3 Peaz in a Pod

Disney May 2009 Book 1

2011-02-17T08:53:00.001-05:00

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Disney May 2009 Book 2

2011-02-17T08:52:00.001-05:00

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Happy New Year!!!

2011-01-01T09:44:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year!

We actually made it to see the ball drop!

Christmas presents and stockings!

2010-12-27T12:51:00.000-05:00

All the cookies are gone!

what a good girl

Darla joined us for stockings

Now it is time for a nap!

Santa was HERE!!!

2010-12-27T12:27:00.000-05:00

Santa finally got here...

Gracen must have been GOOD!

Christmas Eve night!

2010-12-27T12:06:00.001-05:00

Darla's First Christmas

Loving on the puppy

Our Tree

Feeding the reindeer

Family Picture

Opening the "Christmas Eve" present

Meet Charlotte... a friend for Kendal as requested.

Making a plate for Santa

Tasting them to make sure that they are good!

Nice plate of cookies. Enjoy Santa...

Time to Read... Twas the Night Before Christmas

Darla even enjoyed the book

Putting Holly and Merry to bed, so that Santa can pick them up to take back to the North Pole.

All tucked in and ready for bed... Ready for Santa!

Christmas Eve Day!

2010-12-27T11:47:00.001-05:00

So many things to do to get ready for Christmas.

We always write our Christmas list in our magic book for Santa. When we write in our book, it magically appears on Santa's list at the North Pole.

We take Santa off the advent calendar and put him in the sleigh.

Give Holly and Merry tons of hugs and kisses because they have to go back to the North Pole.

New thing... play with our new puppy!

more later.....

Christmas with the Amerson's

2010-12-27T11:36:00.000-05:00

We were able to fly to Birmingham a few weekends ago to visit Jamie's family for Christmas. We had a wonderful time with them and wish that we could see them a lot more.

Gracen and Granny

Gracen and Paw Paw

Gracen and Nana

Gracen with Aunt Amy

Gracen and Rose

Uncle "Duck"

Gracen meeting Darla this afternoon...

2010-12-20T19:00:00.000-05:00

Gracen was so excited when she got home. She didn't know what to say or what to do she was so excited. I made several videos of her and they are below. Turn your volume up loud, so that you can hear her. SOOO cute!

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Meet Darla!

2010-12-20T12:28:00.001-05:00

We would like to introduce you to the newest member of our household....drum roll please.

Miss Darla!

Her official registered name is Bella's Coco Splashed Darlin. Her mom's name was Bella and her dad's name was Splashin Drake. They are both beautiful chocolate cockers, and we were lucky enough to get a "parti" puppy from the litter which is half chocolate and half white.

It has been a long 3 weeks waiting on her, but she is here and as you can see she was worth the wait!

We have a ticket to ride!

2010-12-16T12:00:00.003-05:00

Pink Pig! Pink Pig! Pink Pig! So ready to ride the Pink Pig!

Making some tasty cookies!

2010-12-16T08:00:00.008-05:00

Gracen's favorite thing to do in the kitchen is decorate cookies. Well, let's be honest it is really just about eating the icing. Come to think of it, that is my favorite thing too!

Seeing Santa...

2010-12-15T21:06:00.002-05:00

Gracen was so excited to see Santa this year. She had her list memorized and she didn't forget anything.

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Getting ready for Christmas!

2010-12-15T13:49:00.000-05:00

We are so excited around this time of year. So many fun things to do and celebrate.

Counting down to Christmas!

Spider Pumpkins...

2010-11-07T13:16:00.000-05:00

Every year we make some type of Halloween craft. This year we opted for a cute painted spider pumpkin. The girls loved painting the pumpkins and they turned out so cute.

My Sweet Lil Pumpkin...

2010-11-07T12:19:00.000-05:00

I love these pictures I took of Gracen when we went to "the patch" this year. She looks forward to this for weeks and has a great time checking out all the pumpkins. When she was little I could barely get her to look at the camera. Well, my how things have changed! She has her pose and smile ready at all times now and I must say it is one beautiful smile to me.

I can't believe how much she has changed!

2010-11-07T08:00:00.015-05:00

I went back today through all the Halloween pictures and couldn't believe how Gracen has changed. So, I put all of them together and wanted to share them with you guys.

Carving Jack...

2010-11-07T01:24:00.000-04:00

We had fun carving our friendly Jack this year. I believe Gracen enjoys the goo the most. What do you think?

What a cute bat!

2010-11-07T00:48:00.001-04:00

It has been a while and as you know we have been crazy busy and all mixed up around here. We did take some time last week to enjoy Halloween, our favorite holiday. Gracen and I spent the week before Halloween at Disney for the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party and we got home just in time to go Trick or Treating on Sunday. So, here are a few shots from our spooky night. Hope you all had a SPOOKTACULAR weekend!

Gracen was very concerned that everyone would think she was a boy bat instead of a girl bat, so we added a bow to make sure that no one would get confused. =)

Good morning tooth fairy...

2010-09-23T08:29:00.006-04:00

Just wanted to share the pictures of what the tooth fairy brought this morning for Gracen's first tooth. Wow, I don't think that the tooth fairy has been effected by the recession yet. The tooth business must be a good one.

Also, I wanted to show you an adorable picture that Anna drew for Gracen yesterday after the big event. It was so sweet of her and the details are amazing. She even drew the little canisters that sit on Gracen bathroom vanity and her pink toothbrush. My favorite part is the tooth with pigtails. That is so Gracen! You will have to click on that picture to see it better. The bottom corner is a drawing of Gracen looking in the mirror in her bathroom. Thanks Anna, you are so talented and smart!

the front of Anna's card... love the missing tooth and the bow!

