Merry Christmas!

"And the angel said unto them, 'Fear not: 'Behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people, Unto you is born this day a Saviour which is Christ the Lord.'" Luke 2:11

We Are Having A...

GIRL!!!! I think Trey's heart skipped a beat when it was confirmed by two different doctors during my sonogram on Monday that we are having another girl! He said "oh, two weddings!" as in now he has to pay for two weddings! Haha! All I could think of was more bows, matching outfits for the girls, and just more dressing up! Trey is really excited though. He is such a good girl dad. He is sensitive and caring and just loves Ella to pieces.

Our new baby girl's name is going to be Layla Lou. Lou was my Dad's Mother's middle name. Since Ella is names after my Mom's Mother, it only made sense to name our new baby after my Dad's side. We decided on a girls name a couple months ago, but were still decided on a few different boy names. Trey was convinced it was going to be a boy, but I thought it was going to be a girl. So, now it is on to decorating a new nursery. I already have the bedding picked out, we just need to go crib shopping!! Wooo hooo!

The Night Before Christmas

Ella loves to read books. During a normal day we probably read about 10 books 20 times. I love it when she brings me a book and tells me to "read momma". Every night before bed we usually read about 3 books.

Last year for Christmas my parents gave Ella and her cousins the sweetest Christmas presents. They bought "The Night Before Christmas", the kind where you can record yourself reading it. Dad and Mom alternated reading the pages and Ella loves it. I ask her if she wants Granny and Papa to read to her and she always gets excited. I will admit the first time she looked a little confused and looked around the room like "where are they hiding?".

The other night she looked so cute in her Santa pajamas and when we finished the book she wanted to keep going so I grabbed my camera and watched her turn the pages one by one like a big girl.

I just love her so much! She just adds so much to our Holidays! 

Ella and Santa

Trey and I took Ella to see Santa on Saturday. I thought she would do better this year because she is so friendly where ever we go and loves to talk to people. I guess most people aren't walking around wearing bright red with a hat and beard. Plus, we see a lot of women and not to many big men.
All morning I would say "Ella, are you ready to go?" and she would always say yes. Then I would say "Do you want to go see Santa?" and she would say NO! I guess that should have given it away. We walked in the room where Santa was and I felt her grip tighten a little more around my neck. I told the photographer I was just going to hurry, put her in his lap and move out of the shot quickly. Well, I guess she didn't understand I meant to take it right away, because her 10 second delay did not help the situation. See...

WHen I picked her up she clung to me like her life was at stake! Poor thing! And just for a reminder, here is last years picture. Same Santa, same expression! She has changed SO much in the past year, except for her fear of Santa!! 

One day she will love to look back at these and laugh!

Christmas Time!!!

I love Christmas time and even more so now that I have a little one. It is so fun to drive around at night and look at Christmas lights with her and listen to her say "Pretty lights!" over and over again! I made this wreath and I love the way it turned out. I wanted something that was fun and not the typical Christmas wreath.  

My friend and I went to Canton a few months ago and I found the red/green plaid mesh ribbon that is on my mantle and tree. I want the family room to be more casual and fun for Ella.

All of the ornaments are plastic and tied to the tree with ribbon, so there are no hooks or anything that will break if something happens. With an almost two year old running around I thought that would be best. The "Joy" ornament was mine when I was little. It used to hang on my Mother's tree, but is now on mine. 

My mother-in-law made our stockings for me. I can't wait to see what the latest one will look like? Boy or girl, we will know in 7 days! More camo or more flowers and animal print!

My mother bought me this nativity scene last year. I think it is so pretty and I love having it around and talking to Ella about Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

This is my dining room. It is all copper and gold and more formal.

And this is Ella's nativity scene. My mother bought it for her last Christmas and it is so cute. She can play with this one all she wants and it won't hurt it!

Last, but not least, my sweet girl in her Christmas pajamas reading a book.



10 Days!!

In 10 days we will know if we are having a boy or girl!! I am so excited to find out. The girl name has been decided for a while now, but we are still going back and forth for the boys name. More than anything I am ready to see our baby. To know she/he is healthy and has ten fingers and ten toes and that everything looks great.

Trey, Ella and I will be at the appointment. Of Course at 23 months she doesn't understand the whole Momma's having a baby thing. She points to my stomach and says baby, but then does the same thing to herself. It will still be special to us that she is in the room when we find out. We were overjoyed when we found out she was a healthy girl and we know we are going to be just as excited with this one.

Trey is pulling for a boy, and of course I am pulling for a girl. Out of the 8 people I know that are pregnant right now, 4 are having a boy, one is having a girl and the others don't know yet. The countdown is on!!!

Christmas Cards

And I for one can not wait!! I LOVE Christmas time, the food, the decorations, and the presents!! Last year I put up two Christmas trees and loved having so many decorations. I have been busy busy busy taking people's photos for their Christmas cards, but I always wait until the last minute to have our pictures taken and order my cards. This year, that is not going to happen. We are taking our pictures next weekend and I plan on ordering my cards soon.

