Merry Christmas to All...

Christmas this year was a bit different. Still fun, but different. Christmas Eve is usually spent with my family in Kingfisher, but this year it was postponed until the day after Christmas. Christmas Eve was spent this year scrounging around the pantry and concocting a new Christmas Eve meal called "Next Year We Will Make Sure We Go Grocery Shopping No Matter How Wrong We Think the Weathermen Are" casserole. Ok, it was spaghetti with a few extras thrown in. We also let Daddy open a Christmas present early and watched a movie.

Christmas morning we celebrated with our little family first. K had some presents to open from Mommy and Daddy and Santa even left her a couple, guess she must have been good. Of course, she went for the book first thing!! Then we made it over to Brian's parent's

house and had a late lunch with the whole family, but Aunt Julie. (She was really missed) Then it was back home to spend it with my family. Katelynn made out like a bandit, once again. She got some cute outfits and pj's and a lot of toys. Uncle Paul and Aunt Angela got her a pair of John Deere boots and she loves them! Nanaw got her her first Cabbage Patch Baby, Marilyn Mandy (And I thought the names would get better.) and her first OU jersey. I think she looks pretty cute. (Not too far off from a gen-u-wine Sooner Fan, if you ask me. BOOMER!!)

Like I said, Saturday we made it to Kingfisher to be with my family. It wouldn't have been Christmas with out seeing my cousins and their kids. K was hanging with the big boys and playing in the toy room with the best of 'em. Baby Gabrielle was there so next year, her and K will be ready to play together.

I know it is time for me to take all the decorations down, but I hate it when I have to do that. Besides it being a ton of work, I love the way our house looks when it is all festive. Oh well, it has to be done so that will probably be our job on Friday. A couple of more nights with the living room lit up by Christmas Tree lights will make me a happy camper.

I hope all had a safe holiday. Happy New Year to you all.

What Have I Been Doing With My Time?

I have been asking myself this a lot, lately. Time just seems to keep slipping away from me. Thanksgiving was just here and now I look up and it's almost time for Christmas. I promised myself I would get started with all my shopping early so I could enjoy the holiday. Well, I did get a lot of shopping done, early, but then majorly slacked!! Oh well. I have been finding other ways to keep myself busy. One way is with the Clothespin Peeps. This is what I call them. My cousins and I have taken over my Grandma B's ritual of creating clothespin people for the family for Christmas. Unfortunately this year, we slacked. OK, that is a gross understatement since we will all be gathering together on Christmas Eve and they are still not done. So I started working on these little guys. They are ending up pretty cute, but nothing like we have done in the past. Next year, we start early...Like January!!

Katelynn has been a little under the weather. She had a bit of a cold but it has lasted 3 weeks so we went to see the doctor last week. She has a sinus infection. So we have started the antibiotics and all seems to be going well. She hates to have her nose wiped, but who doesn't? She received a package in the mail the other day and it was a birthday present from my Mema Bugg. She made Katelynn a beret!! It is pretty cute and K will actually wear it for a bit. Thanks Mema!! (OK, in this picture she doesn't look too thrilled, but like I said, we've been sick!)

Finally..a new post.

It has been a crazy few weeks for us. Lots of family in town and lots of things going on so I have kinda let posting fall through the cracks. My bad!

Thanksgiving was a good time! We went to Brian's parent's house and spent the day with family!! We ate some amazing food, played Cranium and Katelynn modeled a new hair bow. Things I learned: Em needs to brush up on television shows (namely Star Trek) and Claudia can do a mean Elvis impersonation!

Brian and I tackled the holiday decorating on our Friday off (well, we pulled everything out of the attic) and while he was at the game on Saturday (BOOMER! Sorry A.) Katelynn and I decided to set it all up. I love this time of year! I love having green and red throughout the house. I love turning on the tree lights and turning off every other light in the house and just looking at the tree. I ordered new stockings and I was so excited to hang them. Monogrammed stockings with our names, so festive!!

Katelynn has done better with the

tree than I thought. She took one ornament off the tree and I have since let her have that one. Anytime she gets near the tree, which hasn't been all that often, I give her "her" ornament and she plays with that one. I had to bait her last night though to get some pictures for our Christmas cards. SO I am hoping that hasn't planted the seed that grabbing for the ornaments is a good thing.

Oh! We also made the final monthly trip to the photographer and took K's 1 year picture. I am so happy to be finished with that ritual. I love that we did it and we will definitely do the same with the next child, but I am relieved to be finished with it for now. This last one was a little rough. They couldn't get us in until 7:30 pm and of course they were running behind so K was getting a little fussy. But we got a couple of cute pictures out of it and that is all that matters.

