Smiles

Sometimes you need a sideways smile...if you're up to something...

Sometimes you need a sweet smile....to get yourself out of whatever you just did...

And sometimes you just have to go ahead and laugh...because it was SO funny!

I spent the day at Mrs. Leigh Ann's. Today was Mom's long day at big work, so I stayed at Grandmom's with everyone else until she got there. Now Grandmom has one of those inside-the-house sparkly trees in her living room! It's an epidemic! Trees are springing up all over the place! Brenna told me all about Grandmom's tree today.

When Mom got home, she had been to see Mrs. Erin to pick up my Christmas pictures. This one seems to be everyone's favorite so far...

I'm excited about tomorrow. Mom is coming to get me (and Brenna too!) and we are going to see a parade in real life!

Whew!

This day really wore me out!

Maybe tomorrow won't be as tiring....

Last Day of Vacation

Today was the last day of our five days of fun. It's back to big work tomorrow for Mom. But I tried not to let it get me down!

Mom dressed me in this funny shirt. It says I'm an ELF. Everyone's Little Friend. :) She thought it was cute. She said I should get used to being dressed in Christmas clothes because I have a lot of them. Even though it's not the day called Christmas yet.

When I got up this morning, I was still pretty excited about the Gamecocks' victory over the Tigers. I had to laugh about it a little bit. :)

Mom and I watched Coach Spurrier's show. We saw all the highlights again. It made me very happy!

After Coach Spurrier's show, we went to Aunt Mere's for lunch. The toothed people had leftover Thanksgiving food and I just chilled out and watched football. Colin came to play with me.

He made me giggle. :)

I had a great nap at Aunt Mere's. I had a tummy ache all day today, so the rest was nice. Then I helped Aunt Mere with her Christmas tree. She was putting a tree in the middle of her house too!

When we came home, I put on my pajamas. Mom put me in Christmas jammies. They are very very soft. I like them a lot!

Mom and I watched a movie together called The Wizard of Oz. Well, I watched it until the screen turned pretty colors and the people called Munchkins finished singing. Then I fell asleep. :)

If not for my tummy, today would have been a good day. I hope it feels better tomorrow. I'm going to head to bed now. Before I go, here's a sneak peek of my Christmas pictures. Mrs. Erin put this one up today. :)

Palmetto Bowl Champions!!!!!!!!!

Today was the day. THE game. The game that all Gamecocks wait for from November to November. They call it the Palmetto Bowl. It's the day when the Gamecocks meet the Tigers in the middle of the field, shake hands, and spend the next sixty minutes trying to destroy one another. Fans talk smack for a year before it and for a year after it. Anything can happen. And it is oh so very exciting. But before we get to the game, I'll tell you about my day.

First of all, I slept in my bed in my room last night. It was the first time I had slept in there at night. Mom said she thought I would be ok in there by myself. There's this little spaceship looking thing in my room and she says that if she takes her little spaceship attachment in her room, she can hear everything I'm doing in my room. So for the first time in my life, I spent the night in my room without Mom. It was no big deal really. I was asleep. :)

Mom and I played together this morning. Then we got ready to run an errand. We had to go to WalMart. Mom had to buy some things to cook some food for the game. As usual, I found WalMart quite terrifying. I had asked Mom if I could wear my cheerleader dress. She said that I could, but only until game time. Then she said something about it being bad luck because the Gamecocks have lost every time I've worn it. But I got to wear it during the day. :)


We came home from WalMart and Mom did some cooking. I had my game face on for real.

Granny Kat, Katie, Bobby, and Justin came over this afternoon. They brought a Glee game with them and they were singing. I had never heard anything quite like that before. Aunt Mere, Uncle Corey, Colin, and Brenna came along a little later. Then Grandmom and Granddad showed up! Oh boy! A Gamecock Party!! :)

Soon it was time for the game. Mom made me put on my overalls. She said they're luckier.

The game started, but the goofy tv station didn't have it on at the beginning. Like anybody cared about that other game!!! UGH! Mom went and found the game on the radio. A minute and fifty seconds had passed and the Tigers had already scored a touchdown. GAH! Annas do not like Tigers.

But then came my Gamecocks. My favorite Gamecock, Spencer Lanning, kicked a really long field goal to get our boys on the board. We were still behind, but I could tell we came to play. Not long after that, the Gamecocks scored a touchdown and took the lead! Whew!

In the second quarter, the Tigers didn't do anything to speak of. Alshon Jeffery scored a touchdown and Spencer kicked another field goal for the Gamecocks! It was 19-7 when the Gamecocks took their halftime break! Yay!

The second half was all Gamecocks! The Tigers couldn't score at all. The Gamecocks got an interception for a touchdown and Spencer kicked another field goal. And that's the way it ended. 29-7. Gamecocks win! Palmetto Bowl Champions for the second year in a row. Mom says that this is the first time the Gamecocks have won back to back games against the Tigers in forty years. FORTY!

