Christmas 2010

Let's see, our Christmas celebration kicked off with the annual Eve Party at our house with Brent's side of the family. Every year they all come to our house and I really enjoy it. It gives me a good reason to get the house really festive and clean. However, there are so many kids and so many gifts that 10 seconds it the house is a disaster, but thats okay.

Zoe & Izabelle love each other!

Lauren & Brent's annual posed picture they have been doing for 23 years
An unplanned family picture. I love this.

On to Christmas morning. We were up bright and early to see what Santa brought!
Bake was way more interested in Zoe's presents..

Finally playing with his own stuff.

Not quite sure yet how to use the "Sit N Spin"

I so wanted him to love this "Leopard Cup Alive" but so far, not so much.

Then we packed up and headed to Dothan...

This time he was more prepared for Hayes' love.

We got some fun visitors while in Dothan- Including Porter Chappell, Emily Chappell and Kay Bostic. Porter and Bake kind of look alike. They are 2 months apart. Instant friends- for 1 minute. Then, Baker stole Porter's toy and IT.WAS.OVER! He was done with Bake forever. Babies are so dramatic.
Mom & Dad

Happy New Year to all!

Wright Christmas

Every year we get together the weekend before Christmas with my mom's side of the family. There are 8 grandchildren (now 2 great grandchildren) and we always have a LARGE time. We always meet in Gulf Shores (with the exception of a few years) since both of my uncles have condos in the same complex.

We play Dirty Santa every year and this particular year, emotions seemed to run high. It was not a "friendly" game at all. I bet a knife has never been pulled out at your family Dirty Santa? Thats how we roll I guess.

My cousins- Abby and Anna

My cousin Daniel and his wife Jamie

In unrelated news, my mom got a Christmas DVD for Hayes and Baker to share and watch at her house. Well, while B was with my parents while we were in NYC, she brought out this special treasure and he was HOOKED. I love it because I too loved these movies growing up. This is only certain songs from the movies though which is great.

He is so obsessed with it. When he knows we are turning it on, he starts yelling WHOOOAA! I actually have a cute video of it but can't upload it to blogger anymore. BTW, I hate Blogger's new method of adding pictures and videos too obviously.

So, Sorry Hayes that you havent been able to watch this yet. I really don't know if Baker will share or not. I have a hard time even prying the case out of his hands. So much that we had to bring the case to school today.

Bundles

There have been an abundance of babies born in the last 2 months to my friends and family. In fact, I thought I would do a post with these precious new additions, as an introduction to my (2) blog readers.

Introducing....

"Mr. Pheney"- Born October, 2010

Mr. Pheney is a special little baby, adopted by a sweet friend. Due to the adoption not being final yet, I am sharing limited information. Let's just say that he is one blessed little boy to have two wonderful believers who are already great parents. I can't wait to see him grow to become as artsy and fun as they are!

Introducing...

Jackson and Blake Finney- Born, November 5, 2010

Hometown: Columbus, Ohio

These precious boys are the sons of one of my best friends in the whole world, Molly! Conceiving them was a long, hard road to say the least. J & B have no idea what their parents went through to bring them into the world. The word "blessing" is an understatment. I so wish they didn't live in Ohio, because I NEED to get my hands on them.

Introducting...

Harper Caroline Amberguey- Born, December 2, 2010

Hometown: Atlanta, GA

Better known by me as "Harpsie". Her parents are Holly and Brett. Holly is a good friend and sorority sister of mine. We have been waiting for her for what seems like forever. She is a precious little thing with a scowl that looks alot like her mama's. Another baby I can't wait to get my hands on. We hope she is as fiesty as Holly with a splash of Brett's laid back nature.

Introducing...

Alexis Rainey Rhoton- Born October 14

Hometown: Birmingham, Al

Lexi is the daughter of Lauren and Brandon. Lauren is Brent's niece. This little girl is already spoiled rotten as far as we can tell. She is actually the only one of these babies we have met! She was only a few days old when we met her so we can't wait to see her at Christmas. She is blessed to have 2 awesome parents as well.

Introducing....

Cromwell Espy Letcher, II- Born November 17, 2010

Hometown: Freeport, FL

Baby Cromwell is the son of Haley & Espy. Haley has been my friend since pre-school. We went to school together for preschool and then never went to school together again. However, we stayed good friends regardless. Cromwell has a big sister, Maggie Lee who is about to be 3! I don't know when I will get to see him in person, but it makes me sad that they don't live closer. This is a common theme amongst my friends!

