Christmas 2012

Emma and her new friend, Rapunzel. . .

The grandparents gave the girls a gymnastics mat and leotards. They are loving it!

*Christmas in Daphne*

Barrett could only handle so much excitement. . .

The annual chalking of the dog!

I'm sure the rest of the family will love this picture. Claire thoroughly enjoyed having her nails painted by NeNe, and had no problem propping that foot up on the table. :)

Bellingrath Gardens

Lunch with one of my old roomies, Jennifer!!

Pictured below is Jeremy's old high school after a tornado came through downtown Mobile on Christmas Day. In fact, there was an outbreak of tornados that postponed our trip down south for a day.

The first picture is the remains of the athletic building.

Unfortunately, this is how our trip ended. Every single one of us were laid out with a stomach bug. Claire, Emma (who is asleep on top of my legs), and I were on the couch watching TV all day. Poor Jeremy didn't even feel like getting out of bed.

Aside from a quick encounter with a stomach bug, and some questionable weather, we had a great Christmas this year!! One of my favorite things about Christmas is that we get to slow down and appreciate all of our many blessings. Making this season even more special, we were able to share our time with family and old friends along the way.

Christmas Eve

Claire (top left) played a very convincing angel. . .

Time to set out food for Santa and his reindeer!

Christmas Eve was a special night filled with a children's service at church, hibachi dinner, and the great anticipation of Santa's arrival. At church, Claire and Emma had fun portraying angels in the telling of the Christmas story. All of the children that attend the service choose a character in the story. As their part in the story is read, they make their way to the chapel stage. By the end of the reading, the stage is full of several Marys, Josephs, shepherds, angels, wise men, and animals. It's a great way to remember what this season is truly about.
As for the dinner portion of our evening, it had been awhile since we went to a hibachi restaurant, so the girls were mesmerized by the cooking that occurred before them. It was quite fun, and we learned from the experience that Emma is more willing to try new foods when she is eating with chopsticks. Chopsticks at home it is!

Merry Christmas!!

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas

 and a Happy New Year to come!

December Happenings

 

The Return of Mr. Jingles

Our elf has returned, and he has been getting into some mischief this year. One morning, the girls found him in the refrigerator drinking maple syrup!

 

Parties!

One of Claire's friends from school had a birthday party at the ice skating rink. These girls were too cute!

Emma's class had a lunch-time Christmas party. Along with their chicken nuggets and treats, they loved listening to this bear read "The Night Before Christmas".

Claire's class had a breakfast, snow-themed party. They did lots of fun crafts, and they even got to play in some magic snow!

 

Finding the Perfect Christmas Tree

Seeing as how the girls dressed themselves in a wide range of clothing, it's hard to say what the weather was like on this December day in the south. That being said, we had fun picking out the perfect tree!

Happenings We Wish Didn't Happen

Emma woke up one night crying that her ear hurt, and we turned on the lights to discover that the right side of her face and neck were swollen. It was completely unexpected, and a little bit frightening. We ended up going to her pediatrician the next afternoon (Emma fell asleep on the table waiting for the doctor), and were then sent on to our local Children's Hospital downtown. The swelling was unexplained, and there was concern of a serious infection, so a CAT scan was required to see what was going on - which also required a not-so-fun IV for contrast meds. In the end, all they could see was some fluid that was possibly working its way into an infection of some sort. We left the hospital with antibiotics and a mystery that will continue to remain just that.

Emma loved the "squishy bed" at the hospital. Above, you can see some of the swelling on her face. It went down her neck and also wrapped around to the back of her ear. As with everything in life, Emma just knew that a band-aid would make her feel better. Sadly, unless she was on Tylenol, she was in tears over the pain. The pain lasted for about 3 days.

Below, Emma is examining her "ivy".

 

Zoolight Safari

Unfortunately, I didn't get many pictures from our trip to the zoo, but I did like this one of the girls having a heart-to-heart with Santa.

 

Emma's Dance Showcase

Before having a little class party, Emma's dance class showed the parents what they have been working on this year.

 

Living Nativity

Well, this is not the best picture, but tonight we went to a local church for their living nativity. We were able to watch the reenactment of the Christmas story from our car while listening to a narrator and music on the radio. The girls wore their pajamas, and we completed the evening by driving around town looking at Christmas lights. It was a nice way to step out of the December hustle and bustle, and enjoy the true meaning of the season.

The countdown is officially on - only 3 more days until Christmas!!

Claire's Class Field Trip

Yesterday, Claire and I stepped back in time on a field trip with her class.  The day was a little bit chilly, but it was fun to watch the kids learn about history and how things used to be.  They especially loved learning about the rules in the old school houses.