Happy New Year!

I can't believe it, 2011 is coming to a close!

It's been a fun year, but I must admit, I am really looking forward to 2012!!!

Tonight we gathered with family and friends to celebrate 2011 and ring in 2012.
There was lots of yummy food, fun times, sparklers, and Dick Clark of course!

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Most everyone left before midnight,
but we still had fun ringing in the New Year at midnight with my parents and Dave & Bonnie!

Mmmm...Oysters....NOT!

These slimey, bacteria infested, disgusting looking creatures should NOT be eaten, but someone decided to bring a huge amount tonight to smell up the entire back yard! Kate decided she would try one so Jon helped her fix it on a cracker. But, she only ate a tiny bite of the cracker...I don't blame you Kate! You are much better off! :)

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Fun with Sparklers!

These were banned this past year for the 4th of July (not enough rain),

so it was nice getting to play freely with them tonight!

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Gotta dance a little too!!!!

Happy New Year!!!!

I've never been one to set resolutions, but I am definitely looking forward to 2012! Our year begins with a fun family vacation to Orlando tomorrow and then we fly through the final few weeks of my pregnancy before meeting Grant in March!!!! I know 2012 will have its share of ups and down...and sleepless nights!...but I am excited to get the year started and plan to enjoy every moment!

Time to toast in 2012!!!

We all had sparkling grape juice...Gabe opted for chocolate milk.

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Let's Party!!!!!

The Stompeez Story....

Okay, so it's time to vent! Actually, it's probably good that I am writing this post a week after this picture was taken....I'm not nearly as frustrated as I was a week...or two...ago! Everyone loves a good jingle. Attach a catchy little jingle to a cute product directed at kids and play it over and over two months before Christmas...and you can probably bet one of my kids will see it, love it, and want Santa to bring it! This happened to us last year and the kids ended up with Pillow Pets from Santa. A year later, there is a new "must have" product....Stompeez Slippers! But, unlike the Pillow Pets, Stompeez are not yet available in stores. Realizing quickly that Kate was falling in love with these and was already beginning to put them on the top of her Christmas wish list, I called the company and placed an order for the Perky Pink Puppy Stompeez on November 22...plenty of time to arrive before Christmas! Not only did that allow plenty of time, they also guaranteed Christmas delivery online and over the phone. No worries! Along with the Perky Pink Puppy, I decided to also order the Growling Dragon for Gabe and the Unusual Unicorn for my little cousin Hannah. All was great. I kept checking the Order Status and there were no updates. But, I wasn't getting too worried yet because the Christmas delivery guarantee was still on the website for all orders placed before December 5...ordering two weeks before that date I felt fine. Fast forward to just over a week before Christmas. Now I'm beginning to worry. Our Stompeez still haven't arrived and there is no change on the order status. I decided to call the company and of course can only reach an overseas call center where I am speaking to someone who does NOT speak great English. Oh joy! The guy assured me that my Stompeez would still arrive in time for Christmas. I wait about two more days....still no updates or tracking info...panic is beginning to set in. You see, if this were just going to be one of many Christmas presents it wouldn't be such a big deal. But the fact is, the Perky Pink Puppy Stompeez are the ONLY gift Kate has asked Santa for this year! She has drawn pictures of them in her letters to Santa and told him that's what she wants every time she has seen him this season...the only thing she has asked for! It's now 6 days before Christmas and guess what, I got a tracking confirmation!!! There is no delivery date available yet, but at least our Stompeez have shipped! I was so excited, feeling certain that being shipped FedEx, they will actually arrive on time! I checked the tracking number all day with nothing new appearing. The next day, there it is, the estimated delivery date....December 29th! WHAT??!?!?!? Are you kidding me????!? The 29th? FOUR days AFTER Christmas??? I immediately got on the phone with yet another foreigner. Now, I was angry! And what does he tell me, "I understand what you are saying, but your order will arrive by Christmas." Huh? I explained over and over what the tracking information said and he insisted that date was an estimated date, but the slippers would arrive on time. I don't ship often, but that just didn't seem right. Then, to "make up" for any inconveniences and as an apology, he actually offered me a free duffle bag if I would pay shipping. This is the same "free" duffle bag that I could have gotten when I ordered the stpid slippers! If I wanted the bag, I would have gotten the bag then! He was seriously try to get me to spend more money! I hung up very annoyed and decided to call FedEx. Of course, they confirmed what their website said, my package was shipped the slowest method possible, from California, and would arrive to our local post office on the 29th and possibly not arrive to my house until a day later! I called Stompeez customer service back. This time at least the guy seemed to believe that my "guaranteed Christmas delivery" wasn't going to happen, but there wasn't much he could do. He apologized and refunded my shipping. I got off the phone with him but was still so mad. What was I going to tell Kate? I called Stompeez again, this time getting a lady. And clearly, I was not the first unhappy customer she had talked to today. She was NOT friendly like the guys and with all the info, and having spoken to FedEx, she actually told me my information was wrong and that my Stompeez would arrive by Christmas. She said, I guarantee you, I promise you they will arrive by Christmas. But, she did NOT say this in a friendly tone...she was just as annoyed with me as I was with her! I was beginning to go crazy...just wanting to speak to an American! Finally, after searching multiple online forums filled with angry Stompeez customers who were all also not getting their slippers in time for Christmas, I found the hidden number to the American call center! I was hoping for a number to upper management, but at least I was going to speak with someone who speaks good English! I got a lady who again, had definitely talked to many frustrated customers today, but she was friendly and very apologetic. She said there was absolutely nothing that could be done at this point, there are no more Stompeez to ship me overnight, my fight is over. She did offer me a free Stompeez blanket as an apology. But, I was prepared to jump through the phone and attack if she asked me to pay for shipping...she didn't. :) So here it is, two days before Christmas and I have to come up with "a story." What will I tell Kate? How will I explain that Santa didn't bring her the one thing she asked for this year? You see, had kate asked for something extreme, I would have put an end to it weeks ago, explaining that what she asked for was not something Santa could bring. I am sure there will come a day like that, but this was not supposed to be that day. I wracked my brain and came up with a plan! The Perky Pink Puppies fell out of the sleigh! I worked on a picture, piecing together Mrs. Claus and the Stompeez using Paintshop, wrote a not from Santa, had it printed, and knew it would just have to work. I also knew Kate would have to open this letter/picture first because I wasn't going to be able to watch kate hope with each gift that it was going to be her Perky Pink Puppies! Fast forward to Christmas morning and you can see the letter. It worked perfectly! Kate fully believes that Rudolf pulled her Stompeez out of Santa's sack! I am still annoyed, but at least Kate isn't disappointed! Then, just as promised by FedEx, my package arrived to the post office on December 29th and then to my parents' house on December 30th. They brought them to me late that night, I repackaged them with another note from Santa and had the box waiting on the front porch for Kate to discover. She was sooooo excited!!!! Finally, her Perky Pink Puppies have arrived!!!!!!