This picture sums up our weekend....

We had Katelynn's second 1st birthday party this Saturday. It was so much fun!! Lots of friends and family were at the house to make this first birthday extra special for Katie Bug. It was a lot of fun, but also a lot of work and we are all glad it is another year before we have to have one of those again. =) This was Miss K after her nap after the festivities. This is proof that it was a hit!!

Everything but a hat..

or bows. Katelynn will not wear anything on her head that I have bought for her. Super cute red hat for Christmas, nope! Cute bows that match her outfits, you've got to be kidding! But a tupperware bowl or a diaper..Sure! Why Not!!

One Wild and Crazy Ride

But one I would ride over and over again!! This past year has been amazing. I wouldn't change a thing. The tears, the giggles, the sleepless nights, the 2 am feedings, the messy diapers, the runny nose, the 7 am snuggles, the bruises from the attempts to crawl, the finally getting the crawling down, the first words, the first kisses, oh those first kisses!! Katelynn Noel you are a blessing from God that I adore. You are my little best friend and I love reminiscing about the past. But even more, I love looking forward to the future. I am looking forward to first steps (check, we are getting the walking down), first teeth, first days of school, first crushes, first "loves", first heartbreaks...cheerleading outfits, prom dresses, homecoming mums.......decorating your college dorm room, decorating your first apartment....seeing you in your cap and gown, seeing you in your wedding dress, seeing you holding your first born. Too many things!!

Katelynn, you are such a precious gift. Know that you have introduced Mommy and Daddy to a kind of love that we never knew existed until you. Know that we will always love you, no matter what. And know that you are so very special to us. You always will be.

Happy First Birthday baby girl!

Grow strong, sweet Katelynn, and know that Mommy and Daddy love you more than words can express.

Miles and Miles Forever!

Love, Mommy

Stealing This Idea

From a friend of mine. A is doing some great "decoration renovations" to her house and she has started to use her blog to show the work that has been completed and also to get input on some of her ideas. I am going to steal this idea and see if I can get some much needed input on my ideas. I have been wanting to do something with the wall over our buffet for years. Seriously, since we purchased the buffet right after we were married I knew something was missing there. While going through the new PB mag, I found some ideas I just love. Not sure how hard they would be, but I am willing to try.

This is a picture of our actual buffet. (bottom) I love this idea of multiple chalkboards. Not sure if I would actually use chalk or just paint black canvases and use the vinyl lettering (if it sticks) or paint something on it. This one seems like a lot of work, but I really like it. I am also not sure if our kitchen could handle this much black. Our cabinets are light and our walls are dill pickle.

My next idea is this. I love these shelves and I would be able to display more of our pictures and great dishes from the wedding. It would also be more storage. It would also be more to dust. Or we could just do a mirror behind it. So not sure. Help me out here guys. (And A, thanks for the blog idea. Hope you don't mind.) =)

Working from Home...

I would love to say that this could actually be an option. Be with K all day long, still have daily contact with adults and still bring home at least some "bacon". Truth is, I do not see how people do it! It has to be the hardest thing ever. I have a friend, K, who is doing just this. She is working from home while taking care of two beautiful daughters, A and K. I can tell some days she is at her wit's end, and I now know why. Today I decided to stay home this afternoon with K. Not take the day off, mind you, but work from home for an afternoon. If a picture is worth a thousand words, well here you go. (I had decided to bring home some filing that I was getting behind on and here is what happened.)

My dear friend K, it is not that I didn't respect you as a work-from-home mother before, but now I am amazed by you. Any time you need a break, give me a call! And to all you other working moms (inside the home or outside) give yourself a big ol' pat on the back. You are all AMAZING!!! Now, back to work.

Hello, operator.....

K is figuring out how to use the phone.....

A Tad Sassy

Click on the Tad Sassy button off to the right and you can get a sneak peek of K's onesie Miss S made for her. Miss November, here she comes!!

Only Seven Seconds but Still Sweet.....

Seriously,

More Pics

This cow really was sweet.

Katelynn attempting to eat the feed.

Grandpa B and K making the same faces.

I love this camera! Look how pretty these cows are!

A Sunday on the Farm.....

