sick kids.....

And now, for a little honesty. Before I had Charleigh I used to sometimes wonder about those women who were always telling you that their kids were sick. I would think, "Sure, your kids have been sick 5 times in 2 months. Don't you think maybe you're being a little dramatic?" I now owe those people an apology. As the mother of a child who has some sort of sickness present almost continually since Thanksgiving, I am eating my own words. It started with your basic cold, then came the roseola, followed by what appeared to be another cold but turned out to be bronchitis, ear infection and so on resulting in 3 medications at once. I am just so ready to have my fun loving little girl back. It makes me so sad to see her not feeling well all the time, but I do confess that I love the cuddling she wants when sick. At least now we finally seem to be on the track to better health and let's hope it stays this way for awhile.......

I love this little face.....

kasey's shower

This weekend we held my cousin Kasey's baby shower at my mom's house. It turned out really nice. I "borrowed" some cute ideas from past showers I've attended and also borrowed a bunch of my supplies. Everyone seemed to really enjoy it. We had a candy buffet set up which was a huge hit. She got tons of great stuff and now we're just waiting for little Kynslee to arrive.....

the candy buffet

what a cute card tree!
the mommy-to-be
the buggy was a huge hit

my first blanket.....

trying to arrange the squares
my daughter was a big fan
the finished product

Feeling inspired by the creativity of all the moms I know, I decided to try to make a blanket for my sister-in-law for Christmas. Keep in mind that prior to this my only sewing experience is a half finished diapee and wipee. All in all, I think it turned out pretty well (thanks to lots of help from both my parents and Colleen)........

christmas highlights....

christmas .....

Christmas was so much fun this year. Charleigh got the hang of opening presents very quickly and she loved it! She gets excited about each things so that made it fun also. So far playing time has been divided pretty evenly among her gifts but she certainly does seem to love her Elmo from Aunt Sandy and her rocking horse from Uncle Jamie, Aunt Karrie, and Samuel.

rosson family christmas.....

When my grandma Rosson passed away 13 years ago my grandpa decided to move back to Arkansas to be near his family. In an effort to keep up holiday family gatherings, the 7 kids in my dad's family (yes, 7) decided to rotate between each person's house each year. So, start with the oldest, then go to the next kid and so forth. With just a couple of exceptions, this has now gone on for over 10 years. The first or second Sunday in December we all get together. This year we happened to be at my cousin Karla's house. Not everyone was able to make it, but a good time was had nonetheless. My daughter had a blast with the houseful of people and when we got home that night she displayed her true Rosson side by discovering that she is a HUGE fan of the coconut balls which are a Christmas tradition.

hanging out with Avery
my aunt Kiley, cousin Dale, his wife Tracey and their kids
my Uncle Eddie, Aunt Debbie, cousins Kasey and Kayla and their men
Uncle Lonnie, Aunt Patty and their family
our family sans Josh who was still at home recovering

our little decorator.......

Charleigh was a great help in decorating trees this year. She got to help both sets of grandparents and she did wonderful!

Hanging out with Aunt Cabria
Helping Daddy with the tree
Showing Papa exactly where the ornaments should go....

she was very insistent on their specific spots
All tired out from her hard work