Finally... our first tooth came out!

2010-09-22T16:09:00.004-04:00

As Gracen was doing her homework today after school, I hear "Mommy, Mommy, my tooth came out!" I was so excited because this first tooth has caused quite the drama around our house lately. Even last night as it was just hanging there and I do mean hanging, she still did not want it to come out. I was so scared that she would swallow it in her sleep and luckily it was still there this morning. I really expected to get a phone call from school today, but that didn't happen. She had been home 25 minutes when all of a sudden it was out and I was so happy that I got to be a part of it. I can't believe my baby is old enough to loose her tooth. Didn't she just get them?

Gracen's phone call to tell her Daddy...

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Crusin...Wish I were there now!

2010-09-21T09:28:00.002-04:00

In the hustle and bustle of back to school and Jamie being gone, I sometimes wish that we were still just crusin' in the Caribbean. Back in May we were able to take a family vacation to the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos. It was Gracen's first cruise and she loved it! She loved kids camp the best and that really worked out well for all of us. She was happy and it gave Jamie and I some much need rest and relaxation.

our cheesy little photo (hee hee)

First stop (Half Moon Cay)

water from 3 different places (amazing color)

family of footprints...

Atlantis and Turks and Caicos...

Wonderful memories....

Meet me in Wonderland... I'm turning 5!

2010-09-21T07:00:00.000-04:00

If you have ever seen Alice in Wonderland, the tune "It's a Very Merry Unbirthday..." will get in your head and stick there! Every time I think of Gracen's birthday party I start singing it and singing it and singing it! She loves Alice, the Mad Hatter, and the Cheshire Cat, so it was a must to take a trip down the rabbit hole to Wonderland to celebrate her 5th birthday. We met at the Mad Platter to paint tea cups and saucers and had a little "mad" tea party with all kids of "wonderland" treats. It was so much fun and by far my favorite party ever. Even though it was hard to see her turn 5, it was a wonderful celebration and a great time had by all.

"It's a very merry unbirthday to you, who me? yes, you!" and so it starts...

Barbie fact or fiction?

2010-09-20T08:00:00.001-04:00

Last Christmas Gracen asked for her first Barbie along with the Glamour Camper. Jamie kept teasing me about me wanting it instead of her. I will have to admit that when she was making her list she did get a little gentle persuasion from me. I really do mean gentle. Anyway, for months and months after Christmas Jamie never saw her play with any of her Barbie stuff and as you can predict I got teased about me playing with them more than her. Well, the truth is that she does play with it while he wasn't at home because as you can see by the picture it was quite an big deal to get it all cleaned up. I never remembered while she was playing to get the camera out and get some evidence of her true love for Barbie until recently. Just for the record, she does love her Barbie just as much as me. Well, let's be honest. I probably do love her more.

Roll Tide Roll!

2010-09-19T14:22:00.007-04:00

Roll Tide Roll!!!

It has been so long since we have been able to go to an Alabama football game and yesterday we got the opportunity to go to Duke University to see the Tide! The campus was absolutely beautiful and although it was a bit hot we had a wondeful day. Jamie cheered for the team, Gracen got to see Big Al, and I was able to spend a beautiful afternoon with my family. I sat there in the stands and took the time to appreciate some of the smallest things and how they can make you so happy. I love my family...

Real Twinkle Toes!

2010-09-18T10:05:00.007-04:00

If you have or know a little girl around Gracen's age then you have heard about Twinkle Toes. After several weeks of asking for these and showing me every little girl who already had a pair, we finally got her a pair of Twinkle Toes! They are really cute and even light up on the toes... She was so excited to be a part of this little girl fashion craze!

Ready to show off her new Sketchers Twinkle Toes!

It's tea time!

2010-09-04T08:00:00.001-04:00

Back in May, Gracen's class hosted such a sweet Mother's Day Tea. They prepared our food, the decorations, learned songs, and made our gifts. It was something that I will never forget. I especially loved the painted portrait of me with all the jewelry. She really knows her Mommy.

Father's Day

2010-09-04T00:13:00.003-04:00

Here are a few pictures from Father's Day this year. It was such a busy summer and I completely forget to put these on the blog.

There are two things I love about these pictures... the first is that my daughter painted the sweetest little picture of her Daddy and the other is Jamie's shirt. The only day he could get away with wearing a "muscle" shirt would be on Father's Day. I am glad he enjoyed it for it one day. =)

He had a great day with G fishing and having fun.

My little twinkle toes...

2010-09-03T08:30:00.002-04:00

I didn't get a chance to post these in May when Gracen had her first recital, so here they are.

As we enjoy our Labor Day weekend, I will be posting more from our summer adventures.

Have a great Labor Day weekend.

Such a cute little ballerina. Oh, what a sweet night.

Ready for our tap number "Shake Your Groove Thing" and boy did she ever.

I can't wait until next year...

Friday Flashback to Summer... First 4th in Savannah

2010-09-03T08:00:00.002-04:00

Some of our 4th of July highlights from our first 4th of July in Savannah, Georgia...

Seeing the Oscar Mayer weiner mobile and

waiting for the big fireworks show on River Street.

A little tooth drama....

2010-09-02T08:22:00.002-04:00

If you know Gracen you know we have had our fair share of drama. Well hello drama, AGAIN! We can't just loose our first tooth and it be a positive happy experience. No, Gracen has another tooth pushing out her first baby tooth. To her this is the worst thing that could happen. She is so mad at this "big" tooth for pushing the baby one out, but most of all she doesn't want the tooth fairy to get her tooth or pay her for it. In fact, she says that she is going to hide it so the tooth fairy can't find it. I have never heard of a child not wanting money for their teeth. Go figure... I know she walks to the beat of a different drum, but it never makes sense to me. I guess in a way, I am glad that she doesn't do what other kids do. She is definitely one of a kind and I love her for that!

