Christmas Eve

It's Christmas Eve, time to gather with family and friends to eat, drink and be Merry!

We have baked cookies for Santa, and ready for the kids to open presents with Grandma and Grandpa tonight.

Merry Christmas Y'all!

kids at bass Pro shops having some Christmas fun

cocoa and caroling on Sherman Trail

gingerbread house decorating

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

So..It's Been Awhile

Hi Blogger Friends!

yes, yes, it has been awhile since I have posted. I think I am on FB so much these days I don't feel so pressed to inform the web world of my life on the blog anymore! but shame on me, because this is really more of a journal of what is going on in our lives and what is going on with the kids.

Well, after the kids' dual birthday weekend in October (oh yeah, never did post pictures of my baby girl's first birthday, *sigh*) we started to take it easy. I did a few photo sessions in November, thoroughly enjoyed Thanksgiving and the days after with the hubster home. Then, it has been full holiday swing around here! We had our family photos and cards done back in November, so that was done off the checklist. then on to getting the kids' annual Christmas jammies, Christmas outfits, our yearly Christmas ornament, our yearly (unsuccessful) trip to see Santa at NP (will post those later), decorating the house, Christmas shopping and loving every minute of it! So much to be thankful for, sooo looking forward to the holidays with this amazing family of mine :)

Here are some recent, random...you guessed it, unedited photos of us lately!

hubs and I getting ready for a date night!

Thanksgiving 2009

The Barresi Boys


Drew wearing Camden's pettiskirt and his winter hat!

Decorating the Tree 2009

Sneak Peak...

of my own kid!

we had family photos done for our Christmas cards this year and I think they turned out so cute. take a look at this one of Camden! you will have to wait for our card to see more :)

Miller Photo Shoot

It's that time of year!!! I recently did a Christmas card photo shoot for some friends. We went down to the Las Colinas canals and despite little "P" wanting nothing to do with photos that morning, I think we managed to entertain him, and got some good photos! :) I have just recently decided that I would start doing photo shoots (very limited, since I hardly have any free time!)

Take a peek at this adorable family! Love you guys :)

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from Fire Chief Drew and our little bumble bee Camden!

Halloween 2009

3 Years Old!

Wow, it has been a busy month for our family! Friday we celebrated Camden turning ONE! Cake, singing and presents with family. Saturday we had Drew's 3rd birthday at the fire station. Sunday we had Camden's 1st birthday party at our house. Finally, Monday we celebrated Drew's birthday with a special breakfast, ice cream cake and balloons that night and giving him his train table from us, Grandma & Grandpa and Grammy. It was a fun filled (and exhausting) weekend for us.

Drew is such a big boy these days! He likes to do things on his time and everything is a negotiation. From the time he wakes till the time he goes to bed he is asking for "5 more minutes mommy" "2 more stickers before I go to nap" or he will tell me "not right now mommy". As much as the terrible 3's have hit, he is so much fun these days too! He walks around the house singing new songs he's learned at school, counting things while using his fingers for help, and singing his ABC's. He is still in love with all things boy! Cars and lightning McQueen are some of his favorites right now. He got some Veggie Tales movies for his birthday and he wants to watch those all the time now, which is great because I love them! We were going through some sleep issues a couple months ago (that started before daddy's health issues) and we seem to be coming out of them the last couple weeks. We were laying on his floor until he fell asleep, then we started leaving before he fell asleep and the last several days, we haven't had to lay down at all.

Drew is really loving school and his teachers. His teacher told me that he is really starting to open up and talk to them a lot. He is becoming more comfortable and participating more. We started soccer several weeks ago, he played the first time (out of fear from the coach I think) and has never played since. We went the next couple times and weren't going to force him to play. We've just decided to give up on it this year and try again later. He is almost potty trained, although most days he argues with me every time I ask him to go potty, so out of laziness I still put a pull up or diaper on him some days.
We love you big bro bro, happy 3rd birthday!
love, mommy, daddy & CaCam

Drew and his friends at his party

big 3 year old!

invitation pictures in costume

1 Year Old!

Camden Reese-

Our sweet angel, I can't believe I am sitting here writing your birthday blog. One year ago today you were born and completed this family. It has been amazing watching you grow and learn. I think the most amazing part of it all is watching you with your big brother. You are in awe with everything Drew does. Watching the two of you together is very sweet.

We thought you were going to do things on a faster pace than Drew did. We were sure you were going to be sitting before he was, and you ended up being later! You still aren't crawling or pulling up on things. You have 2, almost 3, teeth now. You have your 2 bottom ones and I think a top one is about to break through any day now.

You are starting to refuse any baby food that I try to give you. Mommy has been slow introducing solid foods to you, but I better start buying more! We are about to transition you to soy milk, we were all sick this week so we will start next week!

We have had a fun month going to the Arboretum and our local pumpkin patch and this weekend we have your birthday and Drew's birthday 3 days later...oh, and both parties too! So that will be 4 days in a row of celebrating for our family!

Happy 1st Birthday Sweet Girl!

love,

mommy, daddy & drew

11 months

10 months

9 months

8 months

7 months

6 months

5 months

4 months

3 months

2 months

1 month

just born!

October 23, 2008

7 lbs. 4 oz. 18"

6:53pm

11 Months Old!

My Sweet Girl~

11 Months old... you are getting so big sweet Camden! Well, we are no longer nursing :( :) Mommy has mixed feelings about that. On one hand, I feel so free not having to be with you or having to be home at a certain time of day to make sure you get fed. But, on the other hand it makes me really sad to be done nursing you because it means this year has gone by SO quickly, and you may very well be my last baby to nurse. You are doing great with the bottles and I still try to make it our quiet, snuggle time. You are still doing the same for your meals but we have been trying some solid food with you and you are loving it. You had some grilled chicken the other night and ate it up! You shared some strawberry shortcake with mommy and you were very excited with every bite. You are starting to do well with solids, but you aren't very good at feeding them to yourself yet.
We have been doing bath time in the upstairs tub for the past few weeks and it is so much more fun for you! It is easier for mommy to lean over your tub and you love to splash and play. Bath time is definitely one of your favorite times of day. You have taken a bath with Drew a couple times now and you have a lot of fun doing that. You are still taking 2 (sometimes 3) naps a day and going to bed around 7 and sleeping till around 7.
You are scooting backwards, but that is about all the progress on the crawling front. Mommy is making sure she give you lots of tummy time on the floor, and you are scooting your bum way high in the air! Not really getting far though. You finally got your first tooth this week! Your bottom left tooth! We were starting to wonder if you had any teeth in there!
Mommy thinks you have said 'mama' a couple times but it hasn't been in a week or so, so maybe it was just some babbling, I could have sworn you said it twice though!
Everywhere we go, everyone says you look just like your daddy. I do think it is true, but I do see some resemblance to my baby photos. Grammy was just here to visit and she said that she thought you looked a lot like mommy as a baby. You are just like daddy though, you are calm and relaxed and happy most of the time.
We are in full swing planning your first birthday party and can't believe you have blessed our lives for almost a year now.

I love you Camden Reese.
love, mommy