What a great Christmas....

Merry Christmas everyone! What a wonderful day it was today! Beautiful outside, and so much fun inside opening all our awesome presents!! Tatum got WAY TOO MUCH, but loves every bit of it! I think she has opened almost all of her toys and gifts TODAY! We had Christmas morning here at my house, then headed over to my cousin Thom's house to have Christmas with their family! All the cousins were able to get together and play. They weren't even asking when we were opening gifts! They were just happy to all be in the same place, and able to go outside and play football and soccer! They all had a blast! Of course, my batteries died in my camera, so I will have to get copies of all the picture of the kids on my computer, from my sister. My mom, sister and family came back over here after we left Thom and Gail's and cook dinner and play a 4 hour game of Phase 10! That is a great card game, but takes FOREVER!!! So, today was long, Tatum was up at 5:45am, and I am finally headed off to bed, now at Midnight! We hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year!!!

A Season for Miracle's...

Today was a Miracle!!! We needed to finish up some last minute Christmas shopping, so we headed out to Stonebriar Mall...again! We walked into Nordstrom, and right there in the Kids Department was SANTA! Oh my goodness, let's see if Tatum will stay in her stroller. She actually did, and was just staring at him. Now, you must remember, the last time Tatum sat on Santa's lap was when she was 5 months old, her first Christmas! The past 4 years, have been a crying fest when she would see Jolly Old St. Nick!!! So, for her to sit in her stroller, and just tell me to drive her the other way....we have made progress! So of course, Santa walked up to us and started talking to her. He sees her shirt that reads, "I LOVE MOM ( more than Santa)". All Santa can see, since she is sitting in her stroller, is "I LOVE MOM" So, he tells her that her shirt should say I LOVE SANTA! I pointed out what was written under I LOVE MOM, and he said, oh I see! I explained to him that this was a huge deal even being this close. So, he was really nice and began talking to her from a distance. He said to her, "I will be at your house to leave you some presents in a few days." She says, "I know." With no expression, and hardly any eye contact!!! She was trying to be so brave! I asked her if she would please sit in his lap so that I could take a picture of her. Her daddy would be so excited to see a picture of her in Santa's lap! "Nooooo...."ok, ok ,ok... So, I went on about my business in the kids department, and she was strolling along with me! We were about to go and Stephanie took the stroller and took her over there. Shelby and her friend Sammy were with us, and were standing right there next to Santa. I had them sit on his lap and asked Tatum if she would sit with them? Still, no, "go over there mommy!" Meaning AWAY from Santa! So, I said what if you stand in front of the girls? No! Ok, can I put the stroller next to Shelby in the picture with you in it? OK! Yea! Now Smile!!! And the picture was taken, and the Miracle made! No crying, no hiding, and we got within 1 foot of him at times!!!! Maybe next year we will stand NEXT to him!!!

A Fun, Party Kinda Day....

So, Friday was a busy day! It started out by taking Tatum to school early to get her award for Colt of the Month! Her school mascot is the Colt, and each month they have an assembly for School Spirit, and they honor 2 students from each class as Colt Of the Month! December was Tatum's month! So, we went to receive her award, and take some pictures. She had a blast, the music was loud and all the kids were dancing, and that seems to be Tatum's favorite thing to do these days, thanks to Hannah Montana!!! After the RoundUp, we took her to McDonald's for some breakfast, then back to class at 10:30. Her Christmas party at school was at 11:45, so I went to that to take her teachers their Christmas gift, and I also made some marshmallow snowmen for her friends to take home with them, as a gift from Tatum. I am sure they didn't make it home, they all wanted to open the snowmen before they got to the car. Tatum's was eaten before we even made it down the road! After school, we went to get Tatum's hair cut! I know, you are probably thinking, what hair are you going to cut? Well, I should say we went to get her hair trimmed! I checked out the Farmers Almanac, and it says that this month, you should cut hair to encourage hair growth on the 20th and 21st. So, that is what I did! Any help I can get right!!! So, we got her hair trimmed, then went to the movies and saw Alvin and the Chipmunks with Sydney and her family for her birthday! What a funny movie! It was really cute, and had a lot of adult humor in it! After the movie, we went back to Sydney's house for her birthday party! She had a princess party, everything was PINK! The girls enjoyed playing together. We haven't been able to get together with The Blankenship's in a while, so the girls were playing as long and hard as they could! They are so cute! They mostly played in the play kitchen, and played house. Tatum was the daughter and Sydney was the mommy! Alexis and Caroline were also part of that family! They ate pizza and played games at the party and just had a blast! Our girls are growing so fast! So, our day was busy, but lots and lots of FUN!!!

