Disney On Ice: Princess Wishes

When the rest of the world was hunting for a bargain on Black Friday Coco treated our little princess to Disney on Ice! Eloise LOVES everything that is pink, glittery or princess, so this was heaven to her. Coco, Eloise and I all enjoyed the show!
Lots of the little girls were wearing their princess gowns!Coco and EloiseWhen I asked Eloise what her favorite part of the show was, she informed me that this was the moment... When the prince gave Sleeping Beauty a kiss! Such a romantic!Eloise also told her teacher that she wanted to be a figure skater when she grew up... I think we need to move to Canada for that to happen!Belle and BeastTechnically Tink is NOT a princess, but I'll let it slide! Cinderella's carriage and fireworks at the grand finale!

Eloise's reaction to the finale!

Holiday Greetings Coming to A Mailbox Near You!

Christmas is such a festive time of year! As soon as I have turkey in my tummy I am decorating for Christmas. The sights smells, tastes and sounds of the season overwhelm me! It truly is magical.

One of my favorite holiday traditions is sending and receiving Christmas cards! I love seeing how family and friends change throughout the years. Each trip to the mailbox is filled with anticipation... Who will be behind that little black door? When Patrick and I were first married we saw a lot of newly wed cards and now we are seeing everyones expanding families!

We got to talking about this years card and decided on a photo card! You can see how challenging our photo shoot was in my previous post, but I know I will cherish these shots in the future! Patrick and I started shopping around online and found really cute cards on Shutterfly! They have awesome designs offering both flat stationary and folded cards- something for everyones taste! One year I used Shutterfly to make a "Grandma Calendar" for my mom. It was a wall calendar customized with photos of the grandkids. It was such a hit we started doing it annually!

My next challenge: Narrowing down my options... here are a few.

Vintage Inspired Traditional
Fun!

Which one is your favorite?

A Family of 5 Photo Shoot

Remember me telling you about all of the pretty decor at the Gaylord Texan? While we were at the Gaylord Texan we attempted to take our own family photos for this years Christmas card...

WHEW! EXHAUSTING! It is an almost impossible task to get 3 kids (all under 4) to LOOK at you and SMILE without doing other (unflattering) things....

We had...a crier...

a slider..

a grump...a lip biter...a thumb sucker...and an escape artist...

DID WE GET ONE, YOU ASK?

Guess you will have to wait and see!

Thanksgiving Alternative

We wanted a Thanksgiving alternative this year. The day was going to be hard for us (in my dads absence) so we opted out of the traditional turkey-dinner-around-the-dining-room-table.

In stead, we went to Great Wolf Lodge for their Thanksgiving Feast! We had a good time, and especially enjoyed skipping the cooking and cleaning part of the day!

The Loose Moose Cottage, where we enjoyed out mealCoco and Eloise in front of the lobby's fireplaceThe Lobby of Great Wolf Lodge

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Quickly after dinner we went to the Gaylord Texan. It is always decorated so nicely for the holidays! We really enjoyed walking around looking at the train exhibit, visiting Santa, and enjoying a glass of wince while listening to their live music! The Lights in the main atrium!

Such a poser!

Lucie and mommy!

Happy First Brithday, Sweet Caroline!

A few weekends ago we went to celebrate my niece, Caroline's, first birthday! We had such fun! The decor of the party was red, turquoise and pink. My sister-in-law pulled out all the stops with all of the small details. There was a candy bar with matching lollipop decor! And the sweet birthday banner was adorable, too! But, my favorite part of a first birthday is watching the little ones DIG into their first bite of cake! Nom Nom Nom....

Happy Birthday Sweet Caroline! We love you!

Preschool Tanksgiving Feast

Before Thanksgiving Eloise enjoyed a Thanksgiving feast with her class! It was fine dining: White bread, turkey lunch meat, green beans, and applesauce! Dessert was a rice crispy treat! How cute are these little pilgrims??

Eloise and her class!

Halloween Festivities!

The Surratt's had a whole week of Halloween this year! Our girls are VERY much into the Disney Princesses this year, so you may see a theme...

Our week started off at church. They held their annual "Trunk or Treat" event and we decided to host a trunk! Our theme was..... YOU GUESSED IT!!! Princess!! Patrick and I were the Royal Parents and we had our 3 little princesses (ok, one was a fairy but, hey, close enough!) His and Her Royal Highnesses King Patrick and Queen Kelly

Her Royal Highness, Miss Tessa Rea, Princess of McKinney

Trunk or Treating with Great Aunt Debby while Mommy and Daddy hand out candy at the Pink Palace.

Train Ride!

Eloise and her buddy Felicity in front of the Pink Palace!

(our trunk... Sadly the best photo I have of it!)

Lucie, AKA Tinkerbell!

After Trunk or Treat our Sunday school class went to "Gouls on the Lawn" at Tucker Hill in McKinney. Here are all the kids!

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For the actual Halloween weekend we burned rubber down I-45 again, and went to Houston. My sister was in charge of her church Pumpkin Party! We went there first to do some more trunk or treating and other fun activities!

My cutie patootie nephew, Travis, the train conductor!

More trunk or treating!
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After having fun at the Pumpkin Party we went to my brothers house to attend the annual block party! It's always a lot of fun with pinatas, balloon artists, costume contests and festive food!

One super cute pink poodle... My niece, Caroline.

Two princesses and a bride trick or treating!

My little angels with Coco!

Eloise and her balloon scepter

Cute Chickadee!

Daddy's Birthday!

Patrick is 31!! We celebrated his happy birthday by taking our little Eloise out on a "Date." I know, it sounds unusual for a birthday celebration, but we BOTH really wanted to see Toy Story 3 with her. The little ones stayed at home with a babysitter and the 3 of us went out to dinner and a movie! Cupcakes from The Cupcakery... yummmmmy!

Eloise loves anything chocolate!

Hippo birdie two ewe. Hippo birdie two ewe. Hippo birdie, deer ewe.

Hippo birdie two ewe!!!

(hehe)

Nursery Debut

I figured it was about time to post some pictures of Tessa's vintage inspired nursery. As you know, we didn't find out her gender ahead of time (s0 fun!), so we started with a pretty neutral "canvas" and added most of the decor after her delivery.

The first colors in her room were khaki, white and black. After she was born I decided to do a splash of about every other color in the rainbow! When you are working with such a simple canvas, you can go crazy with the details! Anyhow, here is her name hanging over the window.

The simple nursery bedding was sort of the rooms "little black dress." Meaning you can change the entire look of the room by changing the accessories and use the same bedding.

(Kind of like you do with your perfect LBD.)

The photo quality of this one isn't great, but I thought it captured the room in it's entirety.

The quilt on the chair is the one I made for Tessa. It has been pieced, layered and quilted. It still needs to be bound. I plan to hang it on the wall behind the crib in replacement of the one currently there. It's 6' x 6' so it will take up the whole space, and add a lot of color to the room.

This little "vintage" dress is MY coming home outfit that my Dad picked for me after I was born. This is my absolute favorite addition to the room.

On top of the white shelf rests a cute little vintage balloon lamp that once lit the walls of MY nursery (Oh, and my siblings, too!) It also serves as a night light. Also some "Bunnykins" china and the Baby Book (that you first met HERE.)

The baby changing station... a must have in any nursery!

Above the changing station is are two shelves that hold all kinds of little vintage treats! A Raggedy Ann and Andy, tin duck pull toy, a spinning top, lantern, baskets of baby goodies, adorable record of birth art and....My special little gift. The perfect perch for our new bear! It's like a little guardian angel watching over baby Tessa.

Also, one of my favorite additions to the nursery....