Christmas 2011

Christmas 2011 was the best yet! We spent the month of December getting pumped for Santa's arrival, and I think when Christmas day finally rolled around, we (one little girl in particular) were sufficiently pumped up! Mixed in with all of the Santa, treats, and Christmas lights, we tried to also explain in two year old terms, that we were celebrating Jesus's Birthday, which Hallie was also a big fan of considering her adoration of birthdays.

We skipped Santa at the mall, and opted for "Breakfast with Santa" at the rec center. It was a wise choice in the end we feel, as it was cheaper $$$ than getting a picture at the mall, and the kids got to spend the whole morning with Santa rather than 2 minutes while they are screaming on his lap. Hallie was a little unsure of him at first, but warmed up pretty quick when she realized that he was handing out candy. She was also a big fan of the unlimited "hotdogs" or breakfast sausages and may have eaten 6 +... I guess we've already instilled in her that moderation has no place in Christmas.

We spent a night at the Zoo, looking at the lights and animals. Hallie loved it and frequently talks about the "big cougar" that didn't get her... Just in case you were worried.

We had to recreate this infamous picture from 2 years ago. Hallie wouldn't really cooperate this time though.

Riding the train through the zoo ended up being Hallie's favorites part of the whole night.

We made lots of Christmas treats this year. We finally got around to taking making treats for our friends, and then after 2 days straight of baking, we didn't have the energy to actually deliver most of them. So the day after Christmas we finally threw away 6 plates of goodies that had gone stale waiting to be delivered :( Hallie didn't seem to mind that by Christmas eve I was so sick of baking that we made break-apart cookies for Santa. She was just excited to help, or eat the chocolate chips off the top.

Luckily Cristy and Nathaniel decided to come to Ohio and spend  Christmas with us, otherwise I don't know who would have played the "cow" in our impromptu acting out of the Nativity.

The cutest little Shepperd I've ever seen!

And finally Christmas day arrived. Grant and I were both in shock at how good Santa was to us this year! In reality, we didn't put any presents under the tree until Chrismas Eve because we didn't really trust Hallie to leave them alone. Once we had everything wrapped and under the tree we realized we should probably scale back a little next year, or we're going to end up with a very spoiled little girl!

Hallie and Troy were ready to get down to business!

Hallie painted this picture frame for Grant to take to work.

This was how Hallie and Troy spent a good portion of Christmas Break. Our couch is I think permanently stained from the two of them drooling away while they watched their new Christmas movies. Oh well, they were pretty stinkin cute together so we can live with the drool stains.

We had a great time celebrating this year. We loved spending time with Cristy and Nathaniel, and staying busy with all of the fun activities we found around Cincinnati for Hallie this year. There really is something magical about Christmas time when kids are involved!

Thanksgiving

We went to Mississippi again this year for Thanksgiving, and Maddie's baptism. There of course was lots of food, lots of games, and lots of people all in one house (24 to be exact, it was a little crazy). All in all it was a great week, and we were so glad that we were able to spend time with family, and be there to support Maddie's decision to be baptised.

Nik amazes me sometimes. She put together an amazing Thanksgiving for everyone, pushed their house's max capacity to it's extreme limits, and even managed to get her Black Friday deals- AND she was in a good mood the whole time , kind of amazing if you ask me.

We went to Canton one night to see their town square light display. They had a little train and a merry-go-round, that obviously Hallie loved.

It was a great trip, and a great way to kick-off the Holiday Season!

Happy Birthday Hallie!

In November we celebrated Hallie's 2nd Birthday! I cannot believe how quickly the time has flown, and frequently feel like I blinked when she was a baby and when I opened my eyes she had become our beautiful, spunky, smart, talkitive, little girl busting at the seems with personality. She loved helping to get the mail all week, and finding new packages from her Grandmas. The whole week was so fun with her, watching her excitement as she realized that we were preparing for her very own birthday, not just a friend's party. She had Grant and I sing "Happy Birthday" to her more times than I can  count, and when the morning of her actual Birthday arrived she enthusiastically told everyone she saw that she was TWO!

It only took her one try to blow out the candles on her cupcakes.

Opening her gift from Nana Sue.

She had two friends over for pizza and cake the day after her birthday. We kept her presents hidden until about 5 minutes before people arrived, and when she saw them she gasped and said " Beautiful! Thank you! Beautiful presents for me!" We then told her she had to wait until her friends came over to open them. She waited patiently and when the first friend got to our house she ran and grabbed the presents, ready to open them. We then told her that first we were going to eat and then she could open them. We dished up her pizza, she took one bite, and then ran and brought back one of her gifts, ripping the paper as she returned to the table. She did exactly what we told her, even if she did only eat one bite!

Another Grandma present. She has love adding her new Minnie Mouse hat to her dress up clothes. We tried to convince her it to wear the hat when it was cold outside, but she prefers to wear it indoors.