Merry Christmas....

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Making our first Gingerbread House....

Daddy and Tatum built their first Gingerbread House together the other day. I think Tatum ate more of the candy and icing than she put on the house. They had lots of fun, and will make this an annual Christmas project for years to come!

Santa's Village...

We went to Santa's Village in Richardson tonight! Tatum LOVED it!! Of course, she WILL NOT go and see Santa. She simply tells us no, when we ask her if she wants to sit on his lap this year! She has told us that she will sit on Daddy's lap, while Daddy sits on Santa's lap. We might try that tomorrow!!! So, Tatum walked the whole Santa's Village, in and out of all the cute little houses! Her favorite was the Pet shop! She got to hold a Black Lab puppy, and pet a kitten! She also pet goats, rabbits, and chickens at the petting zoo. It was so cold out there! The weather changed about an hour before we headed over to Santa's Village. I didn't have a warm hat for her, so we stopped and bought the black one in the pictures before we got there! I had her outfit all picked out for some cute photo opts, but it was covered by her jacket instead! Oh well, I plan on going again once Nicole comes to town. Maybe it will be a tad bit warmer in two weeks!? I also like to go during the daylight to take some cute pictures of her for possible Christmas cards! While standing in line tonight at the North Pole Police Station, Tatum looked up at me and said, "Thank you Mom, for this!" How sweet is she!?!

Elf Time....

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Christmas Light Time....

Well, it's that time of year again! Christmas lights are going up all around! We started putting ours up today while Tatum was in school. Of course, we ran into some trouble, not having any extra bulbs to replace the burnt out ones, and the clips that go on the roof and gutters where breaking! 3 years with them, I guess we can replace them this year! So, after we got Tatum we went to replace what we needed. Of course, Tatum wants to help Daddy! I was just thinking that she could stay on the ground and play in the yard while he got up on the roof and finished up. But no, Daddy wants Tatum to help him up on the roof! Give me a Heart Attack Please!!! I boost her up there and then run in to get my camera! She thought she was big stuff up there!

He made her sit down, and hand him clips. I was a nervous wreck for the whole 3 minutes she was up there! I had to bribe her with watching Hannah Montana to get her down from there!

So, now that she is down, she has asked me 3 times if she can get back up there with Daddy! We can't wait till the sun goes down tonight so we can see our beautiful lights outside!!!

Happy Thanksgiving...

So, Thanksgiving was great! We went to Stephanie's house for the BIG Feast! And that is exactly what it is! We all make something to contribute to the "spread". Everything was so good! We had a regular large turkey, a fried turkey, a ham, and Venison. To go with all that meat, we had mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, squash casserole, stuffing, giblet gravy, sweet potatoes, fruit salad, tons of desserts, and before all that, spinach dip, a cheese ball, veggie tray with ranch, olives, 2 other dips....I could probably keep going if I kept thinking!!! The picture is of Tatum that day! Not the best picture because she thinks she has to pose for all the pictures! She is silly! I love the outfit she has on. The vest is my favorite! After our "feast" we broke out the newspaper ads and began our search for the best route possible the next morning for our Holiday shopping! Nothing really jumped out at us like last year. (Richard and I stayed at Wal-Mart all night long last Thanksgiving night to get a 52" TV for $500! We are crazy, I know!) So, even though not all that much jumped out at us in the ads, we were still able to find lots to buy and still managed to be at Toy's R Us at 5am for some great doorbusters. I was able to get all of Tatum's Christmas shopping done. I think she will really enjoy the stuff we got her this year! Let me clarify, I was at Toy's R Us at 5am, Richard stayed home with Tatum in the warm bed and slept, while I FROZE my butt off waiting for the doors to open at Toy's R Us! But, I can't complain, I saved quite a bit of money, all before 6am!!! After we left there, it was off to Old Navy. I LOVE Old Navy! We are hoping to go skiing in Sante Fe after Christmas, if it will EVER snow there! I was able to get a bunch of warm clothes and such for our "hope to be" ski trip! THINK SNOW!!! We have never been skiing before and my cousin Michele and her family go every year! Richard and I wanted to go with them a few years back before Tatum was born, but the timing wasn't right! This year we are planning on making the trip! We are so excited! We are going to put Tatum in Ski School the first day and see how she likes it! I can't wait to see her out there! Well, off I go for more weekend shopping! I would love be done with my Holiday shopping this week!!!

