Christmas Photo Shoot Bloopers

A slow camera and a wiggle-worm little girl who was about to hit bedtime made for some silliness during mom and dad's attempt to get a picture in front of the tree!

Practicing hand stands.

Langley decides to throw herself off the chair over and over as i take each picture.  Nice feet.

 Telling us an exciting story about racoons running around the house?

 Time for the pull out the bow trick.

 Mom, how's this?

TA-DA!

Get ready Langley, because this was only round one!  Christmas isn't even here yet!  Lots more pictures to be taken.  :)

A fun few days with Grandma Susan!

Langley loved having Grandma Susan pop in for a couple days!  She was a big help in getting ready for baby boy to arrive!

Santa Langley entertained herself grocery shopping while Grandma was busy sewing one morning.

 Grandma got to join Langley at her school Christmas party!

She was so excited to have Mommy and Grandma in her class.

 Langley got to show Grandma her present and crafts she made. 

Greg and I even got a night out for his squadron's Christmas party!  We can't forget the annual plaid Christmas pants.  I told Greg he will be wearing these same pants when he is 75!  Must document them every year!  :)   Now he is really after his mom to knit him an ugly Christmas sweater.

Two weeks in counting!  I wonder if this little mover will hold off until after Christmas?!

Thanks mom for the nice visit and all your help!  So glad we'll see you again in a few days!

Oh Christmas Tree!

 Langley loved helping with the tree.  The decorating never ends around here.  Always taking her favorites on and off!

"Mom, there is glitter on our tree!"

Having Greg home for Christmas this year made the whole tree project much easier.  Yay!  Last year I had the 'leaning tree of Pisa' heading toward our flat screen TV.  Love how peaceful it is to sit by the tree at night.  Makes it all worth it!

A Day of Christmas fun!

One Saturday Langley and I Christmas party hopped!  Unfortunately Daddy was home sick trying to get better!  We started early with a pancake breakfast with Santa Claus.  Here Langley is checking Santa out from across the room.  She was all ready to be brave, talk to him, and sit in his lap today.  

He talked with every child at the breakfast.  When Santa arrived Langley told him she wanted a "bunny", but decided later on that she meant to say purple princesses and tu-tu.  Its hard to be on your toes when Santa arrives!  :)

 Then we were on our way to the Squadron children's christmas party!

 Mommy was a volunteer face painter, so she got to practice on me with a Reindeer!  Not too bad....Goodluck!

This Santa guy sure makes his rounds!  I got my second chance with him, and I told him all about princesses this time!  

 What a fun party!  I loved all the crafts, cookie decorating, bounce houses, and bubble wrap stomping.  We even made reindeer food to sprinkle on the front lawn Christmas eve.

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The Arnold's joined us again a few more days before taking off back to California.  Thought I'd throw a couple shots in from their final days with us.  

 Langley adores her Aunt Cindy!  They got LOADS of playing time in.  Langley was excited to show Cindy her church playground.  And loved practicing on the tricycle with her.

Here is a pic with the girls on our shopping day!  

So glad you'll made it home safe!  Start checking flights to come again soon... doesn't look like we are going anywhere for awhile!  :)

The Great Uncle Todd!

As the Arnold's headed down south for a few days, my brother stopped in for a visit.  Langley was thrilled to have Uncle Todd arrive.  She loved playing with him and showing him all her toys.

 Uncle Todd, via Grandma Susan, brought a new tradition into our house...Elf on the Shelf!  I had heard about this little guy from some friends, so now we are having fun finding him each day in a special spot.  Langley is always saying, "he's watching me, mommy!"

Back to the beach!   Not as warm today, but really refreshing. The birds were everywhere this afternoon!

 We spent the day in St. Augustine and checked out the historic Castillo San Marco.

Thanks Uncle Tido for all the good times and for making me laugh so much!  So glad Christmas is coming soon and you will be back to see me!

Spending our days with our Guests!

We have had a great time visiting with Deanna, Norm, and Cindy.  They have come and gone to our house, as they did some traveling in south Florida for a little while too, so it kind of feels like they are neighbors right now.  We will miss them dropping in!

They love to explore and have kept us very busy!  

We had a great 'all-the-animals-out day' at the Jacksonville zoo!

Neat shot of the baby nursing her momma.  The zookeeper said they had been waiting for days for this moment.     

We took a walk at our favorite beach spot and looked for shells. 

I forget how lucky we are to be walking the beach in December with beautiful weather!

Looking back at my pictures, almost every one was of this little tush in the air!  :)

Love this picture of all of our mouths full.  We were enjoying leftover turkey sandwiches the day after Thanksgiving...my absolute favorite!

Also on a ferry headed to Cumberland National Seashore off St. Mary's, Georgia.  

Such a beautiful, unique spot.  No cars are allowed, so very pristine with lots of history.  And great camping and trails.  Want to go back!

Langley loved the roaming Armadillas...

and wild horses.

Spent a cold night bundled up in downtown Jacksonville for the Christmas boat parade!

The boats were lovely and all, but what really made all the waiting in the cold(at least for Californians!)worth it were the fireworks at the end.  By far the BEST any of us have ever seen!  Who'd a thought here in Jacksonville at Christmas?  :)  Kind of reminded me of Boomsday in K-town for you Tennesseans.

We love you Grandma Deanna, Grandpa Norm, and Aunt Cindy!  I had the best time playing with you all!  Come back soon to meet my baby brother!

My next guest was my Uncle 'Tido'... more to come on that soon!