2nd Day of School... First bee sting

2010-08-26T15:08:00.006-04:00

Today we got a call 20 minutes before school was out from Gracen's teacher telling us that she had been stung by a bee. If you know Gracen, this immediately sent me into Mommy MODE. I was out the door and half way down the block before I even heard if she was OK. Not only was she OK, but she never even cried!

When I got to the school she was waiting in the office for me with her little ice pack and she is so proud of herself. When I asked her if she was OK, she said "Sure Mommy, they have a little hospital in the Principal's office." Which made me laugh and I knew then she was just fine. She also told me that while she was waiting for me to pick her up, she told the office staff all her bee sting stories. The story of when Jamie was stung at the beach this summer and best of all... when I got stung "in the bottom." Told her that I got stung in the bottom of the leg not "in my bottom" and then she says "Well, Mommy that is OK they probably weren't listening to me anyway."

I love this kid!!! She wanted to make a little video to share the experience. The link is below...

http://secure.smilebox.com/ecom/openTheBox?sendevent=4d5467324e546b354d6a52384f4445314e7a59794d513d3d0d0a&sb=1

First Day of School....

2010-08-25T16:00:00.000-04:00

Ready for Kindergarten!

We filled out paperwork, got our supplies, packed our lunch box and backpack, picked out an outfit, got a great night of sleep, and we were ready for our first day of school. Our new teacher is so sweet and G had a great day. My favorite part was seeing her walk home on the path... It is so hard to see her grow up, but I am a one proud Momma!

A moment I will never forget!

First Pedi

2010-04-09T16:39:00.001-04:00

Gracen got a real treat last week while we were in Georgia. A trip to Sunday's Spa for her first pedicure from Bibi. It was so cute! Here is a clip of video and some pictures.

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How can she almost be 5!!!!

2010-03-20T12:00:00.000-04:00

As I watch this video it shocks me that in about 3 months she will be 5 years old! So many mornings we sat at this little table and made little balls or cut little pieces with Play Doh. It is one of my favorite memories! She didn't really like to sing much, so catching her on video was a rare treat. I think she realized it half way through this song that I was doing a video...

Twinkle Twinkle

wendy | MySpace Video

Love our little Ansley...

2010-03-19T12:00:00.000-04:00

I am getting all of my videos off the myspace account that I haven't used in over 2 years and I thought I would share a couple of my favorites... This video was just after Ansley was born and we went down to see her in J'ville. I can't believe how much all of these little girls have changed. Gracen still says tickle tickle baby to all her baby dolls.

Girls tickle

wendy MySpace Video

KK... M a U P....Get it? Well watch the video! =)

2010-03-18T12:00:00.000-04:00

This is one of my favorite movies... She had just turned 3 and really liked seeing herself on the computer. Well, who am I kidding... She still does! I love how she says kk instead of jk and m a u p. We love our KK!!!
abc video

wendy MySpace Video

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2010-03-17T12:31:00.005-04:00

Lucky the Leprechaun made his appearance this morning! We found a note beside the bed when we woke us this morning! He left a trail of gold coins leading to prizes and a little bit of a mess in Gracen's bathroom! She was so excited to see that he had picked out her clothes for today. All green of course! He did get into a little mischief and dumped out all of her bows. He decorated her bathroom and wrote her name on little green Post Its and put them on her mirror. The biggest surprise was when we went downstairs to get milk. Guess what? He made our milk GREEN!!!! I have no idea how we didn't hear him! He is SOOOO sneaky!

See you next year Lucky....

Happy 3rd Birthday Ansley!

2010-03-08T12:59:00.001-05:00

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We still had Wacky Wednesday!

2010-03-03T21:50:00.009-05:00

As you know, we have had our fair share of snow this year. Well, yesterday it snowed AGAIN! Even though it was only a little bit on snow, we woke up to the wonderful announcement that there would be NO school today. Normally you would hear squeals of glee at the fact that we could spend an entire day just playing, but that is not the response I got today from my daughter. It was apparently the end of the world. The Guilford County School District did not know that it was Wacky Wednesday at preschool! They did not know that it was Gracen's snack week in which we had planned all letter "W" snacks to go along with the letter of the week! They did not know that it was show and tell day and Gracen was planning on taking me (Wendy) because my name started with a "W!" How could they cancel school today? She was so upset! Upset until the phone rang and the sweet little voice of Austin was on the other end. Her whole attitude changed when he asked her to come over to play. What a blessing! Anyway, we still had WACKY Wednesday even though it was a snow day!

I love these pictures because my daughter is trying to strike a pose. In her on little way!

Gracen In the Snow Video by wendy - MySpace Video##

2010-03-02T20:32:00.003-05:00

I found this video of Gracen in the snow for the first time. I love this so much... However, we are all feeling like this about the snow this year at our house!

Gracen In the Snow

wendy | MySpace Video

Click on link below...
Gracen In the Snow Video by wendy - MySpace Video##

SNOW SNOW SNOW

2010-01-31T22:04:00.000-05:00

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Happy New Year!!!

2010-01-01T12:10:00.003-05:00

Seeing Santa Claus

2009-12-23T08:00:00.000-05:00

Here are some of our sweet Santa pictures from this year. It was so cute to see her so close to Santa and talking about what she wanted and asking about Mrs. Claus. When she was finished, she was so happy and she ran over to me and whispered in my ear. "Mommy, Santa said I had been a good girl this year. I guess he wasn't watching me when I was being bad!"

