Our 5th Anniversary!

On this day 5 years ago, Nick and I got married! He is truly my best friend, and I can't imagine my life without him. Presley is such a lucky girl to have such a great dad! I love you Nick!

Pack. Unpack. Repeat…

Our Christmas break has been busy! As the post title implies, we have been traveling, and enjoying spending time with our family. We left on the 23rd for North Carolina, and we were reminded repeatedly that when flying, expect the unexpected.  On our first flight (to Cincinnati) something on the plane required maintenance. The  guy that was working at the gate was explaining the problem and said that it would be a quick fix. I commented to Nick that we got to go on the test flight, and Presley heard me. She then repeated, “Test flight, test flight, test flight!” over and over. Ha!  I love going to my grandparents’ house, and it is so special to be able to take Presley to visit her great-grandparents. They adore her!

Presley discovered one of my favorite things about airports… Starbucks.

Family Pictures

Taking family pictures is not easy, but we try.

 I know we will look back someday and love the "bad" ones more than the "good" ones!

Merry Christmas!

Party for Two

Presley’s cousins, Addison and Peyton, had a double birthday party on Saturday, and it was double the fun. Twice the cake and twice the presents- you can’t get much better than that!  They also got a joint birthday present- Max- the Maltese.  He is so cute. Even Nick had to hold him. We had to leave the party because Presley can’t understand the concept of giving. She likes to receive. Especially if it has to do with a Kai-Lan tree house. See pic below of Presley trying to get us to open Addison’s present.

Santa Baby

Nick, Presley, my mom, and I went to a Christmas party Friday night at the Morgan’s.  They have a beautiful home, and Presley loved checking out their Christmas trees (all 7 of them)! We were just starting to enjoy the party, and then Santa showed up. All the kids freaked out and ran to the nearest adult’s lap! Here are some pics!

Presley loved checking out the trees!

Presley catching up with Katie.

This picture just tickles me.

I took this picture about 10 seconds after Santa arrived.

Presley wanted nothing to do with sitting in Santa’s lap, but she did tell him from the couch that she would like for him to bring her a baby. She also told him that she has been good. She was willing to get close to accept a gift, and eventually gave him a hug. We had so much fun at the party! =)

Advent Calendar

I got an Advent calendar for Presley this year, and I grand illusions of opening one box a night until Christmas.  I made a mistake though. This Advent calendar had a chocolate in each window.  We were done with all the windows by the December 8th.  Next year, our calendar will not contain anything edible.

Joyful Noise

Nick, Presley, and I joined some of our friends from church to sing carols at the nursing home tonight.  Presley had a great time checking out the birds and the fish, dancing, and singing.  I hope that Presley always wants to serve others, even if its by just sharing a joyful noise and a smile!

 

My Little Ballerina

I was once a ballerina… then I only reached 5’3” and there really wasn’t a demand for munchkin ballerinas.  Anyway, Presley and I have been watching the Nutcracker for a couple of nights now. We watch the same dance over and over. She likes it because they pull a sheep on wheels around.  I don’t get it, but she GETS it. Right down to the tutu and the sheep (and goat). 

She came to me and said, “Help.” She grabbed my hand, took me to her room, and pointed to her tutu. Then she got her sheep from her Little Tikes farm (and the goat). She held them both high over her head, and danced in front of the TV.  She also refused to take the tutu off. I had to peel the thing off of her. I hope she is 5’7”.

Package From Santa

Presley got a mysterious green package in the mail today from “Santa”.  She was really excited!  When she opened it, she realized that Santa had sent her the exact same shirt she was wearing!  Presley knew that Santa had to know she already had that shirt, so she figured out that it must have been Aunt Tina.  She really enjoyed the Santa gummy snack! Thanks Santa Tina!

O Christmas Tree

This is our Christmas tree.  I love real trees, but we opted for an artificial tree this year. I wondered if a tree would even fit, so I wanted to be able to manipulate it into a corner if I needed to. It fits, and Presley thinks it is fabulous.  Here it is…

  

Here is Presley modeling the tree skirt.

