The James Center

There is a big building in down-town Richmond that puts on a huge Christmas display of white reindeer illuminated by lights. We have taken the kids for years- Addie's first time there she was literally weeks old! It was fun to share this with our good friends the W's this year!

The 3 big kids in awe of all the lights!!

Getting a decent pic of all 4 kids with a reindeer- they loved getting to run around and "pet" the reindeer!

Rudolph- it's kinda hard to tell, but he has a red nose!!

Family pic- clearly the settings where not the best on my phone but it's still cute just the same- thanks M for snapping it!

All 4 kids and the Big Tree- we did learn that these lights got VERY hot- Addie burned her hand!

There are some displays inside- this one was a huge hit- they kept taking turns putting their hands down Santa's mouth.... Good thing he didn't upchuck every one's letters! It was a fun evening and hopefully a tradition we will continue for years to come!!

Family Christmas

Since we are going to NY for Christmas, we decided to have a Family Christmas a few days before we left so the kids could enjoy their gifts from the KC family! The kids were wildly excited!! We took things slowly this year- letting them open 3 gifts then taking time to enjoy them before opening more. It took over 2 hours to open gifts but the kids really had fun!!

Ready to start!!

Opening her gifts!!

Thrilled to get a Lego Trash Truck= perfection to this little boy!!

For the last 2 years, he has asked for a skateboard- and Santa hasn't brought it- this year he did.... Alden could NOT be happier- his face says it all!!

(Addie is not getting gypped- she asked for a Wii and "Santa" is bringing that in NY!!)

First Christmas Concern!

Addie's Before and After Care put on a Christmas Concert- and she was super excited to be a part of it! It was a blast- and totally worth the extra trip back down to her school! They sang classic Christmas songs- Have a Holly, Jolly, Christmas, I Want A Hippopotamus, All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth, Up on the Housetop, etc. So sweet!!

Waiting for the concert to start!

Singing her heart out with her good friends- Sophia and Lainey!

After the concert, there was hot coco and cookies- yum!

Bubba was not left out- what a fun evening!!

Good Things Come in Small Packages

This is Addie's new gymnastic crew- she was promoted after the last session. I just love how she's is by far the smallest but she totally holds her own with this crew!! Several Mom's were asking who the little pipsqueak was- and I was proud to claim her as mine!! She loves gymnas (as she calls it) but is super excited that after Christmas she's going to try out cheer leading!

Santa- RedNeck Style!!

When we moved back to Richmond 2 years ago, we were excited to check out the newly built Bass Pro Shop- and the added bonus- Santa was there! You could even get your picture taken FOR FREE!! Ever since then, it's become a tradition- and we go with our good friends, the W's. Just like Addie's birthday, this year we planned it so the Dads could be a part of it- what fun! We met there after work. The kids got to check out the fun activities while the Dads waited in line for us.

A little target practicing...

I love that she chose the pink gun- and I find it pretty hilarious that she isn't holding it correctly- guess she isn't a redneck at heart (whew!)

Almost our turn! The pretty girls!!

I love this- it was finally our turn and Addie booked it up the walk-way- you can see her pigtails swishing!! Alden was hot on her heals! I think I may need to be concerned that they love a strange old man so much....

This, my friends, is my Christmas miracle- Al posed for a family picture with Santa!! I was so excited!!

The kids with Santa....

Alden telling him how badly he wants a skateboard. To Santa's credit, he heard me tell Alden that I was pretty sure that Santa doesn't deliver skateboards to boys until they are 5- and he totally played along....

M got into the action and did a little cross-bow practice- the kids were enthralled with his skills!

Alden wanted his Daddy to show him- Al is such a good teacher!

And what trip to Bass Pro is complete without a visit with the gigantic fish?!?

The evening was ended with a trip to the local Chick-fil-A for dinner. What a fun, mid-week activity!!

Tradition!!

I'm not quite sure how it started, but we seem to have created a special tradition with our sweet friends the W's- on a kids' birthday, we take them to lunch at CiCi's! This year was no exception- and Addie had been talking about it for weeks. The best part to this time was that the Dads were able to come too- yay!!

We all met up after church- can you tell they are thrilled to be with each other?!? They are really excited about getting to choose their own pizza- and of course, the brownies....

These 3 are all super close in age and really are great friends- I'm so blessed that my kids have such great friends (and the fact that the parents are great friends, too, is an added bonus!)

The best part- her birthday brownie!! Thankfully Mom W remembered a candle and lighter- what birthday is complete without that?!? Thanks K!!

PRESENT!!

All looking with great anticipation at the super cool gift H and A gave Addie!!

It was a super great way to celebrate Addie- and the fact that God has richly blessed her with amazing friends- both in kid and adult form!!

Addie's Birthday Weekend Celebration

This year, Addie choose to have a super-special weekend with her BFF instead of a big party.

She started her morning of the weekend sporting her spiffy Birthday Shirt that our dear friend Miss Karen got for her- and then eating her chocolate her Aunty Becca sent from Austria- not a bad way to start off- new clothes and European chocolate!

I was able to meet her for lunch and with a much coveted McDonald's Happy Meal- she was thrilled as her face clearly shows!!

She was polling her classmates about what I should bring in to share during lunch- and the consensus was they wanted cookies- chocolate chip cookies at that! Addie loved serving her friends- and they were all super sweet and thanked her!

3 Cheers for Addie!! Her class is just the best!

After school, the kids and I headed to Addie's place of choice- Monkey Joe's- I love this picture- they totally look like Charlie's Angels!

They bounced together for over an hour....

The icing on the cake- Monkey Joe!!

After lots of bouncing and running around, we all came home and had ice cream, brownies, chocolate sauce, and sprinkles- don't they look so sweet here?

The morning dawned cool and crisp- and in Henderson Tradition- breakfast was Dunkin Donuts!! Here she is getting some practice showing how old she will be!

Richmond has a pretty sweet Christmas Parade- or so we had been told- and Addie wanted to check it out. SO excited to see floats and Santa!

Bundled up and adorable!!

Super exciting- the Harlem Globetrotters were a part of the parade- and they pulled Addie out of the audience to do a "trick"- balance a spinning ball on her finger! She was thrilled!!

BFF's- not daunted by the 2.5hour long parade- that they stood through!!

FINALLY- the actual day!! She started her day off with gifts from her KC cousins and grandparents.

She is amazing and totally enjoyed her weekend- and needed a 2.5hour nap on Sat AND Sun to recuperate from all the celebrating!!