A few Christmas pics

Opening one of her many gifts.
Checking her stocking.
With her much anticipated Gingerbread House.
Spinning under the Zilker Tree with her BFF.

Milestone

Earlier this week Eliza and I were working on some thank you notes. I asked her if she wanted to draw a picture on the cards; she said yes. As she got out her crayons, I said, "or you could sign your name if you want." She said okay, then easily wrote out the letter "E" on a card. I was shocked. She proceeded to do the same on all the other cards. She was so proud!

New Year

Celebrating New Year's Day in jammies in the backyard.


First day of new semester at school.

So today our little family is back to the grind. S has been at work for most of the past 2 weeks, but Eliza and I have been on a staycation. We had a great break, and best of all, my morning sickness stopped just in time for Christmas so we really got to enjoy ourselves! I couldn't have asked for a better gift. Speaking of gifts, Eliza is so spoiled! She got such amazing, thoughtful gifts this year and our family put so much time into making her holiday special. We are very lucky. With our down time, E and I played with friends, including a few bouncy castle trips, a movie (with a lot of popcorn and a "scary horse" as she describes it), a trip to Gattiland and more. Today Eliza very proudly went back to school wearing her new light up boots (thanks Aunt Jules!). She said she missed her friends and was excited to see them. In fact, all the girls ran up to her this morning to hug her; it was pretty adorable. Out of the past two weeks, we really only had one major tantrum and that was thanks to skipping nap. What was she so angry about? She was mad that Beanie wouldn't tell her if s/he was a boy or a girl. She really was furious, but I had a hard time not laughing. Those fetuses are so stubborn sometimes. :) As Eliza will tell you, we'll find out for real on January 19th. I think until then, Eliza will keep asking my belly for the answer.

Santa pic

Eliza has been going to Vacation Bible School the past couple of days. The theme is Christmas Around the World. Yesterday she came home with a lumenario she had made and a Christmas CD with lots of songs in other languages. She is convinced that O Tannenbaum is actually "oh cottonball." Don't try to convince her otherwise. The picture with Santa is from school. The shot of Eliza and Daddy was as she "helped" him put up the Christmas lights outside. And the other shot is at the mall when she spotted Santa and his reindeer.

It's the most wonderful time of the year

I think this year is the most fun Christmas we've had with Eliza so far. She really gets it this year and she cannot wait for the big day to arrive! For the first time she sat on Santa's lap without any concern at all. The last few years I've had to sit on his lap with her to get a picture that didn't involve crying. This year she just waltzed right up to him and said she wanted a yellow yoyo. She did the same thing at school, although most of her classmates were pretty terrified. She has an advent calendar this year and almost every morning she wants to open her chocolate immediately. She also sings several different Christmas songs: Angels We Have Heard on High, Jingle Bells, Feliz Navidad (she can sing the whole thing!) and Santa Claus is Coming to Town are faves.

What We Know About You

So far we know....

• You do not like Mexican food and you really don't like sweets.
• You love french fries and Thai food. Tofu tom kha is a fave.
• You seem to be a morning person.
• Apparently you want Santa to bring you a pink yo yo for Christmas. At least according to your sister.

Kicking off the holiday season

This weekend we went to Elgin Christmas Tree Farm to pick out our tree. Eliza was a big help to Daddy. ;) We also went to a parade, and Eliza's mouth is wide open because she saw Santa Claus.