Great Gifts

I know Birthday and Holidays aren't all about gifts! BUT this year I did get some pretty great gifts!  Here's a peek :)

I've been very impressed with my sisters thrifting finds and she found me 4 thrifted skirts (one pictured above), and gave me 4 cute flower pins to coordinate!  Such a fun gift (and all the skirts fit)! 
And below are some new Fiesta dishes in marigold! 

I have so many books I've been wanting to read and now I have several to get me started!  :)

Okay, most of you are probably thinking "what in the world is that!" - and it's a big pink poodle! I LOVE it!  #1 I love pink, #2 We're hoping to get a standard poodle just like it next year (well, not pink of course), #3 it just screams ME!   Hayden has named her CeCe and I'm trying to think of a perfect spot to put her (and maybe trying to find her a Santa hat to keep her festive!)

I've been bored with my hair so I got some hot rollers to spice things up a bit!  And the wonderful glue gun so I can start making more bows for Allie!

My sister from another Mister (Amy) gave me this adorable panda planter and Starbucks giftcard!  She knows me too well!

Ugg purse from my hubby!

And none of those things mentioned about mean as much to me as my sweet little family!

28th Birthday Cake

I guess I've had 28 birthday cakes so far in my lifetime!  They ranged from my mom's homemade ones, to cookie cakes from the mall, to Hayden creating a masterpiece today!  His cake was by far the most memorable cake I've ever had for my birthday, and it was very delicious!!!  I picked out a boxed strawberry mix and tried this recipe for buttercream icing (fantastic by the way), and voila!  Here's a recap of the cake making and decorating process....

Just wanted to point out the yellow in the bag is icing, not cheese - had some people concerned tonight :)

Sorry for the gobs of pictures, but I just love watching him enjoy baking!  My favorite quote of the day from Hayden... I was telling him how proud I was of him for baking such a beautiful cake and he said, "I'm a cooker... Like my mom!"  Doesn't get much sweeter...

1st (real) Dentist Visit

My last 2 dentist appointments, Hayden has gone with me.  I was trying to get him warmed up to the idea of going.  The last time I took him was back in May.  The dentist (which was not my regular one) scared Hayden to death.  I could tell he was really frustrated with Hayden because Hayden wouldn't open his mouth.  It was terribly uncomforatable for all of us.  I knew I wouldn't be taking Hayden back!

Yesterday Hayden had an appointment at Just 4 Kids in Newburgh.  I've heard great things about them from many friends and even my little niece goes there.  I was hoping for a better experience than the first.  The dental hygienist was so nice and talked to Hayden before she took him back and explained everything they were going to do.  He seemed really okay with it.  The first cleaning was a 100% success.  She was able to use the water squirter and even the suction (I think I was terrified of that till I was 10)!  I was so proud of him!  He also got a very good report card which made momma happy!

His "oral hygiene" was "Excellent" and I was told to be proud of that because that "Excellent" is rarely given out!

His next visit in 6 months, Allie will be joining him.  I hope that visit goes as well as our first!

Painted Toes

It's a gloomy rainy day here so to add a little holiday cheer to our day, I painted my toe nails red ... and Allie's too!  She loves getting pampered!  A must do on a future to do list is to take her to get a real pedicure!

Peanut Butter Cookies

I'm wanting another cookie I can make and package for Christmas.  I was browsing Pinterest and ran across this recipe.  The cookies looked delicious and had good reviews.  I waited for Allie to go to bed last night, then recruited Hayden to help me make them!
I measured all the ingredients out and let him dump it all in the mixer. 

Before Rudolph got a body! :)

The dough was very soft!

They baked beautifully!

I decided to add a little chocolate too them.

These were really good!  I actually prefer them the next day when they are a bit more chewy.  When Kevin got home from work this morning, he tried them and raved about them.  If Kevin likes them, they are a keeper!

Christmas Aprons

I love doing crafts with my kids!  Since Hayden likes to help me in the kitchen (whatever girl marries this little boy of mine is going to thank me one day for his amazing domestic skills!), I thought it would be cute to make some Christmas aprons!  I looked online and decided to replicate this cute idea.

Here's how ours turned out....

I thought they were really cute..... but my boy has an eye for things and he insisted his Rudolph needed a body!  After we baked some cookies tonight, I told him we'd put a body on his... here's what it looks like now...

What a smart boy!!! It's so much cuter than before!  We're adding a body to Allie's reindeer when she wakes up in the morning :)

Climber

Over the last week, Allie has turned into a climber!  She was always "busy" but never really climbed anything other than the couch.  Earlier this week she started climbing the barstools.  It was cute until she was managed to find he way on top of the counter while mommy was doing dishes and had her back turned!  And I'm talking literally sitting on the counter. 

Yesterday I was in the kitchen and I heard the hall bathroom door shut.  About a minute later I hear the water turn on.  I said, "Hayden!  Get out of the bathroom and turn off the water!"  He said, "I'm not in the bathroom."  After a few more seconds of the water running, I make my way down the hallway.  I see Hayden playing in our room and throw open the bathroom door to find Allie on top of the sink playing in the water!  She must have climbed from the toilet to the sink, but I don't even want to know how she gets from one to the other.  She wasn't happy I caught her and she didn't think she was doing anything wrong!  (In fact, she did it again this morning, but I was armed with my camera this time!)

She also tried to climb over a baby gate we keep in our bedroom.  It will be interesting to see what else she finds her way into! 

She's also turned in to a major repeater!  This week she's said "jacket", "Mimi", "mouth", and "cookie".  What happened to my little baby!?

1st Snow

We had our 1st snow of the season on Tuesday!  Hayden and I were at the doctor's office and Allie was at home with Kevin's mom (Mamaw).  I was so surprised to see the snow (I rarely pay attention to weather forcasts so I don't know if they called for it or not)!  When I got home with Hayden and our new round of meds, I took the kids out to play.  I'm axious for a BIG snow :)  I want to try some snow ice cream this year!  Here a couple pics from our few minutes outside!