Christmas: Part 2

Wow....I can't believe Christmas 2007 has not only come but has gone in a whirlwind of lights, ribbon and bright Christmas paper! This year was special for many reasons, it was our first "Texas Christmas", we had Logan with us and it's the first year that Olivia was very into Santa and presents! The month started with our ward Christmas party and I was very surprised that Olivia sat on Santa's lap. The biggest surprise of the month was Mark flying mom in for the weekend before Christmas! It took Olivia about 2 hours to warm up to her and then it was like no time had passed at all. For Christmas Olivia got a bike with a Princess helmet, a rocking horse that makes horse noises. She found the horse at midnight and I heard her find it, climb on and yell, oh a horse, my best friend, I love you and then proceed to play the noises. It was very cute!

Tiger bite

Olivia saw me looking at pictures of the tiger that attacked those people at the SF Zoo. She asked why was I looking at a tiger and I explained that this tiger bit some people. She didn't say anything and walked away but later she pointed out a scratch on her arm and called it her "tiger bite" and has repeated this story many times. When I'm checking for new injuries for the day, I ask, "where are the tiger bites" and Olivia points out all of her new "bites"

Christmas

We have been very busy this Christmas season. We found our beautiful tree at Home Depot and have it in our front window for all to see. The only other place I really decorated was the banister and our mantel. If I do say so myself, I'm really pleased with how the mantel turned out. I'm on the committee for the Relief Society's progressive dinner, I made 100 invitations and printed out music for caroling. I'm also making soup, I just don't know which one yet! Our ward is having "breakfast with Santa" this Saturday and I'm cooking a casserole for that and asked to help w/ decorating. This should be fun! Lisa invited me to her Bunko Christmas party and it was a lot of fun meeting her girlfriends and having a gift exchange. We still have 2 weeks until Christmas and who knows what is going to happen between now and then :)

Rock n' Roll

Olivia has music in her soul and here she's showing it by playing air guitar with a vacuum attachment.

Funny things Olivia does....

Olivia is a really funny kid and here are some of the few things she has done recently:

-tights on the head as a hat

-told me that she put a "band aid" on her leg, it was really Tomas's wrist guard

-put her toys into daddy's drawers in his office

-slept with her eyes open...creepy :)

Thanksgiving

For the first time ever, I hosted Thanksgiving. I enjoyed being the hostess and even more I got to experiment in the kitchen and broaden my cooking skills. We also had a full house, Logan and Cheryl's family were with us. We (I) cooked a great meal, ate lots of appetizers and satisfied our sweet tooth with wonderful sweet pies. I even got to use my china! So really, we just ate all day long! After dinner we played games and watched TV.

Menu:
ham (yummy)
creamy garlic mashed potatoes (really yummy)
Brussels sprouts sauteed with onion and bacon (better then it sounds)
roasted green beans and carrots with a balsamic reduction (really yummy)
Home made Honey Cinnamon applesauce (for the ham of course)
cranberry jello salad (ok yummy)

*side note: I made the best ever Sheppard's pie with the left over potatoes and roasted vegetables.

The next day, we all went to the Ft Worth Zoo and did some shopping later in the evening.