Taylor's First Haircut!

Taylor had her first haircut this week! She was so excited to go and get her hair cut and had been talking about it all week! Every time I go get my hair done she always begs to come along and get hers done too so she was thrilled to climb into the big girl chair and have turn! She loves her trimmed up hair and it makes it look much more full :) Here are some pics of the momentous occasion! Of course Brady and I were the dorks that brought the whole family, video camera, regular camera, and snagged some curls for the book!

Decorating The Tree

The tree is up! We put our tree up and decorated the house last weekend! It was not as relaxing as I imagined in my head... music playing... kids happy! It was...chaotic! We lost a lot of good ornaments that night and many awaiting reconstruction! We woke up the next morning and our fake tree was leaning to the side. Time for a new tree! We had to find a tree, take all of the lights and ornaments off, and put them all back on! Totally worth it because it looks so much better. Now if we could only stop Hayden from destroying it which is a constant battle! The girls have gotten a kick out of playing with all of the toys that make noise and light up! Taylor is so excited about Santa coming and I am really excited that I can remind her that he is always watching. We have not actually gone to sit on his lap yet but I am going to go ahead and guess that it is not happening without screaming and tears! Brady and I are also realizing that getting both kids together in a photo and looking at the camera at the same time is probably not a reality either.... maybe a solo Elway card :) We'll see what we can do!

Quality Time With Uncle Zach

The girls were so excited to wake up and wait for Uncle Zach to come down the stairs! They had a lot of toys to show him and stories to tell so I think he was a bit overwhelmed!!!! Luckily nap time came and Zach was able to regroup. After dinner we went to the Newport News Celebration of Lights which was a lot of fun. It was the first time that both of the girls were really able to enjoy the lights and it was so fun to see them get excited and point out all of the different sights! Of course both of them wanted to sit with Uncle Zach! The next day we went to the Williamsburg Indoor Sports Complex with some friends. Brady and Zach played in a soccer game. I heard that Zach was actually a pretty good goalie! The girls were in heaven because they opened up the gymnastics room for them to play in along with some of our friends. They had a GREAT time! I learned that climbing the rope to the ceiling was not as easy as it was in elementary school! So sad! We all had a great time! It was a great way to get moving after stuffing ourselves the day before! Brady laughed later when he recalled Zach's conversation with some of our friends that he had never met. When one commented to Zach about liking his mustache Zach told him that it was for the kids. Without an explanation it is really creepy! Zach is growing the stache for charity but of course it didn't come out right!! I also laugh when I think of Zach wearing his headphones in the car to block out the noise... and it was mild compared to usual! It was great to have him and hopefully it won't be as long before we see him again.

Thanksgiving Pictures

Our Thanksgiving was....... entertaining! Hayden was all over the table, literally. She went from chair to chair sneaking food and drinks and was even caught on top of the table at one point! There were lots of cracks on Zach's mustache and then the girls decided that they were going to pull their shirts over their heads and laugh hysterically. We were grateful for great company and a wonderful dinner!

Uncle Zach

Thanksgiving Day started off great.... we watched the parade and had monkey bread for breakfast. This year I didn't catch it on fire... yay! We were very excited for Uncle Zach to join us for Thanksgiving this year! I will admit that when I heard that he was vegan I was really stressing what he would be able to eat! Brady went out and found a Tofurkey and gravy and after looking at ingredients we found that with some modifications we actually had more vegan food than we thought! Zach brought recipes for a favorite dip, which was delicious, and a tasty baked squash filled with rice. I had to stop and laugh.... in high school I would have never imagined that in the future I would be making Thanksgiving dinner with Zach Walker learning about the vegan lifestyle while my husband Brady was passed out on the couch. Who knew! It was a lot of fun and a great chance to catch up. Zach was a good sport when I forced him to put on the apron and pose for a pic!

Preparing for Thanksgiving

This year I was determined to make all of the sides and pies ahead of time in an attempt to avoid the last minute scramble. The girls were excited to help with whatever I would allow. They sat on the floor to help me add all of the ingredients and stir, their favorite part. Taylor was very patient with Hayden and we had a great time. I decided to challenge them with peeling eggs. Taylor actually peeled about 12 eggs... Hayden peeled one and ate it. After Hayden went to bed Taylor and I made a pumpkin and cream cheese pie and another pecan pie. I got the brilliant idea to let her sit on the counter, under close supervision, to help. We had all of the ingredients ready to go into the pie shell when the pecan pie filling fell off the counter and onto the floor...what a mess! We started over. Later she helped Brady make a pretzel salad. Taylor was so proud of her yummy dishes! Both of the girls were really excited for Uncle Zach to arrive on Thanksgiving!

Beautiful Fall Sunday

After the events of last week we decided to take it easy this weekend. On Friday night we baked cookies and watched the movie Up. Okay so it is no Bambi but it is REALLY sad! Brady picked it this time! Saturday we attempted some Christmas shopping and the girls enjoyed Daddy time at the park while I attempted to put away clothing the girls have outgrown-- this task is never ending! They just need to stop growing! Today we went to Colonial Williamsburg because it was gorgeous out! We have a tradition of stopping in the candy shop for fruit slices and swedish fish and then take a walk. The weekend has been very relaxing... a great and much needed change of pace :)

Good Bye Last Week You Will Not Be Missed!

