MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

We have had an amazing Christmas week, and it's not over yet.   But the photos are piling up so I thought I'd post what we've done so far.  It has been nothing short of perfect for Simone--just about her every Christmas wish has come true.  Today she asked me if we were going to come back to Grammy's next Christmas, just to make sure this wasn't a one time shot.  lol!  

When we arrived last Saturday, Simone wasted no time meeting up with her cousin Madalyn and baking cookies.

The next day, we took a trip to a German Christmas market with Gram and Pop and her cousin Kamryne.

Tony asked Santa for this hat.  He did not get it. 

Simone and Madalyn met St. Nick at the Christkindlmarkt.  He was particularly sweet and spent loads of time talking to them.

Afterwards, the girls came home to another treat -- Operation Santa Claus.

Then the heart of it all...

Christmas Eve before mass.

And Christmas morning opening Santa presents. Simone only asked for 4 things this year -- one of them was her very own suitcase.  Santa brought her a very fashionable Paris suitcase and Simone can't wait to go!

But here was the big moment.... We woke up to a white Christmas.  We only got about 2 inches, but it was wet and packable, so Pop brought Simone outside to build a Christmas morning snowman.  She was deliriously thrilled.  She's been waiting for snow all year.

After they built the body, off they went into the forest to cut branches for the arms....

 AND VOILA!!!... the masterpiece.  Pop had to bribe Simone to come back inside after such fun.

The next day we got a little more snow, so our frosty got a fresh coat of frost.

We were lucky though that the snow was modest because it let us to hit the road for a daytrip to New York.  First stop -- Angelina Ballerina Holiday Musical.  No cameras allowed in the show, but Simone loved it.

Grabbed some lunch at a great little Thai place.  Simone enjoyed the lemongrass soup and drunken noodles.

 Then we hit the subway downtown to take a peek at the 911 Memorial.  It was an incredibly powerful place.  Extremely well done.  We look forward to going back in the summertime to see the park in bloom.

Tony explained to Simone the meaning behind the 911 memorial in very simple terms.  She seemed to grasp it.

We couldn't leave Manhattan without giving Simone the tour, so...

On Wall Street in front of the NY Stock Exchange.

Tony discovered where Ohio was created. Oh happy day.

Swung by Grand Central Station 

The Chrysler Building

The Empire State lit up for the season.

And, of course, Rockefeller Center to see the tree and ice skaters.

Finally, Simone loved the light show displayed on the Saks building.

Ahhh... I just love Christmas and this has been a remarkably good one.  I think they just keep getting more and more fun as Simone grows a little more each year. It will be sad to see the holidays end, but for now, we'll continue to savor the remaining moments.