And May All Your Christmases be WHITE! :)

Cory has to work this Christmas and I was very afraid that because he was working we would not have a very good time.  I had to make sure to spend as much time with the rest of our family so that we would not have to miss him so much.  I know it is probably worse for him since he has to be in Jail on Christmas Eve and Christmas night and not get much sleep in between.  But we wanted to make the best of it and we did!  This Christmas was Charlie's first Christmas and turned out to be a very special Christmas!

On Christmas eve Charlie went to mass for the first time.  I dressed her up in her pretty little Christmas dress and she and I made our way to the University of Dallas Church of the Incarnation where I was baptized when I was Charlie's age in 1985.  I have so many memories of Christmas mass in that church and I wanted to share them with my Charlize. I have faint memories of sleeping though midnight mass as a baby and staring up at the beautiful lantern lights on the ceiling.  As I held Charlie during mass, singing Christmas songs, and watching her look up at those same lights I felt the spirit and got all teary eyed.  It was a great feeling to be back at church at Christmas mass with all my family including Charlize.  I only wish Cory could have been there to share it with us.

After mass we headed over to the Cuban family Christmas like always, but this time with Baby Charlize in the car!  We sang Christmas songs on the way to Rowlett like we do every year!  We had a blast with my Cuban cousins, eating Cuban food, and participating in the Cuban gift exchange.  Charlie got alot of presents from her Cuban Tias and Tios!  And we ended the night dancing just as Wito would do!  Charlie danced to the Conga, the Wobble, and some pit bull songs that she knew from the womb when I used to sing with her in my tummy!  :)  She was a very happy baby for all of the time that she wasn't sleeping through it.  We had a great time, but it was finally time for Santa to come so we had to make our way home.

We stayed the night at Grandma Carla's house since Cory was at work and not at home and Santa came to both our houses over night!  Cory woke us up with a Christmas kiss at 6 am on Christmas morning and Charlie made her way to the front of the traditional cousin club line to march in for presents!  We opened so many presents  as a family it seemed like a whirlwind of wrapping paper and Christmas bags.  Charlie got lots of clothes and a high chair from Grandma and Grandpa!  It was fun to be a part of my family's 30 year tradition of Cousin Club Christmas.  Cory and Charlie took a little nap while I snagged some Orange juice, but I knew we had a long day ahead of us so we had to make our way home.

Santa came to our house too!  When we got home there were presents under the tree to Charlie from Santa! And also Cory and my gifts to each other.  We had our own little family Christmas under our tree and had our special time with Charlie.  Charlie got lot of toys and a Jumpin Jivin bouncer.  Cory got me my Coach diaper bag and new pearl earrings! I gave him Lasik surgery which he had last Thursday and a shopping spree to buy his Trooper Academy stuff. We had a wonderful little Christmas between the three of us. 

Then Cory was off to bed with Charlie as they took another nap while I got ready for the Countryman Christmas at Bryan's house.  While I was getting ready it started to SNOW!  When we were driving to Bryan's with Meme and Pop and Victoria we could see huge snowflakes falling! We finally go there and got to meet Charlie's cousin Liam for the first time!  It was so great to finally meet him!  We caught up with Shane and Whitney and compared our little babies next to each other like we had been dreaming of since January when we first found out they were expecting too.  Countryman Christmas lunch and present exchange was also a whirlwind.  Especially since we had to rush through alot of it to get Cory to work on time.  But even though we had to rush, I was glad to get to be with both sides of the family today.  And even though he got very little sleep, Cory got to have a Christmas today, be with his family, meet his nephew, and spend time with his daughter on Christmas day.  

When Cory drove Charlie and I back to Grandma Carla's house there was SNOW everywhere!  It really was a White Christmas!  We had a beautiful peaceful ride back together and looking at the white hills of snow all around us.  As Cory dropped us off, I had a little breakdown.  I was so sad that he had to go back to work.  But not as sad for me as I was sad for him.  It seemed like he had just gotten off of work and now he had to go back and all he wanted to do was play with me and Charlie and Sno in the snow on Christmas Day.  But I know that he has to work and we both have to be strong.  Especially since we will have to miss each other so much next year while he's at Trooper Academy.  So I cherished the time that we did get to have with him that day and tried my best to make him feel the same.  

