Soaking up the season

Cookie date with Landry

Park fun post sweets

Landry and I embellished several wreaths with ornaments, twigs and burlap bows
for around the house and the front door.  She loved the activity!

Painting gift tags for her teacher's Christmas presents

I came home one day to Barrett rocking a mohawk 

Showing me her dance moves at ballet class

After every ballet class, we go for donuts.
We traded the cute shop for the gas station this week since mommy's car was on empty.

Friday park play date

Friday night fun with friends

Loving on daddy

Scenes from the pizza party. Much needed bevvies when
six kiddos are on hand! 

Landry loves to walk around the house in my shoes

Saturday cooking class with friends

This morning's family band session

Today at the park post lunch.  It's cold here!

Finishing her ice cream after seeing Christmas lights

After a very busy 2014, and an especially busy six weeks, I finally got to catch my breath this week.

Monday I took off the afternoon and picked up Landry to buy some holiday decor for some fun DIY projects to make our house and dinner table festive for the holidays.  Afterwards, we had a cookies and milk date and played at the park.  It was such a nice break from the office and she was in heaven playing hookie from home.

The rest of the week I made time for other fun outings from Landry's ballet class to lunch with friends.  Michael and I hired a babysitter Thursday night and had a long decadent dinner out and cocktails after to boot.  I even took Friday off work to be with the kiddos all day.  I really needed family time this week after being gone so much over the past month.

This weekend was a ball.  Friday night we had two couples over with their kids making a total of six babies three and under in the house.  We ordered in and just hung out while the kiddos decorated cookies, watched Curious George and played with every single toy in Landry's playroom.  Landry was literally giddy the entire time; she had so much fun she didn't go to bed until 10 p.m., which is a good two hours later than usual.

Saturday I had a bridal shower for a friend.  The hosts hired a chef for a personal cooking class (definitely doing this at our house with friends stat).  My girlfriends and I had a ball being pampered with luxurious bites, champagne and easy-to-follow cooking tips!

I no sooner got home and our friends Fran and Matthew were in the area and stopped by for drinks.  They hadn't seen the kiddos in a while and wanted to hang out with them.  Landry loves being around the adults -- usually she'll put on a performance with either a singing or dancing production.  We had such a great time catching up and playing with the kiddos that our standing Saturday sitter arrived mid-cocktails.

So, Michael and I traded our date night for a party of four and went out for an adults-only dinner down the street.  I love when we have no plans and our days and nights turn into a great adventure. We are so lucky to have such wonderful friends.  With my family so many miles away, they truly are my family here and my kids' extended aunts, uncles and cousins.  I feel so blessed to have these people in my life.

Today we had a laid back family day that included lots of Mexican food and more time logged at the park.  Tonight I took Landry for ice cream and a long ride around the neighborhood to take in all of the lights while Michael put Barrett down.  It was such a nice, relaxing day.  Plus, the Cowboys won.

Great day in my book!

Barrett turns 11 months

Movie and popcorn date with Landry in bed

Drinking her cereal milk from the new Frozen
dishes from Mimi and Papa

Breakfast with my favorite boys

All smiles on his 11 month birthday

Playing with the soccer ball in the kitchen

A few photos from my California install this week

This week feels like it lasted 60 seconds and 60 days at the same time.

Monday I flew to Newport Beach with my assistant for my big install.  The furnishings arrived safely, everything fit and my clients LOVED every single inch of their beautiful new home. (Big shout out to my mom and MG that helped pull this miracle off!)

I didn't let them see it for three days until the big reveal.  That night, we lit every candle, had music playing and champagne at the helm.  It was such a special evening as they walked in and soaked up all of the painstaking details.

This house is by far my favorite ever.  It's such a representation of my clients and I'm just thrilled that they are so in love with everything.

I missed the kiddos like crazy while away.  I flew back late Friday night. Michael and I had all intentions of going to our friends' Christmas party, but we skipped because I got home late and completely exhausted.

This weekend was a mix of heavy duty baby time and relaxation (yes, they can co-exist).  Yesterday my in-laws took the kiddos while Michael and I got a massage at a local hotel.  Last night, we had a date night that included lots of martinis and catching up about our weeks.

