Addie's Birthday Dinner

SIX?!? Was it really already time for our Addie girl to turn six? December flew by in a flurry of activities, and before we knew it, Christmas was almost here. Which meant Addie was about to have a birthday. Poppy and Nana were already in town to celebrate Dad's birthday so they stayed an extra night to take Addie out for her birthday. And where do you think she wanted to go? Bad Daddy's of course!

We ate some tasty burgers then headed back home for a little party. How do you like my last-minute brownie cake? I remembered how much the girls' loved my friend Josey's brownie cake (two sets of brownies stacked with icing slathered in the middle) and made that for our special dessert.

I don't know if anyone I know loves getting presents more than Addie...well, maybe Collins? But I think Addie might like it even more if possible. So when she got her own set of doll luggage she was thrilled!

And that was not all...doll bunk beds to go with it! She and Collins were officially in business with their American Girl dolls and matching accessories.

That brownie cake could make your teeth hurt it was so sweet, but it was tasty (especially paired with peppermint ice cream).

Time to get that doll all set up...

Addie had a huge smile plastered on her face the whole night. She did not mind one bit being the center of attention or being showered with gifts and dessert. :)

A super fun night for our super special Christmas baby.

Vienna Boys Choir

When I saw an announcement that the Vienna Boys Choir was coming to our church for a special concert the day after Dad's birthday, I knew that tickets to the show were the perfect gift for him. His love of sacred choral music runs deep, and what a neat opportunity to see this famous choir!

So Al, Heather, Dad and I got together in Raleigh for a special birthday dinner at Hayes Barton and then walked up to church for the show. Dinner was cozy and fantastic. It was fun being out together just the four of us because normally the kids dominate the dinner conversation. It was so seasonably chilly and festive walking to the concert, and even though we thought we were running late, we scored seats on the second row!

The first half of the concert was a mixture of music from around the world; the second half was Christmas music we knew and loved. The boys were so young and had crystal clear voices, and when they sang "O Holy Night" I got chill bumps. It was the best rendition I had ever heard. That was my Christmas moment right there.

What a special night and the perfect way to celebrate our wonderful Dad.

Bread of Life

Our church theme for the year was "Bread of Life" so when they asked for church members to volunteer for a special baking project, I was quick to sign up. They were asking us to each make 12 loaves of artisan bread to be given out as a special gift to each family during the Christmas Eve service. 

This project took much longer than anticipated and my loaves were not always pretty, but I learned a lot and ended up loving doing it. I was excited to take my finished loaves to church, and it was neat watching racks and racks of bread be handed out on Christmas Eve. 

A neat way to symbolize "Bread of Life"!

Celebrating at School

Wear your pajamas-to-school, Polar Express movie-watching, class parties- the girls celebrated the holidays at Lacy in lots of fun ways this year...

I Know that Guy

Loved watching his expression as he realized, "I know that guy!". Cute display at the library.

Special Delivery

It's a tradition to make granola for our neighbors for Christmas so I hope they actually like it! This year we delivered by jeep!

Wish List

They talk about what they want for Christmas basically all-year-round, but Addie made it official with this list. There is a hedgehog, a microphone and a panda in there, and anything I could not decipher I just had to go confirm in the Learning Express catalog. Oh, and she wants a women's work suit so she can go to work with Daddy. Oh Addie, you have given Santa lots to work with this year!

Cinderella

It was a girls' night at the theatre! We went to see "Cinderella" with Reeves, Grey, and Sara and had so much fun. The show was FANTASTIC. It was really funny and charming and just so much fun. We smiled the whole time. The actors did a great job of engaging the audience even coming into the theatre to try on the glass slipper to different ladies in the audience. Unfortunately for Reeves- it did not fit!

"Cinderella" is a Raleigh Little Theatre Christmas tradition, and now I know why. I would love to come see this show every year! We enjoyed it that much.

Before the show...

and after! The girls got shy when it was time to see the actors and request an autograph. But Reeves and Addie finally stepped up to talk to them. Here they are with the Fairy Godmother and her fairies...