Fire House Girl...

Today we took Tatum to the new fire station in Downtown McKinney. The Fireman took us on a tour of all the different firetrucks and ambulances. She was so excited to see them all up close! We went inside so see the Old 1931 Ladder Truck! Wow, how things have changed! Wooden ladders...how did they not catch on fire?? Tatum got to see the Fire Pole that the firemen slide down when the alarm sounds! When we left, the driver got in the truck to move it around, back into the garage. He turned the lights on for Tatum to see when he drove by! She loved it! Lately, every time we get in the car she wants to see an ambulance. I had to tell her that we really don't want to see one, because that means someone might be hurt! So, the other day there was an accident on the highway and she could see 2 firetrucks and an ambulance. I told her to look over there to see them, and she asked "mommy, is someone hurt?" I said I didn't know, but hopefully not! So, we had fun today on our tour of Station #1. Thanks to the nice fireman who took time way from washing his Engine Truck to show us all the exciting things they have there!

An American Girl day....

Well, American Girl finally opened! Yippee!! Tatum was like a kid in a candy store! She was so excited, running around from display to display, checking out all the cool Bitty Baby stuff they have. She even liked the big girl dolls. When we got there we decided to do lunch at the Bistro. It was cute, they had a chair at the table for Bitty Baby, so she could eat lunch with us. Tatum was feeding Bitty Baby, and then herself, all through lunch! She was so cute! After our lunch, which ended up being about 3 hours,(since it was opening weekend, the kitchen was not completely prepared), we went down stairs to check out all the goods! Nana bought Tatum a new outfit for Bitty Baby and Bitty Baby a new snack bag! Tatum got a really cute knit hat that matches one of Bitty Baby's outfits! It was crazy busy there, so we look forward to going back once the Grand Opening crowds die down! I foresee lots of Christmas shopping to be done there!! Tatum had a blast, Thanks Nana for taking us there this weekend!

Happy Halloween!!

Well, Halloween was a blast! Tatum had the best time! This year she really got the hang of it! Tatum dressed up like a Butterfly Fairy. The cutest one ever!! First, we met Nana in Downtown McKinney to participate in "Scare on the Square". Kids get to walk around the square to each shop and collect candy from the shop owners. The Fire Department was there too, and Tatum got to see 2 firetrucks and an ambulance up close. She was excited! We ate "fair" food from a vendor that had set up out there, and then was off to Allen to Trick or Treat with Emerson and Ben! Oh my gosh, how cute were the girls. They were unexpectedly, just about the same thing for Halloween! (Great minds really do think alike!) You should have seen the girls running around. They looked like little fairies fluttering from house to house! We went down and around several streets, and back around to Michele's house. The girls were carried back after the last house they got candy from! They were worn out! Tatum fell asleep in the car on the ride home, of course with candy in her hands! We are going to have to put a limit on her candy in-take. I can't believe how much she got this year. In McKinney, Nana and I had to help her carry her basket in between shops, because her basket was too heavy! We got smart and took along a grocery bag when we went to the houses. We were able to empty the candy into it once her basket was too full for her to carry! So, this year was such a fun Halloween, even though Daddy was working! Hopefully he can be with us next year! Now, what will Tatum be for Halloween next year???

Pumpkin Patch.....

We headed out to the Owen's Spring Creek Farm today! They have fun activities for the kids to do, along with the Pumpkin Patch. It is so hard to get great snap shots of Tatum these days! She is so active, I can't get her to look at the camera! The pictures above are good enough! I will have to take her outside in our front yard to get more of just her and pumpkins! Maybe I can get her undivided attention that way! Oh, check out the last picture on the slide show!! That was Tatum having to leave the Pumpkin Patch! She was having so much fun, we had to DRAG her out of there! And, she cried for about 20 minutes in the car! Fall is my favorite time of year! I just wish that we lived somewhere that we could actually have Fall weather. Oh well, we have fun either way, we just sweat a little doing it!

