Christmas 2010

This year's Christmas was wonderful! Having Jake running around and enjoying all his toys, cousins and family made this Christmas season that much more special. We made all the rounds at my family and Greg's and had a blast doing it. Jake and I were sick most of the holiday, but we suffered through and masked our sickness with turkey and chocolate! :)

I'll let the pictures do the talking...

Christmas Eve Morning - this is when we did "our christmas" at home and Jake opened his Santa gifts! He got a really cool 4-wheeler, but all my memories of that are caught on video! Let's just say he has the "going" down-pat, but needs some work on the "steering!"

Jake's cousin, Caden, showing his skills on his guitar!

Jake's cousins, Morgan and Madison

Christmas Eve Morning, we had breakfast at Greg's parents house with his sisters and their families. Jake got the long-awaited Dance Star Mickey. I think the look on his face says it all!

Jake and Daddo waiting on the presents!

Christmas Eve night, we went to church with my parents and then opened gifts with my brother and his family, my grandmother and my Uncle Mike and his family. Jake had a great time.


Christmas Morning! We did Jake's Santa at my parent's house and turns out - his favorite thing was the Teddy Grahams! :)

We went to my brother's house for a little Christmas morning fun...apparently, too much fun for my dad!

My brother, Kevin, and nephew, Hunter

Kevin playing with Jake! That's the hat I got for my nephew for Christmas....he looks like quite the stud in it! :)

Ashton, my niece, and Jake


The Sunday after Christmas, we had Greg's extended family over at our house. As you can see, there are several cousins on this side of the family that are close to Jake's age! He had so much fun playing with them and dragging out EVERY TOY in the house!

A Louisiana Christmas

Like everyone else, we do a lot of driving during the holiday season. This year, we celebrated the Spence Christmas (my father's side of the family) in Monroe, Louisiana. My cousin, Brian, and his family hosted. They have four beautiful children and, obviously, a house full of toys. SO - Jake was in heaven. The trip down there was LONG, but Jake was so happy the entire time. He only slept 20 minutes of the trip, which really suprised me.

We got to do a little shopping and went out to eat with my parents, brother and nephew. Jake spent his first night in a hotel and then we celebrated Christmas the next day. All in all, it was a great trip, and I couldn't be prouder of the way Jake behaved!

Unfortunately, it was two days in a row with no nap, so he's out of wack there. But, we had a great time and are so glad we went. Its great to get together with so much family and remember all the good times we've had. Its also crazy to see that all of the cousins, who were once the "children", now have children! We've all been very blessed to have had such wonderful, healthy year!

Here are few pictures from our trip. More pics to come after Christmas! Merry Christmas to all!!!

My cute parents!

Pappaw and Jake

My dad and his three brothers

All the kiddos!

L-R: Maggie, Johnathan, Madison, Kate, Hunter, Jake and Brody

Dale and Uncle Ronny

My brother and sweet little Maggie

The boys playing Wii

The Holiday Season is Here!

No excuses! Its been FOREVER since I've updated the blog. So, I'll do my best to recap!

We had a GREAT Thanksgiving holiday and got to make all the rounds - Marion, Carlisle, & the Razorback game. Thankfully, the Razorbacks had a big win and the entire weekend ended with a bang!

Jake has been busy getting ready for all his Christmas programs! He is in a program this week at church and is one next week at daycare. CRAZY! I can't wait to see how they get him to be still and participate in a Christmas program. So cute!

Greg and I had a little weekend get-a-way in Los Angeles last weekend. Greg had to go for work, so I decided to tag along. I got to do some shopping, eat a couple of really good meals, catch a movie and even get a facial. Kinda nice, huh?!?!

We're so excited about Christmas this year and watching our little man get all his gifts, see his cousins and just enjoy the excitement of the holidays. Jake is just so much fun right now. Last night, Greg and I took him to Wal-Mart and then to eat pizza. Jake was a hoot the entire time. He belly laughs at everything and is SUCH A FLIRT! This is such a fun age.

In work related news, my company had to let go of about 1100 reps last week. I had no idea whether I would have a job on Friday or not, but turns out - I do. I guess God's plan is for me to "sell drugs" a little longer. However, lots of GREAT people got let go, and I'm still upset about that.

Here are some pics from the last few weeks.... (Lauren Lea Photography took most of them)


Jake and his cousin, Jack. I LOVE this picture and the next. These two always have so much fun together.

This is how Jake carries his sippy cup around the house! We like to pretend he's going to soon replace that sippy with a football!

