Christmas, part one.

Well, I can’t believe it is already 2012! I know this is way late but Merry Christmas! We had a lovely holiday that seemed like a whirlwind.  I know this is late, but Freddy was off of work for almost 2 whole weeks and we wanted to enjoy the time he was home.  We had a lot of fun as a family! We loved, loved, loved having Daddy home with us, and I must say I got somewhat spoiled!!

The Stokes household hosted 4 Christmases this year! That’s right, 4!! We had our family of 4, Grandma and Grandpa Stokes, Gigi and Nana and Pawpaw, and finally Pop and Mimi.  Oh, and we can’t forget Aunt Amanda too.  So with all of those celebrations you better believe we, especially Ansley and Emerson, were spoiled rotten!!


I’ll start with our little family Christmas.  This year was so much fun, because Ansley is really starting to get what Christmas is all about.  She was so excited for Jesus’ birthday and also for Santa to bring her presents.  We try to focus less on Santa and more on Jesus, but let’s face it Santa is fun! To start our Christmas Eve off, we baked Jesus a birthday cake.  Ansley insisted on a pink cake and pink icing.  I told her that Jesus was a boy but she said, "no Jesus a girl, Jesus a little princess."  Well, I guess there is no arguing with that!! After she decorated the cake, on her own I might add, she and I went to the neighbors houses and gave out our annual Christmas cookies.  She was a hit, as she was still wearing her Christmas apron.  After the cookies were all handed out we loaded up the car and went to the Christmas Eve service at church.  It was a beautiful service and really reminded us of what this holiday is all about.

When we got home it was just about bed time, so we let Ansley sprinkle her reindeer food on the lawn (basically just oats and sprinkles).  She was very excited to let the reindeer know where to come.  We came inside and got all of her pacifiers together to give to Santa.  We had been talking about leaving her pacies for Santa for A. LONG. TIME.  So she knew that he was going to take them and give them to babies who really needed a paci but didn’t have one.  When she put them under the tree she was perfectly happy.  It wasn’t until we had put on our new Christmas jammies and were in bed that she just melted down. She insisted that she no longer wanted presents, she just wanted her pacies! It took her about an hour and a half to fall asleep but the next night there was no problem at all.  She still occasionally asks where her pacies went and I reminder her that Santa took them and she responds “to the babies”.  Once the kiddos were in bed, Freddy and I snuggled up and watched Christmas Vacation, a Henderson family tradition. I have to say that I love Christmas Eve far more than Christmas day!











Next…Christmas morning!

Happy 5 months, Emerson!

Sweet girl, you’re 5 months old now! Yet another month has flown by and we have grown more and more in love with you.  Your personality is starting to shine through even more now.  You are happy, sweet and turning into quite the talker!














Here’s what you have been up to this month:

• You hit a growth spurt this month and are really chunking up! Your rolls on your legs are getting so big and scrumptious!! I don’t know how much you weigh but I would guess around 16 pounds. 
• You are wearing a size 2 diaper and size 6 months clothing.  You have even been fitting into some 9 month clothing, they are a little loose but they fit your length.
• You are on a great 4 hour schedule during the day! You eat about 6-7 ounces each time and are eating solids 3 times a day.  You really seem to like carrots, but you are happy to eat no matter what.  I think it is because you get my full on attention the entire time.  You really ham it up when I am feeding you.
• You are only waking up once a night.  You go to bed between 8 and 8:30 and then you don’t get up until 6.  I nurse you for a bit and then you go right back to sleep.
• You ADORE your sister.  She hung the moon in your eyes.  You love to see what she is up to, and the feeling is starting to be completely mutual.  It really was touch-and-go when you came home, but now that Ansley knows your staying she has really taken to you. 
• You are really making strides in therapy.  We may even drop down to once every 2 weeks. You still have trouble keeping your right hand open, you always want to keep it in a tight fist.
• You really love your exersaucer! You sit in it happy as a clam for quite a long time.  You really love it when your sister plays with the toys on it too.
• You now have TWO bottom teeth! The first one came in right after Thanksgiving and then a week after, the second one came in!
• You have a death grip!! You are so strong it is ridiculous! Even your PT says you are the strongest baby she has ever seen.
• You love blowing raspberries, kicking your feet, grabbing your toes, eating your toes, squealing like Mariah Carey and talking up a storm!!

I can’t believe you are almost half a year old!! You are going to be crawling and walking before I know it!! I really wish this whole time thing would slow down a little bit!!

turkey day

Being that it is 12 days until Christmas, I thought it was high time to write about Thanksgiving.  We spent the holiday with my dad and his significant other, Cynthia (affectionately referred to as Mimi).  He was getting his Chemo done on Wednesday in Savannah, so while he was doing that we went to visit Grandma and Grandpa. My dad lives about an hour north of Freddy’s parents, so we made the rounds, albeit short rounds.  At our short, but oh-so-sweet, visit with Grandma and Grandpa we ran laps and played outside, picked oranges, played ring toss, played inside and had cookies(of course). We enjoyed seeing everyone, even if just for a few hours.



















Once we got to Dad’s, we had a very nice and relaxing time.  My dad lives on the water, and Ansley absolutely LOVES going to the dock to see whatever wildlife she can.  I think we made about 6 trips in 2 days.  I have to say I love going down there too.  It is so beautiful and relaxing, I think I could rock in the rocking chair down there all day!  On Thanksgiving day, Cynthia cooked everything herself, she absolutely refused my help!  Poor Cynthia, even happily obliged to all of my dietary requirements (no dairy and vegetarian).  After we stuffed ourselves silly with the delicious spread, and watched the requisite Cowboys game, we went to see the new piece of property that Cynthia and my Dad bought (and the exceptionally long dock).  All in all we had a grand old time in South Georgia and we can’t wait to return!