Christmas in Mobile

The weekend before Christmas, we headed down

to Mobile for Christmas with my family. We had a
wonderful time! For our first of many Christmas celebrations,
we had dinner with Aubie (my Dad), Nonie & Gramps
(my grandparents), Lee & Mary Katherine (my brother & sister).
Lily had fun opening her presents and loved everything
that she received. Thank you to Aubie, Nonie & Gramps,
the Perez Family, the Rikard Family,
the Garners & Sara & Kim for all of the wonderful gifts!

Also, please note the fabulous Christmas Tree.
My poor dad got the tree all set up and it was....um....a tad crooked.
I think it has a lot of character if you ask me.

Lily gives Aubie the photo book that we made for him.

Tearing into a big present.

Nonie gave Lily Cinderella and Prince Charming.
She loves them and they look precious in her room.

After opening her presents, Lily insisted on changing into
her nightgown even though we were note spending the night
there. Here she is enjoying the wonderful art desk
that my aunt, Sara, gave her.The next day, we did Christmas with GoGo, Lee & MK.
Lily loved the presents from GoGo, especially the tea cart.
I would also like to give a special shout-out to Lee for
the rubber chicken.
Later that night, we went to GG & Pop's (my grandparents)
house for a party with the rest of the family. Unfortunately,
we had so much fun that I forgot to take pictures. Thank you to
GoGo, Lee, MK, GG & Pop, the Coombs Family, Melissa, &
the Geil Family for all of the wonderful gifts. So as to not
be remiss in my shout outs, we loved visiting with all of
the above, as well as Bob & the D'Olive Family.
We can't wait to see everyone again soon.

Lil' Rudolph

Lily had her Christmas Program at Ridgecrest
on December 19th. She did such a good job! We
were so proud of how well she sang and did all of the
motions. Be sure to notice her beautiful smile throughout
all of the songs. This is a video of Lily & her friends singing
all three of their songs.

Lily woke up ready for her Program. She was
so excited that she demanded that Bitty Baby get
to come watch, so she rode to the show in my purse.

After the program, we took some pictures with
Catherine and Sally. Catherine was a speaking angel
in the Pagaent. Please note the girls' enthusiasm
in the picture with Sally & I.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

During her last dance class before Christmas, Lily & her
friends did a tap dance to "Santa Claus is Coming to Town".
Poor Lily was just getting over Strep Throat, but she was
a little trooper and got well just in the nick of time.

After the performance, the girls had a little party
and exchanged gifts. It was really a wonderful way
to see how much they have learned.

As you can see, Lily & Laura certainly had fun.
They are a little wild when they get together, but
they love each other. Laura is Lily's best friend.

Baking Cookies with Catherine!

A couple of weekends before Christmas, Catherine
came over to play and bake Christmas cookies, but
before baking could get underway, they had to
have a little Princess time.
The girls had a blast rolling out the dough and cutting
out all of the different shapes.
They especially enjoyed icing the cookies.
I must say that Catherine was much neater
than her messy friend Lily.

Ta Da! The finished product!!!!!
Preston was very proud of his candy canes.

The Nutcracker

Lily, Kristin & I went to see the Ballet Mississippi's
"The Nutcracker".

Lily loved the ballet. Ever since then, she
has insisted that her name is Clara and that

Lily picked out a Sugar Plum Fairy snow globe
and a ballerina pen to buy during intermission.

When we got home, Daddy gave her a Nutcracker and,
as you can see, she LOVED it! The arm of the Nutcracker
even broke (like in the ballet) and Daddy had to
be Heir Drosselmeier and fix it.

Madison Christmas Parade

Lily and her ballet class from Repeat Performance were
in the Madison Christmas Parade last Saturday. They had a lot
of fun. GoGo (my mom) and my brother, Lee, came up to
stay with us Friday night and go see Lily in the parade. It
was an all around fun weekend!

Visitin' Santa...Southern Style!

The day after Thanksgiving, we went to Bass Pro Shop
to see Santa Claus. They had a wonderful Christmas village
and Lily really loved Santa this year.

After Lily had her picture made, Santa insisted that
Preston & I join them for another picture

Lily even got to write a letter to Santa. She wanted to
write it all by herself and she asked for a baby doll and
"all of da things that I like". At the end of her letter, I
offered to help her sign her name and she surprised me and did
it herself. I had no idea she could write her name. We are so
proud of her!!

I got Lily to make a little sample for everyone to see.
She did a great job! I really cannot believe how smart
she is! Learning to write your name is a big step.

They had a cute little village surrounded by a train
track. Lily thought the train was pretty cool.

After we watched the train for awhile, everyone
took the remote control car for a spin.Lily really enjoyed riding the "pink motorcycle" (really
a 4-wheeler).Hanging with a gator!

Camping out in a "hoog" tent

Overall, as Lily would say, we had a "favlious" time!