"B" is for...

BABYSITTING:

Recently we were called upon to BABYSIT a sweet little BABY BOY. 

Kylee and Conner had the opportunity to go to Florida to see Conner's dad race at Daytona.  They decided Nixon would have more fun at our house. I'd have to agree! I'm sure they had more fun having him at our house too!

While at our house I began to notice that the majority of the things that Nixon loves begins with "B". Hense, the title of this post.

BALL:

Seriously, this little guy has got some talent when it comes to throwing a ball.  He truly would have been content doing this all day, everyday.  He even began to throw one handed.  It's quite evident he's well on his way to being a lefty!

BABYFOOD:

While not much of a bottle drinker, this kid can eat!  Babyfood that is.  He's kind of gaggy when you try giving him something other than baby ceareal with fruit or sweet potatoes mixed in. Although in this picture he had decided that Chips Ahoy weren't so bad!

BLANKIE & BINKY:

All I have to say is, "good luck mommy and daddy"! This little guy has a couple of early addictions.  He loves his BLANKIE and his BINKY too.  I took it upon myself to break him of the binky while I had him.  He was only allowed to have it for bed. That worked great!  We'll see if his parents are more addicted than he is. As for his BLANKIE, he seriously gets so excited just by the sight of it.  His little arms and legs start going a million miles an hour. It's really pretty sweet;)

BAMPA:

Just like the other three grandkids, it hasn't taken Nixon long to figure out that he has his BAMPA completely wrapped around his little finger.  All it takes is one of his heart melting grins and you're a gonner!

BATHS AND BOOGERS:

As long as the BALL was involved, BATHS were tolerated!  Sadly I didn't realize as I was snapping pictures that BOOGERS were part of the theme too!  Oh well, it's real!

Best of All:

BIRTH PARENTS:

I met Kylee and Conner at the airport and was excited to see Nixon's reaction when he saw them.  I must say, it was pretty comical.  As they came up to us, he just stared them down. He was completely expressionless, just giving them "that look". Then all of a sudden, just as tears were starting to brim in his mother's eyes, he gave one of his signiture grins and all was well!

BLESSED:
So once again, I'm happy to be sharing how BLESSED I am.  It's pretty cool, how that all fits into the theme too!

Pillows For A Pretty Girl...

Today we celebrated Ellie's birthday with a little party. When I asked Kaydee what Ellie could use for her birthday she suggested that I finish what I started and make a pillow sham to go with the quilt I made her for her last birthday. (She really didn't say it that way, but I know how it is!)

Anyway, I so glad that I had the extra push to get the pillow sham done and while I was doing it I decided to make a few other throw pillows to go on her bed as well. It was acutally a lot of fun making these cutesy pillows. Ellie even tried them out and I have to say, I think they passed the test! I can't wait to see her little girly room all done up.

My Greatest Gifts...

          There you have it!

A Shout Out To Our Little Birthday Girl!

Our sweet little granddaughter,

BRIELLE

is

2 years old

today.

I want to give her a little time in the spotlight on her special day.

Happy Birthday ELLIE.

We Love YOU!!

A Winter Wonderland!!!

As I mentioned in my last post we just spent a little time in Hawaii, my new WINTER WONDERLAND.  I've decided it's a great place to go in the winter, any time of year for that matter. I'm having a bit of a hard time adjusting to the cold, but I'm sure after a day or too it will once again become second nature.  It's so hard to believe that somewhere out there people are basking in the sun and the sand. 

OAHU:

We spend a couple days there first. I've always enjoyed the other islands a lot more but for some reason this time I REALLY enjoyed being in Waikiki too. It was fun to see the area all done up for the holidays.

The sunsets there are GORGEOUS!

The food is great! Especially in PARADISE.

The company was great too.

We enjoyed time on our vacation with the Steven's family.

Charlie, Darlene, Kelly, David, Carrie, Shari, Kevin (Kristen & Reggie too)

The first night there we were welcomed with a Christmas light parade.

It was so much fun!

We hiked up Diamond Head and this is the view, complete with a RAINBOW.

