El's First Christmas

And so it begins...

She LOVES babydolls already!

Her Uncle Mark gave her a teddy bear wearing a St. Andrews sweater (Mark is getting his masters degree there this year), and it was her FAVORITE present of the day. She could NOT stop laughing and snuggling with him!

Ryan stole my Santa hat.

My side of the family is 99.9999% Scottish. We never have family reunions here in the States. What's the point when most of your relatives are still in Scotland? Our Scottish cousins Ian and Dorothy sent El a gift back with Mark (since he's in school over there, he has seen them in the past few weeks). They sent El a beautiful silver bracelet.

My mama bought this GORGEOUS dress for Elizabeth over Thanksgiving and I could not WAIT for her to wear it! This afternoon we went over to Nana & Papa's (Ryan's parents) and she wore it while she opened presents.

She loves the toy Aunt Amanda & Uncle Kirk gave her!

Papa's girl

We had a WONDERFUL Christmas! It was just so much fun. Ryan made waffles this morning and Elizabeth slept til 10am. I was really surprised to see how much she loved opening presents and looking at her new toys. She was enthralled by each one, and I felt bad when I kept having to take them away to make her open another one. I really didn't think she'd be that into it, but she LOVED the whole process. It was so precious to see her so happy and excited.

By the way, if you're looking for the BEST HUSBAND EVER, you can stop looking, because he's at my house! I asked for a necklace from Lisa Leonard Designs for Christmas, and he got me a beautiful one with Elizabeth's name on it. I love it! AND he pulled off a major Christmas surprise by getting me a new lens for my Rebel camera. It's a portrait lens, and all those photography blogs I read recommend it. I've been DROOLING over it for months, but I've NEVER told him. I was so shocked when I unwrapped it! He is sooooooo sneaky! What a wonderful Christmas surprise! Thanks, Honey! (The pictures of El in her fancy Christmas dress were taken with the new lens...can I just say WOW on how good it does in low light?)

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas! Elizabeth and I are flying to the Mississippi Coast tomorrow to see my family for a couple days (El's 1st time to fly...and we're doing it just the 2 of us! I'm a little bit nervous! Thankfully it's a direct flight and only an hour!) I probably won't blog again until the end of next week, so I'll see you again after I get back! Oh, and there's video to post. Yes. Lots and lots of video...

'Twas the Night Before Christmas...

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Fly Through Our Window

Several months ago I was gushing to a girl I had just met about my new Canon Rebel. I told her, "I love my camera, but honestly I just don't know a thing about aperture, and shutter speed, and ISO's, so I really have some work to do." At some point we started talking about blogs we liked. And she goes, "Have you been to the blog Fly Through Our Window?" I had not. She told me to go there for a few tips for how to work my camera. Well, I went there. And absolutely fell in love with this adorable little family. Anyway, now I totally stalk them on a daily basis. You don't have to turn into a stalker, but you MUST go see the videos she just posted of her 3 year old and 5 year old little girls who have memorized Luke 2:1-14 during this season of advent. To describe it as precious just doesn't seem like nearly a good enough description.

The Craig Tree

Sleepyheads

Who doesn't love a good afternoon nap?

Especially with a Lovey Bunny.

Phoebe continues to think all of El's possessions are hers.

My mama sewed this beautiful shopping cart/restaurant

high chair cover/dog bed for us.

They were both snoring when I took this.

Christmas Cousins

Tonight we celebrated Christmas with the Craigs- all 24 of 'em! Elizabeth always loves having an excuse to see her cousins!

Compliment

Dear Elizabeth,

Yesterday a stranger looked at the two of us and said to me, "Your daughter looks just like you!" It made my day, because I think you are the most beautiful person in all the world.

Love,

Mama

Unbelievable

El at her first live performance.

