I've got some serious catching up to do....

I had the best of intentions to do lots of blogging lately (especially considering I was baby-free for 5 whole days...more on that later) however I have hardly had time to sit down and breathe. The month of December has FLOWN by, not to mention the fact that Allie is officially on the move and walking these days...and she is a very busy little girl. Anyway...speaking of miss Allie, I will go ahead and tell you about her first birthday! We celebrated it pretty much the same way we did with Marissa. It was just us, a homemade cake, some presents, and a big ol' mess!
That morning we had some birthday eggs and jelly toast (as Marissa calls it).

Big sister loooooves jelly toast:)

Here is the birthday girl's birthday cake or as Marissa would say, her "happy cake!"

Of course, we had to make a special little cake for Big Sister, she was so excited about it! :)

Here she is digging in!

Pops and Nana were in on all the action thanks to Skype!

Yummy!!!

Marissa in her cute apron NeeNee gave her-she helped me bake the cakes. Here she is enjoying all her hard work:)

Giving Pops and Nana a close up of the mess.



Going at it with both hands!

Sweet yet messy smile!

Looks like she has a little something on her lip she is trying to lick off:)

"You want some?!"

After we had our fun with the cakes, we took the girls up and gave them baths, then it was back downstairs for PRESENTS!!

Allie was more interested in sitting on her presents than opening them...

Luckily, she had Daddy and big sister there to help her open them!

Allie's cool new car from Pops and Nana! This is definitely a new favorite--both girls love it! (and Allie has now figured out to turn around and drive it:) )

The Allen's got Allie a broom which was quickly taken by her big sister, but I really didn't mind in this case...I'll take all the help with the cleaning as I can get!

So, as you can see, Allie had a wonderful birthday! She is such a sweet, sweet girl and is so much fun! Be sure to stay tuned, there is lots more to come!

In the meantime, we hope y'all had a wonderful Christmas and have a Happy and Safe New Year!!

Look who's talking and walking

Miss Allie turned ONE yesterday!! I will post more about her birthday celebration later, but for now, here are a couple videos of Allie showing off a few new things she's learned:)

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Breakfast with Santa

This past Saturday, we went to the club where Russell works for breakfast with Santa! To be honest, I was dreading this a little bit, because I was sure that Marissa would be scared of him when she saw him, much less want to sit on his lap for a picture. However, she proved me wrong! She was a little timid at first, but when it was her turn, she walked right up to him, sat on his lap and had this sweet little grin on her face the whole time:) She even gave him a hug after he gave her a candy cane! Allie, on the other hand, lasted about 2 minutes and then she was done. She kept looking up at him with this puzzled look on her face. She just wasn't sure what to think. Anyway, here are few pictures from that morning! HO!HO!HO!:)

Sisters waiting for their food

I want a biiiiiite!

Family pic

Mommy and Allie

Marissa was having a blast running circles around the dining room...this is a great action shot!

When we got home, we attemped to get a picture of the girls in front of the tree....this was the best we could get.

Because Allie was DONE taking pictures....

And she was gone.....

Hope Santa brings you everything you want for Christmas:)

Sisterly Love part 4..."I liiiiike it"

This a video I took this morning while Allie was sitting on my lap trying to watch a movie. Marissa had other plans, she wanted to play hairdresser on Allie. I guess I am using the term "sisterly love" a little loosely with this post as I'm pretty sure Allie wasn't feeling the love:)

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How to keep 2 year olds entertained at Wal-Mart.

1. Give her $2 worth of stickers you found in the Christmas dept while she is screaming to get out of the cart.
2. Give her the coffee and tell her to decorate it with as many stickers as possible. (at this point my lovely husband says to me, "you're not going to let her waste all those stickers right now are you?" Um, yeah, I am. You got a problem with that? Pretty sure he will not be volunteering to go on a family trip to wal-mart anytime in the near future. Did I mention this was his idea? )
3. Try to survive the next 30 minutes in what I have now deemed as one of the worst places on earth. At least my two year old was no longer screaming to get out of the cart....like most every other child in the store. Oh my, it stresses me out just thinking about it....
4. Take pictures of the coffee and blog about it when you get home so other moms can feel your pain....