Super Siblings

For whatever reason, Gabe has been really wanting some "footy" pajamas. Tonight I went out with my friend Nicole to dinner and shopping, so when I saw these footy Superman pjs, I just had to get them! Of course, when I got home at 9pm the kids were still very much awake in their rooms, so I let them out and showed Gabe what I brought him. He was soooo excited and changed into them immediately....and then added the cape and mask he got for Christmas! He is doing one of his kung fu moves in the picture. :) It took them a while to settle back down and go to sleep, but they were both so very cute tonight that it was worth it!

Happy Birthday Harper Mae!

After resting all day yesterday, the kids were excited to get out of the house today to party!

We are celebrating with one of Kate's friends from school, Harper Mae, as she turns 6!!!!

Happy Birthday Harper Mae!

Harper Mae had a swimming party at one of the local hotels....and the kids had a blast!

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Christmas Evening at Grammy's House

After a long and fun morning opening gifts, we rested through the afternoon and then loaded up and headed to Grammy's house for Christmas dinner! All the kids had fun playing together, we ate a yummy dinner, opened more presents, and then posed for the annual Bare family Christmas picture. :) We have had a wonderful Christmas and are looking forward to all the excitement that awaits us over the next few months!

Our family of four....for a few more months. :)

It's so hard to believe that next Christmas we will have a 9 month old baby boy!!!

My crazy Christmas cuties...who did NOT want to stand still for a picture.

