Ho, Ho, Ho...

Today was the big day - we headed off to see
Santa. Before meeting the big guy, we went
to the Story Time Castle where each room was
decorated in a different theme featuring a
different book.

Lindsey ready in pink with a "winter
white" purse. Not what I was hoping
for in terms of outfits to meet Santa but
David got them dressed
this morning and he is much nicer
than I am and let's them pick their
own clothes.


Molly in her Justice shirt AGAIN and
wearing her too small coat even though
she has two other coats that fit her. Guess
she was going for the 3/4 sleeve look.


Ready to meet Santa - kind of.

The girls at the Storybook Castle.

You are probably wondering why there is no

picture with Santa. We did remember our

camera, just didn't realize that the Santa

we went to see allowed for no photography

from the parents. They took the pictures, and

for $17 you could buy a 4X6 picture of your little

ones on Santa's lap or in his workshop. We are

cheap, but we're also suckers so we did splurge

for the less than fabulous Christmas picture

with Santa. We just can't pick it up until next

Thursday.

Just visualize Molly in her Justice shirt

rather than a smocked dress, and Lindsey in her

purse shirt and jeans rather than a matching smocked

dress. Oh, and no bows which is considered CRAZY

in South Carolina. We were surrounded by beautifully

dressed children with larger than life bows, and I'd be

lying if I said I wasn't envious of those mom's standing

over their daughters fussing over their hair to make sure

their bows were positioned just so. Oh, and to really

make it a perfect Christmas moment, Lindsey covered her

face with her hands and lifted her eyes only once to sneak

a peak at Santa. Not a Norman Rockwell moment but

it was a fun family outing and it was very Cerra style.

Baby Jesus

There will be no forgetting what Christmas is truly
about in the Cerra household. After we decorated
the Christmas tree, we sat down for dinner and
Molly told us she had an announcement to make.
She introduced us to Jesus, who was sitting
right there with us at the dinner table in a
booster seat. She said that each year she
would select one of her dolls to be Jesus and
then he would be wrapped in a blanket and
go under the tree. NO ONE is to touch Jesus.
Well, Lindsey held out for about 10 minutes
before she broke the rule and touched Jesus.
As you can imagine, there was a lot of shrieking
and screaming, but Lindsey did return Jesus
to his prominent place under the tree where Lindsey
left him alone for at least an hour.

A naked baby Jesus joining us for dinner.

I was putting away laundry upstairs

and came down to Molly and Lindsey

playing Mary and Jesus. Even Willow

came over to peer in the "manger."

Mary proudly looking over her rather large

baby!

Getting Ready for Christmas

It's been a fun December so far. Since we
are going to Florida for Christmas, it
seemed crazy to me to go to all the
trouble to decorate. Well, once I heard
all the ooooh's and ahhhh's from Molly
and Lindsey every time they saw anything
Christmas related, I caved. Lindsey and I
surprised Molly by decorating the house
when she was at school. Her reaction was well
worth the time we spent. Daddy was
happy, too!

Lindsey in my new favorite outfit of hers.


Picture taken by Lindsey of David and Molly.


Lindsey decided that she would be
able to sleep in her bed all night if
she wore two pair of pajamas. We'll
try anything so that idea was fine by
us. 2:00 a.m. - she was in bed with us;
two pair of pajamas and all.


Picture taken by Molly.

After decorating the house for

Christmas, it still seemed less

than festive with no tree. With Case,

Lindsey, and Molly in tow - we

headed to Lowe's and found a bargain

tree for $15. A split trunk doesn't

bother our family! Ryan came over

and put up the tree for us so David

would be surprised when he came

home from Raleigh. The next night

we decorated and when David was

putting on the lights, he found a spoon

in the tree. Lindsey's own style of tree

decorating!

I went to a Christmas brunch last

weekend and David had the girls help

him clean the house. We wear get-ups

for all occasions; cleaning the house

is no exception. This was the attire for

helping swiffer and dust with dad.

Hannah and Chris came over so we could have a small

family celebration. The cousins - in yet another

get-up!

Molly LOVES the store Justice but

we have never bought her anything

from there. Her luck changed when

Grandma Cerra gave her a shirt from

Justice AND she got enough money from

Aunt Stella, Aunt Janice, and Grandma Cerra to return

to Justice to buy her second shirt. I'm

not a shopper so David was kind enough

to take 2 hours out of his afternoon for Molly

to try on every shirt in every color before

making a decision. I haven't been in Justice

in a long time but I'm thinking she picked the

ugliest shirt they have every sold. But, she

is BEYOND thrilled with her selection. The

earrings (clip-on) are compliments of

Grammy. Molly thought they just completed

the look!!!

The Pennsylvania Crew

While in Virginia, the Pennsylvania crew was nice enough to drive to Erin's so we could have an early Christmas and a birthday celebration for Grandma Cerra and Stella. It was a fun visit!


Here's the whole clan!


Grandma Cerra and 3 of her 4 great grandchildren.



Lindsey loved the gloves Grandma Cerra gave
her - she had to wear them for all activities - to
include eating and she had to put them on before
she held Holden.



A little dancing during the birthday
part of the gathering - the girls brought
in their new favorite CD - Mob Hits!


Partied out!

Mount Vernon

While we were in Virginia, we visited Mount Vernon. Molly was working on a project for school on George Washington so it was perfect timing. All of us had a great time and LOVED touring the house, the grounds, and the new exhibits.




Martha and George



Front of the house.

Tea with daddy.

Mini Martha doing what she loves - coloring!

Our sweet girls.

This camel was like an over sized dog. Just put

his head down and let everyone pet him. Lindsey

wants one!

And, animal lover would like one of these, too.

Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving morning started with the girls hanging out in pajamas and going between helping Grammy in the kitchen and watching the parade on T.V. A very relaxing start to a very relaxing day.

Lindsey was a good bread puller-aparter.

Molly stopped to pose with a piece of bread. She was as excited about stuffing as I was. The girls and Grammy did a great job. It was as delicious as I had remembered it from years before. Molly had several helpings and it was my breakfast for several mornings after Thanksgiving.

Before our feast, Molly put on her pilgrim get-up and read us a few Thanksgiving stories. She told us all about the Mayflower as well.

Molly's version of Pilgrim shoes. A shredded napkin tied around her blue shoes. Works for me.

Pilgrim Molly having a little lunch before our T-day dinner. She was in costume almost the entire day! We even went over to visit the neighbors as a pilgrim.

Molly's version of the Mayflower journey that she shared with us in the kitchen. Everyone had to sit and listen and then you were able to ask questions IF you raised your hand.

Holden's first Thanksgiving. He dressed in turkey clothes for the occasion which of course made our little pilgrim happy.

Lindsey got in on the action and read us one of Molly's books, too. She had her Indian costume from school but was not interested in wearing her headdress or her burlap sack.

It was a wonderful Thanksgiving - we have much to be thankful for - family being at the top of the list!

Meeting Holden

We went to Virginia for Thanksgiving. This was the first time for me and the girls to meet Holden, Erin and Rob's baby. The girls were so excited to get their hands on Holden!

Holden might have gotten more attention and help from his cousins than he desired! He was a good sport and tolerated them "helping" him in his swing.

Grammy and 3 of her 4 grandchildren.

Holden not so happy and Lindsey looking completely unconcerned for Holden.

A happy Lindsey and a nervous Holden.

Molly was in heaven holding and playing with a real baby. Both of the girls fell in love with Holden and are asking when they get to see him again! We are hoping he plans a trip to South Carolina soon.