Twas the month of before Christmas

 December was a busy, wonderful month filled with people we love.  We started off the month the ward Christmas party and live nativity.  Clark was in charge of the nativity, which was a ton of work and quite stressful; but in the end, despite all the complaining we did, it turned out to be a really lovely night.  It was a beautiful, touching nativity scene and we are appreciative of all who helped it come to be!

 Mid month, we headed down to Charlotte for an evening for a Rachael Yamagata concert.  She is one of my faves, and I hadn't seen her in concert for years.  Since the concert was down in Charlotte, Emmett got to hang out with Uncle Vaughn and Aunt Margaret.  It was the first time that I had left Emmett with a babysitter so Clark and I could go do something fun together, and we had such a great time.  The music was fantastic and the venue was just how I like it--small, close to the artist, with places to sit.  We had to go down and back in one night because of my work schedule, but the great night out with my hubby was worth it!

 After finishing up the Christmas shopping and giving midterms, Emmett and I hopped on a plane to spend a week in Utah.  I was a bit anxious about traveling alone with a babe in tow, but Emmett was a super traveler, and we made the long trip in one piece.  The next day Emmett hung out with the Schmutz clan while some of my siblings and I headed to Salt Lake for dinner at Crown Burger and the Mormon Tabernacle Christmas Concert.  It was a fantastic night, and I think Emmett had a pretty good time too!

4 months old

14 pounds, 12 ounces

25.5 inches

It's been a month since Emmett was 4 months old, but we must document some of his 4-month cuteness.

 

His giggles continue to be my favorite thing ever.  He shares them more and more freely each day!  Here he is playing with daddy and showing off a combination of his giggles and grunts. 

 Another favorite noise is this little guy's coos.  Clark and I snuck into his room to record him talking/singing to himself after waking up from a nap.  He's got quite the melodic voice...maybe he'll be a singer? 

Emmett is continually obsessed with his hands.   He watches them carefully and is continuously sucking and chomping on them.  For a few days he was toying with the idea of being a thumb-sucker.  It was pretty darn cute but hasn't stuck.

Wrapping up November

 November in North Carolina brought beautiful (non) Thanksgiving weather which made for a great outing to the State Farmers Market with my good friend, Cindy.  We enjoyed apple sampling (and purchasing), pumpkin cheesecake squares, squash of all shapes and sizes (I came home with spaghetti squash) and very large collard greens (which I opted not to buy). 

 Thanks to Groupon, Cindy, her girls, and I got to enjoy a night at the ballet.  Clark refused to go, so he and Emmett got some bonding time at home.  The ballet performed Cinderella for the first half and
a ballet set to Igor Stravinsky’s Cinderella was fun, and I really enjoyed the live piano score; however, the second half was my favorite.  It was so beautiful and graceful, almost ethereal.   

 We celebrated Thanksgiving with the Hales and the Broughs.  Dinner was non-traditional (except for the pies), but still delicious.  This year I made my must-have sour cream lemon pie and also tried a mexican chocolate cream and an apple cream pie.  Mmm-mmm. 
Since we didn't get our turkey and stuffing fix, we decided to order some Thanksgiving dinner to-go from Cracker Barrel in hopes that it would be as cheap and tasty as it was four years ago on our honeymoon ($25 included all the fixings, pie, drink and generous tip).  Unfortunately, it did not live up to our expectations.  Oh, well.  Next year we'll be sure to buy a turkey regardless of our dinner plans!

 Clark had to work Thanksgiving night, but Emmett and I got to stop by and visit our friends Ben and Jen (who graciously fed me some turkey :). 

Emmett wore the cutest little Thanksgiving outfit.  Who can resist a turkey on such a cute bum!  He certainly made #1 on my thankful list this year!

Young Women in Excellence November 2011

Well, I've got about two months of entries to catch up on, so here's the first of many (hopefully) to be completed this three-day-weekend.

 For our 2011 Young Women in Excellence, we turned ourselves over to the internet for ideas.  We found this cooking-themed one, which was darling; however, it turned out that even though we didn't have to come up with all the ideas, carrying them out still required plenty of time and work!

 

Recipe card invitations

 Cute (too cute?) apron programs

 Giant recipe cards presenting the Personal Progress projects/experiences completed by the girls. 

 Cute favors for the girls.  Color-coordinated, value-colored recipes.

 The leaders.

 Our wonderful young women (in their cute dish towel aprons).

During 2011 we had lots of opportunities to go to the temple with the youth.  In November we documented our trip with a picture.  I'm so blessed to work with such fantastic girls and leaders.  It's a calling that demands a lot of work, time and energy but comes with lots of fun, laughter and meaningful relationships.  Love to all my D2 girls!