Christmas 2011: Part 2

We are so glad Santa got his second wind because boy did he deliver!

She was so shy at first and couldn't believe everything was hers.  It didn't take her long though to get it because then she ran around like a mad woman!

After all the excitement at our house and a VERY long family nap, we got dressed and went to have Christmas at my Nanny's.

 

Playing with her new house with Aunt Leslie.

Monday night, we headed to my Granny's for our 3rd Christmas.

Dancing to one of her new musical books!

And our last Christmas with my family was at my parent's on Wednesday night.

Favorite gift of the night...Mickey Mouse couch.  Nothing else mattered after that.

Well except the kitchen accessories Aunt Leslie and Uncle Mayo got her.

We have had a busy but wonderful Christmas this year.  Even though it was spread out, it was so much more enjoyable than running around from house to house in one day.  This year has by far been my favorite Christmas and its still not over!  We have Christmas with Brent's family this weekend.  Love celebrating for a whole week!

Christmas 2011: Part 1

Our festivities started Friday night at my parent's house.  My brother flew in on Friday so we were ready to see him!  We haven't been together since his wedding back in April so we made a trip down to Franklin to welcome him home.

Cecilia warmed up to him pretty quickly and the two played the majority of the night. 

She even scored a few early Christmas gifts from my mom's co-workers.

(excuse my child's chipmunk cheeks.  She shoved a WHOLE piece of chocolate in her mouth right before I took this.)

Saturday morning, Cecilia and I made a cake for later that night...

and cookies for Santa which had to be taste tested after her nap (hence the crazy hair).



Again with the cramming of food in her mouth!  They must have been good!



On Christmas Eve, we went out to eat with my family and did a little last minute shopping/browsing at the mall.  We came back to our house for dessert and we had a little gift dropped at our door.

Santa's elves had dropped off some Christmas pjays for Cecilia to wear.

She wasn't near as excited as her mama was about the gift.  Oh well, maybe another year!

We ended our night at the 11 o'clock service at our church.  This is one tradition Brent loved growing up and wants to make sure Cecilia has the same tradition.  I had visions of her sleeping through the whole thing but that didn't happen.  She was buck wild and wide awake!  My mom went with us so she bounced from her to me to Brent to back to her.  Heavens!  I was for sure after the service she would fall asleep on the ride home but again my dreams were crushed!  She was up until about 12:30am!  Santa almost didn't come because he was too tired and couldn't stay awake any longer but thankfully he found a small ounce of energy left in him and was able to leave goodies at the house.

Our festivities are to be continued...

From Us To You

At Least Somebody Can

It seems that one of Cecilia's teachers is lovin' her some Pinterest.  Look what we got today as a gift from Cecilia...

they took her fingerprint and made them into reindeer.  One for each of us.  Cute right?  I've seen this all over Pinterest and thought it was adorable but knew there was no way Cecilia would let me stick her finger in paint.  Remember grandparent's gift?

Then we also got a Christmas card from her...

Tell me how they do it?  How do they get her to do things I so badly want her to do with me?

Sorry Chuck. You are NO Friend of Mine!

Friday night I thought it would be a good idea to take Cecilia to Chuck E Cheese.  There's lights, buttons, balls, pizza, everything a kid could ask for!

We went pretty early to beat the crowd and all seemed to be going smooth.  Cecilia was loving the movie clips they were playing, watched Chuck do his thing on stage and ate her overpriced pizza.  Then it was time to play.

I let her pick what she wanted to do first and this was her choice...

She loved it!  Even rode it twice.

We move on to another ride she picked out similar to the one before but this one had a passenger.  I didn't think she would ride but she sat in it with confidence but the second it started she screamed and cried!  I wish I could show the picture (this is a picture of a picture) better because you can see the fear in her eyes! 

I didn't even realize the ride took her picture but I'm so glad it did.  It is hilarious!

After that, she was DONE with Chuck E Cheese.  We tried several different games that had buttons and balls but she only freaked out and screamed!  Good thing Daddy is still a huge kid at heart and could use all our tokens!  At least we walked away we a handful of cheap prizes that were lost before we ever got the car! 

Oh well, its about making memories whether good or bad!

Radical

Every year I make these big elaborate bows (or try) for each Christmas gift.  I have been trying to master these bows since I was 12 under the watchful eye of my mom who is the true master.  I've gotten pretty good over the past couple of years and LOVE the way to packages look but this year I just wasn't feeling it.  So I dug and hunted around my craft room for different items to dress up my packages.

Here's what I came up with so far...

Very simple but I thought they turned out pretty cute.  I'm also changing things up by just using 2 different wrapping papers instead of 4 or 5.  Brent told me I was being radical (ha!) but he only knows big bows in our house so anything different is weird to him.

Watch out people!  The Miller's are shaking up Christmas gift wrapping!  :)

Teacher's Gift

Oh the joy of racking your brain for the perfect teacher's gift!  I always have such a hard time coming up with gifts for Cecilia's teachers.  I don't know them well enough to do personal gifts but yet I don't like being super generic either. 

So what's a mom to do?  Why get on Pinterest of course!

I saw a super cute idea to make magnetic message boards out of a cookie sheet.  Here was my supplies...

I had the hubs get his power tools out and be manly by drilling two holes in the top of the pans.  I then spray painted them.  While they dried, I cut the teacher's initials out of scrapbook paper.  A little Mod Podge and ribbon and voila...magnetic message board. 

Super easy (and cheap) and hopefully they will enjoy them!  I think I see one for myself in the near future.  Perfect for the hubs To Do List!

I'm ready for my close up, Mr. DeMille

A couple of weekends ago, we had a little photo shoot at my parent's house in hopes of getting a good picture for our Christmas cards.  I never have high hopes during these little shoots I plan because I never know the mood in which my child will be in.

I threw together a little backdrop using some white panels we have along with a wreath my mom made.  I wanted to keep it very simple because I wanted Cecilia's bright dress to pop.  We had a few different props for her to play with but she ended up sticking with just one.  She did fabulous despite a short nap and it being dangerously close to dinner.

So here's what we got...



I didn't worry with panty hose or shoes because I have finally learned my limits and didn't want to press my luck.

I was so happy the way they turned out and that my dad's love of photography keeps me and Cecilia from having breakdowns at a professional studio!

Quotes

I found a few quotes on Pinterest today that I thought I would share.

This quote has my name stamped all over it.  I'm definitely not where I thought I would be/planned 10 years ago but I keep reminding myself there is a reason why I'm where I am.

I laughed at this one because I thought I was dying the ONE time I tried to run!  My brother and husband had convinced me running was the way to go instead of walking.  NOT!  I almost passed out after 1 minute.  I started seeing spots, my lungs burned and my legs turned to jello.  I'm sure I was quite the sight!  I haven't run since.

This also has my name stamped all over it!

Is it bad that I feel this way about 80% of the people I have to work with?

Or when her dad calls to tell her on his way to work.