Happy New Year 2011

As we say goodbye to 2010 there were many wonderful memories like Emma turning 1, anniversaries, birthdays, trips, and other wonderful blessings in our lives and the lives of our loved ones. There were lessons that had to be learned and some sadness along the way, but those events help us appreciate our lives and the blessings God gives us. I try to remember that no matter what life brings each experience can make us stronger and there is always something to learn.

So for 2011 I embrace you and all that you can bring me! I will turn 30 on January 8th and I love it! I will finish my Master's degree this month as well and cannot wait to not have to worry about a deadline and devote more of my time to being a mother and wife to the most wonderful people in the world. Ray and I will welcome Abigail to our family in May, Emma will turn 2, and Ray and I will celebrate 18 years of being together and 10 years married! These are just a few of the wonderful things that I look forward to in 2011.

I wish, hope, and pray for Happy New Year for my family and all the ones we hold dear to our heart. May you find 2011 filled with love, happiness, and prosperity.

Love,
Brandie

Abigail's First Shopping Extravaganza

I saw these and could not resist from getting these adorable bloomers! I already have poses in my mind for her pictures with these on : )

I love the little monkey and those that know me know I have a real affection towards primates. So I could not pass up this cute little bath set for Abigail when I saw them.

Although we will have plenty of blankets to use from Emma's infancy, I wanted ones that were purchased just for Abigail. I thought they would go very well with the outfits we selected and others that she will inherit from her Big Sister.

Yes, your eyesight is not failing, you do see orange in this collection of clothing for Abigail. It is very minor in its amount, therefore her Daddy said it was okay to purchase. Plus, he could not pass up the prices!

These two pictures show a different collection, but it reflects that bath set with having the cute little monkey on it. I absolutely love Carter's clothing! They have been the best out of all of the brands we have tried. They are worth the price and are of great quality, plus the majority of the time you can get them on sale, find coupons, or go shopping at an outlet mall and really get your money's worth in the things you buy.

First I must say that Abigail is so blessed to have a Big Sister that will be able to pass down some really special outfits, clothing, toys, and many other items, but we both believe that Abigail should have some things of her own that helps establish her own special style and demonstrate bits of her personality and spunk!

Secondly, I am proud to say that Ray and I are really great bargain shoppers, Ray and I find many deals and coupons to stack with those deals the majority of the time we buy stuff. All of the stuff you see above except for the monogrammed bloomers were on clearance!!

Ray and I did start our baby registries at Target and Babies R Us. We have selected items that we would love to have just for Abigail and will tweak it as the months go along and we find that as we unpack things from storage they might have gone bad, gone missing, or we imagined we had it but really it was never there.

Emma's Big Girl Room

Emma can climb in and out of this bed by herself. We felt it was time for the change with the fact that she is so tall, starting to climb, and showing other various signs of becoming more independent. Plus, with us having an infant in a crib this May we do not want her being confused if she were to still be in a crib herself. We bought this wonderful quality furniture with the full intention of using the four different stages as she grows and matures.

This is Emma's Princess Palace and she has her select toys, pillows, and a blanket in here for her comfort. She already likes to play in it from time to time.

This cute little kitchen is just what she needed. It will grow taller as she gets bigger and has many compartments, accessories, and makes noises as she plays with it. There is even a high chair with a baby in it so she can help take care of the baby. She is going to make the best Big Sister in the Whole World!

It's a Girl

We are excited to announce that Abigail Grace Pheris will be coming into the world in May!

We went to the doctor today for an ultrasound and our checkup. In the last month she has not gained any weight and the baby looks absolutely beautiful. We are officially 19 weeks and 1 day along, but the baby is measuring 20 weeks and 2 days. Developmentally the baby looks perfect and is extremely active. She is our little wiggle worm! The doctor even commented on how active she was during the ultrasound. She likes to be interactive with the ultrasound, she was waving and moving around. The picture we posted shows her sucking her thumb.

For most of the pregnancy I had a feeling the baby was going to be a boy based on how different this pregnancy experience has been. However, over the past week my hunch was shifting more towards a girl. Brandie asked me last night what I thought, and I told her 55%/45% in favor of a boy. Before we went to the appointment today she asked me again, and I told her my gut was now telling me the baby was going to be a girl. Looks like I am 2 for 2 in the prognostication department! Brandie, Emma, and myself are all very excited and cannot wait for May!

Emma's Gifts

Basketball is big in our house and Emma loves to watch the lady Aggies play all the time. So this is a very fitting gift as her Daddy gets her ready for her College days of playing for the Aggies!

This is no surprise to anyone who knows Emma, she loves Mickey Mouse. So as we would go through the stores she would always want to stop and interact with the dancing Mickey.

