My new toy

Nothing exciting in these videos--just wanted to play with my new toy that I got for an early Christmas present from Lee. 2 from a trip to Barnes & Noble and 1 from playing in the backyard. Only for die-hard Reese and John fans.

Reminder: pause the music in the playlist down below before playing videos.

Santa and the Christmas Program

We saw Santa at Pinetree last Sunday. So glad we didn't wait in the mall lines and have to pay $25 for pictures....bc this is the best picture that came from the visit...

Here are a few pics of Reese's school Christmas program---one of her singing with the rest of the 3 year-olds, 1 of her and Lee and 1 with her teacher, Ms. Sarah.

Finally, I went "minimalist" on the tree decorations this year due to the tornado which is John. I did put candy canes on the tree, which Reese has loved taking off and putting back on the tree..

Family Reunion in Troy

We got to spend last Saturday at Uncle Johnny's cabin in Troy for the family reunion on Lee's mom's side of the family. Uncle Johnny's is one of our favorite places----and Uncle Johnny is one of our favorite uncles. In fact, that is who John is named after. Below are some pics.

John and I spent most of the day outside just walking around. He had a blast.


Here is Lee and Uncle Johnny by the fire pit.


Here is Uncle Johnny leading some of the kids down to the pond to fish.


Reese wasn't feeling good and honestly didn't do much all day. But, we were able to coax her to roast one marshmellow.


John running around some more.

Christmas Fun

Enjoy!! (or laugh at me that I enjoyed it---your choice)...

(You'll need to pause the playlist music at the bottom on the page.)

Picture Postapalooza

Lots of pictures.....let's get started...

Reese and John "cooking" us dinner. About 5 minutes after this picture was taken, I caught Reese just as she was about to put the metal mixing bowl into the microwave to cook our "strawberry cake". Whew!

John eating his very first chocolate chip cookie.....and lovin' it.

We spent Thanksgiving with my parents at the cabin. Very low key and tons of fun.

Here are Reese and John with Roxie---my in-laws dog that we were keeping for the holidays.

Here is Lee with the deer he killed on Thanksgiving morning. You can see Roxie "helping" out too....

Thankgiving afternoon, my daddy, Reese and I took off in the golf cart to get some good outdoor fresh air. We dropped Lee off for an afternoon hunt...

...and took off down our little country road..

and I showed Reese the fireplace of the house where her great-great grandfather lived.

Then, like any good daughter of a Mississippi girl, we found a good cotton field to play in.

Dutch was teaching Reese a little about cotton---and she had to (dramatically, of course) ponder what he was saying...

After playing in Reese's "cotton garden", as she called it, we headed back to where the cabin is and went out walking to see if we could see any deer.

Daddy taught Reese a little about using binoculars,

how to look for deer tracks,

and how the corn feeder worked. (You know, all things a little 3 year-old girl should know.)

Reese decided to take a little break and look at leaves while sitting on a log.

Then, as it was getting dark, we headed back to the cabin.

And, Reese blew the deer a good-night kiss.

The next day, we packed up me, Mimi and the kids to leave and Reese declared that she was staying there with her daddy. Lee was nice enough to oblige and we put on her Carhart overalls and camo boots over her pink Dora gown so that she could "work" with her daddy.

And, I left her happy as could be for another night of Daddy/daughter fun!

Then, on Sunday evening, Reese had her very first Christmas children's choir performance.

I tried to get a good picture of her cute outfit....but she was too busy pondering the wonder that is Wow, Wow Wubzy.



Here she is before the performance with one of her teachers.

And, 2 pics of her singing her little heart out. If I do say so myself, she did wonderfully. She knew all the words and really sang out well. Tons of fun to see her.

We love our Dutch!!

We had a big week of spending Thanksgiving at the hunting camp----and Reese's first Christmas program at church. I'll try to get pics up of all of that one day this week. In the meantime, I couldn't resist posting these 2 pics of Reese and Dutch. I just absolutely love how much my daughter adores my daddy----and vice-versa.

Gigi, you'd have been proud!

Reese had a "visitor's day" at ballet a couple of weeks ago. I enjoyed it so much. Instead of doing a recital, they basically invite the parents, grandparents, etc to come see a class. So, instead of just seeing a 2 minute dance at a recital---you get to see what your child is doing for about 30-45 minutes. So, so cute. Here are some pics.

Look at all these little cute girls!!

Some of Reese's best moves. : )

A few more cute shots:

When the girls got a little too excited, the teacher got them to lay down at their spot and take a "nap". Smart teacher---the trick really worked.

The Perfect Saturday

A few Saturdays ago, the kids and Lee and I spent all morning running errands together, then went to Miss Myra's for bbq and football. Then, we spent all afternoon in the yard with our neighbors (Chad and Grace) and our 4 (combined) kids. It was perfect. Pics and some commentary are below.

Witt and Reese rolling down the hill in our backyard. And, later, wrestling and play "fighting" to gain control of the football that they were playing with. Our kids (ours and the Laniers) play so well together. It is truly a blessing to have them next door. (And, like our child, Witt loves to be in his PJs all day long. And, like us, his parents usually let him.)

Poor John waving at Hance in an effort to have someone his size play with him. Unfortunately for John, the "big" kids are way more fun and enticing---Hance just walked on by him.



This picture is from the next day after church. John playing on our stairs down the the basement. Such a cutie. This kid totally has my heart.