Elizabeth,

You continue to astonish me. Last night you acted like a REAL baby. This never happens, but when I put you down in your crib to go to sleep, you wailed and screamed like there was no tomorrow. I let you cry for a few minutes, figuring you'd eventually go to sleep because you were sooooooo very tired. You were not happy til I picked you up finally, and rocked you and sang to you song after song..."Hear the Wind Blow", "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", "Baa Baa Black Sheep", "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot", "Jesus Loves Me", "You Are My Sunshine". You were happy as a little clam, just staring up into my eyes. Developmentally, you're in the stage where you want to touch EVERYTHING, so you love to put your hands on my face, touching my nose, covering my mouth while I sing (or maybe you're trying to get me to stop singing- ha!). We rocked and rocked and I sang and sang. You were so happy. So I put you in your crib. And you wailed and screamed. So we went through the whole process again- me letting you scream for a bit, then finally giving in and going to pick you up. I couldn't leave you for long because it felt like someone was ripping my heart out. I had to rock you until you fell fast asleep. Only then could I tiptoe over to your crib and put you in. I'm not too worried about it. You ALWAYS go to sleep so good and easily, and I figure everyone's entitled to an off night, even you. Sure enough, tonight you were back to normal. It's just so funny because last night I thought- oh, this is what normal babies do. You're not really a normal baby, love. You're some kind of extraordinary magic baby.

So last night you were normal, and tonight you were back to your magical ways. We went to the Christmas Celebration at church tonight, which is basically a two hour long performance. Not really baby-friendly. I didn't sign you up for childcare in time, and it filled up! So you sat in my lap. I was nervous that you were going to start crying, or want a diaper change, or a bottle. I cannot believe how you acted. You slept through the second hour, but for the whole first hour, you sat up straight in my lap, didn't move a muscle, didn't make a peep, and never took your eyes off the stage. Amazing. You looked like a tiny little adult. Your Uncle Mark was sitting next to us, and the whole time you watched the performance, you just sat holding his hand. Well, holding his finger. Your hands are kinda small. It was the most precious thing. When people clapped between songs, you'd look around kind of startled like, "Hm, what's going on here? How interesting!" Oh my goodness gracious. You are the most deliciously adorable baby and I don't know a soul who doesn't think so. You bring delight and joy to so many of us. One of our friends (who doesn't have kids yet) said to me tonight, "Elizabeth has ruined me for all other babies. When I hear a baby cry, I'm like, what's wrong with you? Why aren't you like Elizabeth?" It was so sweet, it just warmed my heart. We are all so ridiculously in love with you.

Yo quiero Taco Bell.

I had just started feeding Elizabeth

some delicious rice cereal with applesauce.

And then Daddy came home.

With Taco Bell.

Merry Early Christmas!

Elizabeth got her Christmas present from Grandma in the mail today!

Phoebe thinks it is hers.

My girls are learning to share.

A Little Cup of Christmas Cheer

Oh, Boy.

Remember the last time Elizabeth had a playdate with her friend Elijah?

Well, Daddy better get the shotgun out,

'cause cute Mr. Elijah did NOT sleep through this playdate,

and is mesmerized by our sweet girl!

Seriously, how cute are they?

Elijah's mama & I could NOT stop snapping pics!

What poor Elijah doesn't know is that Elizabeth is a BITER.

They were so intrigued by each other.

We look forward to many more playdates to come!

Hell Frozen Over

It's snowing today in Houston. You heard me. Houston, Texas. Snow. All day long. On December 4th. Started this morning, still going strong. We're all about to lose our minds with happiness.

Thanksgiving

Elizabeth Grace, I hope you always know

how thankful we are that you're here

and that you're ours.

Outside Playtime

America's Next Top Model

Hahahahaha! Kidding, people! I made this onesie for El, & am thinking about eventually setting up an Etsy shop to sell some stuff I make, so needed her to model her owl onesie for me. I totally accidentally captured the light this way, and loved how it turned out, so now I want to get back outside with the camera to figure out how to do it again!

*sigh* She looks like such a big girl in this one!

We went to see my family in Mississippi for Thanksgiving, and of course my mama had to make sure El had a swing for when she comes to see her! She loved it!