The instrument you see Emma with is a similar type of instrument that her Dad used to play in the 8th grade band! So of course when Poppa saw it he thought she had to have it.

This is the theme we went with this year for Emma's wrapping paper and Christmas card. We will get her a card each year. They will stay closed and in her hope chest until she is old enough to read them on their own. I love this tradition!

Well what can I say about the chair other than doesn't every Little Princess need their very own chair! She loves it, moves it around, and sits in it watching her Mickey Mouse and holding her princess blanket.

A princess play tent is also a must have item for a Princess. This gift is from her Uncle Eric and she already enjoys getting in it, dragging her blanket with her, and additional pictures to come soon when her room is redesigned to fit this item in it.

This home made ornament is too cute! The picture below is a hand made ballerina bow holder, its so precious. These gifts are from Milli up at Ray's work. She is very sweet and very talented.

As Emma gets older and starts to leave some of these gifts behind we will make sure to pass on our blessings to others who could benefit from such wonderful and thoughtful gifts that Emma received this Christmas season.

These are only a few of the items our Sweet Pea received from Santa and loved ones. Thank you all for making this a Christmas full of fun for Emma. Of course her favorite toy was the wrapping paper!

Merry Christmas 2010

We want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! Emma is getting ready to open her gifts. Ray will post a video of it later : )

Christmas Eve 2010

Emma at the beginning of our day. We had some yummy cinnamon rolls for breakfast before heading out for some last minute errands.

Emma ready for a nap and letting us know it by holding her blanket and sitting in her new Princess chair that Ray bought her this week.

Homemade Cheesecake that we will serve with options of chocolate sauce, cherry pie filling, or homemade whipped cream.

Homemade fudge! I have missed this, I usually get it once a year and Ray made it for me : )

My homemade pecan pie! This is the first time that I have made a pie with no help or assistance from anyone.

Cookies from Emma to her cousins and Santa. Sugar cookies with a touch of the Christmas Spirit.

Homemade Chocolate Pie, again this is the first time for me to make any of this and I have to say it was not as hard as I thought. Ray and I had fun doing it and we made memories for a lifetime .

Banana Bread! I love this stuff lately. Ray has been making me this for about 2 months now and it is great! I do not like nuts in most deserts, so this bread does not have any at all.




The three above pictures are from our dinner tonight, which was all made by hand. They were yummy Olive Garden recipes that I enjoy, and it started a new tradition of having seafood on Christmas Eve.

Love,

Brandie, Ray, and Emma

Merry Christmas From Emma

Emma would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Love,

Emma

Emma's Christmas Outfits

We bought the PJ set on the right last year on clearance for 3 dollars and the Frog set this year. Now she has a pair to wake up in on Christmas Eve and Christmas!

I made these bows to go with her three dresses. Emma has three dresses for three different locations, our house, Nana and Poppa's house, then when she goes to see her Memaw.

Nana and Poppa bought her the outfit with matching purse on the right, so she will wear that when she goes to see them. The other two dresses we got on sale this year.

OCD Christmas Gift Wrapping

These gifts in the Mickey Mouse paper belong to Emma. We had originally wanted to do 3 gifts to honor the 3 gifts Jesus got at his birth, but as you can see that was hard to do. She has 3 times as many gifts as Jesus. We hope to do a better job of it as she gets older and her siblings need gifts as well.

These are the gifts for Ray from Emma, Little P (baby), and myself. I take pride in the wrapping and the bows. I enjoy it and it looks beautiful.

These are my gifts from Ray, Emma, and Little P. Ray did the wrapping and I added the bows. I usually make all the bows, but with so little time, so much to do, and not enough energy I compromised and used some store bought bows as well.

These are the gifts for the Pheris side of the family. Can you see a theme of gold on gold? This goes well with our Aggie Christmas Tree that is loaded with Maroon and Gold ornaments.

These gifts are for the Housley side of my family. These are all for my nieces and nephews. Ray and I shared in the wrapping, but of course I did all the placements of the bows.

At last for the Peeples family, when we visit them some time in the near future these are theirs as we exchange gifts every year. We have gotten together for the last 6 years to celebrate Christmas and we are looking forward to meeting their Gummy Bear when he/she arrives sometime in the new year. As you can tell that is a lot of wrapping paper and many different types. As many know, I am known for OCD, Type A Personality traits. I thought it would be easier to wrap gifts in different paper for transportation and delivery, that way we don't have to dig to find which gift goes to what location when we deliver them or have them mailed. This is my system and I am sticking to it to ease confusions and stress on Christmas.

Merry Christmas!

Brandie