Tree Lighting at Thornblade Country Club

Thornblade Country Club held their annual tree lighting ceremony the Sunday after Thanksgiving. What a great, child-friendly party! Egg nog, beer, wine, cider, appetizers and desserts were all included as well as crafts for the kids and plenty of singing. Admission was a toy for Toys for Tots, to which I am always happy to contribute. This was our first year attending and Emery loved it. Any opportunity for her to be the center of attention....

Here she is busting a move on the dance floor. This is what we call her crazy dance, hence the crazy eyes.

Next, Emery volunteered to sing "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" for the entire crowd. This did not go so well as Emery knows all of five words to the song. However, she looked pretty stinkin' cute up there and the audience helped her out.

Whew! Glad to be done with her solo!

So I was thinking of using this on our Christmas card.....until I realized that my black shirt became see-through with the camera flash. What do you think? Do you want to see my sexy seven months pregnant belly on our card? I didn't think so. My stripper moment combined with the fact that Emery would not look at the camera or be still did not make for good card material.

Emery visiting the ornament decorating table with her pigs in a blanket.

What a great kickoff to the holiday season!

Lady Godiva vs. Emery

We've had a real problem lately with Emery refusing to wear clothes. She absolutely loves being nude. I don't what she's going to do when the weather turns colder. Ben caught her this afternoon doing her best Lady Godiva impersonation on my parents' dog, Sandy. Poor Sandy!

Thanksgiving and The Polar Express

Ben and I hosted Thanksgiving at our house this year. A slightly smaller crowd than usual, but still crazy and fun. My parents, Nanny, Brian, Alison, Hayes, Kelsey and my cousin Nathan's family (wife Michelle, children Wyatt and Lauren) all made the trip. Oh, and all the dogs. My first time preparing a turkey went pretty well--not nearly as scary as I envisioned. We had a great time watching football and spending time together. Thanks for making the trip! I was so busy during the day that I did not take any pictures other than this one of Kelsey chilling in the pram during dinner. However, the day after Thanksgiving was spent in Bryson City, NC, riding The Polar Express! I took plenty of pictures of that.

Team Stephens! Alison and I insisted on all members of our families (Nanny got a hall pass) wearing Christmas jammies on the train. Ben and Brian put up a fuss, but in the end they went along with it.

Here comes Emery leading the chefs and children down the aisle of car #8. The train excursion was done really well: hot chocolate that was the perfect temperature for kiddos, Christmas carols, Santa, keepsake silver bells, cookies, and lots of interaction with the "chefs," "conductor," and "hobo." The trip was very similar to the book--we rode to "the North Pole" to pick up Santa while having the story narrated to us. Emery and Hayes loved it!

Some other passengers in their jammies

Emery loved the hot chocolate and her new thermos.

The conductor punching Emery's ticket just like in the movie!

Hayes and Emery watching for Santa as we near the North Pole.

Singing Christmas carols.....did you know Emery can read??? ;-)

Santa gifted each child with a silver bell!

Hayes and Emery dancing in the aisle to "Deck the Halls."

Nanny was a good sport and joined us. Emery, Hayes and Kelsey LOVE Nanny.

Proof I was on the train and also in matching jammies. With Bodie, of course. Speaking of Bodie, I am officially in my third trimester and feeling great! Huge, but great.

Mickey Mouse at Chick Fil A

Emery is really into Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy and Pluto these days. We watch "Mickey's Clubhouse" every morning (multiple times) and she gets really excited whenever she sees something Mickey. Case in point: we left Publix this afternoon with an enormous Mickey mylar balloon. Anyways, Chick fil A hosted dinner with Mickey tonight, so of course Emery, Harper and Davis had to go....along with about a thousand other little kids. What a scene! But the look of pure joy when Emmy finally got her chance to sit with Mickey made the chaos totally worth it.

Emery and Davis. Harper decided at the last second that she would rather just watch than actually have to touch the giant mouse.

Ecstatic Emery

Emery played in the play area for an hour and a half after her chat with Mickey. She's tireless.

Thankfully, Emery finally figured out how that she can climb the tower to the slide all by herself by shoving her feet in the netting. Whew! No more squeezing my pregnant belly in there with her! Way to go, Emery!

Emery Kerrigan!

