Christmas 2008

Our Christmas was great! Cantley got lots of great stuff from Santa and her family. She has really enjoyed all her great toys and gifts. Several of them came in handy as car riding diversions on our trip, too! The pics are in backwards order of how they happened, but you can get the gist of things anyway!

Here is Cantley trying to fit in Nanna's bag to go to Virginia!
Trying on her Ariel wig from Pappy Joe.

She has to try out the new wheels from Santa!

Check out the stash that Santa left in the stocking.

Yes! I got the exact chocolate baby I have been asking for!

Santa surprised Cantley with a princess vanity. You can only open certain parts with a magic wand and the princess magically appear in the mirrors. Someone would hardly stop playing with it.

Santa left a note for Cantley.

The stash!!!!!!!!!!!!

Christmas Eve 2008

So these are in backwards order, but I wanted to get them up tonight. I know tomorrow will be full of pics that our family will want to see. Tonight we had Christmas with Nana, Big John, Jane, and Stan. It was a wonderful evening. We had a low country boil for dinner and we all ate way to much shrimp, but it was oh so good. Then it was on the to the presents. Our first gift of the night was to have Katrina, Karl, and Kason on the webcam and give Nana and Big John their webcam, too. We got to watch Kason open a few gifts and blew some sweet kisses our way. It was so nice to share Christmas with them although they are half way across the country. Technology really is amazing! Our night was fun and the highlight of the night was the Hannah Montana wig Cantley got. It was passed around....you will see. Enjoy the pics and get to bed to Santa can visit!!!

Cantley leaving cookies and milk out for Santa!

Stan trying on the wig. He even sang for us. Video to come later!

Nana was first to try on the wig. I thought she looked good as a blond! She even did a little diddy for us as well!!!!

Cantley got to open her personalized bat after Kason opened his. Later dad presented her with her new batting helmet!

Cantley got a princess puzzle, her first 24 piecer! Big John helped her the first time around, but after that, she was on her own.

And Hannah performs for us all!

Our friend's Sam and Chase came by with a gift for Cantley. Sleeping Beauty dress up clothes that she didn't take off the entire day today!

New Baby Picture

We had another dr.'s visit today and the first thing Cantley asked was "Is it a boy or girl?". He said he didn't know, but he would let us take a look. That is what we wanted to hear. We were warned it might be hard to tell this early, but we were still hopeful. We got a great picture of the baby, but no view of what we wanted to see. "It" slept the entire ultrasound and had it's legs crossed and never moved. Later I could feel "it" moving around and thought although we don't know gender, I know we have another mind-of-it's-own stinker on our hands! We got back in 4 weeks and then we should be able to tell. After today we have our hunches of what it might be, but we'll wait and see!

Merry Christmas everyone. Enjoy the picture of our newest little one to be!

A good friend of our family is an amazing artist. She doesn't do this for money, just when she wants to. This summer she offered to do a picture of Cantley for us and we got it today. We are totally blown away at the detail. She even hid her name in her hair! I thought you guys might enjoy seeing the drawing and the picture she copied. Thank you to Uncle Mike for a great picture to start with! We can't wait to have it framed and hanging in our house!

Christmas Updates...

Here we go with a few Christmas time updates. As you know, Cantley is over the top excited about Santa coming. Our bedtime is still 8:30, but C doesn't actually fall asleep until after 10! We chalk it up to excitement! As I type, Cantley is playing Santa with daddy-can you say EXCITED!! We are finally out of school for the Christmas break and it couldn't have gotten here any faster! We were in need of a break! So, our Christmas week festivities always start with the Gosdin Christmas. We drove down early to Shreveport yesterday and did a little shopping. Two of our purchases for Cantley are at the bottom. One was necessity for tee ball season, the other, just because Mom and Dad couldn't say no! So, our Gosdin Christmas was fun as always. Cantley's cousin Nolan gave her some great gifts including an acrylic paint set (thanks Tina!). We may be painting in the garage with that, not on the new wood floors. I will let the pictures tell the rest of our Christmas updates...

Below, Cantley pretending she is Santa in the sleigh guiding her reindeer to the next stop.
Cantley wore a new dress to church last Sunday and had to pose for me.

She can't always remember to look at the camera!

