First Official Family Pictures

Before Thanksgiving, a friend of ours from high school took some AMAZING photos of our new family!  Thank you Jennifer and Southern Chic Photography!

And since Lindsay was in a picture-taking mood, Jennifer captured some really great ones of her, too!

My favorite little expression!  Such a girly girl!

 

Yes, we tried to eat the props.... oops!

Jennifer's idea for a Christmas picture -- turned out so adorable!

Thank you again to Jennifer and Southern Chic Photography!  We highly recommend them for your family photos!

10 Months: Our Little Turkey!

Think back with me to the beginning of November... it was still really warm and really dry in our part of the world, and Lindsay turned 10 months old!

Our happy baby :)

Her 10 month stats:

- weighs 19 lbs, 10 ounces

- moved to a big girl car seat and the big girl bathtub

- started to "share" her toys (but then quickly asks for them back!)

- Got 4 new teeth!  We got the bottom two, and then the top two showed up a few days later.  Luckily, she sailed right through teething without even a whimper!

- loves to go to high school football games and see all of the action

- visited the Pumpkin Patch

- dressed up for our first Halloween

- started pointing (with one and two hands) at people

- content to sit and play on the floor

- likes to study people and objects

- started to get up on her knees and rock back and forth, but no forward progress yet....

- favorite toys: rings and the rubber duck in the tub

- 9 month clothes and size 3 diapers

Some of our favorite 10 month moments:

"Watching" TV with Aunt Abi.  Ironically enough, it was the Kardashian wedding... guess she knew it wouldn't last form the beginning!

Self portrait with Daddy

Lots of teeth meant lots of chewing this month!

Most of our Friday nights were spent at the football game watching Aunt Abi cheer on the Cavaliers.

More Friday Night Lights!  

We loved the little pumpkins at the Pumpkin Patch!

Our first Halloween costume

Always busy, busy!  We love to empty out our toy bucket in the middle of the floor.

    

We love Aunt Abi!

  

We added "pointing" and "double pointing" this month!  We call this move the "Hey you!"

Such a fun and busy month!  We love you little girl! :)

Blog "Ketchup"

Now that we're out of school for the break, it's time for me to do some major blog "ketchup" (catch-up).  Look for new posts about Lindsay's 10 and 11 month updates, our first major family vacation to Disneyworld, our first professional family photos, Christmas traditions, meeting Santa, and various craft projects I've been working on over the next two weeks!  My goal is to post one a day, but we'll see how that actually pans out with the holidays. :)  Looking forward to getting back on track!

Turkey and Black Friday

We spent Thanksgiving with my extended family out in West Texas this year.  The drive was LONG, but it was worth it to get to see everyone!  Lindsay loved getting to play with everyone, and she even came THISCLOSE to crawling in Memaw's living room!

Our Turkey Day outfit - another Pinterest project!

Almost crawling.... 

So close!

Lindsay and Memaw (my grandma)

So on this side of our family, Thanksgiving is about 3 things...

1.  Memaw and getting to spend time at her house

2.  Football (Cowboys in the afternoon, Aggies/Longhorns at night)

3.  Black Friday shopping

A lot of people say they go shopping on Black Friday.  But my family doesn't just "go shopping".  They LIVE for Black Friday.  We've done it all - shopped the midnight sales and turned around to get in line for the 5 AM sale, had strategy sessions to assign who was waiting in line for what deal at which store,  and carried walkie-talkies to coordinate positions.  We have been interviewed on the news and ended up in pictures in the paper (not for anything bad or rowdy, just good shopping fun!).  This year was special, though... it was our first time to make matching shirts!

The front said "Up All Night".  On the back, we all had shopping nicknames, football jersey style.

Now I will be the first to admit that out of the family, I am one of the "lamer" ones... I usually hit the midnight sale, but the 5 AM is hit or miss for me.  Sometimes I'll stay in bed and go out with the second wave around 9 AM instead. :)  My mom, aunts, and cousins are MUCH more dedicated to the cause!  Never-the-less, we all decided to brave the 10 PM Wal-Mart sale together this year...

Standing in line for a Nintendo Wii in the juice aisle 

This was the toy section BEFORE the chaos... if you can believe it!   It got MUCH crazier once those black trash bags came off the $5 barbies and $10 DVD's!

It was okay until the sale actually started, then it was absolute madness.  Not fun like it's been in the past, but more of a "I'm-trying-to-get-out-but-I-can't-even-move-because-there-are-so-many-people" feeling.  Then people started getting ugly about the crowds and the lines.  Police were called to break up fights.  I got yelled at at least 3 times for bumping into other people's carts.  Bottom line, this was not the fun time we usually have on Black Friday, and I blame the 10 PM start time.  And the people that brought babies in strollers.

Next year, I think I'll just watch Black Friday from the safety of our living room while I shop online!

Container Store Preview Party

After years and years of wishing and hoping, they are finally opening a Container Store in our town!

Now, if you know me, I love my containers.  And pretty much organizing things in general.  So I was beside myself when my mom got invited to the Preview Party a few days before the store opened to the general public!

I was so excited, you would have thought I was meeting the Queen or something!

Absolutely we used the free valet parking!

The store wasn't actually selling anything -- it was all about mingling, getting to see the products, and creating buzz about the store opening that weekend.  They had food stations with cuisines inspired by places all over the world, and the check-out stand had been turned into a bar staffed with bartenders.  They had also set up a live band and dance floor right in the middle of the store!

LOVE that they used their own organizing products to create the buffets and food displays!

The live band -- we were rocking out to jams like Brick House

Can't wait to go back and actually buy things!

What a great idea -- it was basically like a club opening for the suburbs!  I see myself spending LOTS of time here in the future! :)

9 Months (just a little late...)

Lindsay was 9 months old last month, and we completely missed posting about it!  That's what happens when school starts back up again. :)  Anyway, here's our little one at 9 months...

A few new notables from 9 months:

- weighs 19 lbs, 7 oz and is 28 3/4 inches long

- attended a few local high school football games (she LOVES the crowds and the noise!)

- fed the ducks at the park with grandma

- claps hands

- says "Dada"

- shakes head no

- starting to imitate more and more... has started saying "tickle, tickle" and pinching her fingers together like we do when we tickle her

- "whispers"

- went to church for the first time

- plays peek-a-boo

- fave foods: rice cereal, apples, peas

- fave toy: anything with buttons and the exersaucer

- wears size 6-9 month clothes and size 3 diapers

Some of our favorite memories of being 9 months old...

We love staying with Grandma while Mommy is at work!

Visiting with Grammie (my grandma)

We LOVE Daddy!  He makes the funniest faces and noises!

 

Todd and I got to go to an Aggie Football Game.... Lindsay didn't go, but she still wore her maroon proudly!

This girl LOVES her breakfast/lunch/dinner! (this one was prunes, I think)

She is a really happy baby... loves to smile and giggle!

Cheering Aunt Abi on at the Homecoming Game.  She even made L a little mum of her own!

Playing with the book Daddy bought her

Her favorite place to be... on the floor, emptying her bucket of toys one by one!

Pumpkin Patch

On Saturday, we took Lindsay to the Pumpkin Patch (really a church down the street that had pumpkins for sale!).  She was a little unsure of the big orange things at first, but really became attached to a pumpkin that was just her size!

Studying... she does this to EVERYTHING these days!

This is MY pumpkin!

Mmmm, pumpkin!

Ooooh, what's that?

Whoa, big heavy pumpkin!

Our little pumpkin on her very first Halloween!