christmas morning

ainsley's preschool christmas program

Ains is second from the left.

Part 1:


Part 2:

cookie playdate

Meet Zoe...

This little sweetie is in Ainsley's Marvelous Monday's class at preschool and they will also be in dance class together this Spring. Later today we will be going over to her house to make and decorate Christmas cookies with a few other preschool friends. Caleb will be playing with Zoe's little brother, who just so happens to be in Caleb's preschool class. Ains is beyond excited and has even given thought to her outfit (she wants to wear a dress). Here's a little snippet of one of our conversations from this morning:

Ains: I don't want to go to Zoe's this afternoon.

Me: Why not??

Ains: Because I want to go at this time

Me: You mean right now?

Ains: Yeah, I want to go now.

Me: But I have a little work to do first before we can go

Ains: Well you can work at Zoe's. You could work in the car on the way, I'll drive it.

This girl cracks me up. She's quite the problem solver already.

goin' on a sleigh ride

The Arboretum shopping center has free sleigh rides on Friday nights and during the day on Saturday. We rode out last Friday to see what it was all about.

Ains was SO excited!

Caleb was more interested in the big tree they had set up.

Oh, I think the sleigh is coming!

It is! (she likes to jump for the camera)

Meet Spongebob, the horse...

Finally going for our ride (Brr... it was cold!)

It was a nice ride and Ains had a blast. She would have stayed in the sleigh all night if it weren't for others wanting their turn when we got back.

santa claus is coming to town...

You better watch out...

You better not cry (or pick your nose)...

Better not pout, I'm telling you why...

Santa Claus is coming to town!

Merry Christmas from the McConnells!!

ainsley's dance debut

Video quality isn't the best, but you can tell she loves dance class. She's the third from the left.

pancakes

Ains is in heaven!

perfect outfit

This has to be the perfect outfit for Ainsley. It's got pink, it's got a skirt, and it's got sparkles! I found these pants on clearance at Gap and had been on the hunt for the perfect shirt. With a little help from someone at Gymboree, I scored big time. I LOVE this shirt - it's so cute! Combined with the sparkles and rhinestones, I think she's in love as well...

visit with the big guy

We popped over to the mall after dinner tonight to have a visit with the most talked about person this time of year - SANTA! We timed it perfectly as there was no line and we were able to take our time.

At the start of the Christmas season she was terrified of Santa, and even flipped out at the Southern Christmas Show when she saw him on the other side of the building. Tonight was a different story. As I mentioned in an earlier post, she's been talking big game about sitting in his lap and I just *knew* that she would change her mind when the time came. Well, I was wrong. She marched right up to him and had a nice chat.

After she was done showing Santa her new shoes and after receiving lots of compliments on her dress and bow, she settled in to the main purpose of her visit... the toys! She asked for a Jeep, like Daddy's (a power wheel) and she also told him that Caleb liked cars and trucks and trains. She was so proud of herself and really just reveling in the moment of enlightenment (Santa doesn't pinch after all).

Next it was time for the standard picture with Santa. As with years past, we could have gone with a crying picture, such as...

But instead we chose this one...

Can you believe it? I was thrilled... until I remembered a talk that I had with Ains on the way to the park one day. She started this particular conversation by saying that she wanted to go to Disney. With the knowledge of her fear of mascots and characters, I told her that she would have to sit in Santa's lap and hug Norm (the mascot at our basketball games) before we went. I made the mistake of telling her that once she did those things, we would start planning our trip. Now I'm afraid to take her to the next basketball game - she doesn't forget a promise. I think I better start saving for our trip. I underestimated my girl, big time!

christmas cards - check!

impersonation

Ains-Ley, Phone Home...

Drew Barrymore has nothing on this cutie...

christmas time!!

It is officially Christmas time in our house and Ains could not be more excited! She says that she's going to sit in Santa's lap - we'll see about that.

We also officially have a new visitor. 'Scout' came at lunchtime on Saturday and has been landing in different spots every night (with a very close call one morning). So far Ains seems to have bought in...

We've also put up the tree in her room. She LOVES it! And of course BC gave it a little love too - notice that there are no longer any ornaments on the lower limbs. (Scout landed on that lamp the night before last so that he could tell Santa if she was a good sleeper)

Tonight will mark the first chocolate from her Advent calendar. I think she may be most excited about that! Thank you to Trader Joe's and your $1 calendar for our new dinnertime bargaining power!