Merry Christmas from Atlanta & Athens and Ansley's 3rd Birthday!

* Note, this is a long one...

Ansley and I left almost 10 days ago to head to Atlanta for the week of Christmas. Rob followed a couple of days later. It was nice to be able to finally spend time visiting friends. Of course, it still felt like our time there was too short!

We started the week off with play dates with Aunt Kelly & Casey, and then another one at Crysie's new house. It is so beautiful and spacious. We had a great time letting the kids run off some energy after taking naps. There were a lot of kids between the four of us, and to think Crysie has already had baby Chase since this picture was taken, and I will have another to add to the mix in 3 months!!!

Hailey got into the jewels and had them wrapped all over her... even had them hanging from her hair

Luke, Ansley, Parker, Max, Hailey, and Madison

It was nice to also get a chance to spend time with Aunt Kelly, Madison, and Hailey (uncle Brent didn't come into town until the 23rd). Hailey didn't want to have anything to do with me. Now, we know she was so miserable due to having ear infections.

Ansley and daddy racing down the slide...

Hailey was in her own little world :)

on a mission ...

all smiles as she is about to go down the slide

The Wardrop Family decided to go bowling on Christmas Eve morning and we decided to take Ansley as well. She had an absolute blast!!!! It was so cute, she would bowl and then turn around to look for a response from all of us :) This also wore Ansley out, and she took a great nap when we got back to my parents house. While Ansley was napping, Rob and I went to Christmas Eve church service at Roswell United Methodist, it was a great service and I am really glad we went. It hit me really hard this year during the candlelight portion of singing "Silent Night". We are just so fortunate to have a healthy daughter and for my pregnancy to be going so well. We know a lot of friends who have been having a hard time this year...

having so much fun bowling

After church, we had a great Christmas Eve dinner at my mom's house. We got a lot of great pics of the girls, and Ansley and Madison put on a performance for us...singing "Away in the Manger". It was hysterical. I will try and figure out how to upload it from our video camera.... We sprinkled our reindeer food and couldn't wait the arrival of Christmas morning.

Christmas Eve 2009

it is very hard to get a good photo and have all three looking at the camera

Cheese!!!

Singing "Away in the Manger" ... the stars in the sky ....

...looked down where he layed

... little born Jesus a sleep in the hay

getting ready to toss our reindeer food at Nana & Pop Pop's house

there it goes ...

Christmas morning was so much fun! Ansley loved all her gifts that Santa brought her along with the thoughtful and generous gifts from family. It was a little hard this year because Ansley wanted to play with Madison's toys and Madison didn't want to share since she had just got them. But eventually they both came around and played together with their new toys.

Santa brought Ansley a scooter

Ansley and Madison helped Pop Pop hand out the gifts

Hailey just getting comfortable (sitting on one of her gifts)

Ansley loving her Disney Princess book

Around lunchtime, we loaded the car up and headed to Athens to spend Christmas with the Mautz Family. Ansley did really well considering she only got a 20 minute cat-nap in the car. We ended the day with another fabulous Christmas meal. We were all exhausted and went to bed around 9pm. I can't remember the last time I did that on Christmas day. But we all knew the next day was going to be a busy one since it was Ansley's 3rd Birthday.

Ansley wasn't sure what to think of all the gifts Santa left her at Mimi & Pop's house

absolutely loved her new princess umbrella

ready to ring up some orders with my new cash register

Uncle Boo got Ansley princess dress-up clothes :)

December 26th, my baby girl turned 3. I couldn't believe it had already been three years since she came into our life. She was really funny and kept saying it was her birthday party and asking where everyone was. We explained to her that this was just going to be a family party and she already had her big party. Nana, Aunt Kelly, Madison and CC all came into town for the big day (we missed Uncle Brent, Hailey, and Pop Pop due to sicknesses). Ansley has become a pro at opening gifts and got a lot of great things. She also had a blast with her cousin Madison! They went to town on some pizza and cake :)

Happy 3rd Birthday to my sweet baby girl!

Ansley's birthday tree ... Mimi decorates this tree every year just for Ansley

got a lot of more fun gifts... Cinderella book with matching pj's

and snow white

Ansley's Princess cake

waiting patiently to blow out her candles

Madison & Ansley enjoying some cake at the same time :)

We can't thank everyone enough for a wonderful Christmas and for the thoughtful birthday gifts for Ansley. You were all so generous... We love you!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

We were so surprised that the weatherman was right, and we actually got snow yesterday. It started to come down around 3 o'clock and didn't stop until about 6 o'clock, and then we had sleet for the remainder of the night. It was beautiful, big snow flakes! It was so fun to have got snow this close to Christmas!

