A Bonnet From Daddy

Fridays are Show and Tell in Sarah's class, and she took her bonnet that Bryan got for her a few months ago while in Amish country in Philadelphia. When I picked her up from school she was wearing it to keep the sun out of her eyes, and I had to take a picture once we got home because it was too cute!

Praise Board

Well, Sarah did get a 100 on her test on Friday! I said, "Sarah, I am so proud of you!" Then, Sarah said, "I am a natural, ya know?!" And that's where her humble heart comes in to play yet again!

I put her most recent test on our new Praise Board. I put it up to proudly display Sarah and Bryan's accomplishments. It also contains all of her "Star Student" awards, her first report card, and one of Bryan's Dean's Letters, (I say one of his Dean's Letters, because he received one for each semester of the "classroom" portion of medical school! He rocks!). They are both too smart for their own good!

Test Today!

This morning, Sarah and I were driving to school, and she said she was so excited that Mrs. McDaniel's was going to be back today. (They had a substitute yesterday.) Then she exclaimed, "And we're having a test today! I'm excited, because I always get 100's on my tests!" 

Only 5 More!!

Today marks the official countdown to the end of Bryan's residency interviews! I say the end because due to the holidays he didn't have any interviews scheduled, and over the next 8 days, he will go on 4 of the 5! This morning, he flew from Houston to Indianapolis. From there, he drove to Louisville. Tomorrow, he will interview at Louisville, then he will drive back to Indianapolis to interview there on Tuesday. On Thursday, he will interview in Galveston; then next Saturday, he will interview in Wichita. (That's the one that we're driving to together, and I can't wait!) At the beginning on February, he'll interview at his final program in Kansas City. I am so glad it's almost over! All of the travelling has been really hard on him. He's enjoyed each of the different programs and cities while there--some more than others--but all of the driving, flights, and packing is tiring. (I'm personally looking forward to not having so many button down shirts to iron so frequently! Teehee!)

I am so proud of him!

Christmas

Daddy showing Sarah the Silly Putty that he thought would be a perfect stocking stuffer! Sarah with her new Fancy Nancy book.

I made her this tu-tu.

You can't really tell by the picture, but the colors are light blue, pink, and purple.

Sarah so excited about her Science Kit! She only asked Santa for this and books for Christmas.

A new bed, outfit, and sunglasses for her Build-A-Bear animals.

"Thanks, Daddy!"

Playing her accordion from Santa at Nana and Grandpa's house.

Sarah helping pass out presents at Nona and Grandpa's house.

The Nutcracker

Sarah and me in front of one of the huge trees at Bass Hall before seeing The Nutcracker.

Birthday Shopping

This Friday is my birthday, and Bryan told me that he's going to take Sarah shopping for gifts on Tuesday afternoon. Trying to get info out of Sarah today, I asked her what she was doing on Tuesday. She said, "Oh, I'm just going shopping with Daddy." Then I asked, "Oh yeah? Where are y'all going?" "We're going...uh...shopping for the truck. Yeah...we have to go to the car dealership to get...uh...new tires...wait...I mean, a new engine. Yeah, that's all we're doing, Mommy." Bryan and I laughed so hard. She was trying her best to come up with such a good, believable story. Ahh, our little liar! : )

Another Christmas Gift

I finally finished another Christmas gift for Sarah. I bought a big clock, then used card stock, pictures, stickers, and spray paint to transform it.

Right now, her favorite colors are pink and light blue so that's what I used. I hope she likes it!

Little Gym Birthday!

On Friday, I took Sarah to the doctor for an ear infection. But on Saturday, she felt a little better, (the antibiotics were starting to kick in!), so we went to Sophie's 2nd birthday party at The Little Gym. (I work with Sophie's mom and Mimi.) Sarah had such a good time bouncing around at the party, and I think for a little bit, it made her think about not being sick--for the first time all week!

