Please read the fine print...

                                            she said, "the plate that is blue is for the reindeer"
Tessa did this because Amelia mentioned the reindeer might be tired and hungry and would like cookies too.
                                         

 the shortest one in our family found the crumbs first



sooo, i can get into one of these cuties without my moms help...sweet. who cares if a sticker hangs on my chin for an hour.

this IS the most wonderful time of the year! i never understood the word addiction until my mom fed me my first sugar cookie!

now i'm on the run before someone takes a cookie out of my hand!

Merry Christmas!

because this is the only christmas greeting I can pull together....it has nothing to do with gaining 30 pounds before even  graduating to the 3rd trimester. Really. I'm quite sure.

Finally her Birthday came!

Eliza turned 9 years old & every year she says it will snow on her birthday but we haven't had snow since before thanksgiving and sure enough she woke up to snow! It was snowing the morning she was born so I guess we have to stick with tradition.

 Thomas excitedly waves bye, bye to the girls every morning for about 5 minutes...he doesn't care that they are long gone.

 

these girls love to celebrate, especially when it's for one of their own

 I asked her over and over...are you sure you don't want a cake? "nope, just my favorite cookies...frosted molasses cookies"

Eliza was so meant to be the oldest in our family & even has a bond with my sister Deb (the eldest :) they have a love for Pigs, piggies, piglets etc. they don't like change very well, they both really appreciate their alone time, and they also appreciate the old classics in life (Liza likes listening to the Kit Kittredge soundtrack & thinks it would be cool to have a really old typewriter that works)

She sweetens our lives and we love her to pieces!!!

               May all your wishes come true.

Family Food Holiday or Thanksgiving

 
 Look who was in charge of the Turkey...
the husband & wife team took their job very seriously, new rubber mitts, new $20 thermometer that cooked Mr T just right. I don't like turkey meat but this one was gooood.

 

                                           Mom & Dave

 

My two oldest siblings doing their signature pose (that's what happens when mojitos are served)

 Jody, Bryn, Deb & James pretending to work in the kitchen

 Amelia looks lost in the shuffle but I assure you...she was not forgotten, I'm pretty sure I fed her

 

My niece Chanel came & I can't call her little anymore b/c she is now 25...so crazy!

 Talk about some serious eating going on here

then it was time for a new family tradition...Pin the feather on the Turkey! Write what you're grateful for on the feather, read it, pin it, and hope for the grand prize which was a See's Chocolate Santa. Yes, even the adults took this one serious.

 Chanel with a few of  her girly little cousins (liza is not sure how to smile w/o those front teeth)

 Really, no child was allowed to pout at Grandma's house and how could you with a candy table staring at you all weekend!

what to do when you're done eating leftovers?

Make Saturday donuts of course! They were the yummiest cake donuts & James agreed b/c he kept asking me if I wanted a donut maker for Christmas...thanks a lot Jody, just what I need right now are endless donuts. well, maybe I do.

ws

Before we knew it we were back on the Extraterrestrial Highway (literally)

they even have an Alien museum b/c it's that scary if you were to break down...nothin' for miles & miles.

Thomas thought it was pretty cool & said 'spoooky'
(not really b/c all he can say is oof, oof and wow)