My Own House!

My parents were here this past weekend and we had a lot of fun with them.

One of the fun things we did was make a Gingerbread House. This year I bought the Wilton kitfrom Jo-Ann Fabrics. I'll be honest, I wasn't impressed. Most of the pieces were crooked and had to be trimmed and it didn't come with a good "display" to sit it on.

Either way, Ava had a blast putting it together and decorating with her Mimi and Papa. I put the house together in the afternoon and we decorated that evening. I would recommend putting it together and letting it dry overnight.

I let her do whatever she wanted. I applied all the frosting and she did the rest.

She's really concentrating here.

Getting some input from Mimi and Papa.

Very proud.

As Ava would say "Da Dawww!"

Little Feet

What kind of ornaments do you hang on your tree? Is it a tree that is perfectly styled with matching ornaments, is it a live tree that is sparsely decorated to show off the beautifulness that is a live tree, or is it a sentimental tree with homemade ornaments that you have bought throughout the years?

I always thought I wanted a designer tree. One that looked perfect and was perfectly matching. Then I had the opportunity to put up my own tree and I went with the homemade tree. I just love pulling out the ornaments each year and thinking about where I bought them, or who made them for me.

My favorite ornaments on my tree are my babies baby feet ornaments.

Ava was 7.5 months old on her first Christmas. This is her 7.5 month old foot.

Blake was 3.5 months old on his first Christmas, and this is his 3.5 month old foot.

Looking at them just makes me smile. Maybe I should leave them out year round.

Oh Christmas Tree...

Last year we bought a new tree. Our old tree was small, sparse, and had a few broken limbs. Some were broken by our cat, Thomas aka Moosie, and some were broken by our daughter, aka Ava. I really love our new tree, but it is quiet large for our small house. When we bought it we thought we would only be in this house for one more Christmas (last year), but thanks to the housing market, we are still here in our little bungalow.

(Because of little hands, there are no ornaments on the bottom of the tree.)

Anyway....decorating this year was a lot of fun. Ava helped me with the garland and the candy canes. I put on the ornaments, and Rob put the bow on the top. Poor Blake, he was already in bed, but he can help next year.

Here are some of our ornaments:

(An ornament bought in Hawaii right after we got married.)

(A small mailbox, to keep secret letters to Santa. Made by my Aunt in the early 80's)

(Go Dawgs!)

Our Thanksgiving

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We were able to host my Mother-In-Law and Father-In-Law this year and I really enjoyed it.

I had ambitious sewing plans, and in the end, I think I got just enough done. I made the napkins and the runner. I bought the table cloth. I think it all turned out great!

Ava helped me set up the table...

I made the wheat bread, deviled eggs, pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie bites, cranberry/orange cake, and the green bean casserole. My husband made the sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, corn, gravy, and turkey.

While enjoying some appetizers, Ava also enjoyed some "kid wine". I think she almost drank the entire bottle that day. She loves her some "kid wine".

Blake couldn't wait for dinner, and let's be honest here, he probably wouldn't have ate much anyway. So, he ate his favorite meal, Mac'N'Cheese. And for that, I'm sure he was very THANKFUL.

This was our first official Turkey, and Rob did a great job!

He was very proud.

After dinner, we enjoyed some family time...

and even got a family picture!

It was a wonderful day.

From my family...

to yours, Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Easter