Five on Friday!

It's Friday!! And I'm thrilled about it! I have a girls' night planned with a friend tonight and some family fun with my trio planned for tomorrow, so I'm a happy girl today!

Per my Friday usual, I'm linking up with Darci & the girls for Five on Friday :)

{one} The Wildcat football family Christmas party was Wednesday night, and we had such a great time! The restaurant where we had it is extremely family friendly, so all of our kiddos just ran around playing together, and it couldn't have been more perfect. Definitely takes the stress off the parents when you don't have to worry about keeping a bunch of kiddos quiet through a dinner for 30+ people!

 It's still bizarre to me that we have a little one to include in the "kids picture!"

{two} If you have an HEB (and a wax warmer) pick these up next time you're there! My whole house smells like peppermint bark, and I LOVE IT!! I'm obsessed with the smells of this season. Of course, they make me super hungry, too, but whatever ;)

{three} It has been coold (to us) in Texas for the last week, and J absolutely loves it. Crazy girl! She just giggles and says, "buuuuurrrr!!" every time we go out. I think she'll be happy to get back to the park soon though! Lucky for us, next week is looking pretty nice!

{four} We're not doing any advent activities this year just because J is still young, but I'm scouting out everyone else's ideas for next year! I love Jessica's (of Little Baby Garvin) toddler activities...so much fun! I'm also dying over this little felt stocking advent garland. I really hope I can score one after Christmas! 

{five} Not trying to get into a Santa debate here, but obviously it's a decision that you make as a parent in whether or not you will "do" Santa. We WILL be doing Santa in our family, but it will never override what we're really wanting our children to know Christmas (and LIFE!) is all about. E of E, Myself, and I had a great post on the topic this week that basically pinpoints exactly how I feel about including Santa in Christmas traditions. Santa is only a few weeks out of the year, but Jesus is year-round! Now, if only I could get Jaqs to stop referring to the man as "Big Ho!" It's getting embarrassing.

I can hardly wait to see how she reacts to the jolly fella this year. Something tells me we're going to end up with one of those hilariously pathetic screaming pictures! Can't wait.


Hope you lovelies have a wonderful weekend!

toddler {girls} christmas wishes

Jaqs is going to have a merry Christmas indeed this year! She's at such a fun age, and I really think she's going to have so much fun playing with her new toys. It's easy to go overboard, but I certainly don't want to raise her to believe that this is what Christmas is all about. I wanted to share J's little list though in case some of you are looking for ideas for your littles!

click set for details

1. The Little Mermaid & Doll--We're collecting all the classic Disney movies, so of course The Little Mermaid had to join when it came out of the vault earlier this year! Target had a movie + doll deal a couple months ago, so J is lucky & getting both.

2. Melissa & Doug Wooden Sound Puzzle--My little lady loves wooden puzzles, and I know she'll go crazy for this vehicle one that even has sound when the correct piece is places! Yep, my girl looooves cars, trucks & choo-choos.

3. Jammies--You can never have too many sets of pj's, right?! Not when they're this cute!! I love this heart set at Old Navy, especially with Valentine's Day coming up next!

4. My 1st Trampoline--This is Jaqs' BIG gift this year, and she is going to LOVE this trampoline. I'm calling it now that we'll be living in the backyard after Christmas! :) Girlfriend LOVES to JUMP! This trampoline is perfect for toddlers as it's only a couple feet off the ground & is completely enclosed. The weight limit is 100 pounds, so it should last us awhile!

5. Just Like Mommy Set & Baby--J has a baby stroller at my parents' house, and she plays with it constantly, so we figured it's about time she has one at her own house, too! My mom and I found a Black Friday deal on this set, so that's the one she'll be getting from GG & Pop, but there are tons of options out there, and this seems to be one of those toys that boys and girls never get tired of.

Family Pictures

Hi friends! I have missed this little space of mine so much over the last couple months. Since Thanksgiving, I've sat down to blog many times, but each time life has "happened" and I accomplished nothing here. Rather than overwhelming myself with trying to play catch up, I decided to just start fresh and new with NOW!

******

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving at home with our families in Abilene, and while we were there, my cousin offered to take some family photos for our Christmas card. I'm so thankful she did, and I absolutely am SO pleased with how they turned out! Thank you, Jessica, you're the best :) I thought I'd just get my toes wet here and share those with y'all today! 

 Jaqs went straight to climbing the rocks in the location where these were taken! Busy girl.

 Is it obvious that she loves her daddy? :)

I adore this picture! It's a miracle that we're all looking AND smiling!

 Neigh the pony goes everywhere with us.

Whew, feels good to be back! Believe it or not, I even have a few posts scheduled, so I actually WILL be back sooner than 3 weeks from now! :) Thanks for hanging on, y'all.