I Think I Can, I Think I Can

Well, sometime in the very near future, things are sure to get a whole lot more interesting around here. Emma is extremely close to crawling. On one hand, I am very excited for her. On the other hand, being a second time mother, I know better than to get excited about a crawling infant that can go anywhere they want at anytime. As my cousins say, the "potted plant" stage is a whole lot easier!

Christmas Morning

Jeremy and I had so much fun watching the girls on Christmas morning this year. It may be hard to believe, but we actually woke Claire up to get things started around 8:45. We were the excited ones! However, I do so cherish these sleeping in days because I know that at some point in the future Claire will be waking us up much earlier come Christmas morning. This year she was still just a little too young to know what to expect on such a magical morning.
Unfortunately, I didn't get any still pictures of the "big reveal" of Santa gifts because we were too busy taking videos (on one of my Christmas gifts!). However, I can assure you that both girls had a blast tearing into their presents (Claire was sure to help Emma along the way), and since have enjoyed playing with all of their new things. We have had the most fun watching Emma play with a new "Touch and Feel" book that she received from a friend of ours. It has a furry bunny on the cover, and she has done everything from lick the fur to lie down on it while sucking her thumb. As for Claire, she has been having so much fun with her new toys that she never wants to leave her play room!
The last picture is of the Christmas pillow that Claire painted for us at school. She did a remarkably good job of not telling us what the gift was before we opened it. All she would say was that it was "a surprise for Mommy and Daddy". It was definitely one of my favorite gifts.

Christmas Eve

Although we were not able to capture a complete family photo, we did manage to snap some pictures on our way out the door for a Christmas Eve service at church and dinner with friends. The family service that we attended was a beautiful re-telling of the story of Jesus' birth, and was complete with live camels, sheep and a donkey! Claire seemed to really enjoy it and was most excited about going to "big church" with Mommy and Daddy.
Once we got home, Claire (with a little help from Emma) was sure to set out cookies and milk for Santa.

Gingerbread House

A few days before Christmas, Claire's friend, Harris, came over to help her decorate a gingerbread house. (Claire, as usual, was all decked out in a mix-match of dress-up clothes.) The kids had a great time, and even managed to get a good bit of the candy on the house. The rest of the candy quickly made it into their mouths!

Lauren is here!

This past Thursday, December 18th, the Plaisance family welcomed their newest little addition, Lauren Leigh. She looks precious, and we can't wait to meet her!

Congratulations Jennifer, Eric & William!!

Christmas Pictures

Baby's 1st Christmas

Emma is all set for her 1st Christmas!

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

Yesterday, Claire's class at school had a "Happy Birthday Jesus" party. It was complete with yummy snacks and a game of "Pin the Candle on the Cupcake". As always, I did my best to capture a class photo. If I ever get one with everyone looking at the camera and smiling at the same time, I will be amazed.

A New Ride

Unfortunately, the "new ride" is not mine. However, Jeremy's parents found a great deal on a used (but great condition!) VW bug for Claire. She had seen a picture of it through an e-mail, but when she saw it in person, she was thrilled. On this particular day, she took it for a spin with our neighbor. Thankfully, this bug can off-road it because they lapped the house several times! It is too cute.

Donuts With Santa

This past Saturday, our neighborhood held their annual "Donuts with Santa". I'm not sure whether Claire was more excited about Santa or the donuts! Anyway, she had a great time and was sure to give Santa the few gift ideas that she has put together. Emma enjoyed sitting on Santa's lap as well. I decided we had better really capture the moment this year because next year will probably be Emma's "crying with Santa" year. It seems that just about every child has to have one.
The bottom picture was taken of Claire and Santa last year. She gave him the once over, but found him to be quite delightful. They made a cute pair.

Hammin' It Up In Smithfield

After our visit with Jeremy's parents and grandfather, we drove down to Smithfield, Virginia (record holders of the "World's Largest Ham Biscuit") to stay at my parent's house for a couple of days. While we were there, we had fun decorating cookies, visiting Nanny's candy shop, and reminiscing over some of my old high school dance recital tapes. Claire also enjoyed sporting some new found slippers, and Emma had her first bath in a big tub!
The group picture was taken on our way out the door. The kids were in their comfy clothes, and we were in for a 12 hour ride home! It was a long day, but the entire Thanksgiving trip was well worth the long journey.

Trip to GG's House

As our Thanksgiving journeys continued, we traveled from Alexandria to Fairfax Station to visit with Jeremy's parents and his grandfather, GG. We had such a nice time. Claire especially loved feeding all of the animals that were right in GG's front yard. She was able to feed the horses some carrots, and the ducks and fish in the pond were treated to a feast of bread. We hope that we can visit again soon!

The Great Thanksgiving Pile-In

This year we traveled to Alexandria, Virginia for Thanksgiving. My sweet Aunt Vicki was the "Hostess with the Mostess", and she opened her home up for the appropriately named "Great Thanksgiving Pile In". It was so fun to see the little cousins play together, and even more special that the two youngest cousins, Emma and Sullivan, were able to share their 1st Thanksgivings with so many loved ones. Little Andy (who is currently in love with all things air and space) was thrilled that my dad brought his old Air Force pilot helmet. He was such a precious sight in his John Glenn gear.
The weekend was busy and entertaining from sun up to sun down. We did it up right from the kids baking an apple pie and the adults frying the turkey to our first ever beer tasting extravaganza. Needless to say, we had a blast!