Countdown to Christmas, 2011

Last year we started our tradition of doing a countdown to Christmas.  Planning the 24 days is part of the fun as we remember good times in the past and come up with exciting new activities.  Most nights Lily would go to bed and say "I can't wait to see what we do tomorrow!"  Mia didn't quite seem to get that there was a countdown going on, but she seemed to enjoy most of the activities.  I tell you what though.  This year seemed to wear us all out.  Around December 20th we realized we were totally overdoing it this year.  Last year, both girls were in a Mommy Morning Out program two mornings a week.  This year, Lily is in 5 morning a week prekindergarten and Mia goes to a Parent Morning Out three mornings a week.  We had to consider their school schedules and their gymnastics classes, not to mention our work schedules which have been a little more hectic than usual recently.  Ryan was in Chicago for a training seminar for six days, and we travelled to Alabama for a couple of days.  Really, it was a lot.  I think next year, we'll try to cut a few of the more involved activities and do a few more at-home activities.  Even though this was tiring, I think we all still enjoyed it.  Most importantly to me, we made a lot of memories and continued with a fun tradition.  This blog entry tells what we did each day along with showing one picture from each day except Christmas Eve which needed a few more.  Let the fun begin:

Day 1: After Lily got out of school and Mia finished gymnastics class, we headed to Lenox Square to ride the Pink Pig and meet Santa Claus.  We all loved the Pink Pig ride, and the girls did great sitting on Santa's lap.  Mia told him she wanted a zip line while Lily requested the Princess Castle which holds lots of princesses and their stuff.

Day 2: We decorated our back door with gel clings.  Mia put up the Christmas trees and snowman while Lily put Santa and a gingerbread man.

Day 3: Movie Day at home while Ryan was in Chicago.  We had a picnic lunch in the living room and watched Prep and Landing.  After nap time, the girls and I laid on the couch and watched a Winnie the Pooh Christmas special.  For dinner, we had another picnic in the living room and watched Beauty and the Beast: Belle's Enchanted Christmas.  Both girls liked this movie; Mia likes to point out that there's a mean piano (she pronounces it "pee-an-eo") but that's okay because Beast is louder than the piano.  We enjoyed some hot apple cider afterwards.

Day 4: The girls and I went to Chattanooga to ride the North Pole Limited train ride.  This train takes you through a "magic tunnel" that transports you all the way to the North Pole.  You enjoy gingerbread cookies and light displays on the way there.  Once you arrive, Santa and Mrs. Claus join you on the train and take pictures with you.  On the way back to the train station, we had fun looking for elves that were hiding in the bushes.

Day 5: The girls put together a huge How the Grinch Stole Christmas floor puzzle.  They loved it.  It made me laugh that Mia kept calling Little Cindy Loo-Who (who is pictured on the puzzle) "hal-a-louie."  She couldn't quite say Hallelujah and she couldn't remember Little Cindy Loo-Who so she came up with that hybrid name.

Day 6: Special Christmas lunch with Granna at The Swan House.  Such a girly place that we all love!

Day 7:  Liz and I helped the girls make this gingerbread house and trees.  Honestly, this is probably the last gingerbread house I will ever try to make.  I bought what appeared to be an easy to assemble kit at Michael's.  It didn't go so well.  I didn't realize you had to wait so long between steps during assembly, so that didn't go over very well with the girls.  Plus, the icing didn't really hold things together so well.  If you could see the inside of this house, you would see a lot of duct tape.  No kit should have to require duct tape.  To top it off, the tape didn't even hold it together that well so I also applied superglue the next day.  Crazy!  So, get a good look now because you probably won't see another gingerbread house on this blog!

Day 8: The girls made Christmas door hangers.

Day 9: We all drove over to Fort Payne to see their Christmas parade.  Josh marched in the parade in his formal fireman's uniform, so it was really fun to see him.  Amy came up from Birmingham too, so it was great to visit with them.  The girls loved that many of the people on the floats threw out candy, and we all enjoyed the big bonfire in the square.  It was pretty cool outside so that fire warmed us up nicely.

Day 10: The girls colored wooden Christmas figures (Santas and penguins) at Bama's house.  We drove down to Birmingham after the parade the night before because Ryan and I were attending our friend's wedding on Saturday morning.

Day 11: Family game night playing Sequence for Kids.  It was a lot of fun, and we have played it several times since this evening.

Day 12: The girls decorated a little craft tree to be our table centerpiece.

Day 13: Both girls received new Search and Find books.  Lily's is Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and had pictures from the movie in it while Mia's was called Christmas Fun and had lots of different scenes in it.

Day 14: The girls had fun making lots of different pipe cleaner crafts with red, green and white pipe cleaners.

Day 15: This evening didn't go quite as planned.  We were going to do s'mores in our outdoor fireplace.  However, just before dinnertime, Ryan received a call from his friend Charlie offering him an extra ticket to the Falcons game, and it was in a suite.  We couldn't turn that down!  I didn't want to try to man the outdoor fireplace, the girls and the s'mores by myself so we did indoor s'mores instead.  Liz knows how much I love this treat, so she bought me a little cage-type thing that makes six s'mores at one time either in the oven or on an indoor grill.  It worked great!

