Ballard Bunch

Christmas Morning!! Snuggies and Pillow Pets from SANTA!!! I love getting the "just woke up, but so excited" picture Then, onto Gran's for breakfast and presents Purple vuvuzela for Poppa! Ironman mittens knitted by my sister. Yes, I'm serious! After Gran's, we head over to Jason's Nanny's house to see the whole Braudaway crew. Walker and Lucy with Aric, Aunt Debbie and Papa After Nanny's, we head downtown to meet the Snelson side for Walker's favorite part of the day. He absolutely adores all my cool boy cousins. They are SO sweet to him, and he just loves hanging with the big boys. One of my boy cousins drew Walker's name, and for his present, he is taking him to a TCU basketball game, just the two of them. How cool is that?? Walker is SO EXCITED! Lucy opening her sparkly presents. She totally worked it, and modeled her new furry vest for all to see.

We had one crazy Tuesday in December that happened to be Lucy's ballet Parent's Day and Walker's Holiday Showcase. Once again, we have great family that jumped right in and made the day great. I invited Lucy's aunts and grandma's to her ballet showcase and everyone to Walker's holiday concert. We had time in between ballet and the concert to change clothes and eat dinner. What a crazy evening, but it was great to see the kids' showcase their activities and the family get to see it all! Lucy's audience At the bar- her favorite part of class Jack in the box dance And...bow Walker's Holiday concert Looking for us :) Caitlin graduated from COLLEGE!!! We are so proud! And, another Horned Frog alum in the family. Gotta love that :) With Andy Dalton, #14 TCU Quarterback CONGRATS, Aunt Caitlin!!!

There are always a few things we do in early December to really get Christmas going. I love that we have traditions early int he month to get the spirit flowing. We go over to my mom's to decorate her tree and watch Christmas movies, we go to my Granny's Christmas party at her nursing home, we eat Christmas lunch at the Fort Worth Club and we decorate our own house and tree. The kids are getting good at decorating the tree and are a huge help! We are also adding traditions, which is always fun. The kids have gone shopping with my dad and stepmom for the past 2 years for a special gift from them to Jason and I. The kids love picking out their own gifts and my dad said they were really with it this year and knew exactly what we would like. They also decorate our presents, which is my favorite part! Fort Worth Club Decorating our tree and filling in our advent calendar Talking with Santa at Granny's party Gran's house: The ornaments are laid out on the table Love this pic...

Walker's birthday celebration started a week before his birthday- he is such a Ballard boy, he knows how to drag out a birthday!!! We had birthday dinner with the Ballards, honoring Walker and Aunt D, both August birthdays. Aunt D is carrying my neice...and nephew!!! Twins :) My kiddos are so excited to have "first cousins". The Birthday Buddies Dinosaur fact cards. Walker always wants us to "play" cards with him- he really loves how each card includes a picture of a human, and that dinosaur next to the human to show the size. GI Joe :) Yummy Nana cake- nobody bakes cakes from scratch like Nana, seriously. Paula Deen's got nothing on her. During his birthday week, Caitlin, Walker and I took a little trip to Dallas for some cupcakes. Don't laugh- YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW. Sprinkles Cupcakes are the best cupcakes I have ever had, and that trip will not be the only time I drive to Dallas just for Sprinkles. We got a little assortment, so we could take some h...

Every summer, my mom, sisters and I go on a little weekend getaway. It is a great escape for me, and I have so much fun with my sweet sisters and fun mom!! Before we left, we celebrated Caitlin's birthday. Pizza, go karts and Dairy Queen- FUN!! The kids had fun picking out their own presents for Caitlin, and I think they did pretty good, too! HOUSTON 2010 Sprinkles cupcakes- OMG I have heard of them, and have even made some from their mix. NOT even close to going to the shop. Holy cow, people. I have never tasted anything like these before. I got a lemon blueberry cupcake that was one of the best things I have ever eaten. Awesome mom Sweet sisters Houston Aquarium Biggest snake I have ever seen Caitlin and Jojo petting sting rays While I was gone with the girls, My sweet and loving hubby had the kids all weekend. He worked open to close for 3 days so he could be off with the kids while I went out of town. Then, he planned fun stuff with them- what a great dad! Out to eat :) A favor...