The Hughes

The Hughes

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

No Fear!

It's no secret that Kyndall LOVES to take a bath, but until tonight, I didn't realize just what a water baby I have!  She truly has NO FEAR and is a real dare devil in every sense of the word!  Just watch as she puts her face in the water over and over and over again.  The good news: I don't think we'll have any trouble teaching her to swim.  The bad news: She is fearless!!!




While I'm at it, I might as well go ahead and share a few pictures from the past week.  We've been really busy enjoying our time in Tallahassee, so I haven't taken a whole lot.  Have no fear, there will be PLENTY come this time next week, when I'm the proud owner of a fancy new high tech camera!  Y'all just think I take a lot of pictures now......just you wait! 

On Saturday night we went to the Christmas play at Morningside.  Thanks for the adorable outfit, Payton Sheppard! =)





The following night, we went over to Two Egg to visit with my Grandparents and watch their church's Christmas play.  My Granddaddy had a main part, so we surprised them by showing up to see it.  Kyndall had fun exploring my Grandparents' Christmas tree..........






I doubt I'll be back on here before Christmas rolls around (in just 4 days!!), so I hope that each of you have a very blessed Christmas, and remember that JESUS is the reason for the season!  Merry CHRISTmas!

Thursday, December 15, 2011

All I Want for Christmas is........

A cardboard box!!!!  Why do we even waste our money on all those fancy toys???


Monday, December 12, 2011

Bath Time = Learning Time

Typically, I'm the one who gives Kyndall her bath each night, while Matthew cleans up the kitchen from dinner.  I love sitting and watching her play, and she seems to really enjoy her baths.  I try to take advantage of the fact that I have her undivided attention, not to mention the fact that she's contained---sort of!  I use this time to talk to her, ask her questions, and teach her new things.  I've been working with her (some) on baby sign language, mostly on mealtime signs.  To my surprise, she has really picked it up!  She signs "more", "all done" and "milk" very well.  I've been trying to get all three of these on video for a while, and tonight I was successful with one of the three.  She uses them all day long, but of course when I want her to perform, she won't.  Anyway, here's what I was able to get..........

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Santa Baby

One of my favorite things about Christmas is taking Kyndall to the mall to sit in Santa's lap.  Obviously, at 14 months old, she's clueless about making a list and sharing it with Santa, but it still makes for adorable pictures!  Last year she pretty much slept through her visit with Santa (as well as every other Christmas event we attended!), so I was excited to see how she reacted this year.  Would she be scared?  Doubt it.  Would she cry?  Very unlikely.  Would she cooperate for a cute picture?  Fingers crossed!  Matthew and I took her to the mall on Friday and here's how it turned out............



She wasn't scared at all, and seemed to really love Santa.  She would look at him, then look at me and giggle....then look at him again......and giggle.  It was so cute!  I knew she wouldn't be scared, as she's NEVER had any type of stranger anxiety in her life.  I probably could have left her there with him for the rest of the day and she'd of been just fine!  My little socialite.  

Unfortunately, the mall here in Charleston is no fun, and they forbid you from taking pictures of your own.  So here are the only other shots I was able to get of her all dressed up.......

I promise, she really was excited about going to see Santa


Waiting patiently.........


Here's what she looked like this time last year............



Besides seeing Santa, we've also been doing other things to get into the Christmas spirit around here.  This past Friday night, I went to my Mothers & More Christmas party.  (Moms only!)  I had a great time, and it was nice to have a few hours for myself.  We've also enjoyed decorating, shopping, baking, and listening to Christmas music.  

Kyndall's Christmas tree





We decided not to even try getting a real tree this year.  With a toddler, the only safe place for a tree is up high!!  Maybe next year we can attempt a traditional tree, but for now, this serves the purpose just fine!






A few of my favorite Christmas decorations..........

Sweet Mrs. Gloria Barber made this plate for Kyndall last year for her very first Christmas




I also have several favorite ornaments.  A few years ago, my Mom started the tradition of giving us an ornament each Christmas.  The ornament always represents the significance of that particular year.  Here are my favorites......









This one was a gift from Matthew's parents last year.  Kyndall's birth weight and length are written on the back.


My creative sister made these for me and Kyndall.  You can't really see it, but on the back, she "beadazzled" a cross on mine, and a paci on Kyndall's  =)  I love the way the beads inside of the glass ornament catch the light.  So pretty and very special!



And now, just for laughs, I had to share the next few pictures.  The first two are from this morning.  I thought Kyndall looked so cute for church, so I couldn't resist taking a few pictures.  Needless to say, she wasn't in the mood!!  She absolutely refused to look at me!



And this one was from tonight, after her bath.  For some reason, Matthew loves to do this with her hair when it's wet.  I thought she looked a little like Cindy Lou-Who, minus the bow. 


We're counting down the days until we're Tallahassee bound!!!  Can't wait!

Thursday, December 8, 2011

5 Years Ago Today.......

........I started dating the most wonderful man of God I had ever met!  Although we had been friends for a few months, it wasn't until December 8th 2006 that we officially started dating.  At the time, he was living down in Fort Myers, FL and I lived in Tallahassee.  I went down there to visit him for the first time and he took me to Disney World for my birthday.  It was that same weekend that we officially became a couple.  Maybe it's silly to remember and recognize this date now that we're married, but I still think of it as a very important day.  Had that day not happened, I might not be living the wonderful, blessed life that I am today!  It's hard to believe how much has happened in just 5 short years.  We began dating, got engaged (just 3 months later!), got married, moved to a new state, and were blessed with a beautiful baby girl.  If the next 5 years are anything like the previous, I can't wait to see what the Lord has in store for us! 

I love looking back at these pictures from our dating and engagement days.  We had no idea what a wonderful journey we were about to embark on!

The weekend of December 8th, 2006



Meeting my family for the first time













We returned to Disney World in December of 2007 for our first "anniversary".  By this time, we were engaged and just 4 months away from our wedding!


Thank you, Matthew, for making the past 5 years so wonderful!  I don't know what I'd do without you!  I love you!