Cantley's first experience at Build a Bear Workshop was back in '07 with her Godmother Penny. That is where we created Penelope (aka LMP) the lamb. Well, last night Cantley got to visit again and created Ariel the bunny rabbit. We couldn't pass up the outfit of her favorite Disney princess, guess who? Ariel! The wig has kept us cracking up!!!

Last but not least, new cleats! They are light pink and black Under Armor. No cheap cleats for daddy's girl, no way! Once she tried them on, there was no turning back. She wanted to wear them the rest of the night to show her Big John. I have to say, it was a proud moment for her daddy. A tearfully proud moment! Wait until you see what Daddy bought her for Christmas to go with her new cleats...

So, here are the updates. We will try to update after Santa visits.

Thanks to those who enjoy our blog. I love being able to keep family and friends involved in what is going on in our lives. I also enjoy being able to keep up with my friends and family in the same way and watching their kids and families grow. To those who may think we are silly for sharing so much, bah humbug! Life is for living, loving, and sharing...again, enjoy!

Merry Christmas everyone! Less than two weeks to go! This has been a very exciting Christmas season in our house. Cantley started to "get" Santa last year, but this year, the girl has his number! She is so excited about what he might bring her and most of all when he is coming. We made a paper chain that she tears off each night so she will know how many more days until Santa comes. She is also very excited about being a big sister and talks about it daily. Imagine that, Cantley talking!

Last weekend she went to stay with Nanna and Big John for the weekend. What a weekend it was! On Sat. morning they went to the Albemarle Christmas party where she won lost of cool toys and played lots of games. That night, Nanna hosted a grandparents party and it was lots of fun for the kids and the grandparents. By the time we got her back home, we got the meltdown! It was worth it b/c she won't stop talking about her reindeer party at Nanna's.

Cantley is quite the singer. I can't get my video to work, but as soon as i do, you will see our future pop star in action. Right now she is very into Christmas carols. Jingle Bells is at the top of her list. Her version goes something like this...jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way. Oh what sun, and then to horse, and hey, ho, jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the waaaaaaaaaay! The middle part is harder to understand than what I typed, but it is to cute for words!

Below is a pic I took a few weeks ago before church. She is getting very good at posing for mom. She says she will teach the new baby, too. When I can, I will add this year's Santa pic where you can tell she is asking for a chocolate baby! I sure hope Santa got one for her!

As for Jonathan and I, we are just so happy to be home. We ate out last night for the first time that we "wanted" to! It was nice. We love being home more than ever. Nothing like hotel living for 3 months to make you appreciate your home. School is great for both of us. We see our dr. again in a week and we are going to beg he let us find out what we are having a few weeks early. We even tried to get Cantley to practice begging, but she remembered we don't allow is at home and told us we were not supposed to beg either! Neither of us really care what we get, but it is an easy guess what Jonathan wants deep down. We are also excited that we will have our final meeting with Terminix and be settled with our house! HOORAY! It has been a long and painful process to get here and there were times we never thought we would, but it is happening. We have both grown a lot through this and are now offering our knowledge and counseling services to all Termite sufferers!

Merry Christmas everyone. I hope you have a blessed holiday season!

Big Girl

Cantley has really gotten to be such a big girl since we found out we were going to have another baby. She has lots of plans for her new little brother or sister. She says she will share her toys and change stinky diapers. The biggest accomplishment she has made in preperation for a new member of the family is to stop sucking her thumb! We are SO proud of her!!! We tried not to say much about it when we first noticed, but after prayers the other night, I told her how proud I was of her. She replied, "Mom, will you call the dentist and tell him, please?" How could I resist!

Among other big girl things, Cantley made her first official list for Santa. The first thing on her list, a chocolate baby. No, not the kind you can eat. For months, she has asked consistently for one. You can bet Santa will have one on that sleigh or Nanna will have one with her! She has also asked for a bicycle, Pixie Hollow movie, Jasmine, mermaid and Tinkerbell dress up clothes, along with a skunk doll and baby Dr. Barbie.

Should be an interesting Christmas at the Gosdin house!

I can't wait! Merry Christmas early!!!!

Halloween 2008

Halloween was a lot of fun around here. We're finally home and back in our great neighborhood. CAntley did a great job of knocking, saying "Trick or Treat" and doing a little hoola for everyone. Eventually we got her to knock, then hoola while she waited on them to answer the door. We got a lot of good laughs out of that! We got a lot of good trick or treaters at the house which included some students and friends. It was a great night and it was even better since we were HOME! Enjoy the pics and hopefully video to come.