Spoken like a true 4 yr old.

Pink Pig! Pink Pig! yipppeeeee

2009-12-22T08:00:00.003-05:00

As most of you know this is a tradition for our family that dates back to my Dad when he was a child. Each year we would go to Atlanta and I was able to ride and then go see Santa. Now, we take Gracen and remember all the fun times we have had on the Pink PIG!!!

This year we were able to share this special tradition with Kasey, Sarah, and Ansley. It was a great time had by all. Even the adults!

Christmas Program

2009-12-21T14:47:00.006-05:00

I absolutely love the programs that the school puts together for Christmas each year. It's always so cute to see the kids all dressed up singing the songs that they have learned. Until this year, Gracen really hasn't shown any interest in singing any of the songs. Well, this year was different. She has found that she loves singing. The whole week before the program I would ask her to sing me the songs and she did every time. She would even sing without me asking. I think that I knew them as well or better that she did by showtime.

Hopelessly trying to get a picture of the entire group!

Gracen with her teachers. Such wonderful ladies!

Holly, Holly, Holly...

2009-12-21T12:20:00.006-05:00

Holly came twice today, this morning we found her playing in the play dough. She had cut out little tiny "cookies" that spelled Ho Ho Ho and was in the middle of rolling out the dough when we found her. Later on in the morning, she went missing and we found her at the back door with a goodie bag filled with little games. I suppose she liked playing with play dough so much she wanted to play some more today. Fun!

Holly is so silly and left Gracen a book and a mouse! The book was If You Take a Mouse to the Movies. Well, we had to take the mouse to the movies. So we went to see The Princess and the Frog. It was a very cute movie and Gracen loved it, but the mouse slept through the whole thing.

Holly had to have her morning fix of hot chocolate. The unfortunate part is that not only did she drink the hot chocolate, she ate some of Gracen's cookies and hid the rest in her backpack for the flight to Georgia. Gracen was a little mad until she found them on the plane.

Holly used her red glowing nose to see all the pictures in our wedding album this night. She also got Holly and Hal to join along with a new little robot from the Holly and Hal movie.

Gracen and the tree

2009-12-19T08:00:00.002-05:00

The other night it was almost time for bed and Gracen was looking at all of her ornaments on the tree. It was so sweet and inocent. I love these pictures of her. They are just so pretty to me.

Christmas with Nana, PawPaw, and Aunt Amy

2009-12-18T08:00:00.003-05:00

Here are some pictures from our Christmas weekend with Nana, PawPaw, and Amy from last weekend. We had a great time in Pigeon Forge and enjoyed seeing all the lights and seeing some Christmas shows. We even got to go to Dollywood. Now we can say we have been. hee hee.

Dropping off our Santa Claus letter

2009-12-17T08:00:00.001-05:00

Gracen was so excited to go and write out her letter to Santa Claus this year. For the first time she was able to write it out herself and she was so proud. She thought about what she wanted and then sounded out each word very carefully. She needed a little bit of help, but did a great job! It was adorable and it made us very proud. If you want to see her letter, just click on the picture and it will make it bigger.

The Great Smoky Mountains

2009-12-16T08:00:00.000-05:00

Here are a few pictures from our recent trip through the Smoky Mountains. It was a perfect day and Gracen loved looking at the "Smoky" part. She even got her official national parks passport and the park ranger stamped it for her. To top that off, when we headed out of the park we saw an entire herd of elk. Gracen loved the big deer!

A little news about Holly

2009-12-15T17:14:00.006-05:00

Little Miss Holly got into the paint last night. She painted all night long and also enjoyed some of her favorite candy, Mike and Ikes.

Holly decided to decorate our hotel room to look more like the North Pole. However, the only thing that she found to use was toilet paper. Can you believe Holly rolled our room? After all that hard work, she took a break and got a coke. We found her in the refrigerator...

Well, well, well... It appears that Holly loves jewelry just as much as I do. I love the way she used my watch as a belt to accessorize. What a fashionista!

Holly left Gracen a very special book last night from Santa. It came with a magic pen and when Gracen writes her list to Santa it magically appears in his official list book at the North Pole!

Nothing like getting into the Christmas rush!

2009-12-10T08:00:00.001-05:00

Wednesday morning we woke up late for school like we have most mornings here recently and in the rush, something really funny happened. Here is a recap of the morning...

Gracen woke up and found Holly, she got dressed, washed her face, brushed and fixed her hair, I prepared her lunch box, we picked a dessert, ate breakfast, washed hands, she picked a item for show and tell, located her jacket, located her backpack, and grabbed a bunny. She looked so cute, so I thought I would snap a few pictures in front of the tree. Then and only then did I notice that she had on TWO different shoes! When I told her to look down at her feet she just howled with laughter. Too funny!

Look two different shoes!

The latest on Holly...

2009-12-09T14:54:00.008-05:00

Day 14-Did you know that Holly was crafty? Well, she is. Last night she found the glue and all the supplies and made this adorable little house for Gracen. She also left two other houses for us to be crafty today. How fun it will that be?

Day 13-We caught Holly in the act of adding some decorations to my car... antlers and a red nose! That is so Holly! I guess Holly is missing her friend, Rudolph.

Day 12- Holly strikes again. The other night Holly was in Gracen's room and found all her puzzles. By the looks of it, she had fun putting all of them together and she even left a new one for Gracen. Boy, she is really good a puzzles.

Gracen's video from Santa...

