More December Daily Album Pages

Here are the pictures of the pages I completed for my December Daily album. I am a lot behind due to my little cold and the business of the season. I have enjoyed doing this, I just wish I had more time to devote to it!

December 20th- Christmas at Nanny's

On Saturday we headed up to KY to spend Christmas at Nanny's house. This year with money being tight we focused on the kids in the family and a lot of us didn't exchange gifts. Bo came up with some fun games to play and we enjoyed BBQ instead of a traditional Christmas dinner. The kids were even visited by Santa and as you can see from the pictures, Ava was very weary of him. It was a nice family Christmas, especially for our first Christmas without my grandfather. But, I know he was with us in spirit, and I am sure he was yelling at the great-grandkids for running on his carpet.

The Nutcracker Wars

I admit it. I have a tiny phobia/fear of nutcrackers. I find their creepy little eyes and scary little teeth to be slightly disturbing. So for the past few years, Mike and Bo have made it his mission at Christmas time to find a severely scary nutcracker and bestow that to me as a gift.

This year these adorable little decorations have been finding their way into the mail and into my home. Today the 2nd package arrived and Ava came running in with a pair of scissors (which in my defense she climbed up onto the kitchen counter to retrieve) and a box covered in nutcracker stickers. I decided to video the experience and share it with you.

Invasion of the Nutcrackers- (in 3 parts)



Part - 2 - Nothing really exciting here, just Ava trying really hard to open a present and doing a lot of heavy breathing.



Part 3 - The contents revealed

December 18th - A Visit with Santa

This holiday season, as a 2 year old, Ava is very aware of Christmas. She is enthralled by the lights, the music, the magic, and with Santa. Or so we thought....

For a few days we had been talking up Santa, watching movies about Santa, looking at pictures of Santa, and making sure Ava knows who Santa is and what he does. Ava has been very excited about seeing Santa and she just couldn't wait.

Fast forward to our trip to the mall to see Santa. It started out great; a little car nap on the way, excitement that we were finally there to see him, and Ava ready to bust out of her stroller and run up to him. We waited in line for about 10 or 15 minutes and the whole time Ava was watching him, telling people she was going to see Santa, and trying to cut line to be the first kid through. Man, was she excited. Now take that WAS and concentrate on it.

So, she ran up to Santa, stopped dead in her tracks, and she was done. It was all over. Now, she didn't cry, but rather had this deer in headlights expression on her face. There were no smiles, but no tears either. She didn't want to look at him or talk to him. It was just so sad. She refused to sit on his lap of course, but she stood in front of him and accepted a candy cane and a small (very small) hug at the end. But from that point on, the rest of our time at the mall was so subdued and sad. It was like she was heartbroken and she didn't know why. I am so tempted to take her to see Santa in Dyersburg to see if it gets the same reaction or if maybe she will have warmed up.

Now that I think about it, it kind of resembled Ralphie from A Christmas Story when he gets up to Santa and can't remember what he wanted. Our little girl just lost the ability to talk and be the funny little social butterfly we know she is. I am just glad there were no tears and maybe next time, she will be a little more responsive to the man in red.

More Days of Christmas Pictures

Since I have been off the last few days I have still been behind on my blogging, but I am really coming along on my scrapbook. I took some pictures of it yesterday and I am hoping to get those posted tonight or tomorrow. Here are a few recent pictures:

Ava and Daddy watching "A Garfield Christmas." This old cartoon has become an Ava fave!

Ava and Mommy decorating our 2nd Christmas tree.

The sweet little book that Ms. Patty helped Ava make for Bradley and me.

Ava tormenting Paisley.

Ava passed out on Daddy.

What a Lucky Girl!

Guess what Ava won!





*Edited to Add - No Mom-This is not real! HA!HA!*

Picture Post

Just wanted to post a few pictures of recent holiday happenings. I have been super swamped with pictures, Christmas parties, and now a horrible cold. So, I thought I would just post a few pictures until I can get back on track.

25 Days of Christmas - Album

I have been working on my 25 Days of Christmas album, but I have been so swamped with projects here at home that it is not getting done as quickly as I would like. I went ahead and took photos of what I have done, but I will be adding a little more to these pages as I get time. And please remember that these are just quick snapshots so the colors may seem a little wonky, but they look better in real life.

Look for an update tomorrow with new photos from what is happening at our house to celebrate the season.

You can also check out my photography blog (link at the right) to see new pictures from my latest session.

Thanks for stopping in and we hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season.

December 5th and 6th

December 5th- Friday was a little lazier evening for us. After a long week, we just settled in and enjoying a night of rest. Ava and I did read a couple of Christmas books and I handed off the camera to Bradley and let him play around with it. We also put up Ava's pink tree in her room. When we finally turned it on, she gasped and said, "It's beautiful!" As you can imagine there were some tears when we turned it off for bedtime.

December 6th- I spent a few hours on Saturday ringing the bell for the Salvation Army. Our National Honor Society kids at the high school came out to give their time for a good cause and ring the bell. We had a great turn out with about 30 kids showing up and the 2 hours flew by.

Earlier that afternoon, Ava enjoyed playing with her Little People Nativity Scence and Bradley looked high and low for the missing hay that goes with it.

That night we went to a Christmas party hosted by one of Bradley's cousins. We were running terribly late because of the bell ringing, but made it there to help celebrate the Christmas season. Ava enjoyed playing with her cousins there and had ball.

For some reason, Ava keeps putting her Little People angel with the nativity scene.
Bradley and I gathered the pieces to Ava's Little People Nativity Scene since she is so interested in ours.