Sydney the Christmas Tree

Sydney was the best little Christmas tree in the whole preschool, just ask her mommy, daddy and grandmothers! I am not sure who had more fun, us or Sydney. It is always a joy and treat to see your children having fun and singing. My two favorites were when they sang 'Do you hear what I hear' and then the trees did a little dance. So fun! It was a great way to kick off Christmas vacation.

Happy Birthday Mac!

Well, our baby boy is two years old! It is hard to believe how much fun he brings to our lives. He is so full of energy and is, for the most part, a very happy boy. He is most definitely a 'momma's boy,' which suits me just fine. I can always count on a big hug when I get home. That isn't to say he doesn't cause us trouble. He did have time-out during his Christmas party at MMO for pushing another boy in front of that boy's mom! Gasp - how embarrassing. He got so much practice opening presents for his birthday that he feels the need to unwrap the Christmas presents. I apologize upfront for the piecing together of paper.

We celebrated his birthday with a few friends. Surprisingly, it was very calm. All of the moms thought something must be wrong, but so far so good. He had a Lightning McQueen cake. Thank you to those who helped celebrate our little boy's birthday!

Christmas Cookies

Sydney and I made Christmas cookies today. I pulled out the cookie press I've had for at least three years and finally used it. We made spritz cookies. My neighbor gave me two thumbs up on the cookies. Since I prefer chocolate to anything, I wasn't so sure of the cookies. Sydney had a great time decorating them. We used every sprinkle in the house except red and green (since we didn't have them). I couldn't tell if we were celebrating Christmas or Mardi Gras.

Polar Express

We ventured out as a family to Bryson City, NC for the Polar Express. Since it is the year of the train for Mac, we thought he would enjoy riding on a real train. We all had a great time. The hot chocolate was yummy and we got the Christmas card picture! I call that a success.

Thanksgiving

We had a great time with our family during Thanksgiving. We kicked off the holiday with Sydney's Thanksgiving Feast at school. We had chicken fingers, macaroni and cheese and green beans. I am certain the pilgrims and Indians ate the same at the first Thanksgiving. It was fun seeing her dressed up in her Indian vest and feathers. She acquired the Indian name "Rain Princess."

We then went to Alabama to spend time with family. I snuck away to meet up with some of my sweet college friends in Birmingham. We ate at Chez Fon Fon. It was yummy, but the company was better! My beloved Auburn Tigers really stunk it up in Tuscaloosa and that is about all you can say about that.

Unfortunately, there was a death in the family over the holidays. Bart's grandfather passed away. He was such an extraordinary and great man. There are so many lessons to be learned from his life. He lived a life of no regrets and had a special way of connecting with everyone he met. He knew just the right way to love each family member. He will be greatly missed.