Our new best friend

Elmo quickly became a must have for Natalie and Claire.  Their fascination began with the Elmo's Potty Time DVD.  They would walk by the TV (off or on) and point to it and say "Elbow, Elbow, Elbow".  Their Aunt Patsy then gave them the plush Elmo doll for Christmas.  This little guy has been toted everywhere by the girls. 

He's been well fed...

Taken for a walk...

Given potty time...

 

and rocked to sleep.

A Merry Mayronne Christmas

We learned one thing about Natalie this week.  She is a grandma's girl.  When we were in BR, we thought she had a strong bond with Honey.  She would cling to her whenever given the chance.  Well, when Sugar stepped through the door, Natalie showed that she had an affinity for grandmothers.  She would constantly throw those arms around Sugar and hold on oh so tight.  It was adorable.  We had a great Christmas filled with David's smoked turkey and Sugar's delicious seafood gumbo.  My girls can now start their own band with the Christmas gifts they received this year.

I love to watch them tear that paper away.

Doesn't she look like a professional?

 

Our little drummer girl...

Claire and Poppa

 

Natalie is trying out her new mittens. 

 

Don't they have such rascally expressions here?

At what age do they sit still and say cheese for the camera? If you look closely you can see a goldfish cracker in Natalie's mouth.

 

What would I do without Honey???

As Christmas snuck up on me again, I realized I didn't have Christmas dresses for the girls.  Thanks to Honey's knack for preserving things, I have all of my childhood dresses in perfect condition.  During Honey's Thanksgiving visit, I persuaded her to make a duplicate of the Christmas dress I wore when I was two years old.  I thought everyone would love to see a pic from the wonderful 80's and a pic of my two rascals in Honey's dresses, handmade with attention to detail and lots of love.  Mom, thanks for saving me once again. 

Don't you wanna pinch those cheeks?

 

And since I'm feeling nostalgic, I love this pic.  Seeing Claire in one of my most memorable childhood settings is surreal.  These stained glass windows are one of the many things that remind me of home.

Laissez les bon temps roulez.....A Richardson Christmas

Now that it's been a week since the Richardson Christmas, things are a little hazy.  Here's what I do remember:  cheesy Southern grits, Acme Oyster House (why do I always remember food first), Natalie clinging to Honey, trying to get the girls to take a picture together for our Christmas card,  giving up quickly on the idea that our toddlers will sit still long enough to snap a picture, chasing the twins around Broadmoor Baptist like an experienced herding dog,  chasing them around Aunt Connie's, realizing they very much dislike Santa Claus this year, realizing we need two xylophones not just one, realizing that some of the best toys are the ones my mom kept from my childhood, and lastly the fun I had starting a new Christmas tradition with my kiddos.

Here's our new tradition, making a birthday cake for Jesus.

Someone went a little overboard on the icing.

I love these Ole Miss tutus.  Thanks Aunt LaLa.

I just love this pic of Claire, so sweet.  It makes me a little sad though, she looks so old!

Claire going in for a kiss.  Shocked that she didn't think twice about kissing Colonel Reb.

Christmas with NaNa and Gran

David and I feel so fortunate to have such love and support from our wonderful families.  Our girls are surrounded by people that love them to pieces.  I see so many kiddos at work that don't have one single person at home that loves them.  It breaks my heart, and reminds me of how lucky David and I are to have great parents and grandparents.  My girls are lucky too.  They are having three Christmases this year.  The first was with NaNa and Gran.

 

Claire is in love with stuffed animals.  I'm glad I captured her reaction after opening the teddy bear from Nana and Gran.  A child's joy is priceless.

 

Natalie is a snuggler and little momma.  She walks around patting her baby dolls on the back.  She couldn't wait to do that with teddy.

I was so excited to receive a snow globe.  I feel like a kid when I see these.  I hope my girls will always feel the same.

 

We usually send our expired coupons to military families (see Coupons for Troops if interested in doing the same), but I've been slacking the past couple of months.   Now they are too expired to send overseas.   We found a good use for the clutter that's building up in my kitchen, and it kept the girls entertained for a long time (about two minutes which is a record these days).

 

 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

We took the girls to a local Christmas tree farm.  We had fun riding out to the trees and then letting the girls run around the rows of trees.  We have now placed lights and ornaments to now suspect that David is allergic to it.  I forgot my memory card but had my camera, so these are from David's phone.

 

 

 

Oh, and here is a pic from our snow day here in Houston.  This is the third time in six years. Crazy! The girls were still under the weather so David didn't take them out to play.

The girls love the park by our house.  Usually David and I each have one child to chase after in the park.  Claire was mine today so I have plenty of pics of her having a blast outside ("oww sigh" as Claire would say).