CHRISTMAS FIRST

This was Genevieve's First time to sit on Santa's lap and tell him what she wanted him to bring her for Christmas.....We were shopping at Michaels for wreaths and bows to decorate the exterior windows of the house. It just so happened that crammed between the back wall of yarn racks and the isle of blank t-shirts Santa had landed his sleigh and was letting his reindeer take a little breather. Luckily we were there just in time to whisper some Christmas wishes into his ear (Ummm...World Peace....and...OH YEAH our "two front teeth"), get a lolli pop and a quick photo before they made the long journey back to the North Pole.

Merry Christmas!!!!

We got Elfed!!

Click to see the clip !!!
Happy Hollidays
The Hollands

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Little "BIG" Girl!

Little "BIG" Girl spent her afternoon with Mommy and Aunt Christine shopping and then to La Parilla's for some lunch. Wearing her BIG girl pig tails (Good Grief are those things ever going to curl?) and sampling some of Aunt Christine's Diet Coke made the pink balloon she got at the front door seem like not such a big deal. In fact I wore it tied around my wrist more that she did!!!

How many "HITS" does it take to get to the Tootie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop? The World May Never Know....

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Bountiful Booty......

Genevieve went on her first real "trick or treating" tonight and we hit "3" houses! 3 may not seam like a lot but it is when your neighborhood is very hilly and we're all pretty spread out so it's a hike from one to the other......Whew! Lucky for us our last stop was Met's and Dave's house, a little candy for the baby and some wine for Mommy so she could make the walk back home!!!

Happy Halloween From North Georgia!!

Trip to Cagles Dairy Farm & Pumpkin Patch

I took Genevieve to Cagles Dairy Farm this morning to get in on the Dairy tours they give to lots and lots of elementary kids during the week. It was lots of fun although a 1 year old tires easily after a few seconds of the tour guides speach on how the assembly line works. Nope there were all kinds of little rocks on the ground that she needed to pick up....She did like the calves, there were lots of them of various ages, the newest one was only 4 days old "ahhh". They passed out chopped up cabbage that you could hand feed to them but most were still so young that all they wanted was to suck on your finger. A little slimy, but very cute!!

See ya!!

After the tour was complete we headed off to their little pumpkin patch and my daughter decided to try and "lift" a pumpkin. She saw one she liked, picked it up and ran off with it! "Hey", where are you going with that? Get back here!!!

Hey how did you get me to sit on it like this? Oooops! Im falling off. Here let me get back on it, uhg, uh, grunt, grunt and Omph, never mind right here will be fine! "Never Dropping the little pumpkin"!!

A Monk, a Nun and a Lady bug walked into this Bar...and,

We all went to our friends Met and Dave's Halloween party/Chili cook-off/Costume contest last night. It was a great party, lots of really creative costumes.

Like Matt's Go-tee? A little eye shadow I had handy, some make-up artistry and VOILA!! ....Just like Magic.

Genevieve had a good time, Met and Dave have lots of steps around their house and garden so we got to practice going up the steps, and then down the steps, over and over and over again until, we almost mastered them!!!

OH MY GOSH!! Are you a real Princess?

White Chili Recipe:

2 lbs lean ground Pork, Chicken or Turkey

2 cans white Navy Beans

1 Jar Tomatillo Salsa or Salsa Verde (approx 12oz) (I recommend the mild variety)

2 small cans Chopped Green Chilies

3 Tbsp Cumin

2 Tbsp Flour

1 large yellow onion

Enough Chicken stock to cover.

1. Brown the ground pork and the chopped yellow onion in the same skillet until cooked all the way through and the onions are translucent. Add the Cumin and Flour and brown for a few more minutes.

2. Put the browned pork and onion mixture into a crock pot, add all of the remaining ingredients, cover, bring to a simmer and then cook on low for at least 4 hours.

3. Top with a little sour cream and ENJOY!!!

Happy Halloween, from the Hollands!!

Playing Keep AWAY!!

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Playing keep Away!!

We only give her the pacifier when its bedtime and they are kept hidden throughout the day. Sometimes however one escaped our control and ends up amongst the toys only to be found by "you know who".......Last night she did just that, squatted down picked one up and held it high in the air as if to say "Look what I found, yooohooo"!!
She's now playing keep away with us whenever she's got something that she's not supposed to have. She holds it up shows it to you and takes off running........(little toot). Eventually she's gives it up but not before she makes you work for it. Last night was no exception with another pacifier, take a look!

Pig Tails?

Genevieve's hair is the opposite of mine. Mine is dark brown and hers is a dirty blond. When mine is wet that's the only time it will stay straight on its own, she on the other hand has the cutest curls that stick out from behind her ears. As my hair dries "on its own" it starts to curl, hers goes straight? I have a hard enough time taming my own hair!

