Sorry I have not posted these last few days. The hustle and bustle of gettting ready for the holidays is consuming me:) We were unable to go to the quad cities for Christmas with Rudy's family this weekend due to the weather. (though now looking at it it would have been fine- the weather men made it sound like a terrible mess was coming. ) So we kept busy with other things. I cannot remember exactly what we did but i know it was a busy weekend! Saturday I put up my own tree and since it was way too huge to go in the bedroom, Dad and I cleaned the basement out and made a nice cozy area for it down there. I now have all of "santa's" presents and those from rudy and I to each other down there. They look like so few under that monster of a tree. Sunday we went to church and then did some baking and Monday I helped my mom get ready for company and we cleaned...alot. I am just finishing making crab cakes for Christmas eve and also puppy chow. I am so excited to see everyone and I have been getting so excited for Christmas all around this year. Vaughn-elise helped make a countdown chain a few weeks ago and even though she doesnt know what its for, when she see's me get it out she is so excited to pull one of. Its adorable. We painted her nails yesterday- its so stinking cute. It makes her hands look "not babyish" though which is a little sad. She is learning how to play for very short periods of time by herself. This is nice for me and really shows how much she is growing up and changing. I still have to keep an eye on her all the time but she will sit for about 10 minutes or so and read books when I am doing something else or she will play with her toys in the hallway for a bit without wandering. I just love watching her when she is into something and you can see her mind just a spinning. I wonder what she is thinking about most of the time. Sometimes she just gets very sad. It breaks my heart. She will just be sitting there and then all of a sudden she gets the saddest face and her lip pouts and her eyes water and she will just look at you like "is it okay to break down right now." It breaks my heart. She did it today in walmart too. Just riding in the cart and then all of a sudden she looked very sad and embarrassed. I wanted to cry for her. My eyes were all teary and she just started sobbing. I dont know what sets it off- its so random. It is the worst feeling to see that.

On a better note...

I hope everyone is excited and feels the magic of the holidays! I hope you all have a safe and Merry Christmas. Remember to set cookies out for santa!!