Christmas Eve at Grandmother's House

Cousins in Red.

It helps to have a silly uncle who will lay on the floor with ya.

Mmmm...Delicious.

Christmas with the Dawsons

Matching Cousins

Smiling with Daddy

Despite her sickness, Hallie has given us some glimpses of her sweet disposition this week.

Christmas in Cookeville

Elizabeth showing Hallie the ropes.

Samuel with his new airplane.

Our sick HallieBug woke up for part of the present opening festivities.

Elizabeth got a "Fancy Nancy" set, complete with feather boa and crown. She is, as she says, a Princess.

Playing with Gigi

Who? Me?

The Girls

Sweet Tooth

Melissa's one request while in New York City: A trip to M&M World, of course. (And yes, that is a huge wall of candy-coated goodness behind them...)

Fun at FAO Schwarz

Here we are "playing" the piano from Big.

We're Still Thawing Out

Well, we're back from our girls' trip to the Big Apple. It was a great trip, despite the very cold weather. Here we are shivering on a tour bus...

Screaming at an Oblivious Operator

I have a simple request: please, please, please just do away with the automated systems that want you to talk to them!

I called Delta today to find out the status of our flight that leaves at the crack of dawn tomorrow, headed straight into a blizzard. But I couldn't get any information because the silly system is not compatible with Southern accents. At least, that's my only theory. Those things can never understand a word I say. It didn't seem to matter how loudly or articulately I yelled "help" into the phone as it requested. It still said in a sugary voice, "I'm sorry. I did not understand you. Please repeat your command."

Rather than losing my mind in the middle of the afternoon for all the office to watch, I slammed the phone down and decided that I would arrive at the airport without a clue as to my fate. It has to be less maddening than trying to get answers from a Yankee automated operator.

Things are Looking Up

Thanks to those of you who have asked how we're doing. As expected, Hallie woke up cheerful and feeling just fine this morning. She and Daddy are at home playing this morning.

Nap, Anyone?

Well, we're pitiful again today. Hallie was sent home from school with a 100.6 fever. (We think it is just a reaction to the slew of shots she got yesterday.) So, Mommy came home too. And Hallie and Archie have basically been sleeping away the afternoon. Hallie took a two and a half hour nap right when we got home. She woke up briefly (just long enough to act fussy on our NanaCam and to eat 1/2 her bottle) and then hit the sack around 3. It's 4:50, and she's still out like a light. She'll be home from school tomorrow due to a 24-hour-fever-policy, and hopefully she and Daddy will get a little more playtime then.

Under the Weather

We're a little down in the dumps at our house today. Hallie had a full round of shots for her 6 month checkup (yes, it was a little later than 6 months). She was not a happy camper, to put it mildly. And Archie has bronchitis. He woke up in the middle of the night making a horrific coughing noise, and we took him to the doctor this morning.

The good news is that Hallie now weighs 17 lbs and 7 ounces (60th percentile), and she's in the 75th percentile for her height (I think it was 27 inches, but I'm not functioning on all cylinders today, so I can't be sure that's what the nurse said). However, she's only in the 25th percentile for her skull circumference! I made the observation that this is one area where she doesn't take after her daddy (or her Uncle Gray, for that matter). :)

Hopefully we'll be feeling back to normal tomorrow when Arch gets on his antibiotics (who knew dogs took antibiotics?) and Hallie gets over her sleepy anger with the nurse who stuck her.

O Tannenbaum

Hallie picked out her first Christmas tree this weekend. It's a beauty!

Prima Donna

Congrats to my little sister on an outstanding senior voice recital!!