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!

All I Want For Christmas Are My Two Front Teeth!

Sarah has now lost 5 teeth!!

She didn't eat alot at Thanksgiving dinner since her tooth was so loose that it hurt her, but once it came out that night, she had two pieces of pumpkin cake!

Decorating the Christmas Tree!

Papa Bear stringing the lights on the tree.

*Don't think I'm a bad wife and asked him to help set up the tree after a long day at the hospital--he worked for a mere two hours!!

Ornaments are one of my absolute favorite things about decorating for Christmas! The following ornaments are some of the ones I love the best! (You know you want to see which ones are my favorite!!)

Sarah and I made these two years ago out of cinnamon and glue. They smell so yummy!

Bryan and I got these from the band boosters our senior year of high school. Each year, they have to be side by side. So cute!

This is just one of the ornaments my mom made for Beara.

This one always makes me laugh!

Sarah made this one right before she turned two at our first church in College Station.

My favorite Santa one from my mom!

Papa Bear, Mama Bear, and Sarah Bear

I love that our moms gave us all of the ornaments that we made in elementary school.

This year, I've been good and have only bought two things as far as Christmas decor. This ornament is one of them. It's a daddy bear dancing with his little daughter bear, (notice the tutu!). I love it!

All done!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Aunt Rachel and Sarah in their Indian attire. They've made these costumes the past two years before eating Thanksgiving dinner!

Sarah the Giver

We had to run to the store yesterday, and I told Sarah that she could bring her dollar, (that you can't even buy a crayon with!) in case she saw something that she wanted. I had brought some extra change with me for the Salvation Army bucket, and I asked Sarah if she wanted to put it in. She said that she was going to give her $1.00 to them so another little boy or girl could get a toy with it. I was so proud of her! We always donate at Christmas with Toys for Tots and our church, but this one was completely Sarah's idea!!

Residency Dinner

Bryan had his interview for Scott and White in Temple yesterday, and it went great, he said! The night before each interview there is a dinner for the interviewing medical students and the current residents. This is the time for the students to ask the residents questions about the program and such that they wouldn't ask the actual faculty (such as, "Do you really like it here?" and "How many hours do you actually work per week?") . Bryan invited Sarah and I to accompany him to the dinner, so after work and school on Monday, we drove down to Temple. The dinner was at the home of one of the anesthesia doctors. Once the initial mingling was done, everyone chose a various seat throughout the kitchen, dining room, and den to eat. We sat next to two really nice first year residents and one of their boyfriends. Well, as you can imagine, they just ate Sarah up. Since the residents were both girls, they asked Sarah about everything from her age to her sparkly shoes and matching purse. At one point, she whispered to me, "Mom, they love me." We had a really good time and it was nice to meet a few of the people that Bryan may be working with if he chooses to do residency at Scott and White.

Sarah Lost Her Fourth Tooth!

About 15 minutes after we put Sarah to bed last night, she came back out to show us how loose one of her top teeth was. After I tucked her back in--again--she came back out about 10 minutes later to show us that she had pulled the tooth out. She looks so cute without that top tooth!

This morning, when Sarah checked her special Tooth Fairy pillow to see what was left, (much to her dismay), she only found $1.00. She said, "One dollar! I can't even buy a crayon with that!" For Sarah's second tooth, the Tooth Fairy left her $1.00, and she was thrilled. Case in point:

http://crowderfamily-erinmeag.blogspot.com/2008/05/sarah-lost-her-second-tooth-on-sunday.html

I don't know what happened!

*Once Sarah finally went to bed last night, Mrs. Tooth Fairy wanted to give Sarah $2.00, but Mr. Tooth Fairy, said $1.00 was enough. Mrs. Tooth Fairy tried...