Like the Energizer Bunny...

... the Christmas festivities keep going and going and going and going and going...

I loved them at first but truthfully, now I'm starting to get tired because of this growing belly. Only 2 more weeks to go! Doc says it may still be a minute because the baby hasn't dropped at all. Due January 5th, but praying for a December tax/insurance break. I don't think it's too much to ask, considering all the money we spent just getting the baby to grow!

Trying to maintain my Christmas energy (wish I could recharge like a battery) for our little Christmas delight. Emma has been having a wonderful time celebrating. Here she is in her GORGEOUS Christmas dress last Sunday. We love well-dressed cousins who pass along beautiful dresses such as this one. :) Thank you!! Emma's favorite part of the dress are the accompanying tights, which remind her of Angelina Ballerina. She also spent most of our Sunday church "fishing" for compliments by asking people if they thought she looked pretty.

Last Monday we enjoyed the trains and Christmas lights at Scottsdale McCormick Railroad Park with the Lorenzen Fam. So inexpensive, but so festive. Emma was thrilled to discover that they had characters walking around "just like Disneyland"! Frosty was her first stop, but she obliged some of the other characters as well.

Our church party was Friday evening. We got Emma all dolled up in her Christmas skirt that my talented friend Michelle made her. Again, the tights were the highlight. And if you couldn't tell, Emma loves to pose by the tree. Anytime I tell her I want to take a picture of her, she runs straight to the tree and strikes a pose.

She even got to perform with the Primary kids for the FIRST time. They have been letting the soon-to-be primary age children into Primary "singing time" for a month, so they gave her permission to join them for the Christmas performance. Needless to say, we did not have to persuade her to join them. As soon as she saw them get on stage, she SPRINTED to the stage and stood front and center very proudly. She sang the songs pretty well, although a few she did not know.

This shot is fuzzy, but it gives an action shot of her "checking it twice"... which she had been practicing ALL. WEEK. LONG. At any given moment she'll start right into "OH! You better watch out..." And at Wal-Mart this week, she full on BELTED the "GLORIA" chorus to "Angels we have heard on high" in the check out line. I would have stopped her normally, but it was so cute (albeit LOUD) and so many people were watching her and smiling. They even clapped when she finished.

While in tithing settlement the Bishop offered her chocolate if she would sing a song for him. She promptly replied that she would like to sing him TWO songs for TWO pieces of chocolate. The Bishop's response? "You must have learned your negotiating skills from your lawyer Father". :) YUP. And yes, she sang two songs and yes she got her two pieces of chocolate. Two going on seventeen I tell you.

ALMOST better than Christmas Eve, was the eve before Uncle Glen flew to Arizona. She was so excited it took us THREE hours to get her to bed. And every time we went in to threaten her life, or, uhhhhhhhhhhhh, lovingly guide her to bed - she would tell us something about Glen. "Isn't Glen so nice? Will he be so excited to see me? He will tell me my hair looks beautiful like Rapunzel. He can be Flynn Rider!"

Greg was in a performance called "Before Tonight" last night and tonight - so Emma's lovely Aunt Laura offered to babysit to so that Glen and I could attend. Laura took her to her ward FHE to make gingerbread houses and Emma had a BLAST. What could she dislike about tables full of candy and all the single adults in the world giving her undivided attention?? She even gave an impromptu performance of "I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus". Too bad she hates attention so much. :) Wonder where she got that?

The whole Krebs Family comes in tomorrow and we couldn't be MORE EXCITED to play and play and play and play and play...

Hope you are enjoying your Christmas season as well!!

Child Labor Laws

From the U.S. Department of Labor:

The most sweeping federal law that restricts the employment and abuse of child workers is the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Child labor provisions under FLSA are designed to prohibit their employment in jobs that are detrimental to their health and safety. FLSA restricts the hours that youth under 16 years of age can work and lists hazardous occupations too dangerous for young workers to perform.

So we bend these "so-called laws" just a bit in the Adams household.

With a smile like that, how could anyone REALLY report me for inhumane conditions? And would it help my cause that she BEGS to cut cantaloupe (with her IKEA knife) and other such fruit for dinner prep?

Complete with bed head and PJ's - this child in servitude was SO PROUD that she could juice an orange without her task master's assistance.

The only thing that could land me in prison would be the sticky mess that engulfed her chubby little fingers.

Please don't report me to the U.S. Department of Labor - at least not until I give you the photographic evidence that I also make her put away her own laundry.

Sincerely,

Slave Driver Extraordinaire

And so they begin...

CHRISTMAS FESTIVITIES! Lay them on thick Mr. Holiday Season, because I'm loving every single minute.

Kicked off the month with my Tempe Symphony Christmas Concert. Always well attended by the public (cause it's FREE) and a great way to start the season. Complete with community choirs and a sing-a-long.

The first weekend of December I had my annual party with friends from my Masters program (MSW) at ASU. We graduated almost 8 years ago, and it is always fun to get together. Wish I had a picture to show you how darling they are. I don't see them as often as I would like, but every time I leave their company, I am reminded how lucky I was to attend school with such impressive, intelligent, fun, and genuinely kind peers. The world is a better place with social workers like these women in the field.

