Christmas Eve

Merry Christmas! Surprise, Surprise - snow in Texas. It was 73 yesterday and we went to the park, rode bikes, and Carrie ran and it was quite warm. Now it is cold and snowing. Here are several pictures from our short adventure outside to play in the snow.

at the park

dadstrong

i made katie a livestrong, daddy, cheerios, bumblebee inspired dress with this pattern and a few old t-shirts. i was going to add a red segment to the dress, but decided the colors of the german flag would not go well with jon's shaved head. the one with jon's picture was a gift he gave me, size large, when we were dating. i am not sure what that reveals about how jon views my size and style!



you can't tell in the picture, but i sewed the back black panel on wrong side out! oops!



you can make fun of these wonky bell sleeves if you want. i am not sure about them myself.



how much will she hate me when she is 15 and sees i made her wear this? for the record - she chose which shoes to wear.

Nutcracker Suite

Tis the Season for Blood Curdling Screams

This is not the picture we had envisioned (obviously - or I would have made better wardrobe choices for myself) when we took K to see Santa.

Why are Jon and I in the picture? Shrieks of terror, loud enough to make us all jump, from the boy just ahead of Katie in the Santa line made her more than a little cautious. See the fear in her eyes in this pic below? K kept saying "Hold you, Mawhner." She just knew Jon or I would betray her and force her to sit with Santa. However, neither of us had the heart to wrench her from our arms and force her to sit in S. C.'s lap. So we have a family portrait. It'll be a fun story to share with K one day.

Memaw T gave me red and white polka dot material. I sewed it into the bubble skirt K is modeling. My Memaw Hazel would make me and my girl cousins Christmas skirts each year to wear in our Santa pictures. I'm keeping the tradition alive.

Back of the bubble.

Poufy Christmas

It started with a poufy hat...

Then poufy hair...

Now she is hanging her bath pouf on the tree...

Gobble, gobble (at least the male turkeys do seasonally when sleepy)

I made Katie some play food for Thanksgiving. She loves her roast turkey. She gives it hugs and kisses. I hope she isn't too traumatized when she finds out where turkey dinners come from.

Yes, the drumsticks detach.


Punkin' Pie


Thanksgiving morning we ran the Turkey Trot. Here's K and Daddy bundled up to race.


Mawhner/Grandma's favorite trotters.


Our racing team ready to run! Jon is not happy I used my whole neck to smile in this picture.


Can you tell what I am most thankful for? No, it's not the stroller! Guess again.


We had an early dinner at Grandma/Mawhner and Granddad's. Look Jon's "don't show the teeth smile" is possibly a family trait.


Here's Memaw T cookin' it up. You know it was good!


The feast!

We love shoes!

Go Cowboys!

Big fans of the Boys! -

working 9-5

well, more like 7:30-7:32. but she got a lot done. don't you wish you could go to your office in footie pjs?

Musical Invention & A Good Dog

Katie created this chair xylophone with map pencils while I made dinner.



Abbey is a good dog. We should feature her on the blog more often.

An afternoon walk

I told K to go get her shoes so we could take a walk. Here's what she came up with.

4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11

Katie is learning to count. Smarty pants!

Bedhead's Back!

Mr. Owly

Would I buy this if I saw it at a garage sale for 50 cents? Probably not.



If I spent a couple of months cutting, appliqueing, sewing, and stuffing this little owl pillow, I would keep it forever displaying it with love and pride.

I used a pattern for the cutest part, the owl. You can get it here if you want to make yourself one of these. Or you can ask me to make you one, but it'll take about 4 months!

Halloween - The Real Deal and Aftermath

Here are a few pics Granddad and Grandma, or Mahner as Katie refers to her, took on Halloween.







While K was celebrating at home with the grandparents and cousins, Jon and I were in NYC carbo loading on spaghetti! I saw Elmo - and a few less appropriate costumes - on Times Square.



The next day we ran 26.2 miles.





Then had pizza and dessert.




This video is of Jon after the marathon. Watch the little old lady pass him! A man offered us $20 to pay for a bike cab across the park. Jon looked so pitiful the man didn't think he could make it. Jon gutted it out to the next park bench for a little rest. Then he was fine.

Thanks for helping Jon raise support for Team for Kids and his first marathon!

Back at home, right when we really needed to catch up on laundry, errands, and housekeeping, K and Mommy were hit with nasty colds. This book makes K-T feel better.

I have read it 15 times in 3 days. So if you ever need help with your horse...

Top 10 Reasons Daddy is the Bomb!

1. Have you heard the silly noises he makes to entertain K?
2. Seen his calf muscles? - WooHoo!
3. He does dishes.
4. He loves his family.
5. He works hard.
6. Daddy and daughter bike rides.
7. Who else would eat broccoli cornmeal upside down cake for dinner, say "it's not bad," and eat it again leftover?!
8. Stays fit and healthy.
9. For a squeamish guy, he changes a lot of bad diapers.
10. He's Ton of Fun!

Happy Birthday, Daddy!
Katie and Mommy love you!

Best birthday tradition ever - Cake for breakfast! I got the idea from my former coworker, Linda R. Thanks, L. 33 chocolate chips for the birthday boy! Jon chose red velvet with cream cheese frosting.



Katie placed her 1/4 of a cupcake on top of her yogurt cup and ate it like an ice cream cone. What a clever lass!