I played with Sno in the snow while Aunt Kee watched Charlie, but I soon found out that after giving birth I am way out of shape and I'm getting to old for running around in the snow with my little cousins!  Charlie and I had dinner with my mom's family and had a great time with the cousin club all night.  Everyone ended up spending the night at my mom's since it was dangerous to drive outside, so we had an extended Christmas that lasted until the morning of the 26th.  

This Christmas was very special indeed!  

May Your Days Be Merry and BRIGHT

Welcome to Prairie Lights

Today we continued in the holiday spirit!  We went to a Christmas party with Cory's work friends and to Prairie Lights with the Waggoners and the Krauses! It took us two hours to sit through traffic just to get there, since its the Saturday before Christmas, but it was worth it!  Even though Charlie slept most of the time, it was fun to take her though the lights and spend time with her Aunt Kiki and Uncle Greggy and cousin Victoria in the car and the rest of the Waggoners in the car in front of us making Christmas memories!

Cory's Favorite!

The end!

My New Mommy Haircut and Charlie's first craft

My new mommy hair!

Charlie and her first Craft

Today was the last day of school before Winter break and supposedly the "end of the world" according to the Mayan calendar!  Well the world didn't end and I had a wonderful day at school.  Charlie came to see me during the Booker T Angels program and all we did was party all day.
I also scheduled a major hair cut today!  Charlie has been pulling my hair like crazy and I have always planned to cut my long hair once I became a mom!  It's time for a mommy haircut!  Kristen came over and cut my hair, Andie's hair, and my moms hair, while Charlize and Cory played with Zaza and the Waggoner girls in the kitchen.
Cory has a tradition with his mom to make home made cinnamon rolls for Christmas.  He and his mom worked together to make some delicious cinnamon rolls this year!
She also brought Charlie's first craft!  Charlie made a Rice Crispy Treat gingerbread house with her Daddy and I.  It was fun to decorate with Charlie in my arms and delicious!  (I ate both of the houses!)
Overall today was a great day!  The start of a relaxing Christmas break spent with my little baby girl and lots of family!
...And a new look for a new me!  I already feel better about myself.  After the baby you kinda get down on yourself for being fatter than usual and not having enough time to look pretty.  Now I feel pretty again and finally feel like myself.  I'm Charlie's mommy!   :)

Thought this was HILARIOUS for today!  :)

On the Polar Express

Charlize on her way to the North Pole Express 

 Today we rode the North Pole Express in Grapevine, Texas!  It is a super cute little program that they put together to ride the old trains just like the Polar Express movie.  When you get to downtown grapevine there are carnival like food stands and activities for the kids.  Then when its almost time to board the train, they put on a show for you in this big tent.  Then you walk through a maze of Christmas trees to board the train.  The train is almost 100 years old.  On the train we sang Christmas Carols and got a visit from Santa!  Santa brought us all candy canes and a little keepsake bell to remind us to BELIEVE.  The train stops at the "north pole" and comes right back to downtown Grapevine.  Even though it was a short trip it was fun for the kids.  And we got a complimentary hot Chocolate with our ticket once we returned to downtown Grapevine.
Cory and I had fun carrying Charlie around in her little carrier!  Since there were no strollers or car seats aloud on the train, we had to find other means of carrying Charlie around.  What a perfect opportunity to test out Charlie's infant carrier.  Cory was excited to have her strapped to him.  He wanted to know what it was like to carry her around all the time like when I was pregnant with her.  He wouldn't let me try it until he had to go to the bathroom.  Once I put it on, I totally missed being pregnant!  It really did feel almost like it did when Charlie was in my tummy!  I loved carrying her around and having her that close to me at all times again!  But it was also good to be able to take her off and give her back to Cory and be me again.  We're NOT looking to have another one just yet!  ;)
We had a great time with all of Charlie's cousins and the whole family.  Maybe we will make this an annual tradition too!

Kiki's Tim Tam Slam Party and Charlie is 3 months today!

