Grins, Giggles & Chaos!

Saturday, Rylee had her first dance competition. She was SUPER excited. {and so was I} Back track for a minute.....  On Wednesday, I took Rylee to the doctor and she was diagnosed with strep throat. We got some antibiotics and she was back at school on Friday. Saturday morning around 2:30 am, she woke up with a fever. Gave her Motrin and within 45 minutes it went from 102.8 to 98.9. Saturday morning I woke her up, did her hair & make up and we were out the door, ready for her dance competition. I could tell she didn't feel well, but she wanted to dance anyway. We get there, get dressed and she danced her first dance. I changed her into her second costume and as we were waiting in the dressing room for the next dance, she vomits. EVERYWHERE. Great! I take her to the bathroom and one of the dance moms {who happens to be a doctor} came to check on her and told me to take her home, give her more Motrin, let her nap until the next dance and she should be fine. We did what she sai...

{I stole this idea from another blog}  It's 2011 so let's take a minute and get to know one another!  Single or Married? MARRIED {6 year anniversary is in July}  Kids? YES, 2 daughters. Rylee, age 5 & Landry, 18 months Where are you from? Born & raised in Rockwall, Texas. Now living in Northwest Arkansas.  Favorite fast food joint? Chick Fil A, of course!  Favorite restaurant? I have a few, and most of them are in Texas. ;-) I do LOVE Macaroni Grill & Cantina Laredo Favorite drink? OJ, Diet Coke, Tea....but not gonna lie, I do love a good glass of wine or margarita! ;) Have a hobby? Does shopping count? ha! Seriously, I do love to shop......I love to hang out with my girls....I love to hang out with my friends, get mani/pedis, and in the last month or so, I have been obsessed with antique malls. {thanks, Sarah!} ok, that's all folks! Now that you know a little about ME, I hope y'all had a great weekend. :)

Rylee's first {of 3} dance competition is next Saturday {Jan 28}, and she is SO excited. The girls have been working so hard, and I am just ready to see it all put together. Of course, if you ask Rylee, she will tell you she just wants the trophy! ha! Here is a sneak peek of dress rehearsal the other night - this is just one of 5 costumes.  Stay tuned for more photos!  {YES, they have to wear full make-up complete with a smoky eye and red lipstick!}

{ ok , so I'm a few days behind}  Monday {Jan 10}, Landry was 19 months old. I cannot believe it. Where does the time go? I was going through her newborn photos and came across a photo that was taken minutes after she was born. Man....it seems like it was yesterday I was holding my new daughter. Today, she is a feisty, head-strong, fun, lovable 19 month old, who will be 2 before I know it.   Happy 19 months baby girl! We love you! 

We always travel to Dallas during the holidays, so Santa came a little early to the Howell house. {not sure how much longer we can pull this off - ha!} The girls enjoyed getting up to see what Santa had left them. I think Landry enjoyed the wrapping paper and boxes the most. ;-) Christmas Eve, we always spend at my Nan's house. It's always so fun to get together, eat some yummy food, and open presents. We've been doing this since I was a baby, and now to carry on the tradition with my girls is priceless.   Christmas Day, we usually head to Houston to my dad's, but this year, they came to Dallas. My brother and sister in law were gracious enough to host Christmas dinner at their house this year. We really enjoyed hanging out, eating dinner and watching the girls open their presents.  What a great Christmas we had! Hope y'all had a fabulous Christmas as well. Until next year......xoxo

Today was Landry's first ever school Christmas party. I took cookies and stayed for the party. The kids were so cute. They sang songs, ate cookies, danced, and all sorts of fun activities. I LOVED being able to be there with Landry. She was such a mess. There is one other little girl in the class . . . . her name is Avery. Landry LOVES Avery. The whole time I was there, they were playing and hugging. It was super cute. Here are a few pictures from the party. {sorry if they are not great, it was hard getting them to sit still - ha!} Looks like it was a great party! 

Happy New Year! May 2011 bring lots of love and happiness to all my friends and family. We had a very low key NYE. We headed to Oklahoma City Friday morning to do some shopping and hang out. We grabbed an early dinner at Cantina Laredo and then hit up Target {it was the ONLY thing open past 6 pm- ha!}. Then we headed to my brother in laws house, made popcorn, and watched the ball drop in NYC. Rylee and I were the only ones who stayed up to see it, as usual. ;-) It was a low key, but fun night. 2010 is officially over, but I have no regrets. It was a great year! Excited to see what 2011 brings.  Do any of you make new years resolutions? I do not! I will take 2011 as it comes. If you do make resolutions, I would love to hear them. :-) ~ I know I am way behind on all my Christmas posts, but I am working on it. ;-) Will be up soon!