Ahhhhh, the joys of a 2 year old.

Sisterly Love part 3...As The Beatles would say...

Allie gets by with a little help from her friends (or in this case, her big sister:) )

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DIY Christmas Decorating!

What a wonderful time of year!! I am feeling very overwhelmed and in awe of God's blessings this Christmas season and it brings such joy to my heart. I have been having so much fun decorating our house this Christmas, as last Christmas we were a little bit busy with a certain newborn baby girl (who is almost ONE YEAR OLD! can you believe it?!) I have been trying to spend as little money as possible, so most of my decor has been DIY. I hope you enjoy a peek at our house this Christmas Season. We have been loving every minute of it...in fact, I am listening to a Christmas CD my dad made me, at this very moment with the tree lights lit and the candle burning while the girls are napping....all I need is a cup of hot cocoa and I would be set....:)

Here is Marissa helping me decorate the tree, her job was to put all the little red balls on the tree.

Allie had some snacks, then played with a jingle bell and watched while we trimmed the tree.

Our tree!

This is a project I have had in my mind since we had our pictures taken several weeks ago (I need to post them...I keep forgetting about that...) I had a bunch of different color, style, shape, size frames that I liked the "look" of but wasn't really using them anywhere. So I went to Hobby Lobby and bought a few mats, the "N", and some chocolate brown spray paint. And, there you have it....for about $25, we have a new photo frame collage that I looooove, so much!


I decided the wall space next to it needed a little something, so I got out these stars I purchased at a garage sale for $5 total. I left the red and white one, then took some scrapbook paper and glued it onto the third one (it was originally blue, and not very "Christmasy") I then hung a few ornaments from them to add a little extra cheer:)

Here are the famous apothecary jars filled with Christmas goodies and I got the countdown block idea from the Shanty2Chic sisters as well. You can find them here, with a tutorial from the S2C sisters here, they were only $10 and very easy to put together!

This is our newly painted hallway (it was the same color as the trim and boooooring). I think the brown is so rich and warm, we love how it turned out! Ok, so this is a new table I recently got at the Birmingham Winter Crafts Show (I know that's not what it's called...I can't think of it now....) Anyway, I added a lamp I got at a thrift store for $5 that I spraypainted off-white (I don't love the lamp shade with it, but haven't had time to fix her up just yet), some black and white pictures, and a little Christmas decor I threw together from things I had around the house. I got the sparkly tree at Walgreens for $.99. I couldn't resist...it was just too cute:)

Even the kitchen has a little holiday Cheer, I framed a piece of leftover scrapbook paper then added a little "Joy" sandwiched between my two favorite girls. (Can you believe that little peanut on the right is Marissa....she peed on Russell's arm two or three times when we took that picture:) )

So, I also stole this idea from a blog I stumbled upon called A Little Birdie told Me and she is also full of great ideas...This particular one, she took mini clothespins, spraypainted them red and green, then spraypainted some gold glitter on them and attached them to a shutter she found at a garage sale. Well...we have these doors that are in between the living and dining room, so I have been pinning all my cards on them and I love how it looks!!

Before-plain, old, boring clothes pins....

After-fun, glittery, Christmas-y clothes pins ready to display all our family and friends:)

And finally, this baby is my pride and joy. Those of you who read the decorating blogs have more than likely seen this beauty floating around. When I first saw it I though, oh that will be so easy to make and look so beautiful. Well, the last part is true, the first part, not so much. It seems as though it should be easy, but it's not. If you are interested, there is a very good tutorial here. If you could care less how I made it, then just scroll on down and enjoy the ridulous amount of pictures I took of one wreath.

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you enjoyed strolling through the Nichols' house this wonderful season! (And Dad, I promise there will be lots of "grandaugther-filled" posts coming up soon!)

The big 3-1!