I had a great time watching the game with so many members of my family. :) It's so much fun when we're together!

This game ended the regular season for my Gamecocks. Next week, they will go to Atlanta to play another bunch of Tigers. This time, if it's even possible, the stakes are even higher. They won't just be playing for another win and bragging rights. They're playing for the SEC Championship. It's a big deal. Mom says she's already nervous about it. I'm just going to do what I always do and pull for my Gamecocks with my whole heart. I love being a little Gamecock!!

Well, taking care of those Tigers can really wear you out. I think I'll go to bed now. And dream about my buddy Cocky. I love that bird. :)

Goodnight and GO COCKS!!!!!

Black Friday

Before I tell you about Black Friday, I forgot to tell you something very important about the day called Thanksgiving! I rolled over all by myself!! I was taking a nap on my tummy and when I woke up, I was ready to play. Mom wasn't fast enough, so I just flipped myself over. I was somewhat stunned by my ability to accomplish such a thing, and have not yet repeated the feat. But I thought you should know. :)

Today, I spent most of the day with Mom, Uncle Brent, Pete, Colin, Helena, Brenna, and Granddad. Grandmom, Aunt Mere, and Aunt Deborah went shopping with all the people. I had a good time playing with my cousins, but it made me really tired and I slept a lot.

When Grandmom and everyone came back, they had a surprise for Mom. She said it was a Sing-a-ma-jig. She has been talking about those things a lot. She said this one is a special one for the Christmas season. She was so excited. She let me play with it too. It sings a song called Jingle Bells. I liked it.

After everyone left, Mom and I took a nap. She said she needed one because I woke her up at 4:00 and she had been awake for a long time. When we woke up from our nap, Mrs. Chalica came over to play. She brought us a Christmas card! :)

That was my Black Friday. It was a great day. Know what made it even better??

Elephant kisses!!!!!

Those make me happy. :)

I'm off to bed now. Tomorrow will be another exciting day. It's game day!!! And Mom says this is THE game. We're nervous.....

The Day Called Thanksgiving

It was the day called Thanksgiving. I figured it was a pretty big deal for two reasons. Number one, everybody had been talking about the day called Thanksgiving for weeks. And number two, it was emblazoned across my bib. (Did you like that, Aunt Mere? I threw that big word in for you!)

On the day called Thanksgiving, you're supposed to think about all the things you're thankful for and say thanks for that stuff. I'm thankful for lots of things. I'm thankful for dry diapers and full bottles. I'm thankful for warm fuzzy blankets and soft shoulders to nap on. I'm thankful for Pinky the Wonder Flamingo and Thing. I'm thankful for my furry person, Sadie, who refuses to play with me but I love her anyway. I'm thankful for Mrs. Leigh Ann, who takes care of me when Mom has to go to big work. I'm thankful for my faraway family who don't get to play with me, but I know they love me. I'm thankful for my close by family who love me and play with me and take care of me. I'm thankful for my devoted readers who find me amusing. And I'm thankful for Mom, who SUPER loves me and tries really hard to take really good care of me. (That one is a big one...See? It's on my shirt. Nevermind the fact that Mom dressed me...)

So on the day called Thanksgiving, I was thankful. Here's how the day went down:

In the morning, Mom was busy doing some stuff, but she took some time out to watch something on tv with me. She said it was called "The Parade". I googled this, and apparently, a parade is some sort of celebration that takes place in the middle of a street (which seems sort of dangerous) with lots of music and dancing and decorations. There are lots of parades for lots of different days in lots of different places. This particular parade was called the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and it was happening in a place called New York City. There were people singing and dancing. There were big things on wheels that were colorful and fancy. There was a big turkey with a bobble head. There were ginormous balloons of lots of fun things. And at the end....the Man Called Santa. I recognized that red coat and white beard. It was a pretty fun thing to watch.

After the parade, we went to Aunt Mere's for a party or something. I was all ready, but we were the first ones there. So I took a nap instead. When I woke up, there were all kinds of people there! In addition to Aunt Mere, Uncle Corey, Colin and Brenna, Uncle Brent, Aunt Deborah, Pete, Helena, Grandmom, Granddad, Grandmother Auten, Granddaddy Auten, and Katie all showed up! Granny Kat, Uncle Hoppy, and Bobby were delayed slightly by a little emergency. Bobby had an accident with his finger and had to get some stuff done to help it feel better. I hope he feels better soon!

Grandmom was very busy in the kitchen. Holy cow! Look at all of that food!!! Man, I wish I had teeth....

The toothed people had a yummy dinner. At least they said it was yummy. Mom said I could have some next year.

I played with Grandmother Auten. I could tell she was really glad to see me. She's so sweet. I love her. :)

I played with Aunt Deborah and Helena, too. I don't get to see them very often.

I don't know about Uncle Brent....

I told Granny Kat some very important stuff.

