Santa ALREADY Came to Town!

Big Thanks to the Richmond Fire Department for giving Santa a lift to our neighborhood for a merry wave and a jolly Ho! Ho! Ho!  See you again on Christmas Day Santa!

Birthdays, Birthdays, Birthdays!

We've been busy lately with playdates and Christmas shopping and especially Birthdays! We've celebrated 3 birthdays all in the last 2 weeks.  We had friends turning 1, 2, and 3 years old, and boy did we have fun.  Here's a few pictures from two of the parties.

Pinkalicious Cupcakes Please!

For Brenna's birthday, our neighbors gave Brenna the book Pinkalicious and it could not have been more well received.  From the first time Ms. Bridget read it to Brenna and girls sitting on the curb in front of the house, to the 100 times we've read it since, it will always bring on a laugh.  For those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about, the book is about alittle girl who turns pink after eating too many pink cupcakes.  She can only turn back to normal by eating a steady diet of green vegetables.

So the questions I had been expecting finally came on Monday night after reading the book.  "Mama, can we make some pink cupcakes?"  And so, we made a special trip to the grocery store where Brenna picked her own icing and sprinkles (both pink, of course) and I picked up some food coloring.  We went to dance class where her excitment began to bubble over as she told her friends that she was going to bake cupcakes.  Jacob and I were rushed through dinner that night when we got home, because of Brenna's impatience to wait any longer to bake!

And that's when the mess began.  Brenna mixed the ingrediants, poured up the batter, and watched as the cupcakes began to rise in the oven.  "Look Mama!  Look how big their getting!"  Then it was on to frosting and sprinkles.  Brenna stood on her stool, frosting her cupcakes, and telling me "I'm the baker and I'm gonna share my cupcakes with everyone!" Some cupcakes were covered in 4 inch deep frosting and coated in sprinkles.  Two hours later, we had 20 cupcakes and pink sprinkles and icing everywhere!  I cleaned up immediately for fear Moose (one of our over weight cats) would discover the crumbs Brenna left behind and go into sugar shock.

But the fun wasn't over yet!  The next day, she made good on her promise and delivered her cupcakes to all her neighborhood friends.  I plan to get her Goldilicious and Purplilious for Christmas to complete the series.  I haven't read those books yet, so I can only imagine what our next adventure will be.

Christmas at the McAlister's

As a child, every Christmas my Mom decorated the house inside and out with lavish christmas trees, animated figures, and singing Santas!  I know thats not what Christmas is all about, but through the eyes of a child, all those decorations smeared from wall to wall made Christmas feel that much more special.

Now, as an adult, I want to give Brenna those same happy memories.  So, like every year before this, we pulled out all the decorations and got to work.  This year was even more enjoyable, since Brenna played a much bigger part.  She "helped" so much that what is normally a 2-day job, turned into 3.  But that's ok, she had so much fun this year putting up the Christmas tree, decorating it, and hanging the stockings.  She took a particular liking to my collection of Christmas bells (which she kept calling cow bells!).  Here's a few pictures of the start of our McAlister Christmas.

Brenna's First Game of Bowling

Brenna recently took notice of the game of bowling after a very interesting episode of Curious George.  After several requests, we decided it was time to hit the lanes.  Several things surprised me about our trip to the bowling alley.

#1  They had bowling shoes small enough to fit Brenna
#2  Even the bowling alley is on the hi-tech wagon with bowling bumpers that pop in and out of the gutters for the appropriate bowler.
#3  Niether Jacob or Marcus were as good as they had proclaimed (ok, maybe that one didn't surprise me)
#4  Up unitl the last 3 frames of the 1st game, Brenna actually beat Uncle Marcus, he just got lucky at the end.

Here's a few pictures from our game.

The Holidays Are Here!

Well, we've been busy!  With visitors and shopping and Christmas decorating!  So there's been little time for pictures.  But we did manage to sneak in one very important one!

Grand Parkway Baptist Church Fun on the Farm!

Every year our church hosts a "Fun on the Farm" day just for our preschoolers.  One of our members has a beautiful home and farm in Fulsher, where they let the kids run wild in the wide open, literally!  They have fishing, wagon rides, hay rides, swings, crafts, food, and fun!  As usually, Brenna had a great time and enjoyed the company of her Sunday School friends.  Here's a few pictures from the day.

The Things Kids Say.......

Today I broke down and made my twice annual visit to Merle Norman.  I only go after I'm wiping the last drop of my foundation out of the container lid and cautiously using the broken pieces of rouge in my compact.  It's always a last ditch effort.

