Early Christmas in Jacksonville

We had a fun, quick visit to Jacksonville for an early Christmas. The cousins are always a blast to have around and Harrison and Brooks really enjoyed their time with Bebe, Partner and James.

Mr. Christmas

This guy! The day after Thanksgiving, Harrison is on me like white on rice to get the Christmas decorations out of the attic so we can get to decorating. Until every decoration is out he is asking, "when can we decorate? when? when?" He is relentless about getting the tree up, getting our Christmas village out, and mostly, about setting up the outdoor decorations. He needs his Advent calendar, he needs the stockings out, and he needs to see Christmas in full swing, starting the day after Thanksgiving. Harrison is the next up and coming Clark Griswold, without a doubt.

So, it was odd that this year, Harrison did not have much to say about his school Christmas program. He did not even want to sing his songs or tell me how great it was going to be. I was a little surprised until I found out that it was a "Frozen" themed Christmas play. If anyone has had the delightful experience of hearing Harrison's true thoughts on the Frozen movie, you would know that he does not think highly of it. In fact, he only sings the song, "Let it Go", when he can replace all the words with poop. So, needless to say, on the night of his play, I was not expecting much from his school performance. I truly thought that he would come on stage with a pouty face, not sing, and possibly have some kind of a showhorse moment where he shouted out, "Frozen sounds like poop!" BUT...instead, he came out and knocked our socks off! He had charisma, he was loud, and he sang every word with animation. The good news was that most all his songs were Christmas songs (and not rom the movie Frozen). And the whole experience reminded me that Harrison is all about Christmas. His enthusiasm for the holiday is too intense to be discouraged by some silly princess movie. A movie that, on a side note, he loved until 6 months ago.

Seize the Moment

Here are some pictures of Brooks in her Christmas program with her classmates. Robert and I thought we had missed the boat on realizing that Brooks had the lead part, but, after the show, her teacher informed us that Brooks nabbed the part of Mary in a last minute opportunity when her classmate got stage freight and backed out. Apparently, Brooks eagerly nominated herself to take over and also nailed the part with her animated performance. She gave quite a performance and we were so impressed with her singing and confidence on stage. She truly loves the spotlight.

Spa Day for Brooks and Leah

These 2 divas spent some time at the spa for an overdue birthday gift for Brooks. It was such a treat for these girls and they looked completely in their element as they were pampered from head to toe. They are so adorable!

Thanksgiving and the Start of Christmas 2014

It was another great Thanksgiving with family. Ma, Pa, and Nana and Papa all came down to Naples for 2 days to eat, drink, and have fun. And immediately after Thanksgiving, at Harrison's constant insisting on getting prepared for Christmas, we went out and got our tree. And with a kid like Harrison, or as we refer to him right now, "Mr. Christmas", a Christmas tree must be decorated in record time once it is brought home.