Christmas Fun

The holidays truly are the most wonderful time of the year...and we try to live up to this in our family. We love all the moments and events that can be taken advantage of to make some pretty awesome memories at this time of year. We love making the memories for ourselves, but more so for our two little girls! We want them to remember this time fondly and love it as much as we do! 

Our Christmas started a little early this year when our tree went up the day after Halloween!! I couldn't believe it, but Augusta begged and Daddy caved! And I'm not complaining, I love having me tree up. I will say this though, it made me feel super behind in shopping (even though I wasn't) bc it set without presents under it for so long!! 

The first event to kick off the actual 2015 Holiday season was our town's annual Christmas parade. Augusta had a blast--she kept calling it the Candy Parade! (You can tell what she was there for!) Calla liked it too, but her favorite part were the marching bands. But it's always a fun time to spend with friends and family and really kick off this time of year! 

The next weekend we tried out something new. We visited Cotton Plant, MS. Cotton Plant is a tiny town right outside of New Albany. There, there's a house and surrounding farm decked out wit more inflatables than you've ever seen in your life! There are also lights, music, and other fun holiday decorations. You park and walk through and it is just so much fun. We all loved it. The night we went on was very mild--it was in the 50s. That made it so much nicer! But I think it's safe to say we'll be back next year! 

Our next big thing was Christmas Tree decorating night at my parents (Gammie and Pap). We usually do this on my birthday, but we were so busy it ended up being later this year. But we all get together and really make tree decorating a team effort. The girls love exploring all the different ornaments and they truly love tree decorating! 

Another tradition came next, the making of the Christmas sweets at Mims and Pa-Paul's house!  Augusta looks forward to this each year. This year we only made edibles, Oreo balls, chocolate covered pretzels, chocolate dipped bugles and m&ms, chocolate dipped Oreos, and smooth and Melties. We had so much going on we didn't make cinnamon ornaments, but there's always next year!! We had goodies to eat on for weeks! 

Closer to Christmas Eve, we had the baking of the cookies for Santa. This year Augusta chose to make chocolate chip and m&m cookies. They were pretty scrumptious if I do say so myself. And my little baker did a great job!! 

Can't wait for next year to do all these fun things again, and hopefully add more!! 

Fall Checkups!!

During the fall, Calla had her 18 month checkup and Augusta had her four year checkup. 

Augusta tagged along to Calla's checkup to get her flu shot. Calla's checkup was our first time in the pediatrician's new building. It was so pretty, clean, and bright! There's a bubble wall that changes colors and the girls were captivated by it! 

Calla had her head measured, her height measured, and was weighed. It was the first time she got to stand on the scale like a big girl and not have to be laid on that table! She was 33 in (60%) in length, and weighed 22 lbs (15%). 

If you remember, she also weighed 22 pounds at her one year checkup. The said that was normal, but asked me all kind of questions about her eating. Of course she eats! This child is my water for sure, she is just also beyond busy! She burns it all off. We'll see if things have changed at her 2 year checkup. 

Calla also got two shots, along with her flu shot. Augusta got her flu shot too. The girls were so good, the nurse brought them each and pinwheel. And on the way out, they got suckers. The little things like that make having to get shots not so bad. 

At Augusta's four year check up, she was 42 inches tall and 41 pounds. She's my tall girl for sure--in the 91st percentile for height. She also had to get shots. But these are her last shots until 7th grade so that was a positive. She was really brave through it all. The worst part was the finger prick for the lead test, but it's something she has to have for school, so it was unavoidable. 

She also had a hearing and vision screening, she passed both. The nurse was so accommodating. Even pretending to let her toy sock monkey take a vision test. Augusta was super chatty and enjoyed having attention focused on her, for the most part. When we left, she got a sucker and a Merida sticker, because she was so brave just like Merida. And Mommy rewarded her with a cupcake from Kelli's as well! :) 

Augusta turns 4!!

Just because we had her birthday early, doesn't mean we didn't celebrate on her actual birthday too!! 

Both Chase and I had to work, which was no fun, but we couldn't get around it with her special day falling right after a holiday break. But luckily, she woke up before we left. We saved most of her presents from us until her actual birthday and she picked one to open. She was thrilled because it was a family of Calico Critters! 

She had a great day with Gammie and Calla! That afternoon, we went to tumble class. Augusta wore her special birthday girl pin--new tradition started with the girls on their birthdays. 

After tumble, she got to choose what she wanted for supper. She decided on cheese sticks from Papa John's. This is probably her favorite food ever, and she requests it weekly. We ate and watched one of her favorite movies, Monsters, inc.  and she also opened her other gifts. 

I cannot believe my Augusta Kate is four!! You are such an amazing girl and I cannot wait to see what your future holds. We love you Goo; you're such a blessing to our family each and every day! 

Augusta's 4th birthday party!

Such a fun time!! We had a ball at Augusta's fourth birthday party. It was a cupcake decorating party at our house. In order to avoid Ole Miss football and Thanksgiving we did it a week early and on a Sunday. 

Along with getting to decorate their own cupcake, the children also decorated aprons to wear. We had child-sized aprons and fabric markers and we let them go to town!! There was also a piñata to give the kids some extra sugar. Parents love that! ;)

All the kids loved the cupcake decorating. There were cupcake tins filled with various toppings, different icings, and a multitude of sprinkles on the table. Anything a child might desire for a topping, we had it! Mims made our funfetti cupcakes, and Augusta and I frosted them. 

We opened gifts, which is always fun for the birthday girl. Augusta got clothes, games, books, magnetic "paper" dolls, a robotic mouse, snackee, and stuffed animals. She loved it all! And all the kids enjoyed watching and helping her open! 

All in all, we had a wonderful afternoon filled with family and friends celebrating our birthday girl. She had a blast, and o think it's safe to say the other children did too!