Sugar and Spice...

Cookies that is! Elly and I put to good use a gift that I received from my Secret Santa at work... An entire set for the perfect cookie making experience! Elly could have transferred the flour mixture back and forth from bowl to bowl...ALL...DAY...LONG. She threw a major diva fit when it was time to mix it all up. She got over it quickly and, just as quickly, was unamused by the cookies (which would explain why the dough is still chilling in the fridge!)

It turned out to be quite a lazy Sunday. The laundry sat for another day, the house stayed a little more cluttered than usual and cutie walked around in her diaper until noon! Sometimes that's just what you need to recharge the soul :) Maybe tomorrow we'll get around to using the Christmas cookie cutters and finish what we started!




Elly thought it was great fun to blow on the flour mixture and watch it fall to the floor. It was around that time that mommy decided it was time to move on to the next step!

I'm now taking appointments...

Just kidding! The whole "taking pictures of people other than my daughter" thing, just about causes me to break out in hives! My friend/supervisor at work had asked if I would snap a few family pictures for her. They hadn't had any done in quite some time and didn't want to go to a stiff, stuffy studio to have new ones done. I decided I needed to step out of my comfort zone and give it a "shot" (Ha!). Here are some of my favorites :)

The PRECIOUS Carpenter family

Had to throw in the all too typical sibling shot!

Jack and Anna are such cuties! The pic of the two of them below was by far my favorite :)

*By the way...I'm LOVING the new Pictage Picnik for my editing. It's does everything Lightroom does, minus the $300 price tag (It's free with Pictage, but you can pay to upgrade to get ALL the goodies)!

RIP...

...Mr. Hoo Hoo :( First thing this morning, Elly ran to the Christmas tree pointing to MY Mr. Owl. She would point to him and look to me "Hoo, hoo...Hoo, hoo." I told her that that was mommy's Hoo hoo! While putting away our laundry, the little stinker climbed up on the cedar chest and snatched my owl off the tree!!!!! I walked in to her room to find THIS...

Craft Day

As the weather gets a little chilly, I've been racking my brain for ideas to keep Elly busy and content, while staying toasty and warm! We made our way to the children's museum not too long ago where Elly discovered the play grocery store! She pushed her cart around that place like a crazy housewife on a mission :) Unfortunately, it's just not cost efficient to go every weekend. Today I decided to try out my first real craft with Elly! We started out simple, not too messy, not too complicated...a cute peel and stick owl ornament. I do crafts often with my kiddos at work and have always had...well, I guess you could call them control issues! I like for our crafts to turn out PERFECT. You know, the way they look in the picture. I always said I would be the mom who did her kids school projects :) This craft was no different. I would peel the sticker and put the piece exactly where it should have gone. Elly would watch and tell me "push, push!" and she would puuuuush it to make sure it was on tight! She LOVED it! I must admit, she REALLY LOVED pulling off all the owls parts and sticking them anywhere and everywhere...

Her mouth, the furniture, her face...


Of course IN her mouth...


And even on poor Sampson!


Elly caught in the act of torturing her poor owl! Good thing there were two in the package, mommy got to do one to her satisfaction and hang it high on the tree to keep him safe ;)

*Did you notice the gut on my little Cutie?!

Playdates and Parks

A few weeks ago Elly decided it had been WAY too long since she had spent some good quality time with her BFF Abby! The Patrick's made their way to Fort Worth and we had a picnic at the Botanic Gardens. It was so fun to watch the girls run around and actually enjoy each others company! They are finally to the age where they play WITH one another rather than do their own thing in the general vicinity of the other. I can't wait to see how their friendship develops over the years. Who knows what's to come for baby Owen and baby girl Roebuck #2...I think Colin and Jenn would make lovely in-laws ;)



Oh Abby...are you ready for some FUN?


Heck yeah! I'm on my way!


Maybe start with a little grass picking...


Followed by a little rolling down the hill...


A quick hug to recharge...


And end it all with a little fun in the fountain!


If I remember correctly, before Elly handed over this glance, mommy had given "the look" followed by a stern "Elly, don't you climb up on that fountain."

Surprise, surprise, she ended up on the time out bench!

WOW!

Kris's parents got us a video camera for Christmas last year. Of course, when I tried to turn it on this morning, the battery was dead. I whipped out my old digital camera at the last minute and was able to catch a bit of Elly's reaction when she saw the Christmas tree all lit up! Unfortunately, I didn't get her huge GASP and grin when she spotted it! It was priceless! It's not the best quality of video but you get the idea. The REAL video camera is charging as I type this. It will be ready to go for Christmas morning when Elly discovers the treats the big jolly guy left her...that is if she is a good girl for the remainder of the holiday season :)

It's official...

It's Christmas time in the Roebuck household! I usually try to wait until after Thanksgiving but this year I decided to get a little jump start. Elly and I are making our way to Granbury tomorrow afternoon to get ready for...drum roll please...my first ever Thanksgiving preparation! I will be doing the TURKEY!!! My friend Ali and I took a Turkey Day cooking class a few weeks back so I'm fairly confident in my ability to turn out an edible main course. To ease myself in slowly, I will be doing this under the strict supervision of my mother ;)

The finished product! I'm still without a tree topper :( I just can't seem to find one I like. They all seem so gaudy!


We actually have our first gift under the tree! Thanks Gallemore's Elly can't wait to rip into it! Literally...she's been eyeing it ever since I brought it home last week :) I'm curious to see what kind of trouble cutie will get into with the tree this year.

Decisions, decisions...

