Em wanted to get "fancy" for her visit with Santa this year. Lauren, a friend of mine from work who came to MetLife from Nieman Marcus, told me about this special appointment-only Santa visit the store does one Saturday in December. We decided to make an appointment and go for it, and it was great--it saved a ton of time and trouble. What a difference a few years makes--the picture here was only four years ago! She looks so grown up now.
She was very proud of how beautiful she looked--even Santa commented!
We made a big batch of corn starch ornaments this year--Em had a great time mixing, rolling the dough, cutting them out and (of course) decorating them for the tree!
Her school had a Christmas show they put on--the kids sang several songs and it only lasted about 30 minutes. She did great, and remembered not only the words to every song, but also the choreography :).
Em also "graduated" from her acting class this month. She's been going once a week and really loves it--they did a showcase performance for the parents where she got to show off her personality and acting skills a little. We haven't decided yet if we'll enroll her again, but we're thinking about it for sure.
There's a kids' cooking studio close to us called Flour Power--on Friday nights, they host kids night out parties where the kids make their own dinner and do themed activities. One Friday this month, we signed Em up for a gingerbread house night--Mick and I took advantage of the couple of hours and had a nice dinner together.
It sometimes takes her a few minutes to warm up to kids she doesn't know, but she's always has a great time and makes friends quickly.
This is just a silly picture of the two of us with Snowflake, Em's Elf on the Shelf, behind us.
We had a neighborhood family event where Santa read stories to the kids, and we took up a donation of toys for Kids First of the Carolinas, a local charity in Charlotte.
Em was so excited about picking out the toys we were going to donate, and even more excited about delivering them all to the location where they'd be sorted and wrapped!
Later that same afternoon, we had Mick's work Christmas party at Piedmont Social House, a bowling alley and game hall in south Charlotte. Em made quick friends with some of the other kids and had a good time bowling.
School was out after December 18, and on the last day, the kindergarten hallway had a Polar Express party. The kids got to wear their PJs and there was no work all day!
This is her whole class with their golden tickets to ride!
They had a hot chocolate station, cupcake decorating, and all kinds of treats in her classroom
The weekend before Christmas, Em and I got together with Lauren (from work) and Clare, her daughter who is two, and went to Riverbanks Zoo in Columbia for "the lights before Christmas," and to spend the afternoon with the animals. Em and Clare had a good time, and loved that there were snow machines throughout the zoo that gave them a winter wonderland to play in!
We got to feed the lorakeets!
And got fairly up close and personal to the lions.
There were lots of giraffes out, and they were really close too.
An added bonus was the girls got to see Santa before we left, and there were millions of lights up as it got dark.
Em was out of school the week of Christmas, but went to Rainbow Station through Wednesday that week because Mick and I were both working. On Christmas Eve, she and I spent the day doing some last minute shopping and baking cookies! I love when we're home for Christmas and can have a really relaxing day.
Her favorite part of baking is being the taste tester.
Then it was time for an early bath before getting the carrots ready for the reindeer,
and the delicious cookies ready for Santa!
This year, Snowflake brought Em a new friend, a reindeer that Em named Snowy. The gold heart around her neck is to hold the love and magic from Em as she holds her and cuddles with her up until Christmas. Then Snowy will turn into a real reindeer on Christmas Eve and will help pull Santa's sleigh! Em got really into this, and loved her little reindeer so much that she got sad about her leaving on Christmas Eve. This is a picture we found on my iPad on Christmas morning--Snowflake and Snowy had taken a selfie, written Em a note to let her know they'd miss her, and they even caught Santa's hat in the picture!
Em was super excited about everything on Christmas morning! Almost everything she opened made her gasp, and she'd say "I've wanted this for my whole life!" It was so much fun to watch her excitement.
This was one of the gifts we picked out for Mick--and we've already used it more than we ever used our dining room table!
This was the big hit--a bounce house for Em! She was up at 5:15 that morning and bouncing as soon as she found Santa's surprise! It was raining, so Mick had it set up under the back porch.
We had a nice day at home and made a yummy dinner just for the three of us.
After Christmas, we went down to Atlanta to spend a few days with Mick's family and stay with Rob & Stacy. Here's one of the few pictures we got with all three cousins standing still!
Em really loves handing out presents as much as she loves opening her own, which makes this so much fun.
She had lots of good snuggles with Grandma and Papa.
And was thrilled with the cool gifts she opened, too.
This Pop the Pig game was one she played at school, and it was on her wish list.
Grandma gave her some new galoshes, and Zachary gave her this penguin, who she named Waddly.
Before we left, we all pitched in and helped take down some Christmas decorations.
It's so tough to believe it's already 2016!
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