Merry Christmas!!!

Oh what a fabulous Christmas. Emmy must have been a very good girl because Santa was really good to her. He brought her all kinds of toys but she and Daddy loved playing with the Hungry Hungry Hippo.

John's sister and her family gave her a chest of Princess dress up clothes and shoes and she has been giddy ever since. She got lots of dress up clothes and jewelry and she couldn't have been happier.

We had so much fun with the Jacksons on Christmas Eve. I was so glad that Sol liked his teepee I made him. Eastern Arkansas was overwhelmed with rain... some places got 10 inches in 24 hours! I was hurrying to get gifts in the house and I forgot Sol's presents to go with the teepee!!! I guess with all the excitement I just didn't think to grab them. Thank goodness he loved the teepee and now, I get to be the cool aunt that gives him great New Year's Day presents. Aunt Becca gave her a jewelry box with her name on it and Emmy didn't stop playing with it all day. She carried it around the whole time and wouldn't let anyone else touch it. She got lots of bracelets too and was so thrilled to wear them all. She also had an accident so when her clothes were in the washer and dryer, Aunt Becca gave her leg warmers to wear. What a silly goose.
Emmy Ruth and I made these carollers last week out of cardboard tubes and lost socks. Saying WE made them is quite generous, but....

Ah that girl...

Every time we get in the car now, Emmy announces that she wants to go to Mars. I told her that the drive time to Mars would be around 14 days, not counting stopping for potty breaks, but she is still insistent. I asked what we would do there and she told me we would hunt for rocks.

 

We made little gift bags last night for all of her classmates (complete with PlayDo) and this morning she asked to make sure we had bags for her friends in the car. She then announced that we weren’t her friends, we were her “mama and daddy and I love you!”

 

She has been calling John “Maddy” and this morning she called me “Dammy”.

 

Every so often as we are playing, I will hold Emmy like a baby and sing “hush, little baby don’t say a word, Mama’s gonna buy you…” and Emmy pipes up with “a toy!!!”

Football princess

Sunday evening Emmy was lying around in her PJs and had to put her ballerina outfit on as well. Then she started playing football in the house. Since I made her and her daddy go outside, I just put her rainboots on her. We noticed later that John was still wearing the broaches that she had put on him from an earlier play time.

Alpine Village

Last week we went to the Alpine Village at Trinity Baptist Church. They put on this really neat Christmas festival for the kids with a live nativity, puppet show and all kinds of little activity booths. The kids loved it.

 

The picture with the nutcracker makes me laugh. I have Momma’s collection of nutcrackers that I have added to on my piano. This year, we have a 4 ft inflatable nutcracker that I put by the piano as well. Emmy loves that thing. When it’s unplugged and deflated on the ground, she gets so sad but is giddy when it comes back to life. Now she has started hugging it when we leave and telling him good night. It’s hysterical.  When she saw this nutcracker at the Alpine Village, and the one at the Enchanted Forrest, she was amazed that they are everywhere! Not just at home!

 

Enchanted Forrest

Lucas and Emmy let me and Tara tag along with them to the Enchanted Forrest to have cocoa and cookies with Santa and see Santa vs. the Snowman on the IMAX screen. I think Emmy Ruth is going to have to improve on her technique if she wants Santa to bring her anything because the falling out on the floor in front of him and screaming for her life might not get her the “Barbie girl” she has been asking for.  Lucas, on the other hand, hopped in his lap and said he wanted a “bowling alley, balls and pins” and Santa told him that he agreed, one did need pins with a bowling alley. Later on, Lucas told Tara that he asked Santa for a bowling alley and all he gave him was a candy cane.

 

In other related holiday shenanigans, we have to work with the girl on the advent calendar and how that you get whatever is in the pocket for that day, nothing more. I walked by the calendar last night and realized that day six’s gift was gone and had been replaced with a chicken nugget.

Happy Birthday, Julia!

Sweet Julia Jean had a fabulous birthday party and we are so grateful that we get to share these precious times with her.  Happy birthday, Julia!