After finding the perfect holiday dress for Cuite (GAP $5.00!), I've been wanting to get out to try to snap a few shots for our family Christmas card. Well, lets face it...Elly's Christmas card. Nobody really cares much for Kris and me anymore ;) The beautiful weather is fading fast, so I took full advantage of the beautiful afternoon. The minute Kris walked in the door, I told him to turn right back around. Actually, I think it came out more like this, "Turn around! We're losing the light!!!!!" We headed out to TCU where Elly hammed it up with EVERY student that passed by! She would wave and yell "Hiiiii!" If they would humor her with a hello in return, she would run off and try to follow them back to their dorm. Needless to say, she was pooped and had an early bedtime tonight!

With a bit of editing, I think I got a few keepers. I'll keep the big winner a secret. You'll just have to wait to get the masterpiece in the old school way...snail mail! I guess this kicks off the holiday season for the Roebuck family :)

Shipley's!

I came across some pictures from our weekend away and forgot to post one of my favorites! For our last morning in Greune, we decided to hit up the local donut shop before we made our way out of town. What better way for Elly to experience her first donut than at the Texas staple...Shipley's!



I'll take a sprinkle please...and don't forget the chocolate milk!

Pumpkin For Our Punkin

I was determined to get our little punkin out to a pumpkin patch this year! We tried a few weeks ago and got rained out. Last weekend was our last chance to make it out to the sticks to visit Mainstay Farm. I had it all planned out perfectly. Elly was up early so I figured we'd do an early lunch, followed with a nap, then head out around 1:30 or 2. Elly, who makes her own plans, decided she didn't need a nap. So, needless to say, our pumpkin hunting didn't last too long. She did enjoy picking up all the mini pumpkins and moving them all over the place. As the seconds ticked, she decided to start throwing the mini pumpkins. We decided it was time to move on to the next activity...the hay ride! Surprisingly, she did really well. Miss Independent does NOT like to sit still, especially in my lap. We had a snack and sippy cup, which kept her pretty happy. All in all it was a good day and I got some pictures to prove we made it there. I'm already looking forward to next year. There were lots of fun activities for older kids that Elly will love. See you in a year Mainstay Farm!

One of Elly's favorite games...jump to daddy! "Ready...Set...GO!"

Ok...maybe not. This is a little high!

Hay ride with mommy!

We didn't even get out of the parking lot before Elly decided she DID need a nap :)

Halloween 2010

October has come and gone and cutie girl has another Halloween under her belt! It turned out to be a great night with lots of family and wonderful friends. Elly stayed up WAY too late (proven by the two hand fulls of MY hair she yanked out in the midst of an "up too late tantrum") but it was well worth it. It's way past MY bedtime, so here's a mini post and a few pictures of my little cheerleader ready to make her way out in search of all that sugary goodness! We actually didn't do any trick-or-treating. Elly was quite content putting candy in other kids bags and attempting the occasional escape with the family that seemed a little bit cooler than her own. I think I need to invest in one of those harness/leash contraptions that they try to make "cute" by making the leash into some kind of animal tail :)

Too cool for school...


Enough with the pictures it's time to trick-or-treat!


Come on mom! I'm going with or without you!

Goooo Team!

After missing the last TCU tailgate and game, we made sure to make it out this weekend to cheer on our Frogs! We finally got the TCU cheerleader uniform that Elly's Nana ordered for her. I'm not sure how we have lived without it! Does she not make the cutest little future Frog you've ever seen? We broke it in on Saturday and will do a little trick-or-treating in it on Halloween :)

This is the best full on picture I could get. Once she gets her paws on mommy's water bottle, there's no getting it back!


Borrowing Ali's necklace. You never know who you may run into at the TCU football games ;)


This little guy was sitting on the bleachers next to us. He was so cute and got a real kick out of Elly.


"You can be the quarterback, and I'll be the head cheerleader!"



"Touchdown TCU...I think we should kiss..."

Gruene, Tx...Part 2

As Waylon Jennings sang, "Lets go to Luckenbach, Tx. With Waylon and Willie and the boys." Well...this time it was Mommy and Daddy and the babe :) For those of you non Texans, Luckenbach is a VERY small town in Texas. It is so small that the town consists of one thing...a post office! I'm not sure when, but the post office was transformed into a gift shop and bar that is known throughout the state for it's live Texas country music. We had to make the stop to get our Luckenbach t-shirts. The back reads, "Everybody's somebody in Luckenbach", and that's no lie :)

Elly enjoying the local music. Hopefully this will be the one and only time she will be dancing on top of a bar!

Again, for you non Texans, Gruene is known for two things. Gruene Hall (the oldest working dance hall in Texas) and the GRISTMILL!! It is located right in the middle of town, overlooking the Guadalupe River. It has gorgeous scenery and amazing food! We'd had a long day so Cutie didn't last too long. Even shoveling our food in our mouths, it was quite delicious :)

The many lemon faces of Elly! The girl loves a good lemon :) She even eats the rind...kinda gross if you ask me.

Somewhere along the way, Elly lost a white shoe. How lucky that there was a random brown sandal in the car that fit the same foot! We got many smiles from people walking down the sidewalk :)

"Wait a minute! What's that noise coming from this place?! Could it possibly be..."

"...Gruene Hall! It is, it is!"

Elly got her groove on, right there on the sidewalk. She's quite the little ham. LOVES attention from anyone and everyone! If someone says hi to her or waves in her direction, they are her new best friend. Every ounce of her personality comes from Kris. Neither have ever met a stranger :)