Becca's first haircut and winter's here

Since I last wrote, many photo opportunities have been capitalized on...we hosted a wonderful Thanksgiving with all the family. The table was set beautifully and the food was delicious.  We even played a little scrabble post-meal.

We went and cut down our Christmas tree again this year.  We went to a wonderful tree farm and hope to make it part of our yearly tradition.  Chris cut down a big Douglas Fir and we got a baby tree for Becca and a boxwood branch wreath (a little irony there seeing how we paid $42 for the wreath and could've made about 42 wreaths ourselves with all the boxwood trimming Chris did for us this fall).

And we had a flood...not too bad, sort of.  Chris, for some reason, thought to peek downstairs one morning at 5:55am before going to work and saw the 1-2" pool we had in the basement.  He stayed home from work, only to work super hard cleaning up the water.  He did a fantastic job.  The sump pump stopped working.  It got a little stuck and so stopped pumping...needless to say, Chris has since replaced it :)

Chris has completed our gorgeous front walk!!  Sorry about the lighting; it was getting dark as I was out there trying to get some pictures before the predicted snow....

We visited with Grandpa Jones.  It took Becca a bit to warm up to him and wasn't sure what exactly her and he would have in common, so naturally she thought she could teach him a bit about the iPhone :)

We went to Navy Pier with friends to play in the WinterWonderFest and had a good time.  We went on our first Carousal; Becca wasn't instantly sold, but at least we didn't have to get off early.

And the storm...we made a lot of national newa this week with our winter storm. I think it's great! Chris stayed home, well, he was stuck home.  He did some snow blowing for us and our neighbors and Becca and I ran around in it a bit with the neighbor girl, Antonia.  Becca was not an instant fan of the cold snow, but we'll work on that.

Becca got her haircut!  I'm very pleased with the cut.  The stylist cleaned up the whispy hair and there's still a little flip in the back.  Becca was not sure she approved of the process intially, but then was sure that she didn't want to leave...hence lying on the ground in protest.  She's usually a quiet, lying-down protester, but not after her cut.  Yelling, crying and thrashing...most were looking on smiling and I managed to join everyone else and smile.  Oh yea, and she thoroughly enjoyed her lollypop. 

It's been forever!!!

Not all that much is new over here..I guess.  Chris continues to make our house look beautiful from the outside.  We had the kitchen, the trim and doors on the first floor, Becca's playroom and the family room painted...ahhh...so nice to have freshly painted walls and to put our own touch on the interior!  Becca is doing well.  She is talking so much more and is a whiz with the iPhone (great).  We had our first snow last Saturday.  I was at work, but Chris took Becca out for her first romp in the snow and she apparently loved it.

A few hours of fun

Hair and makeup done, now for some clothes...

Outifit #1--yes, I'm in skinny jeans...

and a hat....

My friend Amanda. We're in our second outfits. I loved my jacket!

So here's the story....My friend's mom owns the (only) cool, cute and modern boutique in Chesterton called Whimsy. The boutique was part of a fashion show at the local country club. My friend asked if I'd be a model in the show...why not?! It's was fun! Whimsy has great clothes. I went in the week prior and Kay fitted me with 2 outfits. Then on Thursday I got my hair and make up done by a local salon and got to strut my stuff on the catwalk. I got super nervous right before going out because I didn't want to fall and I knew 2 people in the audience (I didn't know they were going to be there; I may have reconsidered my participation). In the end, it was no big deal, but a great time to be out with a friend and try something new.

Rehabing our front landscaping has been more than it's cracked up to be, but CJ has it under control! Oh, and Becca's still cute!

The Colt's season begins with a new fan this year!

Mamaw and Papaw came with gifts this weekend. Her mamaw is showing Becca how to get her new John Deere gator going.

The gator is definitately a hit!

Like I mentioned, Chris has been hard at work outside. So here is some photo-documentation, starting with this before picture.

Initial demo. It was tedious; there are a million pavers!

Our driveway, the material staging center.

Chris not only removed the old pavers, but he had to dig down into the clay 4-6 inches. Then he wheelbarrowed in this bigger crushed stone (about 22,000 pounds worth, really).

Then there's a layer of a finer, more sand-like material than had to be wheelbarrowed in. Our neighbor has been so kind and generous with his time and muscle. Thanks Phil!!

Then Chris got to re-lay the old pavers. He thought that was going to be easy and fast...well, not so much. The walkway slopes down 8-12 inches from front door to driveway so Chris couldn't just use a level to insure he was doing it right...many long hours, but it's looking good! Oh, and he couldn't have done it without his trusty assistant!

My new favorite picture...what more needs to be said

Taking a break with Daddy.

Becca loves all the material piles we have in the driveway. Chris and I have thought maybe this should be a yearly thing; Becca will play and entertain herself for 10-15 minutes!

Playing in the clean laundry

We discovered that Becca loves corn on the cob. She can eat a whole ear. I just give her the cob and, well, you see the results (she's moved on to a chicken nugget, but you can see the remnants-everywhere!)

We got a little table for Becca to use and she loves it. Her she and spot are having a snack.

Do like Mommy does!

Becca has been doing more imitating so I've decided I should try and capitalize...see what you think...still working on efficiency, but not a bad start :)