Monday, December 31, 2012

Adios, 2012

2012's most memorable moments....

*Daddy/Daughter Valentine Dance

*Surprise Spring Disney Vacation

*Weekend with friends at Great Wolf Lodge


*Addy's preschool graduation

*Sold our house in Round Rock and moved to Salado

*Two week summer vacation to Maine, Vermont & New Hampshire

*Random Galveston roadtrip to finish out the summer

*Aubrey started 3rd grade and Adelyn started Kindergarten

*We got a baby niece/cousin, Harper

*We became a diaper free household

*11 year anniversary cruise
2012 brought many great memories, as you can see.  It is easy to focus on the best times here on the blog, and that is really what I want to do.  It is easy and lighthearted and fun.  However, sometimes I think it paints an unrealistic picture of our life.  2012 presented some challenges for Dave and I as a couple, that were mostly brought on by a lack of communication over the years.  We got caught up in the day to day and put our marriage on auto-pilot.  We started to take each other for granted.  We kinda lost our connection for a while.  It happens to the best of us.  We spent a good half of the year mending what we thought was a fantastic union.  It took lots of late night discussions and quite a few arguments to really understand what was going on, how we got to that place, and how we were going to fix it.  Luckily, as with any strong marriage, we worked through our issues and we are looking forward to starting 2013 stronger than ever.  

We think moving to Salado is one of the best decisions we have ever made.  The kids are so active here and always want to be outside.  Aubrey and Adelyn love their schools.  The teachers love them.   Aubrey has struggled with reading since kindergarten, so we finally had her tested for dyslexia this year.  She was not diagnosed as dyslexic, but she was diagnosed with ADD.  We started her on Adderall and it, in my opinion, has made a tremendous difference in her learning and attention.  I think it's a freaking miracle drug.   She is the sweetest, most loving child you will ever meet.  She is always thinking about others.  She likes playing games on her Kindle, singing along to Taylor Swift, and playing with Addy & Blake.  Addy has ruled kindergarten like a boss.  She was recognized at the first assembly for showing respect to others.  I am so proud of her because I wasn't sure how kindergarten would go.  She is very opinionated and talkative, but apparently she knows when to shut it off at school.  She loves to draw and says she wants to be an artist when she grows up.  I wouldn't be surprised if that came true.  She and Blake are big buds and she gets way jealous if he hangs out with Aubrey instead of her.  Blake is doing awesome too.  He started going to school everyday and he loves it.  I drop him off around 9 and pick him up about 2:30.  He can't wait to get there in the morning to play with his friends.  He cracks me up.  He either loves stuff or hates it and there is no in between.  It took him a while to start talking, but he is making up for it now.  He told me this morning, "you so sweet, mom".  Kid knows how to butter me up already.  These little munchkins make life interesting and fun, as well as frustrating and challenging.  I am always amazed by how much they can change in a year.  

This year has taught me many things, but the most important is to not take anything for granted.  
Enjoy every single day.  Don't get caught up in the unimportant details.  Don't stress out about things you can't control.  Don't get caught up in drama.  Show people you care through your actions.  And ask yourself this question:  If you were to record yourself, would you like what you see?
“One day your life will flash before your eyes. Make sure it’s worth watching.” –Unknown
With that, I will bid 2012 farewell.  
May 2013 bring you lots of love and laughter.  
Happy New Year!! 

Friday, December 21, 2012

Girly day!

My friend, Angie, and I took our girls to The Nutcracker today in Austin.  The girls are all very close in age and they hit it off when they met each other.  We had a great time.  Ate at Monument Cafe beforehand, managed to score VIP parking at the Long Center, and enjoyed a great day with our sweet little girls.  

They picked out their outfits yesterday, and you can totally tell the difference in personalities.    I think they look SO grown up here, it kinda freaks me out!!

Sweet friends in Austin!

Love these girls.  

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Llama, llama...

I'm one thankful mama...


Thursday, December 13, 2012

a bedtime story

Tonight I read Blake a book.
Then I told him it was time to get in bed.
He didn't want to get in bed, he wanted to play.
I told him if he didn't get in his bed, he would be in trouble.
I repeated this two more times, getting a little more serious each time.
Then he told me I was mean.
I told him that I didn't care if he thought I was mean, it was still time to go to bed.
Then he looked at me and said, "You have stupid hair."
Seriously?
Not sure where he got that one.
I have awesome hair. ;-)
Goodnight.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

organization works!

Yay!  I put these hooks here for the kids a while back.  They are hanging on the first wall you see when you walk into the house.  I had to remind them for the longest time to hang their backpacks up when they came in, but today....holy cow!  Look what I found when I walked through the door....ALL THREE kids hung up their stuff.  Without. Me. Asking.  BOOM, that's how you do it!




Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Elfie Hefner

Turns out the Elf-ster is quite the ladies man.  This is the second year in a row that he has taken a liking to Rapunzel....he forgot to visit the North Pole last night because he was too busy "smelling her hair", according to Aubrey.  Adelyn said yesterday, "How in the world can Elfie watch what we are doing when he is always looking at Rapunzel?"
And today, after he had not moved, Addy says, "I am giving that elf one more chance before I take Rapunzel away from him for good."