Look what me got!

Every Christmas gift Marin got this year, she yelled, “LOOK WHAT MEEEEE GOT!”  That level of enthusiasm is hard to match.

This is the Rose Petal Cottage that Santa brought.  It affords her a whole new level of privacy that she loves!

New books were a big hit too!

Feeling sassy in her Christmas dress—ready for church!

Coloring with Auntie Amanda was great fun.

Handsome brothers!

The master of cocktails!

Tons of gifts for Amanda & Baby!

The Wizard with a new Walkman??  He’s so hip. 

Despite my best efforts, she digs Dora!

Sometimes a good ol’ box makes the best toy!

Even Parker got some new loot!  (Already destroyed!)

Good-bye Dallas!  Thanks for a great 2010 Christmas….we’ll see you when Baby C arrives!

Christmas Eve at Dallas World Aquarium

Santa brought us a new camera for Christmas, so when we were in Dallas for Christmas we decided to hit the aquarium to try it out!

This fish loved Marin and kept coming back to her!

Fish kisses!

Hey, where did MY fishy go??

So much to see….

Cute penguins!

Scary saw shark.

Speaking of scary, this guy was pacing in his cage like he was ready to POUNCE!

Visiting the aquarium was a great way to spend a morning and we were excited to get some fun pictures!

Hittin’ the Gym

Over the long MLK weekend (Jas had Monday off), we had lots of rain in Austin which meant lots of time inside.  Fortunately, our good friends invited us to come play at their school’s gym and burn off some energy.  Yes, please!!! 

While Oliver sunk three-pointers and dunked the basketball, Marin jumped on the trampoline and cheered for him!

We learned that Jeff has mad skills on the scooter…dribbling AND scooting simultaneously??  What a stud.

Trudy was a fierce competitor on the bouncy ball. 

Here’s Jas right after he nailed a backwards dunk. 

Not bad for being trapped indoors on a rainy day!

Hooked on Phonics

Marin created her first self-portrait in January.  She’s very proud that she drew ‘such pretty eyes’ on it!

 

Drawing with markers is her favorite activity right now and she will sit and draw for long periods of time. She’s especially good at writing the letters: O, H, M and the number 2. 

In addition to writing, she sings the letter sounds all day long:  “The H says, hhhhh (heavy breathing) the H says, hhhhh (heavy breathing), every letter makes a sound the H says, hhhhh (heavy breathing)!  Thanks to her favorite DVD she can do this for e-v-e-r-y letter of the alphabet.  

This sweet pea is totally hooked on phonics!

Where did Christmas go, Mommy?

Christmas was incredibly fun this year with a toddler in tow and now that it’s over, Marin is totally confused.  She keeps asking me, “Where did Christmas go, Mommy?”  365 days is going to be a long time for her to wait to do it all again…

There were reluctant visits with Santa,

Hours of fun trimming and ‘untrimming’ our tree,

Silly games with special friends,

Tree lighting celebrations,

Lazy mornings in festive pjs,

Too many presents to count,

Lots of smiles and snuggles,

A snazzy new fireplace,

Lots of love,

A trip to Llano for Cooper’s BBQ, 

RIBS!!! This is Texas, y’all!

We had ourselves a merry little Christmas…and we hope you did too!

Now life is back to normal….

 

More pictures coming soon from our trip to Dallas!