Happy New Year!

We had such a good year in 2011. I was trying to put together a list of the top ten of 2011, but it morphed into the top 20 list of December 2011. It was a whirlwind month, but it was full of so much fun and family, that my list of ten quickly grew to twenty. Here it is, and it's in no particular order:

1. The Briar Creek 5k - Laura was kind enough to arrange the 1st annual trail run in Whitehouse - something that has stayed with me until almost a month later. :)


2. Celebrating Gabby's Birthday at The Four Seasons. Katie and I took mom out for her birthday dinner. It ended up being a treat for all of us!


3. Playing with Wyatt in the teepee.


4. Neighborhood cookie swap - several neighbors and I decided to start an annual cookie swap for our section on Llano. There were so many cookies - I OD'd for sure.


5. The BIG BROTHER shirt reveal. Christmas Eve, we told Gabby and Gramps that they would have a new baby to spoil in August by putting this shirt on Wyatt and sending him out into the crowd.


6. The parties!! Of which there were so many!


7. Opening presents with W. Though he celebrated Christmas last year at 6months, it was fun to see him actually opening presents. He loved ripping paper!


8. Having another year with all of our Griffiths clan together. Everyone was able to make it, and it was very special.


9. Celebrating Christmas morning in our new house for the first time!


10. Getting together with precious friends. We were fortunate enough to have festive playdates with the Peterson's and with our friend, T!


11. Our best friends had a baby in December and we are so excited about this miracle & for a new playmate.


12. Running the White Rock marathon leg with my playgroup friends and JZ.


13. Our day in Grapevine with Aunt Sue & Gabby. Everything was so Christmas-y and Wyatt was enthralled with the trains, the animals, the skating snowmen - what a good day that was.


14. Wyatt driving his new car on Christmas Eve. Aunt Katie was so kind to get Wyatt the Cozy Coupe and he loves the heck out of that thing. On Christmas Eve we all had to take turns pushing that monkey up and down the driveway in his new car. He was in Heaven.


15. Wyatt's first haircut.

16. Watching Jason build Wyatt's workbench on X-mas Eve (curse city). Santa better make sure to bring more patience next year - or already assembled items.


17. Sharing Christmas stories and traditions with W.


18. Christmas Eve with family. Though it wasn't a traditional year for us, it ended up working out perfectly. What a great day!


19. Having Jason home for Christmas. With his trial/work schedule everything is always a crap shoot, especially the holidays. It was so nice for Wyatt and I to have Jas here for the holidays.


20. And finally, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the good food to snack on! It was non-stop!



January is such a stark month to enter after all of the glitz and glamor of December. Luckily, we have a wedding to plan, a 30th birthday to celebrate, and a baby to welcome in 2012. It's fun to stand on the threshold of a new year and wonder what will greet us. We had so many blessings in 2011, I have no idea how it could get better!

Happy New Year.

First Haircut

Gabby and I took Wyatt to get his first haircut on Friday. Gabby found the place, a little shop in Rockwall called Groovy Cuts for Kids, and it was so cute! The seats were actually cars, which was a lot of fun for W. They moved all around, had a gear shift, had a gas pedal, and right in front of your car was a television playing Barney. Jackpot!

Start your engines!

The lady who cut his hair was so quick! The times mom and I have tried to cut his hair ourselves, we've nearly cut the boy instead of the hair. Stressful! We weren't sure how it was going to all go down, but he was enchanted.

The trimmers were a little bit hairy (haha!). He didn't like those, so Gabby held him during that part. Check out this scowl!

All in all, he was a precious patron. He looks like a little boy now (sigh. next thing I know, he'll be going off to college...). Groovy Cuts for Kids was also nice enough to give Wyatt a certificate documenting his first hair cut, save his locks for me, and take a before and after picture. Very fun!

Enjoying some frozen yogurt after his hair cut! Big boy!

Christmas at the Gaylord

Aunt Sue and Gabby accompanied us today on a Christmas adventure. We went over to Grapevine to see the Gaylord all done up in it's Christmas frippery. There were tons of trees, dancing snowmen, toy soldiers, fountains, and trains. Wyatt was on sensory overload as we toured through the huge hotel!

Looking at the koi.

Watching the trains. Choo-Choo!!!

Refueling with raisins.

For lunch, we ended up at the Bass Pro Shop - which, I know, sounds kind of atypical for us. But that place is amazing. You can have your photo with Santa, ride the reindeer carousel, watch fish, pose with bears, bison, and bobcats! It is quite a place.

Driving a remote controlled truck. I see one of these in our future. Look at those little fingers on the controls! Such a boy.

Posing with a polar bear. What big teeth you have...

Aunt Sue proctored the meeting with Santa...it was going well at first.

But then things with Santa didn't quite work out.

Goofing around with Aunt Sue after lunch


Needless to say, old boy passed out pretty quickly tonight from his huge day of Christmas fun!

Thanksgiving!

We had a whirlwind of three wonderful Thanksgivings this year. We had a great time catching up with family and eating all kinds of good things. We had a lot to be thankful for!

On Wednesday, we had Thanksgiving with Grandmother and Aunt Diane. We had amazing appetizers - Katie made a cranberry-cheddar turnover thing that was to die for! The potatoes were the best ever (did I see 2 sticks of butter go in the pot???). Mom made a corn dish from Southern Living that included bacon. Definitely food coma worthy! And don't forget the gingerbread. Wyatt LOVED it and ate two slices under the "watchful eye" of Gabby.

The Garrett Family Thanksgiving

Baby bird eating gingerbread

Katie and I did the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day. After we ran our (overly crowded) 3.1 miles, we enjoyed some alone time at Starbucks. And from there, it was Cassady Thanksgiving. Ham, potatoes, turkey and stuffing, pie, sweet potatoes, and more butter!

It was FREEZING when we got to the start line!

The Cassady Family Thanksgiving

Saturday was the Griffiths family Thanksgiving - Cowboy style. Mom had table-scapes with all kinds of cowboy motif. Since we all had traditional Thanksgiving on Thursday, this Thanksgiving was made up of brisket, sausage, and cowboy sides. Since we all come by our sweet tooth naturally, the table was piled high with desserts of all ilk. Ugh! I feel full just thinking about it.

Katie and Uncle EJ

Grandma and Aunt Sue

Laura, Eric, Linds, Alex, Jas, & Me - The Older Cousins - First Wave

Cousins!

No one will even notice this is missing...

The boys!

Giving thanks as a group before the prayer

There is much to be thankful for this year - and always. My cousin EJ being at Thanksgiving is definitely one of those things. :) Watching Wyatt and "Berkie" play - highlight reel for sure! And planning the next girl cousins trip definitely gives us something to look forward to!

"And thank you for a house full of people I love. Amen."
~Terri Guillemets

Happy 4th Anniversary!

"Chains do not hold a marriage together. It is threads, hundreds of tiny threads which sew people together through the years." ~Simone Signoret

Engaged in 2007

Tied the knot 11-16-2007 at 4pm! Cheers!

November 2008

November 2009 - plus one!

November 2010 - look at those tiny baby feet!

November 2011 - Our happy family (except for the baby crab that replaced our sweet son)

Happy 4th Anniversary, Jas!