another Cate first...Cate meets pigs

and a kitty, and some cows!

While we were back home for Thanksgiving, Cate met and saw for the first time...pigs. Meet Eggs and Bacon...

 Aren't they SO cute?

 Mama...look at that pig!!!

 Oh boy...a kitty...

 She has seen cats in the neighborhood and such, but never one this close...and had never been able to pet one...

 Hi moo cow! She's seen cows before when she has stayed with our parents...but now she can definitely point out/identify a cow, cat and pigs...;)

 cow patty hop...amazingly she made it back to us without stepping in any...

Oh the fun learning experiences and fun she has...

gobble gobble...cate's first turkey

Cate had her first "real" Thanksgiving...meaning she ate turkey this year, compared to last year, it was all milk! She had turkey, dressing and the trimmings and loved it.

 playing outside...and her new fave...giving high fives!

 Bernie has SO much fun at Gigi and Pops'

 Sportin' our lucky Longhorn outfit! HOOK 'EM!

and a few of Cate and Mama...

 Cate has started making this face when we take pics...not sure if it's her "cheese" face or what?!?

 I thought it was only appropriate to do the same...

bet that made you laugh! Hope you all gobbled 'til ya wobbled and had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We sure did!

Our toddler proof tree

Simple, plain, but oh so pretty and safe! This year we decided it may be wise to have a
"16 month old curious toddler proof tree."
Just tinsel, flowers, gold sparkle swirlies...does just the trick. I did put a few special ornaments up at the top, but now we can be a LOT more worry free, and I must say it may be my prettiest tree!
(a BIG thanks to my friend Ashley for the fabulous idea!!;)

Holiday ideas, tips, and themed gifts

Happy Black Friday y'all!

I hope everyone had a Gobbulous Turkey day!

Since the holiday shopping season has officially begun, I thought I would share a few tips and gift ideas.

My first tip for giving gifts is to go GREEN!

use these...

found here

and for the kids...

found here

Stop spending $$$ on super expensive gift bags, (for all occasions, not just the holidays, I can't tell you how many huge baby gift bags I STILL have (but VERY thankful for all of the useful gifts!!) For any occasion...just put the gift in a reusable bag!) I even saw some really cute bags today at Best Buy for $1.49 each, right by the registers. They were a great size, and have a super cute grey, yellow and white print on them. HEB (our grocery store) also had some with ornaments if you wanted to get some that were holiday themed. So go GREEN! It's fun, different, and it's like two gifts in one!!

And now for my other tip...

Are you super busy and don't have time to shop? Do you have the hardest people to buy for? Do you have large families where you buy extended family gifts?!?! If so, this is for YOU!

Pick a theme, and go with it.

Magazine subscriptions!

 via

These are so fun and who doesn't love getting mail every month, or week?

People, Time, Martha Stewart, Golf, Better Homes and Gardens, the possibilities are endless and you can find something for just about anyone on your list, old, young, male, or female!!!

BEST part, most of them are under $12!!!

Books!

Go hit up your local B&N, and get a book for everyone on your list. It could be the same book for everyone, or something they love, or one YOU love and just want to share!

Gift cards!

I found these here. When you are doing your weekly grocery shopping, you can easily pick up a few of these at the checkout, you can save time, one stop shop, AND still be somewhat personalized be somewhat personal because there are so many to choose from!

Linking up here:

Thankful...

This year, I'm so thankful for SO many things...

I don't even know where to begin...

I'm thankful for my wonderful handsome husband, and our beautiful daughter, 

and for her grandparents who love her SO much!

I'm thankful for family and friends and the memories we have made.

Thankful for my amazing sister, who brings a smile to my face ALL the time.

I'm thankful for this season of life. Being a wife, and a mother is something I cherish every day.  If I could freeze time right now I would.

Thankful for a roof over my head, a car to drive, food on our table and water to drink.

Thankful for those people who are making a difference.

Thankful to live in a free country.

Thankful for our health.

But most of all, I'm thankful for my life I have been given here on earth, every day, every minute, every second...and I thank God every day for all of this...

16 months

I'm pretty sure we have the smartest 16 month old on. the. planet! (I'm her mama so I can say that right?!?)

Just see for yourself...

(I put a play list back on the blog, so scroll down to the bottom and pause it to watch the videos...)

So what do you think? We better start putting a lot more $$$ into her college fund...

Anyways, enough bragging...(well who knows I may brag a bit more in this post before it's all over with!) I just wanted to document a few of Cate's new things she is doing. It seems like I just wrote about her 15 month update. How on earth has another month flown by? I wasn't going to do another update until 18 months, but these things are just too cute not to tell y'all about!

As you saw, matching is her new favorite game. Her Jojo found her the Melissa and Doug Noah's Ark puzzle, about a month ago and Cate loves it. When Cate first started playing with it she would put the pieces in the holes on top. Then, after a while, we would lay the puzzle pieces out on the floor, and since there are two of each animal, etc. we just started picking one up, like the monkey, and asked Cate to find the monkey match. She got that down, then we just kept on with all of the animals, and now she can do them all! Pretty amazing!!! 

While we were at my parents this past weekend, my dad found her a Sesame Street character matching game at Wal-Mart. We thought what the heck, we will see if she can match a few out of the box. Ya...Sista could match ALL of the cards in the box! We are just SO proud!

Another BIG highlight...Cate now says "MAMA"!!! I must admit, I'm a little sad that I am no longer "Vava," but it's the sweetest thing when she looks at me and says "Mama." melts. my. heart.

Other than that, she is babbling away...just babble babble babble, and explore explore explore. She can find the tiniest piece of something on the floor and bring it to me...at least she doesn't eat it=)
Another thing she has been doing that I probably shouldn't say so I don't jinx it, is that she pretty much tells us when she is ready to go nap or go to bed. She will grab her little doll and monkey that she sleeps with, sometimes will point up the stairs, other times we will just ask her if she is ready to go lay down or go take a bath...and she's ready...grabs her friends and goes. AND she doesn't fight it either when we put her in her crib!!!! UNBELIEVABLE! It's like she just knows she needs to rest and recharge, she starts her music and off to dreamland she goes!!!
Such a sweet sweet 16 month old! 

Tour of Oahu

We planned and talked about our trip to Hawaii for many years, and we knew when we went, we wanted to see as much as we could. So, one of the days during our stay, we did a little island hopping over to Oahu. Pearl Harbor was probably one of the top sights we wanted to see, and it was SO worth the trip!

 We then did a tour around the island, and stopped at several sights...

  probably one of my fave stops...a macadamia nut farm and they had the BEST macadamia nut coffee...MMMM

 ever seen an mongoose? squirrels are WAY cuter rodents...

 overlook of Hanauma Bay where many people go snorkeling...

Next up...around Kauai!!!

Auntie Ash's 30th Birthday Bash

My sister turned the BIG 3-0 last Wednesday, November 16th. She LOVES birthdays...so we decided to celebrate with a BANG!

Dad and Auntie Ash walking in...

 Ashley's cake...

 Family pics

 Thinking about her wish...

SO happy!

 Cate's great-grandmother singing "one-two buckle my shoe" to her, she LOVES it

Happy Birthday to the BEST Auntie in the world!!!