A proper haircut

.
As you could probably tell from recent pictures, Tom was long overdue a haircut. This afternoon we took him for his first trip to a hairdressers (I have always cut his hair myself). He was a bit nervous about going and certainly didn't enjoy having his mass of curls combed out before the haircut. He was very good though and endured it all quietly. He seemed a little happier once the cutting began and he realised the worst was over. He watched the procedure quietly in the mirror and was basically a little angel. He looks like a proper little boy again...I probably shouldn't leave it so long between haircuts!
.

Podlings and their presents

Emma completely failed to get the concept of presents and was totally uninterested in any gift given to her with paper on. She couldn't even be tempted to tear the paper. Once someone opened the present for her however, she never failed to give a smile at the gift inside. One of her favourite toys was the new humming top we gave her to replace the old one that broke a few months ago. She loves books at the moment and this picture shows her engrossed in 'Hug' by Jez Alborough.

.

Lily looked absolutely gorgeous in her red Christmas dress for approximately one hour. At that point she opened her Snow White costume and immediately wanted to put it on. Not long after, she decided to change into the bride costume she received. She ended up in her new dressing gown (long before bedtime!). Here she is playing with the new barn we gave her for her Schleich animals.

.

Tom was thrilled to get lots and lots of Mr Men and Little Miss books for Christmas. He spent much of the afternoon lining them up in the hallway. He has never outgrown his desire to create orderly rows of similar objects! He did a lot of drawings with his new pens and had a lovely day playing quietly with all his new things. He is such a delightful boy! Here he is playing with his new extended marble run with his daddy.

.

Christmas morning

.
Lily and Emma woke up at a fairly respectable 7.45am this morning and since I was already awake they both came into our room to open stockings. Lily opened Emma's stocking first and then her own. She was rather enamoured of the harmonica Father Christmas left her. The rest of us were slightly less thrilled!

Tom woke up about half an hour later and opened his stocking downstairs. The Podlings were keen to get on and open their bigger presents, so we let them open a few before stopping for a big family breakfast. We are all staying with Mark's parents over Christmas and his brothers and their ladies came for a lovely cooked breakfast. The main present opening came after we'd eaten. Father Christmas was very generous to the Podlings this year...they must have been very good!
.

 Emma had no idea that the pretty parcels had anything in them, but she did appreciate the lovely obstacle course someone had placed under the Christmas tree!

.

'When can I open my presents?'

.

Podlings in pyjamas

.
It has become the tradition in our family that on Christmas eve, the Podlings get new pyjamas. Tom and Lily loved their new nightwear and Emma, though largely indifferent, looked very cute anyway. It was too much to hope for a picture of all three of them together, but I did manage to get quite nice individual photos.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas 

Lily has wanted a nightdress for rather a long time and was over the moon with the one she received this evening. She looks like an angel in this beautiful nightie...don't be fooled!

 .

I couldn't find any nice Christmas babygros at a price I was prepared to pay, so I embroidered a plain white one with Emma's monogram, bullion knot roses and stem stitch round the neck and cuffs. I will put up a more detailed picture of the embroidery at some point. The best way to get a picture of my active little Emma in her pyjamas was to turn on the cartoons and snap away while she was mesmerised. I swear she didn't move for at least 10 minutes!

..

Sneak peek

.
A glimpse of what my girls will be wearing on Christmas day...red needlecord pinafore dresses by Sarah Louise with matching embroidered blouses . I love Sarah Louise. They make very traditional clothing and if I were a wealthy woman my girls would be dressed in Sarah Louise outfits all the time!

Peter Pan collars, bullion knot roses, smocking, Christmas reds...could these dresses be any more perfect! I can't wait to see Lily and Emma wearing them on Christmas day. It's enough to melt a mother's heart just thinking about it!
.

I feel I should point out that I never pay full price for my girls' designer dresses. eBay is my friend!
.

Cuddles with Grandad

Lily and her grandad watching 'The Princess and the Frog' together on Sunday evening

.

Shameless plug

.
The lovely lady in this photo is none other than my younger sister Elaine, taken on her wedding day in 2008. She is a woman of many talents, not least of which include having to put up with having me for a big sister. She has always been the artist in the family and I greatly admire her skill in this area. Elaine has recently combined her talent for drawing with her wonderful dry sense of humour in a fantastic new blog. It's called Mindless Receptacle and you have to go and read it right now. Seriously...why are you still here?
.