New Year....

Yes, I know it is already the end of January but I still do want to post my New Years Resolutions. Because I LOVE to make new resolutions. I love new years and fresh starts and all that good stuff.....

So these are my resolutions/wants/wishes/desires for 2010....

First of all, I want to figure out what I want to be when I grow up. Because I still feel like a kid most days. (Especially when I argue with my 5 year old the finer points of how to properly brush her American Girl doll's hair. .....Maybe one of my resolutions should be to stop arguing with my 5 year old... :)

But I still love to sing. And I love teaching.....but most of all......

I LOVE being a mom. I love my girls. I want to be the best mom in the whole world. And when I think of jobs I would like to do or careers I would like to have, it all seems to revolve around how I can do something else and it still make me a better mom. So I am looking, and bound and determined to find that perfect balance between fulfilling my creative/singing/performing self and being that wonderful mom to these wonderful girls. And doing it all with grace.

I would also like to find the desire to become a better cook. For my poor husband. He says salads are his favorite meal but I believe it's because there is nothing better or more appealing for him to eat. I would like to think that I could be a better cook if I really desired to......( I HATE cooking) but I think that would be deluding myself. So here's to a new year of trying really hard to want to be a better cook and expanding my repetoire of meals beyond salad and pasta.

I want to be more mindful of each day and each moment. Enjoy every second and NEVER sweat the small stuff.

I want to be a better wife, mother, daughter, sister, aunt, friend, teacher. I want to give more of myself and be a blessing to others.....

Those are my resolutions for 2010.

I am thankful for a truly amazing year behind me and so far I am loving the journey of the year to come.

Teresa's Design...........

Has launched it's website!!!
Check it out at:

http://www.teresasdesign.com/

My mother makes beautiful dresses, bags, shirts, skirts; does applique, embroidery and so much more.......check out her site!
Great gifts for any little girl (or her mom) that you are shopping for!!

Eliana's Christmas outfit!!!

Wood Christmas!!

The weekend before Christmas my parents and sister and nephew came to visit us and celebrate a Wood Family Christmas weekend together! We had such a wonderful time..........drinking hot chocolate, making gingerbread houses, going to see the lights at Life University (and freezing to death!!), watching Christmas movies, opening presents,ice skating and just hanging out together as a family. We did alot in 4 short days!! :)
Nana and Papa enjoyed their grandkids.....and Emmy had fun hangin with her nieces. Austin loooves his cousins. He is so sweet to these girls! He just hugs and kisses them (well, when Aubrey will let him) and he loves to hold and cuddle with Eliana.
It was a wonderful weekend! We love our family and so glad we got to spend time at Christmas together.........

Eliana.....9 months old!!

Still so much posting to catch up on including an amazing Christmas, visit with my family, New Years, etc. but for starters......

Miss Eliana (aka Ella, Ella Bella, Ella Grace) turned 9 months old!!!

Completely impossible to believe that my baby girl is that big. She is crawling, pulling up and standing holding on to things, and saying "da da da da da", some version of "all done", and "hi".........whenever I try to get her to say "ma ma" she looks at me and laughs. She loves to laugh, smiles all the time and loves to listen to music. She looooves music. To be expected since she spent her 9 months in the womb with me singing at least 4 hours everyday and listening to the sounds of "Jesus Christ Superstar Gospel" in surround sound..... :)

Her 9 month appt. is this week so I will be sure to update her stats but I am quite sure she is tall for her age......she wears 12-18 month clothes! (The update.....20 lbs. (75th percentile) and 30in. (95th percentile) and thankfully, perfectly healthy!!! She is super tall....definitely gets that from her daddy and not mommy!)

Things have definitely changed since she started crawling! No more putting her down somewhere and expecting her to stay still! She is all over the place. She is curious and excited and so so happy about everything. She is our little sunshine.....making all of us happy the minute she smiles at us. She loves her big sister. She crawls all over the house after her and wants to be big like her for sure. She tried to dive into the bath tub the other night to get in with her big sis.

So much fun to come and so thankful for the past 9 months with this sweet precious baby girl.

Merry Christmas......

Here is a wish for all of my family and friends for a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Happy, Healthy, Safe and Abundant New Year.........
I am reminded each and every day of the kindness and love I am surrounded by and I am so thankful for each person I am privileged to be a part of this journey of life with.
Merry Christmas to everyone........
All my love and best wishes.

More Christmas posting to come!!!! It has been an amazing holiday season for sure with so many memories to post........stay tuned!

Disney World with the Katz Family!

The first week in December, Grandpa Katz took all of his children and grandchildren to experience the magic of Disney!!!

We had an amazing time. The first day it was just Grandpa and our family and we enjoyed a warm, sunny, Florida winter's day in the Magic Kingdom. Aubrey rode Space Mountain (being the brave daredevil she is..........) but decided after words that it "really wasn't that much fun. I probably don't need to ride it again........." It was amazing to me how much more scary it was knowing my baby girl was sitting in the seat behind me!!! But she was a trooper and with Grandpa behind her and me in front of her she braved the scariest ride at Disney!!

