Christmas Day (with pictures)

We would like to send out a big thank you to Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt Gail, too. Esme had such a huge Christmas she couldn't ask for anything else - and it all will still take some time to 'soak in' for her. Grandma cooked an excellent meal and Esme ate quite a bit more of it than I expected her to. She likes Grandma's yeast roll recipe, and so does Daddy - I'll need to get the copy Grandma promised :) Esme had a wonderful time even with the crankiness showing through here and there. We even had snow this morning as we went up to see Grandma, and I stood out in it for a few minutes letting flakes melt into my coffee.


Christmas Tree!


Grandma bustling in the kitchen
looks like our house with the dogs looking on and Esme playing with silverware


Daddy and Grandma with the ham


Grandpa watches Grandma open presents


Christmas presents!



gumball machine vs. Mr. Potato Head


nice smile on Grandma :)


Esme getting her 'ducks in a row'


hanging out with Daddy and Grandpa in Grandma's wagon

When we got home I started coffee (creme brulee!) brewing and sent Esme out to play for just a few minutes with a large rubber ball and the new coat, scarf and boots she had refused to put on earlier (because she thought it meant she had to go home if she did) Then I met her outside with the cup of coffee and we walked up the road and chased the ball back down. I didn't take pictures of that, but the coat and boots fit her well :) Thank you Gail! There were some toys that were a hit but it took her a while being home to calm down enough to play with them. I was subjected to an hour of cutting and rolling playdough and trying out the implements in the new set. Esme says the pink singing bear cries and 'don't cry' but she likes the red one a lot. She spent a while playing with them and wondering what they do and why. Daddy played with them, too ;)





The exercise ball Daddy bought her for her birthday and didn't give to her until today -- it was a giant hit :) as was the superballs and rubber ducks he had gotten for her. She is shining the little flashlight down a wrapping paper tube and rolling superballs into a plastic cup through it. The size 3 jeans are actually quite large about the waist. She was walking around holding them up with both hands but didn't want to take them off. *haha* She'll grow into them. The sleepers are the same size as the one that I put on her last night - which did fit.. and she has a pair of size 4 jeans from someone at my workplace that is just a tiny bit too big in the waist... Sizes of storebought clothes are very very odd.. or she is hard to fit, or both!





And here is the green shirt I was working on last night - still without the second sleeve. I might have to take that to work tomorrow for lunch hour. Still wondering if I should put a zipper on it or try to work buttons? I'm even wondering what is the front and what is the back! (this is the one I made the pattern for out of another one)



some other things I wanted to remember:
Mark and I BOTH bought jelly belly jellybeans for each other, different flavors.
We picked out almost the same kind of wrapping paper even thought we bought it on different days and didn't tell the other we were buying any at all - striped candy canes on different backgrounds. It was funny and sweet. Esme bought me some violently pink yarn which was wrapped separately from the yarn Mark bought me *hehe*... and he enjoyed the little things I found him that he likes, wintergreen rootbeer and maplenut candies etc.