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!