Ok, so I know it is March and WAY after Christmas but I need to at least recap the highlights of this past Christmas and a few winter activities as well.
As is a typical Christmas tradition, we did lots of baking during the holidays.
And there were lots of random pictures since she dressed up so cute a lot of the time.
And, we had to have the obligatory "Humphrey" picture. She has had her picture made with this bear every Christmas since she was born. He has 2007 written on his foot.
And of course there were pictures with Santa.
Right before Caleigh's pre-school got out for their winter break, they held a Christmas program for the parents and families. They were told to dress in white shirts and jeans. When they marched in each child was wearing an angel t-shirt made with their handprints to look like them! How awesome! Caleigh was the VERY LAST child to enter but that meant she was on the front row and I got to see her very well!
Singing her heart out!
When the music started I was not prepared for the "singing." It was more of a "screaming" and I don't think I really understood a word of what they said. But, ironically, just like every other parent and grandparent in there, I loved it. But, I can see how you would have to really love a kid that was "singing" in order to have enjoyed that performance!
Mish and her husband have a large vehicle and one night they decided to take the girls to see the lights at Atlanta Motor Speedway. We piled in and headed through the millions of lights that were so beautifully displayed!
Our pictures can't do them justice!
A few days before Christmas we celebrated with Caleigh's PeePaw and Patti at their home in Snellville. We enjoyed great bbq and were pleasantly surprised that they made some chicken nuggets just for Caleigh. We celebrated with extended family at the beginning of the evening and with them and one of Caleigh's aunts and one of her uncles later in the evening. It was a pretty relaxed evening and Caleigh spent the latter part of it singing, dancing, jumping, and just generally trying to show off.
The next celebration was again in Snellville but this time with Caleigh's Nanny and Big Bob. Caleigh is currently their only great-grandchild so her pile of presents from them was just about as big as she is. Next year she will have a cousin on this side of the family to share all those presents with. We ate a dinner of baked spaghetti and salad. Caleigh chowed down. Spaghetti is a favorite of hers.
Christmas Eve brought us to my parents' house with my siblings and their families. Caleigh currently has two cousins on this side of the family and yes, they are all girls. (And we now know that the new cousin on the other side is a girl as well!) This was a day of naps and lots of baked goodies and delicious food. The girls were all hyped up on Christmas for sure. There was lots of attempts at picture taking and lots of not so great pictures.
Trying to get three small kids to look in the same direction at the same time is harder than it sounds. There were presents galore for everyone. Mish and her husband decided to get all of the girls a trampoline for Christmas to be left at Granny and Granddaddy's house! (Well, it's March and it is still in the box. This is torturing Caleigh! LOL!)
When we came home on Christmas Eve, we celebrated our time together as a family.
We exchanged presents with each other. We coated our lawn with reindeer food so we would be sure not to be missed by Santa Clause.
We put out cookies and chocolate milk for Santa. Caleigh said Santa liked chocolate in his milk just like her!
We said our goodbyes to our elf, Roger. (See previous post) We donned our new pajamas, read Caleigh The Christmas Story, said our prayers, and snuggled in for evening.
Christmas morning brought such fun! We awoke to the smells of fresh coffee and a breakfast casserole in the slow cooker. Cinnamon rolls were promptly placed in the oven and a beautiful aroma filled the house. Caleigh was so excited to see what Santa had brought!
She was still somewhat sad that Roger had left. We spent the morning in our pajamas playing with Santa's presents and eating delicious foods. We had plenty of visitors stop by to see us. My parents, Chad's mom and her parents, and Mish and her husband all came over to visit with Caleigh and help her play with her new toys.
Christmas evening was spent at Chad's sister's new home along with Nonnie. We enjoyed a breakfast feast for dinner that night. Pancakes, eggs, bacon, biscuits, gravy, etc. There were lots of presents to exchange once again and Caleigh got even more great stuff! Nonnie and Chad's sister both own dogs and Chad is allergic to them so he took a Benedryl before we went and then he ended up sleeping through most of the evening. Caleigh was on Christmas overload and ended up throwing up all night. The three of us were a sad looking family on Christmas night for sure.
On the drive home, Caleigh got sick again. We had taken a box and trash bag with us when we left and told her to let us know if we needed to stop. She was holding the box with the bag in it and then threw it to the side and proceeded to get sick all over herself and the car! She said that the bag made her sick (turns out that it was a Febreeze scented bag). We had not even a napkin to clean her up with. So, I looked around at where we were and decided to knock on the door of the nearest house and ask for some napkins or paper towels. Normally, I would never do such a thing but I felt it was a dire situation. There were no businesses open so it wasn't like I could just run into a McDonald's or someplace! I chose the house that had the most Christmas decorations and lights on for almost 10:00pm on Christmas night. I had no idea what to expect when I rang the doorbell but much to my relief, an elderly woman answered the door and was happy to hand me an entire roll of paper towels. I was very, very grateful for her hospitality. While cleaning her up on the side of the cold road, the woman's grown son came out with a few Wal-Mart bags, and some water for us. God was really helping us out at that moment. That's all I can say. We were able to get her out of her clothes and she rode the rest of the way home sitting on a Wal-Mart bag wearing only a coat and sitting under a blanket while my Benedryl induced coma husband struggled to keep himself awake.
Once we were home and had showered, scoured, steam cleaned, and laundered everything and all of us, we collapsed into our beds and hoped for a good nights sleep.
Chad fully succumbed to the Benedryl effects and Caleigh spent the rest of the evening between the bathroom and the bed. By morning she and I were exhausted and we had no more clean sheets for her bed. Lucky for me, Caleigh's 4 year old check up was scheduled for the week after Christmas so I could address the stomach issues at that time. She was so excited to be 42 inches tall and 53 lbs. Such the big girl!
Christmas was over. Caleigh's Christmas overload (and I don't mean overload with just food, I mean the combination of food, excitement, anxiety, and the pressure to be good) could finally die down. The toys could be played with leisurely. The decorations could start to make their way down and back into the attic. We could relax a bit. The "holiday hullabaloo" could cease until next year.
The new year approached and we spent New Year's Eve with my family. We ate dinner with my parents
and then we rang in the new year at Mish's house. Caleigh stayed awake until the clock struck midnight for the first time in her short life. She was so excited. We let her hold a sparkler while the guys lit some small fireworks.
When a spark hit her hand, she dropped the sparkler on the porch step and caught it on fire. Typical Caleigh fashion!
A few weeks later, we went ice skating at Centennial Olympic Park in downtown Atlanta. Mish's husband had gotten some tickets and we picked Mish up from work one day and headed to his office. We got in a golf cart and headed through downtown to the park.
It was very cold and very fun! When we got to the ice rink, it was closed. They had had a malfunction and they were waiting on the ice to refreeze. So, we headed to the CNN center and ate some dinner. Then, we went back to the rink and Mish, Chad, Caleigh and I laced up.
Caleigh threw her typical "I'm too scared" fit and then had Chad shuttle her around the ice while she dug her blades into it. Chad had a bad back for the next few days but Caleigh had an awesome new memory!
So there is the winter run-down. Had a blogged the way I wanted to, I am sure there would have been many more details that I would have been able to add/remember. But with things being so busy, I guess I should be thankful that I remembered as much as I did now and it is only/already March!
