The decorations are up

And this year we have a special homage to one of our favorite shows. For those of you who are familiar with the "Greater Tuna" series, you will recognize the special ornaments -- ala Stanley's reform school license plate from "Tuna Christmas". We decided against putting up the giant blobs of tinsel this year as we have a very mobile toddler in the house who would just love the chance to get her hands on such a prize. We also decided to postpone the Carp nativity, complete with live sheep, for the very same reason. ;)

Christmas QC style!

The annual Christmas meeting of the Quote Committee, the small but dedicated group of classy ladies who kept a building filled with underappreciated attorneys from collectively jumping to their deaths to simply alleviate the sheer boredom and lack of self-respect that accompanied their tedious and monotonous jobs, was held this past week. Indeed, it was a festive affair. This year we were joined by a junior member, Miss Emma, and her delightful joy for life was a perfect addition to this holiday soiree.

Within moments of arriving, Emma had already torn the place apart. Notice the floor. Somehow, she knew exactly where to go to find the measuring cups and then commenced to dispersing them throughout the house. It's amazing how quickly this happened. She is definitely in the "racoon phase" of her toddlerhood. Every drawer, every shelf, every container... MUST...BE...EXPLORED... and....

eventually destroyed.

Bless Lisa for letting us meet in her new place. She is the sweetest hostess ever. I'm sure she'll be finding pieces of tupperware in unusual places for months to come.

After the meal and melee of present opening, Emma took a moment to do some reading. Check out those wonky pigtails. They are at those angles because, during the course of the night, I'm pretty sure I put those rubber bands back in her hair at least a dozen times each. At this point I'm just happy to have two of them on her head. Direction is irrelevant.

Auntie Roshni, AKA the "ticklemonster" is always a hit with Miss E. They love to exchange fashion tips and other pop culture news stories. She's the cool aunt that knows all the secrets a girl would never tell her mother.

It is always great to see my dear friends. I honestly credit them with saving my sanity during that dark year at "The Soulless Law Firm that Shall Not Be Named". God has blessed me with such wonderful friends and I am so thankful for these special ladies. And a special shout out needs to go to our missing member and new mom, Hallie Joy. We love you and miss you! Hugs and smooches to that beautiful baby girl. :D

Go Rams!

Mom sent Emma an adorable "drill team" outfit. It's so cute and Emma just loves the way it sparkles. Today we decided to enjoy some of the great weather we are having here in NoVa.

...and what better way to celebrate the fall than to put on your sparkly drill team dress and.... CHEER!

Emma also had fun dressing up in her ballerina tutu and playing her "baby grand" piano. Oh how she loves to dance!

Monkey Business!

It's Halloween Y'all!

Emma had the best time trying on her Halloween costume and giving it a practice run. It was a beautiful day in NoVa so we thought we would get out and enjoy some of the sunshine and beautiful fall colors. Our little cheeky monkey, Emma, absolutely loved it.

So many people complain about how constricting it is, but I'm pretty sure little E would wear a monkey suit every day if she could.

And I had to include this photo. I mean, seriously, a literal monkey on ones back is always good cause for a blog photo right?

Who me???

Look at this face. So adorable. So innocent. How could she be anything but sweet right?

Well.......

...there could be just a teeny tiny little bit of mischief behind those baby blues.

But I'm not telling on her... except to say that she has more in common with her daddy than just her good looks. ;)

It's fall again already?

Oh, it has been a long, long, time since my last post. Here is where I insert my lame excuse as to why:

I've been.... um.....doing

...not a whole lot.

Well, actually, we have been traveling the past couple of weeks. We took a trip to Texas for my family reunion. And then we took a trip to South Carolina for Robby's High School reunion. I was sick the entire time and it rained almost constantly on both trips, but, other than that-- It Was Great!

Here are a few photos:

Emma and her cousin Logan

Emma imitating the elephants.

The first two photos were taken at the Fort Worth Zoo. It was a little damp but not pouring that morning. We didn't get to ride the train because of the weather but at least we got to see most of the animals and the crowds were not bad at all.

This picture was taken at one of my favorite restaurants of all time-- Edelweiss! Robby despises German food but put on a happy face for me. :D I think the little ones liked it too!

And now to the Evans reunion...

You've got to watch out for those women in the kitchen....



By the end of the day, Emma was exhausted. There were so many little ones running around and she wanted to be right in the middle of it all. Unfortunately, she is still a little too small to run with the "older" crowd. So, instead, she ran her parents in circles the whole time. Did I mention I was sick the whole time? Bless Robby. He was a trooper and even served as a comfy place to rest when the time was right. ;)

I'll try to load up a photo or two from his reunion next. Hopefully, that won't take me a month to do this time. ;)

Disco Fever

What can I say.... EG loves her some disco!

Emma has always been a music lover. One of her first favorites was "This Little Light of Mine". So now, whenever she wants to hear music she starts waving her "little light" finger at us.

But now, she has discovered a whole new genre of music that she enjoys and a whole new use for her pointing finger-- you know, John Travolta style.

I should have known this would happen after she went so bananas for her birthday disco ball. Now it's only a matter of time before she converts the basement into a trendy club and probably turns the old folks down when we try to get in.

Watermelon

We recently took a short trip back to Robby's mom's place in South Carolina. She was needing some work done on her car and around the house so we loaded up the tools and headed for the palmetto state.

Robby did his magic (as usual) and now the brakes are good and everything is mowed. Emma did an inspection and says that Daddy gets an "A".

While there Emma had the chance to experience the joys of watermelon. She's had it before, but this was especially special because she was able to roll around the big green stripy ball and then actually EAT it!

Here she is making the sign for "Ball".

And here she is shortly after her encounter with the watermelon. Sure was sticky, but totally worth it!