CAUGHT RED-HANDED playing in Roxy's water bowl!

Museum of Discovery

This morning, Greg's cousin, April, and I took our boys to The Museum of Discovery in Little Rock. Jack - April's son - is four and adores Jake. The two of them really enjoyed running all of the place and climbing on everything. We had a great time and even got to enjoy lunch at Jason's Deli on the way back home.

Greg spent the day in the deer woods trying to track down the infamous big buck I hear about every year. No luck this time, but I'm sure he'll bring us home some deer meat soon!

Hope everyone had a great week!

Pumpkin Patch Fun!

We took Jake to a local pumpkin patch after work on Friday. He had so much fun playing in the dirt and choosing his pumpkin! Enjoy the pics and this cooler weather...

Jake's First Razorback Game

Today, we took Jake to his first Razorback game in Fayetteville. I'll be honest; I thought it was a TERRIBLE idea. I just knew he would throw a fit to get down and walk around. I thought for sure he would pull the lady's hair out that sits in front of us. I was certain that he would scream when we made him sit in our laps the entire time. I WAS SO WRONG!

We arrived late and didn't have time to do any tailgating, but our good friends, Grant and Paula, waited on us at the tailgate before going in. We were able to leave the stroller in the car and head to the game. Jake was soooooo sleepy at this point. No morning nap. So, we got in, got seated and the Hogs had taken the field. Jake did a little lookin' around and checking things out, and by the middle of the first quarter he was OUT. I held him while he slept - which was until halftime. Then, he woke up just in time to see the band play and watch a little bit of the 3rd quarter.

The announcer notified the crowd that lightning, hail and rain were about 15 minutes out, so we took off. Greg headed to the car with Jake via shuttle, while I ran to the tailgate to get the stroller. By the time I had the stroller, the shuttles were gone. So, I had to book it on foot to the car. Sadly, I didn't make it before the bottom fell out. I was running along side of the road with a stroller in the pouring rain. SO, picture it - I'm pushing a stroller down the road in POURING RAIN by myself. YOU WOULD THINK that some descent people would stop and offer a ride to someone pushing a stroller (granted I didn't have a baby in there- but they didn't know that -the canopy was up on the stroller). I'm VERY disappointed in my fellow Razorback fans.

Regardless of the abrupt ending to our game, Jake had a great time and was a complete angel.

Go Hogs Go!

Razorbacks 38

Rebel Black Bears 24

Fall, Football and Babies

So, its been a while since I posted anything and we've quickly gone from summer to fall ...and well, back to summer. We were really enjoying the cooler weather and letting Jake play outside every afternoon. He's walking/trying to run all over the place and LOVES the outdoors. He'll even go to the front door and wait on someone to let him out. Of course, our Golden - Roxy, LOVES that about Jake! But, sadly, its warmed back up and we're hitting the high 80s and low 90s during the day. I'm keeping my fingers crossed it cools off by Halloween, so Jake can enjoy his SUPER cute costume!


Greg and I have been so busy lately, so I haven't had much time to blog. We've been traveling a lot, going to Razorback games, ASU Homecoming, Family Reunions, etc. WHEW--I'm exhausted. Last weekend, we went to ASU Homecoming and had so much fun. Our good friends, Jared and Lindsey Woodard, host a great party every year and a fantastic tailgate. They put so much effort into everything, and we are so grateful. Its so great to see everyone again. This year, Katy (college roommate and still a dear friend) and I decided to go see our Sorority Suite for ole times sake! It REALLY took me back! Walking back in that dorm was a real trip...we had so much fun rehashing our old stories.


So, all this talk about ME being busy-- to be honest, I've got nothing on a few of my friends bringing home their second children this month. We have a wonderful Sunday School Class and church family. Ironically, several of the ladies at church are having babies at the same time. Congratulations to Kristin, Erika, Sabrina, Amanda, and Kari. ALL are having or had their second babies. ALL have been healthy and happy. We're so grateful to God for blessing our friends with sweet, healthy babies and are praying Erika's little one is just as healthy and just as happy! (Arriving TOMORROW!)


We've got a busy couple of months ahead of us, so I'm going to try to do better at updating the blog as things happen.... until then, here are some cute pictures of my little sweet pea and other adventures!

A few pictures from our Church Picnic...

Jake's Artwork from School...proudly displayed on our 'fridge! :)

I just think this picture is cute! Jake's wearing a little vest his Pappaw bought him!

AND....a picture of his SECOND haircut!

Jake's been walking for a while now, but this is a video of his first day on the move!