A Day at the Zoo...

We went to the Dallas Zoo yesterday. Tatum was out of school for Fair Day, so we decided to take her down there. We are members, so it make for a nice, inexpensive day! She loves to see all the animals! The giraffe was her favorite today! She usually loves the Elephants! This first picture is a picture that I take of her every time we go to the zoo. It all started years ago when Shelby was little and we took a picture of her sitting in this baby elephants lap. So, to carry on the tradition, I started doing this with Tatum the very first time we took her to the zoo. We have several of these pictures, starting from when she was maybe 10 months old. The pictures we have of her in the baby elephants lap are some of my very favorite pictures of her! I love to see how much she grows between trips to the zoo!

The Gorilla's were really cool this trip. Usually they are just laying around, sometimes where we can't even see them. Yesterday, they were pretty active. This one, in the picture, was right next to the glass. We were so close to him. He is huge, and it is really amazing how human like they really are! His eyes really freak me out! Looks like a man, in a costume! Tatum was not quite sure about him. I think we were a little too close for her fancy!

Here is Tatum's little brother...not really, but I love this picture. I think it is so funny! The zoo has so many fun statues. I always like to take her pictures with them. Not sure why, it's just something that I do every time we go! Tatum loves to get on the computer and see all her pictures with the funny animals at the zoo. She likes to tell me all about them, and what she saw them doing that day!

This last picture is of "My Two Monkeys," watching a mama monkey and her baby! They were so cute! A little baby Columbus Monkey and his mommy and even his daddy playing around right near the fence. We stopped and watch them for a while! Tatum thought he was so cute! And I just had to capture this picture of the two of them watching so intently! So, our day was fun! Hot, but exciting. There was a lot of action at the zoo, that we don't always get to see! Tatum has already asked me if we were going back to the zoo today! I told her not today, so she asked if we were going tomorrow!! I can't wait until the weather cools down and we really can go more often!

How sweet....

Ok, really...How cute is this? First of all, could she have anymore animals and babies in her bed at the same time?? I just love it when she is sleeping, cuddling her Bitty Baby like a little mommy!

The American Girl store is opening in 1 month! We are so excited! We can't wait to go and check out all the different Bitty Baby clothes and accessories that they have in the store. I am not quite sure why Nana and I keep getting Bitty Baby clothes for every holiday, she is naked 99.9% of the the time!! Maybe Santa can bring us the Bitty Twins this year!

Just a box...

Remember when we were young and had such great imaginations? Well, Tatum is doing that now! She is so funny. I had a Southern Living box left over in the living room. She decided to get all her cats and babies and make a bed out of this box! She would have me cover her up, and she would go "nite nite". The other evening I told her to go get in bed, I would be there in a minute to tickle her back. A few minutes went by and I went to her room to tuck her in...she was missing!!! I called for her, no response... went looking for her... and this is where I found her. I told her she needed to get in bed. She informed me that this WAS her new bed!!! "Oh no, get in your OLD bed... now!!!" She is so silly! She thinks this box is just the greatest thing of all! What cheap entertainment!! Can't I throw all her toys out now??? Please!?!?

Fall Soccer Season...

Well, Fall Soccer season has officially started! Here is Tatum throwing in the ball. And what an AWESOME throw it was!!! She played pretty good! She needs to get back in the groove of things a bit! She is worried about her friends getting left behind! I had to tell her to forget about them and "GET THAT BALL!!" We will see if she listened, next week! We are hoping for at least 2 goals this year! Gotta break last years record!!! We'll keep you posted!

Worn Out!!

