Albert the Monkey

If you have ever spent any time around Eliza, then you have probably met Albert.  There is no doubt that Albert is by far her FAVORITE toy ever.  Albert goes everywhere Eliza goes.  I wouldn't be surprised if one day, Albert goes to college with Eliza. 

 The other night I went check on her before heading off to bed.  This what I found. . .   

                                                       

Eliza had given Albert her Lovey to use as a balnket!  I guess she was worried he would get cold!

Go Figure

Our house is full of toys and play things, but instead of playing with them, Eliza decided that sitting in a box was much more fun.  If I had known that, I could have saved a lot of money at Christmas time!

She played with this box for days and days until I finally had to put it in the recycling pile because it was starting to fall apart. 

One of the things I love most about this precious little girl of ours is that she already knows that with the right attitude - anything you do can be the most fun thing ever. 

Hook 'Em

Although the BCS Championship game did not turn out the way we had hoped it would, our "Texas Princess" did her best to cheer for the Longhorns.  I can't even begin to tell you how many times she said "ook em" that night.  Well there is always next year . . . right ?

New Year's Day

I had not intended on waiting until the middle of January to post our pictures from New Year's Day, but time just got away from me.  We spent the afternoon at Stephen's Aunt Betty's house and we truly enjoyed our opportunity to spend time with family.

Eliza was a HUGE fan of the homemade chicken noodle soup that Aunt Betty made and she was equally fond of the very fun hats Aunt Betty provided as well.

Grandpa couldn't be convinced to wear a hat, but he is always ready to give big hugs to his favorite grand daughter!

Aunt Betty and Grandma joined Eliza in showing off their lovely New Year's hats.

A Trip to Grammy's House

After Eliza finished opening her gifts from Santa, we packed up the car and headed to Grammy's house in the hill country.

Eliza is always happy to see her Grammy and Granddaddy, but she was SUPER excited to see Aunt Maryellen and Uncle John.

We had so much fun last year at the Walk of Lights, we decided that it should become a yearly tradition and this year we got to take Aunt Mare with us.

It was a really cold night, but the lights were beautiful and Eliza was in awe. We had a great time and Aunt Mare made a few comments that had me laughing so hard I was crying. (I can't tell you the story because it is NOT a family friendly story, but next time you see Mare be sure to ask her about Santa and his favorite reindeer!)

We spent most of the time just hanging out and enjoying our time together. We were so glad that Mare and John were able to spend some of their holiday with us.

Christmas Morning

Santa was very good to Eliza this year. He knows how much she loves Elmo - so he brought her an Elmo airplane that she can ride and an Elmo kitchen.

She was very excited and a wee bit overwhelmed. Once she saw the kitchen and airplane, she was really disinterested in opening any of her other gifts.

She loves playing in her kitchen and she really loves the fact that it talks and sings! Eliza thinks that is just great but I think Santa might have had second thoughts about leaving it for her if he had known how loud it would be.

Thanks Santa for bringing such great toys!

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. . . .

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