Ben and I took Emery took an open skate session at the Bi Lo Center this afternoon. What a wonderful discovery! Open Skate is held Sundays from 1-4 during hockey season as long as the Greenville Road Warriors do not have a home game that day. I guess not many know about it, because the enormous rink was not busy at all. Such a treat for Emery to be able to experience skating for the first time without hundreds of people zooming by. Not surprisingly, Emery LOVED skating. I thought Ben was going WAY too fast with her, but she was smiling and laughing and begging for more whenever they stopped. I didn't skate (preggo--kind of risky), so Emery used this PVC walker device to get around. Unfortunately, Ben had to skate hunched over behind Emery in order to push her and his back was killing him after about ten minutes. Wow, we are getting old. After Bodie is born we'll have to try again with Ben and I each holding one of Emery's hands instead of her relying on the walker thing. Other than the sore back, today was a complete success. We had to drag Emery off the ice.

Whee! Here they come!

I remembered my camera, but not the memory card. I'm so sick of my stupid pregnant brain! These pictures were taken with my Blackberry. Not too bad, but should have a lot more. Bummer.

Trip to Pittsford, NY

Ben, Emery and I took a quick trip up to the charming village of Pittsford, NY, to visit my dear college friend, Katie, and her family. We had the best time ever! We crammed a lot into 44 hours, but Emery and Katie's children, Ella and RJ, were as good as gold and became fast friends. Katie and Rob have a fun, beautiful house and were the best hosts EVER--we showed up minus luggage, thanks to the lovely airline industry--but didn't miss a beat. Katie had extra EVERYTHING for Ben, Emery and me. Thankfully, our bags arrived Saturday morning.

Emery and Ella are less than a year apart and had met briefly once before, but both were too young to remember. They instantly hit it off and within minutes of walking in the door the girls were playing with dollhouses and dress up clothes as if they'd known each other all their lives. What could be better than your daughter and your best friend's daughter also becoming friends??

Ben and I were in awe of Katie's fridges. She has two fridges built in to look like on enormous fridge. The whole house is gorgeous, but I think this fridge and the huge six burner stove with griddle were Ben's favorite features.

Watching "Caillou." Thankfully, Ella and Emery are the same size and Emery was able to wear Ella's jammies our first night in town.

Rob made huge pile of leaves for the kiddos to destroy. They thoroughly enjoyed this activity.

Little RJ joined the fun

Craft time! Katie really planned an amazing weekend for the girls.

Saturday evening was spent at a kids' salon, Sweet and Sassy. Katie's sister and niece, Stacey and Sadie, met up with us. All three girls loved this experience and us mommies had a ball watching them get their hair, nails and makeup done.

Emery deciding on a color while Sadie and Ella enjoy their pedicures.

Look at that prom hair!

Sadie with Stacey, Ella with Katie and Emery with me. SO MUCH FUN.

The daddies surprised us by showing up at Sweet and Sassy to see the girls. I think they were a little overwhelmed by the extreme girly factor and quickly left, but the girls were so excited to see their daddies/Uncle Rob.

Sunday was warm and sunny so we headed down to the Erie Canal to feed the ducks and watch the crew regatta.

Rob and RJ, Katie and Ella, Ben and Emery, me and Baby Boy Bodie James.

Emery slept the entire flight home. She was seriously worn out. Katie, thanks for having us! Please come visit SC soon!!!!! You too, Stacey!

Trick or Treat!

Halloween was a HUGE success this year! Emery totally "got it." We practiced and watched various television shows (Spookley the Square Pumpkin, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, and Little Einsteins) which featured special Halloween episodes and read lots of books about pumpkins and trick or treating. Since two year olds are unpredictable, I still wasn't sure how Emery would react on Halloween night, despite her excitement at going trick or treating. Well, she exceeded my expectations! Even better: Hayes and Kelsey were in town, along with Uncle Brian and Auntie Alison, and they were also trick or treating pros! We had a fabulous night and the kids loved every second of the trick or treating experience. I can't wait for next year!

Me and my belly trying to get the kiddos dressed.

Druncle Brian

Thomas and a candy corn!

Another precious candy corn!

You've got to be kidding me....could these two be any cuter???

Yay! We're getting candy!

Our neighbors' inflatables have been a big hit for the past several weeks. Emery requested that we drive by this particular house at least three times per day. Here she is, up close and personal, with the cat popping out of the pumpkin.

Ben and Brian stayed home and handed out candy while Alison and I took the kiddos around the neighborhood. They came up with the idea of handing out tricks instead of treats and were greeting trick or treaters at the door with a bowl full of green tomatoes and jalapenos from our garden as well as a bunch of rocks. The reactions of the kids, especially the teenagers, were pretty funny. And they didn't let anyone leave without actually handing out the good stuff. As humorous as this was to the trick or treaters, no one found it more hilarious than Brian and Ben.