Day 16: We drove to Callaway Gardens for their Fantasy in Lights show.  This was a favorite activity last year, and it didn't disappoint this year.  So much fun!

Day 17: We went to The Georgian Club for Breakfast with Santa.  I don't have the picture yet that they took there, but here's one of the girls with me.  We enjoyed a wonderful breakfast, several fun crafts and a nice visit with Santa where the girls told him they wanted a rocking horse and a rocking chair.

Day 18: Meme's Christmas Party at Jodi and Michael's house.  This is a fun time gathering with my Dad's side of the family.  We have a fantastic meal, lots of time talking, laughing and singing, a time to reflect on the meaning of Christmas as one of the kids reads the Bible story and a lot of fun playing a white elephant gift exchange.  I love this night!

Day 19: The four of us went to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens for their Holiday Lights.  It was a beautiful evening, and the lights looked great.

Day 20: We all went to The Center for Puppetry Arts to see Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.  Neither girl had ever been to a real puppet show before.  In fact, several times Mia asked "where are the puppets?"  She is only used to the little brown paper bags ones we make at home; she wasn't sure about these several feet tall ones!  You weren't allowed to take pictures inside the theatre, but I snapped this one at the Jim Henson exhibit that was showing before we walked in.

Day 21: Ryan took the girls to Chuck E Cheese for a little fun on a Daddy-Daughters Date.

Day 22: Granny's Christmas Party at my parents' house.  I am so glad my mom's family was able to come down from Tennessee and over from Washington State to celebrate with us.  It is always so wonderful to see them!

Day 23: Movie Theatre Day.  Ryan and I took the girls to see Arthur Christmas which was a super cute movie.  I will add it to my list of holiday favorites.  Mia was exhausted and fell asleep in my arms with about 15 minutes left in the movie.  Later in the day while the girls napped, I made snicker doodle cookie dough.  When they woke up, I shaped the dough into balls, and they had a lot of fun rolling the dough in different color sprinkles.

Day 24: Christmas Eve has lots of fun traditions!  After a yummy breakfast of scones and blueberry jam (from the awesome gift basket sent by Great-Grandpa Hooks and Lois), we took a box of cookies to Smyrna Fire Station #2.  We like to thank the fireman for working at Christmastime to protect us.

 After a pretty low-key day, it was time to start winding down and getting ready for bed.  First up, new pajamas for the girls!

 Next up is hanging the stockings.  Mia needed a lift from Daddy.

 Lily is now tall enough to hang them without being picked up.

 We put out water, carrots and seeds on our deck for the reindeer.

 Of course, we have to put out our homemade cookies and milk for Santa on the fireplace.  After taking this picture, the girls remembered they had each made Santa a card the day before, so we put those by his snack too.  They just knew he would be so excited to have a card to take home and show to Mrs. Claus.  After this, it was time for bed.  Lily reminded Mia to stay in her bed and sleep in the next morning so Santa could make his visit.

 After the girls went to sleep, Ryan and I brought all the wrapped presents up from downstairs.  In addition to our gifts to the girls and each other, there are gifts in here from Grandpops and Grandma Jan and from Great-Grandpa Hooks and Lois.  We knew the girls would be excited to see this in the morning!

 Santa stopped by at some point to stuff the stockings and leave the girls their presents.  They received a Princess doll set to share; Lily received two new Leap Pad games, and Mia received two new puzzles.  Thanks Santa!

We were all excited for Christmas morning to arrive!

Granny's Christmas Party

We were so glad that Mom's family was able to come down to celebrate Christmas with us.  Granny, Johnny Wayne, Nancy and Jason all came from Jefferson City while Deanna and Matt flew in from Washington state.  We had a great night together.  We all arrived at about the same time and enjoyed lots of fun traditions.  We start out with some sparkling grape juice, grapes, nuts, crackers and a pesto cheese ball.  Mom also had some chocolate covered cranberries - yum!  Once everyone is ready, we enjoy a delicious meal: pork with a cherry sauce, strawberry jello salad, rice with mushrooms and onions, marinated asparagus, cream corn, a spinach casserole and rolls.  It's all so delicious; my mouth is watering just thinking about it!

After dinner, the four little kids performed some Christmas carols, and they were led by Papa.  The girls really enjoyed this.

 After caroling, the kids opened their presents.  They loved the new books from Johnny Wayne and Nancy; new books are always a hit with our girls.  Each girl also received a book and a game from Granny.  Lily received Hisss and Mia received Uno Moo.  We have been having lots of fun with them over the last few days.

Mia giving Granny a big thank you hug. 

 Lily wanted to hug Granny and say thank you too.

 After the kids opened their presents, Molly read the Christmas story to us; she did a great job!

After this story, the adults played a white elephant game which was lots of fun.  This was such a fun evening.  I truly wish we could spend more time with this side of my family.  We always have a great time when we get together!

