Chritmas Eve

Although we didn't have a "white Christmas" in our part of Texas, it was EXTREMELY cold that night. The temperature was in the 30's, but Eliza still insisted on wearing her sunglasses as we headed off to church.

We went to Christmas Eve services with Steve's family. The nursery wasn't open, so I was a little worried about how Eliza would behave. Needless to say, I worried for nothing. She did great. Even though I would like to attribute her stellar behavior to our superior parenting skills, I really think it had more to do with the fact that we let her have her pacifier and Steve kept slipping her "loop loops" (aka Fruit Loops).

We took a few pictures before diving into the food and presents.

I think both Eliza and Jacob were tired of having their picture taken by this point.



Here is our Christmas 2009 family photo. Anyone who has ever attempted to take pictures with a toddler knows that capturing a good shot is no easy feat - so I was pretty happy with this shot. I am also beginning to notice that most of our family photos seem to include a fourth party . . . . Albert the Monkey.

I LOVE this picture of Stephen and I . . . but I just wish Eliza didn't have her hand in her mouth.

We had a great time on Christmas Eve and Eliza came home with many wonderful gifts. She is in love with the beautiful Madame Alexander doll that her Grandma and Grandpa gave her. The Alphabet Elmo that her Aunt Kristen, Uncle Richard and Jacob gave her is definitely a favorite. I think that we have sung the ABC's with Elmo at least a hundred times!

Traditions

Family traditions are a big deal to me, especially when it comes to the holidays. Many of my most favorite holiday memories involve baking with my mom and my grandmother, both of whom were excellent cooks. My grandmother often spent hours upon hours in the kitchen creating a variety of tasty treats.

There is MUCH to be said for my skills in the kitchen, but none the less, I decided that it was time to bring yet another one of my childhood traditions into Eliza's life. So I dusted off my measuring cups and dug out my rolling pin, and decided that Eliza and I were going to make Christmas cookies.

Side Note: When I graduated from college and moved into my own place, my grandmother was very generous in giving me extra sets of dishes and pot and pans since I had none. She also gave me a rolling pin. I was sure that I would never have a use for it but my grandmother insisted that I take it and she said, "Every good cook needs a rolling pin. You never know when you might need it." I don't think I have ever used that rolling pin before but my grandmother was right . . . .it did come in handy!

Our cookies were not exactly masterpieces, and I am sure that Martha Stewart would frown upon our excessive use of sprinkles, but none the less my daughter and I had a wonderful time creating our own traditions.

Too Much Holiday Excitement Can Lead to This. . . .

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Christmas Tour

This Christmas is special for us because it is our first Christmas in our new home. I have always enjoyed decorating for the holidays but this year was even more fun. I look forward to the many Christmas traditions we will create in our home. It truly is the most wonderful time of the year.

Here is a quick peek . . . .

This is the front of the house . . . sorry about the spots . . . it started raining when I took the picture.

I have always believed that banisters were created just so we would have a place to put our garland at Christmas. Eliza is very fond of the bells . . . she takes time to ring them every time she goes up the stairs!

". . . and the stockings were hung by the chimney with care . . . in hopes that St. Nicholas would soon be there."

I love the way our mantle turned out. My favorite thing about it is the Dickens village above the fireplace. Many of those pieces belonged to my parents and their village was a truly a grand display in our home. I am delighted that I am able to bring special pieces from my childhood into Eliza's childhood.

The angels on my table and the nativity set on the buffet were all made my grandmother. I treasure them.

I think they make the perfect center piece for our dinning room table.

Now that we have room for all of our Christmas decorations, we considered buying a big full tree but we decided that it might be best to stick with the small tree for one more year.

Big Tree + active toddler = dangerous combination

Eliza is absolutely in love with this tree. She has learned how to turn on the lights and every time she claps her hands and says "Magic!"

Over the past few nights, I have been busy wrapping gifts and there are many under our tree, but this little girl beside the tree is indeed the best gift we could have ever hoped for.

Merry Christmas from our family to yours.

Where's Eddie?

You won't believe this, but Santa has sent one of his elves to watch over our house. Eddie the Elf is one of Santa's most trusted advisors, and he is keeping an eye on Miss Eliza. Eddie watches over our house, so he can report back to Santa whether Eliza has been naughty or nice. Eddie has found some pretty good hiding places while keeping tabs on the little miss. Once Eliza realizes that he has changed locations, she will look at me and say "Where's Eddie?" She has great fun running around to find where he is currently hiding.

Eliza is having a GREAT time with our holiday visitor. She always says "Good Morning" and "Good Night" to Eddie. Each morning before we leave the house, she tells Eddie "I good girl."