This year I am going to order my cards from Shutterfly. I love the new designs they have and have already been combing through them. Shutterfly is also offering 50 free Holiday Card and all you have to do is go click here. Here is a link to their Christmas cards and their photo Christmas cards.  Here is one of my favorites and you can find it here.

I like the modern look of it and I can put several pictures of my sweet baby girl in this one!

So take a look and make sure a get your 50 Free Holiday Cards. 



Big Sister

Baby Calhoun #2 will be arriving May 23, 2011. We are so very excited to give Ella a little brother or sister. We find out if we are having a girl or boy on December 20th!!! I can't wait! I have had that appointment set for about a month now. What a great Christmas present that will be!!!

I think Ella will be a great big sister. She is such a little momma now to her baby dolls.

23 Months!

My sweet girl turned 23 months old today! It is so hard for me to believe that in one month she will be two years old. What an amazing 23 months it has been. She has grown and changed SO much. She is so independent some days and others she won't leave my side. She is still very cuddly and I LOVE that. She loves to snuggle next to me with my arm around her and watch cartoons. If I try and move away, she tells me to sit and grabs my arm and puts it around her.

She loves being around bigger kids. She likes younger ones, but they just aren't near as exciting to her. She is talking up a storm and just last night counted to 10 all by herself!!! Trey was present and heard all of it, so I do have a witness. Usually she will do the even numbers if I count with her, but she has been counting to five on her own, so last night was so AMAZING to hear! She has done it twice today.

She loves being outside and playing in the dirt and grass, but her favorite thing by far is shoes. I hear the word shoes or boots so many times a day. She loves shoes! Oh, are we in trouble in about 14 years!!

She is very social and tells everyone at the grocery store, Hobby Lobby, park, or where ever we go "Hi!" and if they don't respond she will continue, growing louder each time, until they do. Good thing I am not a shy person.

I love this little girl so much. I love how much she loves me and her Daddy and how excited she gets whenever he gets home from work. I love her sugars (kisses) and sweet hugs. I thank God for her at least once everyday and am amazed at His creation. 

Halloween

This year was the first year Ella could actually trick-or-treat. Last year she was nine months old and we did dress her up and take her to a few neighbor friend's houses, but she couldn't eat any of the candy and had no idea what was going on.

I LOVE Halloween! Growing up my Mom always made our costumes and they were so cute! We got to dress up at school and I always loved going trick-or-treating with all of my friends. To me it is about kids getting to be kids and dressing up in cute costumes and eating candy.

We got Ella ready and she headed out the door. She wasn't quite sure what to do at first, but she was a very polite trick-or-treater and always said thank you and bye bye.

We did see a few little boys wearing scary masks that Ella did not like and we had to slow down and pick her up and wait for them to pass. Our neighborhood was packed. People drive in to our neighborhood just to trick-or-treat and the streets were lined with cars.

Our little ragdoll got a lot of candy and had a great time. We went to about 20 houses on our street and walked by a lot more that we didn't go in. We had to skip the houses with scary decorations because Ella made it clear she didn't like them and we saw a house where a guy was jumping out and scaring kids, so obviously we didn't go to that one.

After a while she was ready to go home and we had walked about a mile. Daddy carried her home on his shoulders the rest of the way.

When we got home she dug into her candy and we let her eat two kit kits and a crunch bar. I think we have created a monster now!!! She loves chocolate, but who can blame her? Her first real Halloween experience was so fun!

Hi Fish!

My Birthday At The Arboretum

First off, does anyone even read my blog anymore? =) I used to be good about keeping up, but that faded and I tried to hold on, but life has just been crazy around here. My photography business is doing great, but that means when I am on the computer I am editing photos and blogging on my photography blog. November is a very busy month for me. I am booked every weekend for a photo shoot, except for the weekend after Thanksgiving. That will be spent in Wichita with our families and trying to relax a little.

Back to my birthday...I met up with my friend Melody at the Arboretum. Fall at the arboretum is just the most beautiful time and there are pumpkins everywhere!! The colors are rich and beautiful and the weather was perfect. Our Mops group planned to attend, but several of their kiddos were sick, so it was just me and Melody. I did not care at all because Melody is one of my favorite people and we always have a good time. Ella is also crazy about Melody and her daughter Jalie, who is almost 5. This is Ella giving Melody a big smile when we first arrived.

We walked around and just kind of let the girls run wild. Ella loved it, except when I would try and reel her back in. Miss independent!

Don't let that sweet face fool you. See that finger? It is about to point right and me and tell me "No Mama!".

Both of the girls were just mesmerized by the water. I just love this picture of Ella because every since she was little I have taken pictures of her backside. It is usually to get pictures of all her rolls. There aren't any rolls though anymore. My girl has thinned out.

So sweet! Jalie is a little mama and was so protective of Ella. She is going to be a great big sister come January.

Such a little cutie!

We walked around for several hours and then had a little picnic. Ella ate and then started chasing birds. It was hysterical. She would say "budda budda budda BIRD!" and then take off. She never understood why they wouldn't just stay still. While Ella was chasing the birds, mama Jalie was chasing Ella. These two are a mess!

