catching up -take 1-Thanksgiving

Wow ... what a busy holiday season! Wonderfully busy! We got to see just about all of our family and it was really nice. The twins are finally happy to go and visit as opposed to just saying over and over that they "just want to go home." Caroline, in true form, is happy if her sisters are happy. She seems to take cues from them on whether or not a situation or person is "OK." She seems to have a bit of separation anxiety but does not suffer from stranger anxiety at all. It is really nice. I don't feel like I have to go and sit in a room with her by myself so that she will not scream like a banshee ... it is nice to have a much more "chill" baby. Let me think ... well, we started off the season going to Alan's parent's house in Sumter, SC. The girls had a great time just playing at the house and out in the backyard. On Friday after Thanksgiving we went to Alan's sister's house in Columbia, SC for a birthday party for cousin Kate (2) and a trip to the zoo! After that came the crazy roller coaster of Christmas ... I will let the pictures take over ... these are mostly Thanksgiving up to a few weeks before Christmas ...

Caroline loves Cooper and I think the feeling is pretty mutual (until she pulls his hair.) I think, for the most part, he is just glad someone is paying him some attention and feeding him some junk food. Here she is playing with him with his toy and he is giving her some doggie kisses!

... come on, you know you want to play with me!!!
... the stockings were hung by the chimney with care while Pinky Dinky Doo played on the TV up there ...

Barbara found one of those great things that I wish I had thought of ... a gingerbread house that is plastic that you just do the fun part (decorating) then clean it off and use it again next year ... the girls had a blast (decorating it and eating the candy off it for days) ... here is Hannah's side ...

Meredith's ...

... getting started ... one for the house ... one for my mouth!

Caroline is always doing the hand and knee crawl for a while now ... no more army crawling ... she is cruising all around the house now holding on to this and that and hopping from this to that and she has even taken one or two unassisted steps ... won't be long now ...

... in the girls' classroom after the holiday program ...

Oh my goodness ... the cutest thing ever ... the girls' holiday program. I was amazed that they participated and just how many songs they sang! They must have sung at least 15 songs! Here, they are doing Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer with the antlers ... they are in the back row and both are actually beside girls in green dresses ... Meredith between a girl in green and a girl in red and Hannah between a girl in green and a boy in navy.

... hilarious ... Caroline fell asleep in the car on the way to the holiday program ... though she woke in the middle of a crowd of people (has to be weird, you know?) she was really so well-behaved.

Though there were many, MANY things that were tough about the twins as babies ... they really weren't babies who got into everything ... can't say the same for Caroline ...

Happy girls ... they were just such giggly girls getting ready for school one day that I had to snap a picture!

The twins love to strip down to the undies immediately upon coming home from anywhere ... this particular day they decided to play dress-up ... Alan laughed and said they looked like Victorias Secret angel models with the wings, heels & undies.

Caroline and Daddy at Kate's party.

The twins and Kate the day of her party ...

Barbara was hoping to get a photo for her Christmas card while we were at their house for Thanksgiving so we launched a photo shoot ... I put them in their Clemson and Carolina T's (that she got for them ... I was so impressed that she got a Clemson one so I wouldn't be left out ... just for that I put Caroline in a Carolina one to skew it her way) and we went to play in the yard ... beforehand I snapped a cute one of Caroline in the high chair ...

... the best we could do ... though I was a bit sad we didn't get a cuter one of Caroline ... I guess the more kids you have the lower the chances of getting a good one of all of them!

... checking out the dogs in their cages ...

... still checking out the dogs ...

The twins are so lucky to have each other ... they are very best friends and play so well together ... I hope once Caroline is able to play better with them they will be kind to her. At this point they shun her a bit and just act like she is a big annoyance ... I can tell how much it hurts her feelings ... sometimes when they run from her or close a door in her face (after she has worked so hard to get to where they are) she just cries and cries and it breaks my heart. Every so often they will throw some love her way ... hugs or kisses ... and she loves it.