Thursday, January 7, 2016

Texas Trip...

We FINALLY  took a trip to Texas. It was the first time we had been back since Addi was born and we enjoyed introducing her to her Mommy's hometown and some of her favorite people!

It was Addison's first time to cross the Florida State Line, so we took pictures at each stop...


She has her pajamas on still because we left at 4:30 a.m. and didn't want to wake her. 


We missed getting a pic of her with the Louisiana sign because she was taking a nap :)


I couldn't wait to get her picture once we crossed the Texas State Line. 


She had a good time running around the Visitor Center in Texas...


Deep in the heart of Texas!!!

We made SEVERAL stops to visit with family and friends on our trip. Our first stop was in Baytwon to see Mother and Papaw (and Aunt Angela and Uncle Malcolm). We recorded some pictures of her baking Christmas cookies with Mother a few  posts back. She enjoyed her visit in Baytown and spent almost her entire time with a bucket of Mardi Gras necklaces Mother  had :)

This was the first time for Addi to see the Ponder Ranch and I think it's safe to say she enjoyed every second of it.


There were four baby calves that were born right before we arrived and Addi really enjoyed looking at them. 


And who doesn't like riding on a "tractor"?!?!? 





We took lots of pictures of Addison doing things that we did as kids growing up. Looking out at the cows, riding the tractor,  posing by the farm entrance, front porch sitting, and of course we had to get a pic of her in front of the "wishing well." Lots and lot of good memories and I'm so grateful that Addi was able to see this too.

We stayed the second night with Aunt Tedra and her family. I was a nervous wreck, but one of her favorite things was walking up and down the stairs at Tedra's house!!!

We snapped a picture of Addi with her big cousins, Zach and Matt. They really do adore my little girl...and I adore them too!


Aunt Tedra and Daddy took Addi to feed the birds. She talked about this for DAYS after our trip. 


I love this pic of her and Aunt Tedra...it just makes my heart burst!!!


And look how close she is to feeding this bird!!! She is definitely one fearless little girl!

The next night we visited with Memaw, Jeff, Andre, and Aunt Lisha. It's safe to say they spoiled her rotten with all the Christmas gifts!



She adored Memaw and gave her lots of hugs and kisses :)

Aunt Lisha gave her some rings, a bracelet, and a ladybug  pillow that she LOVED!!


And of course our visit wouldn't be complete without family photos by the Christmas tree :)



The next evening we visited with our friends Will and Jen. They live on 65 foot boat and it was Addi's first time on a boat that big. I was a nervous wreck this night because I was afraid at how she would do on the boat, but she is such a good little girl and did great. I think she enjoyed "driving" the boat and looking at herself in all the mirrors the most :)


Our final leg of the trip was spent in Louisiana with our friends Blaise, Julie, and their two boys. Addi, Blaise Jr., and Rocco spent the evening running and playing!!!


All three of the kids had so much in common and it took them quite a while to get to sleep because they played so hard that night! 


This is one of my favorite pictures from our trip...these three precious angels watching TV together :) Little do they know that their parents prayed and prayed and prayed for all of them to come into this world. I hope they become lifelong friends like their Daddies. 


Our trip was definitely jammed pack with excitement. We were absolutely exhausted when we returned. BUT, we had no time to slow down...Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning are right around the corner!!!

Santa Visit...

Addi has never really been afraid of Santa and this year was no different. She walked right up to him, sat on his lap and began to share with him what she'd like for Christmas this year...


No one was behind us in line, so she was able to spend quite a bit of time with him this year. 


She asked Santa for a red bike, glow sticks, and a pink brush?!?!?!


Her imagination blows my mind!!!

I also wanted to include a collage of her pictures with Santa. I can't even believe how big she looks in this year's picture. It honestly looks like we skipped a year or something!


I sure do hope Santa brings Addi everything she asked for this year!

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Random Christmas Photos and Story Time...

We have taken so many random Christmas photos of our girl this year. She has learned how to "pose" for the camera and is really hamming it up! 


Isn't she just too much???


Love her sweet little smile :)

Mommy had the opportunity to do Story Time at the local Barnes and Noble for a fundraiser for her school. She read two Christmas books to about 15 two and three year olds. Can you see who her biggest fan was???


We had no idea that Barnes and Noble was so fun for little kids. Addi had a great time looking at books, playing with the toys, and just having the opportunity to run around the store :)


Christmas really is the most wonderful time of the year...especially with this sweet girl!

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Christmas Artwork...

You saw on Day 5 of Missy's visit that she brought Addi the canvas trees designed by our friend Kim Wheeler with Small Words Art. This is a fun way for us to be creative and have some family time decorating our trees.


Addi LOVES "art" and had a blast decorating her tree this year. She especially liked using the paint brush to apply the hodge podge :)

Here she is with her final product!


Here are all three of our canvases (before they were dry)...



Thank you Kim for this FABULOUS idea...we are looking forward to decorating our trees next year!

Monday, January 4, 2016

More of Missy's Lessons...

Here are days 13-24 of Missy's lessons. I think that Days 13, 16, and 23 were my favorites this year!













We look forward to having Missy come back next year with more lessons for Addi Kate!

Sunday, January 3, 2016

Missy Mistletoe is BACK...

Missy Mistletoe, our Elf, returned this year with a lot of important lessons for Addison. Here are days 1-12 and the lessons she felt Addi should learn to be more like Jesus...













I LOVE our elf...she's so smart and Addi really enjoys finding her each and every morning.