MAUI:

We then went to Maui for a few days. I loved everything about it!

We stayed at the Marriott Ocean Club.  It was awesome.

This is the view from our balcony

One of the many pools

Side trip on the road to Hana.

I DID IT! and boy was it COLD!!

George did too.

Our kids would have been so proud!

Speaking of proud kids, we made Karson proud by eating at the GAZEBO (a little out of the way place located on the pool deck of some condominiums) They heard about it from a friend and tried it while on their honeymoon.  Since then our family has benefited because Karson did some research and learned how to recreate their famous Banana Mac Pancakes. Which he makes for our family often.

We ate there two mornings and both time there was a line.  Apparently at certain times of the year it wraps all around the pool.

The view there is as amazing as the food

This here is litte Reggie Freschknect.  He was such a doll and really made me miss my grandkids.

He couldn't remember "Connie" and called me "CORAL". I loved it!

Notice the little spray of water.  There was a whale out there that was entangled in heavy rope. They were trying to get it loose. It was fun to see a whale that close but I felt sad for it too.

A special thanks to Angie, Fred and their Maui family for hooking us up with a great vacation.  We loved every minute of it!

Black and BLUE Friday!!!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.  It's hard to believe it's already come and gone.  Sadly it's kind of a blur to me now.

We had dinner at my mom's house and I'm feeling bad that I didn't take any pictures of the event.  It was our off year for Kaydee & Launey and Kylee & Conner.  Poor Karson and Linzy are going to try and do duo dinners so that they won't be out of sync with the others every year.

Later in the day we (us girls) met at Kristy and Tony's to plot out our strategy for the big Black Friday sales.

This year we decided to do it up right and head out early, so early in fact that it was actually still Thanksgiving!

RaNae and the young bunch ready for action

We started out at Toys R Us in Murray (it was evident we were not in Happy Valley)  People started literally jumping over this poor policeman's car to get into the store.  We said, "To heck with this!" and left.

From there we went to South Towne Mall.  It wasn't too long after we got there that Kaydee and I heard a familiar sound in the distance.  We immediately recognized it as the voice of one of our favorites, Peter Breinholt.  He was actually doing a concert for all the shoppers and non-shoppers alike.

Well that is where my shopping basically ended!  Kaydee and I sat there until 4:00 in the morning just listening to the music and waiting for our names to be called out in the hourly drawings.  When it was evident that we were losers we finally decided it was time to get serious and do some shopping.

So that's exactly what I did until it was time for my BLUE FRIDAY to began.

George picked me up at Target and we loaded a plane headed for the blue waters and blue skys of Hawaii!

Tis The Season...

For some reason I just haven't been able to put my brain around the fact the Christmas is coming, and coming FAST for that matter.  The idea of dragging out all of my Christmas decorations is weighing me down! I've had to remind myself that it's always that way, and then when I get started and begin to see the house transpired and the feeling of Christmas starts to creep in, I'm always glad that I finally broke down and got it done. I truly do love this time of year and all of the traditions we enjoy as a family!

The Kay Family Party

is the event of the season.

We've been meeting for years,

and for a good reason!

Besides eating and crafting,

which we all do so well.

(the eating part)

We have Santa show up

and the kids start to yell!

HO HO HO

Getting together on a cold snowy night,

to make some treats is sure a

DELIGHT!

 Building a SNOWMAN with Bampa sure is fun,

you won't find another that compares to this one!

A tradition we started many years ago,

is exchanging ornments for the kids as they grow.

Our trees are loaded with these special things

It's fun to see what each year brings.

Luke was a ZOMBIE for Halloween

last year,

so the reason for his ornament was perfectly clear!

As my kids have grown and left the nest

they've thinned the tree but I'm still truly

BLESSED!

The kids love the jammies they get every year,

putting them on always brings lots of cheer!

So it comes down to this as I drag out the mess,

I'm grateful for CHRISTMAS and would want nothing less.

There are so many things that I'm thankful for,

and as I hang up the STOCKINGS I'll be hanging ONE more!