Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Family Photo Shoot




I wanted to do some family photos this year as my Christmas present. Doug was a little resistant, as you all know he LOVES getting his picture taken, but he managed through it and the end result was fantastic! We used downtown McKinney as our back drop, that had some wonderful old brick walls, bright painted colors and cool old doorways. We did it first thing in the morning when all were rested and in good moods and the light was just right. It was freezing though and we had to warm up the girls between shots to keep their lips from getting blue! We shared the session with some of our neighbors, so that helped the girls hang on by playing with their friends during breaks.

Ava's Christmas party at School

Ava had her Christmas party at school the other day and we all got to attend. They received and gave gifts, consumed A LOT of sugar, and wore the cutest hats that they made. Here's Ava unable to contain her excitement about a gift one of the teachers got her. Oh my ...

Dicken's Christmas


Amy and Nick were here for Thanksgiving and we spent a day in downtown McKinney at the Dicken's Christmas event. They had such a nice set-up for the kids - merry go round, petting zoo, train rides and even fake snow! Gotta love how they do it down here in TX! The kids had a blast and were even patient enough for us grown-ups to grab a pint at the pub. Check out Mia during her first petting zoo experience. She has a love for animals and was shrieking with delight! I think she even scared a few of them with her zealousness!


Ava at Disney on Ice


I took Ava to her first "show" this Thanksgiving to see Disney Princesses on Ice at the new Allen Event Center. She was so excited and had a blast! She dressed up in her Sleeping Beauty dress up clothes, complete with a tiara so she could be just like one of the Princesses. She sat next to another little girl and they both hooted and hollered for the characters throughout the show - so cute! She loved it all ... except for the big scary dragon that breathed fire. I thought it was cool, but for weeks she is still talking about how she didn't like that scary dragon. At least it was at the end of the show so it didn't ruin it for her. Had to dodge all the vendors selling all the Princess gear to the kids. She wanted everything - and it wasn't cheap! We got away with our $7 small box of popcorn and a $15 Ariel necklace. Not too bad! Ava is getting so big now. It's fun to be able to do things like this. Daddy is taking her to see her first movie in the theater later this week to see Tangled. I'm sure she'll love that too.