I hate going to Merle Norman for a couple of reasons:

Halloween

We'll this year was different than previous years!  It was alot more fun!  This was the first year Brenna picked what she wanted to be.  And the winner was Minnie Mouse!  Nobody was surprised given her recent Mickey Mouse Clubhouse devotion.  This year we did more of the traditional halloween activities, with a visit to the pumpkin patches and pumpkin painting.  Brenna understood all about Trick-or-Treating and was excited all day.  In her words she wanted to "Fill my treat bag all the way up to the top!"  So just before dark, we rounded up the troops and hit the street!  Our kids ran from house to house knocking on doors, ringing door bells, and happily letting themselves into all the neighbors house to help themselves to their Candy Buckets, sometimes more than once!

After we made our rounds, we retreated back to the house, where Brenna would run the door at every knock yelling "Trick-A-Treaters Mama!  Trick-A-Treaters!"  And then she would dump hand-fulls of candy treats in their bags!  All our "Big Kid" friends stopped by after dark for candy and to visit.

Brenna had a great night and thanks to a couple of carefully selected candy treats washed down with a juice box, it also turned into a late night.  She was too excited to sleep.  She wanted to talking about all the trick-a-treaters she see saw, Buzz Light Year, Woody, and Cody the neighbors dog that was dressed up like a cow!  Her eyes finally closed and I'm sure she dreamed of candy corn and painted pumpkins.

Pumpkin Painting

Instead of pumpkin carving, we decided to do something alittle less messy and more "little hands" friendly, pumpkin painting!  Brenna got together with her friends next door and they decorated pumpkins.

Dewberry Farms

We got together with a couple of friends and went with our church to Dewberry Farm.  Dewberry is a working farm that's created something like an amusement park country style!  Complete with pig races, rudder duck floats, petting zoo, jack-o-lantern forrest, hay rides, pumpkin picking, a tractor train, hay bail jumping, and much, much, more.  This was our first trip and I didn't really know what to expect.  I was pleasantly surprised.  Our kids had a great time!  There was plenty to do and even though we spent all day there, we still didn't get to everything.  The farm is open to the public only on the weekends, and then it opens to private groups and school field trips on the week day.  Our driver on the hay ride told us they move about 1,100 people though each weekday and 16,000 on the weekends!  Fortunately, we went during the weekday and had low crowds and great weather.  Here's the shots for the day!

Visit with Mawmaw and Pawpaw!

Once again, Jacob had another business trip that carried him away to Phoenix for a week.  Since the last trip was a bit of a strain for Brenna and I, we decided it best to fly home and spend some time with Mawmaw and Pawpaw.  Help for me, fun for her!  And Oooh Boy did she have fun.  Seven straight days for undivided attention, unlimited activities, and staying up late.  So, sit back and relax because this is gong to be a long one.  I don't know how many pictures you can put in one post, but we're about to test the limit.  The week in pictures, here's how it went:

"The Play House"

The playhouse was complete with patio and air conditioner (see photo below).  She practically lived in this thing the entire week.  But who could blame a her, it was stocked with books, toys, playdough, a play kitchen, markers, musical instruments, it even had its own Christmas tree, which was requested by Brenna.

The Neals Visit

We were very excited to have the Neals come for a visit.  I could say it was for the families to get together, or for the kids to get to play, but that would be a lie.  All that stuff is just a bonus, really it was all about a visit for the girls (meaning the big girls, Jodi and Kawanda, not the little ones).  Don't get me wrong, everyone had a great time, but I was very excited to see my best friend.

I thought it was funny as I looked back on our relationship.  We started off as college roomies brought together by a mutual need......shared rent!  We knew each other in passing as friends of friends, and as crazy as the circumstances were that brought us together (which is a story all unto itself, one of those college dramas involving ex-girlfriends and broken friendships) I count it a blessing that I walked away with a caring, goofy, neurotic, fun-loving best friend for life (I can only imagine her choice of words for me, she's a teacher, so she's alot more creative than I am.)  Between our two lives, marriages, and families, we've seen each other through alot over the past 10 years (its been a decade, really???).  Time and distance hasn't diminished our friendship, it has however limited our visitations.  Unfortunately, of recent years, visits were only prompted by child birth, funerals, baby showers, and milestone birthdays.  But that's ok, I like to think of it as we never forget the big stuff.  That's why this visit was so exciting!  This was the first visit in a very long time that it was for "Just Because!"  We all had a great time and the weekend flew by entirely to fast.  It was icing on the cake that Mississippi State beat the University of Houston!  Here's a few pictures from the visit.

