Another year, another resolution...

I have decided to do one resolution - easy that it is just one, but at times it might be hardest to keep. If anyone is a great example of this it is my husband - he never complains and probably deserves this as his motto as much as anyone

RESOLUTION:

Live not as if the cup is half empty or half full...rather live knowing it is overflowing!

Playing in the Snow

Daddy and Samantha love the snow (I am admittedly a warm-weather gal) so they enjoyed some play time in one of the many snowy days we have had.  My 2 loves are precious, aren't they?!  :)

Merry Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas!  It was fun seeing Samantha come down to Santa's gifts - she was enamored with HoHo leading up to Christmas, so she was very aware this year that HoHo was coming to see her.  We also talked with her about Jesus and how it was His birthday on Christmas.  It was great to see her begin to appreciate both of these special parts of Christmas. 

While it is not about the presents, it was fun to see her rip into her gifts and play with her toys.  At times it was overwhelming for her and we took much needed rest and play breaks - which were wonderful.  I also got to bring a piece of my family's tradition to the Newbrough, with my Mom's beloved Sausage fondue that morning (missed you Mama) - a tradition I want to be a part of Samantha's Christmas every year.  :)  We missed my family, but were grateful to be surrounded by many loved ones and to see Samantha relishing in the day.

Keith's family made Christmas very special and of course spoiled our little girl - she is very lucky to be surrounded by so much love! 

 Santa brought this cool fashion tent with working runway lights and can be plugged into an mp3 player (or Ipod) to play music.  That way Samantha could strut down the runway with all her new dress up clothes.  :)

 Playing in her tent with baby Mickey

 Some toys from Santa and Nana & Papa.  This was a great toy that changes from a kitchen to a baby care center, to a school, to a doctor center - she loved it!  Thanks - we love and missed you Nana and Papa

 Get goofy with her new microphone - this way she can sing louder and with her press of her foot have a backup band.  Too cool!  :)

 Daddy sporting the PJs I picked out for him "What happens under the mistletoe, stays under the mistletoe" - his only complaint...next year get him PJ pants with a button.  ;)  hehe  Also, Mickey was not his present, Samantha put him in the pic.

 Sadie tearing through the gifts - hysterical to watch

 Our little chef  ;)  Thanks Nana & Papa for the new baking set  :)

 Papaw Newbrough sporting his Christmas PJs and a smile - thank you Papaw for all the wonderful gifts and memories - we love you dearly!

 Daddy's face shows how difficult it is to get to these kids' gifts - they pack and zip tie them well.  ;)  Thanks Yaya and Papaw for the cool guitar.  :)

 Karen (Yaya) opening a special necklace from Ken - Christmas is also Karen's birthday, so we had a lot of celebrating to do.  We hope you had a special birthday, Yaya!

 Christmas was so special and so exhausting.....

Thank you to all our family - near and far!  You all made Christmas so special and we love you all dearly!  We are so blessed to have you all in our lives!

And a big thank you to God that Samantha did not come home wondering when she was getting more presents - between an early birthday in NC in November, a birthday party on Dec 21 (early) in WV, us singing happy birthday to her on Dec 22 (her real birthday), and Christmas - whew - I thought for sure, she would think this was a daily event.  Thankfully, she was happy as a clam -- good thing, because we are now officially broke.  ;)

Christmas PJ Tradition

Year 2 of the Christmas PJs - as started by Keith.  He surprises me and I him, so needless to say we do not pick the most attractive.  ;)  Even Samantha gets a special pair.  The only rule - you have to wear them from Christmas Eve and through ALL of Christmas day!  Even Ken and Karen got into the tradition this year.

Christmas Eve Celebrations

Our Christmas Eve celebration at Tammie's house - thanks for hosting Tammie!

   

 Keith bragging about the Snuggie Tammie got him - I am so jealous!  I need my own Snuggie ;)

 Samantha did this to me - and wanted the photo.  So, oh well - what you do to make your child smile  ;)

 

 Rocking out!

 

Our 2 Year Old!

I cannot believe our baby is 2!  Where did the time go?  We are so blessed to have our SamBug in our life.  She has filled our lives with so much joy!  We look back at the pictures of her first birthday and cannot believe how much she has changed.  Now, we have a walking, talking, singing, giggling, crazy girl!  She amazes us every day with her funny spirit, her every growing vocab, her silly faces, and her loving spirit. 

Since this is as much my journal as a blog, here are the things she is doing/loving at 2...

Her favorite things are:
-  Books, books and more books
-  Singing any and every song - and she loves creating her own
-  Being told made up stories
-  Animals - esp. her beloved Schleich
-  Animated Movies and of course Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Curious George shows
-  Playing kitchen (though, she never wants you to actually eat the food)  ;)
- Back rubs - she asks for them before every nap/bedtime
- Baby  Bear (her halloween Ty Beanie Baby from her first Halloween)
- Chasing after our dog Sadie or putting Sadie in her room so they can "play together"
-  Having her hair done - she likes you to blow dry her hair and put curlers in
- Kisses and cuddles - she is our lover.  If I say "mama needs something" she'll say "a kiss and hug" and come over and give me both!  ;)
-  Skype - she loves to chat with Nana, Papa, Yaya and Papaw on the computer!

She does not like:
-  Monsters - I swear she has nightmares!
-  She has become super shy around people she does not know - she takes a little while to become vocal around strangers
-  ANY green vegetables!

Happy 2nd Birthday!

Happy 2nd Birthday Samantha Paige!  With a Mickey-themed birthday party, we celebrated 2 years with our Princess.

 Showing off her curlers that Mommy put in her hair for her big birthday party - unfortunately we left them in too long, so a spray bottle was necessary to get the hair from overly- Curly Sue to cute Sami waves.  Oh well, she loves the curlers!  ;)

 The lady that made our Wedding and Groom cake, made this adorable cake for Samantha - it was vanilla with raspberry filling - YUM!

 Bound to happen in a picture - she is obsessed with picking her nose!

 

Blowing out the candles to 2 great years and many more to come!  Thank you God for this precious little girl, but could you please let time slow down some?!  :)

Ugly Sweater Party

Vicki and Stephanie threw an Ugly Sweater Christmas party while we were home before Christmas!  We had such a great time!  I hope this is a new yearly tradition, because after seeing some of the sweaters we definitely need to up our game next time.  ;)

 Vicki and Randy - the world's most adorable couple!!

 Keith and his dad, Ken - who is sporting his new "Something about Mary" hairstyle!  

 Karen with her dolled up sweater

 Logan and his girlfriend, Stephanie - the mastermind behind the party and all the great games.  Thanks Steph! :)

 Mallory and her boyfriend, Christian - I know, they are too cute for words, huh?

 Stephanie took this pic of us towards the end of the night - by then I had ditched my itchy wool sweater for Haley's T-shirt.  No, it did not fit the theme, but wool and shoulder pads can only last so long.  ;)

 

The only pic of our crew together in our ugly Christmas gear - Keith worked the female sweater vest, and I the 80s tribute with waterfall bangs, shoulder pads and high waisted stretch pants.  Sadly, some of the attendees liked my clothes and they were surprised to see them happily gifted to them for Christmas - that is what you get!  :)