2009-12-08T21:18:00.005-05:00

We just received a special video from Santa Claus!!! Oh my we were so excited and wanted to share it with everyone! Gracen was so excited and was completely amazed that Santa knew her name, what she wanted, and that she has been working hard each night to remember to brush her teeth. Hope you enjoy it.

Access it via the PNP homepage using your password listed below.

Main site: http://portablenorthpole.tv
User name: wendyamerson@yahoo.com
Password: llhs

Jamestown Christmas Parade...

2009-12-06T22:39:00.003-05:00

Today we went to see Gracen in her very first parade... It was so cold, but she did a great job.

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Getting into trouble...

2009-12-06T20:57:00.004-05:00

All last night I keep hearing something downstairs. I finally convinced myself that it was just Edie, our hamster, making noise in her cage and went back to sleep. It was not Edie, it was Holly, Clarice, and Rudolph making all the noise. They popped popcorn, got into the cokes, found all the Christmas movies and stayed up all night long for a Christmas movie fest! Well, Rudolph and Clarice made it all night. Holly was asleep in her sleeping bag the next morning when we found them. From the look on Rudolph's face in the last picture, it seems that he was surprised she didn't make it all night. I suppose reindeer don't need much sleep.

Well, as you can see Gracen is not the only one who likes to sneak in and get into my makeup! By the looks of it, Holly had a great time putting on blush, lipstick, and eyeshadow. She even got into the lotion! I guess they don't do a lot of makeovers at the North Pole. After Gracen found her, she was insistent on giving me a makeover. She did a great job fixing my hair and putting ALL the make up on me. I will not share those priceless pics. HaHa...

Holly in the laundry...

2009-12-04T22:32:00.003-05:00

Well last night Holly had a blast...

Dear Gracen,

Last night after I ate my crackers, I went upstairs to look for the vacuum to clean up my crumbs. Guess what I found? It was a giant green basket filled with white fluffy stuff. At first, I thought that it was snow, but it wasn't cold enough to be snow and it wasn't wet enough either. I don't know what it was, but it was so much fun to jump and bounce on. I bounced for so long that my arms and legs were tired. I can't believe I didn't wake you up laughing... When I sat down on the edge of the basket to rest, the basket fell over on top of me and trapped me in. I couldn't get out, so I just got comfortable and fell asleep. I am sorry that I left another mess. I hope you have a great day.

Love, Holly

Holly found FACEBOOK!

2009-12-03T00:47:00.003-05:00

Day 8

Hello Gracen, I love using the computer at the North Pole! I always help Santa look up the weather reports, look up new candy cane recipes, and sometimes I even shop for the latest in elf fashion. Last night after you went to bed, I got on your Mommy's computer and saw this website. I think it is called Facebook and ......I think your Mom likes it a lot! I posted a picture of myself and I it was so EASY! I can't wait to post more things here on Facebook and I hope I get some friends too! See you in the morning. Nighty Night, Holly

Holly Happenings

2009-12-02T11:59:00.003-05:00

Day 7

Dear Gracen,

Last night I had the best time. I found Rudolph and Clarice and they wanted to play some reindeer games. So, we found the dominoes, Farkle, Hi Ho Cheerio, and my favorite, Candy Land. They were not exactly what we call reindeer games, but they were a lot of fun! Rudolph won every game. I think he might have cheated on a couple. Anyway, sorry we didn't clean up our mess. Reindeer don't like to clean up... Love, Holly

Day 6

Dear Gracen,

Last night I got a little homesick and thought that I might draw you a picture of the North Pole and some of my favorite things there. I saw your desk and it was the perfect place to draw my picture. I had a hard time getting on top of your desk, so I used some of your games to make me a step. Hee Hee. I hope you don't mind, but I used some of your paper and your pretty coloring markers. I LOVE MARKERS!!! I drew you a picture of Santa's Workshop, the Reindeer Barn, and my favorite, the Official Candy Cane factory. I also drew the reindeer during their flying lessons. That Rudolph always has to be the leader! Now that I am finished, I am not homesick anymore. I thought you might want a new ornament for your tree, so I left you one. See you in the morning, Holly

Excited about the elf!

2009-11-30T20:11:00.011-05:00

Day 2- Each night before going to bed we leave Holly crackers and water for a snack. Well, Holly must have wanted something more, because she went looking for chocolate and she found the Hershey Kisses. When we found her, it looked like she had eaten about 20 Kisses and was upside down with what looked like a full belly. There were wrappers and half eaten Kisses everywhere. The funniest part was the Maalox bottle beside her, it must have been a bad belly ache.

Day 3- Holly had fun last night making gingerbread. She got out the flour and cookie cutters to make the pieces for the house. She left a bit of a mess and it looked like she had fun making snow angels in the flour. As you can see, Gracen had fun with the flour too!

Day 4- Holly had fun last night. We found her upside down in the tree this morning. She had lined up all the pillows from the sofa and it looked like she was using them as a trampoline. I think she bounced too hard and landed in the tree. Gracen thought it was funny and loved the Christmas Carol Barbie and movie that she left for her!

Day 5- Holly was busy last night. She made the cutest little singing houses. Each one of them play 2 different songs and Gracen loved them.

Holly's Arrival on Thanksgving Day!

2009-11-30T17:30:00.000-05:00

We spent Thanksgiving in Georgia this year and Holly, our elf, decided to show up a couple of days early. Five days early to be exact! I guess since Bibi had her house all decorated for Christmas, Holly thought it would be OK. Gracen was so excited to see her and is ready to see all the fun things that Holly will do in December. Holly is so sweet, but she can sometimes be just a little bit mischievous. Wonder what she will get into this year? I guess we will just have to wait and see...

