1/1/11

As I sit here typing this, the first day of 2011 is almost over. Wow, 2011. Hard to believe! A lot has happened this year, even more since I posted last. Here are some of our pictures that have happened over the past few weeks (warning - long post ahead!).

Now that Christmas is over, I can finally post pictures of my little love making ornaments for friends and family. This was a project that I would never have imagined she would enjoy as much as she did. For her, it was truly a gift from the heart. She rolled out dough (with a little help, of course), placed the cookie cutters & pressed them down, and painted them using whichever colors she chose. She is still begging me to paint =)

Ham & Cheesiness

Peek-a-boo!

Someone loves to strike a pose!

Christmas with David's mom's side of the family - 12/18

Gorgeous girl! I know, I'm probably a little partial. This was one of the probably 30 taken on our in-the-car photoshoot while heading out to David's uncle's house on Christmas Eve. She kept asking me to take more pictures while she was sitting in her carseat. So cute.

Christmas Eve

We had our traditional family Christmas on Christmas morning (after a sleepy head little girl finally woke up...at 10:30!).

Who would have guessed that this would have been the best gift of Christmas?! I wanted to get Madelyn a Cabbage Patch doll because I have so many memories of playing with them as a child, and I found the "newborn" one & thought it would be a great "starter" baby...boy was it ever! She still has not put that thing down. Even Elmo didn't sway her attention.

Posing for more pics.

Later on Christmas day, she had to go open presents from GiGi & Peeps. As we were leaving our house, the rain began to change to a rain/snow mix. By the time the 5 minute drive was complete, it was totally snow. Our first white Christmas!

The day after Christmas, we loaded up the car & headed out of town! It was nice to get away. As we left the snow in Alabama, we arrived to even more in Gatlinburg. By the next morning, there were at least 8", probably a foot in drifts. It was beautiful! Although, we did get stuck a bit a the cabin, which was up a hill. My parents, who were ahead of us a bit due to all the potty & food stops for little miss, ended up getting their car stuck because it was so covered, the drive was not visible. Thankfully, a neighbor helped get it unstuck. This was the scene when we arrived at the cabin.

The next morning...

Our marshmallow puff family

Throwing snowballs at Peeps.

Our cute little cabin.

Our attempt at a snowman. It was waaay to powdery to build a good one.

Don't stab the tongue!

Of course, the aquarium had to be on the agenda for the week. Madelyn's favorite was the "puingens" - shocker. They tried to love on her through the glass.

"Look! Fishies!"

WonderWorks! We had lots of fun there, although when we went with Madelyn, it was very crowded. I have to say, I was a little disappointed in the lack of things they had for smaller kids. Madelyn did get to have some fun though.

The piano was her favorite!

After MJ went to sleep, David & I went back to WonderWorks to do some of the big kid activities. The ropes course was the favorite - 4 stories of climbing, walking across ropes, beams, & bridges!

We also took a trip to Alewine Pottery.

This vase is what I came home with! Yay! You can't see it because of shadows, but there are leaves (his signature mark) on the sides.

That's the end of 2010 in a nutshell. So far, 2011 has not started off the best. I can only hope & pray that the first day of 2011 does not set the mood for the rest of the year. Best wishes for 2011!