Well, we had a busy Labor Day Weekend! By the looks of the picture above, you can tell Tatum had a great weekend, and just completely wore herself out! This picture was taken tonight, after a fun day at school, and more fun playing around the house. She fell asleep at 7:30pm, her bedtime is usually 9pm. This weekend was eventful! Saturday we went to Shelby's St. Mark volleyball tournament, then to her Texans soccer tournament, then back to volleyball, then back to soccer again! It was a long, sports day! But, why stop there?? Sunday was more soccer, a break for some time to ourselves, thanks to my mom, so Richard and I could go see a movie, (Rush Hour 3, they should have stopped at 2!), then back for more soccer! We ended Sunday night with Shelby's family birthday dinner at Babe's Chicken House in Garland! YUM-O!! Monday we decided to go to Main Event for some bowling, games, and Laser Tag for Shelby's real birthday! That was followed by going over to the Thiebaud's for a surprise birthday party for Shelby's with the girls from her soccer team! That was super nice of the Thiebaud's to host that for Shelby. What a great family!! We finished Monday off with Shelby's Volleyball and Basketball practices that Richard and I coach. We had to get up this morning and send Tatum off to school, and get back to our normal routine. It was a great weekend, lots to do, but lots of fun!!

I just LOVE this picture...

I just LOVE this picture!!! This was on Tatum's second day of school! Of Course, I want a picture of her everyday she wears one of her cute new "back to school" outfits! And her and daddy always looks so cute together in pictures!!! She has been having a great time at school. It has been too hot to go outside, so they have been doing extra special things in the class room. Her new buddy is Hunter. Her teacher told me that they are always together! Funny, she seems to always make best friends with the boys! I am sure her Daddy will put a stop to that pretty soon! We have started soccer for Tatum, and Richard and I are back to coaching Shelby's volleyball and basketball. Our days are now consumed with sports and more sports. That's okay though, we really enjoy it! Tatum is so cute on the soccer field, and she also LOVES to go to Shelby's volleyball and basketball games. Maybe that is because certain wonderful parents like to spoil her while her own parents are coaching the girls!!! M&M's, popcorn, and Powerade is what my child lives on during PSA sports seasons! Although, they do have the BEST popcorn ever!! I will be sure to keep up the blog so everyone can see Tatum's success on and off the soccer field this season!

First Day of School

Well, back to school we went today! Tatum was ready to go back. She was so excited about seeing her teachers this morning. She looked so cute with her HUGE backpack on and her adorable first day of school outfit! Tatum is the only girl in her class this year. 6 boys and Tatum! She loves to play with the boys though! I am not too concerned. Her daddy, on the other hand, doesn't like it! He is already having a hard enough time with the fact that Tatum has an imaginary friend named Bobby. "He's a boy", she tells us. Richard tries to get her to change the him to a her....but it is not happening. She thinks Bobby is the real deal! It is so cute to hear her talk and play with him. She is so sweet! Having an imaginary friend is fun, and works the imagination. I think it is great! So, the first day back to school was good! She had a blast, and we can't wait to hear about all she learns and the progress she makes with her speech! This year will get her ready for Kindergarten. Not sure I am quite ready for that!!

A night behind the plate....

So, off to the Texas Ranger's baseball game we go! We were invited to go to the Ranger's game last night by my cousin and her boys. They go quite often, but had an extra ticket for last nights game. Row 9, right behind home plate! AWESOME! I am not sure I will ever be able to go to another game again, without having those great seats! Jenny and I sat on row 9, and Tatum, Daniel, and Brandon went down and sat on the first row. They ate Cotton Candy and Ice Cream in a batting helmet. (I remember getting ice cream like that when I was little at the games!!) Richard had to work so he TiVo'ed the game. You could see Tatum and the boys almost the whole game! I was even on there for a little bit! The whole day leading up to getting to the game, Tatum kept telling me she was going to play hard!! I didn't know what she was talking about, just saying OK as my response. Once we got to the Ballpark, she said it again after I asked her if she was excited! I then understood what she meant...she thought she was going to play in the game! She was letting me know that SHE was going to play hard in the game! How cute is she! I had to explain to her that she wasn't playing this time, we were going to watch the game like we do on TV. "OK", she said! She watched a little, and played a lot! She had so much fun! We came home and watched the game on TV, fast forwarding until they showed each batter and the kids behind the plate! She thought that was so cool! She kept saying, "I see myself!!" Thanks Jenny, for thinking to invite us to the game! We had a blast!

Soccer Star...

