Christmas Fun!

Greer Christmas Parade

Ready for the Christmas Play

 Rafe and his buddy Landon with their AWESOME teacher

 Homemade Reindeer Antlers

 Gram's special date for the night!  What a wonderful night they had!

 Our silly elves reminding us Christmas is just around the corner

 Stella Ross wanted her picture made "near" the Toy Soldier but not beside it!

Holding her favorite ornament with brother and Santa Claus

Christmas Program

Stella Ross's school Christmas program was last Thursday night.  Stella Ross was SO excited about this special night.  She had been practicing her songs at home a lot ..... this girl LOVES to sing.  She did a great job, even singing so loudly I could hear her over all of her friends.  One funny story from the performance: when the children were lined up and ready to sing Stella Ross crossed her arms in front of her and made a slightly mad face.  She looked at me and I immediately told her to put her arms down (not knowing what she was doing)  She did put her arms down, but then immediately crossed them in front of her again.  We did this over and over several times until I realized the whole class had their arms folded as part of the song "Away in the Manger".  Come on Mom!!!!

Gingerbread House

Rafe and Stella Ross had a blast this year making their Gingerbread House.  I let them do the ENTIRE house all by themselves.  Rafe put the icing on and Stella Ross ate placed all of the candy!  It turned out to be very cute.  

Dentist

Stella Ross took her first trip to the dentist last week.  She was SO well-behaved and calm.  In fact, she was quite excited about going.... it probably had nothing to do with the fact that her brother told her they would give her a balloon and prizes!!  She stayed perfectly still in the chair for her teeth to be cleaned and the doctor to examine them.  What a wonderful experience for all of us!!

Stella Ross' Dance Recital

Stella Ross' VERY FIRST Dance Recital was last night and it was such a special evening.  She has been taking dance for 8 weeks and loves every minute of it (especially the full-length mirrors.)  However, performing on a BIG stage with lots of lights is a whole different scene.  Stella Ross did FANTASTIC.  She performed her whole dance routine (the first time without crawling on the floor, or taking her clothes off!) and even smiled!  Of course she did throw in a couple of spins, her signature move.  Stella Ross was showered with flowers from Pop and Gram, her sweet friend, Ella and her Daddy on Friday.  Congratulations, Stella Ross!  We are SO proud of you! 

**stage pictures were taken with my phone.  Video was WAY more important!

Christmas Tree Lighting

Friday night, while Rafe was at a birthday party, we went downtown to the annual Christmas tree lighting.  Stella Ross enjoyed herself until the special guest, Santa Claus, arrived.  She quickly decided she wanted to be held until he was out of her site!  She is still not so sure about the man in red!  She ended the night very excited about the BIG tree and playing around with some her favorite little buddies.  

Meeting Kiko

We took advantage of this beautiful weather to finally meet Kiko at the zoo.  Rafe, Stella Ross and I have been very excited about meeting this new giraffe since we watched the birth on the zoo's webcam.  Our first visit did not disappoint.  Kiko was FULL of energy, running around and kicking up his legs!  What a fun afternoon. 

Bring on the tubes!

All Rafe wants for Christmas is to be ear infection free.  It looks as though this wish will be granted!  Since Rafe has had a total of 6 ear infections in the last 3 months, with difficulty hearing, we have scheduled his ear tube surgery for 5 days before Christmas.  I am very uneasy about him being put to sleep but I am happy that he will hopefully be pain free from all of the infections.  

Melts my heart!

Just when I think he doesn't want to play with his sister, I find this letter in Stella Ross's mailbox:

I will hold on to this forever.  SO sweet!