The Ballard Bunch

Hope you're all as excited for the morning as we are in our house!

I'm up waiting for Beau to get home from plowing so that we can finish up last minute Santa-errands. He'll have to go out again tomorrow afternoon (Bah-Humbug!), but at least we'll have him for the best part of the day - Christmas Morning Fun.

In the meantime, I had to include a picture I found on my camera that I'd totally forgotten about. Hayden, in all her mostly-naked glory, enjoying Tate's snow boots. They're HUGE on her, so she couldn't walk far, but she sure did try. Gotta give a girl credit where credit is due - she keeps up with her big sister pretty well for a little bug.



Merry Christmas!

I am totally having deja vu posting this, but I had to share. Basically a reenactment of last year's Grow Family Christmas Party and it's subsequent visit from "you know who".

We'll start with the pleasant visits...

Shantell


Braeden


Kehlden


Jakelle
(I don't have a picture on my camera, but she was cooperative and cute as can be)

Hayden


...and the not so pleasant.

Miss Tate


This is the clearest shot I was able to get - she clung to Beau like her life depended on it. Think she'll ever grow out of it?

Late, but at least I'm posting, right?

Here are some pics of us picking out our tree.





And Tatum's new snowboot debut...but her being surprisingly shy about it.

Everyone, go to Steve & Barry's. I SCORED today and got the remainder of my Christmas shopping done (minus various gift cards I need to still purchase). Everything in the store is $8.95 and under. Everything.

The only one I know of in Utah is off of I-215 & 2200 Exit (near Cottonwood High School).

Trust me, it's worth the drive.

Today Shalae and I were crafty girls and made our own version of a "Hooter Hider". In case you are totally baffled by the name, check out the link here. They're basically a breastfeeding coverup with a handy apron-like strap that holds the blanket around your neck. They turned out great and were surprisingly easy to sew. Here's mine...





If any of you are interested, just let me know. I'm happy to share sewing secrets or make you one of your own at a minimal cost. :)

Tagged by Jules…Christmas-Style!

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Paper all the way! There is something extra fun about opening a gift (especially watching your kids tear through the paper in excitement), although I’ve been known to use a gift bag here and there – convenience, mostly. Or, for those odd shaped gifts!

2. Real tree or Artificial? Real all the way. Beau and I totally agree on this one, thankfully. I just love the adventure of going to pick it out, etc. Minus vacuuming the needles every day, mind you.

3. When do you put up the tree? Sometime after Thanksgiving, depending on my mood, but no later then December 1st or 2nd.

4. When do you take the tree down? Usually New Year’s Day

5. Favorite gift received as a child? I can’t remember either – that’s horrible! I should have a better memory than that…

6. Do you have a nativity scene? No, but I do have Joseph and Mary holding the babe on my end table. Does that count?

7. Hardest person to buy for? No one, really. I love the challenge!

8. Easiest to buy for? The girls, by far. They want everything and anything and get excited about it all. I’m still at the stage where I can pick things for them, though, too. I’m sure it’ll change very soon.

9. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail – I love to receive so I make sure to send. Might be a little late this year, though! Oops!

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Can’t think of one…

11. Favorite Christmas Movie? We’re loving all of the holiday classics for kids lately – we have the boxed set w/ Rudolph, Frosty the Snowman, etc.

12. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? I don’t think so.

13. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? All the neighbor goodies!

14. Clear lights or colored on the tree? White lights on my family decorated tree. Believe it or not, I really and not one for the “formal tree” – there is something so nostalgic and sweet about pulling out past ornaments (and the ones we get the kids each year) and having a story to tell. Our tree has a lot of love, that’s for sure. Maybe as the kids get older and the ornaments grow in number, I might be converted to the two-tree side, but not yet.

15. Favorite Christmas song? I really like Jack Johnson’s version of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”

16. Travel at Christmas or stay home? So far, home. It’s just so hard to even imagine the work, time and money it would take to transport us all somewhere to celebrate. But, we’re happy to entertain here!

17. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? There's Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen. But do you recall the most famous reindeer of all? RUDOLPH! (Julie, I sang the song, too!)

18. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Same also on the PJ’s thing. We open those before we go to Beau’s grandma’s for the Christmas Eve party so the girls can wear them on the way home (in case they fall asleep).

19. Most annoying thing about this time of year? The never-ending list of things to buy. Just when I think I’m ahead, something else comes up that I have to buy for (parties, gift exchanges, etc.) Not that I mind participating, it’s just hard to REALLY plan money-wise towards the week before Christmas.

20. Favorite ornament theme or color? Ours starts with white lights and cranberry sprigs and then is decorated with ornaments from past Christmases. It really kind of follows the red, green and white theme so far, though.

21. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Skip the ham; bring on another turkey, please! I love the whole spread…minus the cranberries. Ick.

22. What do you want for Christmas this year? Tatum to quit pooing her panties.

TAG... Amanda, Jami, Lenette, Chelsea, Megan, Tanya, Yvonne, Kim and Krystal. And anyone I may have neglected.

This is a great little "challenge" I stumbled across on Kendra's blog:

“I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, which is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog.”

Not sure if that's her pledge, or one that we all should follow, but I'm copying, pasting and participating.

So come on, ladies...comment away and start to Pay It Forward, too! :) How fun!

Some of you have posted comments asking if my babies, are in fact, as big as I'd indicated in my last post. Here's a quick trip down memory lane...

Tatum Gayle Ballard
March 25, 2005
10 lbs 4 oz - 22 Inches Long




Hayden Ruth Ballard
August 11, 2006
8 lbs 10 oz, 19 Inches Long
(10 Days Early)




Both chubby, cute and full of hair.

Can't wait to see what this little guy will look like!

I can't believe that after tomorrow (technically today, it's after midnight, afterall) I'll be in the single digits until my due date. The nice thing for me to remember is that I'm not going off a due date, they'll take this little guy early, too. We're aiming for under 10 lbs...fingers crossed!

Sorry - I blog-suck lately.

I promise, sometime tomorrow I'll post some kind of new and exciting information about our family. Life just seems to be going by faster than I can manage (especially this time of year) and I haven't had much time to even consider a blog or two.

Wish me luck - speaking in church in the morning and I'm scared out of my mind. Ugh.

On Saturday night we held our second (we're hoping monthly) craft night. Chelsea, Karen and I all met up (with husbands and kids in tow) to make felt stockings. I was determined to finish mine and, although I had to work a little later than the rest, was able to complete all of my stockings! The only thing I had to do was tea stain them the next day. I only will need five (once the baby arrives), but made six so that if I ever need another, I won't have to reinvent the wheel. Here's how they turned out:


Also, because I was the lucky winner of Chelsea's blog contest, I was given these amazing hand-made crafts. Chelsea - you really are the most talented person I know! Thanks so much - I love them!


Lastly, a few weeks back I got a wild hair and decided I wanted to attempt to make a small family tree for our house. It has yet to be completed (and may need to be altered in years to come), but I was really happy with how it turned out. Now I just have to decide where to put it!


Oh! And for those of you still waiting to see, here is a picture of the "oven" Beau and I constructed for our Halloween costumes. Beau was a baker and I was an oven with a "bun" inside. We had a great time playing with friends at Lisa and Ryan's house. Jami's got the picture of us together - as soon as I can get my hands on it, 'll post. :)

Thanks Shannon for another fun tag! Here goes...

