Our Own Merry Little Christmas

I got Halle out of bed at around 9:50 and she was reluctant to do so. It wasn't the idea of seeing presents from Santa under the tree that woke her up! Oh no! It was the promise of seeing Gabby & Papi and Mia & Gaddy. She was *oh so* sleepy and we had to unwrap most of her presents for her. We should have covered up her slide! She had virtually no interest in playing with anything else, except for a Barbie doll and her potty.

She's very fond of her potty. She didn't exactly sit down right away. We couldn't figure out what she was doing at first. Then it hit us: she was standing up. To pee.

The Alton Family Christmas

You have no idea how much we Fox/Altons cherish the Christmas morning brunch, specifically the sausage and egg casserole. Good lord. If there were ever a Christmas casserole shortage, I don't think we're above fighting for it. Before having Halle, it really bothered me that I had to be there so EARLY but every year I went. Some things are worth waking up early for, eh?

I'm kidding! I love spending Christmas morning with my family and seeing my Uncle Tom and Aunt Rae, my cousins Carrie and Laura, and my grandparents. Gabby and her Grandma-glue were at it again, and I think Halle was still sleepy and a little overwhelmed. She pointed to Papa a couple of times and waved and said "Nana-PApa-Nana-PA-pa" in that chanting way like she does.

Watching Halle and Nayeli interact fascinates me. Halle is used to being the baby around older kids at the park, so she gets this humored look around Nayeli, like it tickles her to be the older one. At one point in the video, Halle gets territorial and "claims" her Gabby.




Poor Rethsey! I mean, poor Aunt Boo! She jumps out and says Boo! at her, (she LOVES it!) and Halle points at her when she walks away and says "Uh.. Boo! Boo?" I think Aunt Boo might be in the lead, though.... *snicker*

As for the rest of my far-flung siblings, well, you just might have to come to town more often. ;)

The Dickerson Family Christmas

Halle, sitting on Claudia's lap, playing with Auntie Elizabeth (Aunt DeeDee for now). Brad's Uncle Karl and Aunt Claudia came in from Greenville and his sister, Elizabeth, came in from Charlotte. We had an absolute blast playing Wii games and an impossible trivia game. Impossible, and yet Karl kept winning! It's too bad that Karl & Claudia don't live in Greensboro. They're so much fun - especially when things start getting competitive! And by "things" I mean Karl & Karen.

Halle warmed up to Elizabeth after a little while and they had tea parties with Elmo on the stairs. Adorable! There's a second video of Halle playing football with Elizabeth (it's hilarious) that unfortunately is hard to see. For some reason, YouTube uploads my videos from my digital camera too darkly. Still, you can make some of it out or I can show you in person. The other video is about five minutes long.

Brad, the Kid's Comedy Machine

The Alton family Christmas party is something I always look forward to, despite the caffiene-free beverages. Watching the kids play and go crazy, catching up with my relatives over a feast of homemade dishes, and trading funny stories - what's not to like? It always makes me a little sad in a way, just because I realize that I don't get to see my extended family on a regular basis. One day I'll have a house big enough to hold family parties - and there will be wine! :)

I think my favorite part of the party this year was seeing Brad interact with my little cousins. Last year he bonded with my cousin Jacob (who has the most adorable lisp evaw) and explained to me that they're both (Jacob and himself) "sound effects men". This year, the song "Lady Madonna" by the Beatles came to mind, and the children were at his feet, cracking up. He kills with those kids! Here's a highlight:



Other photos from the party:

Merry (Belated) Christmas!

This Christmas season has kept us exceptionally busier this year, so I apologize for the lack of posts lately. However, "busier" isn't a bad thing - we've had an exceptionally happy Christmas this year! I have boatloads of photos, videos, and funny tidbits to post here. Tomorrow. I'm sorry to put it off like this but I swear not to disappoint - I have something like four or five new videos to put up alone!

In the mean time, I am looking ever so forward to the following events in my day today: lunch from The Mellow Mushroom, uploading & editing videos to my laptop at home, and bedtime. Oh, and spending time with my daughter! Last week was full of excitement for my little family and our gastrointestinal tracts and it's always a little bit difficult to be flung back into the day-to-day after the surreal holidays... but they're not over yet!

Brad's birthday is on it's way; my adorable, scrunch-smiled, cherub-cheeked niece Nayeli is in town, as well as my brother Richie and his wife, whom Halle now knows as "Aunt Boo" are too; my newlywed sister Robin and my brother-in-law, the new family chef, are all in town for a while longer. It's a full house but I think my parents are over the moon!

I want to thank my & Brad's families for making Christmas so special for all three of us this year. With any luck, Halle will be spoiled rotten in no time! Aside from the very generous gifts, we are so thankful to have spent so much time with you. We love you all!

Merry Christmas!

Baby It's Cold Outside

Snow? In Greensboro? It's not unheard of but hasn't happened in a while! Halle has been blown away by the whole experience. Every time we open the front door and look out at the blanket of ice & snow, Halle simply says, "Wow!!" She got a big kick out of watching Daddy & Gaddy throw snowballs today. New video at the bottom!
I love how the snow photos turned out. The delicate snowflakes positively glow!

Even though Halle was bewildered by the snow, she still kisses a snowball before Daddy aimed it. Aww!

New Family Photo

Brad, Rae & Halle at Rae's work Christmas party. What an incredibly FUN night!! I guess it's true that you can never get everybody looking in the right direction. Still a pretty good photo of all of us!

BAH-BEESE!

BAH-BEESE is how Halle pronounces Barbies, one of her sudden favorite toys. Who knew? Dolls have sort of bored her in the past and there I was, getting my hopes up for a spirited tomboy! We've had a tiny suitcase full of Barbies and Barbie clothes in her bedroom toybox for a long time and she's never really given them the time of day until.... until she played Barbies with Gabbie! So here she is, despite her little nose-cold, blissing out with her Barbies.





Halle watching Daddy play with Barbies. OOH! New Dada-ism = It's strange to hold these tiny attractive girl-dolls like this. Like I shouldn't be touching them.

Even Calla couldn't help herself!

New Photos, New Videos, and more!

Babies with Pets

Christmas Photos!

I couldn't choose a favorite, so you'll have to excuse me for shamelessly posting far more photos than necessary. If you're a mom, you already know that they're all my favorites. Especially this one: