Happy Holidays!

We are feeling quite festive here at the Stephens' house today. A little decorating, a little christmas music in the background, maybe even a little baking. So, I thought that I would change the mood of the blog to a more festive one. Because of my antique computer I can only do so much, but the color change at least shows my Christmas spirit.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. We enjoyed the day with Mitch's family and I was quite thrilled to be succesful at making the dressing this year. Thanks to Lauren for passing on the recipe a few years ago.

I will post pictures again soon as we will be heading out to get the good ole tree in a few days. We are giving Neily the honor of picking it out this year, so it ought to be interesting. Seasons Greetings!!

BAD HAIR DAY

In my efforts to save a buck, I took the kids to Great Clips to get their hair cut. In hindsight, that wasn't the best decision considering they are having pictures taken next week. But like I said, when their regular "salon" went up in prices, a $9 cut at Great Clips seemed like a no-brainer. Typically they get their hair cut one at a time, but 2 stylists were available so they both got their haircut at the same time. I went back and forth to each of their chairs making sure that the kids were okay and keeping them entertained. I obviously spent too much time at Neily's chair because when I returned to check on Jake, I found him half bald with his bangs cut at the hairline. I couldn't help but laugh because he looked just like Howdy Doody (or Pee Wee Herman...you be the judge.) Here is a picture of Jake's lovely locks just days ago:

And this is Jake today...

I've tried my best to comb some hair forward to get some hair on his forehead. Thankfully it will all grow back! Regardless, he's still a cutie in my book.

A FIRST

Today was a first for Neily. She saw a rainbow. It's so fun to watch as your children experience and enjoy the beauty of nature. This picture doesn't show her face, but she is wearing a huge smile.

Catching Up -

It seems like a month since my last post. After the drama with Neily, i think I was pretty worn out! We have since enjoyed a fun night of trick-or-treating and a wonderful trip to Asheville. Thanks to all of you who gave us tips on where to eat. Early Girl Eatery was our favorite. We were happy to see the kids again after being away from them for 5 days. After we all got back home, we celebrated Daddy's birthday by baking him a cake. Below are some pics of the past few weeks.

This year the kids were pumpkins. Neily wore this outfit last year and rediscovered it when we moved in July. She was excited to wear it again (and i was thrilled to not have to buy a new one!)

Every time we went up to a house Neily would say, "We don't have to go in, do we Mommy?" and Jake would inevitably walk in the door whenever the neighbors answered. He didn't care too much for the candy, he just wanted to go inside the houses.

And here are the kids enjoying their first taste of Peeps which, in my opinion, are the worst tasting candy ever. After Halloween night, the kids never once asked for their candy. Daddy was pretty excited to have it all to himself!



Lastly, here are some pics of Neily and I making Daddy a cake and Jake enjoying tasting the batter. The last picture I took a couple of hours ago. The kids were having a blast wearing Daddy's toboggans.