Happiness;)

 Yum turkey leg! Adele tasted each piece of food in the box;)

 Adele investigating the flameless candle I got from Nana. Anything that lights up gets her attention.

Thanks for my fancy bottle of wine Uncle Ry. Can't wait until I can enjoy it in a few months;)

Who knew cleaning supplies would generate so much excitement?

Santa Came!!!

 Examining the evidence. Sure enough. The reindeer ate the carrots and left one with a big bite taken out of it.

Look! Santa took my note and he left some cookie for me for breakfast! I'm so excited about this finding that I haven't noticed all the presents right behind me.

 Adele... doesn't even know what it is but it has a bow and wheels so I'm game!

"Just what I always never wanted," Veda exclaims. We knew what she meant;)

Twas the Night Before Sayre Xmas

Todd and I went to his P&G holiday party and left Nana, Bull and Uncle Ryan to prepare for Santa's arrival. Veda had so much fun cooking with Nana. They put carrots outside for the Reindeer and Xmas cookies out for Santa. Veda dictated a note to Nana to leave with the cookies. I should also mention that Nana and Bull made a point to come to town on Wednesday so they could also be present for Veda's holiday show. Veda was over the moon excited to have them there.

Decorating the Tree!

Nana came to the rescue and brought me boxes of ornaments from my childhood. This is the first tree Todd and I have had considering we've never been home for xmas so needless to say we are short on supplies. Both Didi and Nana made sure I had the original family stockings for the fireplace as well. I have all 13 hung with care;)

Winter Show at School "Winnie the Pooh"

Veda's class made up the honey bee cast in the winter show at school. She enjoyed practicing her honey dance over and over and over for us. The best part of the night was that Todd arrived home from China just minutes before we left so Veda was extra excited to perform.

Cuteness

Serious Work

Veda is has mastered the mouse which means she has mastered her NickJr games online. Don't try to interrupt  her or else!

Official Critic?

Veda has been to her 4th movie in a month. Uncle Ry took her to see Arthur Xmas and they snapped this photo in the lobby while they were waiting for me to pick them up. I asked Veda how she liked the movie and all she could talk about was the minature blue monkey that Ry won for her out of the vending machine.

Stinker

Someone decided she wanted to get in for another dip right after I had dried her off and put her jammies on. I think I'm going to need to put a gate around the tub...

Bad Taste

She won't eat what I make her for dinner but she will eat soap... go figure.

Overheard

Todd is in China for an entire week so Ry and I thought we could get away with putting onions in the soup we made. Would give the house a good 7 days to air out so Todd couldn't smell the evidence. As I was cutting onions and Veda supervised she said "ew they smell like toenails". Such a Daddy's girl.

Flying in Style

Todd sent this picture from the plane bound for Beijing. He felt bad because he is relaxing in business class while I'm home with the crazies. A thousand times over I would rather be home than travelling overseas on a plane right now. Being very pregnant makes me boring and happy to be at home!

Is this healthy?

Feeding on Veda's curiousity of all animals, dead and alive, Todd rigged this makeshift coffin for the dead bird we found in the yard the first day we were here with the kids. Veda enjoyed giving her bird rides around the neighborhood before we put him to rest in the garbage.

A River Run Through It

This would be our backyard today. I think they said we hit a record rainfall for the day... last time it rained this much was in the 1800's. This is a bad joke... it has been raining since we moved here.

Pizza Date with Dad

We met Dad for lunch today at Dewey's. The girls couldn't stop talking about how the guys made the pizza. Great entertainment while we waited for lunch.

Morning hugs for Uncle Ry

Newport Aquarium

We had to pick up uncle Ry in Kentucky this morning so we promised Veda an outing to the Aquarium. We weren't disappointed and we bought a season pass so we can go back as often as we'd like.

Overheard

I asked Veda if she liked the tree skirt. She said this tree is a boy, not a girl, it doesn't need a skirt.

Avoiding the Mall At All Costs

So I was reading the local paper's calendar of events and I found a Christmas Craft Fair benefiting the Children's Hospital. Santa was to arrive at 9:30a by firetruck and pictures with old man were free. Bingo I thought. When we showed up there was a line down the street of mostly 70 something women eager to raid the Christmas bakery and silent auction. Only a few kids in sight... I was worried that I was in trouble. Turns out none of them wanted their picture taken with Santa so we got plenty of time and takes... unfortunatley Adele never warmed up to the idea. She kept one eye on him most of the time... I think he smelled like beef and cheese.

Christmas Tree Expedition

Veda and Todd went with Papi, Owen and Uncle Chris to cut down thier Xmas Tree in Madison over Thanksgiving.