Well, there is my little soccer star!!! Although, today was a challenging day on the field. Tatum was just not that into soccer today. She was too concerned with what was going on around her, instead of focusing on the ball!!! Her daddy and I were getting a bit frustrated with her. She had a crowd of people there to watch her and she was in "La La Land" most of the game! Nana, Papaw, and Grandma Tommye were there to watch today. Tatum was more interested in eating nachos, than playing soccer! Ugh, it is hard to watch her on the soccer field sometimes!!! T-Ball is more her sport! I think she is a Star in soccer, but a Super Star in T-Ball. Oh well, it will all come in time! Outdoor soccer is about to start. She might do better with Coach Anthony. He's not afraid to yell a bit at her to make her pay attention! I mean, she is only 4 after all! There are more important things to her than getting after that ball for 45 minutes! Who knows, all this frustration and she maybe, just maybe, could be the next Mia Hamm.

Crazy Days..

Well, I haven't been on here in a while now. I need to get going! We have been really busy the last couple of weeks. I am working at Nordstrom for the Anniversary sale. It feels like I am back in management. I am working way more than I intended. Oh well, I guess I am making some of that shopping money back. I got Tatum some of the cutest clothes and shoes from the sale. What great prices! I even bought myself 2 tops. I never shop for myself anymore, so getting to wear 2 new shirts, 2 days in a row, was exciting!!! I would rather shop for Tatum. It's more fun, and everything looks so cute on her. So, my mom and dad have been a huge help with watching Tatum while I am working at Nordstrom. She has spent the night 3 nights at Nana and Papaw's house in the past 2 weeks. I now remember why I quit my full time job in the first place!!! Tatum loves it though! She has a ball playing over there! Nana took her last weekend to her soccer game, and this past Saturday, I was able to leave work early and go with her to her game. She is playing indoor soccer and loves it! She made her first goal in her soccer career on Saturday!!! Hooray for Tatum!!! She jumped up and down, cheering for herself, all the way back down the field! She was so excited! Of course, coming from work, I didn't have my camera with me! Maybe she will score again this weekend! From soccer we went to Daddy's softball tournament he was playing in on Saturday. They were out at the fields from 1pm to 8pm. It was pretty hot and muggy out there Saturday. The team ended up going undefeated and won the entire tournament. They received a huge trophy that I made sure was not coming into my house! The coach wants Richard to keep it, he named him the MVP of the tournament! Great job, but that trophy is still not coming into this house!!! He is going to take it to work since 4 of them played in the tournament. Hopefully they can display it up there at the Sheriff's Office. On Sunday, Tatum and I went to church and let Daddy catch up on some sleep, since he worked Friday night, played softball all day Saturday, and then went back to work Saturday night. After church we came home ate lunch and headed back out to the softball fields for 2 make-up games. That team was undefeated for the season until the second game yesterday when the pitcher decided to smart off to the umpire and she threw him out of the game...all well and good except for the pitcher still couldn't shut his mouth, so she called the whole ball game! Needless to say, Richard was not happy! They still might get first place in the season, let's hope at least! So that rounds out our busy weekend, and we are headed back out to the fields again tonight for 1 more game! Even Richard thinks it's a little too much softball! Softball is about over, and then we will be back to rushing around between coaching Shelby's Volleyball and Basketball, and going to and from Tatum's outdoor soccer games to the games at PSA. Oh well, what else would we be doing if we weren't out watching the girls play sports?!?

Driving around town!!!

We took Tatum's new Dora Jeep to Daddy's softball game today! She had so much fun driving around, showing off! She is so funny! Dylan brought his Ford Truck Power Wheels, so between the 2 cars and the 4 kids, sharing went quite well for the most part! They had a ball taking turns doing the driving. I think Tatum has really got the hang of it now! Next step, taking it to the next speed. We have only been in low gear, but now that she understands how to steer and stop before she runs into things, we can kick it up a notch!! Thanks Papaw, for the hours of fun you have been able to provide us with! Tatum's friends enjoy it too!

Bounce House Fun!!!

Yesterday, we went to our friend Dylan's 3rd birthday party. He had a Diego\Bounce House party. For 4 1\2 hours Tatum bounced, squirted water guns, and bounced some more. She had so much fun! Dylan had the cutest cupcakes to share with his friends. They looked like Bo Bo's from "Go, Diego, Go". (for those of you who are not familiar with Diego, Bo Bo's are the monkeys in the show.) "Freeze Bo Bo's!!", Tatum loves saying that line! It is so funny how they pick up things so quickly from the shows they watch on TV. Definitely makes you have to be aware of what she watches. Tatum got to play with Sydney and Alexis at the party too! The girls always have so much fun playing together! So, after a day of bouncing and knocking around a Pinata, we had a long, busy, but lots of fun day!!!