After dinner, it was time to get serious. The day after Thanksgiving is called Black Friday. I thought this sounded kind of scary, but Mom said that it's just a day when lots of people go shopping at goofy hours because stuff is on sale and they want to buy gifts for the day called Christmas. There were lots and lots of advertisements in the newspaper with all the sales listed on them. I took the opportunity to scout the Toys R Us ad and make a list for all interested parties. I found this list-making activity very stimulating. And Mom was apparently playing hide-and-seek.

After the lists were made, Grandmom, Aunt Mere, and Aunt Deborah went shopping. Mom and I went home. Uncle Brent, Pete, and Helena came to my house for a sleepover. We are going to have adventures on "Black Friday".

I hope everyone had a great day on the day called Thanksgiving!

The Day Before the Day Called Thanksgiving

This morning, I was thrilled to discover that Jennifer Grey (not Bristol Palin) won the "coveted mirror ball trophy" on Dancing With The Stars last night. Apparently, nobody does put Baby in the corner!

After breakfast, Mom and I went to see Mrs. Erin to have my Christmas pictures made. I had to wear lots of different clothes and do lots of different things. It was really fun until I got sleepy. I'll put some on here when I get them.

I slept for over three hours after my pictures. I was tired!!

Mom let me watch a new movie tonight. It was The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. I had a really good time watching it and talking to Pooh. And I chewed on my toes for a bit.

Can you do this?

Fingers are tasty too. :)

I really liked the movie until the Heffalumps and Woozles came on. They're extraordinary, so I had to be wary. I called Mom and she held me for the rest of the movie.

I had a good day. I can't wait to see what the day called Thanksgiving is all about.

Party on Tuesday

Have you heard the news?!?

School's out for a break because of the day called Thanksgiving!!! Woohoo!!! Five days to hang out with Mom (and she says lots more family too) with no big work or little work to interrupt the fun!! I'm excited!!

After Mom picked me up, we went to the O'Neill's house for a little party. I played with Maggie. I was on my best behavior and tried to be charming. Mom says I didn't have to try too hard. :)

I got to sit in this big chair. It was very soft and fluffy. Mom said that it is her favorite chair at the O'Neills'.

I thought it was silly. :)

I got pretty sleepy, so we came home. Something was wrong with my blog last night, so that's why I'm blogging this morning. I hope it will work tonight so that I can tell you about the fun-filled day that I'm sure we'll have today!

Good Grief, Monday

It was a long day, with Mom at big and little work, and me at Mrs. Leigh Ann's and Grandmom's.

Sometimes after a day like that, all you can do is sit under the Christmas tree in your pajamas and ponder the universe.


Or eat your Bumbo.

Or your hands.

What do you think?

Sunday With The Grinch

Sunday! Mom and I had a good morning. I slept all night last night, so I was feeling good. After we did some stuff, we got ready to go to Grandmom and Granddad's.

I had fun there. I played with Aunt Mere and Brenna. I love seeing everyone on Sunday afternoons. Everyone had lunch and I had a nap.

Mom and I came home and I had a snack and a nap. Then I watched something on tv. It was about this green guy called "The Grinch" and his bad attitude toward these little creatures called "Whos" and the day called Christmas. Mom said it was a classic and that I would love it. She said that Dr. Seuss wrote this story, just like Green Eggs and Ham.

Anyway, this Grinch didn't like Christmas and he didn't want it to be a good day for the little Whos. So he dressed up like Santa Claus and tied a horn on his poor dog, Max, to make him look like a reindeer. Then he snuck into the Whos' houses and stole all of their stuff!

He made Max help him. I don't think Max wanted to, though.

I did not like this Grinch guy. He seemed awfully mean.

The Grinch took all their stuff. He took their toys and their decorations and all their food! He was trying to take their Christmas tree when he got totally busted by this tiny Who called Cindy Lou Who. He was sneaky and told her a fib. Since she was so little and he looked like Santa, she believed him. (He wouldn't have fooled me. Santa is not green AND he wears pants!!)

He finished stealing the stuff from all the Whos' houses and he was going to throw it off the side of a mountain! He thought the Whos were going to be so sad that they would cry, so he stopped to listen. The Whos didn't cry though! They sang a song with made-up words instead! They were still happy because it was the day called Christmas, even though they didn't have any stuff. This made the Grinch think that Christmas is more important than stuff. His heart got really big and he got really strong.

The Grinch took back all of their stuff and was a nice guy at the end. The Whos even let him stay for dinner.

I really liked this story. Mom said I could watch it again another day. :)

I'm excited about this week. Mom only has to go to big work twice and little work once. I get tio go see Mrs. Erin for my Christmas pictures. The day called Thanksgiving is coming on Thursday. I will get to see a lot of my family. (Mom is really excited about something called "sweet potato pie", whatever that is.) And my Gamecocks have a huge game on Saturday! I'm going to be a busy little blogger this week!!