a good comparison photo (or two)!
This is Little Sister.
And this is Baby Miss. Same swing and at nearly the same age (within just a couple of days). Definitely the same nose. Little Sister's hair was lighter and Baby Miss is like a similar, plumped up version of her older Sis.
in a one horse (or in our case, a two-horse) open sleigh, over the fields we go, laughing all the way, ha-ha-ha! That is what we were up to
the day after Christmas. We headed for the hills with J's family, 23 of us in all, to go sledding. We were transported to the sledding hill
via a horse-drawn sleigh. The ride was short but we all kept cozy warm by squishing together under heavy blankets. Upon
arriving, no time was wasted and we got to the business of sledding. The littles were a bit hesitant and piled on sleds with the older kids
(J's cousins who the Girl has adoringly referred to as 'her sisters' since before her own were born.)
As for Little Sister she was content to hang out with G'ma T. And Baby Miss stayed cozy and dry in the tent. Yep, I said tent. There were at
least half a dozen heavy-duty canvas wall tents set up with every group on the hill getting their own tent. Each tent boasted a wood stove complete with a kettle of water heating on top so cold sledders could come in, get toasty and enjoy a warm mug of cocoa. Unaware that the tents were heated, we bundled Baby Miss up in a gajillion layers until she was round and puffy like a little marshmallow. She was so warm that she
slept the entire day away being passed from one family member to the eagerly waiting arms of another. While outside the Girl and
Sweet Miss C worked on burying one of 'the Sisters' under a mound of snow.
Sweet C and her parents having some fun!
The Girl building a snowgirl angel with the big kids.
Love those rosy cheeks!
Late in the afternoon the snow started flying and Lil Sister was enjoying more G'ma time!
The Girl worked uo the nerve to take a solo trip down the hill.
Little Sister trying to bury Daddy's leg under snow, one plastic spoonful at a time.
There was a lot of this going on amongst the "adults" and I use that term loosely.
Auntie coaxed Little Sister into going on a spin down the hill.
"That wasn't so bad, was it?!"
The best part...the ride back to the top!
As the daylight faded sleds were packed up,
marshmallows were roasted and smores were made. It was a long, awesome day! Definitely makes the list of 'Must Do Again!'
Christmas morning didn't arrive early for us, the Girls like their sleep far too much and so we started our day at about the usual time.
Despite wanting nothing to do with Santa the night before, Little Sister loved the gift that he had brought her - a grey dress with
tulle ruffles at the bottom, in her words "a ballet dress" - so much so, that she insisted upon sleeping in it. The stockings
were filled with fun goodies like Veggie Tale movies, TicTacs...
and Squinkies.
Grandma D sent the Girls pillow pets and coincidentally they were the exact same ones that G'ma T had given the Girls last night. Funny thing is, G'ma T knew that was what they wanted, Grandma D didn't.
And through it all, the frenzy of wrapping paper being ripped off of packages and the enthusiastic shrieks of joy, this one slept.
Lil Sis expertly modeling her new shoes.
A twirling collision in their new ballet leotards.
And still more sleeping.
In fact, Baby Miss pretty much slept the entire day away.
Except when we got her dressed before heading to Christmas dinner with friends. The look on her face would suggest that she either doesn't like the outfit or she's disgruntled at having been woken up. And then there was...
this. J hates bonnets. So she wore this long enough for me to snap the pic (much to J's disapproval) and then it got taken off. Ha, ha!
We spent the afternoon and evening with J's family for their traditional Christmas Eve festivities. New this year was an appearance from the jolly ol' fella himself. His arrival was heralded by the jingling of bells at which point the Girl and her cousin, Sweet C, clambered up onto the chair for a glimpse out the window. As for Little Sister, once Santa came "Ho-ho-ho-ing" through the door she bolted into G'ma T's arms and was so hysterical that she had to be whisked off to another room. Of couse Santa came bearing gifts, Sweet C and the Girl both received a mega pack of Squinkies - apparently the hottest craze this season as evidenced by the bare wall and empty pegs when I stopped by Target last night. But of course Santa would have them in abundance for every good girl. The best part was to see Sweet C's eyes light up at the sight of Santa and her display of adoration for
him. After Santa left and once Little Sister had been reassured and was satisfied that he indeed was gone, it was time for more presents.
Papa Mo and G'ma T got the Girls pillow pets and cuddly blankets - Rapunzel for the Girl, Cinderella for Sweet C and Tinkerbell
for Lil Sis.
The Girls curled up on the floor in front of the tv with their pillow pets and blankets watching a Christmas movie.
This is our 4th year at The Nutcracker - mine and the Girl's. {The giant cookies at intermission are always a hit.} The past three years we've been joined
by friends and two years ago a three-month old Little Sister came along. But this year she went with Daddy to decorate cookies at Grandma's house. I'm sure she would've enjoyed it - at least the first 20 minutes or so before becoming restless and wanting to abandon her seat. Next year she'll join us once again and then it will be Baby Miss's turn to wait a few years. Aside from the performance and the cookies, the Girl and
Miss A like to pose for pictures and twirl on the stage and backdrop in the main foyer. Which they spend quite a bit of time doing...this year I think we were the very last people to leave.
This year they added playing in the water feature to their repertoire.