The girls had the idea to pose for pictures by this water feature in this random person's yard after the show... 

Then they had to switch sisters... :)

Such a fun night (and day) with my girls!

And little boy wanted a photo too...although was not sad to miss the show!

Another Angel

Turns out we had not one but two sweet angels in the church Christmas pageant this year. Collins was thrilled to be promoted from an animal in the Elementary Christmas story to a beautiful angel this year as a third grader. 

Next year as a fourth grader, she will get to be a red angel AND play the chimes. It just keeps getting better and better!

The elementary story is pretty dramatic with cool lighting, unique Christmas music, and even a large camel that walks down the aisle! Mary and Joseph were played by Caroline and Thomas- the kids of two of my Covenant Group girls so that was special to see. This rendition of the Christmas story is really moving, and thankfully I could enjoy it. Because when you give your three-year-old your wallet to completely unload that buys you at least 15 uninterrupted minutes.  :)

Collins and Kate had a pretty easy angel role and didn't even have to wear shoes! And did I mention that they were encouraged to wear a little makeup? She was thrilled! And let's not forget the promise of punch and cookies at the reception afterwards. 

Because two pageants in one day wasn't enough performances for us, we headed to see "Cinderella" afterwards. Mom and Baba were supposed to come up for this day of fun, but it didn't end up working out so Mom was sweet to offer her play tickets to the Moores. We met them over at the Raleigh Little Theatre after church. Off to the final show of the day!

The Star Angel

When it came time for Addie's last preschool Christmas pageant at church, she knew exactly the role she wanted to play...the Star Angel! Because the kindergartners are the oldest kids in the pageant, they get to play the main parts in the Christmas story. And because Addie had the best attendance out of all the girls in her Sunday School class, she got to pick her part first. You would think Mary, Mother of Jesus, might be the most desirable role, but you would be wrong. Addie immediately chose the Star Angel because what is cooler than sporting angel wings, a halo around your head, and carrying a large star down the aisle? Nothing!

Here are Addie and Stewart, two beautiful (but not so quiet!) angels...

I am one of only three Sunday School teachers for the Whales class. And all the kids who don't normally come to Sunday School definitely came out for the pageant so we had a large crew to get dressed that day.

Sweet thing was SO excited to be the star angel....she was beaming the whole morning. Miss Margaret made a beautiful Mary and was thrilled to sit up front and hold baby Jesus.

They look so angelic practicing their music, but trust me when I tell you that a church pageant rehearsal is about the most chaotic event I have ever attended. :)

Show time! (Thinking Stewart was annoyed with all my picture taking.) 

As happens in live theatre, if something can go wrong, it probably will. Addie was halfway down the aisle with a big smile on her face when her halo slipped right off her head. It totally took her by surprise, and she turned around to look at me at the back of the church wondering what in the world to do?!? I signaled for her to keep going, and luckily her fellow star friend saved the day. As Stewart headed down the aisle, she swiftly grabbed that halo and delivered it safely to the Star Angel. Whew!

I adore these pictures of her walking with the star toward the manger...

Turns out Addie's wardrobe malfunction was the first of many mistakes about to go down. Would you believe the narrator somehow had an old script that was YEARS old? The kids and the accompanist were so confused, and so was the audience! Everyone just winged it, and as always, the parents were just happy to see their kids get up front and be cute. But literally, everything that could go wrong in a preschool pageant did!

But the show went on...

Our tiny performers were completely unaffected by the miscues of the Christmas pageant, and were all smiles afterwards because they got a cupcake for Jesus's birthday. It doesn't take much when you are five. I was so proud of my girl to stepping up to the Star Angel challenge and for not getting flustered when she temporarily lost her halo. :)

Then it was right back up on stage for a choir performance at the late service. Would you believe we could hear Addie's voice from the very last row? 👀 Perhaps not the blending of voices that the choir director was hoping for, but we all appreciated her exuberance. If anyone can belt out a Christmas song, it's Addie!

What a neat morning for our girl! We might have a performer in the family. So happy she got to test her wings with the greatest story ever told.