Ella also made friends with another little 18 month old girl while we were eating and then proceeded to sit in the girls stroller while Jalie pushed her around. She also ate most of the girls snacks, but the little girl and her parents were so nice. Ella has just never met a stranger! I love that she is so outgoing. 

After 4 hours we headed home and Ella passed out in the car. She had just run herself ragged. We went home and napped and waited for Trey to get home. That night we went and ate at Glorias. It was delicious and Ella got to eat all the bean dip she wanted, which is a lot. My birthdays used to be about dressing up and going to a nice restaurant and staying out late, but this one was by far one of my favorites in a while. I got to spend it with a great friend, my sweet girl and my wonderful husband. I am so blessed!

My Little Cowgirl

 When Trey and I went to the Gaylord for our anniversary we did a little shopping. Of course we had to get something for Ella, especially since this was our first night away from her. We went into a little store and Trey pointed out the cowboy boots and he quickly regretted it! I spent the next twenty minutes debating on red or pink and finally went with the red. I was so excited about them I almost wanted to go ahead and go home!!

When we did get home the next day we showed these to her and she loved them. She has worn them around the house several times all day long. So, I decided to take her out and do a little photo shoot of her. Well, I had taken two little boys pictures that morning, so by the time I picked her up it was already 12 and HOT. I decided to do it anyways though, even as she was rubbing her eyes in the back seat signaling nap time.

It was a little too sunny and way too hot, so I may need to do a re-shoot, but oh well, I think they are precious.

When shooting an almost two year old (especially your own) it helps to have another adult there as the attention getter. Notice how the grass is more interesting than me!

We did a little outfit change about 15 minutes into it. We were there only about 25 minutes. It was just too hot. I took these at the beginning of September.

 Such a sweet face!

I have been really bad about taking pictures of her lately. Probably because I have been taking pictures of other people so in my free time I just play with her. I need to get better about that. She is growing up so fast and I don't want to miss any of it!

For My Brother, Kyle

Although apparently Ella thinks it is Cow.

Will I Ever Learn??

This summer my hair has continually gotten more and more blonde. Today I decided it was too blonde and instead of doing the right thing, which is call a licensed beautician, I go to the grocery store and buy a box of hair color for $12. Saves me a lot of money right? Instead of paying a professional $100 (which in my opinion is soooo overpriced!!!) I only spend $12 + tax.

Now in the past I have judged it by the girl on the box. Oooh, her hair is really pretty and curly with lots of volume, it is a distraction tool! This time I judged it by the name of the color. I went with dark natural blonde, sounds good, right...that is what I am after.

I go home, put it on, only leave it on for 5 minutes because I really just wanted to tone it down just a little, not fully color it.

UUUHHHHH!!!! And every time the result is the same. Ugly! And every time I wash my hair at least 5 times, sometimes using laundry detergent, thinking it will magically fade away this ugly color, but that has never worked. Yet, I continue to do it!!!!!!!!!

So now I have an appointment tomorrow at 12 with a licensed professional to fix it. So, instead of $100, it is now $112 + tax. And I have to look at this ugly, ashy color for the next 18 hours. I do this at least once a year. So no, I don't think I will ever learn!!! =)

Three Year Anniversary

Our three year anniversary was on September 8.  For our first wedding anniversary I was 6 months pregnant, so we just went to a nice dinner. For our second wedding anniversary I had an eight month old baby and wasn't about to leave her, so we just went to a nice dinner. Finally, for our third wedding anniversary we decided to do something (and still go for a nice dinner!). We went to the Gaylord Resort in Grapevine and had a blast. It was my first overnight trip away from Ella and I did just fine! (Now let's go to Mexico!!! Haha! just kidding)

We arrived and had champagne and cake balls waiting on us. What a good start to the day. We did a little shopping and just walked around for a few hours checking everything out.

Later we got dressed up and went and had dinner at the Old Hickory steakhouse. We had a nice long meal and enjoyed some wine and actually got to talk to each other!! And I actually got to eat my food instead of feeding Ella the entire time and then scarfing my food down at the end of everyone elses meal! (I love how to one picture we took of us dressed up is blurry. Trey was ready to go and hurrying me and I was trying to balance the camera on a lamp shade!)

After dinner we went to the Glass Cactus Nightclub. I wish I would have known to make reservations because all the tables were reserved and there wasn't anywhere to sit except outside and it was HOT and HUMID! We stayed for about 2 hours and were back in our hotel room at 10:00, ordered room service and went to bed. We are such party animals!!!

What about Ella you ask? Well, my mom came in town to keep her.Ella didn't even say bye to us when we left and didn't really seem to care we were leaving. You see, when Granny is around, nothing else matters. My Mom graciously offered to iron my new dress before we left and Ella threw such a fit because Granny wasn't holding her, you would think someone was torturing her. When we came home she acted as if we were never gone and still was obsessed with Granny. My mom did tell me that several times during the day Ella asked for her Momma and Daddy, which made me feel better. I guess it is a good thing that she was happy and content while we were away. I would have been upset had she been heart broken all weekend.