Holiday Festivites

I love when December hits and there are lots of holiday activities to get you in the Christmaspirit.

This year it started off with decorating our tree. Whitney was very helpful and took hanging the ornaments very seriously. She was very good about leaving the ornaments alone...we only had one casualty. She did have her own mini tree that she could undecorate and redecorate to her hearts content!

Her stocking...of course!

Baking! My desire to bake goes into full force around Christmas time. I make a variety of cookies but always one gets top pick. I was hoping to give them out to all my friends this year but that just didn't happen. I did make about 125 pizzelles and if you had some I hope you enjoyed them as much as I did!

Whitney's Christmas Concert. Whitney and I have been attending a weekly bible study and the kids had been practicing Christmas songs to perform for all the Moms. I had heard reports back from teachers that she loved music time and was so cute while performing. Performance day came and on the drive there I told her how there would be lots of people watching them sing but it was ok because they were all Moms like me. She seemed ok with this, however, when hundreds of Moms came flooding in and were snapping pictures left and right, Whitney was not too thrilled. She had a trembling lip and was very close to loosing it. But with her friend Leighton by her side, she held it together. She did the occasional hand movement they had learned, but mainly just sat there looking cute. Still a proud parent moment!

Cookie Decorating. This was the 8th annual Christmas cookie baking day up at my friend Gigi's (Kristin) house. Ann started going up there the year before I moved here, and we have continued the tradition every year! Whitney loves playing with Sophia and Damian and they are so sweet to her. Whitney definitely thought she was a big kid!

Breakfast with Santa This was our second year with the new tradition of Breakfast with Santa at River Creek with my parents. This year went way better! Though Tim and I did have to get in the photo, there were no tears. Whitney told Santa that she wanted Minnie for Christmas and after she left his lap acted like she just experienced the coolest thing ever! We always follow Breakfast with Santa with decorating my parents tree. Ann joins us for this day, and with 7 of us there, it gets done rather quickly. Then we make Nanny's sugar cookies! A family favorite!

Holiday Play Date This year Whitney and I held a holiday play date. A huge thanks so my mom and Marguerite for helping me prepare! We had so much fun with all our friends, we didn't get any pictures of the kids! Here are few of the food...the strawberries were a Pinterest find and super delicious!

Living Nativity The church we attend was holding a living nativity. With Whitney's love of animals I knew this was a must. We bundled up and got to pet all the animals!

Christmas Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were filled with lots of excitement. We started with a fun gathering at our family friend's house,the Green's. We had fun socializing with old friends but the highlight for Whitney was definitely the train which Tim patiently sat and helped her control the remote for about 45 minutes! We had a restful day at my parents house while we exchanged a few gifts. Then came home to have a delicious dinner with the O'Neills and exchange gifts with them. My parents then crept in late that night after church so they could wake up with Whitney in the morning. Marguerite made it over bright and early! We had so much fun watching Whitney's excitement as she opened her gifts. She was also very excited that the cookies and carrot we had left out were eaten. The O'Neill's joined us that afternoon and the two families spent a wonderful Christmas together! Brady, Niki and the kids were definitely missed! Whitney summed it up about by saying "Mama, I want more Santa!" Can't wait till next year!

Oh yeah, this guy came to visit too!Let the princesses begin!

Chocolate (soy) milk for Santa!

Who knew Tim was such an artist!

Sesame Street Live!

Thanks to my Mom for the last minute heads up, we attended Sesame Street Live this weekend at the Patriot Center. Whitney's excitement level tripled as we walked in the door and Elmo was everywhere! Not only were we being tempted by Sesame Street paraphernalia, but also those not so good for you but oh you really want some treats. I told Whitney she could pick between cotton candy and soft serve ice cream. Much to my delight, cotton candy was her choice. When we got to our seats we opened the cotton candy, Whitney pinched some off and looked at me very puzzled and said, "Eat?". With a slight chuckle, I said yes and after a taste Whitney quickly replied with a "Yum!".

Our seats were far back but almost center, so we could see perfectly. The seats at the Patriot Center looked nice and new. In other words, the spring on the seat was so tight, Tim had to rest his leg on it so Whitney didn't get folded up in the chair!

The show started and Whitney was wide-eyed and engaged the whole time. Of course, whenever Elmo left the stage she would ask, "Where Elmo go?". I assured her he would be back. By the second act, Whitney was literally out of her seat dancing along. It was so cute and exciting to see her having such a good time. Tim said to me last night, "When's the next family outing"? I have already received an email from him...looks like Barnum and Bailey will be our next stop this Spring!

Gymnastics

This Fall Whitney took a gymnastics class that ran 10 weeks and loved it! I was so excited to introduce it to her, as it was one of my favorite things to do growing up. Those back handsprings and back walk overs helped me snag my role in "The Araboolies of Liberty Street" at Imagination Stage a few years back! I know my parents will be excited when we have a house and we can take my old mat and balance beam off their hands! Anyway, Whitney was excited every week as we pulled on her super cute leotard and headed to the Rec center. Tim was able to make it to one of the classes and helped take some photos since Mom's have to be very hands on. Her favorite things were the balance beam, the tunnel and log rolls (with an occasional somersault) down the wedged mat. OH, and of course the big parachute!

Patiently waiting for her stamp!