So, yesterday I took Tatum to an open casting call for a Model and Talent Search. I have never taken her to anything like this before, so it was an experience. I didn't really know what to expect. We signed her in, got a number and waited a little bit. Not as long as I thought we were would have to though. They called us in, we gave a lady our information sheet and then stepped over to a small digital camcorder. I had to state her name and age, then she had to look at the camera and smile. Took all of 20 seconds! And that was it! Off we went, 45 minute drive back home! They said that agents will look at the tapes, decide if your child has the face that the market is looking for right now, and mail you something if they choose your child! We are expecting something within the next couple of weeks!! I mean please, who could resist her big eyes and long eyelashes??? We took friends and family along with us. I figured at least one of our beautiful kids will get picked! Sydney and Alexis, and Ben and Emerson. Between the 5 cute kids, one of us is bound to hear something back!! So, that was our first Modeling experience. Short and Sweet!

Today was Tatum's 4 year check up! She is growing big, (if you can call her big!) and very healthy!! My poor baby had to get 5 shots today! Needless to say, she was not happy! Richard took M&M's to bribe her afterwards. It worked until she looked down at her band aids and the water-works started all over again! She is so dramatic! Now, you see why I took her yesterday!!!

Family Vacation

Here we are! Our Family. This was on our trip to Colorado. Here we are in front of the Purgatory River. Well, a fork of it, I think. It was beautiful there. We went to Stonewall, CO to take my Papa's ashes there to be with my grandma. The whole extended family went. We stayed in Stonewall for 2 days, saw some bears, tried to fish, then continued our trip as a mini vacation in Breckenridge, CO. What an awesome place. We went White Water rafting, down this huge Alpine Slide, shopped a little, ate a lot! We stayed in a 6 bedroom cabin in Breckenridge. It was great. The kids all got to have their own space. We will definitely do it again. Despite all the family bickering, we are so lucky to have family around to bicker with!!!

The Cass Crew

Alright, so I am going to attempt this blog thing! Thanks to Nicole, she is going to get me computer savvy, if she must!!! Well, my baby is now 4 years old! I can't believe it. She turned 4 yesterday, July 9, 2007. It is so crazy! I feel like it was just last week, we were in the hospital about to bring her home. We had her 4th birthday party on Sunday. Thankfully the weather decided to work in our favor. The party was a 5pm, and it was storming while we loaded the car to go to the pool. Great, I was not happy. Richard was assuring me all would be fine. What was I going to do with 40 people if the rain and thunder didn't stop??? We get to the pool across town, the clouds part, sun comes out, and Ta-Da....SUN!!! Thank you Mother Nature!!! The party went off great. Tatum and her friends and family all had a blast. Hot Dogs were served, (Tatum's favorite) and cake was eaten! Aunt NeNe made the cutest cake for the party. It looked like a goldfish. Describing it doesn't do it justice. I will have to try and figure out how to put pictures on here later! Tatum got so many presents. I have my work cut out for me this week, trying to get her playroom cleaned out and in order so new toys can come in! I will have to make another run to target for totes by the end of the week for sure!!! Between Polly Pockets and Dora and Diego colors etc...where will it all go! She got 2 live goldfish from Shelby and Aunt NeNe. For some reason she has named them Bobby and Lisa! Where those names came from, we will never know!! So, Bobby and Lisa are great! Let's hope they stay around for a while. I am not ready for the death talk with my 4 year old. Where to start with that, I will never know!!! So, Papaw got her a Power Wheels Dora Jeep. She loves it. She is a little intimidated by it though. I mean, please, she hasn't gone through drivers ed yet! We will have to take her to a wide open field for some practice! Nana got her a DVD player for the car. Wow, modern technology!!! Did we ever think growing up that we would have portable TV in the car for our children!!! I didn't!! So, I guess the beginning of a 4th year was a success! Thanks to all that came and helped us celebrate our Sweet Little Girl!