{LiKe MoThEr....LiKe DaUgHtEr}

About a month ago when I was going through bins in the garage looking for my Christmas decorations, I came across a dress. A red, white and blue dress. But this wasn't just any old dress.....it was MY dress when I was a little toddler!! As soon as I saw it, I remembered a picture of me wearing this dress, sitting on a picnic table all by myself with my little blond pigtails! I was 22 months. Zoe is 21 months. I remember that this was always a favorite picture of me....my grandma loved it, my great-grandma loved it, my dad loved it, my mom loved it! I remember when we would look through old pictures, I would always hear about how cute they thought this picture was! I begged my mom to search the old photos for this picture and I immediately thought, "I HAVE to get pictures of Zoe in this dress!!"

So we did. I asked my friend Carrie if she would take pictures! I wanted to do it before Christmas so I could surprise my parents with the pictures. As busy as the times were, we were able to squeeze some pictures in on the Saturday before Christmas....giving Carrie just enough time to edit them and me just enough time to make a collage for my parents!

As soon as I tried the dress on Zoe, I couldn't help but laugh!! She looked so cute and so funny at the same time! She looked like a little pioneer girl and all I could think about was "Little House on the Prairie"!!! I did her up in pigtails (even though her hair is still a little too short) to match me! She looked adorable! We were able to take pictures right behind our house....in an area that has some horses and totally fits the "Little House on the Prairie" look that we were going for!

I was so happy with the pictures! They turned out so cute and they were exactly what I wanted! Zoe looked adorable and she was so cooperative....smiling at the perfect moments and looking sweet and innocent at the perfect moments! Thanks Carrie for helping me out! The gift was a MAJOR hit! I couldn't have asked for a better reaction from my parents....even though I was shocked and didn't expect it! As soon as my mom saw it, she burst into tears (which is not rare coming from my mom....Miss Sentimental)! She loved it! And then she passed it on to my dad....and that is where we all were shocked! My dad held the picture very close to his face....right in front of his face....for about 5 minutes!! He didn't want us to see him crying (and that is VERY rare coming from my dad)! They were both touched....and I was happy! In the collage, I put a picture of me in the center and a bunch of pictures of Zoe all around it.

Here is the picture of me.....in 1979 at 22 months old!!



And here are the pictures of Zoe....in 2009 at 21 months! I just could NOT pick my favorites, so these are all of them!























And here is the collage I made....



I can't wait for Zoe's daughter to have her pictures taken in this same dress!! Now that would be amazing!! =)

{cHrIsTmAs dAy}

I have to start this post by saying what a genius hubby I have! On Christmas night, I put the card with all my pics from Christmas Eve and Christmas Day into the card reader to upload all my pics! Long story short....EVERY SINGLE picture from Christmas day was GONE....DELETED....NON-EXISTENT....DISAPPEARED!!! I was devastated!! I was crying! I was so sad and so mad!! After 3 hours, he finally found the pictures that had been deleted by using a recovery software program that he had to buy online for $70!! He found them, we paid our money and now I am a happy camper because I have my Christmas Day pics....which to me are PRICELESS!! Thanks Jeremiah! =)

Our Christmas morning started out REALLY early....about 6:15 am when Ayden came in our room. I was expecting he would come in and say that he wanted to go see if Santa came or that he already went downstairs and opened all of his presents, but instead he asked to go downstairs to watch a show! Ha!! He TOTALLY forgot that it was Christmas morning, so we decided to be selfish and go right along with him so we could get a little extra sleep before Miss Zoe woke up. So Ayden watched a show on the computer in our room as we snoozed a little longer and we all waited for Zoe to wake up! When she finally did, it dawned on Ayden that it was Christmas morning and we needed to go see what Santa brought!

Ayden walked down the stairs and literally shrieked in excitement!! I am so glad we caught it on video because it was adorable!! He was so excited to see right away that Santa brought him the volcano and dinosaurs that he had been asking for! He was jumping up and down and saying "Yay...yay....yay"! Good job Santa!!



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And Zoe came down right after him and was of course copying him and cheering for her new tricycle that Santa left! She got on and started scooting around right away! She loves the princess zipper pouch on the front....it's perfect to carry all her princesses around in!






They almost forgot to check their stockings....they found some more fun treats in there!!





They were really excited about these microphones! I love it when they ask for toys found in the dollar section at Target! They got the exact same things in their stockings....just boy/girl versions for each! I am noticing quickly that we need to have 2 of almost everything! I thought this would only happen if we had 2 boys or 2 girls, but it also happens with 1 of each! They seriously fight over EVERYTHING and they both need to have the same of everything! Good thing Santa knew this when he put treats in their stockings!



Zoe feeding her new baby doll....I can't remember what this ones name is, but Zoe is so funny and names every single one of her babies!! And she doesn't forget which one is which either....she calls them by the right name every time! But she is getting so many now that I have a hard time keeping track! And it is hilarious that she has names for them because she comes up with some names that we don't know anyone by that name!! She has an Annie, Emma, Jill, Lily, Jamie....and I can't even remember the others! Silly girl with such an imagination!



Good thing we have our very own Handy Manny with his very own talking toolbox to help us fix things around the house!! =) "You break it....we fix it!!!"



Zoe got her very first Madame Alexander doll!! These dolls are very special to me because I have a ton....I collected them when I was younger and my parents got me my very 1st one when I was born and then one every year after that until I was 18! It's fun to carry the tradition on to Zoe!





Ayden and Zoe were really cute opening gifts together! Zoe wanted Ayden....and only Ayden...to help her open her presents! One time, I tried to help her rip the paper and she shouted at me, "No, Aydee do it. Aydee help me!!" It was pretty cute....and he was fine with her request! It's funny how they enjoy opening presents even when they are not their own!





They were so cute and literally opened every single present together!



After they finished opening all their gifts, we headed over to Jeremiah's parents house to spend Christmas Day with his family! And there were a lot more presents to open over there, which we opened shortly after we got there!

Almost all of us....Zoe was taking her first nap for the day (she took 3 naps on Christmas Day)!



Pretend food for their pretend kitchen!



Daddy teaching Ayden how to use his new Leapster!



Auntie Kristen gave Zoe some new nail polish....testing out the color here!!





We spent the rest of the day relaxing, eating brunch and dinner, playing with new toys and just hanging out!

Ayden has been "practicing" using the camera lately! He really loves to take pictures! I always find a few random ones when I am uploading pics that he took when he snuck the camera away! These ones were funny of everyone on Christmas! Can you say CLOSE UP!!!! LOL!!

Uncle Branden...



Aunt Stephanie and Uncle Kirt....



Auntie Kristen...



Mommy and Daddy!!



So funny to see through his eyes!! =)

One more night for the kids to wear some matching Christmas jammies!! They looked so cute!



So cute....even if Zoe is wearing Ayden's shoes!! As I mentioned....she has a shoe obsession....boys shoes, girls shoes, Mommy's shoes, Daddy's shoes....it doesn't matter!! It just has to be SHOES!!!









So sad that Christmas came and went so fast, but we really had a great weekend with family! And as much as I was dreading Christmas coming to an end, I couldn't wait to get my Christmas decorations all put away! I wanted to take them down Christmas night, but Jeremiah wouldn't let me, so I had to wait until the next morning! And there is not a sign of Christmas left in the house now....other than the trillions of new toys laying around! Love it....the kids should be entertained for at least a week with those!! =) So excited for this week ahead to have Jeremiah home from work til next Monday! Why can't we have Christmas once a month!?!?!