How did we find Holly this year? Well, just before lunch on Thursday Gracen came upstairs to get a snack and found a candy cane trail coming up the stairs. Remember, Holly works at the candy cane factory at the North Pole and is the official taster of all candy canes. After following the trail all over the living room and into the dining room, Gracen found Holly sitting up in the centerpiece on the table. Holly had redecorated the Christmas center piece and put all of Gracen's Thanksgiving crafts on it. It was Thanksgiving Day! How sneaky she is.... As you can see by her face, Gracen was completely surprised!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-24T10:58:00.000-05:00

Make a Smilebox greeting

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-02T12:20:00.004-05:00

Well, another October has come and gone. It is always such a busy month for us and we love every minute of it. I never thought that someone could love Halloween as much as me, but I was wrong. Gracen loves it just as much as I do and was heartbroken yesterday when all the decorations had to be packed up. She says our house is now very, very BORING! The rain held off just long enough for us to Trick or Treat and get back to the party waiting on us.

All dressed and ready to go!

The kids running to get started on the candy collecting and my husband waiting for his first victim to scare.

More candy...more candy!

We had such a great time! Can't wait until next year!

Carving of the old pumpkin...

2009-11-01T15:12:00.013-05:00

We did a little pumpkin carving the other night and got all of our pumpkins ready for Halloween night. I think this is my favorite thing to do getting ready for Halloween. Well, maybe not as much as the candy tradition. Hope you have a sweet Halloween!

I can't resist candy corn

2009-10-30T19:30:00.001-04:00

Yesterday we got together with Anna, Kevin and Shalina to make our annual Halloween cookies. We decided to try something new and make candy corn cookies! It was so a little challenging, but overall they turned out pretty good. BIG... but good. If you are wondering, the answer is "yes" we chose to make them because the girls had candy corn dresses. You have to take advantage of a good photo op.

Ready with our dough!

Rolling them out with flour of course! Look closer and you can see the flour on G's nose!

Aren't they cute and BIG? They grew unexpectedly!

Proud of our cookies!

YUM YUM!

Anna and Gracen in their matching candy corn dresses!

G's Halloween Costume Parade...

2009-10-30T12:51:00.007-04:00

Here are a few pictures of Gracen from the costume parade at school yesterday. She is going to be a Devil on Halloween, so we picked Snow White for the parade. She is such a cute Snow White! I just love it! I have also included a picture from our visit to Disney at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. Enjoy!

A visit to the pumpkin patch!

2009-10-29T15:34:00.004-04:00

We had a blast at the pumpkin patch and thought you might want to see some of the cute pictures.

Edie and the Hamster Ball Derby...

2009-10-03T20:58:00.012-04:00

About 2 weeks ago, we got an invitation in the mail for Edie from Petco. She had been invited to participate in the Annual Hamster Ball Derby. I have never seen one of these and we thought it would be a great Saturday afternoon activity. A couple of days ago, Jamie and Gracen got Edie out and did a little bit of "training" to get ready. Well today, we gathered Edie La La Treebranch, her ball, and some treats and headed to Petco. After getting registered, Edie got to participate in a practice race and she did OK. In the preliminary round she was in heat 2 against hamsters Oreo and Rover. When the race began Gracen and I both did our best to get Edie to the finished line and before we knew it she had crossed the finished line in 1st place. I couldn't believe it especially since some of these people had actually PRACTICED for weeks! We were so excited that she won. We waited for heat 3 to finish and got ready for the Semifinalist round. We got Edie all set up to race again Fuzzy, Blackberry, and Oreo and when they said go we were at it again... Edie was just a running and before we knew the race was over and she had WON again. Gracen was so excited and so were we! We made it to the final race! When it was time for the final round, we got her all ready to race Ollie and Fuzzy and when the race started she just sat there. Gracen and I are yelling and calling her name and she just sat there. All of them just sat there until all of a sudden the smallest little hamster, Ollie, just took off. OMG... he flew to the finish line and won the race. As soon as Gracen realized that Edie didn't win, she lost it. She was so heartbroken and told me that those other two boys had just frustrated her. She didn't even realized that Edie had won 3rd place until I told her she got a prize and ribbon. She felt better, but was still upset about losing until it was time to go shopping for Edie. What a fun time and such a great idea. We are so very proud of our Edie La La Treebranch.

Before the race.... getting ready!

Go Edie Go!

She WON!!! Ready for the next race. GO....

Race Brackets... TOO funny!

Winning ribbon

Our cute little Edie... Ready to go shopping!

First Homework Assignment... Our Family Flag

2009-10-01T07:30:00.001-04:00

Our first official homework assignment was due yesterday, and I thought I would share. When I looked at it last Friday, I thought "Oh, this won't take long and it will be fun to do as a family." So, we all gathered at the table to brainstorm ideas about what our family liked and what we would put on the flag. All was well at first, Gracen drew a picture of us at the beach playing in the water, she wrote our name in pencil then traced it with a pink marker, drew a picture of what our pumpkin will look like in a couple of weeks when we carve it, and colored all of our favorite foods. I printed some of the pictures from our favorite events this year, our Disney trip and her 4th birthday. We also had to include our pet, Edie La La Treebranch and our favorite bunny. After only a couple of meltdowns and a little bit longer than anticipated, we were finished and very proud of our Family Flag.

Hello October...

2009-10-01T05:00:00.000-04:00

Well, I have not been very good at keeping my blog up to date. Primarily it is because I have been SUPER DUPER busy for the past 5 months. Trying to keep a 4 yr old entertained along with trying to get a business off the ground has been quite challenging and time consuming. I can't believe the summer has gone and it is October. I hate that it has passed so quickly, but I am so excited that things are beginning to slow down just a little bit and that we can now get ready for our favorite holiday, Halloween!

