Welcome Bob & Amy

So, after we saw Elmo and the Sesame Street gang, we came home and to get ready because company was on their way. Bob had never met Sydney and we hadn't met Amy, so it was nice for all of us to hang out. Bob is a good friend from Atlanta that we used to get to see a lot more. He's an old roomie and is most famous for what many in the ATL now know as "Big Bob Pancakes". Amy, welcome aboard. It was great to meet you.

Sydney LOVED the visit, and did all her cute kid tricks to prove it (see the cheer stunts). She even got to help feed the dog, Farley and play peek a boo with him too. Come back soon guys. We had a blast.

ELMO Live in Ktown

Elmo came to Ktown a couple of weeks ago, so we had to go. He brought all his S. Street friends too! As you can see Syd danced and sang and got lots of BIG hugs from her furry friends!

Sydney really didn't want to leave and REALLY wanted to get on stage. She gave the S Street security team the saddest little face after she was told no (by all parties questioned) and I think it' melted someone's heart. So, here's Sydney with her new friend and security escort out of the S Street event ;).

New Year's Eve-First Night Knoxville

The pretty trees in Ktown.

Syd getting ready.
The girls dancing. H didn't break it down quite as much as the little girls did. Trace and I

Three adorable girls- Sydney, Eva and Elizabeth

The girls with their Daddy's.

We spent New Year's Eve in downtown Knoxville for First Night Knoxville. http://www.firstnightknoxville.com/

The C family joined us and we had a blast. Syd began the night well dressed and warm. (Thanks again, Aunt Mandee for the fab scarf!). As the night progressed and the dancing continued, the winter gear came off. I don't think they stopped dancing. It's very cute right now. If they want to dance on a stage in a few years, it may not be so cute ;).

Syd LOVED seeing baby L too! And, baby L smiled like she enjoyed Syd's giggles too- very sweet!

Christmas Morning!

And finally, a post about..Christmas morning! Sydney had a blast. The only two requests she had of Santa were a baby doll (as if she has NO baby dolls at home) and a BARBIE Jeep. Apparently she was a good girl this year because Santa brought both items (and a few other surprises). Trace and I thought last year was the sweetest Christmas ever watching her in awe over the lights. This year she believed in Santa and knew it was Jesus's Birthday and we had a wonderful, magical Christmas. It was chaos, but fun chaos. After everything from under the tree was open, she asked, "where's my Barbie Jeep?". We told her Santa left a note for us to check the garage for one more gift. The mother in me was concerned I was raising a very self-centered kid until she noted that Daddy and I needed more presents too. (Whew- she can think of others! ;). I explained that it's good to give gifts as well as receive them and that sometimes great things can come in little packages (like spa gift cards). :)
Here are a few pics from Christmas morning. Please excuse any mess or morning hair you may see. This is real life at the P house.

Christmas in NC

The weekend before Christmas, we went to NC to see more family. You all probably remember the snowy weather. It was nuts, but fun. As most of you know, T has a new vehicle that he's really proud of, so it was a fun chance to put it in 4WD and get us to Aunt Pat's. It is the first time, I've had a full appreciation for the new ride, but I now give it two thumbs up. (On a side note, for those of you who know my Dad and T, T was VERY proud that his ride didn't get stuck, but my Dad's 4wd ride did get stuck. It's a man thing, I know, but I'm pretty sure this will come up for a while if I know both of them well ;).

Depending on which part of NC you were in, there were between 4 and 14 inches of snow.

Enough about the snow....The most important fun was getting so see all of our family.

One of our favorite things to do over the Holidays is get together with Aunt Pat. She is one of my favorite people and possibly also one of the best cooks on the planet. It has to be a REALLY special event to get all of us out of the house to drive through what we did in order to spend time with family. Here are a few pics from our get together at her house.

Sara- Thanks again for the hospitality. We had a great time at your house and it was really ok that we didn't have power....who needs that anyway ;)

The next day, we went to Mom and Q's for the N get together. The whole gang was there, all the kids and even Momma Q from Cali. It was great company, great food and here's a pic of the big fam. Also, check out Syd with new baby James. She was so excited to hold him.