Christmas pictures

I'm finally getting around to posting Christmas pictures. Here are a few gems from Christmas morning...mostly of the goodies in the girls' stockings.

Princess Pea (from the show Super Why!)

magic wand...hours of entertainment!

silly piggy koosh

Pez!!!

fun blank notebook for doodling

"this octopus is a bit rubbery!"

an assortment of sea creatures

while the stocking was lots of fun, the big hits of the day for Maggie were the Play-Doh cake decorating set from Grandmama & Granddad and the rubber stamp set from Mimie and Pappy

very cool wooden grasping toy from Mimie & Pappy

awesome handmade wooden ferris wheel from some friends of ours...notice that Maggie has filled all of the seats with little animals

the ferris wheel in action

catch-up

Here are some random photos from the past week.



This is supposed to be the "time out" chair, but both girls seem to enjoy sitting in it too much.

Maggie insisted it was Snoopy's birthday and he needed presents.

My folks are in town for the holidays, and last weekend my brother was also in town for a visit. Maggie enjoyed showing Uncle Chris all her puzzles and Little People farm animals.

Lilly and Grandmama

Maggie's preschool had a little Christmas program today, and it was pretty freakin' cute hearing them all sing carols. The funniest part was actually when Maggie's friend Eli (standing up in the red shirt) raised his arms and was excitedly yelling "my mommy's here...there's my mommy..."hi mommy!!!" over and over again.

Maggie wasn't too enthusiastic about singing...this was her expression pretty much the entire program.

And then she went over to cling to her favorite teacher, Miss Nila.

Lilly really enjoyed the music!

first steps!!

Well, Lilly is now mobile...she took one or two shaky steps yesterday, and this evening she walked across the kitchen on her own! At 13.5 months, she "beat" Maggie by 2 months!

Pullen Park

We have a great park right in the middle of town that has been closed for nearly 2 years for renovations, but just reopened before Thanksgiving. The girls and I went today to meet Leslie, Eli, and Jacob, and we all had a great time. It is such a neat park to have so close to our house...and full of history. Founded in 1887, it was the first public park in the state of North Carolina and is the 5th oldest operating amusement park in the U.S. Along with several playgrounds, there is also a miniature train, kiddie boats, and a beautiful antique Dentzel Carousel that was made in 1900 (one of only 14 that remain in operation in the country) with a cool antique Wurlitzer organ from 1924.

miniature train that goes around the park

all aboard!


boat ride

antique Dentzel carousel...my favorite thing in the park!

Wurlitzer organ

I thought that Maggie would want to ride on one of the horses, but she surprised me and said she wanted to ride in the sleigh (but she looked longingly at the horses once the carousel was moving)

Lilly chose the giraffe!

first haircut (well, sort of)

Lilly hates having her hair "fussed" over (i.e. getting it brushed or having it put back while she eats), and Will and I were tired of fighting her to keep it out of her face and mouth during meals (not to mention how hard it was to clean up after meals or when she had a runny nose...gross!). So Will gave her "bangs" a quick trim earlier this week. They came out a little shorter than planned, but now you can see her cute little face and mealtimes are much easier (and a little cleaner)!

Thanksgiving road trip

We loaded up the family (and beagles) and headed to north Georgia to visit Will's family for Thanksgiving. We stopped in Helen for a brief visit with Will's grandparents Big Lloyd and Ginger, and Uncle Lanky. And then it was on to Rome, where we visited with the rest of Will's family and stuffed ourselves with a wonderful Thanksgiving feast.

Lilly and great-grandma Ginger

Lilly and great-granddad Big Lloyd

the girls playing with great-uncle Lanky

Maggie at the coloring table with cousin Joseph, aunt Katie, cousin John, and great-aunt Laurie (with cousin Gage posing for the camera in the foreground)

another shot of the coloring table with John, Joseph, and Katie

blowing bubbles with aunt Katie

Lilly's first trampoline experience at Katie's house

Maggie taking a break from her "gymnastics" for some snuggling with mama and Lilly

Lilly and Mimie

Lilly with her new best friend, Pete (Lilly loved Petey so much, she would gently snuggle up and nuzzle into his fur...and Petey was so sweet and patient with her)

fall hike & visit from friends

Last weekend we all took a long hike at Umstead State Park to see the fall leaves.






Last week, my high school friend Lauren swung through Raleigh with her family on their way home back to Florida after being in Maryland for a few days. It was great to see them all, and Maggie got to show off her chickens to George (almost 4 years old) and Jack (almost 2 years old).

practice makes perfect

It won't be long now...

art class

For those of you who know Maggie, you know that she LOVES arts & crafts, especially drawing and painting. Here she is teaching Lilly how to draw (she was actually narrating this..."Lilly, first you take the marker and hold it like this").

Halloween

It was a rainy Halloween for us, but Will and Maggie braved the rain to do a little bit of trick-or-treating. And according to Maggie, she "wasn't even shy!" She really wanted to be the letter "O" for Halloween (her favorite letter), so Will put together an "O" outfit for her. Unfortunately, I was recovering from a stomach virus, so Lilly didn't get a costume this year.

Maggie also wanted a Cookie Monster pumpkin this year...here is Will's creation (with Lilly peeking out the door).

Happy Birthday Lilly!

Yesterday was Lilly's 1st birthday, and we had a few friends over to help celebrate. Just like me, Lilly's favorite part of the day was the cupcakes!! Here is the progression of the cupcake mess:








Maggie and Eli enjoying their cupcakes (Maggie devoured hers in about 15 seconds! Meanwhile, Eli was still licking the frosting off of the top 5 minutes later!)

Opening presents, after a quick bath!

Samantha (8 months old), looking puzzled.

Mommies and babies= Victoria & Samantha, Leslie & Jacob, me & Lilly