First day of school, First day of school!

2009-09-08T09:34:00.006-04:00

Gracen was so excited this morning. Today is her first day of 4 yr old preschool. I know everyone says this, but "How is my baby 4!"

Posing in her "First Day" outfit!

Eating a "Back to school" pop tart!

Striking a POSE!

Walking in to school...

Too Stinking CUTE!!!

HAPPY to be at school!

Mrs. Whitworth and Mrs. Burton

BFF Gibby!

I AM BACK!!!

2009-07-24T21:38:00.001-04:00

While my computer was sick, I had some time to get some scrapbooking done. Enjoy...

No computer... Sad girl...

2009-07-18T17:13:00.002-04:00

I am so upset that my not even 2 year old computer is needing to be sent to the grave. At least for now, that is what I am being told! Here is the deal... You get the computer, the extended warranty, the virus protection, did I say extended warranty, and a 24 on call person to follow you around if something does goes wrong. Then when something does go wrong, nothing you have is what you need to get it fixed. ARGGGGG!!! If you know me you know that this is my addiction and I am having a hard time not having it. It has been out of commission since Tues and I am not sure now what to do. Dell wants to charge me enough that I could get a new computer. What to do? What to do? I am now stepping off my soapbox! Thanks for listening.

Missing my baby...

2009-07-09T16:36:00.002-04:00

I have been without Gracen for a week now, and I am just about to my limit on not hearing "Mommy" ever couple of minutes. I know she had a great visit with her Bibi and Papa and now she is at Nana and Paw Paw's house. She is having the time of her life and I can't get her to slow down long enough to even talk to me on the phone. I just get "Hey, Mommy... I love you.... Bye Mommy." Just a few more days and I will get to hug my sweet little girl again. I miss her sooooo much! I can't wait until Saturday.

Good to be 40 inches....

2009-07-06T08:00:00.002-04:00

As most of you know, you have to be 40 inches to ride the "big" rides at Disney. To avoid a complete meltdown by Gracen, I measured her before we left so that I knew she would be OK. By my measurements, she was a little over 41", so I thought we were good to go on that issue until we got to Soarin' at Epcot. They are obviously using a different measurement system, because she was only 39 inches. Immediately she lost it and was heartbroken because she couldn't ride. SO was I!

After a little bit of coaching like "stand up straight when they measure you, honey", we actually got on a different ride called Test Track. As we were walking by the person who measures kids, Gracen turns to me and says "Mommy, I am tall enough to ride now!" We just rushed through gate and got on QUICKLY! The things you will do for you kids.

Later we went back to Soarin' and Gracen walked very tall right past the person measuring. It was a great ride and she loved it.

So, being 40 inches was a big deal and when we visited the Star Wars store it was completely necessary to buy her this shirt of Yoda trying to get on a ride. She loves her shirt "Judge me by my size do you?" I think she even sounds a little like Yoda. Enjoy her video...

Judge me by my size do you?

2009-07-06T07:59:00.001-04:00

Going fishing with Daddy

2009-07-05T08:00:00.000-04:00

In May, Gracen went on her first fishing trip with Jamie. She caught 41 fish, got to feed the ducks, play in the rain, and went "strolling" with her Barbie fishing rod. That would be known as "trolling" to most fishermen. If you look very closely, you can see the baby fish on her rod. All in all it was a successful day on the lake.

Happy 4th of July!!!!

2009-07-04T08:00:00.002-04:00

I remember singing this song EVERYDAY of primary school. Do you?

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!

I AM SO PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!

This is for my Gracen...

2009-07-02T22:59:00.000-04:00

There are critters in the woods....

2009-07-01T10:58:00.002-04:00

We have been visiting Mom and Dad this past week in Georgia and we have really enjoyed being "in the woods." Our experience is now complete with Gracen having red bug bites and seeing a "holy poly" one morning. For those of you who didn't know, that is a roly poly.

Have a great day!

Questions everyday!

2009-06-23T17:28:00.005-04:00

If you have ever been around a 4 yr old, you know that it is about the age that all the questions really start. Gracen has always been inquisitive, but now it is like hyper drive. I swore I would never just make up something off the wall if I didn't know the answers, but never say never. Sometimes that is the only way from answering 40 questions in 5 minutes! Whew! When I give her one of those "off the wall" answers, it takes her about 2 minutes to process what I have said and then she says "Momma, are you kidding? or "No way!"

Yesterday, Gracen was in the question asking mode and it didn't stop all day. I wish now I would have written down all of the questions, because she had some really cute ones like "Momma, why does the rooster say cook-a-doodle poo?" and "Momma, why do you close you eyes when I talk?" and "Momma, why can't we have whipped cream for breakfast?"
and "Momma, why are you looking at me so weird?"

There was one question however, that really started an interesting conversation between us. Her original question was "Momma, do cows pee pee milk?" and I thought wow that is a great question. Where did she come up with that one? I answered with a no, and I told her that just like us they only pee pee pee pee. Well, that was OK for a little while and then she proceeded to tell me that she saw a cow pee pee milk on Sesame Street. As I quickly thought through how to explain this in an age appropriate way, she said "that's OK Momma, you can't know everything" and I left the conversation with "yes,that is exactly right." =)

This morning, the cow and milk conversation presented itself again. Before I answered her, I flashed back to the conversation I had had with Jamie the night before as I told him this story. His first response was "Well, did you tell her it came from the teat?" and of course my response was "No, I didn't!" I really didn't want to explain this whole process to her because I was not really ready for the 40 questions to follow.

