the big one!

At our house, when you get a surprise, you must:

1. Close your eyes

and

2. Cover your eyes

Emma's orders...

So, that's what Rob did. He got a special ornament from Emma and a "bling" watch from me.

I kept his birthday pretty low key. I knew that paybacks would be coming in about two years :)
For dinner, I made what Rob wanted...mini turkey meatloaves, potato casserole, green bean bundles & whole grain rolls. If I can say so, it was yummy!
I also made his favorite dessert....rhubarb pie. This is Rob's grandmother's "thing," and although it was pretty good, I have some recipe tweaking to do next go round.
They blew out the candles...
And, we ate our dessert!

Happy Birthday babe! You are the best hubby around...I love you!

And, although I gave you a hard time about being "30," I turn "30" weeks this weeks too. Does that count?

trimming & roasting

The day after the snowfall, we decorated the Christmas tree. Emma was so excited, although her attention span was definitely on the short side.

She helped me some...
And, then we headed outside to roast marshmallows. And, make s'mores.
Emma enjoyed her treat so much...
Rob and I did too. Who doesn't like chocolate mixed with warm, toasty marshmallows?
Marshmallows are Emma's favorite thing in the whole world, so let's just say she was in heaven!

on my nose and eyelashes...

snowflakes. I couldn't believe it...on my little girl's nose and eyelashes.

The snow covered the rooftops, the ground, and my lovely red cyclamens.
We walked in the snow...
played in the snow...
Made snowballs...
And, of course, Daddys always start the snowball fight.
Emma just loved it!
Snow is magical to me...why is that so?
She wore her mittens.
And her coat...
And, her cute little hat too.
She even made her very first snowman. I bought extra carrots at the store, just for the special occasion.
We had so much fun playing in the snow together...
Rob made a snow angel, which was pretty close to perfect!
Emma was so cute all bundled up...
She made a snow angel too.
And, then Emma and I made our angels together. What a fun day. Can we do it again?

Snow Covered Trees...

at no extra charge! Yes, it snowed at our house, and it was beautiful!

We picked out our Christmas tree while the snow was falling...so fun!
It was magical...

We loaded her into the back of Rob's truck and headed home.

Other families had the same idea that we did...
Rob was covered in snow...
And I was covered in snow...
And, Emma was just "feezin!"
I am pretty sure that snow covered trees won't be a tradition that we can keep, so we enjoyed it while we could.

dear santa, please stop here

My sweet hubby has been working his booty off (yes, I just said booty), can you tell?

The BIG wreath was added this year. Trust me, it took great efforts too.
I am so proud of his work. Now, if we could only get our tree up. I think the lights will be bright enough to bring a very jolly visitor to our house on Christmas Eve. Emma is already so excited...she almost can't stand it.

Happy Birthday Mama C!

My parents flew home from their "destination" holiday on Mom's birthday. They were in a warm and tropical place all week-complete with margaritas, but sans turkey and dressing (sounds pretty good, huh?).So, we decided to meet them for dinner. Emma was so excited to see them both!
They sang to Mama C. which nearly scared her half to death!
Since they missed out on Thanksgiving dinner, I made pumpkin and pecan pie for dessert.
Emma had a blast with my parents and of course, the animals. She asked if she could go home with them to the "forest."
All in all, it was a fun night. We love you Mama C!

Road Trip for Turkey Day

We left our home the Monday before Thanksgiving and made our way to see family. Emma had headphones and plenty of movies, so let's just say we were ALL happy at least for most of the time-we always have our moments.

We spent plenty of time outside...the animals came too.
She rode her tricycle, and I attempted to get her photo.
She was having so much fun.
She looked for acorns.
And found lots of them.
On Tuesday night, we met my very good friend Stephanie and her family for dinner at Joe T. Garcias. Emma enjoyed the chips.
She also had a blast with Ethan. If only we lived closer...
Although I rarely see my friend, Stephanie, I talk to her on the phone ALL the time. Let's just say we go "way back," and I wish I could see her more often. We haven't see each other since her wedding...Emma was 8 weeks old...shameful.
This was our second attempt at a group shot. Group shots are impossible with toddlers.
Emma enjoyed her time with Grandmother. Emma asked for eggs for lunch. I gave her a funny look, and Grandmother said, "Let me fix them for you." Can we say rotten?
Here's one with Emma, Grandmother, and Papa. Emma LOVES the cane.
And, of course, Rob with his grandparents. We couldn't convince Emma to join in.
We met my sister and Dillon for dinner at Papadeaux on another night. They just bought their first house, so we got to see that too. It was so cute.
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and we were surrounded by lots of family. Unfortunately, I quit taking photos on Wednesday night, so this is all prego wrote.
Our Thanksgiving dinner was fabulous, and we enjoyed our stay at Grandmother & Papa's house. We are grateful that they let us take over their house for a few days :)

Rob and I have a lot to be thankful for. My list could go on for days, but for starters, we have a healthy little girl and a healthy (so far) baby boy on the way. Happy Thanksgiving from our house to yours. May we all reflect on our many blessings.