Ho! Ho! Ho!

Emma's first Christmas was quite an adventure!

Prior to leaving Birmingham, we made Emma's first trip to see Santa. All was going well, but the line was quite long, so by the time we made it to see Father Christmas, Emma was ready for a nap. We snapped a few photos before the fussing ensued!

We arrived at Mimi and Papa's house on Friday and settled in for several days of rest and relaxation - ha! Actually, Emma was quite happy to entertain everyone with her new set of tricks...almost rolling, spitting, "mm" and "wah," along with a bit of cooing.

For Christmas, Dugald and I decided to give Emma her first taste of cereal. The first round went fine, and she seemed quite keen for the spoon. However, after her first go of it, she has been otherwise unimpressed with cereal, bananas, or sweet potatoes. We are going to give it a couple of weeks and try again.

Christmas Eve brought our first holiday meal, as we met Katelen at the fire station for dinner. We visited for a bit and then headed home to put Emma to bed.

Emma gave us a nice little Christmas present on Christmas morning - as she slept until 8:30am -- what a treat! We fed her, dressed her up in her sweet Christmas outfit and headed downstairs for breakfast and presents. We made it through breakfast before the hives erupted.

Yes, hives! Due to a laundry malfunction, we had to wash her onesie in color remover to remove some misplaced red dye. Well, Emma was allergic to the color remover and broke out in hives! We quickly removed the onesie, gave her a bath, all the while she giggled and blew bubbles. It certainly made for an eventful Christmas!

After getting Emma settled back in, we set off to unwrap quite a number of gifts for Emma's first Christmas. Dolls, books, bib clips, a market basket, a furry possum, and much, much more. We all had quite a time!

Post-presents, we all had a bit of a rest before heading into Christmas dinner mode. Dugald cranked up the turkey fryer, Mimi started the dressing, sweet potato casserole, green beans, mashed potatoes, gravy, noodles, bread, and country ham. I set the table, snapped a few photos and stayed out of the way!

We are now headed back to the homestead before returning to work. This Christmas, like many more to come, was so enjoyable with our new addition.

Much love!

Family Visit

We all had such a great visit with Grandma, Grandpa, and Grant! Our time was filled with bad driving, great food and a visit to see Vulcan's bum...and of course, lots of giggles and poopy diapers.

The first week was spent hanging out at our house, just catching up and trying to make Emma laugh. We then went to my parent's house in Dalton for Thanksgiving. It was great to have both of our families together celebrating our great blessings and remembering the fantastic life of my grandfather who passed away on Thanksgiving last year.

Dugald was in his element as he fired up the turkey fryer, while the ladies spent time in the kitchen making way to much food. We all enjoyed gathering around the big table together, and watching Emma giggle at the window.

On Friday, the ladies went shopping in downtown Dalton for what we thought would be a quiet trip...until we heard the fire engine. Katelen was at work! A sweet, elderly man had driven his car through the entrance of the dowtown bank and come to an abrupt stop in the lobby. He wasn't harmed, but the marble lobby was! It was really fun to see Katelen at work!

After our visit to Dalton, we came back to Birminghamfor what seemed like mere minutes, although it was another week. Ma and Pa spent some time shopping and visiting the Musuem of Art, while Dug and I went to work. We met up in the evenings for great food, great wine and great amounts of smiles.

Grant came in for the last two days of the visit, and we got to celebrate his birthday with caramel cupcakes and candles. The last day of the visit was spent looking at Vulcan's booty, eating barbeque (guys) and O'Carr's chicken salad (girls).
It was sad to see everyone go, but we had such a great visit. I am sure we will find a reason to see everyone again soon.

Since their trip to Alabama, they have cruised around the Caribbean and headed back to their respective homes except for Grandma and Grandpa, who are now visiting with Liss, Martin, Lou, Tim, Isabelle and new, little Henry in the UK.

This past Sunday, our sweet Emma was baptized (christened) during the Sunday service. It was a great time of celebration as both sets of grandparents - that's right, both sets - watched on with tears and smiles.

Emma was baptized in quite a bit of history, a christening gown that has spanned four generations of Dugald's family. The gown, a two-piece garment, has an underlay slip made of parachute silk. It was so beautiful on our sweet girl.

It was a wonderful time for our friends and family to watch as we committed ourselves to raising Emma under the Lord's guidance and care. He has given us so many blessings for which we are eternally grateful.

Sweet Pea

What parent can resist dressing up their little one in a costume? Well, we couldn't, so for Halloween our Emma was a pea in a pod. How cute is that!? She obliged us for about 15 minutes in a costume that was made for an artic winter storm...

Sweetness!

There isn't too much new around here...lots of feeding, sleeping and pooping. What more could one ask for?

Here are some highlights of our sweetness!

Weekend Away

This past weekend, the Hall trio and Mimi and PopPop (Kristen's parents) headed out for a weekend getaway to Maggie Valley, North Carolina. Close to Asheville, Maggie Valley is a quiet, little mountain town with great views and cool(er) mountain air.

After arriving in Maggie Valley on Friday night, we unloaded the car of its insane array of Emma's belongings - including our new Phil and Ted's stroller, grabbed a quick dinner and headed back for a nice, quiet evening. Saturday morning brought a much anticipated breakfast at Joey's Pancake House. After carbo-loading on pancakes and biscuits, we headed to the store for a few essentials (a bottle of wine) and then back to the condo for a fun-filled day of college football, wine on the porch, and napping.

Later in the afternoon, Mimi and Kristen did a little sight-seeing in a nearby town of Waynesville (so cute!), leaving the much-capable men to care for the little one. A couple of hours later, we walked to the clubhouse for a little dinner and called it a night.

Sunday brought the real reason for the trip - the Land Rover Driving Experience at the Biltmore Estate. The Driving Experience was a Christmas gift to the guys two years ago, and we finally got around to making it happen. The guys set out for a two-hour, off-road trek in a $70K Range Rover, while Mimi, Kristen and Emma headed to the winery for a little tour and a glass of champagne. The day ended with a quick bite to eat and a good night sleep.

We all had a great time. It was nice to get away for the weekend in some cool, mountain air. We also got to see Aunt Katelen for a little while in Dalton, which was a sweet treat....

Emma had so much fun that she has decided she needs a day of sleep to recover! Mommie agrees!


I love my new stroller! Red goes faster!


Do you like my hat? It's from our friends Wayne and Kay Pearce in New Zealand!


Is it just me, our am I cute?


Hanging out with Mimi - in my sweet sleeper from my Grandma and Grandpa - all the way from New Zealand!


Mom and Dad!


Just chillin'...


Solving the world's problems with my Mimi!

Mooooo...

It's probably not a surprise to many of you, but Emma really likes cows! Here are a few pictures from her latest adventures.

Simplicity

Sometimes the simple things in life are the most enjoyable. At least according to Emma!

Hanging with the Family

Here are more pictures from Emma's first visit to Mimi and Pop Pop's house in Dalton. We were so happy that Auntie Jo was able to visit with us!