~happy 3rd b-day baby girl~

our baby girl turned 3 today at 12:16 pm. . .  i couldn't be more proud of the amazing child she has become.  she has made our hearts smile from the moment we met her. . . 

happy birthday my beautiful baby. . . may all your wishes come true...

believe it or not i am feeling ahead of the usual holiday frenzy.  the tree is up with all our favorite ornaments & the rest of the house is festively decorated, as much as it will get this year (with the exception of a possible few additions here & there ;-) ).  the christmas cards are all ordered & should arrive in a day or two.  which brings me to a little secret i must share. . .  a few posts back i shared with you 'shutterfly's' fabulous holiday cards & the great deals they are running.  i must admit that my post was a little self serving, just a little ;-)  i entered the 'shutterfly holiday promotion for bloggers' & the requirement was to write & post about how fabulous their cards are & the 20% deal their running for the holidays.  once i did so, they sent me a code to retrieve my '50 free cards' !  i am partial to the 5x7 stationary cards & they can get a bit pricey, so let's just say i am super thrilled!  shutterfly also allows you to add additional code deals, so i was able to receive free shipping, 20% off & 5 additional cards for free!!  it's like christmas around here !! 

hope you all enjoyed your thanksgiving.  we are super thankful for the day we had with our family & the yummy thanksgiving feast we shared.  we have so much to be thankful for!  

 

with bella's impending b-day (whether we like it or not), we find ourselves wishing we could keep her little. . .   while out shopping today, in search of gifts to make her day special, i found this. . . 



this book brought tears to my eyes in the store & full blown waterworks this evening while reading it to my little one for the first time.  this book captures that feeling every parent has of wanting to keep their child little, mixed with the pride of celebrating their accomplishments.  this book is guaranteed to pull at your heartstrings. . . 
 

we're waiting. . .   patiently, but still waiting. . . 

for the man in the red hat.  she 'can't wait for christmas to get here' she says.  something tells me that this year will be even more fun than the last.  ;-)  i did something i thought i would never do, i ordered an artificial tree today!  a beautiful tree, but an artificial one at that.  i will miss the pine smell, but will love the new tradition of putting up our tree the day after thanksgiving & leaving it up until after new year's with no fear of it dropping all of its needles. . .   we're not only excited for the upcoming christmas cheer, but looking forward to giving thanks this week & celebrating our angels birth!  

. . .  so much to be thankful for!!!!

rockin' bella

believe it or not isabella & i still spend our evenings in the rocking chair. we have certainly gotten our monies worth out of that chair.  i still remember the day we bought it.  sitting in it with my baby bump, imagining the nights & days to come rocking my tiny baby girl.  on november 30th, it will be 3 years we've spent in that chair.  we may rock in a new position since the first day i rocked my tiny infant, but it's still just as comfortable.  who knows how long she'll continue to let me rock her, but until that day i'll cherish every moment. . .  

"mommy, i was thinking . . .  do pigs eat mud. . .?" 

i LOVE the curious toddler stage.

holidays again. . .

it's time again to find that perfect holiday card to showcase your 
loved ones, or in our case, the cutest little girl in all of creation!  
i've been using Shutterfly for the past 3 years & 
this year is no different!  
if you're like me, you get giddy everyday opening the mail around the holidays.  
Shutterfly always has the cutetest cards & this year is no different. . . 
you can check their holiday 2010 cards out HERE!
i am very partial to the stationary cards - LOVE these -

& this one would look perfect adorn with my little one's cute 
mug . . .

 

they have so many different designs it's hard to pick just one!  

& if you're looking for the perfect gift you might like

one of their photo calendars.  we've given these to the grandparents 

with super cute pics of all their grandchildren combined into one - they 

were a big hit!  

if you have a new baby in your future, Shutterfly's baby announcements are
perfect for bragging about the new addition!

not only do they have fabulous designs, Shutterfly is offering
20% off 
on all their holiday cards!!  
you mustn't wait - get your cards from Shutterfly now & you can check that off your 
holiday to do list !!
 

hope you got SPOOKED!