This one is about my sweet hubby, Beau
What is his name? Beau Ray Ballard
How long have you been married? 3 1/2 years
How long did you date? About 8 months
How old is he? He's a baby - 27!
Who eats more? Usually he does, but sometimes this pregnant girl can surprise!
Who said I love you first? I think it was Beau - that's bad I can't remember!
Who is taller? Beau
Who sings better? Beau - I'm terrible! 80's rock all the way...
Who is smarter? He's probably more street smart, I'm more book smart. And, I'm a sponge for useless trivia (he's constantly amazed) - haha!
Whose temper is worse? We're about the same - he's probably less patient with the girls, though.
Who does the laundry? Usually me
Who does the dishes? Usually me
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Beau
Who pays the bills? Me
Who mows the lawn? Beau
Who cooks dinner? Me
Who drives when you are together? Almost always Beau
Who is more stubborn? Beau! :)
Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Me
Whose parents do you see the most? Typically Beau's...most of my family lives far away.
Who proposed? Beau did, and it's all recorded on a cop's dashboard cam.
Who has more friends? We're about even - and we've become friends with the spouses of our respective friends - so it continues to be even as we "grow".
Who has more siblings? I do if you count step-siblings. :)
Who wears the pants in the family? Totally depends on the issue
Tag: Jami, Amanda, Lisa, Tanya, Yvonne, Megan and Kendra

Have Fun!

After a few weeks of a very frustrating cell phone situation, we have now passed the contract deadline with Sprint and have got new phones (and numbers)! (I sent an email out with the new numbers for both Beau and I, but if you didn't get it, let me know)

A big thanks to my mom for the gift of phones - we love them!

So who of you out there are with Verizon? I'm excited about the mobile-to-mobile minutes - especially considering that most of my family and Beau's family are Verizon users.

Ahhhhhh. Bluetooth headset. No more multi-multi-tasking in the car. :)

...for amateurs!

As you can tell in most of her pictures, Hayden wasn't feeling all too "photogenic" today. I think my most favorite of her is where she's crying and has her hands to her eyes. Ugh, I die! Still, crying she's cute as can be! Minus, of course, all the bumps and bruises evident of a new walker. Photoshop, here I come!

My sweet Tate looks so grown-up and pretty in these pictures! I can hardly believe she's going to be 3 in March. And she was relatively cooperative, compared to past photo experiences (those of you who know her know that she tends to lean towards the disagreeable side of requests). I think it helped that her cousins, friends and especially her BFF "B" were all there to play along.

Enjoy!

Today Karen, Shanna and I took our kids up to Copperton Park to see if we could possibly take good pictures of our kids. I'll post the pictures of mine that I love (and that were taken with Karen's awesome camera) in my next post. I snapped these with my camera before we got started. Just thought they were cute!

Beau and Hayden playing before church on Sunday. She loved it!

It's been brought to my attention that I neglected to tag a very important blogger the other day.

Shannon, you asked for it! :) You know I love ya...let's hear your six!

So, I'm obsessive-compulsive, I know. You'd think a girl could wait at least a couple of weeks after finding out what she's having to get rolling on decorating plans, but not me!

I've found some bedding on eBay that is super cute, but not exactly what I'm looking for. BUT, it's super cheap (I'm getting it all for $40 - bumper, quilt, sheet, bed skirt and a couple other random items) and has never been used (still in packaging), so I figure it'll work perfectly for a foundation. One side of it is this beautiful chocolate brown faux suede material and I'm going to cover the other sides of everything (except the bed skirt and the fitted sheet) with these fabrics:




I love the idea of the retro-cowboy material. Plus, Beau's got loads of stuff from Texas (hats, ropes, long horns, etc.) that we can decorate with, so why not go for it? Plus, what fun colors to coordinate with, right?

The kid will have bedding galore, but no name as of yet. We're thinking that when we decide, that might be the secret we keep to ourselves to announce at the birth. Then again, if you read my post from earlier today, you'd know that I'm not the best at keeping my own secrets so it might be told sooner than March. I'll try my best, though! For the record, nothing has been decided, so that makes it much easier to keep. *haha*

Last post today, I swear. I forgot that I had video of Tatum trick-or-treating. At the end you can see her bow, but it's not the best shot.

I've been watching our friend's little boy a couple of days a week for the last couple of weeks. He and Tatum are quickly becoming fast friends and had a blast playing in the backyard yesterday. I had to post the pictures - they turned out so cute!