Thanks Grammy for talking to Santa and asking him to send Eddie to our house. I know that Eliza is going to miss him when January rolls around.

Santa Picture

Even though Eliza seemed very excited about seeing Santa, when I put her on his lap it was a whole different story. It was indeed a major melt down. Perhaps there is hope for next year.

Birthday Party Fun

On Saturday Eliza was invited to her friend Harper's second birthday party. Since Harper lives on the other side of town, we spent about an hour in the car. On our drive, I decided to try to teach Eliza to say "Happy Birthday Harper." We practiced a lot and as soon as we got to the party, Eliza ran up to Harper, hugged her and said, "Happy Day Hoppa!" Too precious for words.




Harper's party was at a very fun locale called The Little Gym. The kids had a great time. They had the opportunity to run around, play games, sing and even do a few gymnastics activities.

These next two pictures are a little fuzzy because I didn't have my camera on the right setting. . . .rrrrrr. However Eliza showed no fear in riding "The Big Wheel" and doing a flip off the end! I was impressed and think we may be looking at a future gymnastics gold medal winner.

This was her "Look at Me. . . . I know how to do a flip" face.

After we finished playing in the gym, we headed into the party room for cake and ice cream. Everyone was given these adorable Elmo cupcakes. The precious little boy sitting across from Eliza only ate the bottom part of his cupcake because he didn't want to hurt "his friend Elmo"! As you can see, Eliza had NO problems devouring her friend.

Unfortunately I was never able to get a picture of Eliza and Harper together, but here is a cute picture of the birthday girl having fun with the party favors.


Thanks for inviting us to your party Harper . . . we sure did have fun.

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving arrived just in the nick of time . . . we were all in desperate need of a break. We have enjoyed a fantastic couple of days relaxing while spending time with friends and family that we don't get to see very often. We have also stuffed ourselves silly. I have a TON of pictures . . . and I hope to get them posted soon, but here's a few for now.



I had high hopes that we might actually get a GOOD picture of the three of us on Thanksgiving but this is the best we could do. Someone (yes, Eliza Mackenzie, I am talking about you) is too busy these days to sit and pose for pictures.

Eliza and her Aunt Kicken (Kristen).

Eliza and her cousin Jacob.

Blessings

'Tis the season to count our blessings . . . . these two are at the top of my list.

Pretty Princess

Tonight was Eliza's first true Halloween experience. She was dressed as a princess and we walked the neighborhood with her, so she could go trick or treating.

Even though I am not sure that she really understood what was going on, Eliza seemed to enjoy all of the Halloween festivities.

Stephen and I taught Eliza how to say " Trick or Treat." and it appeared as though she had it down. All day today, we practiced with her but when the big moment came, she was feeling a little shy and she never said "Trick or Treat".

I think Halloween may become Eliza's favorite holiday. She is fascinated by pumpkins, she loves playing dress up and as we learned tonight, she is quite taken with Kit-Kat bars!

Super Girl

Eliza was very excited this morning because she was allowed to wear her costume to daycare today. We, of course, had to snap a few pictures before we hit the road.




We decided that her Supergirl outfit was probably a better choice than her princess outfit. Since it is just a top, she could take it off if she didn't feel like wearing it any more.

Eliza's Supergirl outfit has a special place in my heart because her Dad bought it for her to wear on her very first Halloween. Here is a picture from last year. My, how things change.

She Speaks . . .

. . . in complete sentences! Her first complete sentence was "Where's Albert?" I guess there is no question who she loves most . . . .her monkey Albert !!

Pumpkin Patch

Last year I really wanted to take Eliza to the pumpkin patch, but somehow we just never got around to it. So this year, I made sure it was a priority for us to go. We attempted to go last weekend, but being that we were pumpkin patch virgins, we had no idea how CRAZY and CROWDED it would be on a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon. We learned our lesson and today we got there right when it opened.

I think Eliza was a little overwhelmed at first, she just wasn't sure what to think about those pumpkins. She may have been leery of the pumpkins, but she was definitely excited once her Grandpa got there. The weather was lovely and we all enjoyed spending some time outside. We even had a chance to go for a hayride, but Eliza's favorite part by far, was riding around in the wagon.

What a Workout

Eliza and I took advantage of the beautiful weather this weekend and we went on two great walks in our neighborhood. We both enjoyed being outside and we also found some great finds at a garage sale on Saturday. (post to come on our amazing treasures)

I think these walks have truly been a win - win situation for me. Not only did I get some good exercise, but Eliza napped as a result.