Oh, and she hates anything in her hair such as clips, rubber bands or bows. The minute she realizes there is something in there she rubs her hand all over her head until she finds it, then pulls it out. I'm trying to let her hair grow out but her bangs are getting soo long they are always in her eyes. We tried the pony tail on top of the head but Matt didn't like that, so this is what we have. It's cute too but her hair wont curl so she's got antennas, horns, call them them what you will, her hair is out of her eyes! And for some reason she'll only let me do this while she's eating?

Matters of the HEART.....

A little background; My Mother in law "Mary Frances" who after 30 years of service, happily ended her long devoted career at Texas Instruments as assistant to the CEO and Chairman of the board Tom Engibous to retire, move to Georgia and be Genevieve's Nanny.
Since that time she has really enjoyed herself here and is positive that she made the right decision..After all, her e-mail signature reads "retired and loving it"!
Recently we found out that she has a significant blockage in one of her heart valves and is in serious need of a replacement. Open heart surgery is big news for anyone to swallow but on a positive note, she has been told by her doctors that people who have needed the valve replacement never realized how bad they really felt until after they had the surgery. Not because the surgery made them feel worse, on the contrary. It's actually because of how much better they felt, energy levels go up etc with the added blood flow that they have been missing out on all these years.
Her doctors acted fast and wasted no time. "You need to have this procedure sooner than later and by sooner we mean don't wait more than a month". That was last Thursday 10/4, she is now going in for the surgery this Thursday 10/11 at 7:00am sharp! "Man they don't mess around"!!
Her recovery time is estimated to be 6-8 weeks, I am taking a leave of absence from work to care for both her and Genevieve until she is fully recovered. Please keep her in your prayers that all goes well and she makes a speedy recovery.
We thank you for your love and support,
The Holland's

Dont Mess with My Tu-tu!!

What would play time be with out dressing up? I made this little tutu for Genevieve this afternoon and of course I enjoyed it more that she did...."ya" give her a few months she'll come around.
I don't think she had much to say about it until the tulle started getting in between her and her play car keys, then it had to go!!
I'll sneak it back on her in a week or so :)

Recent Observation

I noticed my daughter doing something different just recently and it made me stop and take notice. There have been a few occaisions when we were outside either walking around in the yard or on our way out of the grocery store when she would stop let her head fall back as far as it would go and just look up at the sky? She'd stand there like that until she started to sway and loose her balance? So I turned my head and looked up, nothing was there just a clear sky with a few clouds, "hu, I wondered what she was looking at"? Then a few days later she did it again while she was still in the shopping cart, so I looked up again to see what she was looking at.... This time I didn't see anything but I felt a quick turn in my stomach. Then I realized what she was doing!! I can't believe I had forgotten....

On a clear day, stand and look straight up at the sky. It's not as easy to do as it sounds, you tend to sway a little bit and the first time you do it your stomach might turn. I'm sure there is a technical term for it, some kind of sensation/perception phenomenon maybe, but that's not the point.
"You can almost feel how gigantic the world really is and it makes your stomach turn just a little".....

There is a brighter side of 9/11?

1 year ago today at 12:45pm she was born!!! Who wants to remember what life was like before she was here? I certainly don't, it wasn't that rewarding or fulfilling as I try and remember.... Everything was about "ME", blahhh "BOOORING".

Every day is a blessing and everyday is filled with something new and exciting. "If you want to see the wonderment that is the world, watch it through the eyes of child and you'll remember"!

Here she is in her little Lexi Lu Birthday Princess Dress (Thank you Aunt June) striking a pose. I'm not sure if the Crocks complete the ensemble?

And look, she's not just opening the presents, she's reading the instructions first

"what a little woman".

Isn't that a pretty cake?

Well it was.....

HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY!!!!

Love, Mommy & Daddy

Minivan?

Well we bit the bullet and traded the Tahoe in for a Honda Odyssey "YIKES"! I never thought I'd be so excited about getting the dreaded Minivan but now we're wondering why we didn't get one sooner. This thing is GREAT! I've never been so excited to see a new car sitting in the driveway?

Its smaller than the Tahoe but has a lot more room? All of its features are so practical, they really thought of everything when they came up with this thing.

Rear camera, DVD, removable seats, Economy mode so it only uses 3 cylinders when you don't need the extra power getting us 22mpg "ya" and I can go on and on.

My Tahoe was black and always looked filthy so we went with the Taffeta white/Tan leather interior. Mommy is VERY HAPPY and that makes Daddy VERY HAPPY!!!

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Trip to Savannah...

