Christmas: McLin Style

Christmas this year, like every year, is a crazy time in my family. We spend our days trekking back and forth between Baton Rouge and Rayville and visit all of our family, extended family and friends that we claim as family. It is a great time, full of food, fun, presents and, well, family.

Addie was just about 2 at Christmas time, and that is a great age to be a kid at Christmas. Here is a breakdown of our Crazy Christmas complete with pictures:

1. We started Christmas a little early this year. The weekend before Christmas we spend with the Jordan family in Rayville. We had "Rayville Santa" at Leenie and Dooda's house. Addie was very excited because Leenie and Dooda (aka Rayvile Santa) brought her a kitchen and a few (ok lots) of other toys.

2. We came back from Rayvile and immediately attended the Baton Rouge Ballet Company's performance of the Nutcracker: A Tale from the Bayou. The Nutcracker is my all time favorite Christmas ballet. I used to love to perform this as a member of Twin City back in the day. Now, I am so excited to take my daughter to see it! The little girls were all dressed in their Chritsmas finery and had a ball:

3. This year we spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with the McLins in Baton Rouge. Per tradition, we all attended Christmas Eve service and had gumbo at Gramms and Pops' house after. Per Jordan tradition, Ryan and I had to take family pictures in front of the tree when were dressed up to go to church. This was not Addie's favorite Christmas tradition this year, as you can see. But, we had fun trying to get a good shot. For some reason, she always poses better wtih Daddy. Hmmmmmm . . . Also per tradition, I awaited my bi-yearly call from the Yancey party where the Rayville crew is having an "adult Christmas Eve" while I am home putting together "Santa." The call this year did not disappoint and I got to be at the yearly throw down, if only via phone . . .

4. On Christmas morning, Santa visited our house for the first time since Addie has been born. She was not quite sure how that hot pink kitchen got in our house, but she was loving it!


5. Finally, we spent the rest of Christmas day at Gramms and Pops house with the whole McLin bunch. Addie spent the day playing with her cousins. And we spent the day eating. hahaha.

Cousins

Now that I am FINALLY uploading pics to order from the past oh, I don't know 6 months or so, I am finding the cutest shots that I had forgotten that I took. This set is of Addie and her cousins during our annual cousin Christmas party. My sisters-in-law, Beth and Erin, started this party when their kids were Addie's age. This year the kids decorated a train cake and got to see Santa Claus riding a fire engine through the neighborhood.

Looking at these pictures highlights to me how hilarious all of us must look when we go anywhere. The kids, at this exact moment, are 5 (Caitlin), 4 (Cole), 3 (Amelia Kate) and 2 (Addie). Needless to say, it is INSANITY when we all get together. These pics kind of say it all:

Thanksgiving

Yes, yes, I know, I know, it is February and the title of this post is "Thanksgiving." I realize that I am very behind. But, I'm just now uploading these pictures because, well, life has just now slowed down long enough for me to do it. And, I'm keeping my New Years resolution to blog more.

At Thanksgiving, Addie's school - First Baptist Child Development Center - has a program. The kids dress as various Thanksgiving characters - Pilgrims, Turkeys, Native Americans - and perform some Thanksgiving tunes. This year Addie's class were Indians and sang "One little, two little, three little Indians." As I said, Addie's class sang the song. Addie stood there with her thumb in her mouth and looked at the other children like they were nuts. I, of course, found this to be hilarious and laughed the entire time. Our whole video is of me laughing in the background. Oh well, I thought she was super cute in her Indian headress and shirt.

Here are a couple of pics from the performance. Notice Addie's complete lack of participation:

In fact, in this next shot, she became so enthralled with the performance that she turned around to watch the other kids sing:

Well, she may not be Shirely Temple, but she is sure entertaining to me!

Addie's Birthday

The McLin family had a wild week last week. Addie's birthday was Wednesday and we had an Elmo themed birthday party on Saturday, complete with a ball pit and tunnel that the kids loved. However, at some point all of the adults looked up and realized the kids were missing. Most of them had taken their snacks into Addie's room to watch TV . . . hmmmmm.

Addie had a blast, except for the birthday cake/singing part of the day. She HATED the singing and lit birthday candles. She hated this so much that the next day on Aunt Erin's birthday she cried again when we were singing to Erin. I hope she grows out of this! Here are some pics of Addie in her birthday t-shirt:

And, here is a pic that I just had to share. Somehow Ryan was able to catch this angelic picture of our baby girl on his cell phone:

How cute is that? And, how is that fair? I can't get this great of a shot with our camera!

My baby brother is ENGAGED!

All of you who know me, the only people who would read this blog, know that I have a baby brother . . . Victor. Victor goes by many names . . . No. 4, Vic, Boo, Uncle Boo, the Wizard . . . but he is about to get a new name "husband." Victor proposed to his lovely girlfriend Amanda in November.

And let me tell you, the Jordan clan is EXCITED to be joining forces with the Hebert clan!

So . . . now we are gearing up for a wedding! And, we are ready!

Addie is 2!

Addie is two today. And her mood as she woke up was a clear reflection of my own - Extreme sadness. Now, I did not stomp and cry like my two year old daughter, but I sure felt like it. I have been about to cry all week. At little things, like commercials, a sappy song, or a small dog on the side of the road. I now know the reason. No, it is not PMS, it is the fact that my baby girl is no longer a baby.

Being 2 ushers in a whole new world. The terrible twos . . . potty training . . . real friendships at school that are much more fun than mommy . . . preferring daddy to mommy . . . preferring school to mommy . . . you see where this is headed. Her independence = the termination of her dependence on well . . . Me. So, yes, I have turned this milestone in her life into a cry-fest for myself, but, sorry, I'm just sad today about it.

Here is a pic of my baby when she was still a baby:

Look how much she loved Mommy then!

Now look at my no longer baby:

I have been replaced by a large Bee pillow pet!

But . . . I'm also excited for Addie! She is getting so big! And, she is smart . . . scary smart. Too smart for me most of the time. She also talks all of the time, and she has started singing along to her DVDs in the car, which is hilarious! She doesn' t know all of the words, but she keeps at it! Her favorite songs right now are "ABCs" and "Barbara Manatee (from Veggie Tales)." She also LOVES 101 Dalmations, Tinker Bell and Elmo. But, her number 1 favorite will always be Elmo.