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....

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1127916060

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!