Sunday morning Brian and I packed up Katelynn and we were off to Okarche. Grandpa B (my dad) has some cattle and he wanted to introduce K to a particularly sweet cow that he has had for 12 years or so. For the first (and definitely not last) time K was loaded up in the truck and we went to pick up the feed and then we were off to the land we have that we call "Down South". K loved the ride to the farm and when she saw all the cows surround the truck she got a little excited. Dad put out the feed cubes and we waited until everything calmed down a bit and then it was time to introduce Katelynn

to the cow.

Dad gave K a cube of food and we tried to get her to feed the cow, heck the cow came right up to her and she tried to get the cube out of K's hand, but little Miss K was not letting go!! The cow kept licking at K's hand but that cube of food was not going any where. (We actually had to take it home with us. And it was one of the first things she grabbed this morning, I should have tossed it last night when I had the chance. Will remember that next time.)

After we feed the cows Katelynn got to hang out in the back of Grandpa B's pick up truck. She found lots of "toys" to play

with but seemed to like banging on a bucket and the sides of the truck with Grandpa the best!!

We had a great day at the farm with Grandma and Grandpa B. We know there will be lots more days just like this one and I am so happy that Katelynn will get to experience some of the same things that I did when I was little. Some of my best memories are on my Grandparent's farm with my brothers and my cousins. I hope K will one day realize what a truly blessed and lucky little girl she is to have so many people that love her. We headed back home and K crashed as soon as we got her in the car. She had a feed cube in one hand, my dad's hat in the other and I have a feeling I know exactly what she was dreaming about!

Thanks Daddy for a great day. We all had a blast!!

Katelynn is Creating a New trend...

Around our house we call this 'do the Mad Scientist.....

Step 1: Scrunch hair close to head on just the sides of the head. (The key is SIDES ONLY!!)

Step 2: While firmly gripping hair, pull straight out from side of hair. It may hurt a little, but I was once told that sometimes in fashion there must be sacrifice. (Works best if you have cereal residue or hashbrown grease on hands first.)

Step 3: Repeat first two steps on other side of head and VIOLA!! Mad Scientist! Our one and only disclaimer, this beautiful 'do may not be as cute on you as it is on K. I mean, come on, she is pretty cute to begin with, don't ya think?

She's got personality!

K is starting to get her own little personality. She knows what she likes, what she dislikes and what she wants. We are now in the "Pointing and Grunting" stage. She does this to everything thing she wants. Food, the little cat on the shelf, the Halloween sign on the shelf that is even higher up than the cat, my cell phone, you name it. If she wants it, it's a point and an "EH!" She is a quick little crawler. Knows where she wants to be so as soon as you set her down, if she is not satisfied, she is off!! After tomorrow we will no longer have any more "Month" Birthdays but we are fine with that. That means that we are just about to embark on a time where we will be hitting more milestones and making more memories!!

This is how a lot of my pictures are turning out lately. Just the tail end of our little mover! We have to be quick with the camera now-a-days.

This is K's new prank. She gets a kick out of pulling the towels off the oven door. When she gets quiet, we know where she is.

Leave it to the professionals!!

That's all I gots to say....... =)

A Bedtime Story for You

Narrated by Katelynn Noel.........

Katie Bug's B-Day....

Katelynn's first birthday is rapidly approaching. I cannot believe it is already almost here. I am so excited for it but I am also not ready for it to happen. It is all going by so fast. I am so excited for this momentous occasion but then I am a little upset that my baby is going to be 1 year old. So to keep my mind off being sad, I am just focusing on getting her parties put together. (Yes, I said parties!) So I have picked out her theme, Lady Bugs, and now it is time to get all the decorations and invitations and cakes and goodies picked out/ordered/prepared. I have a wonderful friend, S, who has the best ideas and advice when it come to parties for the little divas/girls. She has been so helpful and will probably be even more helpful when it gets closer and I start to freak. =) S is incredibly talented and has created a birthday banner for K. She completed it today and ran it by my office. It is the cutest thing ever!!!! It will be used for every one of Katelynn's birthdays. Each year I will add another candle to it and the material of the candle will somehow reflect the theme for that year's birthday. Year one, S gave me a lady bug candle. I love it!! You are also supposed to attach the ribbons from her presents to the hanger. This is going to be so neat for Katelynn to have for every birthday and when she gets older she can look back on it and hopefully remember some wonderful times with friends and family. Thank you so much S! (She has tons of great things!! Check her out on www.atadsassy.blogspot.com. She is more than just a tad sassy, that is why I lurve her!!)

Pictures...