Santa made an early stop to our house last night, so when we woke up this morning to an early "White" Christmas and lots of gifts it was the perfect setting! Last night, we put out our cookies & milk for Santa and then sprinkled our reindeer food so that he knew exactly where to stop... And boy did he ever, I think Ansley was the happiest girl this morning to see that Santa brought her exactly what she had asked for, a dollhouse! She kept saying, "Wow, it is a really really big dollhouse!" (We explained to Ansley that Santa will follow us to Nana & Pop Pop's house, as well as to Mimi & Pop's house - so there will be many more Christmas' for her)

Cookies & Milk for Santa

sprinkling our reindeer food

Santa came!!!

Ansley first seeing what Santa brought her ....

checking it all out!

digging into her stocking ...

After we opened gifts we decided to venture out into the snow, or what was left of it! Since Rob and Ansley slept til almost 9am this morning, a lot had already melted away.

Ansley loves throwing snow balls

Needless to say, we had a wonderful, early, "White Christmas" here in Charlotte :)

Preschool Christmas Party

Today was Ansley's preschool Christmas Party! She was super excited and I was very happy that this day had finally come. I was in charge of planning and hosting this party along with 2 other mom's. We decided on a fun activity which consisted of ice cream cones, icing, and all the toppings. We decorated Christmas trees out of ice cream cones and they came out so cute! This really was such a fun activity for this age. We also had a cookie exchange where all the mom's brought in 2-3 dozen cookies and we let the kids go around and pick out which cookies they wanted to take home with them. While the kids played, decorated their trees, and sang songs to us, the mom's nibbled on cookies and socialized.

Here are some pics from the party (sorry, I didn't have a chance to edit out the red-eye... too tired!) .... make sure you scroll down to the bottom to listen to the video.... Before playing the video, mute the music on the right side of the blog, and then turn your volume way up

Ansley sitting on Ms. Sherry's lap

singing "away in the manger"

still singing ...

"Jingle Bells"

starting to decorate her Christmas Tree

such a pretty Christmas Tree

and now enjoying her "Ansley" cookie (I made all the kids a cookie with their name on it)

And now for Ansley's debut ... singing "Away in the Manger"

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Ansley's Cookie Decorating 3rd Birthday Party!

This past Sunday we had Ansley's 3rd Birthday Party at our house. We have decided to make it an annual theme of "decorating cookies". It is the perfect time of year for this and the kids just love it! It was a great crazy weekend already with all the other Christmas parties, etc. that we had but I then had to get ready for Ansley's party. Thankfully, Mimi and Pop's came into town to help us out with babysitting so we could go to a party on Saturday night and then helped out with the preparations for Ansley's party.

We had planned on having a bounce house as well at her party but the weather was too nasty so we just stuck to the cookie decorating. With 14 kids, it was hysterical watching them decorate their cookies. Most of them just dumped the entire thing of sprinkles onto their sugar cookie and some really put the icing on and then decorated it. They of course were on the biggest sugar high afterwards and I am sure did not take naps for their mommy and daddy :) Ansley definitely did not nap, but all-in-all, it was a wonderful party shared with great friends! We can't wait til next year.... well maybe I can, I am too exhausted to plan any more parties right now.

moved the kitchen table out to make room for the picnic tables

the goodie bags

Mommy and the "party girl" before everyone got there

so excited and ready for her party to begin!

very serious about decorating her cookie

Libby

Treyton and Ethan

Caroline going straight for the icing!

Reid

dressing up in some of our birthday gifts....

couple of days before Ansley's party: she opened Emme Barrett's gift .... and she LOVED her new dress-up clothes!

Breakfast with Santa 2009

Last Saturday we headed to our church for the annual Breakfast with Santa. I had to be there super early to help with setting up since my mom's group puts this on each year. But Rob came a little later with Ansley, and Mimi and Pop's. We had an amazing turnout and raised over $1000 for the family we adopted this year for Christmas.

Ansley has been so excited to see Santa Claus and to tell him exactly what she wants for Christmas.... " a doll house"! She did great when it was her turn, she was a little hesitant but Santa started singing songs to her and she warmed right up. She couldn't stop talking about Santa. Glad the days of her screaming at Santa are over... well at least for now!

Ansley's turn...

she kept twirling her hair... I guess a nervous habit

Gingerbread House

This year Ansley and I attempted a gingerbread house. I bought one of those kits and thought it would be easy, NOPE! We got it all decorated and literally within 10 minutes of being finished with it, it collapsed. I couldn't believe it and was completely over it and left it the way it was. Needless to say it was the saddest gingerbread house ever... and found its home in the trash by the next day!

proud of her gingerbread house

pointing to the roof that was beginning to separate

and the final product...so sad

Picking out our Christmas Tree

A couple of weekends ago we headed out to find the perfect tree. We love going to the same Christmas Tree Farm each year.... This year it was very cold, and actually felt like Christmas. We were the only ones there, literally, since it was in the middle of the day on a Friday. But the nice owners were great, they gave us hot cider and Ansley got a reindeer cookie (she was in heaven).... We definitely got a fresh tree because it drinks so much water that we have to fill it up atleast twice a day. I guess I shouldn't complain!

Ansley playing in the sleigh