Merry Christmas from The Dills!!

I know I am a little early, but we leave tomorrow morning for Colorado, and I will not have internet there for a whole week ( yah I know!). Today we put Hattie in one of her many Christmas outfits, a tutu from her Aunt Kimmie, and had our own little family opening of presents. Christmas is just so much fun this year!! We will be in Colorado for a week with Brent's family and then when we come back all of my family will be here in Texas! Even my brother and all of my nieces and nephews will be here! I am so excited!
Boy does it feel good to know I have over two weeks off of school! Last week was just crazy doing all of our school christmas festivities. On Thursday I took Hattie to my school's Christmas program. Brent had his staff party the same night, and we both wanted to take Hattie ( I got her though: ). She had a blast and was a hoot! Everytime the kids got up to sing she would start rocking back and forth and waving her arms. My students, student's parents, and my co-workers loved getting to see Hattie again. During the program I was holding her and she reached over to go to another teacher and ended up being passed down the row to all the teachers! And before we left I put her in her pjs and she fell asleep in the car and I carried her to bed! It was a great night, and I even did it without my hubby ( it would have been better with him though: ). Friday was my staff party. We had a white elephant gift exchange and who would have known the snuggie I brought would have been the gift that was stolen the most! I love the teachers I work with! We always have fun when we can get together outside of school!
Well I will be back to the blog in another week or so, with lots of pictures I am sure! I hope all of you have a wonderful holiday!

she loved this tutu...it was hilarious to see her crawl in it

her signature pose

Sara came over to bring me her hold coach bag ( that was my christmas present) and as you can tell, Hattie liked her new purse! Isn't it beautiful?!

who cares about the toy...Hattie can pull herself up on the box

she loves crawling over to the window to look outside and see her buddies

this is definetly true....grandma and nana

Hattie's great grandma Gloria sent a doll and she started shaking while I was getting it out of the box

me and my girl before the program

she loved Audrah ( and her necklace)

our final product...Aly, Regan, Ruth Ann, and I did both backdrops and painted the ship and sleigh....lots of time went into that

Hattie is 8 months!!

It is still unbelievable how much a baby can change in such a short time. It was just over a month ago that Hattie started crawling, and now she is going all over the place ( and she is fast!) and is beginning to pull her self up onto things! Her favorite thing these days is dancing! I wonder where she gets that from?!?! Her favorite toy is this dog that sings "Make You Wanna Shout", anytime that plays she starts rocking back and forth and waving her hands. She is also learning how to wave good bye. She did that to Alicia today when we were leaving her house. My favorite part of the day is when I get to pick her up. Right when she sees me she starts smiling and laughing! I love how excited she gets, it makes my day! She is such a lovebug!!

my big girl

Hattie with her favorite toy

such a smiler: )

looks like someone is trying to get big people food

Why did I bother wrapping the presents this year? hehe

No Sitting on Santa's Lap This Year!!

I was so excited to take Hattie to meet Santa. Sara and I thought we would get a really cute picture of Marina and Hattie with Santa! Oh no...we were wrong! Both girls sat on his lap and then immediatly started crying. The good news...we save like 20 dollars not buying the picture ( it is kinda a rip off). I ended up taking a picture of Hattie in her cute little outfit anyway. Cathy and I bought that outfit on clearance last year. It was size 6/9 months so I figured it wouldn't fit since Hattie wears 12 months, but it ended up fitting and looked really cute!
It has been really cold here this week, mostly in the 40's..burr! It is so funny that these teachers think we can't take the kids outside for recess if it is below 50. I am turning into a wimp too, but my class still went outside for recess: )
On Saturday night Braedon spent the night so Kim and Greg could go out for dinner and a movie for Greg's birthday. We had lots of fun. When Kim picked him up he said " Mom, at sleepover we get to stay up late, watch movies, and scream!" Kim looked at me and said thanks! I really am not sure where he came up with the screaming part! He is so funny! He also convinced me to make smiley face scrambled eggs for breakfast! Hattie is so fascinated with Braedon. There is no one who can get Hattie to laugh more than him!

Oh if you want to see our professional pictures that we had taken last week you can visit the website:
https://www.smilesbywire.com/home.asp?AC=LTPP0578104447JCP
type in Katie Dill for the name ( duh: )

Have a great week! I can't believe it is almost Christmas!

hello

wish the weather was nicer so we could get outside

buds

Braedon with his smiley face breakfast : )

this was my grandma Wilma's ceramic tree..all of us have great memories of this tree

my little village

our tree

love christmas lights

Thanksgiving with Nana and Papa...

Oh I love that we are in the holiday season! It seems even more exciting and fun having a baby here to celebrate with us. On Thanksgiving Day, while everyone was taking a nap, Hatte and I were playing outside and I couldn't stop thinking about how thankful I am that she is in our lives. I can't even express how much this little girl means to us! We really do have so much to be thankful for.
Cathy and Rick got here one week ago and now they are getting ready to leave in a few hours. We did so much while they were here, it really makes me wish that our parents lived closer. They couldn't believe how much Hattie had changed since July. She definetly is starting to get more of a personality! Anytime we turn on music she starts dancing by rocking and shaking her hands...it is so funny! She was quite the Nana and Papa girl while they were here. Of course she was a little spoiled and I think her day care provider will notice on Monday! Hattie got to spend all day Monday with Nana and Papa while we were at school and then Tuesday night. They are such wonderful grandparents, it is easy to see how much they love her!
Rick and Cathy also spoiled us and let us go out a few nights. One night Brent and I went to a Mavericks games with kids from my school. All Brent could say was that middle school doesn't look so bad after riding a bus with 30 elementary kids! Last night Brent and I went out to dinner and then watched the movie Blind Side ( it is very good by the way). We hadn't been to a movie together since May of 08!
On Thanksgiving both my sisters and their families came over for a delicious lunch ( delicious because Cathy did most of it). It was also Brent's birthday that day! Lots of holiday birthdays this year I guess! Yesterday Cathy, Kim, and I got up at 4:30 to test our sanity by shopping at Walmart and Target. Holiday shoppers can be so crazy, Kim almost got hurt trying to get Rock Band! She ended up holding strong and walked away with it at the end. We also got several other bargains, so yes, it is worth it! Yesterday we also got our Christmas lights hung up, the tree up and decorated, and all of the other decor up. This is the first year we have really got to put up many Christmas decorations! Have I said how much I love this season?!?!
Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

so sweet...she is such a cuddler

Papa and Hattie must have spent hours outside on this swing!

Of course, Nana got her share of playing time too

such a nut!

this is where she would go when she woke up in the mornings

Go Mavs!

I think I am going to have a little bargain shopper on my hands!

how to eat for Daddy's b-day

who needs a highchair?

me and my baby before getting her Christmas pictures! I will post some later on...they were pretty cute even after waiting over an hour to get them!

pretty cozy here

Nana got Hattie a new outfit for Thankgiving and she actually kept the shoes on!

Rick and Brent posing with the b-day cake...they have a picture like this when Brent was 1 or 2

helping daddy with the presents