photo 303...

taking pictures with a toddler....

...is an absolute WHIPPIN'. She doesn't want to sit still at all! Today we went to see Santa Claus and let me just tell you that this picture should give you a hint of how that went!

This is one stage that I will be happy to see come to an end.

photo 302...

Our BG...

Today we went to take some pictures hoping to get a good picture for our holiday cards. This was a fun picture that Ashton wanted Daddy to take of her in front of the tree....it looks like Ashton was "photoshopped" into the background. I can't believe how grown up she is looking these days. Geeeeze!

photo 301...

waiting....waiting....waiting....

The Olsons came up to the Big D for Thanksgiving and spent a few days with us. We had a get together tonight so they could visit with some friends. The Leonards were the only ones who were able to make it with it being Thanksgiving weekend and all.

The girls were standing at the door waiting for the Leonards to get here. This a regular occurrence when we are expecting company!

photo 300...

Black Friday....

I love this day...it is one of my many favorite days of the year! I actually get really, really excited about Black Friday! I wanted to take pictures of my clock in the car to show what time I pulled out of our driveway (which by the way was 4:42 am) but the battery in my camera was dead.

So I took a picture of some of the bags I accumulated from the day. It wasn't as successful as years past, but I was able to get some good stuff and some great deals!

photo 299...

I am thankful for...


...these two little girls of our who are so precious to us!

(plus numerous other things today and every day...Happy Thanksgiving!)

photo 298...

every little girl needs a full length mirror....

Every once in a while Landry loves to dress up....she brought me the top to Ashton's dance recital costume from this past summer and wanted me to put it on her.

She was admiring herself in the full length mirror we have hanging in the playroom. After a few minutes she came running to me and asked me for "mooo-na" which translates to "music". The CD that was in the CD player was Ashton's 7 favorite songs. It was so hilarious because Landry was totally jammin to the tunes and singing away.

I love little girls!

photo 297...

two little girls...and their dog....

Landry is in love with our dog, Buster. She loves to pet him and point out his body parts...she especially loves when we lift up his skin so she can see his teeth. She prefers to have someone else pet him with her.

Tonight just before bed, she wanted to rub Buster's belly and she wanted her Big Sis to do it with her. Both girls and Buster were totally enjoying the belly rubbing!

photo 296...

Reesey P came to play with Lan-Lan P....

Today we got a super special treat....we (I mean Landry) got to see Reese twice in one day! First we had My Gym this morning and then after nap, Reese's mommy brought her over to play so she could get some major Thanksgiving grocery shopping done for all the cooking she will be doing while they have company in a few days.

We loved having her....the girls had fun....and we can't wait for Miss Becky to bring Reesey P over again soon to play (maybe for a little longer next time...time sure flew by). Ashton even had fun playing with them.

photo 295...

this is one of the things I really dislike about laundry....

I have to hang up most of the girls' clothes and it takes a long time and it is a beating! It takes up my kitchen chairs, and the shower rod in the guest bathroom and really just isn't so much fun!

oh and this is just one load's worth of clothes minus the jeans!

photo 294...

Landry's Baby...

Landry is OBSESSED with babies...real or fake it doesn't matter to her. She loves to play mommy to her babies! She has even gotten to the point where her babies need to go to bed with her.

Tonight after several attempts on my part to get her to put her baby to bed on the boppy she wouldn't have it. She got very sad....not mad....but sad that I would make her put her baby down. We decided to let her baby sleep with her as long as she wasn't playing. As I was putting her to bed she said, "Mommy, dolly night-night me. I sleep" . And she did. She didn't play, she just wanted to sleep with her baby.

photo 293...

A Surprise for Mommy...

My darling husband came home from his meeting today with a suspicious and sweet smile on his face and an explanation to go with it.

He told me that since he got a new job and he bought himself a "new job present", and the girls got a little present from his trip, he couldn't not get Mommy a "new job" present. He said I am the one that has to deal with everything when he is working and is gone and he knows it isn't easy.

So he walked out of the room and came back in with a huge bag. I immediately knew it was way too much of a present and he should take it back. When I looked in the bag, and saw it was the boots I have been wanting (and have on my birthday and Christmas list) I told him to take them back. After trying to convince him for a long time, he wouldn't budge. So at this point I figured I wasn't going to win this battle so I just needed to be grateful.

I love surprises....even though it was not necessary....and I think he spoils me when he shouldn't....I do love these boots. They are the most comfortable and snuggly and soft things I have ever put on my feet! I am in love...with my new boots!

photo 292...

$51 ...

...is how much money Ashton saved all by herself!

Ashton has been saving her money for a long time to buy a "Just Like Me" American Girl Doll. If you are familiar with American Girl dolls, you know they are expensive. The one she wanted was $100.

We knew it would be extremely difficult for her to save that much money seeing how she only able to earn a maximum of $4 a week for her allowance and she has to put half of whatever she earns into an envelope for her savings account. So we told her she needed to save half of the money for her doll.

She got a gift certificate for her birthday which she saved to go toward her doll. She has saved every bit of money she has earned and she has even done extra things to earn money. Today we counted her money and she had 51 dollars!

I was almost in tears because I was so proud of this girl! She was beaming with the most ginormous smile ever! She was so proud of herself and Landry was super excited even though she didn't have a clue why! She couldn't wait for Daddy to get home so she could tell him!

It was such an awesome day...not only is she proud of herself, but we are just so darn proud of her too! This is a HUGE deal for a seven year old. I even told her that it might take her until after Christmas to earn enough money...boy was she happy to prove me wrong!

*We took her after school on Friday to get her doll....she was so excited! I will have a post on that fun event!

photo 291...

Daddy's Home!

Daddy got a new job out of the blue a last week. He was hired on Tuesday, his official start date was Friday and he had to leave early Sunday morning for a Team Meeting in Orlando.

It was a long few days without Daddy and we sure did miss him. He got home a little while after the girls were in bed tonght. While my bunco ladies were here, the girls made Daddy a "welcome home sign". Ashton hung them on our bedroom door so he would see it when he went to put his stuff away.

We are so glad Daddy is back...and I think Daddy was really happy to back home with his girls!

photo 290...

bunco baby...

This month it was my turn to host our bunco group. Today after Landry and I went to the gym, we ran by the mall real quick to pick up some Harry & David stuff to make a dip and bumped into Carly and Jodi at the Gap while getting Ashton some leggings. (That was fun and super random)

Anyway, after were finished at the mall, we went to the grocery store to get the stuff for my bunco meal. I did a "random" theme. I made Harry & David dip and a super yummy baked potato dip for appetizers. I borrowed a new white chicken chili recipe from my friend Becky which was yummy, and made the most delicious frozen brownie dessert ever!

It was a fun night with lots of yummy and not so good for you food!

photo 289...

Mission: Organization!

Ahhhhh!

I feel SO.MUCH.BETTER now that Ashton's closet is organized!

Her closet has been a a mess for a loooooong time. It has been hard for her to keep it clean and organized because she had so much stuff in there. {When Landry came along, we had to baby proof the playroom which meant that all of Ashton's toys that had small pieces had to be moved into her room.}

Well...yesterday we fixed it. We got rid of a bunch of things (stuffed animals and stuff she has been collecting/keeping forever and for no real reason) and reorganized some other stuff and now it looks so much better. She had a ton of "stuff".

Today I finished the labels and she is set to go! Hopefully it will be a ton easier for her to keep it organized. You should have seen the look on her face when she saw her room in the "it gets worse before it gets better" phase. It was priceless and I only wish I had snapped a picture of that for my 365! She didn't really enjoy spending so much time with me...doing this project!