December was a full month, as it always is. We still had Kim and Sydney staying with us. They moved in with us mid-November after Chris returned to the states. The girls ballet recital is something we always look forward to and Kim wanted Sydney to be part of it. Besides, I wasn't in any hurry for them to leave and it worked out well for them to stay with us for a month. Here are a few of the highlights for this last December.
~6 December 2013~
St. Nickolas Day in Germany is when all the kids clean up a boot to put outside the door to be filled by St. Nickolas. Elly was clearly excited about finding her boot filled the next morning ☺
~8 December 2013 ~
Kim and I took the girls to see a play of Cinderella last year and this year we saw that "Beauty and the Beast" would be playing so we got tickets early on for that. The evening of the play we were getting the girls ready and Elly was having a "moment". She did not want to let Sydney borrow a pair of her favorite shoes. Such drama!
Kim and I took the girls to see a play of Cinderella last year and this year we saw that "Beauty and the Beast" would be playing so we got tickets early on for that. The evening of the play we were getting the girls ready and Elly was having a "moment". She did not want to let Sydney borrow a pair of her favorite shoes. Such drama!
Our little princesses over the drama and finally ready for the show.
Meeting Beauty and the Beast after the show.
Meeting the town girls.
One day we took the girls to the Ritter Sport store and restaurant for lunch. They were enjoying their piece of cake.
Elly and Sydney exchanged Christmas gifts since we wouldn't be together for Christmas.
~14 December 2013~
Finally the day for the girl's ballet recital was here. They had been talking of nothing else and were so excited about it. I was excited about it too because it's just so cute to see them dressed up and on stage. We had to go early in the day for their rehearsal. After that we went back home to get them something to eat and in their costumes to go back for the recital.
We had them all ready to go back for the recital and wanted to get a few pictures of them together. They were so cute! Our two little bees.
Waiting for their turn to get on stage.
Elly with her wonderful ballet teacher, Miss Helen.
All the girls together. Maddie and Sammie were in a different class, but still part of the recital.
~15 December 2013~
This year for the church Christmas program all the little girls were angels. Those who put the programs together have been really good about creating easy parts for the little ones in the church. Parts that don't require much practice or memory. They are the little extras :)
This year for the church Christmas program all the little girls were angels. Those who put the programs together have been really good about creating easy parts for the little ones in the church. Parts that don't require much practice or memory. They are the little extras :)
Elly looked a little nervous waiting for her part to come.
After church we all went out to lunch. This was the last time these four would be together since Kim and Sydney were flying out in the morning. They've all been best friends over the last two years.
Kim and Lizzie
The next morning Sam took Kim and Sydney to the airport by 4:30. When Elly woke up later she knew they were gone and she wrote this note (with me telling her what letters to write for the words she told me). It says "Friend (at the top) Kim and Sydney are gone. I love them. Elly Minnie" It hurts my heart to see her lose her very best friend. They are very much like sisters.
~18 December 2013~
Elly's preschool had a Holiday Fest (they have to keep it PC and all....yes, my eyes are rolling). The kids were penguins. It was cute. The kids in front of Elly came in very quickly and Elly was way behind. She was walking ever...so...slowly. Knowing my daughter, I knew there was a reason behind it, but I didn't know why she was going so slowly. After the program I asked her why she went so slowly and she told me that they were supposed to be penguins with an egg on their feet, so she was walking carefully so the egg wouldn't fall off ☺ I knew there was a reason. She's very careful to do things precisely how she's suppose to. She's such a sweetheart ♥
Elly's preschool had a Holiday Fest (they have to keep it PC and all....yes, my eyes are rolling). The kids were penguins. It was cute. The kids in front of Elly came in very quickly and Elly was way behind. She was walking ever...so...slowly. Knowing my daughter, I knew there was a reason behind it, but I didn't know why she was going so slowly. After the program I asked her why she went so slowly and she told me that they were supposed to be penguins with an egg on their feet, so she was walking carefully so the egg wouldn't fall off ☺ I knew there was a reason. She's very careful to do things precisely how she's suppose to. She's such a sweetheart ♥
~22 December 2013~
Before going to church I wanted to get some nice pictures of Elly in her Christmas dress. As always, I took a thousand pictures to try and get one decent one. She's very into posing for pictures, but unfortunately it's usually with a silly look on her face. I never did get that perfect shot, but here is a sampling of the pictures I did get.
Before going to church I wanted to get some nice pictures of Elly in her Christmas dress. As always, I took a thousand pictures to try and get one decent one. She's very into posing for pictures, but unfortunately it's usually with a silly look on her face. I never did get that perfect shot, but here is a sampling of the pictures I did get.
~Christmas Eve 2013~
We went to the Candlelight Service at church on Christmas Eve. It was nice because there was a caroling group from Canada visiting. They were dressed in 1800's costume and sang a Capella. It was really nice.
We went to the Candlelight Service at church on Christmas Eve. It was nice because there was a caroling group from Canada visiting. They were dressed in 1800's costume and sang a Capella. It was really nice.
When we got home from church, we opening our stockings and one gift. That's the tradition we've started in our family. Sam's family opens all their gifts Christmas Eve and mine opens all of their gifts Christmas morning. We figured we would get the most from both days and spread it out a little bit. It's worked well for us.
Elly loved her new Christmas nightgown.
Christmas morning everything was ready for Elly to come downstairs. I found that adorable little crib (in front of the tree) at the thrift store on Patch. It's a heavy solid wood crib and I fell in love with it. I don't know if she liked it as much as I did, but that's ok...she had other gifts ☺
Later we had friends over for dinner. The girls were exchanging their gifts.
Elly was so tickled in this picture because Gabby came up on her lap to snuggle with that blanket. It's Gabby's very favorite blanket and can hardly refuse when she sees it.
New Year's Eve was rather low key this year. We really felt the loss of friends that had moved. Our neighbors, the MacPhersons, usually got with us to play games and watch fireworks. We miss them so much!
Whew!! That was a long post! Guess we crammed a lot into those 4 weeks ☺
