I have struggled SO much with whether or not to make this blog private and leave it that way so that I know exactly who is reading, or if I should print what I've got into a book and delete it altogether, or if I should keep it and just go with it. I enjoy blogging, but there are some security issues that I've dealt with that are scary. So, be careful friends...you never know what can happen in/on the world wide web. For now, I'm going to continue blogging even if it's only every now and then and it may or may not last. We'll see how it goes...
It's been a LONG time since my last post and a lot has happened! Peyton turned 10 months old on December 18. I can not believe she is already that old! It seems like she was JUST born! She is a little monkey! She is a FAST crawling machine and she's pulling up and cruising along the furniture! My friend
Brandy said "You would think she is too little to do that!" I couldn't agree more. She's only 15 pounds, but she's so determined! She ADORES her big sister and follows her everywhere. Or she tries to. She thinks Mackenzie hung the moon. She is also eating anything that we will give her. She enjoyed eating just about everything we did on her first Thanksgiving. And ever since then we give her almost everything we eat. The only thing we have given her that she hasn't liked is jello. I'm assuming the texture was what turned her off. I'd list what she loves to eat, but she will seriously eat anything. Except jello. ;)
Mackenzie is such a big girl these days. She is such a good helper and the best big sister in the world. She is so protective of Peyton and she loves her so much. I love watching them together. Mackenzie is really into reading books right now. She will sit for hours while someone reads to her. She has found a show on PBS called Word World that she loves and she still LOVES anything Minnie Mouse. :) She told her Daddy the other day that she wants another Minnie birthday party so we'll have to go back to Disney World for that. :) Smart girl. She's also really into writing and is doing such a good job. She can recognize all of her letters, upper and lower case and can write most of them. There are a few she still has a hard time with, but she'll get them eventually. I can't believe that in about 8 months my sweet girl will be in Kindergarten. It just doesn't seem like that much time has passed. I told Josh just the other night that I'm really having a hard time with accepting that she won't be with me all day every day anymore. What am I going to do without her?? I have really enjoyed being at home with her (and Peyton too), but I sure am going to miss my big girl all day. She, however is very excited at the thought of going to school and making some new friends. I haven't told her yet that she's going to have to get up early every morning. Both of my girls sleep until around 9:30 every morning. They also go to bed between 8:30-9:00 every night. I love that they love their sleep. :)
We went with our neighbors in October to the Arkansas State Fair. Mackenzie had the best time. She rode rides, ate a belly full of junk food, and just took everything in. Her least favorite part was probably all of the animals. She is not a fan of things that smell. Ha! She even rode one ride all by herself. She was ready to get off before it was over so she started yelling "STOP! STOP!" When he didn't stop the ride, she proceeded to start yelling at him to stop in Spanish. I haven't laughed like that in a long time. When she came back over to us, Josh asked her why she yelled out in Spanish. Her response was "well, he didn't stop when I said it in English." So duh. He MUST speak Spanish. She is a HOOT!
Halloween was a lot of fun this year too! Mackenzie asked to be Hermione from Harry Potter. We took her trick or treating on base and she had a ball! We finished up the night with dinner at Zaxby's. One of my favorites! :)
On a completely different subject...when Peyton was about 8 weeks old, I started running. I've lost close to 60 pounds and on November 12, Josh and I ran the Shakerag Half Marathon in Tupelo, MS. My time was 2:26:07. Not too shabby for my first half marathon. My pace was 11:14 and that made me so happy because I normally run a 12:00 mile. My original goal was to "just finish" then the closer it got to race day and the more I was training I changed my goal to finishing in no more than 3 hours. I was and still am proud of myself! :) The race started at 9:00 and it was SO cold. It didn't take long to start sweating though, thank goodness and then the second half of the race we were running into the wind. That was HARD! It felt like we were going uphill the whole time because of the wind. Josh was amazing. He could have finished it in an hour and a half, but he never left my side. He has been so supportive and encouraging of my dieting and weight loss even though I know that I haven't been the easiest person to be around during a lot of it. I'm so thankful for him. My friend
Renee also ran it and it was so good to get to see her and spend some time with her family!
For Thanksgiving, Josh's parents and sister came. Mackenzie was SO busy playing and having fun that I only got ONE decent picture of her all weekend! She got to help Nana make her famous chocolate chip cookies that we all love so much! We had a great time with them and that Friday they SO kindly kept the girls overnight while Josh and I went to St. Louis to celebrate one of Josh's friends' birthday. We ate at the Old Spaghetti Factory and then went to see the Blues play. I had to ask what the Blues were because I had no idea. I was excited to find out it was an NHL team. I'm not a hockey fan, but I love most any sport that I can watch live and the Blues did not disappoint. We had great seats and there were a couple of good fights. I asked Josh why the referees didn't just let them fight instead of getting in between them. I mean, they're grown men, let them settle it. ;) We had so much fun and I'm so glad that we went! While it was really nice to get out as a couple and just enjoy each other, we were ready to see our girls and were so excited to get back home to them. :)
Since I stay home with the girls and we love to just be at home I was able to get our Christmas decorations up really early. Like mid-November. We were able to enjoy having our stuff out for a long time and we loved it. That also meant that Henry (our elf) came early. The first night that we had the Christmas tree decorated Henry showed up. If I'm being honest I don't know if Henry should ever come that early again. I was searching for ideas for him by the time Christmas got here! Thank goodness for Pinterest! ;) Mackenzie LOVED having Henry here and would get so excited to look for him when she got up every morning. He had lots of fun at our house this year...
