Hello, December!

December, already?! Even with an early Thanksgiving and the 'extra' week at the end of November, it still seems like December has snuck up on us! We kicked off the month with several holiday festivities, first the Yadkinville Christmas Parade. This year was our third year going to the parade, and it was the best weather yet. With temps in the mid 50s, it was quite mild compared to the two previous years when it was very frigid. Forbush was again well represented with its band, JROTC cadets, Homecoming queen, HOSA club, and several other student groups participating in the parade. Emmy liked standing up close with Daddy at the beginning of the parade, but after a few loud sirens, she came back to sit with me closer to the curb. She started to get the hang of picking up the candy (which Mommy then passed along to some older kids nearby, shhh!) and she loved pointing at different animals and objects that she recognized in the parade. Even though we don't live in the Yadkinville area, it is fun to be a part of the community during events like this. God has really blessed Boomer with wonderful coworkers at Forbush. 

After the parade, we went to meet up with the family for photos with Santa. Let's take a moment to remember when Emmy met Santa last year!!

Emmy was a little more calm this year, but she still wasn't too thrilled to meet Ole St. Nick. Luckily, there were no tears, but she didn't want to get too close to him either. Even when Grammy, Grandpa, and her cousins hopped in for a photo, she still didn't want to touch him. She quickly scrambled back to Daddy to watch from a safe distance. Hopefully next year we will have greater success with Santa Claus. Meanwhile, my nephew Zander wanted to go back to tell Santa something he forgot, so there is hope that at some age she will like going to see him! :)

Even though Emmy isn't a big fan of Santa, we think she will still make the "Nice List." She continues to love reading, doing her flash cards, strolling around, and 'teaching' her 'babies.' She has started to call the 7 or 8 stuffed animals that she totes around "my babies." Her lamb "Bobbie" is still a favorite, but we've added to the collection with a red teddy bear "Teddy Beer", a soft doll "Baby", a smaller doll with a hard plastic head "Baby Doll", a pink plush rabbit "Babbit", a rattle ring shaped like a lion "Lion", and a smaller light brown teddy bear "Owl." All of these animals together are: "my babies." 

 

Boomer and I find that she is very fair and wants all of her babies to receive equal attention. It is so sweet to see her carry them around and especially to watch her spread out her flash cards for them. On the other hand, it isn't so sweet when I have to pretend to brush each of their teeth before bedtime haha! We do all sorts of things to keep her and her babies entertained, like these photos from Boomer when Bobbie and Baby were driving Emmy to school! I love how Boomer's playful side comes out when he is with Emmy. They have some special bonding time each morning on the way to daycare.

When Emmy is at Grammy and Grandpa's house, she likes playing with my old baby doll, Red Baby. It turns out I wasn't too creative with my names either! :)  

Happy December, everyone!