Two for One

Presley and I had a first yesterday- our first visit to the doctor together.  Presley has had congestion for a while now, and she woke up with fever and a yucky cough. I pulled a muscle in my back.  Nick loaded us up and took us both to the doctor.  The clinic we went to is just a walk-in clinic, so we loaded up our Christmas books to keep us busy! Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is Presley’s favorite, and I love How Santa Got His Job!

Oh My Goodness!

Thereareonly24daysuntil

Christmas!

Twinkies

Anytime I take Presley anywhere people say, “She looks just like her daddy.” I do think that they do share some similarities, but I think she looks just like her mommy (and I will post a pic sans makeup to prove it). I knew you would agree.

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving break, and hate that it is over! We spent Wednesday at home, went to Sheridan Thursday, went to Magazine Friday (we lost), went to Bryant Saturday, and back home today! It is a tradition at the Pope family table to tell what you are thankful for on Thanksgiving, but I wasn’t there so here it is… I am thankful for my wonderful husband and my beautiful daughter, I am thankful that Presley has two sets of grandparents that love her like crazy and she loves them even more, I am thankful that my grandparents are counting the days until they get to see their great-granddaughter again, I am thankful that Nick and I both have good jobs and a house to live in and plenty to eat, and I am thankful that we are members of a great church, and I am most thankful for my God that loves me!

Don't Touch It!

Portraits

DA has some wonderful people, and one of those happens to be Jackie Holloway.  She is an amazing photographer! She specializes in natural light photography, and she was very patient with my little free spirit. If you have a second, please check out our shoot and leave a comment (if there are 10 comments, we get a free 8x10)! Thanks!

http://jackiehollowayphotography.com/blog/2009/11/beths-family-portraits-fall-in-central-arkansas/

Just Some Pics

Leaves

Love playing in the leaves. I bet they won't be going anywhere anytime soon ;)

Pronouns (Bragging Alert)

Presley had her 2-year checkup on October 30th.  She was in the 75th percentile for height and the 25th percentile for weight.  I was tickled that Presley had reached all of her development checkpoints, like putting two words together, has a vocabulary of 20+ words, stacks things, etc. When the doctor asked if she was putting two words together, I was taken back a little. We just parent Presley. We don't think, "Presley just put together a 3-word sentence!"  I knew that she had, but I wasn't exactly sure how many words she has put together. All that came to mind is, "Watch Gabba now." So, I have been paying more attention to that type of thing, and I can say that Presley can even use pronouns correctly. Here is proof...

Nana was trying to teach Presley to sing Jesus Love Me:

Nana: "Presley, say Jesus."
Presley: "Jesus"
Nana: "Loves"
Presley: "Loves"
Nana: "Me"
Presley: "You"

Presley's Halloween Birthday Party

We had a blast at Presley's birthday party. The weather was beautiful, the kids were fun, and our friends and family were there. What more could you ask for?

Happy 2nd Birthday Presley!

I took off of work today to take Presley to get her flu shots. Since she turned 2 today, she was able to get one as a nasal spray, but she did get one shot. It was her first shot she has ever had in her arm, and she did great! (Especially considering the two hour wait!) We made up for the experience with cupcakes, presents, and we went and picked up the inflatable pink castle for her party. Tomorrow we have to go to her two year check up, but that involves no shots!

Even though I can’t believe that Presley is growing up so quickly, it is hard to remember what we ever did without her! I know we did not laugh near as much.  Happy Birthday Presley! We love you bunches!

Cooking With Mom

I love to bake, and Presley is such a good helper!  We had fun making cookie bars, and they were really yummy.  Presley said so.

Groovy!

Presley thinks the pumpkin window clings my mom brought over are really cool and chewy. They are now out of reach (with a few bites gone)! Did you notice how the shades go well with her mullet?

BOO!

Nana brought a ghost over too!  Don’t worry. It’s a friendly ghost!

Donuts

Nana brought donuts for us Saturday morning.  It was the first time I have ever given Presley one. She licked off all the sprinkles and frosting.