Even though Savannah is only 4.5 hours away we've never been and decided to take a quick trip over the Labor day weekend. We stayed at the 17Hundred90 Inn and restaurant "one of the oldest in Savannah". Our room was decked out with furnishings from the time period. Ours was called the Lincoln Suite and hosted a variety of drawings and portraits of the late president. It was on the 3rd floor and as you might guess, there were no elevators in 1790. A pack and play gets pretty cumbersome at about the 4th flight of stairs. The room was really neat, the doors to the room had really nice stain glass transoms and the wood floors were original. It rained the whole time we were there and you might also guess what happens to a roof that was built in 1790, yep "it leaks". Luckily for us it was only leaking in the parlor so it wasn't that big of an inconvenience......We paid for an experience and they gave us one"!!......On to brighter things, the city is very beautiful and historic I would definitely recommend it. If you want to stay in the historic area look around there are lots of old mansions that have been turned into Inns. If you are looking for something a little more modern try the Westin. Its very plush and the Ferry takes you back and forth across the river to go the river walk shopping/dining. There are many tours available and lots of sites, a great place to spend a romantic weekend.

Warm Summer Rain!!!

What is it about the rain that children love so much? I remember it being a big treat if your parents let you actually go outside and play in it. Usually all you ever heard was "you better get out of that rain, you're gonna get sick".....I don't think it ever made me sick?

Genevieve got her first taste of the rain this afternoon, and it tasted oh soo SWEET!

Playing in the Rain!!!

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Walking Video!!!

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Look Ma Ma, No Hands!!!

Genevieve has officially taken the plunge from baby to toddler........She has been trying out this walking thing for the past 2 weeks, only taking one or two steps before deciding that she wasn't quite ready for that yet. She turned 11 months Saturday and has been walking everywhere since! It's soo awesme to watch her toddle around exploring this whole new world.
Yeah!!!! She's such a BIG GIRL!!!

What Have I Done To My Baby?

Saturday we took Genevieve to Lance's, it's a local family owned Jewely store in Cumming to get her ears pierced! I had never been inside before but its actually very nice and we'll definately be revisiting this place again. They have more than your run of the mill jewely chain, alot of unique pieces like you find at James Avery. Anyways.....I felt horrible after they did it, the look on her face was heart breaking :(...... Not a minute passed and she was good to go!!! Then Matt bumped her head when he was putting her in the car and well, that was the straw that broke the camels back, she was definately MAD now! I don't doubt that it hurt, I'm pretty certain however that as soon as it was over with she forgot about the pain, it was the humiliation of being help down and the two giants coming at her with a gun in their hand that had the lasting effects!!.........Case in point, my grandmother had my ears pierced when I was 6 months old "against my mothers wishes"!! .......I still have a memory of the gun and the loud bang that it made. Strange...... I thought we weren't supposed to recall memories that far back???? Well, one day she'll thank me.....She'll have pierced ears and no recolection of any pain or discomfort. Just a fuzzy memory of being in a jewely store that was being "Held Up"!!!

Key West Count Down !!!

Only 13 more days and we will be in Key West!!!! Its only a quick trip but the key word here is "trip". Deep Sea fishing Saturday, Diving Sunday and then coming home monday.

The Salad Days of Summer....

This is my first crack at growing vegetables.....Tomatoes, squash, eggplant, zucchini, peppers, cucumbers and herb(s) Basil, Oregano and Thyme to be exact!! Its coming along nicely, however just yesterday I made an interesting discovery. The watermelon I thought I was growing happens to be a cucumber, WHAT? So, does that mean that the cucumber is a WATERMELON? ......WHAT THE H**L IS GOING ON HERE!!!!

Cherry tomatoes are the greatest, Everyday there are more ready to pick and eat. I indulge myself in their warm, sweet, juicy splendor each evening while watering..... There is just nothing like a home grown tomato, You can't find its equal in a grocery store.

Peppers, eggplant, zucchini and squash OH MY!!

This tooth is good for something!

Mmmmmm... just can't wait!!!!

My New Orleans Tour

I scored some tickets to see Harry Connick Jr's My New Orleans Tour at Chastain Amphitheatre Sunday evening. "WONDERFUL", it was the greatest....Try and see him if he's coming to your area, well worth it!! He does a lot of movin' and a groovin'. If he's not playing the piano, he's dancing around the stage in those patent leather shoes of his shaking what his momma gave him!!!

Cagle's Dairy - Farmers Market

Saturday we went to Cagel's Dairy to buy some vegetables straight from their garden, since ours have just started growing here recently...Anyways there wasn't much for Genevieve and Matt to do, the Dairy's petting zoo wasn't running this weekend. I turn around an couldn'rt see them, "Where are they"? Oh there they are.....Matt had found some toy tractors behind the big tent we were under and was pushing her around. That's the new face she makes when she laughs, its gotta be as dramatic as she can make it!!!!

Yeah, Thanks Non!!!!

Puddin's New Toy

Hey there Nonni, we love our new toy, its just like driving a car!!! Thank you!!

BritchesBoutique.com

I've gotten the website in decent shape. I've had lots of help from friends and family, Thanks everyone for your help. Just a few more additions and its "good to go". Check it out, if you find any mis-spelled words :( or anything please let me know!! You're input or ideas are appreciated.

www.britchesboutique.com