Brooks' First Haircut

BEFORE

AFTER

Sorry for the delay! I know that some of you have been anxiously awaiting the pics of Brooks' first haircut. For those who don't know the story....Clark gave Jay his first haircut, cut his hair most of his life, came to our wedding, and still cuts Jay's dad and grandad's hair. So, this was more than a first haircut, it was a legacy! Clark charged us 10 cents, which was the price of his first haircut! Brooks did great! I couldn't believe how still he was. Jay held him throughout the haircut and he did wonderfully. The pictures speak for themselves. Elle, in the meantime, played with dress up clothes, etc. that the salon uses in fashion shows. It was a good time had by all! Stay tuned for more Kingsport pictures....I promise to post them soon!

Nap Time

Elle is slowly but surely deciding that she doesn't need naps anymore. We often find her lingering in the hallways when she should be asleep, or simply playing in her room when we think she's napping. Today we put her down for her nap barefoot in a white T-shirt and bluejeans. This is the child that we found in the hallway about an hour later...still not napping! She did get a laugh out of both of us, but after snapping a quick picture it was back to bed. Who knows what we're going to find by the time this nap is over!

Bath Time

Not much going on this week to post...but I'm tired of looking at the Alligator, so I thought I'd just post a couple of pictures from bath time tonight. Another busy week is about to begin, but we should have some good pics to share after our weekend in TN next week!

Our Neighborhood Gator

As you may know, our house is next to the neighborhood pond, and we have a small alligator that goes back and forth from our pond and the lake a mile away (through the underground pipes, we believe). Yesterday he was sunbathing and I was finally able to get a good picture. He's usually in the water, or jumps in as soon as he sees or hears us. This one was taken from just outside Elle's bedroom window in our back yard. I did zoom in quite a bit, so we aren't really that close, but you get the picture. Luckily, they don't climb fences! The bottom picture is of the corner of our house, and the pond...just to give you an idea of how close we are. I'm still not quite used to checking the yard for gators before sending the kids out to play!

Sea World

That's Jay and Elle waving. She LOVES rollercoasters!

We took the kids to Sea World this weekend. Paul and Lindsey (friends of ours from Missouri) were in town and we all had a great time. Their kids are around the same age as ours. Elle and Courtney really hit it off (they haven't been together since they were babies). They were so cute. Sea World was a first for Brooks and Jay. I was pleased with how well Brooks did. He actually watched the shows and lasted all day. Elle loved the dolphins and of course Shamu, but her favorite part was seeing the Clydesdale Horses. Only Elle would go to Sea World to see the horses! I look forward to taking them back soon! Just thought I'd share some of the cute pictures.

Christmas in South Carolina

Next stop was South Carolina. We were eager to welcome Baby Easton to the family and spend the holidays with Caki, Pops, Libba & Kyle. Elle had fun roasting hot dogs and marshmallows in their courtyard fireplace and we all enjoyed the "sweater weather". I love Florida, but 80 degree Christmases are hard to get used to!

We are looking forward to spending a late Christmas in Tennessee with Jay's family in a few weeks. Elle is hoping for snow!

Christmas Morning

Christmas morning was fun! Elle woke up first, and since there was no stopping her from seeing if Santa came, we didn't make her wait on Brooks to wake up. Surprisingly, her first stop was to the front door to see if the Reindeer had eaten any of the food she laid out. They had, of course...so next stop was the living room where all of their presents had safely arrived! She also asked if Santa had used his "magic key" to get in (since fireplaces are hard to come by in Florida!). We assured her he had...how else would he have gotten in? She loved her new dollhouse and the Barbie's 12 Dancing Princesses. However, we (I mean Santa) could have saved alot of money had we (I mean he) known that her favorite gift would be the My Little Pony toothbrush in her stocking! She pulled it out, and truly surprised by this wonderful gift...hugged it and said "thanks Santa"! It doesn't take much! After about 30 minutes, Brooks decided to join us. He wasn't nearly as enthusiastic, but had fun playing with Elle and all of the new goodies.

Cookies for Santa

After the Pageant, we headed home to prepare for Santa's arrival. Elle was so looking forward to making cookies for Santa. We had cut and baked them earlier, so all she had to do was decorate! She had a great time. Brooks just pranced around and enjoyed the Christmas music.

Christmas Eve

Elle was in our church's Christmas Pageant this evening. We have been preparing all week for her debut as an Angel, however when we got to the church this evening they told us that all 3 and 4 year olds would be sheep instead. For a moment I didn't think Elle would go through with it because she had her heart set on being an Angel, but with a little pep talk I convinced her that she could be the best sheep St. Luke's had ever seen! She was up for the challenge, and I must say...she made us proud! Here are a few pictures for the evening. We weren't allowed to take pictures in the Cathedral during the pageant, so these are just behind the scenes.

Go Vols!

Brooks got his first UT hat for Christmas (Thanks Jeremy and MG!!). He's very proud, so I thought I'd share. Most of the posts are of Elle, since she takes the spotlight most of the time these days, so I wanted to throw this one in there!