Santa Baby

Mackenzie is our little Santa Baby. She turned 2 on December 18! It's funny her due date was on Christmas Day, but me the OCD planner induced her a week early so we could be home together for Christmas. (If she were our firstborn I probably would have let her come whenever, but with a 2 year old.... missing Christmas could have been tragic!) And knowing my luck, I would have gone into labor slap during Christmas dinner.

Anyway, it has been SO completely different raising a little girl. I feel like I have 2 extremes. David is as wild of a little boy as you can get. Crazy. Loud. Busy. Active. Wild. But, Mackenzie is a little princess and the most girly, delicate thing you've ever seen. Sensitive. Dramatic. Squealy. Sassy. Attitude. Pink.

It just is so different. And I love that I have gotten to experience both, hard at times, but worth it! Mackenzie has changed all of us. She has stolen her daddy's heart and her brother's also! They are different men because of her. And I am a different mom because of her... I just love Mackenzie and having a daughter is so special. She already wants to take care of mommy. Mackenzie is our little sunshine!

We had a big dinner party for her on her birthday and she loved it! We've also been trying to do fun things together this month. Santa, Christmas Light drives, building gingerbread houses, story times, and making cookies! These are the things I remember when we were small and my mom stayed home with us, so I hope my kids have the same fun memories!

Thanks to everyone for making my little girl's birthday special!

Holly Jolly

I write holly, jolly with a little bit of sarcasm... the first week of December, I seem to get sick. Last year, I got pneumonia. This year, I got strep throat. I've decided next year, we are going on a cruise and going to peace out during my sick season!

Getting sick wouldn't have been so bad if that was my only issue. I just updated Nellie Mae, but Tim just got our HVAC hooked up this past weekend. So, last week when it was cold and I got sick, my mother in law came over, helped me pack up, and we moved in with them during the week. It was too cold to stay at Nellie Mae! They were so amazing and took care of us, and we were warm! Meanwhile, Tim moved in with my parents b/c they live near his work and he was pulling some serious hours. By the end of the week, miracles were happening. He finished the system, I was well, and we all moved back in together. Let me also tell you about our Refrigerator miracle.

The one we bought off craigslist died. So, Tim was angry about it (he tried fixing it) and he shoved it out the back door and it was laying in our side yard. Nice. Real Nice. My grandma had an extra one we borrowed so we brought it over. Then, my sister called and hooked me up with a brand new one she found for $125. So, we moved that one in and Tim put my grandmas on the front porch.

At this point, we had 3 refrigerators on our property. OH MY GOSH, GET THEM OUT!!

So, my stipulations for moving back home were 1. Heat and 2. Get all the refrigerators off the property. Am I that high maintainence really???

One thing I love and hate about Tim is that he is so ambitious. A little too ambitious at times. He wants to do it all himself and has so many great ideas.... but, fleshing them all out always takes longer than expected. He wanted to take these old refrigerators to the scrap yard and get money for them. So, after we both realized we had more important things on our plate with him working on the HVAC and me recovering than going to the scrap yard.... Some man pulls up into our driveway and asks if he can have the old refrigerators. He was my refrigerator fairy. He made them all disappear!

Other than that, we are at home, getting ready for our open house on January 2 so friends and family can come see Nellie Mae. We are shopping, decorating, and getting pretty festive over here!

Here is some pics of Dec so far: I dyed my hair, visits with my sister and her kids, and our little nephew, Joshua, spent the night!

Happy December!