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!!

Haikus for the Birthday Girl

We wrote haikus in honor of Julie's 27th Birthday. (In case you need a refresher, they have 5 syllables, 7 syllables, and 5 syllables.) Here is one of them:

"My sister-in-law

Sweet Aunt, Beautiful woman

Now Twenty-seven!"

Bedtime Story

Uncle Jon

Ready for Christmas

Nana and Papa

First Baptist Cookeville

Mike took Hallie to his office today, and she spent some time with the staff at FBC Cookeville.

Sink Bath

Cookeville

We're enjoying an extended Thanksgiving holiday in Cookeville this weekend. Tonight, we're headed for the Cookeville Christmas Parade!

Hallie took a ride in the laundry basket this morning.

Hollywood

Dawson Girls

We got to spend time with several of my good friends from high school on Wednesday night. It was just like old times...except with husbands and babies. :) It was great to see all of these wonderful women and catch up!

I'm holding Savannah in the first picture. As you can see in the second picture, Savannah and Hallie enjoyed playing together.

Is He Serious?!

I know that most (if not all) of you read this blog for pictures and updates on Hallie. Regardless, I just can't help it today. These are Rev. Al Sharpton's comments on the Jena 6:

"(President) Eisenhower protected the Little Rock Nine and sent the U.S. attorney general down South to integrate department store lunch counters. (Presidents) Kennedy and Johnson protected freedom riders and voting rights, but this federal government has done nothing for the Jena Six or to stem the rising tide of hate that includes a proliferation of nooses and swastikas," said the Rev. Al Sharpton, a well-known activist who was one of the celebrity participants [of this week's March on Washington]. "It is time that the federal government intervenes and offers protection against these injustices."

I absolutely cannot understand how he can compare the Jena six with the innocent and oppressed individuals who integrated the high school in Little Rock. It utterly baffles me. And I'm even more amazed that the older members of the black community do not reel at the comparison. It is the height of disrespect to those who fought tooth and nail for the right to an equal education to compare them to a group of teenagers who think they were somehow justified in beating a classmate bloody.

I know that it is tempting to blow off nonsensical rhetoric like this, but it is hard to ignore the number of people who trust and revere everything Sharpton says. Not to mention the political left that caters to him.

The Long Way Home

Heather and I went to Oxford yesterday afternoon to attend the visitation of our good friend's father, who passed away earlier this week. We were so glad to be there to hug Laura and let her know that we are praying for her and for her family. But, on the way back home...

First of all, yesterday was the Big Day for Northwest Alabama. Why, you ask? Corridor X/Highway 78/Future I-22 opened up from Forestdale to Jasper! This is truly great news for those of us who travel this highway a good bit -- and long-delayed, because the State of Alabama has been working on this stretch of road since the 70s. Anyway, feeling brave with my travel companion, and oblivious to the rain and darkness all around me, I took the new stretch of road on the way back. This was great and saved lots of time, UNTIL it dropped us out in residential Brookside, Alabama. Without street lights, signs, or any real indications of civilization. I didn't even know there was a Brookside, Alabama, much less how the heck to get to Birmingham. Thankfully, by following the end of our noses, we emerged on old 78 in Forestdale around 10:30. Success! Except...we turned the wrong way on 78 and had to turn around again.

So, finally headed home, and looking for a place to stop and purchase formula for Hallie's bottles today, we were a little tired. I dropped Heather off at her car and left for my house. Where the power was out. So, in the dark, damp middle-of-the-night, I trekked from my car up the front steps, using my cell phone to light my path. I let myself in the front door and was greeted by Archie.

I began getting ready for bed--in the pitch black dark--and discovered that the zipper on my skirt was completely stuck. It was not budging. I tried to pull it over my head, but the waist was smaller than my upper half. I tried to step out of it, but the waist was smaller than my lower half. (My husband missed most of this struggle because he had been asleep for hours.) Exhausted and out of options, I slept in my skirt and cotton pajama top. I was C-U-T-E.

Santa Baby

Gigi found this hat and boot set, and we just couldn't resist!

Cheese Steak in South Philly

I now weigh 10 pounds more than I did this morning after devouring this entire sandwich at lunch. Yum!

It's Raining Cows

It's a wonder they didn't have a heart attack.

Chilly in Philly

My apologies for the slow blog posting this week. Besides a walk on Saturday morning (on which Hallie wore a simply adorable trench coat from her Aunt Julie), things have been mercifully slow at our house.

I am headed to Philadelphia tomorrow morning for a conference that will last until Saturday. The forecast is looking a little cool for my taste, particularly considering the extra room needed in a suitcase for winter coats and such.

As for the Baby Girl, we'll have to rely on her Nana to take a few cute pictures while I'm away so that I will have something to post upon my return...

Punkin Poses

So He's Stepping Down...

Well, at least he's humble about it...

"Propst said[,] 'I'm here to bring some closure to what I think has been maybe the best high school run in the history of high school athletics.'"

Happy Hallie-ween!

The Great Pumpkin is at school with her friends and looking very cute. I promise some pictures this evening...

Hallie Hearts Carrots

Yes, that is carrot on her sock.