Well, I did go with Jamie's "teat" version and to my surprise her response was "Ohhhh, and that is why we buy our milk from the Teeter, right Momma?"

FYI... The "Teeter" is a little nickname we have given the Harris Teeter, our local grocery store.

Go Milk!!!

I love this!!!!

2009-06-23T00:08:00.000-04:00

Make a Smilebox greeting

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-20T23:39:00.001-04:00

Make a Smilebox greeting

Birthday with the family

2009-06-17T08:00:00.000-04:00

On Saturday, we were able to celebrate again! We had a cookout at home and Gracen opened her presents from her grandparents.

YES... there are two bikes in the picture.

Gracen's Birthday Party

2009-06-16T08:00:00.003-04:00

We had a great time on Friday at Gracen's party at the club. All of the kids had a great time and most of all the birthday girl had a blast.

Happy 4th Birthday Gracen

It's all about the Cake...

2009-06-15T17:26:00.003-04:00

We all know that birthdays are for celebrating the accomplishments that someone has made in a year. But if you know our family, you know that is also about the cake. Especially if it is a Maxie B's cake!

This year when we went to order Gracen's cake, she sat down with the lady from Maxie B's and told her exactly what she wanted. She was such a big girl and the cake turned out great. Delicious and beautiful as usual.

Just remember... It is all about the CAKE!

Gracen turns 4!

2009-06-15T12:09:00.005-04:00

Waking up a four year old!

Presents from Mommy and Daddy!

The official birthday breakfast... Cheese toast with candles of course!

Blowing out the candles

excited about opening "the big one"

"It's Cinderella's castle!!! Just what I always wanted!"

Our big four year old! What a big girl =)

Only 2 more days to the big 4th birthday!

2009-06-09T08:42:00.007-04:00

I have no words today. I only have emotions.

Mostly happy and a little sad.

Enjoy the pictures.

Gracen's first sleepover

2009-05-26T08:00:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago we invited Anna over for a girls sleepover. It was Gracen's first official sleepover and she was more than excited.

We played bubbles, had a bubble bath (notice the shower caps), painted fingernails, made slushies, watched a movie, had a bedtime snack of popcorn and marshmallows, and then finally went to sleep. The girls had a great time.

Last day of Preschool...

2009-05-25T11:51:00.005-04:00

I can't believe my baby has finished another year of school. In just a few weeks she will be turning 4! Wipe tear, wipe tear....

Oh my gosh, time is flying too fast for me and I want it to STOP. I am so proud of her and she had a great school year with Ms. Adams and Ms. Mangum.

Thanks ladies for loving Gracen and helping her flourish.

It has been a while....

2009-05-18T14:01:00.005-04:00

We had a wonderful trip to Disney. In fact, I think we are just now coming off the Disney Magic high! I took well over 1000 pictures during our trip and I will post a link below if you willing to look through them. For now, I thought you might enjoy some of our special moments.

Our first day we took Gracen to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. She loved it and looked so cute.

The first time she saw the castle!

First day at the Magic Kingdom!

Check out all 1000 pictures! http://theamersonfamily.shutterfly.com/

Bed Candies...

2009-04-18T09:00:00.001-04:00

Each night at the Biltmore, they would come in and do a "turn down" service in our rooms. Well, I really didn't think much about it until they turned down Gracen's little bed, put all her bunnies in a row, and left her chocolates, too! It was so cute.
When she came into the room, she was so excited to see that someone had left her some "Bed Candies" as she called them and each night she looked for them on her pillow. I will now always think of those little chocolates as bed candies.

The coloring of the eggs...

2009-04-17T09:00:00.001-04:00

Yes, I am a little behind in getting these posted to the blog, but here they are...

The Easter Bunny found us...

2009-04-16T09:00:00.003-04:00

Gracen was very worried this year that the Easter Bunny wouldn't find us at the Biltmore. Boy, did he ever find us and left a bunch of goodies for Ms. G. Easter basket favorites were the cotton candy, pop rocks, the dancing bunny, and of course all the bubbles!

Easter at the Biltmore Estate...

2009-04-15T16:33:00.011-04:00

For the past 3 years, we have been to the Biltmore Estate for Easter. It is always a wonderful weekend and we have a great time. The first year, it snowed on Easter, last year it was around 50 degrees, and this year it was a perfect sunny day with a temperature of about 70 degrees.
Gracen had a great time hunting eggs on the main lawn, looking at all the flowers, and seeing all the farm animals at the barn. She also tried to do the kids grape stomp at the winery, but didn't like the way the grapes felt between her toes. I could have predicted that!

More to come tomorrow!

Introducing Edie La La Treebranch...

2009-03-27T20:27:00.000-04:00

Here she is...

Yes, I said Edie LaLa Treebranch!

Meet our new pet hamster. This is Gracen's first pet and she is totally excited and loving Edie LaLa Treebranch. When Gracen gave her the name I thought it might only last a couple of days and we would end up calling it Hammy or something, but no... The name STUCK!!! It is kind of funny. How many hamsters have full names like this?

Gracen and Edie in her princess castle. Edie loves her tower.

Getting a little exercise!

Glitter ball and princess carriage! Yes... a carriage. It is too cute!

There she goes... off like a true hamster princess!

Shalina took new some new pictures of Gracen...

2009-03-26T20:00:00.000-04:00

Shalina took our annual bunny pictures on Sunday along with our Easter pictures. We were also lucky enough to visit some beautiful Cherry Blossom trees this week and got wonderful pictures.

SHE did a great job. I am so happy and wanted to share these beautiful pictures.

www.shalinaphotography.com/wendy

www.shalinaphotography.com/wendy2

Thanks Shalina... YOU did good Girl!!!