More partying

Partying with Grammy:

Christmas parties

Tis the season for Christmas parties. The girls and their cousin, Hope, had a good time partying at PawPaw and Miss Eva's Christmas party! I'm not sure their house will ever be the same again.

Here they are enjoying the outdoor decorations:




Taking a ride in the sleigh:



Thanks, PawPaw & Miss Eva, for a wonderful time!

School party

The whole class:



Story time:



Presents for the classroom:





Book exchange:



Yummy party food:




"G" for Gracie:

Dreaming of a pink Christmas

We have a full-blown pink theme emerging in the upstairs. First, it started with this:



Although we received this a few weeks ago (thanks, Bill & Kathy!), words still escape me whenever I see it. That there is a pink feather Christmas tree, an homage to the Lindsey patriarch, a larger than life character who loved Christmas decorations. I cannot do any of the stories justice, but I invite those who can to comment.

Next, we received this:



This is a fiber optic Barbie Christmas tree from Grammy. Naturally, we had to add embellishments, although I am not sure that the pink feather garland photographs clearly.

Then, we already had these, the girls' official stockings for Santa:



The table at the landing was simply begging for a couple of these:



Finally, our neighbor's daughter was making these wonderful wreaths, and Skip put in an order for the girls:



Happy Christmas!

Visiting Santa

Last Saturday we visited Santa. Although the girls do not look particularly happy in the following pictures, they are not crying. They were hesitant, but otherwise very anxious to see Santa. The concept of asking for presents and having them delivered by Santa is finally sinking in fully this year. One of the gifts the girls have requested is a watch. We prepped them, pre-visit, by explaining that they should ask Santa to bring them a watch for Christmas. So, in the midst of trying to prevent tears and/or a full-blown hysterical melt-down, I could hear Lauren's tiny voice saying, "Watch... a watch... watch... watch," as she was sitting on Santa's knee. Gracie looked around nervously from Lauren to Santa to Lauren to Santa, which is her way of saying, "Me, too!"

The first present

The first present(s) arrived by mail today (thanks Uncle Bill & Aunt Kathy!!!), and has been placed under the tree.

Untitled from Cathi Lindsey on Vimeo.

Photo shoot

We survived the Christmas card shoot. Some hurdles:

1) Arguing over props:




2) A few tears were shed:



3) And then, the moment I wanted to conk their heads together:

Christmas cards

Today is December 10th, and I have not even approached the idea of putting together Christmas cards. One of my single-person, live-alone traditions was to spend Thanksgiving morning watching the Macy's parade and addressing my Christmas cards. After sending them out way too early for several years, I finally managed to strike the right balance of discipline to send them out two weeks before Christmas.

Since sending out cards now involves photographing two 3 year olds, waiting this late to begin taking pictures for the cards is risky. Maybe I will try to wrangle them into nice clothing and take pictures this afternoon... wish me luck!

Christmas music

We experienced a lot of Christmas music this past Sunday. First, we went to church with Skip's parents to see their Christmas program, starring Poppa. Lauren amused herself with a Dora the Explorer coloring book, while Gracie stood in her seat, sang along, danced and clapped enthusiastically.




Sunday night, we went to another program at my niece's church. This program combined a local high school band and the adult choir. Here is a clip of Gracie enjoying the big finish of "Little Drummer Boy," starring the drum line:

Little Drummer Boy from Cathi Lindsey on Vimeo.

Snow!

Rammer Jammer Yellowhammer

Alabama 32, Florida 13

Christmas parade

Last night we went to a Christmas parade. The highlights included Santa; Snoopy, from the Charlie Brown Christmas floats; and Lexy, who was there marching in the local band (not in order of importance, obviously).



Waving to the Winnie the Pooh float:

Christmas Parade from Cathi Lindsey on Vimeo.

Pink coat

Fall pumpkins have been cleared for snow men. Now we take afternoon walks each day to look at all the decorations in the neighborhood.



At the end of last winter, I purchased winter coats for this year. As this was prior to the "pink craze," I selected a pink coat for Gracie and....... purple for Lauren. A few weeks ago, we tried the coats on for size. The screaming that ensued when Lauren realized her coat is purple is indescribable. She tried to confiscate Gracie's coat, leading to more screaming and arguing. I gave their coats from last year away over the summer, but we happen to have a sized 12 month coat still around. Lauren is squeezing herself into the 12M coat to avoid wearing the 3T purple coat. New pink jackets have been added to their Christmas list.

Thankgsiving update

Happy belated Thanksgiving! We took the week off, enjoyed our families (and good food) and took a quick trip.

In all things, give thanks.

Delay of game

Obviously, I am running behind in processing pics, posting, etc. Bear with, new post to come soon...

Play time

Cookie and phone usage

Working the phone from Cathi Lindsey on Vimeo.