Our Big One-Year-Old!!

Okay, so I'm a little behind on the updates once again.....so sorry! We had a wonderful Christmas which I will get to soon enough, but first I must post about our big one-year-old! That's right......our baby girl turned the big ONE on December 9th! I can't believe our sweet little baby is growing up so quickly. She had a great birthday party with family, friends and her first taste of yummy cake. She loaded up on lots of great toys and clothes just in time for Christmas!:) It is so crazy how quickly this year has passed and yet how LONG it seemed to take at times. Our little angel has changed our lives and our hearts forever with her sweet smile and laughter. She brings such joy to us everyday and we are so thankful God handpicked this little one just for us.

First a look back.......

These pics are of Mabry the day after she was born....what a sweetheart. And yes, Andy and I are wearing matching t-shirts! Total accident but very funny. You can also see from these pics that Mabry got her Daddy's beautiful blue eyes. I am so thankful for this.....her eyes even match....what a relief!!

Mabry didn't get too crazy with the cake or even eat that much of it. She thought the most fun was having everybody staring at her waiting to see what she would do. The girl loves attention!

This is Mabry "reading" her card she got in the mail from her Great Aunt Jan. I love the expression on her face here.....she is like, "WHOA....mail for me?!!"


Here are a few (or 13) facts about our big one-year-old:

• Mabry is quite the walker these days! She took her first real steps around 11 months but really mastered the walking thing just in time for her first birthday. She is so proud of herself!

• Mabry loves to put toys on her arm like a bracelet and carry them around the house that way. I think this girl is ready for some "accessories".
  


• She has just recently gotten really interested in her books. She will sit down and look at them quietly by herself as she turns the pages. She will pick one up and bring it over to me as if saying, "Mommy, please read this to me." I love it! The cutest thing is that she will sit in your lap while you read the book to her and she will look up at you as you read and crinkle her little nose and smile at you as if she is having the best time. Melts my heart!



• Mabry gives great hugs and kisses (open-mouth of course). I love it when she wraps her arms around my neck and presses her head against mine as if to say, "I love you."
  
  


• She just learned about her nose, eyes and mouth thanks to her Aunt Rebekah's teachings. She likes to point at her nose and touch my eyes to show me where they are when I ask.
  
  


• Mabry is a sweet snuggler sometimes in the morning.



• Our precious little girl still doesn't sleep through the night but likes to wake Mommy up a few times a night for some quality time.:)



• Our baby girl is DEFINITELY a Christmas baby! She LOVED all the Christmas lights and decorations this year. She got pretty good at pointing and saying, "Lightsshh!" Looking for Christmas lights out the car window was our favorite distraction for her when she was fussy in the car. Boy do we hate that Christmas is over and the lights are gone!



• Mabry loves to smile at everybody when we are out in public. She is quite the little flirt as long as you aren't an older-looking man in which case if you touch her or get too close she will most likely begin to wail.
  

• Our little girl has quite the personality. She is a DRAMA QUEEN! (I have no idea where she got this from:) She knows exactly what she wants and when she wants it. Not quite the easy-going baby, if things aren't going her way she will let you know about it. Along with this strong personality comes the positive too, however. When this little girl is happy, she is HAPPY! She is so sweet and fun-loving most of the time and keeps us laughing always with her endearing personality.



• Mabry loves her "rubs" as we like to call them around here. She LOVES to have her feet tickled or lightly scratched/stroked along with her back, arms, legs, and tummy. If you are scratching one of her feet or legs, she will stick the other one out with an "uuh" sound ready for you to switch to the other foot/leg......and on and on we go. She most DEFINITELY gets this trait from her daddy as he is CONSTANTLY asking for his head rubs and back scratches. Between the two of them, Mom stays quite busy!



• Mae Mae is definitely a Mommy's girl, but she sure loves her Daddy too. It is so cute to watch how excited she gets when she hears him get home from work in the evenings. A big smile stretches across her face as she waits for him to walk through the back door. She and Daddy love to play silly together and Mabry loves it when Daddy chases her around the house on all fours.



• Andy was watching a duck-hunting video on Christmas eve and then took Mabry to change her diaper. While he was changing her diaper she began making gun-shot noises! Quite possibly her Daddy's proudest moment! Now, whenever Andy tells Mabry to "get the ducks!" she makes a noise like she is shooting them. (She has also been known to make the noise at dogs and other things as well......we have some fine-tuning to do.) It is super funny but also a little disturbing at the same time.:) Our poor daughter doesn't stand a chance.

Okay....sorry I got a little out of control there. I could go on and on of course but I will spare you all! Thanks to Mabry for making this the greatest and most fulfilling, joyous year of our life! We can't wait to see what the future will bring with this bright-eyed bundle of joy!

A Birthday and A Christmas Tree

Our sweet nephew Bryce turned 3 and had a great birthday party a couple of weekends ago. We really enjoyed playing at the party and getting to spend time with the Venables and Gage families.

Bryce got a toy chainsaw for his birthday and decided to cut down one of the pine trees in the back yard. What a cutie!
They had one of those big blow-up jumpy things for the kids.

Mabry enjoyed crawling around in the bouncy thing (I don't know what it is called in case you can't tell!) and bouncing with her Daddy.

She also LOVED this little bouncy "Rody".

Mabry thought she was such a big girl sitting in this kid chair. I thought she looked awful big and wanted to cry! My sweet baby is getting to be so grown up!

After the birthday party we went with the Gages to cut down a Christmas Tree. So much fun!

Poor little Bryce was tuckered out and slept on the hayride out to the trees.

Mabry and Dad on the hayride to find the perfect tree!

Mabry and Daddy found a good one!

Mabry and Mommy on the hayride.

Mabry loves the Christmas tree and lights. She is a Christmas girl all around!

We hope you feel as blessed as we do this holiday season. Merry Christmas!!

Hoelzle Fun Continued......

Here are a few more highlights from Thanksgiving that I didn't get to post earlier because our little angel was giving me fits........

Mabry playing in the leaves

We had a ping pong tournament which was lots of fun. The only person I beat was Rebekah......yes, I got beat by my mother which was quite a humbling experience.:) Braden and Andy competed in the finals and although Andy gave him a good challenge......Braden was declared the ping pong champion for Thanksgiving 2007!

The spectacular bleachers for the fans! Aunt Kay, Grandma Verna, Pappy and Caden all watch anxiously.....this is three generations of good-lookin' Hoelzles.


Champion Braden in action. Look out.....that ball looks like it is moving pretty fast! This must be his game against me (Addie)!

Here are some pics of the 3 cousins all the same age! Caden and Ella are only 5 days apart and Mabry is 3 months older than the two. They enjoyed "playing together" as best they could at this age. We can see many exciting times with the three of them together in the future. Mostly the visions are of Mabry bossing, Ella giggling, and Caden following orders.......so sorry sweet boy.

Caden, Mabry and Ella hard at play.

Mabry and Ella intently watching something while enjoying their pacifiers.

Caden and Ella having fun.

Pretty Ella-Bella

Sweet Caden can do no wrong with those puppy dog eyes.

Mabry found a hiding place from all the craziness.

Mabry swinging with Aunt Bekah

Me and my baby sister Catie (always the adorable, blonde-haired baby girl in our eyes. Mabry takes after her Aunt Catie in some ways so look out!)

Thanksgiving 2007

Of course it has taken me forever to post about Thanksgiving but better late than never.........right? We enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving with the Hoelzle family in Longview. It was so good to spend time with everyone and be reminded of the blessing of family. We are so very blessed and have much to be thankful for. Here are a few highlights of our time together....

Mabry was sick with an ear infection before we left for Longview and I didn't have any clean clothes for the poor, deprived child so I put her in the smallest shirt of mine I could find and some of my socks for leggings. I think I did it more for my entertainment than anything!

Mabry enjoying the ride to Longview (for the time being).

Scrambling to find our place at the table so we can EAT!

Sweet Ella with her Daddy.

The boys worked hard to build our bonfire!

I think Jacob was the hardest worker of all!

Our Fightin' Texas Aggie Bonfire!

Whoop!