Santa

I had a doctor's appointment in Richmond last Friday so I decided it would be a great time to take Josie to see Santa. I talked my Mom into going with me so I would have backup in the event Josie had a meltdown. We decided to take Josie to the Richmond Children's Museum to see the "Legendary Santa" (the old Miller and Rhodes Santa). Once again - I was trying to overcome the Scrooge in me and get excited about this oh-so-festive time of the year. By taking Josie to see this Santa we would have an extra special picture because JF and I both sat in the Legendary Santa's lap when we were little - and Mom still has the pictures to prove it! This was going to be a sentimental moment - one that just ignite the Christmas spirit within me....
Filled with anticipation we arrived at the museum at 11:00 - waited in line for 30 minutes to discover that the Legendary Santa was not going to be there until 3:00 - but his buddy
Kris Kringle, who weighed a buck twenty-five and vaguely resembles the Lion form the Wizard of Oz, was our only choice. After recovering from the disappointment of not being able to see "my" Santa - we waited the additional 20 minutes for Josie to see the Cowardly Santa. She could not have cared less about Santa -she was much more interested in the 16-year-old "Snow Queen" the little girl who was coloring in the front row. So - all-in-all - it was an uneventful trip to see Santa. Next year we will call in advance for Santa's schedule....

My Favorite Hat!

Josie loves her little stocking cap! Francis Warren - a wonderful lady in our church made Josie a little pale pink hat when she was born and now has made this perfect pink hat for the winter - and Josie loves it! She can put it on herself though most of the time she pulls it all the way down. She even wears it while she is in the house - pulled all the way down! I think she likes looking through it.

Mommy's Little Helper

My wonderful mother had to help me decorate the the tree this year...for those of you who really know me - you know that I am not a "Christmas person" even when I am not 8 1/2 months pregnant. In a true effort to overcome the Scrooge in me - I ordered a "real" tree a few wreathes. You may recall our last encounter with a real tree (just 3 months after moving into our new house our beautiful real tree had a slow leak in the stand which ruined our perfect hardwood floors) and my vowed to NEVER had another real tree. I should have listened to that little voice in my head that told me not to do it again - but I didn't. I will save you the extended version of the story and tell you that the 9 foot tree I ordered somehow grew into a 12 foot tree - back down to a 9+ foot tree that would not fit into the NEW stand....and NO record of my wreathe order....long story short - after an entire day of tree drama which included me and my huge belly laying on the hardwood floor under the tree trying get the tree to stand up straight and once again vowing to never have another real tree- it is up and honestly - really pretty....thanks to the my patient loving mother! Meanwhile

Josie discovered the new roll of paper towels in the laundry room and enjoyed tearing them off one at a time.
She also helped MeMe decorate the tree by attaching herself
to her leg every time she climbed up the ladder.
Josie's reaction to me Turing the lights on each night almost
makes it worth it - haha. She seems to really love the lights.

Family Photos

We recruited my Mom and Dad to help us take a few family pics by the pond in a effort to capture the perfect image for our Christmas card....I now know why professional photographers charge so much...it is impossible to get a good picture of all three of us . Especially when the photographers assistance...my Dad...was fishing instead of helping. Josie was much more interested in the fishing than the camera. Oh well - at least we had fun!
My fav is the one of the three of us - doesn't Josie look so happy?!?!?! She was watching Pop catch a fish while the wind almost blew all of us over! In the end we got one picture the made the cut....I will post it after I send out the cards...