My Favorite Smile

It's exactly one month late, but it doesn't matter,  (I really wanted Lauren to be able to sing, "All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth" for Christmas this year). 

She looks absolutely adorable with that big toothless smile!

I actually got to pull this one and it didn't gross me out.  It did however gross me out to watch her wiggle it when it was so loose.

Love you, sweet baby girl.

I am not Sleepy!!!

Well, sleep has never been one of Lauren's favorite things to do.  She is much too busy and would rather be doing just about anything besides sleeping.  She has started making the comment that she does not like getting up early for school.  She loves school, but does not like getting up early.  It could possibly be because she stays awake late trying not to go to sleep.  I came up the stairs tonight a little after 10:00 p.m. and looked in Lauren's room from the stairway.  She was lying on her stomach, up on her elbows, with her chin resting in her hands.  I thought, oh dear, she is still awake!!!  I went on into my room and got ready to brush my teeth.  I peeked out my bedroom door and she was still in the exact same position.   I waited a couple more minutes, then went into her room.

This is what I found.  She was sound asleep!!!

I just wish I knew what she was thinking before she fell asleep!

Lauren, dear,  I love you so much!! 

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

We are so blessed to be able to spend time with both of our families at Christmas.  Our tradition has been spending Christmas Eve with Bill's side of the family.  We had everyone over to our house this Christmas Eve and enjoyed dinner together and then opened presents.

Grandma showing off her picture of the girls

Lauren, Parker and Allison

Allison, Grandpa, Lauren, Parker and Grandma

Granddaddy, Allison, Parker, Lauren

  After the family left on Christmas Eve, the girls quickly got ready for bed.  They were so excited because they got to sleep together that night.  After getting jammies on and  teeth brushed and flossed, we settled on Mommy and Daddy's bed to read our traditional stories.  Then it was off to bed, sleeping in sleeping bags on Allison's floor.  (Allison has more floor space to sleep on than Lauren, that's why they slept in her room.)  Amazingly, the girls went to sleep pretty quickly. 

Visions of sugar plums were surely dancing in their heads

The girls slept until about 7:30 (which is pretty late for them) before coming to wish us a Merry Christmas.   We were all excited to get downstairs to see what Santa left.  I was certain I heard Santa during the night.  I was awakened abruptly with a loud bang.  I jumped up and ran to Allison's room to make sure the girls were ok.  (I'm still afraid that one of the girls will fall down the stairs during the night, trying to come into our room.)   When I saw the girls were sleeping, I came on back to bed, with my heart still pounding.  It wasn't until I got out of bed that morning that I realized what woke me up during the night......the control to our electric blanket had fallen off the bed and hit the wall.  Guess it wasn't Santa, after all.  I managed to sleep right through his arrival.

Santa left Kindle Fires, and their stockings in new saucer chairs.

Lauren got a book that she can personalize

One of Allison's few requests for Christmas was for a little bear....she got two.

A new purse to color with fabric markers

New clothes and headband

I love this picture.....

Lauren got a little bear, too

Lauren asked for a paint set, and she got her first paint by number set, too.

Opening some new clothes

Modelling her new scarf.

Modelling a new outfit

Daddy cooked his traditional pancake breakfast for us.  After that it was time to clean up the floor a little, pack up the van and head to Blountville.

Allison, Granny and Lauren

Lauren, Uncle Bill, & Allison

Allison sitting by a pile of her presents

Lauren with her pile

Lauren gives Allison a big hug after opening a present from her

Allison with her stuffed monkey

Girls with their new stuffed animals

Lauren's new stuffed lion

New hat and mittens from Uncle Bill

Lauren's new hat and mittens

We enjoyed the traditional turkey and dressing dinner at Mom and Dad's.  I love mom's dressing more than anything.  Chocolate and Butterscotch pie were our traditional dessert.  All in all, it was a wonderful Christmas!!!  The only bad thing was that Dad got sick, Allison got a nasty cold, and we headed back to Knoxville a day early because of the sickness.

Catching up on Celebrations

Well, as you can see, I am pretty far behind in posting, but I am doing this for the girls to be able to read years from now, so I'll go ahead and post some Christmas celebrations for 2012.

Lauren and Allison at the annual Christmas brunch at church.  They were getting ready to sing some songs.

Lauren and Allison sitting on Santa's lap

 We got to go to Dollywood before Christmas which has become a favorite time for us.  It was a beautiful day that turned into a cold night enjoying the lights.  Dollywood sure does have some great hot chocolate.  I only learned to enjoy drinking hot chocolate last year when we went to Dollywood before Christmas.  I actually made some several times during the holiday season.

Lauren posing by the gingerbread house

Allison's turn

Sweet sisters bundled up...with rosy cheeks and noses.

Veggie Tales roller coaster.....they rode this a bunch!

Riding the scrambler with Daddy is always a favorite

Warming up with hot chocolate

Bill, Mom, Allison, Bill, Lauren, and Dad

More sweet sister pictures

Family picture

 We have enjoyed visiting Santa at West Town Mall for the past 3 years.  It took us two tries to get to see him this year.  We went on Friday, the last day of school before Christmas break.  It was CRAZY!!!!!  I stood in line for about 2 hours.  Bill took the girls to eat lunch in the food court and came back, but they still had to wait quite a while to see the big man.

Lauren waiting to see Santa

Lauren, Santa, and Allison

Wish I knew what Santa was telling the girls

Cuteness!!!

 

 

My aspiring pianists.....complete with their concert dresses!

Posing by the tree

Could they be any cuter?!

I love Christmas time with my babies.

Do-Re-Mi

Lauren has been playing around quite a bit on the piano since we brought it to our house from Mom and Dad's.  Yesterday I played a simple scale on the piano and started singing Do-Re-Mi as I played.  Lauren kept practicing and singing that scale until she could sing it forward and backward.  I started singing the song Julie Andrews sings in The Sound of Music and Lauren has learned that, too.  So today I pulled out my VHS copy of The Sound of Music and fast-forwarded to that particular song for Lauren to listen to,  After watching that part of the movie, the girls decided they wanted to watch the whole movie.  So tonight we started and watched the first half of the movie.  The girls really loved it.  When it was time to stop the movie for bedtime, it was at the part of the movie where the kids sing the "So Long, Farewell" song.  The girls called it the "Good Night" song and tried to sing it on their way up the stairs to bed.  They decided they would have to practice that song tomorrow so they could sing it.


I sure love how my girls get excited over things and incorporate those things into their play.  One of their favorite things to play right now is "Laura and Mary" from the Laura Ingalls Wilder books.  Lauren and I just started On the Shores of Silver Lake after Christmas.  I do not remember reading that one as a child (maybe I didn't read it because it was so sad!!!!)  In the first two chapters you find out Mary is blind, Pa leaves to go west to claim a homestead and Jack, their dog dies.  Lauren and I cried our eyes out after reading those first two chapters.  I was a little hesitant to read chapter three with her.  But luckily it was not sad!

We are really enjoying Christmas vacation and all the time we get to spend enjoying our favorite books, movies, and just being together.

Here's a picture of my budding pianists