or artificial? Artificial, pre lit... This is our first year to do artificial.
3. When do you put up the tree? Weekend after Thanksgiving
4. When do you take the tree down? New Years Day.
5. Do you like eggnog? It's okay but not a necessity.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? I honestly cannot remember. How sad is that!
7. Do you have a nativity scene? We have two the kids got last year from MOPS. They like to play with them.
8. Hardest person to buy for? Mike, he has everything and is very picky.
9. Easiest to buy for? Becca, I love buying for her. I also love picking out kid gifts.
10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I can't think of a worst but the funniest was the year my grandmother gave me a pen. It was just a simple BIC pen that she had in the house I guess. This was after she was having some dementia issues obviously.
11. Mail or email Christmas cards? mail of course
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? The Santa Clause and Miracle on 34th Street
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Thanksgiving weekend but this year I haven't started yet.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? no
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? cookies
16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? colored because that's what Maddie likes
17. Favorite Christmas song? What Child is This and Angels We Have Heard on High
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? travel on Christmas Day to SA
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? yes
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? angel
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? presents from family on Christmas Eve and Santa's gifts on Christmas morning
22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? nothing
23. What I love most about Christmas? that it puts everyone in a good mood

He died or the law done got him

The other day Ryan's bus was very late coming home from school. When he got off the bus there was a new bus driver. I asked Ryan where Mr. Richard was and he said "Oh, he died." "He died?" I asked. "Yeah, he died." Ryan said. I didn't know what else to say about it so I fretted until the next day. Again, there was a new driver but this time I asked where Richard was. "The law done got him" he said. "What???" "The law done got him, he has jury duty." What a relief.......

Christmas pictures

Here are some Christmas pictures we took at home. It was Maddie's idea to take pictures after we put up the tree. We got our first fake one this year. I picked it out at JCPenney but when we went to get it they were sold out in the store and online. The salesgirl let me buy the display so they took it down for me and hauled it out to the car. Mike's out of town so me and the kid did it all by ourselves. You should have seen us trying to get it out of the car and into the house! Maddie & Ryan hung all the ornaments and Tori helped to tear them down. Merry Christmas everyone!

Beware Cheeseheads

Susan and Jason came in town last week for the big Cowboys vs. Packers game. Jason and Mike had tickets for the game and Suze and I even went and tailgated with them in the parking lot beforehand. (It was my first time leaving all 3 kids with the babysitter while they were all awake, she did awesome!) The Cowboys won (of course)and it was a great game. Did I forget to mention Susan and Jason are big Packers fans? Jason is from Iowa, need I explain more? Anyway, Mike woke me up about 1am to tell me Jason hurt his knee after the game. They were taking a "shortcut" through a field and Jason fell in a ditch. Mike had to carry him over his shoulder until they ran into someone with a golf cart who took them the rest of the way to the car. Another poor guy fell in before Jason and hurt his ankle. Jason's knee was swollen very bad and he had a rough night. They decided to leave the next morning to go the hospital in San Antonio. Suze bought a pair of crutches and they were on their way. Jason took a short break just inside our front door to lay down on the way to the car. He was in a lot of pain, obviously. We laid him in the back seat of the SUV and Susan drove them home. Turns out he broke his tibula (sp?) and did something to his patella. He needs surgery. Jason, we're thinking of you!

It's not a nipple

Funny story......Ryan has a circular scab on his back from a scratch of some sort. He came up to me the other day and asked me to look at his back & tell me what it was. When I told him it was a scab he immediately went to Maddie & said "SEE MADDIE, IT'S NOT A NIPPLE!"