Can I Lick the Spoon?

The Downtown Aquarium Houston!

Our family decided to take a much needed "mini" break.  Jacob took the day off last Friday and we made it a three-day weekend.   We went to the Downtown Aquarium Friday morning to enjoy the cooler weather and have some fun.  Here's a few shots from the day.

The Last Summer Swim!

We closed out Summer, literally!  We met some friends at the pool on the last day it was open for the year and stayed until they pulled the plug on us and turned off the water works.  Just to make sure we squeezed every last bit of Summer out that we could, we left the pool with wet heads and headed over to the park where we stretched out the beach towels and had a picnic in the grass, fed the ducks by the lake, and played on the playground.  It's been a fun summer with lots of friends and even though I hate to see it end, we're already looking forward to the fair, hayrides, pumpkin patches, halloween, and all the fun that fall brings with it!

Kicking off Fall Fun!

We've already kicked off fall with some outdoor play. The recent weather has been cooler (not specifically cool, because it was still 90 here yesterday) and we've been able to get outdoors more in the mornings, instead of having to wait until late afternoon. Me and my friend Shellie have started back walking in the mornings, and while our intentions were originally for our benefit, we've found that Brenna and John get more play time than we get exercise. That's ok, we may not get points for fitness, but at least we get points for effort and motherhood!

Brenna Ballet Progress!

Well, we've been in ballet for just over a month now, and even I have to admit that Brenna has come leap and bounds! Literally! Before ballet I would have said she was as graceful as an elephant. Now, with alittle experience under her belt, its more like a monkey (with legs and arms swinging everywhere)!

I took my camera for the first time last week. You'll have to bear with the photos, as they were all taken through the viewing window, and most off the reflection of the mirror. But she's just too stinking cute!

Let's Make a Hat!

Curious George Live!

We took Brenna to see Curious George Live at Reliant Arena last week.  She loved it like always.  I'm so glad she enjoys live shows.  I can't wait until she old enough (i.e. has the attention span) to sit through a broadway style show.  Shrek the Musical is coming to the Hobby Center later this year, but I think we may give it another year before we try something like that.

Anyway, all the shots are up close and personal.  I only took my zoom lense thinking that it would be the one I need and I didn't want to haul around multiple lense.  Only when we got there I discovered our seats were practically on the stage!

We Won Yard of the Month for September!

Fun at the Splash Pad and Park!

Big thank you to Shellie and John who invited us to tag along to one of their MOPS playdates at the park.  Brenna wasn't into the splash pad so much, but the surrounding playground was wonderful.  Nice and shadey with lots of funs stuff, included a very large sandy box, which is always a big hit with Brenna.  Here's a few shots from the day.

"Come on John, let's go play over here!" I'm sure she was leading him into some kind of trouble!

Chuck-E-Cheese!

We've visited Chuck-E-Cheese once before with Brenna.  Mawmaw and Pawpaw took her during a visit, but it was a weekend afternoon and it was jammed packed.  Barely any room to walk.  Brenna did enjoy the games, but not the craziness it took to move through the crowds to get to the games.

While Jacob was away, we met some friends for a playdate at Chuck-E-Cheese one weekday morning shortly after it opened at 9 AM.  For all you moms with preschoolers, this is the time to go!  We had the entire place all to our selves.  Jamie and I both had coupons, and we ended up with a ton of tokens.  The girls freely hooped from one game to the next.  The biggest fun was a little four horse carrousel.  I'm certain they made at least 100 laps on that thing.  As soon as the music would stop you would hear one of them say "Let's go again!"

Chick-Fil-A with Abby Cadabby!

One of our local Chick-Fil-A's is really good about sponsoring children's activities.  Not just Family Nights, like most, but also a Children's Playtime during the mid-morning for all us stay-at-moms.  They have Gymboree come out and put on crafts, singing, and storytime for the kids.  Earlier in the year, we met Elmo there and this time Abby Cadabby was visiting.  So we met some friends there for fun with Abby Cadaddy.  It's always hit or miss on whether kids get into these life-sized animated friends that they love so much on TV.  We went with my friend Shellie and her little boy John and met our friend Kristi with her kids, Grace and Elijah.

Well, Abby was a hit with Brenna and John.  John seemed alittle fascinated.  He would walk over and just stare up into her big pink face.

Big hug!  "Oh Abby!  I'm so excited to see you!"

A Few Comments on Our Time While Jacob was Away......

