Sunday, December 14, 2008

You've got a friend in me...

Last night was the highlight of our holiday season...really. We were hosted so grandly by Jen and Dan for our third annual Holiday Extravaganza. As always, we enjoyed a smorgasbord (hmmm...even with my Swedish roots I had to look that one up!) of delicious foods...and drink too (Jen, you must e-mail me that "punch" recipe...it sure lived up to it's name as it definitely packed a wallop!! :-))! But by far, the most gratifying part of the evening was seeing how the girls are developing real friendships and enjoying each other's company. It is so interesting to see individual interests coming out. It is obvious that Katie Min and Lia are two princess peas in a pod. They disappeared together and when Jim went to find them...he was met by two girls in various stages of undress as they were huridly throwing off their party clothes in favor of some princess finery. I am sure Lia felt right at home as "princess" bests any other style of dress with one hand tied behind it's back any old day of the week at our house!

Okay...my own version of Waldo...I came out from behind the camera to pose with my pretty girl before we left for the party.

IMG_9493

IMG_9494

Lia and Emma enjoyed making Christmas ornaments...they are so serious about it!!

IMG_9497

More craft seriousness!

IMG_9499

Lia and Katie (before the princess transformation)!

IMG_9511

IMG_9509

And after the big change...Lia and Katie...aka Ariel and Bride Ariel...even a mermaid has to eat!! Is it just me or do they look guilty of something??

IMG_9538

One thing all the girls have in common is their love of dancing! We were treated to an impromptu dancing recital that brought tears to my eyes for its' sweetness!!

IMG_9540

IMG_9545

Of course no Chirstmas party is complete without a visit from jolly old Saint Nick. This may be my favorite image of the night...it is Lia when she caught a glimpse of Santa coming in through the front door. Priceless. The fact that he entered through the door has been worrying her all day! I have had to think fast to explain away this un-Santa like entrance!

IMG_9512

Lia seriously told Santa that she wanted "nothing" for Christmas. Luckily for us she gave the Santa at the mall a proper list!!

IMG_9524

Santa had a gift for each child...and even though Lia wanted nothing, she was very excited with her Tinkerbelle movie!!

IMG_9525

The whole gang with Santa! This is such a great photo...Lia with some of her oldest friends and some of her newest!! Truly dreamy all around!

IMG_9533

22 comments:

Catherine said...

What a wonderful evening!! Looks like everyone had a great time! What fun that the friendships remain strong and that the girls are growing up together!

The look on Lia's face seeing Santa is precious!

Thanks for sharing this great evening with us via your pics and stories. What a beautiful picture of monther and daughter!!

Half Gaelic, Half Garlic! said...

What a wonderful night....it looks like much fun was had by all!! I wish we could have made it. You will have to share the punch recipe....sounds like it was a good one:)

I love the pictures...lots of precious moments, but I especially liked seeing you and your sweet girl.....I am glad you came out from behind the camera!!

a Tonggu Momma said...

Wonderful memories for y'all! And Lia definitely beat out the Tongginator with her "nothing" comment to Santa. I'll share our runner-up story this week.

Shelly and Family said...

What a beautiful and amazing evening!

Lucy said...

Fun, fun party! Love the pic of you with Lia, I can finally put a face to the name. :) Happy Holidays!

Rachel said...

That looks like such a fun party! You are lucky to have such a close knit group of adoptive families to hang out with - it must be so nice for Lia to be around other families like hers.

Thanks for the picture of you! I don't remember seeing one before, but for some reason I imagined you with dark hair! :)

Rachel

Bridget said...

It looks and sounds like a perfect night! All of the pictures are so cute - especially the one with you and Lia - we don't get to see that very often:) What a great tradition and so nice to have such a special group of friends!!! Looks like Lia loved every minute!

Jboo said...

What a great party!! And you or Jen must share that punch recipe! The girls do look a wee bit guilty in their princess garb! Love all the photos, esp. of Santa and the girls.

Have a great week.

Janet

Missy said...

Kate,

These are just incredible! I, like everyone, am so happy to see a pic of you and Lia. Y'all are two gorgeous gals.

What a great night of fun and friendship...looks like the girls had fun, too :)

I'm with Lisa...get the recipe from Jen. I do love a good "punch!"

I love all of these photos, but my FAV is of Lia on Santa's lap giving him quite the "look"...like, "Buster, I've got your number. Somethings not right with you dude"

: )

Steffie B. said...

what a great night....the last pictures is my favorite....look at all those darling children.... ;)

Jennifer said...

What a wonderful evening with friends. We are so lucky to have such an amazing group. Katie had a wonderful time with Lia.

I will post the punch recipe. Really easy.

Love the pictures you got of Katie and Lia.

I was too overwhelmed to take pictures. I know Dan got some but I would love that one of Katie and Lia.

Jen

Erin said...

Lovely to see you with Lia... you both look beautiful. And what a party! So perfect and magical. The photo of all of the children is surely one you will cherish forever. It is really quite amazing...

Michelle R Photography said...

What a beautiful group of girls!! It sounds like a fabulous evening. The look on Lia's face seeing Santa is precious.

Adele said...

Oh how fun! I love the photo of the group. Those kids are adorable! I love Lia's outfit and headband. She is so precious! I loved this post. What a special time you all had together. Hope you are enjoying the holidays.

3 Peanuts said...

I love these photos. First of all, it is so nice to see YOU! Just last week...I saw your face on another blog (maybe the friend who had the party---it was referral day). And I thought---oh Kate is so pretty. I had no idea what you looked like but for some reason I imagined dark hair. Not sure why.

I LOVE the look on Lia's face when she caught a glimpse of Santa and when she is sitting on his lap. SOunds like a GREAT holiday party.

Kim

paige said...

oh my , what a super special event!!
& you're right, her little expression is priceless

merry christmas to you

Ivy Shaffer said...

Hi Kate,
It was such a surprise to meet up with you and Lia at the party! We had a great time and watching the "Princesses" dancing together was too cute!

Hey thanks for the camera tips. I bought a camera today! Shhhh don't tell anyone, yet! Let me know if you can tell the difference in my photo capabilities (it will take me about a month to learn how to use it LOL).

Hugs,

Ivy

Casey said...

That looks like so much fun!! I want to dress like a princess too!

Love how serious she is about Santa. She knows how to show some respect to the big guy.... I'm sure she will be rewarded greatly :)

So cute.

Sue said...

What a fun time! I'm so jealous...I want to live close to you guys. I only get to see Jen once a year : (

How awesome for the girls to all be together..priceless memories for years to come.

Sue : )

Kam said...

So there you are! I've been wondering when I'd see your face! ha! Maybe I should have gone back farther! But really, what precious pics of you and your girl! And you're right, the one of her seeing him come in...that's a keeper! Frame it and bring it out every Christmas!
Love seeing Lia with all of her peeps...having a little girl's dream night!

Ivy Shaffer said...

Hi Kate,
Love the photos! Great job with the kids and Santa! Of course you can post Kira if you like. It was wonderful to meet you and your beautiful daughter. Jen was amazing, the food was great and there were 2 Elmos there! LOL

Loved the girls HSM dance, they had so much fun, even the baby managed to sneek in there!

Talk to you soon. Gee I gotta find some time to get on the Yahoo site tool.

Hugs,

Ivy

Deb said...

Oh whata fun party! The pictures of you and Lia are just adorable Kate! The picture of Lia spotting Santa is just priceless! Santastruck :)