Someone's on the nice list...

"SANTA!! I KNOW HIM. I know him"..- Elf

We took B Dozen to see ole St. Nick on Saturday. I had no idea what to expect. I don't think he has been exposed to many costumed characters in his life. We really didnt know.

He didn't really want to wait in line patiently. So, he paraded the mall a bit and greeted everyone joyfully with a "HEEEYYY". Thats his new thing. Its high pitched.

Verdict? Loved him.
He just smiled and smiled and grabbed his beard. I don't think our boy is going to be scared of much. In fact, he LOVES for us to jump out and scare him. Laughs his head off.

A batch of random...

Hey Baker....

Yes? Santa Claus is coming to see you!!

Are boys born with this knowlege?

This is a fun new face we see alot lately

Where is the "Never Rake Again" when you need it. That is one Infomercial I have been sucked into after seeing our yard lately.

I hope this post changed your life.
The End.

N.Y.C.

I don't want to overstate this, but this New York trip was the best.trip.EVER! Its not hard to please me in New York though. Throw a few Broadway Musicals my way, some Christmas decor and a star sighting or 2 and its a total success!!

I have been to the Big Apple several times. Once a couple of years pass, I get the itch and start having New York dreams (not kidding) and go again. I would pass up pretty much any other destination for a chance to go back to New York. Anyway....

First thing we did when we arrived was hurredly put our things down at the apartment we were staying and hop on a subway to Times Square. We stayed with our friend, Jonathan in Queens.

We really wanted to catch a matinee on Saturday so we didnt lose that slot to see a show. So, we got tickets to "Promises, Promises" with Sean Hayes and Kristin Chenoweth. LOVE them both, of course.

This show is very fun. We really enjoyed it. After the show, they bow and Sean Hayes says "and now we are going to do something we have never done before. We are auctioning off a chance for one audience member to come onstage and Kristin will sing "Popular" from Wicked. WHATTT? I freaked out. (Without going into extreme detail, I am obsessed with "Wicked" and have been for about 6 years. I saw Idina Menzel in the show, but not Kristen) So, I am super excited. They started the bidding at $1,000 and I quickly supressed my dreams of being onstage with her. But, man that would have been awesome. Anyway, I did get a video of it which I will upload as soon as my camera will cooperate with this blog.

So, then we immediately get back in line at TKTS for the night show. That night, we went to see "Memphis". This was our favorite of the four we saw. So energetic, great music and set! Its a must-see.

Sunday we were waiting in line for the matinee and I hear someone behind me saying "Look, my show is up on the board" (at TKTS, shows randomly come available at 50% off, which is how we see all of our shows) and so I knew there was an actor behind me. I turn around and it was none other than John Tartaglia, the original "Princeton" in Avenue Q. Of course, I immediately knew who he was. Plus, I had just watched him on the Macy's Parade, promoting his new show. ANYWAY, I asked him if he was "Princeton" and he said "yes". He was SO nice. He asked us if we were in theatre, what we had been in etc. Then, introduced us to his family and was just the nicest guy. I was so pumped to meet him!!

So, we saw "The Addams Family" for the matinee, starring Nathan Lane and Bebe Neworth. We were 7th row, so we were very close to them. The set was amazing too. The show itself was just "eh" to us. The least favorite of the four we saw.

Let's see, we then went on an NBS Studios tour. We visited the SNL studio, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and Dr. Oz. At the end they have a mock news station and asked for 2 volunteers to deliver the news and weather. Who volunteered? You're looking at them.

That night, we went to see my old Birmingham roomate, Katherine, at her bar, Pourhouse. It was great!
Monday we went to Central Park and took a carriage ride.

We did some ice skating at Bryant Park.

Then we HAD to go to Tom's Restaurant where Seinfeld is taped. After making the haul, we ate there as well. Brent was very excited. I never really watched Seinfeld, so I wasn't quite as thrilled.

That night we decided to see a fourth show and decided on "Next to Normal". Wow, what a powerful show! Its about a family who experiences a tradgedy which causes the mother to go insance. Wonderful music, super sad story. I cried multiple times.

Ok, I am exhausted just typing this. After this show we went to "Dont Tell Mamas" which is a piano bar I have been to every time I've been to New York. They let us sing too!

Thank you sweet husband for a wonderful birthday present! I could not have asked for a better time!