Christmas

I can't believe the holidays have arrived and gone already. It seems like you spend so much time shopping, wrapping, baking, and planning get together's and then before you know it everything is done and over with. We had a really good Christmas this year with lots of family. Lots more that we could have spent time with but when your parents are divorced and then divorced again that leaves you with lots of stops but not enough time to get them in.

I'm still getting over a nasty stomach virus that I picked up on Christmas so this post is going to be mainly pictures but I thought I would share Addison's first Christmas with everyone so here we go.

Opening up her very first gift on Christmas Eve. It's a V-Tech phone that she adores thanks to the one that is at my Dad's.

She has no clue which toy to play with on Christmas morning.

Here she is with her Disney Princess tent with tunnel.

Going for her twin baby dolls which have become her favorite but also have warned Mommy and Daddy to never leave her alone with her baby sister...lol!

Taking a break, opening presents is hard work for such a little girl!

She started walking a good month or so ago but after a tumble down a flight of stairs...don't ask...she back pedaled a little and went back to crawling full time. It seems like a day or two before Christmas it was full speed ahead for walking and we are really enjoying ourselves as we sit back and watch her waddle around carrying all of her new toys. Where she finds some of her strength is beyond me but it's funny none the less. She's loving all of her new toys but we are seriously going to have to invest in some bigger toy boxes and I have given up trying to keep the area picked up during the day. Mommy picks everything up and then she pulls it right back out again.

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday, I know that we did and next year should be even better with our second addition to the family!

Chow mein clusters & Merry Christmas

Am I the only one who is in complete shock over the fact that Christmas is in two days?

Seriously where has the month of December gone to. I am really excited to get to celebrate Addison's first Christmas but at the same time I am not looking forward to afterwords. The month of January for me is going to be absolutely crazy. Not only do I have to prepare for the newest addition to our little family of three but I also have to plan somebody's first birthday party. My goal is to have the party planned, invitations ready to be sent out, and the menu planned all by the middle of January. Apparently we didn't think through the having two children almost exactly a year apart very well or I would have at least put a month or so between birthdays. I have planned Addison's party for the last weekend of February so worse case scenario is that we'll have a week old newborn along for the ride. Thank God my OB won't let me go over my due date because we don't want to discuss how upset I would be if I was stuck in the hospital during the big party.

Anyway, I have been busy creating goodies these past few days with a few more yet to go. I shared a few of them with you last year but a couple are brand spanking new for me this year. One of the recipes will be posted without a picture since my Mom and husband devoured it before a picture could be taken. Sweets DO NOT last long in this house!

First up is one that I stumbled upon last year. I saw it on allrecipes.com and shortly after saving the recipe for future use Daniel mentioned that one of the ladies at work had made them and he loved them. I never got the chance to whip them up last year but I fixed that this year and I must admit...they are pretty darn good and were really easy to make.

Chow Mein Clusters~

Ingredients:
10 oz. bag semi-sweet chocolate morsels
10 oz. bag butterscotch morsels
2 1/2 cups chow mein noodles
2 cups salted peanuts

Directions:
1.) In a double boil over medium heat melt together chocolate and butterscotch morsels until smooth.
2.) Add peanuts and noodles to melted chocolate/butterscotch and mix, coating peanuts and noodles evenly.
3.) Drop by rounded tablespoon on lined baking sheet and transfer to fridge to harden.

*If you don't have parchment paper to line your baking sheet just lightly spray your baking sheet with the butter spray you use to keep cakes and such from sticking to baking dishes.

And what's a post about sweets without a picture of this sweet? This time last year I was counting down the weeks until she would be making her appearance and now here I am having to strap her in her high chair just so I can bake without tripping over her. While she isn't exactly elbow deep in cookie dough this year, she's taking more of a supervisor approach to Mom's baking, I have loved having her around...it makes me feel more of a Mommy at Christmas with a little one under foot.

Santa Claus is coming to town!

Saturday we spent our afternoon among all of the crazy mall shoppers to do one very important thing...meet the big guy in red. Addison got to meet Santa for the very first time and other than a short stare down she did awesome. I am so proud of my big girl.

In line ready for the big moment...

Still patiently waiting...

At last, meeting the big guy for the very first time!

To conclude our Saturday adventure we came home and prepared for the winter storm heading our way. As Addison has gotten older she has gotten more and more interested in playing with things that aren't hers, aren't toys, and probably shouldn't be played with. Example being our cell phones, the remote control, and now this...Daddy's wallet and his debit card. She's not even ten months old yet and she's already hijacking his wallet. Does this mean we are in some serious trouble in about fifteen years?

A little Thanksgiving enjoyment...

I have been meaning to post some pictures from Addison's first Thanksgiving and I have finally got a second to do so. Did you know teething babies are the most irritable things alive. I have never seen someone so unhappy as what I have witnessed from Addison these past few days...I am grateful that we have both made it through alive.

Anyway, here are the pictures. To say she enjoyed her meals would be an understatement

Here she is with my cousin Heather who also happens to be her Godmother. The smile on that child's face is priceless!

This is her new grin...her face all scrunched up with her eyes shut...adorable.

There's something about those straps that she just loves.

A close up for the camera...she may or may not have been covered in food!