Graduation

I can't believe it, Cailyn has graduated from Nursery today. She is officially a little girl and not a baby. Those of you who have been through this before know the feeling, and understand that there are no words to describe it.

"She is growing up" her mother said with a tear.

I almost want her to stay little, but I love seeing her personality develop(most of the time;).

Her day was actually quite difficult. She went to nursery just fine, just like every other Sunday, but during the last hour I heard her screaming out in the hall. I went out to check it out only to find Jason already taking care of the situation(naturally). The teacher told me that she had been hurt twice by 2 different kids. She didn't want to go back to nursery, so she came to Primary with me(they were coming in soon anyway for the graduation ceremony). However, she wanted to be held the entire time. That would have been alright except that our pianist didn't show up today and I had to play the piano and be chorister at the same time, while tending a fussy 3-year old. We survived.

You see, Cailyn did not sleep on the way to church today, which she needed, but being hurt triggered her fuss. She could not get happy the rest of the time. So, we had to get pictures later of our little girl in her cap. They also received a certificate when they walked up front to stand in line with all the other graduates. If I hadn't been so frustrated with the situation, I probably would have cried(no big surprises for those of you who know me well--I am a cry baby).

We finally got the cap to fit right. Kids are so funny, I love them. Congratulations Cailyn and welcome to Primary!

We love you!

FIRST TOOTH!!

It is official, Jessica is now cutting teeth. Thursday, December 27(by the way, Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad Holloway), Jason came home from work and for reasons beyond me he put his finger in Jessica's mouth(he washed his hands before-I think!) and there was a tooth already cut in there. She had been a little fussy, but nothing really bad, but that would definitely explain the fuss.

However, almost immediately she started running a fever, crying constantly and demanding I hold her for her naps. Not to mention the never-ending stream of drool coming from her mouth. That is just not my Jessica. She is usually all smiles and giggles, but not the past couple of days. I think there are more teeth on the way and they are making her miserable(which means we all are-for her of course). Pretty soon it will be completely dangerous for anyone(including Jessica) to put his or her finger in her mouth. Maybe we should post a sign--WARNING! NEW SHARP TEETH READY TO BITE!

My Princess

I am so blessed to have received a visit from Cinderella today. She is more beautiful than any picture I have seen of her. I took a few, but remember that pictures don't do her justice.

Hawaii!!!!

My parents went to Hawaii over Thanksgiving week and thoroughly enjoyed themselves. I am so glad that they were able to go, what an experience!

While there, they made sure to get everyone souvenirs. The girls and Jason got t-shirts, I got a pair of 'roaches'(a pair of brown sandals, I love them!) and knowing that Jason was musically inclined they got him an Ukulele. It is beautiful and we are excited for Jason to learn to play it well. I wear my 'roaches' almost everyday, they are so comfortable. Thank you Mom and Dad for remembering us while on your trip to Paradise! We love you both!!!

After spending time with my sister-in-law, I am now interested in making our pictures more beautiful, and these were my first shot at it. I hope you enjoy them, and pray they continually get better. Thank you for your patience!

Christmas with Meme and Da!

Since my parents(Meme and Da--for those of you who didn't know already) were traveling to Idaho for Christmas we went to exchange gifts with them on December 15th. It is times like these that I wish I could have Rachel around just to take pictures of our family moments(she is really good at capturing the beauty of everything), because looking back I realize that I didn't get very many, and the ones I did get weren't the best.

I am not sure if you can see, but we got them a frame with the mat spelling out the word "Grandkids", and of course filled it with pictures of our beautiful girls.

Every year, Mom gets the girls a new kitchen trinket. This year we got a pie server and a can strainer. Thank you Mom, I have already used the pie server. It is great! All the gifts were wonderful. Cailyn and Jessica got some books, movies, puzzles and a fun new game. We always enjoy reading new books. Our family got the music version of Catch Phrase. We have already tried this one and it was much harder than I expected. Maybe I just have a bad memory.

We had a great time at Meme and Da's house and hope that they are having a fun trip to Idaho and pray they travel home safely.

Pure Bliss!

I just realized that it has been 14 days since my last blog. That is unacceptable! So much has gone one since then that I can't even remember enough to post it. What a shame.
I think that I will start with one memory from these past 2 weeks that should never be forgotten.
Jason, the girls and I went to Waco to visit my parents on the 15th of December. We went for the purpose of exchanging gifts(my parents were traveling to Idaho for Christmas and we needed to have Christmas with them early). When we were planning this, my parents told us that they had some massages planned that day, so we wouldn't have the entire day to celebrate. Some stuff happened and it turned out that they had an extra spot for me to get one also. I have never had a full body massage, but have always wanted one. So, Jason stayed with the girls while my parents and I went to receive a 90 minute massage.
The Austin School of Massage has a branch in Waco and the students have to get a certain number of hours of experience. My parents have had massages from them before and loved them, so I definitely wasn't going to pass up this opportunity.
The weirdest part of the entire thing was that everyone was in the same room. The women go in first and get ready(remove clothes to your level of comfort, then lie down on table face down with sheet over you), then the men come in and do the same thing. My mom reassured me that it was nothing strange, but I felt a tinge of uneasiness while all of this was going on. We get the massage(my student was female; I was more comfortable that way) and the same process backwards afterwards(the men get dressed and leave the room and then the ladies get dressed and leave).
During the massage they have the lights down low, turn on some tranquil music, and press all of the tension and stress out of your muscles. All I can say is WOW! It was definitely 90 minutes of Pure Bliss! The only bad part was when they told us it was over(with the exception of the getting dressed in a room full of strangers, of course). I would definitely do it again though.
Thank you Mom and Dad for sharing that with me!

Texas style snow

We got a package in the mail with a gift that we had ordered in it. It had all those packaging peanuts in it and Cailyn thought that it would be cool to throw it in the air. So, we had our own little snow fall in my bedroom, Texas style of course. Thought you might enjoy the video.