Sorry, girls, but I haven't gotten around to much blogging lately. We've still been cooking like crazy (just not as many new recipes), and traveling here and there and everywhere for all the holidays. I just can't keep up! But I did remember to jot down a few memories from Annalyn's 4th and Emelina's 2nd Christmas (spoiler alert: they are not all sugarplums and candy canes. You two are maniacs these days and take turns challenging us at every turn.) In sort of random order, not even chronologic... see previous sentence for reasoning:
-Annalyn's first Christmas program - Ok, so there really is nothing cuter than putting 30 preschoolers on a stage to sing Christmas songs. You loved every second of it and belted out every word. Between songs you started the always fun trend of "Hi, Grandma! Hi, Daddy!" (That's right, no shout out for Mama...) Afterwards we all had cookies that I got to come help bake with your class the day before and the kids enjoyed a visit from Santa.
-First time either of the girls met Santa - for one reason or another, you girls had never seen Santa before Annalyn's Christmas program, so it was a big surprise when he showed up with presents for all the kids and siblings. Annalyn shocked us all and got scared when you was sitting with your class and Santa reached over you to hand a present to another kid. Usually, you are fearless when it comes to social interaction, but a big guy, red suit, room packed full of people you don't know - I get it! Emma did better than we expected, and while neither of you wanted to sit on his lap, you both thanked him for the gift, gave a high five, and took a candy cane when he offered. Good enough for me, girls!
running to see Santa!
-Annalyn running downstairs to try to see Santa - This had to be one of the cutest moments of Christmas for us. Not long after we tucked you in tight and reinforced the need to go to sleep so Santa could come, we heard you throw open the door, sprint down the stairs, into the kitchen, then back into the living room, frantically trying to catch a peek of Santa. Daddy and I were in the office looking at pictures we'd taken from Christmas Eve, so we heard more than we saw. Your eyes were wild with excitement, and it was obvious that sleep would take a while, but eventually you gave in so that Santa could make his stop and enjoy what was left of the cookies (although you and Emma ate most of Rudolph's carrots).
I would like to caption this one, "the bulldog and the Grinch"
-Annalyn grabbing your cousin, Eli, and saying "Come on, Charming, let's dance!" (she was pretending to be Cinderella)
-Matching pajama pictures (4th annual)
I love how this one turned out!
And this one that Emma took!
-And the outtakes... because this is way more representative of our actual Christmas and life in general:
devastation
bribery
defiance/frustration
escape
sleep deprivation
(as taken by Emma, how appropriate)
-Emma screaming her head off every 20 minutes all Christmas Eve since I got home at 7. Teething? Sick? South Pole elf? Terrible twos come early? Who knows!
-Annalyn's self-proclaimed "dramatic, rough day" after Christmas, for absolutely no apparent reason. It was fit after fit, just like Emma's Christmas Eve, once because there was no sausage for breakfast. Seriously.
-showing Annalyn a bunny out the living room window, then grimacing as you asked if we could cook it into a stew (guess who's been on winter break and home with you more than usual...)
-taking Annalyn to your first Yuletide Celebration and being mortified when you used Olaf as your own personal punching bag (picture the old blow up penguin ones we had as kids... yea, it was a little like that)
she really loved the program, though!
-That time the Grinch captured Annalyn's bulldog and enslaved him as his reindeer, along with the special Christmas popcorn that could only be eaten when watching Christmas shows with Mama (he he he).
-Emma asking to "turn on! Elsa! Turn on! NOW." when she wanted to hear "Let it go" in the car.
-Anna naming her favorite puppy from her Puppy Surprise toy "Puddles" and her second favorite one "Toodles" (these are a huge improvement over her usual naming schemes).
-Making two kinds of Christmas sugar cookies - half with Great Grandma Eddie's recipe and buttercream icing, and half using a new recipe I love with royal icing decorations. The trees were my favorite.
-Teaching you guys how to make coffee cake (well, the topping anyway)
-Going with Annalyn to see Charlie Brown Christmas at the community theater
-Emma becoming obsessed with "Brown" and "Noopy" and asking to watch it often, while holding and sleeping with her stuffed Charlie Brown
-putting up 5 Christmas trees, including the one in Anna's room and the felt one I made for the loft.
in love with our new tree for the living room
I made Michael climb a ladder to put this one above our front door
why yes, that is a full size Christmas tree in our bedroom!
Daddy's contribution to decorating... a sailboat out of the new tree box.
the girls enjoyed decorating and redecorating this tree all season long
-Wearing your new princess dresses for a week after Christmas, including a princess party themed NYE celebration with our BFFs (never, ever thought Shawna & I would host one of those, but here we are!)
-This nostalgic princess moment/flashback so perfect I couldn't in a million years make you guys do it (it honestly just happened!)
-Emma going #2 on the potty for the first time on the first day of the year, then continuing to start asking to go on the potty. At least one of you wants to be potty trained!
-Annalyn started gymnastics the first week of the year, and LOVES it. My favorite memory of your first class was when they asked you to run along the line of the mat because the older girls were in the middle. They stressed to you guys to stay on the line and in your little analytical head, that meant "do not with any part of any foot stray from the tape!" So you can imagine how funny you looked trying to run that way! Before your next class, we made a tape track around house and taught you what they actually meant by that. Either way, you made a super cute little gymnast:
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