THAT'S NOT ALL!!!

...I'm just tired, and there are dozens more pics. I'll add more later I promise. Goodnight for now :)

Christmas at Gigi & Papa Joe's

Again, here are some pics in a crazy reverse order that my Mom made up. This is my new Elmo from Aunty Candie, he giggles and dances and here I am rocking him in my chair. By the way, my favorite word is E-L-M-O and my favorite video is Elmo's Christmas and my favorite book is Elmo at the zoo.

Here is when I realized that this Elmo was for me!

At first, I just carried Elmo in his suitcase before opening it up to meet him. That kept me busy for awhile because I am a busy girl and I like to work!

Here I am sitting on my present. That was fun too. I had to test each one out for safety before opening it. My Uncle Dave & Aunt Heidi gave me my first cabbage patch baby, adoption papers and all. That's a lot of responsibility for my little 19 month old self! Do I have to wake up at night with her like Mom does with me? Uh oh! I did share some of my cookies with her though.

Christmas Morning at Home

This is me and Mom and Nana and Granny opening gifts. Everyone came over for brunch (waffle bar :) and playtime.

Nana gave me this cool farm with animals.

Here I am enjoying my waffle with blueberries.

This was my Christmas morning surprise! (Not the cat :) I have my very own playhouse and slide!!! So far the slide makes me a little nervous, but I love the playhouse, as does my cat, and my Dad (see below). Don't ask how my Dad got in there (??) or how he got back out.

When I got up CHristmas morning we were in Mom and Dad's bed hanging out and then Mom reminded me that Santa had come the night before and probably brought me a surprise. Dad ran to get the video camera and I started getting very excited (patting the top of my head??) This slide/play house is what I found when I came out. I was speechless!

Christmas Eve

So, my parents were kind of bad about taking pics on Christmas Eve. These were before the party pics. We had a good time at my Mom's Aunt Cherie & Uncle Dennis' house eating lasagne, playing with poppers and catching up with family. I was a little disturbed by some family members that arrived wearing reindeer antlers, but as soon as I got over that, I was running around the house (mostly following Papa). Their dog was as tall as I was! She was cool. I also got to have some conversations with my Great Grandma Mary. We got home late (by my standards) and so I had to get right to bed because Mom said Santa would not come if I wasn't asleep!

Christmas celebration #1: Papa Tom & Granny's

I'm a lucky girl. Yesterday was my 1st of 4 Christmas celebrations. Papa Tom and Granny Lori served us up a YUMMY taco bar with all the trimmings and homemade blue corn tortillas that I loved :)

I got some really cool books that I've already read through and a soft gingerbread blanket. We went on a walk through candy cane lane in the rain where I was not shy about getting up close and personal with the Christmas light displays, especially the reindeer. I also sat by Santa and saw Elmo (!) I was so excited I just hit the top of my head over and over (??) I was pretty tired from opening all the presents and running up and down the hall at Papa & Granny's and slept the whole way home.

Good thing I have a few days of rest before the next Christmas...more excitement to follow!

Merry Christmas! A note from my mommy

Merry Christmas from our family to yours. We wish you happiness, love, and abundance in 2009!

Our little girl is growing up so fast. What an amazing year! She hits the 19-month-old mark in a few days, and is a ball of energy. This year she is really into Christmas. She can say and recognize "santa," her christmas "tree," and loves Christmas music (and dance time with Dad in her room with her boombox in the evening.) We're doing lots of crafty projects to help her learn all about Christmas too...which she mostly likes to eat, rather than create. She does have something popping up from her mom's side of the family...very curly hair. It's so fun to see your traits come out in your very own child. Other mom traits: STUBBORN, sensitive, runs like a girl. Luckily, it looks like she got some of her dad's coordination and energy :) I'm not sure when we'll be adding a sibling to the mix, but Lily will be a fabulous big sister. She has her own little baby that goes with her EVERYWHERE. Lily pushes baby in the stroller, feeds baby her food, lets baby nurse a little now and then, and even tries to bathe her. She's also really helpful around the house. She helps mom mop and sweep every day (even if it's only her doing the cleaning, not mom!) What delight she brings to every day (providing she decides to nap well that day.) Seeing the world through her eyes is a joyful experience (again, as long as we've all got a good night's sleep!) Smarty pants understands and repeats EVERYTHING we say...so watch out! Looking forward to another year of watching our baby grow :)

-Jen, Joe & Lily