Charlie is 3 months today!  She is growing so fast!  We also had a party at Katie and Gregory's apartment.  A Tim Tam Slam Party!  :)  Katie and Greg showed us this interesting way of eating these fudge filled cookies with hot chocolate.  You bite off the ends and try to suck the hot chocolate through the cookie as the fugdge melts in your mouth.  It was pretty good!  We watched Elf too!  I love that movie!  When we got home we dressed Charlie in her 3 month outfit and shot her monthly photo shoot!  Now that we have a collection of three of these little photo shoots, its fun to look back at her pictures and see how she's grown.  I can't believe we are already "looking back" at her old pictures!  Happy 3 months Charlize!

Santa Clause is Coming To Town!

 Today was Charlie's first visit to see Santa Clause at the mall.  We  invited both of Charlie's grandparents to witness her first trip to see Santa and some of her cousins came along too.  Santa was at the Galleria today so that's where we went to visit him.  Charlie did pretty well with Santa!  She didn't cry at all but she had a hard time looking at the camera.  She kept looking at her cousins and putting her hands in her mouth so the best shot we got with her alone was looking at her cousins.  But once her cousins joined the picture she finally looked at the camera.
After Santa pictures, we roamed the mall looking for food and found Ghengis Grill!  One of my favorites!  My mom and dad joined us for dinnner.  Ghengis Grill is by the skating rink so we also go to see the giant Christmas tree at the mall.
After dinner we went with Zaza to pick out her Christmas tree.  I love the holiday season and doing all this Christmas stuff with Charlie has been great!  Especially since Cory won't be with us for very long on actual Christmas, its good to spend our family time doing Christmas stuff right now and every weekend before Christmas!  :)

Oh, Christmas Tree

This tree is Charlie Size!

It's Christmas Tree day!  Cory and I decided that we are going to start a new tradition this year and get our Christmas Tree from a tree farm in Canton where you can cut your own Christmas tree down.  It was about an hour drive out to Yesterland Farm in Canton, but we spend the time listening to Christmas music and reading about the tradition and history of the Christmas tree.

When we got there we were excited to see all the rides, food, and activities along with many Christmas Trees for sale.  Even though Charlie is too small to appreciate the activities, this looks like a place we would like to come to year after year when she can have fun riding the rides and shooting corn!  Cory and I didn't ride any rides but we definitely shot some corn!  That was fun!  We also got some awesome Cream Soda from a barrel and ate a Corny dog and BBQ.  We had a great time together getting our Christmas Tree and made our way back home to put it up and decorate it!

When we got the tree home it was much bigger in our house than it looked out at the tree farm but it looks amazing in our living room!  We decorated the tree with baby pink and pastel purple for Charlie.  Last year we had a Wedding tree celebrating 2011 as the year we got married so we used all of our wedding decorations to decorate our Christmas tree. Not only was it inexpensive but it was also a nice way to commemorate an important milestone in our lives.  2012 was definitely all about Charlie so it only makes sense to make our 2012 Christmas tree a baby tree for Charlie.  It turned out beautifully!  :)  Now that the Christmas tree is up, it really is Christmas time and I am so happy to celebrate it every day from now until December 25th!

Charlie's first day at school!

Charlie came to my school today!  Cory is off this week and she's already had her two month shots so it was the perfect day to bring her to school for the first time.  She made her way to see Ms. Vernon in her office, then to my room to meet my 3rd period kids, and then to see Ms. Boetcher and Mrs. Woods in their classrooms, and finally to see Ms. Fraley in the Main Office.  She is such a ham already.  She put on a show for the kids!  As they were walking by going to lunch, many of them crowded around her to finally see the baby that I had been carrying for 9 months.  She smiled and laughed at all the kids that were cooing and making faces at her.  The kids LOVED her!  They were so excited to finally meet her. She even stayed for a little bit of my 3rd period class and I can't believe how quiet my usually rowdy freshman geography class was while she was sleeping.  I should bring her to school more often!  haha!  This will hopefully be the first of many visits to Booker T.  And who knows... maybe Charlize will graduate from this school someday!  :)

Ladies Night!