Once again, I am way late on this post. I guess y'all are used to that by now....Anyway, on the 8th, Russell celebrated his 31st birthday!! He is officially in his 30's and O-L-D! HAHA, just kidding:) We didn't really have a lot planned that day...our recent vacation was pretty much our birthday/Christmas/whatever gift to each other for the next few occasions. However, we still had to make sure Russell knew his girls love him!! I didn't have anything special planned so that afternoon I asked him what he wanted for dinner, that I would fix him whatever he wanted! He then said, "Chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes and gravy." Ummm, seriously, do I have a second option? Now, I have watched my mom cook this exact meal at least a dozen times, but have never attempted it on my own, not to mention, I had not one single item in my kitchen to even begin to make that meal. So, I told him, how about the next time you see my mom, I get her to fix you the chicken fried steak with all the fixin's and you give me your second favorite meal. He then said, "Ok, bisuits and sausage gravy." Alrighty, that I can do. I, of course, called my mom for a quick tutorial, ran to the store and about an hour later, he had a big ol' plate of southern goodness in front of him, plus a big glass of ice cold chocolate milk. (Isn't he just the cutest 31 year old you've ever seen:) by the way, the meal tasted waaaay better than it looks)

Next, and I probably shouldn't mention this...but just in case y'all thought I was perfect, I am about to prove you wrong. Russell's most favorite thing in the world is cookie cake and what is the one thing I forgot to get him? You guessed it, a big, yummy cookie cake that he has had for just about every birthday of his life. I didn't think of it until about 5:30 and the mall closed at 6:00. So, I hop into the car to get the stuff for dinner and pray I can make it to mall in time to pick up a cake. Unfortunately, by the time I get there, they of course have no cakes and only one slice left in the back....OK, I say, I'll take it. All the while thinking that I am just about the worst.wife.ever. But, I get the slice of cake, get it home, and then it gets even better. I am thinking this whole time that I have a "3" candle and a "1" candle to put on the cake, however when I get home and look, all I have is a "3" and a regular candle. So....yep, you got it, that's what I used. I suppose it was a little ghetto, but Russell thought it was funny and well, he really ought to know by now that I don't plan ahead or make lists or have a "3" and a "1" candle, but he does know that his girls love him very, very much and we are so thankful for him and all that he does for our family. Here he is getting a little help from Marissa with those candles.



Well, Russell, I hope that even though your birthday wasn't perfect, that it was special and you enjoyed it! We love you so much!!! Happy Birthday, old man:)

So much to be thankful for...

Thankful for my husband, my daughter and my mom hanging out in the kitchen cooking pancakes...

Thankful for grandparents (all 4 of you) who love their grandbabies so much....

Thankful that there are other people who love to hold sweet Allie and give her bottle to her in the morning....

Thankful for my beautiful mom, my very best friend and the best cook I know....

Thankful for my daughter who has the prettiest blue eyes I have ever seen....

Thankful for messy kitchens which in turn filled our bellies full of wonderful food....

Thankful for NeeNee, who is always willing to color with Miss Marissa....

Thankful for sleepy girls, one with her paci and blanket and one who is finally breathing better thanks to her breathing treatments....

Thankful for Baby Einstein which keeps my babies entertained when they are sleepy and when they have to take breathing treatments....

Thankful for my dad who is always willing to clean up the kitchen....

and the table....

Thankful that we live in a home that is filled with love, laughter, babies, yummy food, toys and so much more...and at the end of the day, thankful that it is clean:)

My heart is overjoyed this thanksgiving as I have been thinking all day about all I have to be thankful for. My sweet and wonderful husband, my beautiful girls and all my family and friends...but mostly today, I have thought about my Savior. My Father in Heaven who called me to be His, who saved me, who set me free, who loves me much more than I deserve, and whose love is unfailing. Psalm 100 says that "it is He who made us, and we are His." I am so thankful today that I am His, that we are in His hands and that He is in control. Psalm 100 also says "Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name. For the LORD is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations." Today, above all else, I am thankful for my Savior, Jesus Christ.