Merry Christmas

Okay, I know I'm late..... But, I wanted to say it anyway :)

We have had a wonderful holiday so far and it will continue tomorrow with a New Year's Eve Party at our house. I won't bore you with all of the details, but here are a few highlights since our last post.

December 18 - We celebrated an early Christmas with Dave's family since this was a Houston Christmas year. We had a wonderful dinner (yeah Panera Bread!) and fun spending time together. Our nephews, Jack and Kyle, were very sweet and spent some of their own money to get Emma special Christmas presents. They got her a baby doll and doll stroller (they even went out on Black Friday to find the stroller) and it was her favorite toy of the night. After opening the stroller and doll, Emma wasn't all that interested in her other gifts and she played with the doll and stroller right up until it was time to leave for the airport.

December 19 - Dave's Mom and Dad gave us a lift to Midway and we headed to Houston to spend a week with my parents and Grammy Davis. With all of the heavy snow storms back east and snow in Chicago, we were a little late leaving, but had a smooth flight. Emma even slept on the plane.

December 20 - 23 - A busy few days! Dave and I had to finish our Christmas shopping while Emma got quality time with Gigi and Grammy, presents had to be wrapped, cookies had to be baked, and family was visited. On Sunday, we got to see my Great Aunt Millie and Uncle Kenneth when they came out for dinner. We missed the big family party this year because of when our flight got in, so it was great to get caught up everyone's news. Monday was another big dinner at the house. Rhonda and her family were there and so were my Uncle Bill, Brittany, Ryan, and his finance Anna. The kids had a blast playing together! Tuesday found Dave, Emma, and I headed up to Cypress to see Dave's family. Another yummy dinner and fun games with Pete, Judi, Lisa, Matthew, Kevin, Missy, and some of Missy's family.

December 24 - Christmas Eve! We headed into Friendswood to my cousin Melissa's house for the Buchanan family party. My Grandmother has 14 Great Grandchildren. 12 of them were there and a large number of those kids are under the age of 5 or 6. They all played really well. Emma did have an adventure with a bunk bed - she climbed up after one of the older girls and couldn't get herself back down. We found out when we heard Emma crying..... All and all she did okay, but separation anxiety was in full force - poor kid!

December 25 - Christmas Day!!!!

We had to wake Emma up and it took a little while for her to realize Santa brought things for her, but she figured it out really fast once she saw her new suitcase. As we opened gifts from under the tree, Emma would fall in love with one toy and it would take some coaxing to get her to open the next one. She did learn a new word though.... Open (opie in Emma). All of the bows Emma had gotten in trouble for playing with all week could finally be ripped off with abandon and she loved it. She even turned herself (and me) into one big bow. The favorite gift of the morning had to be the purple puppy sleeping bag from Gigi and Poppy. Emma laid down right away and kept saying "off" as she pulled on the puppy.

After a breakfast of homemade cinnamon rolls (thanks Grammy!) we headed over to Rhonda's where Emma wanted to play with Drew's toys! Drew was a very sweet big cousin and gladly shared his Handy Manny workbench. After more gifts were opened, the kids all played well together as the checked out their new toys. Hannah got Pictionary Man and let me tell you - that game is HARD!!!

December 26 - 27 - I think there is a reason people say traveling at Christmas is hard! Everyone was so generous with Emma, Dave, and I that we had to ship several boxes home. The biggest items were Emma's, so she will have a mini Christmas all over again next week when our poor UPS man delivers everything. One the 27th, we put ourselves back on the airplane and headed home. The weather in the Chicago area cooperated and moved on before we did, so our flight was on time and roads clear. Emma slept most of the way home which made for a restful flight for Dave and I.

December 28 - 30 - We've been busy beavers since we got home. One Monday, I had to make the dreaded after vacation trip to the grocery store. A good note was that we got to see Dave's Uncle Ken, Aunt Jackie, cousin Carrie, and her family on Monday over at Julie's. We had yet another wonderful meal and great visits! By Monday night, I had us all unpacked (3 suitcases, 2 boxes, and a duffel bag) but not put away. Yesterday and today, we have worked on finding homes for Christmas gifts and things that just seem to never get put away. We have also worked on getting the house cleaned and ready for tomorrow night.

