December happenings

Oh my, it's been a busy month! We started by going to see the show Chicago (I think season tickets to the Broadway shows that come to town should be my anniversary present every year). It was really good. The guys thought it was great because there was very little fabric on most of the women.
My friend Kristin had her twin babies on the 4th! A boy - Alec, and a girl - Addison! They are absolutely precious and still so tiny - I've held Addison twice now and got to hold both of them on Friday (19th). Kristin took pictures so I'll post them eventually. They are definitely growing already but it is so fun to hold a little one that doesn't kick and squirm!
Beca had Payton come hang out for a few hours at the beginning of the month and we played lots of dress-up and made cookies. Both just had to lick the mixer wand:

That first weekend, we also made ornaments at Oma's house. We have several albino reindeer.

And I took pictures of my friend Jenny one month before the due date of her first baby. It will be a boy and I can't wait to meet him!
I spent almost the entire second week in December in doctor's appointments for my jaw. I finally got a lower jaw splint that was developed using technology rather than guess and check - we'll see how that turns out. It was an interesting week as Mrs. Santa also attempted to figure out where all the presents had gone over the last few months. We had a visit from my grandparents and went to see A Christmas Carol. For those that are not from here, this production is amazing and is in it's 34th year! The man that plays Scrooge has for years and it just gets more amusing as they throw in little current happenings. I still love it and can't wait to take Beca next year.

The second weekend of the month, Beca and I went with my mom to Virginia Beach to visit my cousin Missy and her boys Noah (Beca's age) and David (the amazingly charming but devious 19 month old). And when you get to the Santa thing at the mall and they are closing to feed the non-existent reindeer for an hour, this is how Oma entertains 3-year olds (thank goodness for a full purse of junk!):Getting closer to Santa... (inside the snow globe with some snow-like substance)
Beca's bravery with Santa inspired Noah to sit on his lap as well. Beca asked Santa for a Princess Bike and White Christmas (the movie). Luckily, while we were gone, Santa's big elf was assembling the bike.
The children were dropped in a bath tub in the evening together so hey, why not some pictures of that too!We also made cookies and opened presents while we were there!
A "nap" with Aunt Jill and the poodle party (Bridgette, Joie, and the "mini Zoe", I mean, Laci)
Dressed for mixing (Missy uses sleeveless hoodies as aprons - they zip up and don't come untied!)
Pouring in the flour (everyone was really careful and hardly spilled any of it!):
The finished cookies:

It was a really fun weekend and ended with a trip to Disney on Ice with Payton and Kate. All the girls were a little freaked out by some of the loud noises (especially during "Cars") but liked the rest. Especially the Ariel and Tinkerbell parts. It was a good show. And the 3 Musketeers had a good time.

And here we are in the third weekend of the month. Beca spent Friday night with Oma and Pop-pop while Steve and I went to a Christmas party with folks from work. We found a new favorite spot to eat and it is really good. It's called Humble Pie in downtown Raleigh. I had bites of tempura asparagus, fried green tomatoes, shrimp and grits (in "broth of the gods"), and a delicious dessert of cinnamon flan and something they tried to call sopopillas but they were more like little logs of fried dough. They were still good just not what I had grown accustomed to in New Mexico.
Saturday, Beca and I spent all day at Oma and Pop-pop's baking cookies. Payton, Kate and Elijah came to help paint the cookies and the girls exchanged presents and posed for pictures. They are still so cute together.


Pop-pop's magnolia Christmas tree:

Unfortunately, the night did not go as nicely. I am fighting a cold and Beca had really bad diarrhea. It seems to have stopped now that we are watching what she is eating but it sure kept us in the house for the day. 3 yogurt pops later (and we fed her other things) she's a much happier girl.

And thanks to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Beca gets great joy in asking Steve "Guess what?" and when he says "What?", she answers "Chicken Butt!!!" and giggles furiously! She even asks Zoe! Thankfully, only 2 days of work left for me and 2.5 for Steve. We can't wait for Christmas morning! (I wrote that Sunday but finally put the pictures on here Monday).