New Year's Eve Fun!

Hope everyone had a great NYE - we had a great time with the Carmichaels!  A little tradition we hope continues.  This is our second ringing in of the New Year (several hours early!) with the Carmichaels and we wouldn't have it any other way.  It was a LOUD and fun-filled night for our wild wees.

Celebration area for wild wees

Milk, hats, glasses and noise-makers!

Making the yummiest cookies we've made yet after dinner!

 Bathtub fun is always the highlight of the night!

 Happy New Year from our wild wees to yours!

Zoolight Safari

We love Zoolight Safari at the Birmingham Zoo!  Always such a good time.  We had a cousin play date Monday night - it was FREEZING.  I think it felt even more cold since it had been in the 70's over the weekend!  But perfect weather for Christmas time and the outdoors.  Pop even got to join us since he's been home for a few weeks now!   

 The Charlie Brown Trees - Caroline was too mesmerized to take a photo!

 She was in awe that the trees blinked to the music!

 Catherine Ellis, Stacey and Carrigon

 David and Carrigon

 Little Mama loving the carousel

 Me and Mama - blurry but cute!

 Caroline LOVES animals - maybe she will be a vet one day and go to Auburn Vet School!

 Petting the goat

 This snowman talks and it's hysterical - Caroline couldn't quite figure out how it was talking!

Year three for Zoolight Safari - so much fun!

Annual Gingerbread Party

One of the parties we look forward to each Advent is the Brown Gingerbread Party!  We love, love, love the excitement the party brings the weekend before Christmas.  There are always tons of children, great food, a gorgeous gingerbread display - this year it was a pirate ship and good fellowship with great friends.

We had another fabulous time - thank you Browns for including us in such a fun tradition!

 The fabulous gingerbread pirate ship and yard 

 Eating some yummie food!

 Caroline babysitting some twin friends

 David and Tucker carrying the gingerbread display downstairs to be destroyed

 Little mama and Mary Cox - whom we love dearly!  Little Mama plays hard to get:)

 The reindeer food - we loved this addition this year and 

threw it everywhere Christmas Eve for Santa's reindeer!

 Everyone getting ready to destruct the beautiful gingerbread motif

 Catherine Ellis is super excited

 Caroline isn't sure what to think yet....

 Caroline's turn to bang the gingerbread house

 Sissy to the rescue - that hammer is a bit tricky to operate

Just a short peek at the insanity that ensues for the gingerbread destruction.  It's wild - so wild that David is done for the day after the gingerbread party - it's more excitement than he can handle! HA!

 Stephen and Catherine Ellis after the gingerbread house was destroyed

 Caroline can't believe her good fortune in finding a candy cane tree

Caroline's expression about sums it up - lots of sugar, lots of kids and lots of stimulation - we all napped super well that afternoon!  (Meme look - the girls carried their Santa purses!)

Thank you Team Brown for inviting us - what a wonderful morning!  Certainly got us in the spirit for our first Christmas celebration with the Cains the next day!

Chess Nut

Catherine Ellis is a chess-nut these days!  She signed up for chess at school this semester and she's loved it. We've been in awe of how much she wants to play and enjoys it. Now "play" is a strong word here - she knows how to set the board up and make a few moves, but most of what she has learned is how to be a team player and a good sport - two very important lessons in life.

Her chess program had a chesstournaparty last weekend - so we thought we'd check it out. It was for pre-schoolers - 2nd graders - she was in the youngest crowd, but still quite fun to see the foundation of learning established and how the program works. They did a "mock class" for the parents and it was really amazing to see kids so excited about a "board game."

We attended with Team Brown who saved the day by bringing their chess sets (which we forgot of course!) and shared so kindly!  Lots of junk food, sugar and wild wees!

 Dr Brooks brought his three very well behaved dogs

 Catherine Ellis and her Coach Kelly watching the pups

 Caroline and the pups

 Caroline watching sissy 

 Tucker and the snack queen and king

 Catherine Ellis participating in "Dr. Brooks Says" aka "Simon Says"

 Richmond and CE setting up the chess board

 The time keepers

 Coach Kelly helping Catherine Ellis and Richmond make a play

Look how excited she was...

Hitting the time clock

 Richmond making a move

 Intense thinking

They ended the tournaparty with a song and dance they do at the end of each class - they call themselves "Little Geniuses":

And nothing is complete without lunch at Otey's - these two are big buds!  A great day learning about chess and spending time with great friends.

Caroline and Stephen

Merry Christmas!

For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given: the government will be upon His shoulder.  And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 

Isaiah 9:6

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!  May you have the most joyous time with your family, friends and loved ones!

Love,
David, Megann, Catherine Ellis, Caroline, Cain and Emma

Nutcracker

Last weekend I took the girls to their first performance of the Nutcracker by the Alabama Ballet.  We were joined by sweet friends for a girl's afternoon out.  We had such a good time! Caroline ended up joining us because David wasn't back from duck hunting yet and overall she did great - she acted like a two-year old and was just as wild as most two year olds are!  

She made it almost all the way through the two hour performance except for the last fifteen minutes when I'd had about all I could take of her roaming the aisles.  This mama still has a long way to go in terms of patience - but we were able to make our exit (read she was screaming no as I walked from row S in the middle front section to the back) and calm down and make it back in time for the finale. Whew!

Catherine Ellis is the perfect age for the Nutcracker - she loved being with her sweet friends and spending time with Coco.  She was mesmerized by the ballet and has talked about it for days now. We are already looking forward to the Nutcracker again next year! What a fun tradition with friends!

 Catherine Ellis and Madeline

 Caroline enjoyed the dessert bar

 Coco, Reagan, Lilly Kate and Catherine Ellis

Me and Anne Carter - one of Catherine Ellis's sweet Pre-K friends

 Me and a very excited Catherine Ellis

Two nutcracker ornaments for their Christmas trees

 Sweet friends and the Sugar Plum Fairies

 The Sugar Plum Fairies dancing in the snow

The girls with the Sugar Plum Fairies - Caroline was a bit unsure - can you tell?