I guess I lied about not boring you with details.... Good night!

Emma Likes...

Jeremy Piven?!?!?! Actually, she doesn't even know who Jeremy Piven is, but she did buy his most recent movie "On Demand" this morning. It was a little before 7:30 and I was headed downstairs to make my breakfast when Dave headed upstairs to bundle up and take the trash to the curb before he finished getting ready for work. This meant Emma was by herself in the family room for a few minutes. This usually isn't a problem because she likes to watch Playhouse Disney and play with her toys. But, Dave had left the TV on the Today Show and not the Disney Channel... and that is where the adventure evidently began.

I was in the kitchen when I heard sounds from the family room that didn't sound good, like a little someone was climbing, so I headed downstairs. Sure enough, Emma was trying to reach some of the decorative items on the bookcase. After I scooped her up, the TV caught my attention. I remember thinking "I haven't heard anything about him having a new movie lately." Because I was thinking that Jeremy Piven was on one of the morning shows. Then I noticed the dreaded "play" on the DVR and realized that Emma was standing next to me saying "Spout Peas." "Spout Peas" is Emma speak for "Sprout Please" and after asking Dave is he had bought a $5 "On Demand" movie, we figured out what happened.

Emma didn't want to watch the Today Show, she wanted one of her shows. So, she tried to change the channel using the remote that had been left where she could get it. She has seen us get to the "On Demand" kids stuff (the FREE kids stuff) enough that she hit the "On Demand" button. After that, we think she just kept hitting the "okay" button and somehow bought the movie.

We go through the "Emma has the remote" dance almost everyday and get it put up where she can't reach it, but this is the first time she really did anything with it. Dave and I learned a $5 (plus tax, I'm sure) lesson about ALWAYS putting the remote away.

SNOW

We woke up Monday morning to a snow covered world. It wasn't a very big snow and by lunch time the driveway and streets were clear, so Emma and I ventured out to the grocery store. It's a good thing we did, because when we got up on Tuesday, we had even more snow... Since it was snowy, but not TOO cold, Emma and I bundled up then went out to play before lunch. She really liked the snow, but she didn't like the idea of making a snow angel and hopped up as soon as she laid down in the yard.

The worst of the storm came in Tuesday night with lots of wind and snow. We could even hear it hitting against the windows! Wednesday brought MORE snow, enough that we needed to clear off the driveway. Poor Dave had to work late, so after dinner I used the snow blower to clear the driveway while he got to spend some time with Emma. I'm SO glad we have that snow blower, but it still isn't an easy job! My very sweet hubby had a bid mug of hot chocolate waiting for me when I came in. It tasted so YUMMY!

Today we started out with single digit temperatures, but for the first time all week, we get to see the sun! With the bright sunshine outside and our hard working furnace, you can almost forget how cold it is outside. But, all it takes is letting to dog out to remember - she doesn't even want to stay out longer than she has to.

Thanksgiving Stay-cation

This year we spent Thanksgiving at home and had ourselves a mini vacation. Dave took a couple of vacation days and extended his holiday time, so he was off from Wednesday through Monday. Emma and I really enjoyed having him home with us during the day!

We spent Thanksgiving day with Dave's family at his parent's house and had a great day with lots of yummy food. Friday and Saturday were spent decorating the house for Christmas. Friday we concentrated on the inside of the house. Our neighbor, Rebecca, came over to play with Emma while Dave and I worked. Between naps and Rebecca's help, we were able to get the tree, stockings, and most of the decorations up. On Saturday, Dave got all of the lights up outside. The weather was cool, but beautiful, so it was a great day for doing that.

Sunday saw us at church - Emma LOVES going to the nursery! - then we braved the mall to do a little shopping. We went to the Bolingbrook Promenade, so I think the misty weather kept the crowds at bay, and we had a nice shopping trip.

It was a great extended weekend and we were all sad when Dave had to go back to work this morning. The good news is that Dave only has to work a day shy of 3 weeks before he gets to be on vacation for Christmas!