blog headers.

Just so I can have them all in my 2011 book...

jones christmas.

I can't wait until next Christmas when we have a new little girl running all around! Or maybe just crawling... =)

 We decided it was time for an updated family picture! (Although it will only be good for another two months.)

Merry Christmas! (and Happy Birthday, Jeanette!) 

sumo's.

We started our Jones Family Christmas by going out to eat at Sumo Japanese Grill. We were also celebrating Grandma Jones' birthday. 50 minutes is a long time for 3 kids to wait, but they all did amazingly well. (Really... what is the point of call ahead seating??) Hearing someone whisper to their date that Gretchen was "the cutest thing she's ever seen" will always make this momma smile. =) 

It was definitely worth the wait, though. Everything was fabulous! (Although I can't speak for the shrimp  personally... I heard they were amazing, too.)

Lawson thought the fire was cool, but he looked pretty nervous about the whole thing. The chef kept checking in with him and asking him if he was okay. =) The last time we took him to a restaurant like this, he was only 3. His face was pretty much the same then, too.

It was kind of like Olive Garden for me. I could have eaten just the salad and fried rice and been perfectly content. So yummy!

Corey's favorite line from the whole evening... "Japanese chicken. Meow." 

Gretchen watched the chef a little bit, but she spent most of her time down here in the corner, just walking around and playing. She drew and colored and looked at books. Such a sweet little thing.

Then a man from a nearby table brought the kids all a piece of his birthday cake. She wanted up in her highchair then. =)

I can never seem to get pictures of the shrimp tossing/catching...

Sophie and Lawson both loved the chopsticks...

So much fun and such good food!
Then it was back to Aunt Heather and Uncle Brian's to open presents...

fun, happy stuff.

Some fun, happy, colorful things have been added to our house these past few weeks. Some were gifts and a couple I bought. None of them are really necessary, but they all make me smile... 

The kids and I all got some fun new luggage for Christmas! How fun are these flowers and polka dots?! 

The kids personalized bags are from Meredith at StarDesignsStudio on Etsy. She did an amazing job and the kids can't wait to use their bags! You can get your own here!  My polka dot suitcase is from Target. 

One of my goals this Christmas was to get the kids each their own box to store their special ornaments in. I had planned on photo boxes, but realized that those would be too small in just a year or two. These ornament boxes from Target were quite a bit bigger than what I imagined, but the color and style just made me happy. They were on sale for $9 each and then they gave me the 50% off seasonal discount. For $4.50, they were definitely worth it!  

Corey and I were on a day date awhile back (thanks, Danielle, for keeping our big kids!) and I saw these cute metal mini-colanders at World Market...

See how little it is? This is a regular sized paper plate. They were just cute and colorful and only $2. My biggest problem was deciding what color to get! (Red, green, orange, turquoise... I really wanted one of each!)

I showed it to my friend and she loved them, too! She actually went to get some of her own and then gifted me with two more! (She said they were nearly gone! Everyone was loving how cute they are!) I have no idea what I'm going to do with them, but they're just so cute and happy. =)

My sister-in-law and brother-in-law gave this to me for Christmas. Heather said as soon as she saw it, she knew it was me! She's right! How fun is this calendar? It's a canvas, but covered in something that makes it dry erase. So every month, you just erase it and start over. I love, love, love the colors and the flowers! Still deciding where it's going to live, though...

And this sign from my mom. She said it made her think of me... not because my house is always a mess (although that might not be true... my mom's house is never messy. Only when we are there visiting.) =) But she said it was because I am so good about letting my kids make messes and have fun. And I love that she thinks that.  

Lawson read the sign yesterday and said, "Well, that's kind of rude. We're not noisy and messy!" 

I just laughed. And then he laughed and said, "Yeah. I guess it's right." 

painting.

 Perfect for Grandma Jones' music room at school! 

And... before you start thinking all "Supermom-crafts-with-her-kids"... there may have been whining, fussing and yelling during this little project. In fact, I can guarantee you that there was. But the nice thing is... when we look back at these pictures years from now, we won't remember the fussing and whining and yelling. We'll just smile, remembering the painting and the fun project we made for Grandma. We won't remember the other stuff. 

Although I just wrote it down here, so nevermind that part, I guess...