I had a very rushed Thanksgiving trying to finish my final studio project and research papers. But not too busy to spend some time with these clowns:
Madison was in her first little school pageant. She was absolutely beautiful to say the least. Mom and Alana are loving being back in the pageant world; Dad and I are, as usual, just along for the ride. Of course, Alana took care of the hair and make-up while I snapped a million pictures:
We all freakishly look too much alike..
Madison was a finalist for her grade! We were very proud of how well she did; however, none of us were surprised. She is a lot more like Alana than she is me.
We spent Thanksgiving at the farm as usual. Gade Clay is in love with Aunt Kathy and Uncle Gary. I can't be jealous because I completely understand the feeling. I've been in love for 25 years.
Uncle Gary and Gade Clay have very in depth conversations:
I like to think Uncle Gary is teaching Gade Clay all the secrets to life.
One of the few times we have caught Uncle Gary cheesing..
Thanksgiving was truly a time to give thanks for the blessings our family has been given. Five years ago during Thanksgiving, we lost my father's and aunt's mother, Meme. She is truly with us all during every family gathering right down to the prayer we say before meals. Every once in a while, I catch a glimpse of her in Gade Clay. And just a year ago, Alana and Gade Clay were in a terrible car accident. Although Gade Clay was perfectly fine, Alana suffered many injuries making the holiday season a time for healing. Being able to spend this time with our family, injury and accident free, was truly wonderful and I can only hope it continues to be that way for years to come.
Now on to Decemeber!
My nephew, Austin, turned 10! Not sure who he gets his dance moves from... Alana or Clay?
This picture may come back to haunt him...
Children in our family should stop letting me take photos of them for I will whip these out at graduations, weddings, etc...
What happens when you feed Hayden sugar...
If you could not tell by the pictures, Austin had a laser tag birthday party. Of course, they would not let me play. I was truly disappointed.
Bailee's Stardust dance was up next. It has become a little tradition that Alana, Laura and I help Bailee get ready for Stardust. Unfortunately we only have one more year of this..
Naturally, Gade Clay gravitates to whomever will hold her. Mimi is always a willing participant:
We had some issues with the putting on of the "Spanx" (who doesn't?). Yes, that is Simone under the dress... I will just let you imagine the hilarity of the commentary rather than repeat the actual conversation.
Bailee's date, Colin, was a long time family friend and they made such a cute little couple. As usual, Bailee was absolutely gorgeous.
Of course we caught a few pictures of Gade Clay in the Stardust photo shoot:
And then it was time to take my niece's and nephew's Christmas pictures. We set up shop in front of the back pasture at the farm and finally, after five years, we taught Austin how to smile.
What turned out to be fantastic photos of Austin and Madison, ended up being disastrous of Gade Clay. Diva is an understatement and naturally, we made a joke of it.
Christmas time came and it was a much needed break from the studio life. I spent part of the Christmas Holidays sick, part with Meghan's family and the last part with my family. It turned out to be a pretty lazy holiday season. Yes, I took tons of pictures. Here are a few highlights:
Meghan turned 26! So we went and ate at 26 in downtown Birmingham. It was delicious. 26 candles just seemed a little too much...
I spent an entire night trying to capture Meghan's niece Emerson. I only got one good shot..
We finally made it to Christmas and this year could have not been any better. Just spending time with my niece and nephew while playing with all of their new toys was enough for me. Of course Nana and Pawpaw spoil them rotten, as they should.
We ended Christmas Day with little Toodles tearing it up on her lady bug. It was perfect.
Did I say "for the light readers"? Ooops...
