Christmas 2007

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas with your families and I'm looking forward to hearing all about it! So while I wait for your updates, I'll give you the low down on ours.

Last weekend we went to N. Alabama for Christmas with Jeff's family. Anna Kate was so excited to see her cousins Trey, Adam, Tucker and Tatum. The kids played while the adults grazed the 'snack' counter (sausage balls, cocktail sausages, mexican cheese dip & chips, various chocolates, nuts, cajun dip and pepper jelly with cream cheese and crackers.) Shortly after that we headed downstairs for a surprise for the kids.......Santa was stopping by. Santa was a little late and the kids were on the brink of being out of control (they didn't know why we were all sitting around waiting). Finally he came and the kids went NUTS! Tatum (the youngest) freaked out. The three boys were squeeling with sheer delight and Santa had his very loud 'Ho, Ho, Ho' going strong. With all of that, Anna Kate was a little rattled and resulted in Jeff holding her. She would have nothing to do with Santa. However, I really do think she enjoyed him being there because she has talked about it ever since. After that we opened gifts and headed upstairs for a steak dinner (YUM!).

Anna Kate received the following gifts:
* Tinkerbelle Costume
* Dora Art Studio
* New Doll Stroller & Baby
* Pink & Purple Basketball
* Clothes
* Hair Bows

After dinner it was time for baths & bedtime. We were all exhausted and slept like logs. Sunday morning we ate breakfast, packed up and headed back home. Below is a slideshow of our trip. Again, thank you to MeeMee & Popsy Lee for having us and to everyone else, thanks for the great gifts!

On Christmas Eve Jeff's mother and aunt came down from Montgomery. It was so nice to see them and have the time to visit. Aunt 'D' helped Anna Kate with her art. They painted, colored and cut paper. Her gift(s) for the day was the Rose Petal Cottage, oven and washing machine to go in it. I cannot explain how giddy this child is over it. She set up 'camp' in the den for 2 days and then last night I finally made room for it in her playroom. Sorry, I digressed a little - Jeff smoked a spiral cut ham on the grill and deep fried a turkey for our meal. 'E' and 'D' brought the rest and man oh man was it some good food! (D, don't forget to send me the recipe for the corn salad and pineapple/cheese casserole please.) Shortly after lunch Anna Kate zonked out and that's where our day ended. They needed to get back before it got dark, so they left. We had a wonderful day and Anna Kate thoroughly enjoyed the attention!

That night Anna Kate thought Santa would enjoy cupcakes rather than cookies, so she helped me make, bake and decorate them. She was so excited! After that we went outside to put the reindeer food down and she and daddy looked for Santa in the sky. Soon it was time for her bath but before that we had one last thing to do to prepare for Santa's arrival. Preface: Elaine, Diane, Jenny & Mom....take a deep breath....Anna Kate got a hair cut. Her hair is just like mine in that it's very fine but very heavy so the longer it gets the stringier it is. She had seen a few pictures of her friends that got their hair cut and decided she was okay with her being cut. I know my daughter well enough to know that she would have not let a professional do it, so I bit the bullet, rolled up my sleeves and went at it. She is so stinking cute!!!!! Okay, now you all can breathe again ;-) After bath and a few more minutes playing in her new cottage she was fast asleep dreaming of Santa and Rudolph. Again, below is a slideshow from the day. (click on it)






And finally, Christmas Day. Now, any other day and Anna Kate would have been up at 6AM but for whatever reason she chose to sleep until 8:00. Jeff and I laid in the bed just waiting for her to wake up. (We also know her well enough to know that you do not wake her up or she will be e.v.i.l. You let her wake up on her own.) After she got up we walked into the den. There Anna Kate saw what he left her. She walked closer, put her hand on her hip and said, "See mama, I tooold you Santa would bring me a bicycle!" Let me just say that she woke up Sunday morning saying she wanted Santa to bring her a bike. We had not yet been informed of that so I had to scramble on Christmas Eve to find the one she did, but I lucked out and so did she! Here is a list of what Santa brought her:

* Disney Princesses 12" bicylce with training wheels
* Baby Alive Magic Potty doll
* Fisher Price Karaoke system that plugs into the TV so she can watch herself
* Tinkerbelle lantern
* Disney Princesses bike helmet and knee & elbow pads

She also received a multitude of My Little Pony 'stuff', books, Barbie computer game, Candy Land game (for preschoolers), Barbie pool, Elafun game, Playskool Bee Hop game, a ton of art supplies and stocking stuffers. She was so overwhelmed with it all that she just kept buzzing from one toy to the next. We let things settle down and she took a nap, then my mom and dad arrived. It was SO good to see them! They brought Anna Kate the rest of the furniture/appliances for her cottage. So now she has the cottage with an oven, sink, washing machine and nursery furniture. All she needs now is her very own lounge chair. She also got a new jewelry box and a variety of other small goodies. We really did have a great Christmas! Now you can click on the last slideshow of this post.....






My parents left yesterday morning and took Anna Kate with them. They have arrived home safely and I just got an email from mom that said Anna Kate had a good night. So now Jeff and I are kid-free and lost without our little 'Spunky Monkey'.

Until next year.......HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!