Tonight I got to take a break from being a teacher and a mom for a little while and have a good time with my girlfriends!  Nicole and Taylor invited me to have dinner with them at Sfuzzi's to catch up before the holidays.  We had a great time but I did miss Charlie so much while I was out.  It was my first time to leave her and Cory for something fun so I did feel a little guilty.  But at the same time it felt nice to get away and have a good time with my girlfriends.  I'm sure Nicole felt the same way leaving Wyatt at home with Blake.   We did spend most of our time talking about our little babies.  They are the most important thing in our lives! :)  I hope we get to do it again soon!

Butterscotch, Butterscotch, Oooooo Butter, Butterscotch!

Bryan and Michelle's family are at Disney World this week so we get to puppy sit Sno's newest doggy cousin... Butterscotch Countryman!
He is SO cute!  He's a little malti-poo with alot of spunk!  As soon as he got here we taught him  his name and how to use the doggy door so that he wouldn't have any accidents at our house.  Sno and him got along great!  They were even playing Sno's favorite game, tug-o-war, even though he is so tiny!
We are happy to have him staying with us this week.  :)

It's Beginning to Look Alot Like Christmas

Yes, it's that time of year again and I am SOOOOOOOOO excited to have my first Christmas with Baby Charlie!  I love Christmas so much already!  It's my favorite holiday for sure.  But now that I get to share it with Charlize and see Christmas through a childs eyes..  It just means so much more!  Since Charlize is only a tiny baby this Christmas, this Christmas is really about starting our family traditions.  Cory is especially excited about starting family traditions because he's always pictured his family and how we would do things at Christmas time.
One of our first family traditions is going to OUR town San Marcos, Texas and going to the annual Sights & Sounds of Christmas on the first weekend of December.  San Marcos is a special town to Cory and I since we both went to school there and consider it our little get away in the hill country.  It will always be a special place for us.  We have gone to Sights & Sounds almost every year since Cory started going to school at Texas State and we always wanted to make that a family tradition once we started a family.

This year along with it being Charlize's first time, it was Katie and Gregory's 2nd time, and Denise, Victoria, Alexandrea, and Angelina's first time too! First we went to Centerpoint Station for lunch since it's Katie's favorite place to eat in San Marcos.  She loves the burgers there since they use rolls instead of regular hamburger buns, plus they have a cute little shop that is attached that we love to go shopping in.  Charlie had a very interesting experience at her first Centerpoint stop.  She had a blowout and we decided to change her in the middle of the restaurant since the restrooms were small and crowded.  Things got a little out of hand and her Zaza ended up carrying a naked baby around the whole shop/restaurant!  So Funny!  Kinda stressed me out as a mom at the time, but looking back on it even minutes later... it was pretty hilarious!  We got Charlize all cleaned up and changed, had a good meal, and bought a few things at the store including a cute little (or shall I say BIG) red bow for Charlize from her Zaza.

After that we checked in to our hotel and got ready to go to Sights & Sounds!  It was so fun to walk though those gates again with our daughter Charlize.  Cory and I have made so many memories at Sights and Sounds and it's so amazing to start new memories with our baby Charlie!  Even if she is only 2 months old, it was fun to have her there with us so we can tell her that she's been going there since she was born.  She DID get to ride one ride at her young age!  Cory and I always ride the ferris wheel without fail!  It has always been so romantic to us to ride the ferris wheel, steel a kiss  and try to snap a picture of old main once we get to the top.  This time we had Victoria and Charlize with us!  Oldest and youngest of the cousins.  And Victoria snapped our family photo once we got to the top!
After Sights and Sounds we went to Pluckers for late night dinner and had some Naked Chicken, Fried Mac and Cheese, and lots of Wings!  Everyone ended up loving Pluckers which is great because it was another one of our college favorites that we wanted to share with them.

The next day we went shopping in San Marcos and on our way back home we stopped in Austin to eat at my FAVORITE restaurant ever, ZEN, and to see Cory's barracks, where he will be staying while he attends Trooper Academy.  We also stopped at Dairy Queen, Denise's favorite, for dessert on the way back home.
We had a blast with the family and hope they did too.  Maybe they will come with us again next year!