"All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth..."

Well, maybe just one tooth will do. The big news is that Emma lost her first tooth!!!! She was so excited! She is overly concerned that Grammy will not be able to see her without her tooth, and almost paniced the other day when she realized her new tooth has begun to grow in. When I assured her it wouldn't grow that fast, plus she has this picture to show her (just in case), she was much releaved!!! I just love the mind of a 5 year old!!!!

Festival of Lights at the Zoo

A couple of Fridays ago we headed down to the Cincinnati Zoo for the Festival of Lights. It was a cold evening, but, hey, it wouldn't be festive if it wasn't cold. What made it even more special was that it was SNOWY!!! It was simply beautiful!!! Actually, pictures just can't capture the snow falling, people singing, the excitement of the kids, and the beautiful lights.

All the kids on the train (plus Grace's friend Anna and Olivia's friend Teegan)

This tree was much more beautiful in person. The snow on the branches was breathtaking!!!

It's Begining to Look A Lot Like Christmas

The Hamilton home has undergone a transformation this weekend. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here!! YEAH!!! Today we made the annual trip out to Sugar Tree Farms to get our tree. I don't know how we do it, but again this year, we got THE perfect tree. Every year I say, "Maybe we should go somewhere else, because we got the perfect tree last year, and there won't be any good ones this year." But, every year we always seem to get a great tree. It's a long trip out there, but the girls absolutely love it! I think we've been doing it for about 10 years now, so I guess we just can't go somewhere else.

Can you see Emma? The tree is almost as big as she is!

The girls had a great time dragging the tree back to the barn for us!

Thanksgiving

Dan and I hosted Dan's family this year for Thansgiving--27 people. All I have to show for it is this picture. I guess we were so busy cooking, hosting, etc., that we forgot to take pictures while people were here. Grace did snap this picture of Emma and I in the morning while I was cooking. I was so excited to wear my grandma's apron, use some of her table cloths, and use some of the entertaining pieces that I rarely get to use. The best part was, everything went off without a hitch!! I couldn't have done it without all the help from my wonderful family! Thanks guys!!!!

Sisterly Love

Here are a couple of my favorite pictures of the girls lately. Last week we had a couple extra days off together due to the Thanksgiving break. What a great time we had! They were so helpful with the preparations for the Thanksgiving meal and played so well together. I'm so thankful for them!!!

Poor Daisy! I think she was one of their "babies"! She didn't seem to mind, though. She just followed them around all day.

Dancer of the QUARTER!!!!

Emma was dancer of the quarter this Fall at the dance studio in her Tap/Ballet/Jazz/Tumbling class. She found out two weeks ago, but they didn't have the trophies in yet, so for the last two weeks, all I've heard is, "Is it a dance night? Do you think they will have my trophy yet?" Well, tonight when she showed up for dance, they had her trophy. To say she was excited would be an understatement!!! I thought she was going to burst she was so excited when her teacher handed it to her. Way to go, Emma!!!

Snuggling with Daddy

Emma must have been really tired Friday night (daddy, too) because she fell asleep in the chair with him while we were all in the family room watching HGTV. Too cute!!!

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from Dorothy (Emma), Olivia the cowgirl, and Grace the bee!!!

Halloween Preparations

It seems like it's getting harder and harder to find the time to carve pumpkins. It's been so warm here that we didn't want to carve them too early and Dan and the girls were going to Morehead over the weekend, so we needed to get them done before they left. Friday night when the girls came home from school, it was a beautiful evening, so we headed out on the deck to clean them out. Daddy did some fancy carving for us as usual. Check out the finished products in our Halloween pictures to come!!!

Meet Daisy

Meet the newest additon to the Hamilton family-Daisy!!! She is a 3 year old Shi-Poo. The first day has been heaven!!! She doesn't shed, she's housebroken, and the girls are just thrilled with her. She is a real girly dog, and even came with clothes! When we picked her up, she had pink bows in her hair, and this little shirt on that says, "The Princess has Arrived." I thought Dan was going to die. She really is the sweetest thing, and we are so happy to add her to our family. FYI-the shirt came off as soon as the girls went to bed!