Updates, Updates, Updates

So here we go...we have had a lot going on in our world. We started moving back into the house this past Thursday. It has been a busy weekend! Nana came to help us out and without her we would not be where we are right now. She and Jonathan stayed up late unpacking two nights in a row. I am proud to say I even stayed up until midnight one night! We got a lot done and the house really looks nice. Below are some pics from the house. You can see first this pic of Cantley helping Jonathan carry out the trash. She has been a trooper through yet another move and more changes in her little world. We are all glad to be home! And we are glad to have A.J.home as well. At the very bottom you will find video of Cantley skipping. We are really proud of her new skills.

Master Bathroom

Master bedroom

Dining Room

Cantley's new big girl room!

Cantley at her friend Ella's birthday party.
The cowgirl on her way to the party. She had to pose. It's her "new" thing. Then she has to see.

This is Cantley before her latest dentist appt. She wanted to take her picture with this for Kason to see.

And last but not least-our newest news and addition to our family. This is from our first dr. appt. We are all very excited, especially Cantley. We will add to our family in June.

A skipping we will, a skipping we will go...

New Floors

We feel like our house is really starting to come together. They still have a few things left to finish on the punch list, but once the floors get down they will get that list completed. Next week all the different cleanings will start, carpet will get laid, and we will officially start moving back in on Thursday afternoon. Here are a few pictures of the floor after it was partially laid today.

The "real" house

We are almost home! We are supposed to be moving back in the house in two weeks. Everything is scheduled to happen on time right now so we are holding out hope it will. Here are some pictures of our new shower and our new closet. When I open the double doors to the closet I will immediately see SHOES!!!! I can't wait to get settled back in. I will try to get more pictures in the coming weeks of the rest of the house. I have also included a picture of Cantley's new very green room!

Pumpkin Patch

Cantley and I went to Benton this weekend to stay with Aunt Sister, Uncle Mike, and Jackson. We took the kids for a great time at a pumpkin patch. They had pig races, petting zoo, pumpkin patch and hay rides. Here are a few pictures from our fun time!

Flower Girl

This weekend, Jeremy and Lindsey got married. It turned out to be a beautiful ceremony and a great time with our family. Cantley did a wonderful job as flower girl. She walked down the isle with a huge smile on her face and dropped her petals perfectly. After they straightened Lindsey's train, a few peddles flipped up on her dress. Cantley walked down and picked them off the dress. She then walked over to us and asked if she could go sit with her cousin Nolan. We did get her to walk out of the church with the ring bearers. She then danced the night away at the reception along with the bride. I will add more pics in a few days. I got some cute pics of Kason and other pics from the wedding. We are so happy for Jeremy and Lindsey and wish them much happiness! Congrats to Katrina on another baby boy coming in February!!!!!

Friends

Cantley has been very blessed through her days at Memaw's. She has grown up with 2 little brothers. The one on the right has been "her" baby since he came. I got this sweet picture of the three Memaw musketeers today and love how it turned out. They range in age from almost 4-Cantley, to just turned 2-Brayden. We are thankful both of these guys are Cantley's friends.

Our New House

It's not what you think. Cantley got a new playhouse. It will be moved by next week into our backyard. She is already in love with it and it's still empty. It is two story and has all electrical outlets, lights, and an a/c and heat unit. We have some painting to do, but we will make it all hers. She insisted in posing in the pictures. She would run upstairs, pose, run back down to see the picture, and start all over again. We are excited for her and hope she can understand the concept of "this is for Christmas, birthday, and anything else for a long time!!!!" b/c Christmas will be slim for her otherwise at our house! It should be fun for us all-we can fully stand up on both stories. We will have fun!

Fair Parade

Well, some of these posts are late, but I will try to get several tonight. These are some pics from the day we went to the fair parade. It was a beautiful day out and I got some neat shots of the courthouse. Half of it is in AR and the other half in TX. The federal courtrooms inside are divided by states only by a single wall. Very cool! Anyway, the rest are of Cantley at the parade. I even got one of a guy riding a bike with a real steering wheel and a portable DVD player on the handle bars. We got a big kick out of that!