Merry Christmas Eve!

Christmas at the Zoo

Since Thanksgiving, we have hardly had an evening together as a family. We've been busy with fun things like Christmas parties, shopping, youth group events and visiting with friends. We've also been fighting Miranda's double ear infection and high fevers. Thankfully, Miranda is nearly 100% recovered. Last night was the first time in a long time we've had an evening for us. So, we went to the Wild Lights exhibit at the Zoo. We'd never been before, but Zane and I both agree that Christmas at the zoo has to become one of our Christmas traditions. Here are some of the things we saw.

It's hard to see, but Miranda is sitting on the nose of a beetle statue. We saw some older kids sitting there with their parents taking pictures of them and thought it looked cute...oops.

As we were leaving Santa, Miranda turned around, waved and said, "bye-bye, Santa." A group of ladies was walking by right when she did this, and they laughed so hard and started waving bye-bye to Santa too.

Daddy and Miranda with the light penguins. We saw real penguins too!


Throughout the zoo, they had these magnificent trees. The pictures don't capture them well. But they were beautiful.

Special Treats

Miranda does not eat a lot of sweet things, mostly because Zane and I have tried to keep sugar away from her. But during Christmas, we have relented and let her enjoy many special treats. This picture is the first time she has had chocolate. I love how satisfied she looks.

My Sweater

Today was our first snow of the winter, and it is bitter cold outside. We dressed Miranda in her warmest sweater. This sweater is also one that I wore when I was her age (the initials are mine, Elizabeth Anne Sloan). My mom saved it and gave it to me when Miranda was born. It also has a cute matching hat. Miranda loves pointing to the sheep and saying, "a sheep, baaah." Doesn't she look cute?

Flexible Pianist

A few weeks ago, we were at our friends' house for dinner, and Miranda serenaded us with lovely melodies from their piano.

Giving Thanks

We had a great Thanksgiving in Northern Virginia spending time with Zane's side of the family. Here are some of the fun things we did.

We toured the Normal Rockwell exhibit at the Smithsonian's American Art Museum. Miranda took in the sights from Mommy's shoulders.


Zane and Mom before we went into the exhibit. You can see Miranda walking on the bench in the background.


Miranda fell asleep in the movie about Norman Rockwell.


Thanksgiving Day: Miranda's pajamas said, "Everyone Is Thankful For Me." It's true.


Miranda loves cats, and enjoyed playing with Zsa Zsa's, Aunt Keira's and Cousin Erica's cats. Here she is throwing a ball to Buggy, Erica's cat.


Miranda was on our shoulders a lot because we didn't bring a stroller. She didn't mind. Look how happy she is on top of Daddy's shoulders.


FSU beat Florida for the first time in six years. Why the turn around for FSU football? Their new cheerleader, of course, inspired them onto victory.


Our last day, we saw an ice sculpture exhibit of the Christmas classic, How The Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss. It was so neat. The main scenes from the book were all recreated in ice. It was 8 degrees in the exhibit, which is why we were wearing the blue parkas. We had a blast.



You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch...


At the end of the exhibit, there was a Christmas tree made of Peeps (the marshmallow candy shaped like little animals).

Photo Shoot Failure

Last week, the leaves were at their peak color and the weather was in the 70s. I took advantage of such perfect conditions to take some fall pictures of Miranda, hoping for a photo worthy of a Christmas card or picture frame. Instead, the photo shoot was a complete failure. I got two smiling pictures and the rest are her pouting or running away from me. Nevertheless, I am tempted to frame one of the pictures. This picture is one of my all time favorites of Miranda. It's not very flattering. Instead, it captures a part of her personality that Zane and I don't usually put on display for admiration. But it is still Miranda. It's just Miranda at a moment where she was tired and frustrated (I quit after this one). As we are learning to parent a toddler who is throwing tantrums and starting the "terrible twos," Zane and I are falling more and more in love with our little girl. Yes, we guide and correct when Miranda throws a fit. But when she's not looking, we laugh at how cute she is when she's frustrated. We mimic her pouty face and whining voice because she's charming and beautiful and lovable even when she's not. This picture is a sweet reminder that Miranda is not perfect. But Zane and I are called to love her as she is because we're not perfect either.