Getting Ready for Christmas

Chris and I put up the Christmas tree after Thanksgiving. The girls hung out at DeeDee's house so that we could get out all the ornaments and sort out the breakable ones. The breakable ornaments went in a box in the basement and only non-glass ornaments went on the tree this year. 

When we brought the girls home from DeeDee's, we had them come in the front door so they could walk in and see the tree right away. It was pretty fun to see their reactions to the lit and decorated tree. We started out with a "one finger poke" rule, telling the girls that they needed to be very gentle with the ornaments.

There were lots of "oooos" as the girls gazed in awe at the pretty tree.

 

 

The next day, Chris took advantage of the nice weather and put up the outside lights. Addie and I went out to watch while Emily napped.

The look on her face here just cracks me up

Woo hoo! Christmas lights!

That evening, the sky lit up with a beautiful sunset, and when I went out on the porch to take pictures, the girls came out with me and immediately climbed down into the yard to admire the tree up close.

Coming downstairs each morning brought "ooooo!!!s" from the girls when they saw the tree. If I hadn't turned on the lights yet, they would point to the light switch and say "light," requesting that I turn on the beautiful sparkling lights.

Addie crosses her arms in restraint after being reminded about the "one finger" rule

Emily is transfixed by the lights

As the days went by, the girls became a bit more bold with the tree, and if Chris or I weren't in the room with them, they often forgot about the "one finger" rule and began grabbing ornaments off the tree. They would come marching into the kitchen, treasure in hand, proudly offering up an ornament for mom to put back on the tree. After putting the same ornament back on the bottom of the tree multiple times, I began putting ornaments back on the tree closer to the top.

 

Our neighbors across the street had some great lights in their front yard, which the girls enjoyed peeking at through the window.

 

After being up for a month, most of the ornaments had migrated up, leaving the tree a bit top heavy.

Drummin'

When we were in Ghana in 2008, I was amazed by the huge selection of hand-died batik fabrics. There were tons of fabric booths in the outdoor markets, and many of them had a seamstress on site. I had these little outfits made for our future children, and the girls are just the right size to fit into them now. 

These drums are also from Ghana, and after seeing how much fun the girls had playing bongos over at DeeDee's house, we brought our drums up from the basement for some drum fun!

 

 

 

 

Thanksgiving 2012

The Nicolls celebrated Thanksgiving the Saturday before the holiday at DeeDee's house. As the family grows, the traditions change a bit. This year, we didn't all sit around one big table together for hours on end as we did before little ones began arriving. We ate in shifts and had conversations in smaller groups. While the way we ate was a little different, the food was as delicious as ever, and seeing all the family was as special as ever.

When we first arrived, Addison made a be-line for little Annalea.

 

Hugs!

Tim, Bodhi, and Jyoti

Dylan, Annalea, Britney, and Callie

Rafael and Christa

Jake and Michelle

Addie loves Aunt Britney's dip!

Angela and Bodhi

Palte Fam

Grandma and Mom

Enjoying Thanksgiving Dinner

Yum!

Marsha and Bob

Bodhi is one happy little guy!

Annalea the thumbsucker

 On Thanksgiving Day, we headed over to Aunt Dale and Uncle Jack's house, aka The Homestead, to have our second Thanksgiving dinner.

All dressed up and ready to go!

Happy Girls!

Love this smile!

 Growing up in the Hicks family, we cousins have fond memories of the kids' table at Grandma and Grandpa's. We sat around the kitchen table, playing with candle wax and telling fart jokes, far out of earshot of the adults set up in the dining room. This year, Aunt Dale re-instated the kids' table, set up within reach of the adults for now.

Second Cousins' Kids' Table

Emily and Addison are loving all the food!

Annalea tries some after dinner skateboarding

Aunt Dale and Uncle Jack bought Grandma and Grandpa Hicks' house when they moved to Windsor Gardens. Whenever we go back to the old Homestead for holidays, it brings back such great childhood memories. I have many fun (and itchy) memories from the old barn. Grandma and Grandpa had horses, and I loved going in to feed and pet them. The smell of hay and dust, the warm light coming in through the cracks in the walls, and the sound of stomping horse feet surrounded me as I'd climb up to the hay loft to help Grandpa toss lunch down to Elsie and Bucky, Clownie and Quinny. 

 

Hicks Fam

The Palte Fam (real classy, Em!)

Cute Cousins!

While the kids played, I spent a few minutes taking pictures of the now empty horse corrals.