Calling all cowgirls (and cowboys)!

Geez, Louise... in less than a month, our sweet little girl will turn two!! To celebrate, we are rounding up all of our favorite little cowhands and having a party...

Obviously, I am a little sad that my baby is turning two... but I could not be more excited about the celebration!  The invitations were created by Mel at The Larson Lingo, who hosted quite the cowgirl party for her daughter's 3rd birthday!  I will definitely be borrowing a few of her ideas!  I just hope that my little Leighty-bug has half as much fun at her party as I am having planning it!

Happy hump day... hope you are having a great week :)

The last few months...

Bad, bad blogger.  As if you couldn't tell... I've pretty much done away with Leighton's monthly posts.  They started to become a daunting task that took all the fun out of the post.  Now that I've gotten that off my chest, I hope to blog more often and enjoy sharing more of our day-to-day activities (New Year's resolution?).  So, here are some photos from the last couple of months to get you up to speed.

In October, we took a trip to a local pumpkin patch.  I tried my best to use the tricks I learned in my photography class and snap some good pictures of (a very busy) Leighton.  A few tears and a frustrated mommy later, Lyn asked for the camera to try his hand at it.  Result: the cutest pictures ever.  See for yourself...

In November we were busy getting ready for Aunt Erin's wedding (pictures to come)!  The wedding was perfect and Leighton did a pretty great job in her debut as flower girl.  The next week was Thanksgiving (my personal favorite holiday), so we were back home for some more food, family and fun.

At the end of the month, our playgroup took a trip to a bounce house. Leighton and I had never been before, so of course I was the crazy mom trying to get pictures of her kid in action.

Overall, I would say that Leighton had a good time... but she was definitely more comfortable when she was on her own.  Any time other kids were around, it usually resulted in some unwanted contact (falling, pushing, kissing - yes, a boy kissed her in the Dora car above)... so we both felt better when she was by herself. 

 She looks SO big in this picture...

And December brings us Christmas :)

We had so much fun during the month decorating, reading "The Night Before Christmas",

looking at Christmas lights, watching Frosty the Snowman on repeat,

crafting, making fun Christmas treats, and we even did an art project!

 Here was our family Christmas card picture...

And, of course, Leighton got WAY too many presents from her grandparents and her aunts... but last year she was too young to get excited about it, so this year was like her 2nd First Christmas.

Here she is opening presents at Grandma and Grandpas on Christmas Eve...

And here is the motherload that awaited her at Mimi and Pops' on Christmas morning...

Here we are making the grand entrance (bed head and all)...

Her letter from Santa.  When I asked Leighton what she wanted Santa to bring her for Christmas, every time she would say "tookies" (read "cookies")... so by golly, my girl got some tookies...

 She spotted her kitchen right away and made a run for it...

 Sharing her cookie with mom...

 Then she found the trampline... and it was all over with.

 Sweetest face ever.

I said earlier that Thanksgiving was my favorite holiday... and it is... but let me say that Christmas made a comeback for me this year because I was able to see the magic of the season all over again through the eyes of this beautiful little girl.  We are truly blessed.

Bad Blogger

Oh... I have so much catching up to do!  To tide you over, here's a little teaser shot of our almost two-year-old (wha?)...

More to come soon (hopefully)!