Enjoying a Beautiful Day

This afternoon Olivia said, "Mom, I'm going to take my new book and go out side and read." I found her on a blanket in the front yard. Too cute! She loves to read and loves to be outside! Later in the afternoon she was helping rake and pick up the acorns in the front yard. She said, "Yeah, they made it kind of uncomfortable on that blanket. We should have done this first and then I should have read." It's amazing how many acorns one tree can produce! I think we got 3 huge bags full!!!

90 Degrees in October?

Last weekend we were at Shaw Farms with winter coats, hats, and mittens, and freezing. This weekend it was in the 80's and close to 90 on Sunday!!! Grace had a soccer tournament this weekend. They couldn't have asked for better weather!

Right after she threw the ball in.

I know this picture is blurry, but the game was moving very fast at this point, and I was very excited and just couldn't hold the camera still, I guess. Too bad, because it would have been a great picture with the ball and everything!

A big kick for the goal.

Shaw Farms

It was another chilly trip to Shaw Farms this year, but still fun. It has been really dry here this summer, so at least it wasn't a mud pit like it was last year. We did all the traditional Shaw Farm favorites- the hay ride, the picture in the big pumpkin, playing around on all activities for the kids, and seeing the animals. There was also a new feature this year-a very bumpy ride through the pumpkin field for the kids in barrels pulled by a little tractor. Needless to say, it was a real hit!!

Olivia looks pretty comfortable on the tractor for a city girl.

The popular barrel ride. (Look right over the back of the tractor and you will see Olivia's head)

Emma by the Dorthy display in honor of her Halloween costume this year.

Punt, Pass, Kick Girl

Olivia came home from school on Friday and said, "I have big news", but she was calm and collected in her Olivia sort of way. When I asked her what her big news was, she pulled a red ribbon out of her book bag. She had gotten 2nd place in the NFL's Punt, Pass, Kick Contest at her school!!! 2nd place out of all the 8 and 9 year olds--- Way to go Olivia!!!

Grace was so proud of Olivia!!

A Weekend in Michigan

Two weeks ago I had the pleasure of going to Michigan alone. It was a big weekend for my niece Norah. She was being baptized!! I really wish my whole family could have been there to see it, but Grace was on a Confirmation retreat and Olivia had AAU basketball tryouts. While I missed them, it was nice to have a quiet weekend alone and spend some time with Mom and Dad. I also had the pleasure of babysitting for all 3 of my nieces Friday night. Audrey and Lilly are a hoot, and Norah is the sweetest little baby. It was a great weekend!!

We got to celebrate Mom's birthday while I was home. Something I never get to do!

Proud parents

Beautiful Norah in her baptisimal gown.

Dancing Queen

Watch out Broadway, Emma has started dancing!!! To say she absolutley loves it is an understatement!! When Monday rolls around, she says, "Today I'm a walker, I have swimming, and then I have DANCE!!!" Monday is her favorite day of the week because she has DANCE!!!!! (Get the picture?) All I can say is, TOO CUTE!!!!

Getting Back on Track....

I kind of got out of order with my post about the Reds, but I just thought it was so cute what Olivia said, plus, it's pretty exciting around here. I'm back on track now. As I said before, Mom came when the girls started school for some moral support because my baby was starting kindergarten. We also celebrated Grace's birthday with Grammy and took the girls to the zoo the day before school started. It was a great day!

Cincinnati Pride

Way to go Reds!!!! The Cincinnati Reds clinched 1st place in the National League Central Division last night. It was an exciting game, ending with a home run in the nineth inning by Jay Bruce. The fireworks were going off, and you could even hear them at our house. I was surprised that the girls didn't come down and say, "Is it storming?" When we told the girls this morning, Olivia said, "..and to think I was there when it all began". (she and Dan went to opening day) LOL. Spoken like a true fan! Cincinnati Reds pride is definitely abuzz here!!!!!

First Day of School

I always get a picture of Dan on his "first day of school with students". It's always by the front door because he leaves so early and I'm still usually in my pajamas, and I'm sure the neighbors wouldn't appreciate having me have Dan stand by the front tree to take his picture while I'm half dressed!

My 3rd grader and 6th grader.

Grammy came for moral support for the following day when Emma would start Kindergarten.

My kindergartener

"Are you still taking pictures, Mom?"

"One last smile for you, mom, because I'm about to through that door and begin my school career!"