Who would've thought we could EVER have a white Christmas in Alabama? I am thirty-one years old and we've never even come close. My pastor and I were discussing this past Sunday how completely unfair it is that Sophie managed to pull it off her very first year! Sit back, relax and enjoy a big cup of coffee, because this post is full of photos from our merry, white day. I woke up bright and early to find that Santa Claus had definitely been by for a visit. I also have it on good authority, that he had a helper run to the gas station in the middle of the night to inflate some Barbie bicycle tires. It seems that Santa forgot they weren't fully aired when he made his delivery! I had almost an hour to myself to make breakfast, set the cameras up and get Sophie up and changed. When Ella still ...
sophie
All I Want For Christmas!
I think she's getting excited about Christmas dinner, don't you? ...
Christmas Tree 2.0
After the disastrous tree of 2010, I was at my wits end about what to do. We couldn't skip out on a tree this year... with two little girls at home we needed one for Christmas morning. I couldn't stomach paying for another tree, so we borrowed an artificial one from my parents. I never thought I'd be okay with this, but it really turned out very pretty. I used twice as many lights, tons of ornaments and filled in with gold mesh. I was hoping that if it the branches were full it might could pass as a real tree! The other problem we had was making it tall enough for our house. We have tall ceilings and this shorty looked a little silly. We decided to get it up off the ground by securing it in a large planter and I wrapped the trunk with some silk sari table runners. We hung a metal star ...
St. Nick
Guess who we saw at the gas station, the toy store, and eventually his workshop on Sunday? Ella, Sophie & Santa 2010 And for posterity, a solo photo with Santa to commemorate her first Christmas! Sophie & Santa 2010 ...
Love Letters: Eight Months
Sophie-girl, You are eight months old... that is three quarters of a year! I should really start planning your birthday party soon. Even though I think you are growing up too fast and tell you all the time what a big girl you are, you are still my tiny girl. You are wearing Christmas pjs that your sister wore at 3 months old. Seriously. The only place on your entire body with fat is your yummy little baby thighs. They are rolly-polly and have nice little dips and dents. Just perfect for a mid-morning snack. See that little sparkle in your eye? That is mischief, pure and simple. You are so proud of yourself for being independent and you think it's funny to get into whatever you can. Just this week you have: stolen some Barbie bits from your sisters room; played with cell phones, remote ...
North Pole Express
To the North Pole via the Polar Express! We've been excited since September, knowing that we would be headed to the Polar Express Railway this Christmas season. Ella & I even watched the movie last week to get ready for our little adventure. Ella got her ticket punched by the conductor. I wonder what letter he punched? The girls LOVED standing in the window of our train car watching the world go by. We finally arrived at Santa's Workshop in the North Pole! There were pretty elves to pass out the first gift of Christmas! Sophie & Bunny loved it best! < Santa & Mrs. Claus came on the train to visit the girls There were chefs who served chocolate milk and cookies YUMMY! ...
Evening Adventure
On Friday night, SD took us for a quick bite to eat at a cute local restaurant. Sophie slept through most of it, but Ella chowed down on her salad. Soph did manage to wake up just in time for a few bites of chicken and french fries and she was IN heaven. We attempted to rent Toy Story 3 on our way home, but the Red Box was on the fritz and refused to accept payment, so instead we decided to find a few sparkles on the way home. This is our favorite street to turn down during the holidays. There are only a few houses there, but they are always decked out for Christmas and have lights everywhere you look. We also decided to drive past our house a block to "downtown" and visit our town's tree. Did you know we had the largest decorated tree in the state? ...
Out and About
Guess who has been out and about this week? Scout, that's who! He made his first appearance on December 1st, but Ella wasn't here to find him. As always, she stays with my parents on Wednesday nights and goes to Mission Friends and prayer service at our church. I spied Scout in the tree in Ella's room and couldn't wait to tell her when I dropped Sophie off that Thursday morning. The look on her face and the squeal that left her mouth was worth any amount of money could muster. It was adorable. Since them, he's appeared on Sophie's changing table, the Christmas tree, daddy's money jar, the bookcase and he's currently hanging out in a wreath on our kitchen door. There are still some dramatics going on around here, but all in all Scout has managed to wrangle the hearts and minds of our ...