Last week was CRAZY at the Walker house! I dropped Taylor off at preschool on Tuesday and got a call as soon as I got home saying that she had fallen on the rock wall on the playground and was probably going to need some medical attention. I threw Hayden back into the car and headed back to school of course behind all of the slowest cars in the universe! On the way over I called all of the pediatricians in the office and could not reach a single person so I knew we were off to urgent care. Brady was in meetings in Newport News and he wouldn't answer his phone either so the day was getting even better!!! I arrived and my poor little girl was sitting with her teacher holding a towel on her chin. All of us were off to urgent care! After exhausting snacks, juice, coloring on everything with crayons, and playing I Spy the doctor came in and said that she definitely needed stitches. It was downhill from there...... They had to put the sheet on her to restrain her and then three of us had to hold her down while the doctor put in the stitches. Meanwhile Hayden had found the buttons on the floor that make the table move and she managed to move the table down a couple of times just to complicate the situation. So I had to hold Taylor still and use my leg to keep Hayden away from the table. Then she cried because Taylor cried! Ahhhhhhhhh! I was so proud of Taylor because she was so brave!!!! She hardly made a sound after the initial shock wore off!!!! Brady managed to get there just as we were leaving and we took Taylor out for the ice cream I promised her if we all made it out of the office! Later that evening she got a rash all over the side of her face so we had to go back in for another visit. The doctor had to call in another doctor to get a second opinion and they finally ended up giving her an antibiotic. Hayden was all over the place-- I'm sure they were all very ready to get us out of there!!!! The next day Taylor's teacher said she did the rock wall over and over to prove that she could do it! That's our determined child! She may be accident prone but she is one tough cookie!

To complete the week my car got hit in the parking lot while I was in music class with Hayden...... Good bye last week!!!!!!!!

Broncos Babes

During our trip we stayed at the Gaylord in the new National Harbor in Maryland which was really cool! However staying in hotels is becoming increasingly more difficult with our kids. Hayden was up bright and early at 4:30 on Saturday morning and got Taylor up soon after! Hayden refused to go back to sleep so we headed down to the amazing atrium in the hotel and walked around the trails for what seemed like forever. I learned the value of coffee that morning!! The hotel was getting Christmas activities ready so we took the Peep Challenge and searched for peeps all around the hotel and watched a fountain show. On Sunday we got up and took some pictures in Broncos gear before heading out. Brady went on to the game with some friends and I continued home with the kids! It was a rough trip! The kids were really cranky and fought/screamed most of the trip. A big thanks to my mom for keeping me sane on the phone... although I think that she secretly got a kick out of the madness in the car. She kept laughing and apologizing probably thinking thank goodness those days are over for her :) At one point Taylor was crying because she wanted a ticket from the ticket man aka police officer and because Hayden was looking at her funny..... WE MADE IT HOME!!!! It was fun to get the opportunity to go away for the weekend but it was SO nice to be home!!!!!!

Hokies and Penley's

On Saturday we were able to get together with the Penley Family! It was great to get the kids together and have some adult time with Ryan and Jenny at the game. The kids stayed with two very brave sitters and had a blast! After the game we headed to Chick fil a and the Penley's got to witness Hayden's ridiculous love for milkshakes. She refuses to share and throws an impressive fit if you try to take it away! We had a great time with the Penley Family and can't wait for the arrival of their fourth this winter!

Trip to DC

Last weekend we took the girls to Washington DC! We had originally hoped to go to the zoo but the rain forced us to change our plans to the Natural History Museum and the Air and Space Museum. We thought that the girls were going to love the mammal exhibit but it backfired! Taylor was actually really upset that the animals were not alive which of course turned into a ton of questions!! The best question came in the women's restroom after the caveman exhibit. I knew the exhibit was trouble. She asked me why people have hair on their bottoms.... at least we could entertain all of the people in the bathroom. I tried to ignore her but she just repeated it louder and louder.....embarrassing! The highlight of the museum was the fish tank that had Nemo in it. The Air and Space Museum was a pretty quick trip too! We'll give them a few more years to appreciate DC :)

Fall Weather = Perfect for Pierce's

Pierce's BBQ is our all time favorite place to eat here in Williamsburg and we go more than we should! The girls love to run around and kick the soccer ball before they dig into their macaroni and cheese. Taylor was really into having me take pictures of her silly faces and her Heisman pose. Hayden was busy getting into sauce and spilled an entire container of BBQ sauce all over herself within seconds of sitting down. We are sad to think that winter will put a hault to our trips to the pit but on those random warm days were are so there!!!!

Being Sick Stinks!

A couple of weeks ago Hayden was running a high fever and was clearly not herself so we had to bring her to the doctor. It was super crazy because many of the people in the waiting area were wearing masks including the doctor when she came in the check on Hayden. She decided to check her for the flu which was NOT fun!! I had to hold her vertically while she stuck a long swab way up her nose! Hayden did not appreciate that at all!!! Luckily she tested negative for the flu and her fever went down within the next couple of days. They gave her stickers and she insisted on taking them to bed..... here is how she looked when she got up.