You'll notice the beautiful hair both of my girls have in the morning. I once saw somewhere a mom who posted a picture of her daughter's hair in the morning and then a picture of the same daughter with her hair done cute with a caption saying, "This is how I know I'm a good mom. I can turn this...into this." That's exactly how I feel some days.





Tatum's always been into dress up and it's fun to see Hayden getting in on the fun now. And, to make for even funnier pictures, Hayden's started saying "cheese" and flashing the silliest smile ever. I'm just glad they get along...sometimes!

Thanks Jami, this was fun!

The rules of the game should be posted at the beginning of the post. Each player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

1. I am 95% complete with my Christmas shopping for the girls. Mind you, I haven’t been on a major shopping expedition, I just watch sales all year long and stock up. I’ve had clothes and toys saved for both of them since this spring. It’s all a matter of keeping your eyes open at all times. All I have to buy now are stocking stuffers – tights, sipper cups, crayons, candy, etc. I’m thinking that I’d be smart to save some of the Halloween loot they gathered on Wednesday and throw that in the socks. Is that horrible?

2. I’m addicted to the afore-mentioned Halloween candy. It’s bad. I wake up and I want to eat Smarties. After breakfast, some Laffy Taffy would do the trick. A Snickers? It always satisfies…for a few minutes. I’m anxious to get rid of it soon, I just hope that my way of getting rid of it isn’t me eating it all. You know what sounds really good right now? Sour Patch Kids…

3. I’m very anxious to get going on the baby’s bedding. Like, I want to make it today. I’ve got an idea of what I’m doing and have won a few items to work with on ebay, but I really just need to dive in. If I can tackle that part of the prep work, all I’ll need to focus on after that are the dreaded clothing needs. Where do you find cute boy clothes?

4. I’m terrible at keeping secrets. Keep in mind, I am really good at keeping other people’s secrets, just not my own. Christmas is especially hard for me – I’m the girl who would open presents and re-wrap them and could still act surprised. I can read the last chapter of a book and still totally enjoy knowing how it’ll end while reading the rest. It’s a sickness, really.

5. I have the CRAZIEST dreams! Especially when I’m knocked up. I dream about everything and anything, but they all seem to be more vivid when I’m pregnant. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve woken up totally affected by a dream. Several times at night I’ll wake up and talk to Beau and he’ll have no idea what I’m even talking about. It’s usually about one of the girls getting hurt or forgetting something. Totally weird, I know.

6. I’m so pumped already for the Day After Thanksgiving Sales. It’s not even about the great score to me. I love the thrill of it all! I love having to push and shove my way to a desired purchase and I LOVE that Shanna’s got my back. Every year we seem to get into it with someone and it’s secretly kind of fun. That probably makes me sound horrible, huh? Maybe there is a little fighter in me after all. Look out ladies; I’ll pull your hair!

I tag: Amanda, Kim F., Kimm H., Chelsea, Megan and Tanya

We've got a little time in between visiting Grandma Tammy and Papa Glen and our trip out trick-or-treating, so I thought I'd quickly post some pictures of the kids in their costumes.

Hayden's makeup was super cute until I had to touch up and it got a little goofed. But, you all get the idea. Tatum was SO crabby this evening and took way longer to get ready than I'd planned on. The end result, however, is exactly what I was going for. She even bows when she goes to the door to say, "Trick or Treat!"

We were able to get a quick picture of five of the grandkids (minus Jakelle - she was coming a little later than we were). Everyone looked great!








Happy Haunting! May there be lots of candy in your future tonight! :)

Every year we give our nieces and nephews a little something special for Halloween. And, since I can't leave the girls out, I usually make them the same treat. This year I was inspired by Martha, of course. She had these in her October magazine and I thought they were too cute to pass up. I only wish I'd had larger sticks for the broom handles, but you gotta work with what you have.

All they are made from is simple brown paper lunch sacks (two per gift), a stick and a bag of candy (really any kind will work). If you want instructions, let me know.

I was so in love with them that I even made a few extras for Kaden (I've been watching him a few days a week) and Hunter, Logan and Jackson (their grandma always spoils our girls on Halloween)!

Happy Halloween!