Well it was a long, hard week.  I don't know how singles moms do it, especially if they have more than one child.  After I spend all morning, afternoon, and night running around behind Brenna I'm exhausted.  There's really no such thing as effort free entertainment anymore.  She's at an age where everything is hands-on, which means constant supervision.  We managed some fun playdates and good shopping and overall stayed very busy to make the time pass faster.

A Few More Hobby Shots!

Just a few more hobby shots, because I thought they were cute.  Now that Jacob's home, things are settling back into the normal routine, so not as much time for camera play.

Love those lashes!

We Miss You Daddy!

Well, I've already mentioned that the only good thing that comes from Jacob's overseas trips is no cooking.  Brenna missed her daddy and wanted to do something special for him.  So, in an effort to stay active, I decided there was no point in baking a cake or making his favorite dessert (that would just negate the "no cooking" advantages).  Not to mention this would be work for me, not so much for Brenna.  So we settled on a crafts project.  We try to incorporate craft time into everyday, this one spanned 3 days and Brenna had a blast.  We started day-1 with the letters.  First she would pick the letter she liked, then she would pick the color she wanted to paint it, and finally she would choose the paint brush she wanted to use (thanks to Aunt Jodi we have alot to choose from.)  On day-2 we glued.  Oh how she loves her glue sticks!  I can't tell you the number of times I've been hunched over my kitchen table with a tooth pick digging dried glue out of the cracks, despite the layers of protective paper that was provided for the project.  Day-3 we decorated with markers and stickers.  I thought she did a very impressive job.  After we were all done, I snapped a picture (with my new lens, of course!) and we emailed it to Daddy, so he would know Brenna was missing him!

The Rest of the McAlister Clan

Well, I want to start this post by saying that I bought a new lens!  Yay!  I know what your thinking "Jacob's flight was barely over international waters and Kawanda runs outs and buys a new ($$$) lens!"  It's true he wasn't enthusiastic when I told him I was considering adding a new lens to my collection, especially when he saw the price tag.  But, shame on you for thinking I'm the type of wife who would live by the old tale "While the cats away, the mice will play!" I am a frugal woman (I know some of you call me cheap!) and I came across a really great lens for sale on Craigs List.  When I say great thats code for cheap, but the lens actually was pretty good and it was a whopping cost of 10 BUCKS!  It's manual, of course, not automatic, but that just means I get to continue to improve my skills.  I didn't pray for a lens, naturally there's lots more pressing and significant issues that make the list, but God is Good and he threw this old girl a bone.  A $10 lens that generally matches what I was looking for can't be anything else but a gift from Heaven.

So, I've put it to use the last couple of days.  Especially with Jacob being away, I traded cooking dinner for camera practice (the only benefit to Jacob overseas trips, is I get 7 straight days of no cooking, Brenna and I live off McDonalds and frozen pizzas!)

I decided that this post will be dedicated to the rest of the McAlister Clan, the kitties!  I used them for practice, because Brenna had fun playing camera assistant and trying to make them "Smile!"

Of course we have Pickles and Moose, but some of you may not know that we've acquired a 3rd cat which Brenna named Abraham.  He's a stray that showed up on the front porch one days and decided to adopt us.  He's a tomcat that lives outside and roams the neighborhood and comes home when he's hungry.  With Jacob away I depend on the cats to guard and protect.  That's being said, its a good thing I know how to shoot Jacob's pistol.

I'm Taking Pictures for No Good Reason at All!

Well, I've had my camera for nearly a month now, and it hasn't parted from my hand much over the last 30 days.  I've been snapping pictures like crazy.  Some ok, some good, some not so good, and then occasionally I get one I really like.  A big thanks to Jamie for giving me a crash course on aperture in 3 paragraphs or less and to Shellie for introducing me to the Pioneer Woman (I feel like she's a country girl after my own heart!)  I've been studying the Internet for all things photography.  I'm gaining confidence and moving into shooting in some of my manual modes.  I'm also beginning to realize what I like about pictures, my personal preferences on style, content, and exposure.  I recognize that I may not be following all the rules to a "T".  But, hey, their my pictures!  So all that matters to me right now is that I like 'em!

And for all of you who keep asking, "No, I don't intend to make a career out of this once Brenna starts school".  I'm not nearly that good and definitely don't intend to invest the amount of money it would take to be that good.  This is a very expensive hobby.  I'm already eyeing another lens to add to my collection and the new mac photo editing software, Aperture.  For right now this is just a hobby and I consider it another notch in my "Housewife / Mommy" belt, right behind cooking, home decor, and gardening.  That being said, I do love to take pictures, so for anyone who wants to take some pics for fun, birthdays, showers, whatever, I'd love to help.  However, that offer is only for friends and family, I'm not hiring out!

