Weekend

To say I hightailed it out of school on Friday would not be an exaggeration.  We had a potluck lunch (except Miriam and her husband Nate catered the meat and it was amazing).  At the beginning of the lunch, Kristie said that no one would be watching the clock and we could leave whenever we wanted to.

I scarfed down my lunch and Kristie, as a grandmother herself, gave me her blessing to head on out.  (I posted my grades quickly while people were lined up for lunch.)

It is dreamy being with Eleanor.  She makes funny noises and funny faces and she is constantly in motion and she will pause briefly for a book to be read to her and I'm here for all of it!

Maybe nothing quite lives up to the hype like having a grandchild.  They are perfection.

She has stayed away from the tree so far.  We have strategically placed the basket of toys and the basket of books in the room to keep her busy.  

Those cheeks!

I don't have many pictures of her because she is mostly on the move.

Friday night and Saturday night, Adam and I had babysitting duties.  Separation anxiety is setting in a bit and she didn't love being left by her parents, but she is a great sleeper and she went to bed pretty easily both nights.

At church on Sunday, I proudly showed her off to all of my friends.  I loved after church when a handful of grandmothers gathered around me to tell me how adorable she was and we all talked about how great being a grandma is. 

My friend Bonnie looked across where Braeden was holding Eleanor and said, "She makes me so happy and I'm not even related!"

Sunday evening we celebrated Pikkujoulu.

Eleanor enjoyed all the food--in tiny pieces.

We love having the Davis Davises here.

After dinner, right before Eleanor went to bed, we opened ornaments.   Eleanor got an angel like I got when I was a little girl and like Emma got when she was little.

We went to the basement for our "program" so Eleanor could sleep (she's been sleeping upstairs in Emma's room).

Everyone shared something with the group.  Adam did a reading and I started to read Christmas Day in the Morning until I started to cry and Mark had to take over.

Emma and Braeden sang:

Mark read a bit of The Christmas Carol:

Anna created a graphic design that she gifted to everyone:

After that we watched President Nelson's Christmas message.  It is such a wonderful time of hope and love and President Nelson embodies that.

Adam and I had one more gift for the night.  I made a Snapfish book about our Christmas bears.

They loved it except for when they criticized that I'd referred to Alderwood as a "he".  Alderwood is a girl apparently.  I think whoever makes the Snapfish books makes that decision.

We had our treats, mostly gluten free and entirely from Trader Joe's.

This morning, I got up with Eleanor, hoping to give her parents a little time to sleep in.  Her diaper soaked her pajamas so we had to open a gift under the tree for a new outfit.  

Grandma's prerogative.