love it...

it's a portable chalkboard placemat... i think that i might need to make this!

jax's new train

santa claus brought jax his first train set and he loves it! today mommy set up the track and we were all playing with the "choo choos." the only thing that we need now is for daddy to build us the train table so we're not climbing over the tracks on the floor.

christmas at grandma and grandpa's

our last stop of christmas day was at grandma and grandpa's where we opened some more of our presents! thanks grandma and grandpa for all of the great stuff.

christmas at aunt karen's

aunt karen and jax

the harness grandchildren

mi familia

christmas evening we went over to my great- aunt karen's house... i told mom before we left for their house that i was staying the night and that aunt karen was going to read me princess books! we had a wonderful evening with our family.

christmas morning

opening the bitty twins

belle and the beast

buzz!!!

my purple barbie

toy story 3

since mommy and daddy moved into our house they have been spending christmas eve in the living room sleeping in front of the tree with the fireplace going. mommy heard me as soon as i came down the hall at 6:30... daddy tried to put my back in bed but mommy insisted that we get up then and open our gifts. i heard her say something about the magic of christmas morning!

jax wasn't awake yet, so of course i had to give him his christmas morning wake up call. i think jax knew that there was something exciting about this morning but he didn't really know all that was going on, he will next year though.

as i made my way to the christmas tree one really big box wrapped in princess paper stood out to me... i told mommy " that's the barbie airplane" and before she could stop me i had it opened! ah, it was incredible.

mommy and daddy watched jax and i open all of our gifts one by one with big smiles... i wonder what's so special about watching your children open gifts on christmas morning. it must be something only mommy and daddy's understand,

christmas eve 2010

the new pj's

pj's for me!

hmm, what's this? i don't see wheels or balls...

papa

christmas eve dinner

after the candlelight service at church nana and papa came over to our house for a yummy feast prepared by daddy... it was delicioso! after dinner we opened our very first christmas gifts and the were "chongo" pajamas. of course we had to out on our new pj's before reading " the night before christmas" in front of the fire. lastly, we put out a plate of cookies and carrots and then went outside to put out the "reindeer food!" finally, jax and i were snug in our beds ready for christmas morning.

the gingerbread house

we made our first ever gingerbread house on christmas eve, what a perfect night to do it! mom told me that we couldn't eat any of the candy though... apparently she had bought the gingerbread house kit last christmas and then we never did it. dad took on the responsibility of building the house, isn't that what dad's do best? he laid the foundation: icing, put up the sheetrock: gingerbread, put up the shingles: icing and gumdrops, and our house was almost complete. jax and i though that the house needed a little extra flair so so we decked it out in all of the candy we had. it was so much fun.

the 2 year sneak peek...

christmas musical

sunday evening isabel got to perform in the christmas special at church and she wore a special dress from nana. of course, she had to show daddy her pretty dress and he even told her that she looked like a barbie... after the performance brother randy told her that he liked her dress and she replied with " i look like a barbie."

as we were getting in the van to leave isabel exclaimed " i need my tap shoes!" i tried to explain that she was singing tonight and not dancing, but she was convinced that she needed the shoes.

she might not have sang one single word, but she looked adorable!

the holiday express

we had our first visit to union station this evening to see the holiday train. hector and i had never been there and we were amazed by the grandiose lobby of union station and the immense christmas tree... one word, stunning. as we made our way to the holiday express we were able to travel back in time, a time when union station was full of bustling travelers and a time when my grandfather might have graced those very same halls along with his little girl, my mother. i never had the opportunity to meet my grandpa holthouse but have always been told stories of how he worked for the union pacific railroad and how my mother and her family often traveled by train. when we finally made it downstairs we were greeted by 2 model union pacific trains, perhaps my grandfather worked on a train just like one of them. isabel and jax got to sit on santa's lap and once again isabel placed her order. and then, we saw it... the santa train!! if you've never been to see it, you have to check it out next year... so very cool! there were cars filled with model trains, gingerbread men, santa's, elves, and everything christmas. and to top it off... santas sleigh and reindeer.

an evening with good friends

we had a wonderful holiday evening with dear friends that included a delicious dinner, amazing desserts, my favorite cocktails, and the holiday lights. we began our night by being picked up in the limo and heading to the plaza... our wait for dinner was 2 and a half hours so we decided to head to the leawood cheesecake factory for their 5 minute wait. after an amazing dinner of chicken croquettes, pasta, chicken costelleta, and a variety of desserts we went on a holiday light tour. we saw lights put to music and an absolutely chirstmas packed house! but, the best part of the evening was sharing the holiday season with our very good friends.

isabel's dance recital

her bff ashlyn
a barbie and a rose

the life of a dancer

it's almost time

silly girls

isabel had her winter dance recital last night and they danced to "here come's santa claus." she was absolutely amazing and dance her little heart out... that could be in part to the bribery of a present from nancy. this year she danced next to her best bud kaelin and they were adorable. thank goodness she didn't do any of the moves daddy taught her.

the 60th wedding anniversary

children and grandchildren

just the harness kids

the wedding photo

all of the family

the table

this evening we celebrated my great- grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary... can you believe that, 60 years! my mom was trying to explain to me what this all meant but i got a little confused. i do remember something about how i wouldn't be here without them. you see, the marriage of my great grandparents and the life that they have built with one another has allowed jax, mommy, and i to be here. great- grandma and grandpa are the ones who started our family when they had my grandpa! now i know they are a lot of other special people who have put us here as well, but none of them have been married for 60 years. mommy said that there's just something special about these 2. think about how much their lives have changed and grown since that day they said "i do." i wonder if they ever imagined having 4 children, 10 grandchildren, and 9 great-grandchildren? when you're 18 and getting married do you think that far ahead? i hope that one day i'm sitting next to the boy i married; surrounded by our children, grandchildren, and great-children celebrating our 60th anniversary. congratulations don and exine harness... we love you.

hot cocoa

our reindeer need a hot cocoa break

we had our first night of hot cocoa and boy was it delish!

breakfast with santa

this morning mommy, jaxon, and i braved the freezing wind and single degree temperatures to have breakfast with santa. it wasn't exactly what we thought it would be, but we got to sit on the big guys lap and tell him our christmas wishes.