Grandpa enjoyed sharing all of his favorite Disney rides with Aubrey while we took turns pushing Eliana around in the double stroller where she slept, had her bottles, ate some snacks and pretty much just smiled in wonder alllll day long. She seriously never cried. Not even once. She is a dream baby and she loooved her first trip to Disney! She got to ride a few of the rides with her big sister and she just watched in amazement. I think the highlight for her was definitely " It's a small world....." where both of my girls just smiled, laughed and we all sang along and enjoyed it. A timeless piece of Disney magic for sure.

The next day Uncle Eric, Aunt Sasha, Quinn and Leila joined us and we braved Disney MGM studios in the POURING rain. Not just a drizzle, but a serious downpour!!! We decided to make the most of it and enjoy! The big kids rode the roller coaster and the little girls took in the Beauty and the Beast show..........we had an amazing lunch at the Brown Derby and then went to see the Little Mermaid Show (my former claim to fame) before calling it a day and deciding to head for dryer pastures........ :)

That evening we were joined by Uncle Ronnie, Aunt Scarlett, Aiden, Ethan and then the entire Clatsoff clan for dinner at the Gaylord Palms Key West Restaurant. We had an entire private room to accomodate all 25 of us!!! The food was delicious but the company was even better. Jon has grown up with the Clatsoff family his entire life and taken many trips to Disney with them. They are such an amazing family and we so enjoyed our time with them sharing food and laughter and good company. The kids were treated to a balloon maker, stilt walker and more food and fun while the grownups chowed down on seafood and shared good conversation.

The next day the entire Katz and Clatsoff clan headed to the Magic Kingdom and did a 12 hour day enjoying the perfect weather, fun rides and shows, and ending with the most beautiful fireworks show....."Wishes". The kids were troopers lasting until the 11th hour..........I think it was a trip we all will remember for years to come.

Thank you Grandpa for a wonderful trip and all the memories that go along with it. We love you, our brothers, sisters, nephew, nieces and all the friends we were able to share this holiday trip with. We look forward to doing it again!!! ;)

Here are a few favorite pics from the week.

Christmas Pics!

We had such a wonderful Christmas........

Just the four of us, our first Christmas as a family of four. How blessed we are!!! It was a great day full of gifts, food, music, relaxing and enjoying our time together. I love this family!

How precious it was to see my TWO girls playing and having fun together in their matching Christmas jammies. We are blessed beyond belief.

Christmas Eve......

We had a great time at the Christmas Eve service at Peachtree Pres..........Aubrey loved seeing the animals outside!!

Eliana was an angel........loved it all!

Thank you Hillary for the beautiful dresses for the girls! Soooo much fun matching two little girls in proper southern smocked Christmas dresses!

Our Christmas Eve continued on that evening at The Miller household with the Miller's, Young's, Haile's and Katz's all gathered to celebrate together! Aubrey, Ellery, Eliana, TJ and Grant were spoiled with awesome gifts and the adults all shared some yummy food and drink. Most memorable though was when Tim brought out his guitar and we all started singing favorite Christmas tunes! The kids loved the songs, and it definitely set the mood for an awesome Christmas Eve. We enjoyed being in the company of some very wonderful friends and sharing such a special night. It was our 3rd Christmas with our neighbors/friends and we hope to continue the tradition of sharing a special Christmas together for many years to come.

Too cute not to post.

8 months old now and she found the tupperware cabinet! Aubrey had the grand idea to make Ella a tupperware hat.......

She's not crawling yet, technically, but she's definitely scooting around on her belly!

Too much fun this precious baby girl.

Santa Claus!

For the third year in a row we headed to Phipps Plaza to visit with Santa Claus!

Aubrey wrote her list out this year all by herself which included a "live cub, kirsten doll, zebra, horse and horse". She made sure to explain each item to Santa in detail but ended up leaving Santa thinking she wanted a real cub, real zebra and 2 real horses!! So he told her he wasn't sure if he could bring her real animals but he would look for some pretend ones for her. She assured him that "even though they are stuffed animals they are real to me!" It was too precious.

Eliana loved Santa! Her first encounter with the jolly old man .... She looked right up at him with her big blue eyes and smiled and then reached right up to grab a big chunk of his beard. Poor Santa. He was a good sport about it (since it was a real beard) and just loved the girls and reminded them to say their prayers and brush their teeth.

This is one of my favorite events of our holidays......I love seeing the awe in the girls eyes and knowing how "magical" it all feels to them. I certainly haven't forgotten what it felt like when I was a little girl and how much I always loved Christmas.

Holiday season here we come!!

Aubrey explaining her list and Eliana in wonder..........