It's Parade Season...

If you haven't heard, I love- LOVE- parades. I have for as long as I can remember. It's hard to say exactly why. I suppose it's just that everyone is smiling and waving and celebrating something wonderful... It was very easy for me to make the Neiman Marcus Adolphus Children's Parade a yearly Christmas tradition. It's a GRANDADDY parade and oh so fun. This year Brett raised the bar and got us a room at the Adolphus and then to top it all off, our dear friends The Clark's from Andrews were able to join us. I can't remember the last time I had a day so wonderful...

Eden and Landes Clark- I hope they are great friends 30 years from now just like their Mamas are.
Can I tell you that beret was worth EVERY PENNY!

Each time a new float or balloon came into view, Eden would say "WHOA!"

Pretty girl in front of the pretty tree in the lobby.

Later that afternoon we went to "Ice" at the Gaylord Texan with the Andrews crew. It's a beautiful resort if you have never seen it. "Ice" is really neat too, but Eden is still a little young to appreciate it. She had a little cough and later I realized she had a fever- so happy I took her through a show that was 9 degrees! Mom of the year...

The Friday after Thanksgiving was the annual Christmas Parade in Granbury. I am so proud of our little town for being so good at celebrating things. I like to joke that I moved here because they have parades for everything you can think of- just got back from the Wednesday afternoon parade- he he. Seriously I had no idea of what a parade lovin town this is, but it was a super great surprise!

She LOVED it! Just like her Momma...

Thanksgiving

I am ashamed at how much I have to be thankful for and how seldom I stop and acknowledge it. It shouldn't take a holiday for me to show Him my gratitude... I am so thankful that He loves me anyway.

Thank you God for my life. For allowing me to be born during this time, to this family, and in this country. I truly want for nothing. Thank you for my health and the health of all those I love. Thank you for all that you have protected me from and for continuing to bless me- often in spite of my foolishness. Thank you for my amazing husband and for my children- they are so much more than I deserve. Thank you the most for your grace and your Son. There is no greater gift.

We made the I20 roadtrip again this year. I didn't manage to get any pictures taken in Abilene but here are some good ones from Tyler...

All the cousins! There are 3 sets of twins in that room!
Sweet Grandma Jessie. She is so special.

Our favorite nephew
The best Sassy in the world.

The Zoo

Can I just say that I love zoos? I will never forget going to the Fort Worth Zoo as a little girl- it's hard to say what was my favorite part. I love zoos almost as much as I love parades, but that's a story for another day...

Little Miss Eden took her first trip to the zoo on Wednesday and OH WHAT FUN WE HAD!

Halloween

We took our great friends The Wilkins to Tyler for a little Halloween fun over the weekend. Cousin Garrett stopped by for a bit and then Eden & Johnna had a blast trick or treating around Brett's parent's neighborhood. Check out our little chicken...

Happy Birthday Brett

You make me happier than I ever dreamed possible. I hope your day was wonderful... I am so happy you were born and I am so happy God shared you with me.

This weekend we took a little trip to San Marcos and Fredericksburg for Joe & Casey's wedding. Driving through the Hill Country never does get old....

Yes my dear Aggie friends... Miss Eden had her first Freebirds burrito. She loved it of course. I am considering petitioning the AAP to make it a true developmental milestone.

Here we are all gussied up for the wedding...

Just Perfect!

We had our 19 week sonogram Tuesday. Babyboo looks just perfect! Weighs in at about 9oz and is about 6.5in long. The technician was EXCELLENT at concealing the gender, so no educated guesses here! I can't believe how much faster it is going than it did with Eden... I mean seriously, I am halfway there!

Look how beautiful!!!

We counted all 10 fingers and all 10 toes... These are all the toes in case it isn't clear!

A Couple of Firsts...

First Pigtails...
(As an aside, I included this picture because you can see the big 'ol molar coming in on the bottom right. He has brought along 3 of his friends and it has been a little rough. She really is handling it like a champ, but sleeping is a little rough and most of the time she just wants to sit and snuggle... so sweet)

First Chopsticks...

(Now of course she didn't actually eat with them, but when she saw us using them she tried to stack her food on the end of one- it doesn't sound nearly as funny as it really was.)