Of course, Brenna has been my guinea pig and, as you can imagine, she's also my favorite "content"!  The poor cats run and hide every time they see the camera come out of the drawer.  There is one thing I've noticed over the month.  Brenna doesn't like to smile for me.  She doesn't mind taking pictures, but she won't smile.  Not if its just me asking.

These are a couple of "for instance" shots.  I took these this week, just before Brenna's 2nd dance class.  She's just too darn cute in those pick leotards to pass up.  It was just me and Brenna on the front porch.

"Smile Brenna!  Smile Sweetheart!  Brenna, Please Smile!!!!!"

Brenna's First Day of Ballet and Tap

Well, we wrapped up gymnastics for the year at the end of July.  She had a great time with it and had mastered the all the moves for her level and a few above.  We decided rather than take another year of gymnastics, we would give dance a try.  Most dance schools only take children at age 3, so we just squeezed in before the Fall registration last week.

It's already been a learning experience for all of us.  We visited the dance studio for its Open House so Brenna could meet the teacher and get accustomed to her new surroundings.  Ms. Hillary (our new dance instructor) was very nice and spent some time talking to Brenna about what they do in dance class.  As soon as she pulled out the hula hoops, Brenna was sold.  We registered her for a combo ballet and tap class.  Jacob and I quickly learned there quite a few more bell and whistles associated with dance.  Of course there's the registration fee and the monthly tuition, but then there's recital fees, leotards, tutus, tights, ballet shoes, tap shoes........and don't forget the bag to carry it all in!  One week and an undisclosed amount of money later (tap shoes are disgustingly expensive!) we were praying that she really liked dance, because she was onboard for the year whether she liked it or not!

We spent the week talking up how fun dance class would be and how nice Ms. Hillary was.  She had a blast picking out her leotards and modeling each one for the sales clerk at the dancewear store.  We even had a few practice sessions at home so she could appreciate her tap shoes.  When we finally walked in the door of the dance studio, we had nothing to fear.  Brenna ran into the dance room and took her spot on the floor ready to get started!  The dance room has a mirrored wall on one side (of course) and the other three walls have viewing windows, so we can watch the girls.  I took a few photos and video before we left the house and then Jacob got some video of the dance class with his iphone (God bless technology!)

Let's Paint Outside!

We moved our little Piccaso outside with a little dab of side walk paint. One hour and three bottles of paint later this was the result.

More Camera Practice!

Sesame Street Faces are Fun!

So, since the sesame faces were such a hit with Brenna at the Birthday Party, we've carried it over to craft time for Brenna. She's made sesame faces two more times since the party and even created her own Sesame Street character, which we named Bedobbles (not sure where that came from, but given his facial characteristics, I thought it was a fitting name)!

I'm still tinkering around with the camera alot. I think I'm getting better, especially with outdoor shots, but indoors I'm still working to perfect the camera functions. As any photographer will tell you, its all about lighting, and I'm having a hard time making the indoor lighting work for me. But I sure am having fun trying.

Backyard Play Time!

After a hot week, we figured the best way to cool off was to break out the backyard pool! Brenna was looking stylish in her new bikini, which happened to be just alittle too big. The right strap kept falling off and I would keep pulling it up. Brenna finally told me "It's ok Mama, I don't mind!" Had it been her way, there would be no bathing suit at all.

Camera Practice!

Thanks for the Paint Aunt Jodi!

Brenna's 3rd Birthday Party!

Brenna's 3rd Birthday Party was a huge success. She had a fantastic time with all her friends. We celebrated with a Sesame Street theme this year and we went Sesame all the way! From the decorations, to the food, to the crafts and games, to wrappings, even Brenna's birthday outfit included Elmo and friends. We started off the morning with a few gifts. She had been patiently waiting since Friday when she found all the wrapped presents in the upstairs bedroom.

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey: Zing Zang Zoom

Well, Brenna's really beginning to show a liking for live shows! Last week we went to Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus. Brenna had a fabulous time. We were a little nervous about the clowns, since that seems to be a hit or miss for most children, but Brenna thought they were great. They were the highlight of the show for her and since they seemed to have a dance number between each act, she got lots of clown time! The show was very impressive. I was surprised at the magic acts, they actually made an entire elephant disappear, and having the engineering mind I have, its starting to bother me that I can't figure out how they did it.