Other than that, it was major one on one baby time.  Landry and I had a mommy-daughter date today to Christmas shop.  This morning I took Barrett to breakfast with my best friend Jon.  At home, we played doctor, made bubble hairdos in the bath, watched Caillou and cooked.

Today Barrett turned 11 months.  He's itching to walk any chance he can.  He's also learned a couple words ("ball," "uh oh," and "bubba" -- his nickname -- are faves).  His top right tooth has finally broke through, too.

I cannot believe he's about to turn one.  I have no birthday party planned, and don't intend to.  Heck, I don't even have my Christmas cards out yet (expect them in the mail by the end of the week).  I'm sure we'll have close family and friends over with cake and call it a day.  That's all I'm really up for right now after such a busy year -- and past month, in particular.

I'm looking forward to slowing down a bit over the next two weeks and soak up some quality time with friends and family.  I've set several lunch dates with pals to finally catch up.  And I'm hosting Christmas dinner this year and looking forward to making it a special night that will set the tone for a tradition we will keep up in the future.

Cheers to successful installs and enjoying the holidays!

Barrett's first steps!

Lounging on our bed before bedtime last week

Starbucks date with my girl on Friday before I went to work.
She lives for their vanilla milk and pink cake pops.

She's getting so tall!  A random mess of toys, like always,
strewn throughout our bathroom.

Landry painted a picture for Bradley's sick girlfriend Megan.
That's her real signature at the bottom.  Love the squiggles!

On our way to the doctor for his flu shot.  He did great!

She loved getting her face painted.
Definitely noting this as a third birthday party idea.

Michael is MIA becuase he's taking the photo -- which also might explain why it's so bad.
 I don't know if Mrs. Claus or Landry has a better pose?!

With Cristina at the mall last week.  

Dancing with her buddies Sophia and Alex

Playing in the living room this weekend

There's always one of these in the mix...

Paying for her new baby stroller.  I tried to buy her the cute baby doll,
but she said no because the stroller was for Vicky.
Vicky is so worn and scary at this point, but we can't seem to lose her!

Waiting for his dinner

This was a very big weekend for Barrett.  He took his first shower with Landry.  He got a flu shot.  And HE WALKED!!!  Make that ran!!!

The boy is on the move.  And he won't sit down even if you try to force him (unless there's food involved).  He is so excited by being in motion that he is giddy.  Literally the little guy didn't stop laughing today because he was so happy standing, walking and nose diving into my arms for hours on end.

He never really conquered crawling.  He was pretty close, but always wanted to pull up and try to be on his feet instead.  He's far from a full walker but if he gets his balance standing he will take off after a few seconds.  Oh, and he learned he loves to nose dive into you and thinks it's hysterical.  I see lots of tears in our future.

Last week was a big one for mommy too.  I wrapped up my Newport Beach client's shopping list and loaded everything onto the truck.  It's there now and I arrive tomorrow for the five-day floor-to-ceiling install.  I'm so excited to get my hands dirty and make the home a fabulous dwelling for a family that I have grown to love.

In between all of that chaos, I had some major projects locally, too.  By Friday night my assisant and I bellied up to the Bob's bar for a lemondrop to catch our breath!

This weekend was a mix of relaxation and crazy.  After Barrett's doctor appointment yesterday,  we took the kids out to lunch in Highland Park Village.  They had some really fun activities in the plaza center.  Landry got a pink kitty balloon animal, a rainbow face painting and a thumbprint cookie to boot.  She was in heaven (except when Santa paid us a visit). Michael and I topped the day off with a lovely date night sans kiddos.

Today I got my holiday shopping list in gear (hence, the crazy part of the weekend).  I brought Landry with me for some mommy-daughter time and she had a ball.  She also scored a baby stroller and mini electric guitar so that might explain part of her loving the excursion.

At least that's two less gifts I need to worry about...

November wrap up

A cool decorator showcase in BA on our first day

Hugs with Ry Guy

Just a typical mid-day snack in BA.
The food and drinks were incredible!

