Happy New Year!

Happy 2008 Everyone! We are excited to be starting a new year with lots of new adventures. Who knows what this year will bring! We had a low key New Year's Eve party with some of the families in our church small group. All of us have children, so needless to say, we were home by 9 o'clock! Here are some pictures of the festivities! Who knew that party hats and horns could be so much fun!

From Happy New Year

Emma Sports a New Years hat

She also shared the hat with Kaylee

Saying "Cheese"

Trying out the horn

Superman blowing his horn

Alexa also had a horn

More Party Hats

Merry Christmas!

We had a great day today. It was so fun to see Christmas through Emma's eyes. Emma woke up this morning to find that Santa had come to our house last night. She must have been a very good girl because there were a lot of presents under the tree!

Emma's first big surprise was a rocking horse from Grandpa and Grandma

She also got a kitchen set from Mommy and Daddy

She then checked out what was in her stocking

a train!

After stockings, Emma had a breakfast treat; Donuts!

We had a little time for some "Reindeer Games"

and then it was time to open presents. Emma loved all the gifts she opened. She liked some of the ones daddy got too!

A new purse from nana and g-pa

Funny toys from Japan from Uncle Scott

What is that?

Daddy, is that you?

Emma is curious about the light on Daddy's head

Emma checks out a puzzle from Aunt Connie and Uncle Brad

Emma liked Daddy's present from Uncle Scott
After presents, we had a relaxing afternoon of naps and walks and then we had a big Christmas Dinner! Emma is now sleeping with visions of Sugarplums dancing in her head!

Christmas Eve

We had a relaxing Christmas eve with Grandpa and Grandma McCloskey Here. Emma and daddy did some early morning last minute shopping and we got dressed up and attended out church's Christmas eve service. With everyone dressed up, we had to take some pictures!

From Christmas 2007

Emma and Daddy say cheese!

Hangin' out with Grandma

Emma got her own Nativity this year

Out family

With Grandpa and Grandma

All of us

Cookies and milk

Emma and I made cookies for Christmas. Yesterday we went to Daddy's work and share some with his coworkers.

Later, Emma decided to taste test her creations with some milk!


Yum Yum!

Cookies and milk

Our Gingerbread house

Emma and I had a good time decorating our Gingerbread house. She Was especially good at putting the candy on the roof! Unfortunately, the roof is the most decorated part because "Earthquake Emma" hit and the walls came tumbling down! Daddy fixed everything, but the rest of the house did not get many decorations!

Oh Christmas Tree!

Last Saturday we made our way into the Santa Cruz Mountains to the Christmas Tree farm to choose our tree. We have gone and Chopped down our tree for the last three years, but in Virginia the Christmas tree farms are a little more tame. In California, the tree farm was pretty much on the side of a mountain and the tree weren't really "planted" they just grow wild.

Virginia tree farm:

From Christmas tre...

California Tree Farm:

We had a good time looking for our tree. Here are a few pictures of our adventure:

We found our tree!

Daddy pulls it up the hill

On the car ready to go
Emma has also changed a lot in a year!
Emma last year:

Emma this year:

We got our tree home and Emma had a great time decorating after Daddy made a few adjustments:

A little too tall

Emma Decorates


The tree is done! Time for some "Hanging Around"!