So This is Christmas

Last year Abby was pretty much oblivious to the Christmas celebrations. This year she took it all in and it seemed to be a practice run for next season.  A few of the highlights Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. . .

Christmas Eve at Uncle Marc's and Aunt Diane's.  They have such gorgeous trees.  Yes, plural.  There are three.  The house is a Winter Wonderland.  Santa came to visit, and this time Abby was sociable.  She had her Daddy near by, of course.

Christmas morning.  Pine needle in the hair.  No clue what to do with the rain stick.

Somebody got a blue tutu.

Later that day at Nana and Pop's.  The pink car.

Elmo hat, Elmo doll, Elmo book. 

"Bye, Mom and Dad.  I'm out of here!"

 

Christmas Festivities

We brought Abby to a local restaurant where Santa made an appearance.  I tried to capture a good Santa picture, but Abigail Grace would have nothing of it.  She's wary enough now to avoid large, strange, hairy men with incessant smiles, giving away candy.  Smart girl.

After the minor Sanata debacle, Nana and Pop drove Abby to a live nativity with sheep. goats and a camel!  I think we all redeemed ourselves.

Christmas Trees

Abby's holiday vocabulary includes:

bells
Santa
snowman
Frosty
snow
present and

Christmas tree.

She's had a lot of experience with Christmas trees lately.  First, there was the painted gumdrop tree.  Nana helped with the painting.

Then Abby painted salt dough ornaments for her mini tree in the playroom. She was assisted by her buddy Katelynn.  (Katelynn is technically an adult, in case you're wondering.)  When I went to check on their progress, this is what I found.

And, of course, we had the hunt for our big Christmas tree.

Cooking

One of Abby's favorite past times is cooking in the kitchen with Mommy and Daddy.  Her fabulous friend Katelynn built her this amazing "learning tower." It's really just a fancy stool, but if you try to get one new online it will set you back a couple hundred bucks.  Katelynn built Abby's out of scrap wood and didn't charge us a dime.  She's our hero.

Abby uses the tower nearly every day, often to play in the sink.  But here are few shots of Abby making homemade pasta with Greg and "making cookies" while I was cooking who knows what.

Yes, both the husband and the child were wearing long-sleeve collared polo shirts.  Preps.

Party Girl

Tis the season of two-year olds.  Abby had a blast at her friend Fiona's birthday party.  Of course, she had to wear her blue sequin shoes.  

Thank you, Fiona!

Golden Girl

Remember Sophia from The Golden Girls?

Travelocity Gnome

Abby thoroughly enjoyed her Halloween adventures this year.  She wore her costume to Sesame Place for the Count's Spooktacular Halloween and she was so excited trick-or-treating that she jumped up and down shouting "Ribbit!  Ribbit!  Frog!  Ribbit!"  Impersonating a frog is her version of a happy dance.

Beardless gnome.  Abby wanted no part in the white fun-fur beard I crafted with my trusty glue gun.

Gnome on the run.

Abby agreed to a quick eyeliner beard for trick-or-treating.

Going out with the big kids. 

 Oh, of course, the little stuffed cat had to come too.

 Our friend Caitlin made Abby pose in a stranger's garden.

Hmm. . .Is that a long-lost relative in the background?!