For my very OLD yet absolutely wonderful husband!

Dear Brian,

I know you hate getting older and I know that you hate traveling on your birthday...both of which happened to you this past Tuesday.

 But just know that you are loved  by many and we hope you had a happy (early) birthday on Sunday.

We love you and are ready for you to come home.  xoxo

 

Christmas Parade and Gingerbread house fun!

We went to the Lakeland Christmas parade yesterday and while it wasn't the typical parade with large floats we still had fun.  Ayden loved seeing Santa riding on the fire truck and we walked away with a ton of candy.

Next on the list of things to do this weekend: Gingerbread House

Happy Holidays!

It's cookie time!

I found a yummy recipe for sugar cookies and glaze online and decided to try it out and see if its holiday worthy.  With my little helper by my side we made the dough, rolled out the dough, ate some dough (we couldn't resist!) took some Christmas cookie cutters to it, baked them, and decorated them.  I think they turned out great.  Definitely will be making them again in the near future!

Ayden helping get everything out and ready.

Fun with cookie cutters

A little too much fun with flour and the rolling pin.

What's that beeping sound?

What could it be?

Yay!  The cookies are ready!

Just finished decorating - patiently waiting for them to dry.

Wait for it...

That's the end result I was hoping for!

The only bad thing about the cookie making was that Brian isn't home to enjoy them with us.  We will try our best to save some for him but Friday is a long ways away.  ;)

A want of mine.

We entertain often and there are many times I wish for a larger dining table.  Dark wood.  With a bench like the table we had growing up.  Seats up to 8 with a removable leaf.  I finally found what I want.  Now to save for it.  http://www.worldmarket.com/ here I come.

Fun with Ayrington

We met Ashley and family out for dinner on Friday night at On the Border and afterwards drove through Starry Nights at Shelby Farms.  Ayden had so much fun with Ayrington.  I only snapped a few pictures but they turned out cute.

Thanksgiving

Some pictures from our Thanksgiving. 

My Little drummer boy

He was singing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" while drumming.  It was the cutest!

Fun with little man.

Thursday morning when we woke up we decided it was probably best for Ayden to stay home from preschool that day.  He had been up all night with a low grade fever and so congested that the poor baby just couldn't sleep.  He was absolutely miserable - as were Brian and I.  Looking for something else to do that was fun (but not too much fun)  I pulled out the construction paper and paints.  Ayden is a surprisingly clean painter - thankfully!

Um...Ok - might be time to find another project.   Or some lunch.

Big Backyard Again - this time with Daddy

  A few days ago we decided to go to My Big Backyard again.  Ayden had so much fun the last time I took him that we wanted to show Brian what all the fuss was about.  Here are some photos from our adventure.

Mommy and Son Day

This past Sunday I decided to take Ayden to My Big Backyard  at the Memphis Botanic Gardens for the 1st time.  I have heard great things about it and really wanted to go before it got cold outside.  Sunday the weather was wonderful - mid 70's and sunny so I packed up a picnic and we headed out the door.  There are so many things to explore there and we could have stayed for hours.  Unfortunately we didn't stay as long as I would have liked because it was a small someone's nap time and we had a sick daddy at home to check on.   Here are some pics from our fun (and surprisingly educational) day.

Swinging in the chrysalis

Fun in the flower garden

Flower beds

In the dog house

Wormville

Making music in the House of Rock (this place was filled with ladybugs!)

Got distracted from counting the green butterflies

Fun with pumpkins

What a fun outing with my little man!