Give Mommy Kisses

The other day we were playing with Anna on our bed and I was making kissing noises at her and telling her "give mommy kisses". She would lean towards me with her mouth open to kiss me and she did this several times. Of course, I had to get the camera to document her latest trick. Watch the video to see what happened when I tried to get kisses while the camera was rolling.

Texas Pride

We were so sad to see our beloved Horns lose the National Championship after Colt McCoy was injured on the first drive of the game. My heart welled up with pride and my eyes with tears during Colt's interview after the game. As always, he showed great character and acknowledged the greatest influence in his life. Here is an interesting article on this year's team. I'm hoping he will return to UT one day to coach with one of my other favorite former Longhorn quarterbacks, Major Applewhite. We are looking forward to next season when Garrett Gilbert will lead the team!

On a more positive note, Anna and Luke looked really cute for the game and the UT men's basketball team is ranked #2 and undefeated. I would gladly settle for a basketball championship this year!

8 Months!

Another month has flown by and Anna continues to grow and change. Her hair decided to suddenly start growing (although still no teeth), so now I can adorn her head with cute little barrettes. It's funny because when I found out I was having a girl, I swore she wouldn't wear big bows in her hair and poofy skirts and pink all the time. I've come to discover the reason those things are so popular for little baby girls is because they are so cute...and I cannot resist a few of these items for her wardrobe. The other day I even found myself searching for "twirl skirts" on ebay! Here she is in all her 8 month old girly splendor:

Here are just a few more cute pics from the last month:

Gotta have the monthly pic of her in the recliner with her monkey.

Hanging out with Noah and Emery Kate at church.

She pulls herself up to stand and play at this cube that she loves.

Playing with her buddy Sam.

Merry Christmas 2009

I have to say this was the most joyful Christmas we have had in a long time. All of the little ones made it so much fun. We stayed with my sister who cooked some amazing (sorry Karri, I just had to use your favorite word) meals. We also started some new traditions that created a sense of togetherness and memories.

Last year I took piano lessons so that I would be able to play music for my children. I just learned the basics and don't play for Anna nearly enough, but I was determined that we would sing Christmas carols as a family this year. I was on keyboard, Brad was on the trumpet, and Lucas was on the Jingle Bells. It wasn't pretty but it sure was fun!

As a family we put together a 500 piece puzzle within a two day period.

We got a new advent calendar and Brad and I decided on different verses in the Bible to read for each day and then found a little toy or trinket that went with the verses. (Maybe next year we will actually do the readings everyday!)

On Christmas day we read the Christmas story out of Luke together as a family taking turns. Luke 2:19 says Mary treasured up all these things in her heart and pondered them. That is how I felt this Christmas.

(I think they got a little overstimulated in the end :)

Pre-Christmas Celebrations

Our Christmas celebrations began at Robert and Sandy's house with Anna's four cousins on the Bruce side. With four kids, their house is always full of fun, energy, and activity. It gives me a picture of how our house will be one day when Anna is the oldest child and not the baby anymore. She loves to be around all of her cousins and observe them since she is used to just seeing me most of the time. We exchanged gifts and ate some yummy holiday snacks.

A couple days later, we went over to Grandy and Grandad's house so that Anna could add to her ever growing Christmas loot. All of the men in Brad's family play the trumpet and they have a tradition of going Christmas caroling. Brad is never very excited about this because it is the only day of the year they play their trumpets and he thinks they sound horrible. To the untrained ear (like mine) they sound great! We had to settle for an indoor show this year, but Anna enjoyed it and immediately tuned in once they started playing. We are looking forward to continuing the tradition next year, so if you are in the Dallas area be warned!

Austin Visitors

A few days before Christmas, the Garcia family was coming through Dallas on their way back to Austin so they stayed with us. You may remember their twin boys from a few months ago. Well, now they are crawling and always on the move. I was exhausted just watching Frank and Holly keep up with them as Anna sat in the same spot, still immobile. It was very entertaining.

Brian and Jean also happened to be in town so they came over for dinner. They gave Anna two precious children's books for Christmas - the bedtime classic, Goodnight Moon, and the bestseller, On the Night You Were Born. I cried when I read On the Night You Were Born to Anna for the first time. Jean is a Child Psychiatry Resident as well as a published children's author (sorry Jean...I had to brag on you for a second) so I knew books from her would be good ones!

We are so thankful for these friends and are glad to have remained close since we moved to Dallas.

Fun Weekend

This past weekend was full of so many fun things, I decided that I needed to blog about it. On Fri. we went with Billy and Courtney to the Behold the Lamb of God Christmas concert. I have had this CD for years and this is the second time I have attended the concert. I could go on and on about it, but I will try to keep it short. By far, this is the best concert I have ever been to. I forget about everything else going on and just get swept away by the heart of true worship to Christ. Andrew Peterson set out to make a Christmas CD that tells the story of the coming of Christ throughout the entire Bible. Each year, him and several of his friends tour the country performing the songs on the CD.

One of the songs is called Labor of Love and it is about the night that Mary gave birth to Jesus. One of the verses is “the baby in her womb, he was the maker of the moon, he was the author of the faith, that could make the mountains move”. It humbles me to think that Jesus left the splendor of heaven and being in the presence of the Father to become a little baby born to a peasant family and young mother. Evenmore, that He would later bear the sins of the world...my sins...and hang upon a cross so that we can have a relationship with God.

If you are interested, you can watch a short documentary on the making of the CD/tour here.

On Sat. we had some good friends come to visit. It is so nice to get to spend time with a friend you have know for about 20 years (I can't believe it has been that long Vanessa)! I had hoped to take them to White Rock Lake or the Arboretum, but the weather was pretty cold, so we did what Dallasites do best...went to a mall. The best part of the visit was watching Parker and Anna play (as much as a 22 month old and a 7 month old can "play" together). John mentioned wanting to move to Dallas...we'll keep our fingers crossed.

Finally, on Sunday we attended Luke David Diehl's cowboy first birthday party. All of the cowboy decor was so cute including this little wagon to take pictures in and the stick horse party favors.