And truth be told, I think Josh and I enjoyed it more than Mackenzie did. :) We tried to see Santa several times at our mall, but had several failed attempts. We finally got to see him and Mackenzie was SO excited. Peyton on the other hand was less than thrilled. She wasn't a fan of the big man in the red suit, but we managed to get a couple of pictures of both of them with him even though you can tell that Peyton isn't feeling it. I'm glad we captured how she felt about him on her first Christmas. :)
We went to Josh's work Christmas party this year on December 3. Luckily it was a kid-friendly party and the girls got to go with us. They had a big play area set up for kids ages 3 and up that Mackenzie had a BLAST playing in and Peyton stayed with us and was the star of the party! Everyone loved her and couldn't get over how happy and good she is. She flirted a LOT with one of Josh's co-workers. It was too funny. Rotten girl. We didn't stay for the whole party because the little flirt had to get in bed, but the time we spent there was a lot of fun!
We enjoyed doing some fun Christmas crafts this year, but the hardest thing for me was keeping Peyton away from the tree! That little stinker loved the tree and her favorite thing to do was either pulling balls off the tree or pulling bows off of presents.
We celebrated our Christmas with the girls on December 22 since we were leaving the next day to go to MS to spend Christmas with our families. All Mackenzie asked Santa for this year was a Madeline doll. She LOVES Madeline. So she was VERY excited to find that Santa made an early delivery via Henry and she got her doll that night. She hasn't let Madeline out of her sight since she got her. :) As far as what P thought about Christmas...she could have cared less about the presents...she was as happy as a clam with bows and wrapping paper. :) Sweet girl. And my goodness was this Christmas fun. Just watching the girls...especially Mackenzie. To see and get to live Christmas through the eyes of my sweet big girl. There's so much magic and joy. I love it.
We drove to MS the next day and stayed with my parents. We ordered take out from our favorite hamburger place for supper and it was just as good as it always was. Yum. We stayed up late and watched Christmas movies and played and talked and just enjoyed being together. Peyton had slept most of the ride down and we thought it would be a long night for her. We were right. Sweet girl did not want to go to bed. She just doesn't sleep very well away from home. She was in a great mood, though so I can't complain. :) On Christmas Eve morning I heard Mackenzie squealing with excitement. Then she came running from the foyer in my parents house and I'm saying "Mackenzie, please stop squealing." Then I looked up and there stands Renee, Will, and Garrison. I think I started squealing then too! ;) They surprised me and brought me my favorite coffee from Beans and Cream before they closed for good on December 30. I was SO happy to get to see them and spend time with them. My Aunt Deb and her husband Roger also came by to see us and they brought sweet little gifts for the girls. Later that day, Josh biked to Lake Lowndes (10 miles from my parents house), ran 3 miles once he got there, then biked back. I wish I had his motivation. I missed the gym for 4 days straight. Oops. While he was gone, my mom baked all kinds of goodies and Mackenzie got to make cookies for Santa. Y'all. I must have the WORST luck ever when it comes to baking. Especially lately. The cookies we made for Santa were SO salty and gross. I tried to make snowman cupcakes with Mackenzie earlier that week and they were a disaster also. Oh well. Thank goodness for the Blue Cake Company. :) Anyway, back to Christmas Eve...for dinner we had rib tips, BBQ, potato salad, cole slaw, baked beans, and bread. We also had all the snacky type foods too...rotel dip, ranch chicken crescents (my favorite!), fudge, peanut brittle, TONS of other candies and sweets, sausage balls, and my mama's fabulous sweet tea. Nobody makes tea better than my mama! After dinner it was time to just wait on it to get dark. Growing up, we always opened all of our presents on Christmas Eve when it got dark. Then Santa would come and leave more gifts (unwrapped) for me to find on Christmas morning. So that's what we did. I can't tell you how many times Mackenzie went to the windows looking to see if it was dark yet. :) She was SO excited. Finally it was dark and we had the BEST time watching that sweet girl tear into present after present after present! She also had a ball helping her baby sister open hers. They both got LOTS of fun stuff and so many new clothes and pajamas. Josh and I got some awesome stuff too that we are both very excited about! :) Once again it was a late night, but luckily Peyton slept a LOT better that night. Mackenzie woke up in the middle of the night and moved into bed with me and Josh, but she kicks like a mule and ended up kicking Josh out of bed. Then she woke up again and said she needed to go potty, but before she even sat up in bed she was getting sick. It was awful. She couldn't stop. It was everywhere. Even all over her new Madeline doll. Then she got upset and just cried and cried. We ended up having to give her a bath at 2:30am and wash Madeline and change the sheets on the bed, the whole nine yards, but once she was all cleaned up and got in a freshly changed bed, she fell asleep and slept so good until around 9 the next morning. Poor baby. I felt so bad for her. It's miserable to be sick, but I think it's even harder to see your kids sick. I just wanted to be able to take it away from her. She was excited to get up and see that Santa had come, though! And you would never have known that she had been sick. Thank goodness! Peyton got up a little bit before Mac did and got into the Santa stash. :) She had so much fun exploring everything. And that little booger can find the teeny tiniest little things in the floor and straight to her mouth they go! We have to have eyes on her constantly! I love it.
