post-holidays r&r

we don't want it to be over!! it has been such a nice holiday season but now hanukkah and christmas have come and gone but we are still living in the spirit of the holidays. this is actually one of my favorite times of the year because it's not so busy but everything still looks festive and beautiful, plus you get to play with all your new toys and things!!

rebecca and felicity are going to do charity work. they are discussing whether they should help at the homeless shelter or the hospital today. they get all bundled up, however it is still unusually warm here but they insisted on wearing their new winter gear.

addy is playing school. we looooove cecile's desk it was what i really wanted for christmas and i'm so happy i got it. she teaches math to all the little dolls (old and new)  on her new slate.

kirsten and samantha relax with a cup of tea in the new hello kitty tea set. it looks so peaceful and cozy in their little home. 

i hope everyone has recovered from all the hustle and bustle and you're taking time to just sit peacefully and reflect on all your blessing throughout the season and throughout 2011.

our first hanukkah

i was raised christian but i have always been interested in judaism. i've had a jewish friend for many years and loved participating in her traditions when i was younger. when i found out ag was making a jewish doll i thought it was really intriguing! i love rebecca and i love that ive learned so much about her religion and culture. this was the doll's and my first hanukkah and it was very exciting to celebrate with rebecca!

rebecca was very excited to celebrate with us and light the candles of the menorah each night and of course get little presents.

her favorite gift was the little russian nesting dolls 

the dolls illustrate a russian folktale but i can't figure out what it is! if you know it please tell me!

 we even ate traditional hanukkah food that had been fried in oil: potato pancakes and doughnuts

  

samantha loved playing dreidel with rebecca too.

i hope that you have had a wonderful and meaningful hanukkah if you celebrate it!!



the first noel for us all together!

kirsten sneaked out of bed first. she dressed in her st.lucia gown and wore her crown of candles and made breakfast. the other girls were gently awoken by the soft glow of her candles and a sweet aroma. they all enjoyed breakfast in bed!

when they came out they saw santa had been there! he brought cecile's parlor desk, a beautiful porcelain tea cup and saucer, a chococat journal, a hello kitty calendar, and marie-grace and cecile with their meet books!!!! they must have been on the extra nice list this year!

there was also a wrapped gift for each girl from santa under the tree.

 once felicity got back home from her sleepover at my parent's she told the other girls all about her time there.

they passed out the gifts from under the tree then started to take turns unwrapping.

samantha got a nellie doll and her book;

kirsten got a new bonnet and a little rag doll; 

addy got a slate board, a little vera bradley bag, and a rag doll like kirsten's;

rebecca got her black winter coat and muff;

and felicity got an elizabeth  doll and her book.

after opening gifts the girls bundled up and went out  into the neighborhood for caroling!

we wanted a white christmas but it was actually really warm and sunny on christmas so the girls got too warm with their winter coats on and desided to go home after caroling a little.

when they got home there was another surprise on the table! was it another visit from santa? there was a new hello kitty tea set and dishes filled with yummy treats even a yule log!

it has been a very magical day. our first christmas all together!

i hope everyone has had a very special and merriest christmas!

felicity's christmas at my parent's

felicity packed her vera bradley duffel and had a sleep over with me at my parents. i always stay over on christmas eve. felicity, my boston terrior (ruthie), and i all crammed into a twin bed in the hottest room in the house, didn't get much sleep. however, christmas day was filled with love, heart felt warmth, laughter, all kinds of treats!! it was a wonderful christmas.

on christmas eve santa sends me an early present of new christmas pajamas. i scurry to put them on then scurry back out then my my daddy reads the night before christmas to me before bedtime. felicity and i read it before she went to bed too.

this particular copy is a reproduction on an antique. nanny (my grandma) got a copy of it as a gift when she was a little girl and had her tonsils taken out.

when she woke up the next morning there was a big package left for her from santa!!!!

yay, it was the blue winter coat she was wanting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

she looks b.e.a.uuu.tiful!...and warm!

ribbon attack!!!!

aaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!

we are so excited it's christmas!!!!!!

t'was the night before christmas

kirsten, addy, rebecca, and samantha set out cookies for santa and candy canes for the reindeer then went right to bed (they know what it takes to get on and stay on the nice list). they are dreaming about what tomorrow's festivities could bring.

making a list and....

