Christmas with Too Too and Grandaddy

Clay's parents came up to spend Christmas day with us this year and it was so nice having them at our house! They arrived a little before lunch and Audrey got right down to business giving them the gifts she got them!

A silhouette of Audrey for Too, Too and..

 ... a picture of Audrey for Grandaddy!

 After we finished opening gifts, we went outside and actually played in the snow! We could not believe it was snowing on Christmas Day! It was the good kind of snow too-- just right for building a snowman!

Being pregnant, I don't often get cold; however, I was freezing outside in the snow! We built the snowman and then came inside to eat Christmas dinner. It was the first time I've ever cooked a ham (which turned out great) and a Black Walnut Cake (not great, blech!). I also got my fine china out of the boxes for the first time in ten years and realized that I have enough "stuff" (napkins, napkins rings, etc.) to confortably sit four adults! Ha! I have plenty of china but no napkins! :) So, before I do this again, I will be investing in place mats, napkins, and a table cloth.

We (I mean they) then went BACK out to play in the snow and to let Audrey drive her "beep". She didn't do that long though-- the snow was too tempting!

 Our neighborhood-- there wasn't enough snow to cover the roads or sidewalks but to me it was just the right amount. Not enough to make walking on the sidewalks or driving treacherous and just enough to have fun with.

This last picture is of Audrey enjoying her gifts from Too, Too and Grandaddy. They gave her a TON of dress up clothes, costume jewelry, boas, hair styling necessities and even a bottle of OPI nail polish that she asks me to paint her nails with every day! In the picture, she is using her new curling iron to curl my hair. Since then, we've had many blow-outs with her hair dryer and lots of curls placed in just the right spots!

Ho, Ho Came Again!

That sweet Santa came to see our little girl AGAIN this year and oh, how she loved it!!

Her favorite gift she received was this easel. Her cousin, Garrett, has one and every time we go over there all she wants to do it play, play, play with it.

Audrey is definitely a girly girl and Santa knew just what she would like to have in her stocking! Lip gloss!! You can see it on her sweet little lips in the picture below. She is really getting the hang of applying it! Ha!

She's also got a bit of boy in her and can't resist cars, trucks or trains so she got a few of those as well!

Audrey asked Santa for a soccer ball and although he brought her one, she wasn't exactly thrilled with it. You see, soccer balls are black and white. Poor Santa thought this little princess would like a pink and white one with Princesses on it. Unfortunately, that was a little confusing because to Audrey, that wasn't a soccer ball! After a couple of days of talking about the pink one, we finally convinced her that Santa had, indeed, brought her a soccer ball!

Christmas is so much fun reliving it through Audrey!

Christmas with My Parents 2010

We headed south to celebrate Christmas with my family the Wednesday before Christmas. We stayed until Christmas Eve and then booked it back home so that we wouldn't miss Santa's deliveries Christmas morning!!

As usual, Audrey lived it up with her cousins. She has definitely learned to "run with the big dogs"-- around and around her Granny and Paw Paw's house! There was lots of squealing and chasing and running and the occasional tear but she had a blast!! Each night we were there, she collapsed from exhaustion right at bed time. One night she actually told me she didn't want me to read books to her, to just "go" (said as she is pointing to the door).

Diving for gifts!

 We had been reading a Little Golden Book, The Littlest Elf, at night before bedtime for most of December. Audrey really took to the idea that elves help make and deliver presents (the littlest elf gets to ride in Santa's sleigh and help deliver on Christmas Eve). The night before we opened presents, we were listening to Audrey on the monitor as she lay in her bed. She was talking to her dolls and lovies and telling them that tomorrow she would be an elf! It was so sweet to hear her describe how she was going to deliver presents!

These photos are of my nieces and Audrey being the elves this year!

 

 Audrey took her job seriously! Notice she is diving between Laura's legs to get to the presents!

Time to unwrap!

My mom and dad got Audrey a Barbie Jeep and she loved it! We thought that she may not be able to drive it yet but she took to it very quickly. She's still working on her steering but overall she is doing great!

The "head kid" at the big kid table. This is why they love him so much. There is usually an argument between Laura and Gracie over who gets to sit beside Audrey when we eat. Not when Clay is around! Then, it is settled pretty quickly when one of them realizes that they can sit beside him!

This last photo is of me, 31 weeks pregnant with Shelby Claire. :)