After we got to see everything that Santa brought and play for a little while, we got ready and went over to Josh's parents' house for more Christmas fun. Once again the girls got spoiled and Mac LOVES getting to play with Nana. She always gets down in the floor and plays whatever Mackenzie wants to play and it just makes her feel so special. Nana was doing a lot of cooking though so she had to take a long break from playing, but luckily Uncle John stepped in and played with the dollhouse and dolls with M. Josh's younger brother, Jared was also there with his wife Britt and their two kids Lydia and Emerson. Lydia did NOT want anyone to have a bow in their hair and pulled Mackenzie and Peyton's bows out at least a dozen times. Every time I would put them in, she'd pull them back out. She doesn't like to wear a bow in her hair so she doesn't want anyone else too either I guess. Ha! Emerson is now 5 months old and he is twice the size of Peyton. He is solid as a rock! I held him for a couple minutes but P had a meltdown so I had to give him back to his mommy and get my girl. :) She loves her mama and doesn't like for me to hold anyone else...including her big sister. That's one that she just has to deal with, though. :) We had a good time with Josh's family. His grandparents even came by and got to meet Peyton for the first time. We went back to my parents' house and started getting everything packed up and ready to go back home the next morning. Josh got in bed early and I stayed up late with the girls and my mom. Peyton and I ended up sleeping in my daddy's recliner because girlfriend could not get settled down enough to go to sleep good. So we were up and down all night.
We left early the next morning and hit the road back to AR. We stopped in Tupelo and grabbed Chick Fil A for breakfast. That has to be my favorite thing about being on the road (not on a Sunday). It rained on us the WHOLE way home. We stopped at Walmart on the way out of town and bought a tarp to go over the bed of the truck so all of the girls' stuff in case it rained and I'm SO glad that we did. There would have been a lot of ruined toys and goodies and a very disappointed 4 year old little girl.
We had a wonderful Christmas and really enjoyed getting to spend time with our families, but I would be lying if I said we weren't happy to be back in our own home. There truly is no place like home. And y'all. Peyton slept from 7:45 that night until 10:00 the next morning. Not even kidding. That baby girl loves HER bed at HER house. :)
And finally, our Christmas card from this year. I came very close to not doing them again this year, but then I thought I would probably regret it if I didn't since it was P's first Christmas. I love how they turned out and I'm so glad I did them!
We've spent a lot of time just hanging out at home. The weather has been cold and rainy lately and we've taken advantage of that and spent a lot of time in our pj's which is totally fine by me. :) We've had lots of fun days watching movies, crafting, and just playing at home.
We did take Peyton outside one day during a break in the rain to try to take her 11 month picture. Luckily she cooperated and we were able to get a good picture before it started raining again.
That sweet little almost one year old girl has some serious love for her Daddy lately. And I'm pretty sure the feeling is mutual. :)
Mackenzie always HATED (still does) being turned upside down. Peyton on the other hand doesn't mind at all and gets tickled every time. And check out all those teeth!! :) 
In other news, Josh and I celebrated our 8th anniversary back in January. We celebrated as a family of four at Chick-fil-A. :) It was perfect.
And our girls donned their red (crimson) for the National Championship game as we cheered for Alabama for the first time ever!
We tried a new to us restaurant a few weeks ago. The US Pizza Company. It was delicious. Mackenzie loved it most of all. That girl could eat her weight in spaghetti.
Mackenzie has also taught Peyton how much fun it is to watch out the windows and doors at home and P LOVES it.
The other day I took them to lunch at the BX. Clearly they loved it. You can't go wrong with Charley's.
That same night Josh didn't get to come home to eat dinner so we picked up his favorite from Quizno's and took it to him at work.
Last week before ballet, we went to eat at a place called the Smoking Canon. This was P's reaction when she saw my french fries...
Sweet, right? I thought so. But she can have QUITE the attitude too...
She cracks me up with her expressions. I sent that picture to my friend Samantha and she said "omg, she is giving you a LOOK!" She is such a sweet girl, though. Just like her big sister. And her big sister is SO protective of her. It has to be the sweetest thing ever. :) Anyway, that's been our life lately. I didn't realize how long this post would end up being! Sorry! Maybe I need to blog more often, but with two busy little girls it's hard to find the time! I love it though, and wouldn't change anything about it! :) 
