Week with Nana and Papa

Our cutie pie on Christmas Eve

Our other cutie pie on Christmas

Reading books with Papa

Brookston saw a movie with Nana and Papa

Making a Gingerbread house

LOTS of jumping on the new trampoline!!!!

Making Christmas cookies (yeah, we did this AFTER Christmas!) :)

Papa, Brookston, and Kaisley on their computers during breakfast

Decorating Christmas cookies

Dancing at Boutin's on New Year's Eve

(Videos to come!!)

Nana and Kaisley smiles!

Christmas at the Halls

The tree on Christmas Eve...Santa has come and the presents are waiting!

Maybe if I would have posted this a week ago, I would have had TONS of pictures and stories, but...well, Christmas was over a week ago now and we've been having too much fun with Nana and Papa visiting...so, I'm just posting a few favorites from Christmas day!

Kaisley opening a present on Christmas morning

Brookston opening his FIRE TRUCK on Christmas morning

The Hall family gathering...total chaos and total fun!

We had intentions of taking a few pictures, like not just the family, but everyone who was there (since we had some non Hall members there too), but well, as you can see with the number of kids and the ages, you can't always get a lot of pictures in! This was the only one we got!
(Do you see my son????? What's up with his silly faces?) :)

Neighborhood Chirstmas Lights Contest

WE WON 2ND PLACE!!!

Each year our neighborhood has a Christmas lights contest. We realized it existed 2 years ago when a neighbor won 3rd place. So last year, we did quite a bit more to our house than just lights around the door and a wreath (like all of the other years) and we were slightly bummed to not place. So this year, we went and bought a few new things, which obviously did the trick!

My very favorite parts are red and white starts on the roof and the big tree with lights all over it. (However in Louisiana, the tree loses a little of it's beauty since we still have leaves on the tree!) :)

This was taken on the night our neighborhood also does luminaria.

The kids in front of the 1st place house

Decorating the tree

Kaisley and Mommy

We were late putting up our tree this year (this last weekend), but it was very much on purpose...due to 2 small children! But man, I'm glad we didn't do this earlier...Kaisley tends to bee line it OFTEN right to the presents and the ornaments/lights/branches...anything she can get her hands on!

Brookston decorating

Brookston has done really well ignoring the tree the 2 years in the past. This year, he was very helpful in decorating it! And he LOVES telling me that he helped. Actually right now, as he sees the picture on the blog, he's telling me that he helped mommy. He's going around the tree pointing to each ornament saying "I helped mommy, I helped mommy, I helped mommy!" He's so proud! We are too!

Cookie Exchange & Chocolate Covered Pretzels

Sunday night I baked over 7 dozen cookies. Yes, Richard helped! He's been SO great with all of my baking!!! On Monday, half of the cookies went with me to a cookie exchange and the rest went with Richard to work! I brought "Peanut Butter Blossoms", in our house just known as "Hershey Kiss Cookies". I forgot to take a picture of my 90 cookies, but look at all I came home with after my cookie exchange!

Last night (Tuesday), the chocolate covered pretzel maddness began! The first Christmas that Richard was at his current job I made a batch of chocolate covered pretzels. This year, the 250 pretzels that I made over the course of 6 hours will probably not be enough! But come 2am, I was D-O-N-E!!!

(even though I still had 3 bags of pretzels and 2 bricks of chocolate...my bed was calling me!)

The pretty/not messed up pretzels all along the table

Heath, sprinkles, and Andes mints

Pretzel rods are usually the favorites

Pretzels all bagged and ready to go to Richard's work!

Brookston's girlfriend...or at least partner in crime!

On Friday, Brookston had his Mother's Day Out Christmas Party. Parents were invited to attend and I was so glad that I did. I learned that Brookston has become very fond of a little girl named Elizabeth...and visa versa! Apparently they are quite a pair during school. The teachers told me and Elizabeth's mom that these two just crack each other up all day long!

SO CUTE!

Kaisley gets tubes

What baby wouldn't want to explore this place?

Just as happy as can be!

Check out the cute little teddy each child gets to take home!

Kaisley has been dealing with constant fluid in her ears for a good deal of her 9 months of life. She's only had one ear infection, but over the last 4 months, ever time her ears were looked at, there was tons of thick fluid. We tried waiting it out at first, especially since she seemed to have a cold the first time or two she was checked. Then we tried a round of antibiotics and steroids, but after the fluid still remained, we decided tubes would be next. Mostly because she has failed 2 hearing screenings, and her babbling seemed delayed. That darn fluid wouldn't go away and the poor thing was probably hearing a very muffled world!

So, this morning our happy little girl cluelessly went for tubes! She came out one very unhappy camper, crying for most of an hour. But I hear that's very common after anesthesia of a child. She napped for about 2 1/2 hours and now she's as happy as can be!

I hope this helps! I'm sure it will!

Last Day of Little Gym

Jumping...

jumping...

and a little kicking!

A trick with Ms. Erin

Climbing the rock wall

more cool tricks

Kaisley enjoying herself too!

Today was the last day of Little Gym for this semester. So each kid, one at a time, got to go up and get their medal and award and say "ta da!" Everyone clapped and cheered! The kids were all so proud! Pictures snapped like it was the Olympics!

He LOVED being up here! He also loved jumping off of it! :)

Show me your medal Brookston!

Show me your award!!

Such a cool kid!

So, I have to give props to my super cool toddler too!

Today, like he often does, he tells me, "Mommy, it's night night time!" I say, "you're ready to take your nap?" He says, "yeah mommy, come on!"

How stinking cool is that? I love that kid! He's such a laid back, awesome boy!

(Well, until you take him to the play area at Chick Fil A...right Katherine?)

Gosh I love her!

Seeing my beautiful girl, pictures (since she's asleep right now) or face to face...I just get butterflies...I love her so much!

Hehehe, this just makes me laugh! Hanging out at the dishwasher, with a psychedelic block in her mouth! :) Silly baby!!

Treats #2

I made some more treats for Richard to take to work...if you love peanut butter as much as I do....hold on, this is intense...

Chocolate cupcakes with a Reese's peanut butter cup in them, peanut butter frosting (thanks to my friend Liz for the heavenly recipe and peanut butter cup idea), topped with peanut butter chips. YUM!!!!

For those not so into peanut butter, I also made some yellow cake with chocolate frosting.

Treats for work

I made a new treat for Richard to take to work in the morning...I hope everyone likes them!

All the ingredients ready...

Ready to go in the oven to melt...

In the tin, ready to go with Richard to work!

It's nothing fancy, but the pretzel, mixed with chocolate and caramel (and some with a nut), it's OH SO PERFECT! I had to send ALL of the rest in the tin...I've eaten too many already!

Look Ashley!!!!

Kaisley finally has enough hair to wear "bigger" bows! And my awesome friend Ashley made this as a gift when Kaisley was first born! I'm excited to get her into bigger bows...not TOO big, I'm still easing into this girly stuff! :) But how stinking cute is this??

Painting with Daddy

This was actually last weekend, when we had BEAUTIFUL weather. But, I have yet to post about it. So, here are Brookston and Daddy having a little fun last weekend!

Brookston admiring his work