They were being wild tonight with their cousins!

The cousins

Zane (3) ~ Gabe (4) ~ Kate (6) ~ Hannah (4) ~ Peyton (almost 8 months)

Kate LOVES baby girls! And Peyton seemed to enjoy all the extra attention too! :)

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Kate and Hannah were trying to make mad faces

but were finding it hard because they knew they looked funny. :)

Christmas Morning

My parents got to our house around 7am, ready to start the Christmas fun! The kids were still sleeping though and we actually decided to go ahead and wake them. I think next year we might just let them sleep as long as they will...because I was tired by the afternoon from a late night playing Santa! Anyway, once they were both out of bed, they were ready to find out what Santa left under the tree!!! And wow...Santa sure did fill up our living room! Kate & Gabe were ready to dig in to their gifts!

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Before getting to any presents, we had Kate notice the card stuck in the tree that read, "To Katelyn. Open First!"
She opened the card, got a very curious look on her face, then handed it to me to read....

Below is the note....

You see, the only thing Kate has asked Santa for all month long are the Perky Pink Puppy Stompeez slippers...as seen on tv. Knowing how much she wanted them, I ordered them in November. Well, long story short...because I plan to dedicate a post just to this topic...the Stompeez have not arrived. I didn't want Kate to think Santa ignored her one and only request, so below is what I came up with for a solution. Kate loved it, and is fully convinced that Rudolf pulled her Stompeez out of Santa's sack. :) And hopefully her Stompeez will arrive before New Years....we'll see.

We are so very blessed; the kids had an amazing Christmas as did we all.
After opening all the presents, Kate & Gabe were anxious to discover all the little prizes in their giant stockings.

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With all the gifts opened, it was time for breakfast!

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And finally, time to relax!!! :)

Christmas Eve

It's Christmas Eve....and it's time to celebrate!

After finishing up our cookies at home, we got ready and headed over to Grandma & PawPaw's house for a yummy dinner, drive to look at Christmas lights, and then back to their house to open one present. The kids were sooo excited to open their present that they really didn't want to spend more than a few minutes looking at lights around town...we'll have to figure that out for next year. We usually have a few gifts under the tree for the kids to choose from, but this year we decided to have them open their gift from Jon's parents, WaWa & Packy.

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Look at those smiles!!!

Can you tell how excited they were when they opened their presents and discovered American Girl Emily and a remote control helicopter?!?! They were soooo excited!!!

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Thank you WaWa & Packy!!!!

Once the initial excitement wore off, and we realized the helicopter had to charge for an hour, it was time to check NORAD and track Santa's progress! It was getting dark outside and we sure would hate to be up playing and miss his arrival over Georgia. ;)

We discovered we still had a couple hours, but that will go by quick!

Time to set out a little snack for the reindeer at Grandma's house!

Kate filled her plate and set it at the end of the driveway so that the reindeer could get a quick bite on their way to Griffin & Laney Grace's house across the street. Gabe decided his portion would be better off in one of the trees.

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It's been an hour!!!!!

Look at Gabe's face! He was sooo excited to see his helicopter take flight!

Gabe is learning to fly!

We had lots of fun with Grandma & PawPaw,

but if Santa is going to stop at our house tonight, we better get home and into bed!
The kids made homemade reindeer food using carrots, shredded wheat cereal, M&Ms, and sprinkles.

We started to head out the front door and Gabe had a meltdown. It was hard to understand the problem at first, but we finally got him to explain that he wanted the food in the backyard. But, Kate knows we always put it in the front yard, so she wasn't changing this year. We ended up getting a second dish and spliting the food...some in front and some in back. Problem solved!

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Last but not least....cookies and milk for Santa!!!!

Then, just before bed Kate wrote this little note to Santa all on her own!

Everything isn't spelled correctly, but I am still so amazed at her writing/reading progress this year!!! In case you can't tell, the note reads: "Can I have a Santa hat for my alligator. Dear Santa. Love Kate. Leave it under the tree." The alligator she mentions is her new stuffed Alligator, "Alli," that she got a few days ago at Okefenokee. I was so impressed with Kate's note that once she was asleep I searched the Christmas boxes until I found tiny reindeer antlers (used to be for our dog) that I left, with a note, in Kate's stocking.