The boys enjoying a cigar pre-jazz show

We had one adventure day where we took a train to a nearby town
and kayaked throughout these gorgeous bayous. It was a fun break from the city.

Busted out my tennis shoes for some serious flea market shopping!
We brought back so many special treasures for our house.

Soaking up some sun on our last day before the long flight back home

I was SO happy to get back home to this cutie pie

Can't snuggle him enough!  All he wants to do is wiggle out of my arms these days.

Precious passed-out-in-the-car moment 

They had a ball decorating the Christmas tree in their holiday jammies

Landry jumping puddles with Papa and Gray Papa post hotdog lunch

Last week Landry was off from "school" so I took her
 shopping with me a couple times to get her out of the house.

Bathtime after his first Thanksgiving

They love to play in Landry's crib each morning

Doc McStuffins at your service!

Waiting for Daddy to pick us up -- and our treasures -- at Canton.
We found some really fun stuff for the lake house.

The minute we arrived at the lake house she had to
run around the backyard and check on the ducks 

Uncle Bradley joined us one night for some fun

So glad I caught this sweet moment on camera! 

Poking his eye out, per usual 

How in the world is tomorrow December?!?!?!

This month has definitely won "shortest month ever" in my record book. November was such a whirl I can hardly remember what all happened!

The week leading up to my birthday was full of flea planning and fun lunches thanks to my sweet friends Fran and Kym.  But the day before the flea I landed a serious bug and was in bed for nearly 24 hours.

I rallied for the flea and my actual birthday but was feeling so-so at best.  Luckily the flea went off without a single issue and was a success.  The next evening I was thankfully feeling much better (Michael, too, as he also got the bug) and we took off for eight days in Buenos Aires to visit my brother.  Sadly, my mom got sick just as we were leaving town.  Best Mimi ever to watch two babies while battling the flu in unseasonably frigid Dallas temps!

We had a ball in BA!  Ryan was the ultimate tour guide.  We ate like kings, saw locals tango, went to a jazz club, kayaked through a nearby town, shopped our pants off and spent an entire day enjoying massages and laying out by the pool (it was nearly summertime in BA).  It was just what we needed after a very busy fall and icky flu bug.

Soon after arriving back in Dallas, my dad and grandparents flew in for four days. The boys took off East for a fishing weekend while the girls and Barrett just relaxed at home, decorated the Christmas tree, and ate out all around town.

This weekend we also wanted to lay low.  We went to my in-laws for a lovely Thanksgiving lunch and then holed up at home with warm spiced wine and leftovers while watching the Cowboys and UT games. The next day we packed up the kids and headed to Canton for some fun flea market finds and then to the lake.

We hadn't been to the house in months so it was really nice to just hang out in the middle of the woods for a couple of days.  It's still a challenge at times entertaining two little ones but all in all we had the best time just running around in the leaves, making fires, watching football and building LEGO castles in the playroom.

Tomorrow it's back to reality with a very long work week gearing up for my huge California install starting the following Monday.  I am so excited for this install but also anxious to wrap everything up in a mere four days.  I can't believe this 18 month project is coming to a close.  I was just barely pregnant with Barrett when I first got the call.  Time really does fly.

Speaking of, Barrett is two weeks shy of turning 11 months.  The boy is beyond precious.  He's nearly walking.  He will definitely skip the full-time crawling stage.  He's pulling up on just about anything he can.  And if he's not holding your hands walking, he's screeching until you grab him to do so.  He wants to be on the move!

Landry is as fun as ever.  She's talking in full sentences and her vocabulary is incredible. We have no clue where she's learning half of the things that come out of her mouth! What I'm most impressed with is her sentence structure.

She's really into a Disney show called Doc McStuffins.  My mom got her the getup and doll collection and she's completely obsessed.  She's also finally joined the Frozen bandwagon.  She watches the entire movie at least five times a week.

This weekend I gave her her first haircut.  I chopped about two inches off before heading to the lake because it was looking a little stringy.  The new, shorter, do is really cute on her.  She's also really getting the potty training thing down.  This weekend she didn't use her diaper once. I'm so looking forward to getting her off the changing table soon!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends and family!