Saying good-bye is never easy

Eleanor loves her cousins so much and it is hard to say good-bye. Memphis gets a big bear hug here!

Emerson is getting the tight-hold here as we had to say good-bye to cousins Mikayla & Landon. We wish we lived closer than 9 hours to you all!

A Special Day for Emerson

Saturday, December 26th marked the day of Emerson's baptism- with all the family in town for Christmas, it was the best choice. Especially since Grandpa Gette was here to perform the ceremony. We have been blessed that since my dad became a deacon in the Catholic Church he has baptized 3 out of 4 of us- Eleanor, Nakia and now Emerson. Emerson was wearing the gown made from my Grandma Rose's (my dad's mother) wedding gown, so it was very special. Thanks to his Godmother, Kim Sobocinski, he had a beautiful bib to match (which was needed when he spit up right before the baptism!)

Eleanor was exhausted after the Christmas excitement (and poor Nakia had been sick to his stomach since 4 pm on Christmas day). Thanks to Grand Daddy Pope for helping to entertain Eleanor and Memphis

Emerson was unsure of what was about to happen 

It is just like taking a bath!

Grandpa poured some right into his eyes so a towel helped clean him off, although he was a little unhappy

Next, came the anointing with oil

Big Sister Eleanor helped hold the candle that symbolized the new beginning for Emerson in the Catholic Church 

Welcome from your St. Philip Neri family!

He was a ham for the camera, just like his sister

Thanks to all the family that made it in town (through the snow) for Emerson's special day: the Gette/Andrews/Pettis families

And the two Pope families- we are so blessed to have such loving wonderful families!

Oh, what a fun mess!



Merry 1st Christmas to our sweet boy Emerson! He was thrilled to have Grandma Gette's shoulder to rest on during the chaos of the Christmas morning unwrapping activity



His little bottom tells of the special occasion

Our cute little Santa's helper, Eleanor

It was hard for them to wait and pose for this picture before they attacked the presents

Santa's little helper has her reindeer assistant, aka cousin Mikayla

Cousin Landon's toy is popular with the big girls too

You might wonder why we gave Eleanor a Halloween book for Christmas- well... Mikayla had visited in October and it became a new favorite for Eleanor, so we ordered it and it took a few months to arrive...

Thanks, Grandma Gette, for help in unwrapping a toy for Emerson- he wasn't sure what to think of all the Christmas things, but I bet next year will be a different story!

Mikayla can't wait to open this up and create some play-doh fun!

Thank you, Santa, for this ZhuZhu pet- she really wanted it!

Landon was ready to move all over the floor and tear the paper off the presents

She looks very deep in thought..."Hmmm, I wonder what else Santa brought me..."

Daddy loves his Little Debbie snack cakes that he only gets at Christmas time & sometimes at Valentine's day

Aunt Leanna gets extra help to unwrap her gift

These girls are hard-working & serious when it comes to unwrapping presents

Since it gets tiring, it helps to take a reading break (thanks Aunt Leanna for the books!)

Mommy was thrilled to get new dishes! Now we have a whole set again!

Thanks, Aunt Leanna, for one of my favorite games!

Aunt Jen found the perfect hat for me- it has my favorite monkey, Curious George

Daddy's new sweater vest could also be a dress on Eleanor

Grandpa Gette is really studying his new CD, The Avett Brothers, a NC band that Nakia enjoys- Grandpa seems to be enjoying it as well!

The princesses, Sleeping Beauty Mikayla & Sleeping Beauty Eleanor, enjoy some story time from Aunt Leanna- she is an expert book reader as a teacher

Later, Memphis also joined us and we checked out her new play tent- wish we could have taken it out of the box

Grand Daddy Pope looked a little like Santa with his beard- it tickled Eleanor when he hugged her



Landon shows how we all felt at the end of a fun & eventful day!



Happy 4th Birthday, Eleanor!

I am getting out of order by doing this post, but it is worth it. Today we celebrated Eleanor's 4th birthday- where did the time go? Although Nakia had to be out of town for a conference, I made up for it and spoiled her rotten! I am having trouble uploading the pictures so I will just give a recap of her special day with pictures to come later (probably a month or so, sorry!) 

We started the day cuddling with Emerson in Mommy's bed, followed by TV time with her favorite show, Curious George. Then, as requested, she had pancakes- color: yellow, shape: a star & a heart. Eleanor then asked for a present- she knows what to expect! I gave her the movie Tangled, which made her very happy. Then, we played a few board games & computer games until it was lunch time. After lunch, we all took a much-needed nap. Following nap, it was time to venture out to the Come See Me Festival activities that were happening at Glencairn. Thanks to our wonderful neighbors, Robbie, Martha, Campbell & Maggie, for joining us for the rest of the evening. Eleanor chose Moe's for her birthday dinner (loves Mexican food like her Mommy!) and we finished it all off with Marble Slab Creamery- bubble gum ice cream with sprinkles in a cone. What a lucky little girl! I would also have to say a lucky mommy for having such a wonderful, sweet, beautiful 4 year old daughter! I CANNOT wait to see what the future holds for you, but I know it will be BIG and amazing! Mommy, Daddy & Emerson love you very much, Eleanor Rose!