Peyton's 5th Birthday

Peyton turned five this month and we celebrated with a princess-themed birthday party earlier this month, so that it would in no way be celebrated near the Christmas holiday. Her party had a princess castle jumpie, princess cake, pinata and of course, crows and tiaras. She had a great time playing with some of her friends from pre-school, her cousins and long-time friends Alex and Bailey.

She got tons of stuff including five Barbie dolls, some glittery shoes and lots of clothes and accessories. She and her dad went on a special date to see Despereaux the movie and the whole family celebrated her actual birthday with a special lunch, joined by the Morgan family and a trip to Jump 'n Jive where we all jumped, bounced, chased each other and had a great time. Emily was the least enthused about jumping but even she had a great time running around and playing and making friends with one of the teen-age workers. Peyton agreed her birthday was "really fun."

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! We've spread out the holiday celebrations over several days and we still have more to go! Aunt Jessica came to spend the night on Dec. 23. Christmas Eve was spent at Shawn's church service and last minute holiday preparations. The girls were so anxious about Santa Claus and the reindeer coming, that they didn't fall asleep until almost midnight. They were so excited to wake up and see what presents Santa had left for them.

On Christmas morning, the girls found half eaten cookies and milk that Santa enjoyed and discovered that reindeer really like carrots and corn. They had a great time opening presents and absolutely love their big surprise - a princess jeep complete with a working radio! They wasted no time in cruising around the yard and over to Franny's house. For the most part, Emily lets her sister drive as long as she gets to work the radio.

Christmas morning was spent at Franny's house with a great breakfast that everyone helped make - Uncle Patrick, Franny and Ken, Aunt Kitty and Gary and even dad made something. Christmas afternoon was spent at Grandma and Pawpaw's house with dinner and presents and playing with cousins Brandon and Jacob. The next day, we had Christmas at Franny's house with Uncle Patrick and Aunt Colleen. More presents were had - needless to say, the girls got tons of stuff - way too much. The toys are spread out all over the living room. They've had a great holiday and we're glad for the time we've been able to spend together as a family.

Peyton's Field Trip

Peyton's Pre-K class took a holiday field trip to the Dollar Tree so everyone could buy themselves a present and open them at their class Christmas party. The kids then went to Logan's to eat lunch and then onto Ball Town Hall where they ate cookies and milk and Santa Claus met them at the Santa House to give them a candy bag.

Peyton wasn't too thrilled to see Santa but she did sit in a small rocker on the side of him. She loved riding the yellow school bus, hanging out with Emilee and playing with all of her friends in the park.

Cookies with Santa

Peyton and Emily had cookies with Santa this weekend in Natchitoches. They ate cookies and drank juice and made Christmas ornaments for their tree. Neither girl was excited to see Santa but Emily let me hold her and get close to Santa.

Peyton wouldn't go near him at all but she did watch me talk to Santa from about 3 feet away and remind Santa she wanted a Barbie Jeep. As Peyton told me, "Mom, I just want to do arts and crafts." Her and best buddy Alex went around and made crafts and had a great time playing together.

Emily spent most of the time with the Christmas Belles, particularly Cammie, and sat with Cammie in Santa's chair - only for Santa to sneak behind for another picture!

Happy Holidays!

Our Christmas Tree - the finished product. The girls had a great time decorating the tree in our living room - Peyton was especially excited. The end result served as the backdrop for our family Christmas photo, taken courtesy of my brother, Patrick.

It was interesting trying to get everyone to look at the camera at the same time, but we ended up with a great photo.

Finding the perfect Christmas Tree

After an eventful Thanksgiving filled with good food and lots of playing with all the cousins, our family ventured out to a Christmas Tree farm to find the perfect tree. We found a beautiful 8 ft tall Cedar Tree, which Shawn cut down himself.

Emily was a little grouchy during the trip but Peyton had a great time running up and down the rows of trees. Peyton had the brilliant idea of getting a smaller tree for her and Emily to decorate. We found a 4 ft pine tree. The girls spent one rainy afternoon making ornaments for the tree. It sits in Emily's room in the window and looks great. Peyton was super excited to decorate the big tree in the living room. This is the first year that she has really gotten into decorating for the holidays. Every ornament she grabbed went on the bottom row of the tree.

We're very busy getting ready for the holidays. We have lots to do including the Christmas Festival, parades, a school program, school Christmas party, field trip to see Santa, Cookies with Santa and a fifth birthday party for Peyton. More pictures will come to highlight the happenings of our holiday season.

The Holidays