. . .checking it twice!! felicity is a little spoiled but still most definitely on the nice list.

 here she is in her new christmas sweater and jeans, holding two new ugly dolls, and a new mini hello kitty, yet she is still making a list of things she wants for christmas. hehehe! well she can't help being spoiled, it's my own fault...i love to buy her things. of course she is always very appreciative and takes care of her things. and in return she is herself very giving and generous!

 she is really hoping for this blue winter coat since she doesn't even have a coat yet!

it's beginning to look a lot like christmas!!

the girls have decked the halls! they are all ready for the holidays now!

here rebecca, samantha, and felicity share holiday traditions.

kirsten and addy are baking. and i realized after saving this picture that i caught addy in the middle of spilling her hot chocolate...oops, i hope she didn't burn herself!

after moving in with us rebecca has become a messianic jew and has accepted jesus as her savior, so now she celebrates hanukkah and christmas!

 we just got this little rocking chair but it's hard for the girls to sit up straight in. we wouldn't want grandmary to think samantha was slouching and being unladylike!

that mini gingerbread house is really edible!

christmas is my very favorite time of the year. there is no time like it. i love all the merriment, giving, and love in the air!!

i made this little felt advent calendar. we love moving the little sparkly star each day!

i love how decorated their bed is. by the way that little quilt at the end of the bed was made by nanny (my grandma) just before she past away. my great aunt had to help her finish it. it's one of my most special things. nanny and i had a very special relationship and i cherish anything from her.

here are a few more little things. i just got that little horse painting. i thought it looked exactly like a portrait of penny and patriot! (it's kinda hard to see)

i made this joy bunting. i love handmade things that look handmade.

here is their winter coats, sleigh, and ice skates...they are ready for some wintry fun.

now all we need is some snow! 



doll clothes trunk

for christmas this year my parents decided to hand build a trunk for my niece's ag doll clothes. daddy designed and constructed the trunk and stained it. i helped him with deciding on the size and interior storage features so that it would be a good fit for the dolls and work well for my nieces, otherwise he did everything else on his own!

mom and i lined the whole inside which was a huge job! it took more than four hours to do all the measuring, cutting, lining up, gluing, etc. it didn't help that we are both huge perfectionist so everything was double checked and then double checked again making it take three times longer that it probably should have, hahaha! 

here is felicity modeling it.  

beautiful huh!?!

 i hope my nieces will cherish it and appreciate all the hard work and love that went into it.



a christmas carol

my favorite christmas tradition is seeing a christmas carol play. we have gone practically every year since i was three years old. my grandma, "nanny," started the tradition by taking the whole family. when she passed away my mom generously kept the tradition alive. now she takes only the grandchildren once they have turned five years old. i go along because it wouldn't be christmas without seeing it, plus i help mom manage three very excited kids :)

 this year my nieces and i decided to take our ag dolls since they just got them for christmas last year. felicity was very excited i took her! i've never taken any doll to the show but i knew felicity had to be my companion because she is my most special doll and i like to do lots of things with her. the other dolls were happy to hear all about the show when she got home.

here my nieces torture my nephew. pretty sweet huh! 

 here are some of the cast members doing a little pre-show caroling.

 julie, felicity, and kit loved the show but the part when marley comes was a little scary. they had to close their eyes and hold hands for that part!

during intermission we always get cookies and hot chocolate. felicity and i shared a cup of hot chocolate, a candy cane, and a gingerbread man that had a frown.

 

 we all thought that it was very funny that i got the sad gingerbread man. makes me think of gingy from shrek, "not my gumdrop buttons!"

 so we decided to take a picture after every bite

 no more legs

 no more arms 

 no more eyes

 no more gingy, only crumbs :( that's the saddest part...gimme more!

 even though it was very late after the show and seeing christmas lights, and taking the kids home, felicity insisted on staying up to read the program and tell the other dolls all about it.  

she loved it so much!!!!

we are sad we have to wait all the way until next year to see it again.