Our Christmas

We had an absolutely wonderful Christmas this year!! We were able to spend a lot of time together as a family and we enjoyed spending the day with both of our families as well. Lacey was quite spoiled this year and received lots of fun presents. It really is so fun to see your own child light up on Christmas Day! We get to experience it all in a whole new way!

One of Lacey's gifts was this tea set from Grandma Whelan. I walked into her bedroom one day to find this--Lacey and Daddy having their first tea party. It was ADORABLE!!! I could hear Mike through the monitor saying "You make the best tea ever!" I always melt when I see and hear them play together. Mike is such a loving father and the perfect daddy for a little girl.

Pouring another cup.

Look how cute they are together!! Having extra time with Mike over the weekend was a wonderful gift for Lacey and me. She followed him around like a little puppy, led him by his finger to wherever she wanted him, and insisted that he play with her constantly. Of course, you know he just ate up every minute of it!

Below you will find LOTS more pictures of our celebrations. It was truly a wonderful Christmas!

Vacuum!

One of the toys that Nanny got for Lacey is this cute little Dyson vacuum. I knew Lacey would love it when I suggested it, but I didn't quite know how much!

The BEST part of that gift is that when Lacey saw my vacuum, she insisted that Daddy join her in her task! Together, they vacuumed the entire living room floor and the kitchen rug! Truly, I did not see that coming... but it was my Christmas miracle! Hahaha!! He really will do anything she asks him to... so we'll definitely have to work on that. "Daddy, will you fold laundry with me?" I could so use this to my advantage! :)
Love you, honey!!!

Opening Presents

The Kitchen!

Lacey's big present from Santa this year was a new play kitchen...

This is how it came. Apparently, Santa's elves didn't have time to put it together so I had to figure it out. True to Lindsey form, I wanted it done when I wanted, which happened to be after midnight one night so I was pretty much on my own. In a couple of hours, it went from a bunch of pieces to....

that adorable kitchen! Isn't it cute?

Lacey LOVES it!! She went right for it and she plays with it all the time.

Her favorite thing to "cook" is tacos... I'm not sure if it's because I cook tacos all too often or she knows it's one of Daddy's favorite meals. She drags Daddy into her bedroom, where the kitchen now resides, and has him help her create tasty meals. It's so cute!! This little kitchen is worth every penny and I can't wait to see all the fun she and our other children will have with it through the years.

Family Tradition!

On Christmas Eve, we were unfortunately stranded in Arlington due to the snow storm that hit earlier that day. We were unable to participate in the typical Whelan-family tradition of going to Braum's on Christmas Eve... but we did remain true to the tradition...

It was sad to miss out on the Whelan-family fun, but we actually quite enjoyed our quiet Christmas Eve. The snow was absolutely beautiful and magical. It brought with it the spirit of Christmas that we had been waiting for. We spent the entire day as a family, relaxing, playing, watching Christmas movies, and getting ready for Santa's visit!

White Christmas!!

Dallas Arboretum

Holiday Fun

A week before Christmas, we took Lacey to the Dallas Arboretum to see what kind of holiday fun was to be found there. We had heard that there would be reindeer, Santa Clause, and other activities so we thought it might be a festive afternoon.

Mike found his friend, Rudolph walking around...

While Lacey was particularly interested in Frosty the Snow Man

We ran into Lacey's cousins, Emily and William, and hung out with them a bit.

And played in the fun little story book houses that are scattered throughout the grounds. It was a fun afternoon, though admittedly not quite as exciting as we had hoped. There was only one reindeer who was not being overly social. (can ya blame him??) Even still, it was a nice family afternoon so what more does one need?

Beautiful girl!!

Some time in the recent past, Lacey has turned into a LITTLE GIRL on me! No longer a baby, she a full-fledged little girl-- complete with a huge vocabulary, long legs, a love of shoes, and a dash or two of sass! I miss my baby, but I LOVE this little girl of mine!!! Somehow, she grows more and more beautiful every day!

Here she is dressed for the cooooold temperatures we've been having.

Notice the PIG TAILS!!! I've been so excited that I'm able to get all of her hair up that she's been sporting them every day for the last week!

Is that not the sweetest little face ever?! Kristen, you'll be pleased-- she's getting quite good at smiling for the camera and saying "CHEESE!"

Here we are just having some fun. I just can't get enough of that fun personality of hers!! She is so funny and so sweet! She's become a very polite child. She's great at saying please and thank you, or no thank you. She says "bless you" to anyone who sneezes near her, says "thanks!" to people who hold doors for us... she just cracks me up! I can't get over how big her vocabulary is! Mike thinks she's a genius, while I am increasingly more aware of the Whelan woman within her! :)

Things have been great around here! We've just been busy with lots of marketing and preparing for Christmas!!! I can't wait! I am very nearly finished with all of my Christmas shopping and ready to enjoy the holiday with lots of family and all kinds of fun. This is our last week of marketing for the month so Mike and I get to fully enjoy our favorite time of year together. Can't wait!

"Nemo in the bed!"

Lacey's first Disney movie obsession is "Finding Nemo". I can't even count the number of times we've watched that this week!! She loves crawling into Mommy's bed, laying her head on our pillows, and pulling our "bebe" over her. She gets all cozy and then pats the bed beside her, motioning for one of us to find our place to watch with her. It's SO SWEET!!!

I got her this Nemo doll "for Christmas" but couldn't wait to give it to her. She LOVES him! When I lay her down at night, she says "Good night, Mom!" and then rolls over and quietly whispers "Good night, Nemo." It is adorable!

Love that baby girl!!!!