Big Boy Bath

Tonight Cooper decided he no longer wanted to sit in his bath seat. He climbed right out and sat down next to his brother. I could not get him back in the seat. He had so much fun playing right next to Baylor. I can't believe he is getting so big. Where does the time go?

Shadday Family Christmas

Baylor made Grandpa a special present.

Cooper opened his Elmo present.

This is a delicious dinner.

Baylor was hard at work on the game with Joe and Megan.

Baylor loved fried chicken.

Coop and Pop.

Cooper loved the guitar.

"You break it we fix it"

Last night we celebrated Christmas with the Shadday family. We had a great night together and enjoyed a wonderful evening. We had Kopper Kettle and the dinner was delicious. We played games and had lots of great prizes. Baylor and Cooper ended up with some really great treasures. Baylor received a Handy Manny costume and tool box that he put on right away. He looked just like Manny. He let Grandpa wear the hat for a bit and it was too funny. We also had a time for caroling and Uncle Dave played the guitar. Cooper was so intrigued by the guitar and loved strumming it with Uncle Dave and Aunt Sherry. He danced during all the music. During the singing there were lots of tears because we definitely missed Grandma. She had such a beautiful voice and loved to sing with her family. I know she is singing in heaven this Christmas. We are so blessed to have such a special family.

Christmas Cookies Take 3

The finished product!

Cooper enjoyed wearing the Santa chef hat.
Look at the flour, it was everywhere!


Mix, Mix, Mix

The is a hard job!

Yummy!

Each year my brother starts asking for my Christmas cookies around November. He says all he wants is his own batch. While I don't think that is all he wants, I know he loves them. They are sugar cookies made from scratch with homemade icing. The recipe is from my namesake, Jessie Rupp and they are quite tasty. Tom and Baylor are also big fans so the amount I need to make continues to grow. The only problem with these tasty morsels is the amount of time they take to make. We decided to split it up into three nights this time. One night we made and chilled the dough, then we rolled them and baked, and finally I iced them. Everyone is happy that they are finally ready to eat today. Joe has already picked up his tubs and taken them home to enjoy! Tis the Season!

Yuletide Celebration

Jenny and I with the symphony bear.
Joe and Megan by beautiful tree.

Katie and Adam

My mom!

Sarah's friend Natalie took Tom's ticket again this year.

I love Mama and Papa!

Megan and I sat by each other and had fun during the show.

One of my favorite family traditions is going to the Yuletide Celebration with my entire family. My mama and papa take us all every year and we have such a wonderful time. We have been going for over 20 years. This year Tom stayed home with the boys since Cooper was not feeling well. We hated to leave him with a babysitter. I was sad he was not able to go but hopefully next year we will all be able to attend. Before the show we ate dinner at Buca and had lots of tasty food. The show was fantastic and I love all the beautiful dresses and jewelry. I love the singing and dancing. We had a wonderful time. Thanks Mama and Papa for a wonderful night!

Merry Christmas Megan

While this morning did not go quite as planned it all worked out in the end. Cooper had a very restless night with a fever and he missed church on Christmas Sunday. Tom had to serve as an usher so he took Baylor with him in the frigid weather. The group headed to breakfast and then came to our house to exchange gifts with Megan. We are so glad we have been able to spend so much time with her this holiday season. She is heading to her parent's home in Pennsylvania on Tuesday and we are all going to miss her. Baylor was very busy helping her open her presents and was excited to give her the treasures he made for her. She got two beautiful handmade ornaments and he bought her a circus puzzle at his preschool's Santa shop. I am not sure why the puzzle, but he was proud.

Dinner with Friends

Life long friends.
Carl and Coop were checking out the desert selection.

Joe and Cooper playing with Santa.

Christmas seems to be a time of year to see so many special people in our lives. Joe Rice is in town for the holidays from London and he joined us for a special dinner with Carl and Nicole. It was a really nice time and we enjoyed visiting with our old friends. Baylor loves Carl and Nicole and had a great time playing with them. He put on his knight costume and was playing swords. He had so much fun but was too busy to get his picture taken tonight. Cooper enjoyed spending time with Joe and Carl. We are thankful for our friends.

Hurst Family Christmas

The girls wanted to hold Cooper.

Cooper was worn out by the end of the party.

Baylor wanted to sit by Shelby at the kid's table.

I love my presents!

Cooper was helping Baylor with his paper. That is the best part for Coop.

Katie and Cooper

We celebrated Christmas with Tom's family today. We had a great breakfast with lots of good food. Baylor and Cooper especially liked Pappaw's eggs. I was a fan of Sweet Shoppe donut holes, delicious. Tom liked the biscuits and gravy and even had more before leaving. The kids had a great time playing with cousins and loved all of their gifts. Cooper loves his new little people toys and Baylor loves his Diego dinosaur set. He opened it up and started playing right away. The cousins had a great time and were sad when the day was over. It was a very fun day.