We had a crazy busy weekend. We had a birthday party to attend on Saturday morning that we unfortunately had to miss. Katelynn and I picked up a nasty cold and didn't want to spread it around so we had to miss it. Then it was time for K's pictures. They didn't start off too promising

But they did get better

and better

And then there is the BEST!! (check out the booty...yep, it's what you think it is. And to quote my good friend S, "Hook This!!")

We put the bow on her and then she fell asleep and when she woke up, she had no idea it was still on. So it worked for most of the pictures. Next month it will be pics of her in her Halloween costume. I am so excited!!

The Great State Fair...

Yes, we ventured out Thursday night to opening day of the State Fair. (It was also $1 admission night. CRAZY!!) We went out because Jamey Johnson was having a free concert. We got to the fairgrounds around 6:30 and by 7:15 we were inside the gates. It took FOREVER to park because of the copius amounts of fair goers and the wet weather. The parking lots looked like small lakes. But we made it inside and headed to the Toyota stage to see the concert. Katelynn enjoyed the show. She clapped when everyone else did and danced at the beginning of each song. One couple even commented on her clapping. (She then decided to show them her other trick and waved goodbye. They thought it was pretty funny.) Afterwards the three of us set off to find some good fair food. By that time K had fallen asleep so she missed out on the Famous Pulled Pork Sandwich B picked and the Pancho Dog that I choose. Since she was sleeping so soundly, B and I decided to split some curly fries (my idea) with chili and cheese (B's idea). We porbably won't make it out to the fair again this year, work and football tends to take up most of our time, but we had a good night as a family.











Katelynn's first picture at the fair. And I won't lie to you, there is a little bit of fear in her eyes.

Daddy and K at the entrance to the Fair.Family Portrait at the JJ concert. (Nice lady offered to take our picture. She didn't say she would center it, just take it!!) =)

Decorating is in her future....

I think Katelynn has a little bit of interior decorating in her blood.Either that or she just does not agree with my decorating choices. She is constantly removing or adding her own little "touches" to all of our table tops, shelves, etc. Here she is re-decorating our hearth. She obviously does not approve of the candles and the photos. I'm guessing she thinks it is just too much. (BTW, she IS wearing her Halloween pj's and the ARE the cutest things ever!!)

These Past Couple of Weeks....

have been crazy busy and have flown by!! We have had lots of family in town and a billion things going on. I will try to recap these couple of weeks with some cute photos:
How's this for irony? I have finally learned my lesson. I cannot leave anything remotely near Katelynn when she is in the tub.

Uncle Kris was in from Chicago. We got to hang with him for a few days.

Aunt Julie and Auntie Em were in town and went to Okarchefest with us. I think they were picking out a baby goat to take home with them.

This is exactly what Sundays are for...Church then naps!!

And then working hard at pushing the highchair around.

Then we update our status on Facebook.

We ate "real" bananas for the first time. As you can see, K even liked the peel! Not really, but it was a lot of fun to play with.

And tonight she feel asleep with the remote in her hands. (She is her father's daughter!!)

Football is starting this weekend so hopefully we will be bringing you some OU Katelynn pretty soon. We are having so much fun with Katie Bug. She is getting so big. We miss that little baby but are enjoying our little girl!!

9 Months

Katelynn Noel turned 9 months last Friday. She is getting so big and growing up so fast. She is crawling like a pro and pulls herself up on just about everything. She wants to take off walking but we are just not there yet. At her wellness check-up she weighed 17lbs 4oz and was 27 1/4" tall. She didn't gain a pound between her 6 and 9 month check-up but the doctor said that was fine because she is so much more mobile and is getting taller.

She loves to eat. We have been giving her bits of table food which she LOVES but we have to be careful because she still doesn't have any teeth. She loves grapes, noodles and animal crackers! She crawls all over the house. Sometimes setting out on her own to explore, other times trying to find either Mama or Dada. She waves goodbye and loves to point. She points at everything. We keep trying to tell her it's rude, but she is so cute, we let her get away with it. Katelynn is our little waterbug. She loves her baths and enjoys the pool. Next year, we won't be able to keep her out of it.

She is so much fun to be around. She is getting a little personality, sometimes it's sweet, sometimes it's a little feisty. Either way, we love her tons and wouldn't have it any other way.

We love you Katie Bug! You are our precious gift and we are so glad that you are ours.

Nanaw's Little Helper

Katelynn decided to help Nanaw Mickie with the laundry yesterday. She looks like she is really enjoying it. Let's just hope that this is something that she will enjoy doing for years to come. =)