Christmas

This year Tyrone, Elizabeth, and I all went to Grandma Price's place for Christmas. It's a long, ten-hour drive from where we live, so we made the trip there a two day affair and stayed one night with Tyrone's family. His younger brother, Jeramy, was there for the holiday as well. Jeramy and his wife, Janice, have a new baby girl named Kimer, and Elizabeth got to meet her cousin for the first time. Needless to say, the girls were both very excited to see each other.

After our brief visit with Tyrone's family, it was on to my mother's place. By the time we were about eight miles from our final destination, however, all three of us in that car were ready to kill each other. A ten-hour trip in close quarters with three people is enough to drive anyone mad. It probably didn't help either that tensions were high between two of us due to a rigorous game of Monopoly on a cell phone.

Well, Christmas day came, and everyone was excited to witness "baby's first Christmas." Elizabeth, however, decided to kick things off with a bang by waking up early and blowing out her diaper. Merry Christmas Mom and Dad. This same gift later made its way to the Christmas tree with a bow on top for Uncle Clint and Aunt Elaine, who were unbelievably ungrateful for the present.

Elizabeth must have been a good girl this year, because Santa was very generous to her. She got stacking rings, a little piano, some beanbags, foam letters, stuffed animals, and blocks from the Claus. Grandpa and Grandma Dickerson gave her a box full of nice, warm clothes and her Dickerson Uncles gave her a couple of cute books to read. (Elizabeth loves to read books.) Grandma Price gave her some clothes too, as well as some balls and toys she can chase around the floor, a baby doll, and a new coat. Uncle Clint and Aunt Elaine gave Elizabeth back her messy diaper. Party poopers.

For their Christmas presents, Elizabeth gave all her grandparents photographs of herself in order to promote her future modeling career.

Elizabeth had a very fun and active holiday. She learned how to clap and now enjoys applauding herself over numerous things. She has also discovered Ritz crackers thanks to Grandma Price, and now follows her father in this food craze. She is also more of a show-off now and stands up using the furniture all the time. She is such a big little girl.

Unfortunately, over the Christmas holiday, Elizabeth, Grandma Price, and myself all got the same, nasty cold --complete with sore throat, cough, runny/stuffed nose, etc. All thanks to another family member who visited us while they were sick. Tyrone called the illness a "female sickness," because only the women of the family were coming down with it, it seemed. We're still working on fighting it off.

The Saturday right after Christmas, my extended family held its annual holiday party. My mother was in charge of activities, so Tyrone and I ran the fish pond for the younger kids. There was a huge breakfast for everyone, a pinata, and hula hoop races. We had a good time. Elizabeth ended up with more prizes and gifts than either of her parents, but that's what happens when you're cuter than they are.

All in all, it was a fun Christmas for all of us. Tyrone's brother, Jeramy, and his little family are moving to France in January, and they will be missed. The next time Kimber and Elizabeth see each other, they will be four- or five-years-old and will need to be reintroduced.

(If you're wondering why I'm apparently not in any of the above photos, it's because anytime I get my picture taken with my daughter, I always seem to end up being decapitated. Hopefully that's just because everyone is more interested in Elizabeth, and that it's not a foreshadow of my life to come.)

The End of School!!!

This last Friday was the last day of the Fall Semester on campus, so I am ecstatic to finally have that done with. Better yet, I am glad to be done with college. Yes, this was my final semester of school, and my degree should be coming in the mail within the next few weeks. I've graduated with a Bachelors degree in Communications for print journalism and a minor in English. Ya!

Tyrone and I went to his company's Christmas dinner this last week as well. It was really fun. The steak was great and everyone did white-elephant gift afterward. We were fortunate enough to end up with the Kung Fu Panda DVD and a stack of king-size candy bars.

Elizabeth is still crawling around everywhere and keeps trying to stand up. She also keeps trying to eat my laptop and gnaw on any cords plugged into the wall. Currently the Christmas tree stands behind a barricade of two bouncers, several blankets, and a piano bench turned on its side.

The Locomotion

It was bound to happen sooner or later, but came sooner than what we expected all the same. Elizabeth is crawling and quite well too. At first, she scooted around backwards, then crawled backwards, then crawled sideways (of all things), and finally, just a couple of days ago --she crawled forward! She hasn't really stopped crawling since. I can put her back in the middle of the floor, and minutes later she'll be off at after something else she shouldn't be getting into. Elizabeth has a facination with our entertainment center's broken door, the framed photo of herself, my laptop's cords, and the folded laundry. The Christmas tree has thus far been spared her curiousity, but I find it intersting that even with a floor covered with toys, only those items she should not be getting into are what she most desires. Elizabeth wants to eat electric cords, but won't eat her rice cereal! Confounded child.
Tyrone was actually the one who got Elizabeth to start crawling forward. Those two were meant for each other. She gives BIG smiles and LOUD laughs when he comes home, and he can't wait to play with her. Well, Tyrone was hogging our little girl during church on Sunday and only handed her over to me when a diaper needed changing and when the princess was hungry. Typical. Anyway, she was on the floor during the final hour of Sunday services while Tyrone taunted her with his shoe. He egged her on until she put one hand in front of the other with legs in sync. It was then that she crawled forward for the first time. Talk about one proud papa! Tyrone loves to watch Elizabeth slowly inch her way across the floor (and sometimes she slow, other times fast).
It is fun to watch Elizabeth crawl and see how she maneuvers and works out problems on the floor. She's a very smart girl. She just can't seem to figure out how to open her mouth when I hold a spoon. Either way, she's great fun and very active. She is so wiggly and curious!