It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year...

Merry Christmas Ya'll!! This is, by far, my favorite time of the year. All the shopping. All the excitement. All the...shopping. Ok. so I'm actually only shopping online this year but all the hussle and bussle just gets me excited. We've spent most of our nights driving around our neighborhood checking out the lights-spectacular and the rest of our days talking about Santa vs. Jesus's birthday and the naught vs. nice list. 3 years old is just getting more and more fun; although all of our ornaments have turned to plastic and missing pieces!

Our sweet girl in all of her 'girliness'. She's the princess but wasn't sure how to use a poncho...

Good Food, Better Friends, and the Best Family

Due to the plague-bubble covering our home, I'm running a bit behind on my bog. BUT...Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!
We had a great time visiting Lolli and Pop in Louisiana, Sarah and Johnathan in Biloxi, Teryn's girls, and Nina's boys in Navarre and the DOWNARDS!

We had such a fun time in the sun (and 80 degree days) that it was tough to jump back in the van and head north!

PS: It is a rare occasion to catch the camera-shy-mom in action, so I had to post it for the world to see :)

Bo, my sister, is getting married on the Beach in May so there was a bunch of fun wedding stuff, TONS of good (sea) food- go Grits-A-YaYa!

Grandma was such a good....dog sitter? :) It was great to see Great Granma doing so well and the kids loved playing with her.

Our Town!

We have the climbers,
We call her the streak,

Getting ready to go seeeee Santa (not get near him) at Bass Pro shops!

Clayton must've seen someone whistle with their fingers in their mouths because recently he's been sticking his finger in his mouth, when the dogs are around, and says he's calling them.

And...we just don't know what this one is thinking :)

It's A Girl!

We were thinking that there just wasn't enough chaos in our home... "lets add another dog"!
Welcome Family member #6: After the loss of Lilli, the hunt was on to find a semi-replacement (aka: a lap dog). Grandma Downard has been looking high and low for a good Chihuahua breeder. We happened on a lady in the Sam's parking lot that had these two 5 month old puppies that were 'too small to breed'. Great, almost out of their puppy stage at 5 months AND have already had all their shots! We'll take one. Well, of course the cute one with the perfect little head, long legs and proportional body was a yapping mess. So, I did the uncharacteristically Bri-thing: picked the squatty one with the unmatching eye color and good disposition (for a chihuahua). Chris says, "I guess beauty comes at a price". I guess so.

I think that this is one of the only times that I've held her. I can't seem to get a turn in the long line forming around her. Clayton won't let her down. He tells Charlie (the Aussie), "CHARLIE, we don't heard" and then he says, "I'm singing to her so she isn't sad". Lilli would've bit the fire out of him by now.

Even Laney needs her daily kisses. Thanks Grandma Downard for telling Santa to visit us a little early this year!!

She weighed in at a whopping 2.2 lbs at the vet today!

Poor thing doesn't have a name yet. Anyone want to vote? Here's the options so far: Stella, Izzy, Zoe, or Pearl.

Happy Halloween! (lots of pictures)

Just A Couple of Pictures!

Clayton gets frustrated with us because we are always telling him how to make a 'traditional' 3-years-old. He's come up with his own solution...after discovering the sign language for "F".
Our sweet girl playing peek-a-boo (or trying to get her bib off...I can never really tell).

Our new-found super hero! (at least it's the sign for "I Love You" and not the alternatives)

Uncle JB and Aunt JJ send Clayton (and I think ultimatly Chris) a Snoopy Snow Cone maker. Nostalgia

Red Rock Canyon Campin'

It was fall break at OU so we headed out of town to experience our 1st family camping trip. Besides, we had to try out Chris's new birthday tent!

It was awesome. Kids just belong in the wide open. The kids had a great time! And we didn't have to worry about cleanliness (which is a good thing because I've never seen our children with more mud on them). Clayton even liked being put to work collecting wood for the fire pit.

Happy 1st Birthday Laney!

Lolli and Pop ventured up to the OKC this weekend to celebrate Laney's 1st birthday. I know every parent says this at least one time in their life, but I can't believe she's already one! I still see an infant everytime I think about her...an infant that walks...

We couldnt' resist a luau and since our friend Jacek turns one on Wednesday. He came over to share in the festivities and cupcake or two. He looked the part in his 'Tarzan toga' ! They were quite the pair. Laney poking out eyes every time she sat down in her hula skirt...

I found a bunch of luau stuff a the dolar store (hence the inspiration for the hula dancer cake) and Lolli had a closet full of decor. It was an Island PARTY!

Laney got her first doll. Surprisingly she took to her nicely; giving it a kiss, pushing her around the room in her new stroller and only poking at the eyes occationally.

It's Soccer Season...

We signed Clayton up to play soccer with the local YMCA. We thought, "Any sport that makes him run for an hour, wearing him out, is worth the $10 for the jersey!" Chris got roped into being the assistant coach with our good friend Heather. Both the boys are having a blast! This is the first game day. Check out how big Clayton's jersey is. He barely made the cutt-off age at 3. I guess a child's small isn't a Clayton's small (we had to stop at WalMart right before the game and pick up some 24 month shorts. Every time he ran around with his 3T soccer shorts on, they fell to the ground). It is so cute watching the kids play "bunch ball". Running around the field with the coaches, parents and siblings right on the field with them.

It was a bit hot and a new sensation for Clayton; he was STARVING when we got home. He asked to eat "Everything" and went through a list (even eating his leftover pancakes from the breakfast he forgot to take to the sink). Here's the video...

Shopping!

So, last Thursday Clayton, Laney and I drove 3 hours to meet Lolli in Paris TX. She took Clayton to Louisiana for the weekend after many attempts to get there, on Clayton's part.

IT HAS BEEN SO QUIET AT OUR HOUSE...

So, Laney and I decided to go shopping and start on her Halloween costume while we had some free time.

Tutu's must've been popular a year ago because we have several outfits with attached frills. Love it!

Chris thought it was too hot for this one...beauty is pain was all I could tell him :) (plus it was rainy with a cool breeze).

Here's the beginning of a cute little butterfly.
We miss our brother but Laney is getting some much needed R and R.

For the Record...

Just wanted to have some proof for the future that everyone can share and play nice. No need for yelling "mine" or as Clayton says, "It's not the family's"! They went in circles for over 10 minutes before I went in to get the camera. When I came back outside, I hear Clayton say, "we're exercising". I'm not sure Laney felt the same way but she's always on board when Clayton's playing!

It's all I can hope for to see my kids sharing and spreading the love!!

The rest of these pictures are random pictures from this week: I walked into the kitchen to find Clayton spelling his name with his fridge letters. Who knew he could put the pieces together already?

We had a fun thunderstorm the other day that ended in a double rainbow. One was super vivid and Clayton loved the colors. He made sure that we all knew it was Noah's ark rainbow!Last, but not least, this week was Chris' 29th birthday. Happy Birthday Daddy (his balloon was a huge hit-until it hit the fan) and we got to pamper with a pedi and a great dinner.