Botanical Gardens Visit

When we visited the Botanical Gardens last month, the girls loved it.  We decided to get an annual membership then because it is paid off if you go a second time during the year, and we knew we would go back.  Sure enough, we decided to go back to see their Holiday Lights.  It was really crowded, and we had very recently been to Callaway Gardens, so we weren't terribly impressed; it did have several neat sections to it.  I'm glad we went.

This was probably my favorite spot.  Right when you walk in, the whole area has beautiful red and white snowflakes strung everywhere; it looked really cool.

 I always love the Dale Chihuly fountain, but it looked gorgeous with all the beautiful lights strung around it.

 The walkway to their great tree was all lit up.

 Ryan and the girls by the tree.

 Two sweet girls by the tree.

 In their big open field, they had placed a lot of different size ornaments.  Then, the ornaments changed colors to dance to the music.  It was pretty neat to watch.

 There were lots of bugs lit up in the edible garden area.

 Flowers are always pretty with lights on them.

 A praying mantis Santa!

 Having fun in the garden.

Another fun evening out!

Meme's Christmas Party

We all look forward to Meme's Family Christmas party each year.  Meme, her three sons and all their families get together over at Jodi and Michael's house which is set up perfectly for our get-together.  While everyone arrives, we snack on delicious appetizers (a couple of different cheeseballs with crackers and hot sausages with mustard - yummy!).  Once everyone has arrived and caught up, we enjoy a fantastic dinner; fried chicken, ham, rolls, jello salad and about a dozen different vegetable side dishes.  Seriously, my family can cook! 

After this wonderful dinner, we head downstairs.  This year all the kids put on a little performance.  The big kids (in the back row of this picture) each read a little bit about Christmas then they sang a few songs.  Lily led everyone in Away in the Manger.  I am so proud of how far out of her shell she has come!

 Mia didn't want to sing because she had discovered a recorder.  So, Jodi (who was directing everyone) let her be the music maker of the group.  Before each kid started to read, Mia would toot the recorder.  While everyone else sang, she tooted right along.  She did a great job!

 Once the kids finished singing, everyone joined in for the 12 Days of Christmas.  Ryan, Randy, Georgia and I were assigned "Two turtle doves."  Our family gets a little silly at times, so we had fun instead singing about "Two durtle toves."  We also read the Bible story; Sophie read it this year and did a wonderful job.  Meme also speaks for a few minutes and teaches the kids about the wonder of Christmas; she was a kids' Sunday School teacher at Chattahoochee for over 50 years, so she has a good bit of experience in this area.  We say our prayer and remember how thankful we are for Jesus' birth.

After this, it's time for some present-opening.  The kids each get three gifts: one from Meme, one from Uncle Randy and one from a cousin who has drawn their name.  Mia was thrilled to receive an Abbey Cadabby doll from Russ.

 Lily loved her Pinkie Pie doll from Cooper.  She has been sleeping with her and playing with her a lot this week.  She loves My Little Pony.

 Mia was very excited about her grocery shopping kit that she received rom Uncle Randy, and here she is giving Meme a hug to say thank you for her new Rockin' Elmo guitar.

 Lily couldn't wait to play Princess Yahtzee Jr from Uncle Randy (she has really been getting into games recently).  She was also very excited to get this art spinner from Meme.  We did this one night at Chick-fil-a over the summer, and she loved it.

 The next day, the girls couldn't wait to try out the art spinner; we have been having lots of fun with this.

After the kids finish with their presents, they start playing and the adults play our white elephant game.  We have a lot of fun stealing from one another!  Once we finish up with all the presents, we eat a little dessert (even though we're still stuffed from dinner), say our goodbyes and head home.  This is always such a fun evening.  I love my family!

Breakfast with Santa

The girls, Ryan, Liz and I enjoyed a Saturday morning Breakfast with Santa last weekend.  The Georgian Club has an excellent buffet: pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, many bread and muffin choices and tons of delicious fruit.  Delicious!

Ryan and Mia ready for breakfast.

 Liz and Lily enjoying breakfast and a view; it was a beautiful day.

 My girls and me.

 After eating our breakfast, we went to meet Santa.  The girls did great with him.  When asked what they wanted, they settled on a rocking chair for Mia and a rocking horse for Lily.  Thankfully, Santa saw the look on my face and heard me mention that we already have a rocking horse, so he didn't promise these gifts.  In fact, he told them "there's still a lot of time before Christmas to change your mind" and sure enough, this hasn't been mentioned again.  We haven't received the pictures back yet (and we weren't allowed to use our own camera), but I'll try to remember to post it when we get it; it was a pretty cute picture.

After meeting Santa, we went to the crafts area up front.  The girls had fun decorating their huge slices of brownies.  Both put red icing on and then lots of different sprinkles and candies.

 After the brownie decorating, the girls colored a picture and then moved on to sticker decorating.  Lily showing off her scene.

 Mia was proud of her scene too.

What a fun morning!