Christmas and New Year's 2009

Hello, all! Just a few pics from our holidays! We stayed home for most of it this year! We put up a tiny, pre-lit, almost Phoebe-proof tree this year! We had sold our 7-foot, pre-lit, Home Depot after-Christmas special at a yard sale in 2008. After 4 years of having to put extra lights on it due to a whole section of lights being burnt out, I had had enough!!!! And last Christmas, we got a real one, which was ideal for a newborn and 3-year-old, but not so this year! As you can see, we opted for the 4 ft on a table! These "in front of the tree" photos crack me up! We couldn't get a good one of the girls together, because Phoebe would scream every time Abby came near enough to touch her chair, which she wanted to rock in constantly. I guess she thought Abby would interfere with the rocking!

Here was the best one...

Here's what most of them looked like...

Notice she's perfectly happy by herself!

The best one of all of us--timers are a wonderful thing!

Phoebe is all about the sunglasses!

Our mantle with Phoebe's new Nana-made stocking to match the rest! The Santa in the middle was carved by Josh's dad and given to us as a gift a few years ago!

Christmas Eve at Ben and Marleina's! We had appetizers for dinner! Spinach dip, sausage balls, cheese dip, white chocolate chex mix, snickerdoodles, magic cookie bars and a homemade cheese ball with crackers!! YUMMM! New Christmas jammies and a CRAZY Kendal face!!!

Christmas Morning! Phoebe on her new turtle toy. Her legs are too short to reach the floor at the same time, so this is how she sits on it for the time being...

Abby loved her new baby with car seat, stroller and baby hospital bed with doctor set. She was feeding "Sam" here. Doesn't she look so grown up?

The "spread"...Candy cane face...
...this time blueberry...
Abby's first ride on her big girl bike--unfortunately, even with training wheels, she fell within 2 minutes--aye aye aye...
New Year's was spent with Nana and Poppy in Travelers Rest...we had more appetizers and pretty much had to wake ourselves up to watch the ball drop...Dick Clark's Rockin New Year's Eve just could not keep our attention this year!!! I didn't take many pictures, but Phoebe had climbed up into the rocking chair and this reminded me of that skit on Sesame Street? with Lily Tomlin playing a little girl (Edith Ann) in a HUGE rocking chair...all she needs is to dangle her legs off the front and grow a bob with straight bangs...(here's a link if you want to see what I'm talking about http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocBO0fr1Ui4 ) In fact, I can see Phoebe making a similar sandwich in a few years...
Poor Phoebe promptly joined us in sickness just before we went home. Abby and I started the congestion the Saturday before Christmas and Josh joined us a few days later. By the time New Year's came around, Abby was over the worst, but Josh and I had sinus infections and Phoebe ended up with the croup...You can see in her eyes that she was a sicky, but she can still pull out a smile like this anytime...
So I'll send you off with that smile and say HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! How about let's actually fulfill some of our New Year's goals this year? I want to run a 5k--I know it sounds a little lame, but that would be a MIRACLE for me and hopefully I will get some of this weight off in the process. And I also want to record a CD--will I actually do it this year? Tune in for updates!!!!

I saw this on my friend, Katie's Facebook page and needed it GREATLY! Just wanted to share...

"The only way to get through life is to laugh your way through it. You either have to laugh or cry. I prefer to laugh. Crying gives me a headache."

-Marjorie Pay Hinckley (she was AWESOME!)

I need to have this figuratively tattooed on my brain! I know I don't laugh enough and boy, my life would be a LOT less stressful if I would! So join me in promising that 2010 will be a year filled with more laughter and joy and less grumpiness and "bah-humbug"-ness!!!!

Christmas Card 2009

I LOVE my "in-laws"...Thanksgiving, continued...

The word "in-law" has a negative connotation with most people, but certainly not with me! I LOVE my in-laws like I was born into their family! This Thanksgiving was spent with tons of Axelson in-laws, not only for Turkey Day, but for Nanny and Da Axelson's 60th Anniversary celebration! We spent Thanksgiving morning baking and cooking at Heidi and Aarron's house (The men actually contributed GREATLY! Thanks hubbies!), before joining the whole crowd for a late Turkey Dinner at the Axelson homestead!

Alison, making her famous banana cream pies...YUM...

Heidi and Josh makin' the rolls...

I don't have any pics of the actual dinner, but we stayed in the local Hampton Inn that night and got ready the next morning to take family pictures...always a blast! I had made matching shirts for the girls and me, so we were the "maroon" part of the family...

Here's one of them getting ready! As you can see, Phoebe was pleased as punch to be held tightly around the neck by her big sis, but she sure looked cute with her miniature pig tails!!!

Pictures were made at Furman University. Such a beautiful campus and a lovely lake area!!! Abby looked so grown up posing for me!

And Sweet Phoebe is definitely a daddy's girl!

I took this one! It's obviously not the best, but I couldn't resist Will's pose (all the way to the right!)

This picture just cracks me up! I have no idea what Josh was laughing at, but I love Dad's expression, Mom's squinty smile and the tilt of Alison's head!!! So cute! Just such a happy picture!

I wanted to put one of the whole gang on, but I think the file is way too large! Maybe I'll try again when I'm patient enough to wait. Aren't families great?

And one of those pics became our Christmas card!!!! Merry Belated Christmas everyone!!! More to come...

Grove Park Inn Gingerbread Competition

Thanksgiving was so fantastic this year!!! We started out the fun with a trip to Asheville, where we visited the annual Gingerbread House Competition at the Grove Park Inn. Our nieces, Madilyn and Zoie, decided to enter a gingerbread house in the youth category this year and their theme was "Goldilocks and the Three Bears...Share Christmas". They were so creative and ended up getting in the Top Ten! Their house was also first on display in their category, and we laughed when we saw how every viewer of their house held up the long line trying to catch every little detail they put into it! It was so fun and the inn was BEAUTIFUL!

Award-Winning gingerbread house!!!



...The beautiful grounds

The whole gang

Old-fashioned phone "booths"

Abby LOVED the phones!

All tuckered out!

Sweet Phoebe

Cool tree bench!

It was a long, but very fun day in a gorgeous place!! Congrats, Madi and Zoie!

Just to compare...

Beautiful Fall?...Summer end?...Fall?...Whatever!

This past week and a half, we have had some absolutely beautiful weather in Flo-town! One day, it was just too beautiful to stay inside...I said to Abby, "Let's go outside and enjoy this weather!" She looked at me like, "Mom are you for real?", probably because my normal reaction to going outside is that I have too much to do and don't feel like it! (Sarcastically speaking, I am SUCH a good mom, huh?)

Here's our little monkey, swinging on the tree!

Abby's picture of me reading on a blanket with Phoebe attached at my hip...literally!

My view looking straight up...

And here's sweet sweet Phoebe Jane...

Sweet, cute girls...

We were outside for the better part of two hours! One step into the backyard for many moms...one LEAP for Erin! If we had more days like THAT, I'd be out there WAY more often!