Also enjoyed the Christmas concert of East Valley Mormon Choral Organization (EVMCO). Attended with my Aunt Sharron and sister Laura and what an incredible concert. Really got you in the Christmas spirit! Hand bells and all! Nothing says Christmas like hand bells... am I right?? Again - no pictures - must be the pregnancy brain.

This week (Thursday) we had our ward's Relief Society party. Always super fun, but this year especially memorable because it also included Emma's first public singing performance. She sang for a group of about 50 women and was adorable (if I may say so).

She first sang "Away in a Manger" with Greg and I as back-up singers. Then she sang "I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus" as a solo. I'm sick because I forgot to record her that night (complete with applause, laughter, bowing, and darling Christmas skirt).... so I had to get her singing her songs, the next day at my grandparents home. Not quite the same, but you get the gist.

Here is Away in a Manger:



Friday evening we attended a Christmas event through the City of Tempe. It was fairly crowded, so we didn't stay exceptionally long, but I was THRILLED with their fantastic Santa. And we only had to wait 10 minutes.

This is Emma's first year that she has agreed to sit on Santa's lap (sans screaming). She finally gets it. She finally gets that he is the man who brings her presents. And this smart little thing never does anything altruistically. When I asked her is she was excited to sit on Santa's lap, she replied, "YES! And I'll ask him for a Baby Belle doll and then he will put it in my hands!". We had to break it to her gently that she would just TELL him now and then she would have to wait until Christmas morning to see if he honored her request. She seemed fine to wait for the goods and was still pumped to sit on his lap and give her LONG list of requests.

Could you EVER get a more darling Santa? He was SO sweet with her. Just love this picture.

The event also allowed Emma to decorate and eat her own Christmas cookie. She was mostly interested in the eating part. Duh. That's what they are meant for.

Then she met up with her pal David and they ate cookies and chatted around the "campfire"...

Saturday we tried to continue the Christmas Spirit and attend Tempe's "Boat Light Parade". They let over 50 motorized and decorated boats onto Tempe Town Lake for a holiday parade. Should have been really cool, but unfortunately, we could not see the boats. At all. Very disappointing. Guess we'll know for next year to arrive extra early.

We even met up with JJ, Zac and Alex. But, Emma and Alex had more fun playing with the stroller that watching the boats (that they couldn't see). Shocking.

We finished the weekend festivities with a super fun evening with Greg's family. Linda is spending the holidays with Jamie and Gina in Texas, so we celebrated early before her departure. We ordered FANTASTIC Mexican Food and gorged ourselves silly on homemade tortillas, yummy tamales, tasty meat and treats, treats, treat! Again, forgot the camera, but let it be known that Emma was spoiled rotten by her Grammie Lou and then proceeded to be a complete 2-year-old and steal all of her cousin's toys that were suddenly better than hers. LOVELY. Should make Christmas morning with even more cousins super fun.

Merry Christmas to all! We have many more festivities ahead... so more to come!

1 point for Mom!

Scene takes place at bedtime (or sufficiently WELL past bedtime)...

Mom: (turns off hall light)

Emma: Mom! Please turn on the hall light, I'm scared of the dark.

Mom: Emma, you have your night light that keeps you safe.

Emma: But Mom, I'm scared of the dark and I need the hall light on too!

Mom: No you don't, you never sleep with the hall light on.

Emma: (panicked) Mom! PLEASE leave the hall light on, I'm scared of the dark.

Mom: Well then close your eyes and it won't be dark anymore.

Emma: (after long pause of pondering this option) .............. OK. Good night.

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WHAAAAAAAAAAAAA??????????? Could it be that I won a battle with Miss Sassy Pants of the world???? I actually out smarted her???? Guess my Masters degree was worth it after all. :)

The Christmas Season does truly bring miracles.

Why I live in Arizona.

There are many reasons that we live in Arizona... here are just a few.

#1 - 75 degrees and sunny. All week long. Sorry if you are stuck somewhere in a blizzard. We deal with our mother nature wrath during the summer.

#2 - Amazingly sweet oranges from my Grandpa Hancock's citrus trees. Turned into amazingly sweet orange juice every morning. Seriously incredible. You should move to Arizona, just so you can experience this culinary joy. Straight from the tree to my taste buds... Mmmmmmm....

#3 - Aunt Laura. There are some things parents just won't do. Like take their daughter to "Tangled" for the SECOND time in the REAL movie theater. Or let their daughter wear a ridiculous dress-up costume that resembles Rapunzel in PUBLIC the ENTIRE evening. And then take that same daughter to a restaurant for dinner (still in dress) and on to hang out with grandparents.

Even before the "girls night out" began with Laura, Emma asked if she could write a note to Laura that said, "Dear Laura, I love you and you are my best Aunt". Ha Ha.

There really are so many other reasons, but these are a good start.