Christmas Night at Aunt Sissy's House

At Christmas, my sister and I rotate whose house will be hosting our Christmas dinner and present exchange. This year, it was at my sister's house. Caroline was so excited about going to Aunt Sissy's that she almost had a panic attack! Tim and I decided to have her open her presents from us at home, but she demanded that we load them in the car to be opened up at Aunt Sissy's. ;) I bet you know who won that battle! Speaking of battles, I lost the wardrobe change battle....Caroline didn't want to change clothes, so she and Tim teamed up against me. I lost! :( Oh, well, she still looked adorable.

Each year, Nana always gives us a 'junk' box full of random goodies. Caroline loved this box! She got tons of stickers, magnets, candy canes, little books, bouncy balls, and much much more!
Caroline's opening her Shopping Cart from Nana and Papa. We found it at a cute boutique in Union City and she just 'had' to have it! She played with it at Thanksgiving, but we 'left' at Nana's house on 'accident'. When she opened it, she yelled out "two buggies!"

Caroline put Shorty in the cart and walked him around while carrying her money from Aunt Janie and Uncle Preston. She really thought she was going shopping. Caroline couldn't wait to put her money in her piggy bank at home!

Nana and Papa got her this cute Cookie Set that she loves. Her friend Ruth has it and Caroline hasn't stopped talking about it! We've been having lots of tea parties and eating lots of cookies the last few days. :)

Caroline LOVES puzzles! I found this one back in September. It's quite difficult and I immediately regretted my decision to give it to her now. But, by the second day, Caroline mastered it! I hope she continues to be great at putting things together.

So exicted over stickers! Tim and I groaned when we saw this present...we'll be picking up stickers for months!

Caroline was again so excited to open up her Max and Ruby stuffed animals. She loves the cartoon and books.

We had a great Christmas this year! I hope that all of you had a wonderful Christmas and we wish you the best in the upcoming new year!

Ho Ho Ho!! Santa Claus came to town!

Me: "Merry Christmas, Caroline!" I said as I walked into her bedroom.
Caroline: "Huh? Oh, Merry Christmas!" popping up from the covers
Me: "Guess who came to see you last night?"
Caroline: "SANTA!!!" she yelled as she jumped out of the bed and started running to the hall!

Santa left some goodies for Caroline this morning!
Caroline looking over at her new pink cars.

Smiling over her Lemon Merinque doll to go with her new pink car

Noticing that Santa ate her cookies she made for him last night and drank the milk

Pez Snowman stocking stuffer

Strawberry Shortcake Monogrammed Sippy Cup

Ecstatic over her new purple car!

Digging in her stocking....what else???

Look Mommy! I got a sucker!

Playing with her pink Strawberry Shortcake car

Checking out her new table and chairs with her babies

Trying on her new lipgloss

Aren't I beautiful with my new lipgloss? :)

Caroline insisted that I take a picture of her new pink baby with naked baby in her new pink Caroline chair!

Loving that she is able to eat a sucker for breakfast!

Posing with her pink baby in her pink chair

The Polar Express...Blue Ridge Style

On Christmas Eve, we (Nana, Papa, Tim, Caroline and I) headed towards the Blue Ridge Mountains to catch the Santa Train. Caroline was SO excited! She is obsessed with the Polar Express, so the thought of riding on a real train was almost too much for her to bear! She literally woke up every hour the night before asking if it was time to ride the choo choo! Adorable, right? Absolutely, but NOT in the middle of the night! ;)

On the way there, she was getting very anxious and kept asking if we were at the choo choo. When we finally arrived, we had plenty of time to grab a snack, but she wouldn't stand for it! She was pulling our hands and kept saying "My choo choo....NOW!" So we boarded early and hung out.

The actual train wasn't quite what I had expected and I was a bit disappointed in the theatrics, but Caroline loved it and that was all that mattered! Santa came around to each car and greeted each child. She sat on his lap, told him what she wanted for Christmas, and he gave her the special bell! It was super sweet. She pretended to see her ticket flying out the window and magically reappearing. She then claims to have seen lots of elves walking in the woods as we came closer to the North Pole. :) We sang Christmas carols, drank hot chocolate, ate cookies and popcorn, and met some of Santa's special friends. We met Rudolph, the Gingerbread Man, and Frosty the Snowman. When we got back to the car, she immediately crashed! We had a great time!

**My pictures are out of order!!**

Posing in front of the Engine

The conductor of the train checking tickets

Caroline said, "My ticket!" She was pretending her ticket flew out the train like in the movie!

Napping? I think not!

Posing for a photo with the Gingerbread Man

Enjoying her candy canes

Caroline screamed out "Elves!!" while looking out the window

Ringing her special bell from Santa

Sorry for the blurriness...not sure what happened. Posing with Nana and Papa.

Taking a picture with one of the Elves

The big moment arrived...meeting Santa on the train!

Listening to a story about the Santa Train

On deck with Mrs. Claus for a picture

Disney Live Rock'n Road Show

As part of Caroline's Christmas present, we took her to the Disney Live Rock'n Road Show at Philips Arena here in Atlanta on Sunday. I took a cue from Tammy over at A Mama's Drama and brought Caroline's stuffed Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy dolls, a juice box, water bottle, and a bag of goldfish crackers. I was determined that we weren't going to spend a small fortune on toys/items that we already had at home. ;) We used Tim's parking pass, so we got front row parking and walked right into the arena.

Caroline was mesmerized the first half of the show! I'm not sure she even blinked!! When one of the characters would come out, she would wave her stuffed animal in the air in excitement. It was so cute! The second half of the show, she wouldn't sit down. She danced and danced and then danced some more!

Snacking on her goldfish during intermission
This is what we came to see!

Mesmerized by the stage!

She wouldn't take her eyes off the stage!

The second half of the show...dancing queen!

Telling us "one more minute" til showtime!

I'm all ready for the show!