Our little MONKEY! Hanging upside down on this bar was Sarah's favorite part of the whole gym!

The parachute! This was always my favorite thing to do in elementary school PE class! I almost asked them if I could play with this too!

What fun!!

Sarah walking across the balance beam with my amazing boss, Deb!

Sarah and adorable Sophie waiting for cake.

Yum!

Half Way There

Bryan is now officially half way finished with his interviews for residency. This afternoon, he is heading down to Houston for an interview. Then over the next month and a half, he'll travel to Kentucky, Louisville, Galveston, Kansas City, Wichita, and Indianapolis. Bryan's excited, but eager to be finished at the same time. It's just a matter of us being patient until March 19th, when we'll find out for sure where we're headed this summer. Bryan's done an amazing job in Medical School, and it's very impressive that he's racked up 14 interviews for residency. (He's actually been invited to a couple more, but due to time and travel constraints, he's had to turn those down.) I am so proud of him for all that he's accomplished thus far and can't wait to see what's ahead for him!

Christmas Party

Bryan and me at my company's Christmas party Saturday night.

Man, I love him!

Christmas Card Outtakes

I love sending out Christmas cards each year! This year I was actually considering doing a collage of various pictures that we took over the past year, but since that was going to be too expensive, we opted to just use one new picture. So, one day after school, I put Sarah in her new Christmas dress, curled her hair, and off we headed to the park in our neighborhood.

As you all know, this is the picture we chose for our Christmas card. I love it!

Now on to the outtakes: Sarah laughing since she didn't know what else to do.

Sweet, but not our favorite.

Right before I snapped this one, the wind blew like crazy and surprised us both.

Really cute!

Sweet Sarah

Tea for Two

On Saturday, I decided that Sarah and I needed a girls date! So, I took her to have lunch at the Tea Room at our local antique mall. Sarah ordered her usual: Lady Elizabeth's Smoked Turkey. The name is fancy for a turkey and swiss sandwich--with a touch of mayo--on wheat bread. Sarah kept raving about how yummy the sandwich was. While I was happy that she was enjoying her meal, I finally told her that she was eating the same sandwich I make every time I pack her lunch for school. She said, "I know, mommy, but this sandwich is extraordinary!" What a turkey!

It's Getting Colder

As Sarah and I were driving around yesterday, we noticed a flock of birds flying. Sarah then informed me that they were leaving Texas. I asked her where they were going, and she said, "New Mexico, because it's warmer there. But the robins and blue jays are staying here, because they're tough." She cracks me up. Needless to say, I didn't have the heart to correct her on New Mexico and Mexico!

Cookies for Breakfast!

Last night, I was going to make meatloaf, carrots, and roasted new potatoes for dinner. Yet when I got home, Papa Bear had something else in mind.... Since he was craving our favorite Mexican restaurant, that's where we headed. The three of us normally share dessert there, but I told Sarah before we left for dinner that we would have cookies and hot chocolate when we got back home. After homework and bath time, however, I completely forgot about dessert. Then 10 minutes before bedtime, Sarah asked me when we were going to have cookies. *Bad mommy!* I told her that we would have cookies and hot chocolate as an after school snack today and served her some of the leftover pumpkin cake that she and I made for Thanksgiving. After I put her to bed, I still felt really bad about completely forgetting her dessert! So this morning while Sarah and Bryan were still sleeping, I popped a tray of chocolate chip cookies into the oven. Once I woke Sarah up, I presented her with a plate of two warm cookies and a glass of milk for breakfast.

*Good mommy or bad mommy?!

* In my defense, I did let her know that she could have cereal or oatmeal after the cookies if she was still hungry!

*A couple of months ago, one of my co-workers was selling Otis Spunkmeyer cookies for his daughter's school fundraiser. Normally Sarah and I make homemade cookies, (since I personally believe those are the very best kind!), but since I had these, they conveniently helped me out at 5:45 this morning!