Our Christmas morning started early this year. After putting Henry down from a feeding and crawling into bed at 6:30, I heard thunderous footfalls headed towards our room.

Northcutt Christmas 2004

The door flew open (her new talent is opening doors) and there stood Emma Grace.

“Daddy, I’m awake!”

It was in the cutest, sing-song voice you ever heard.

“Daaaaaaa-deeeee, I’m awaaaa-aake.”

Apparently, Daddy was going to be, too.

I managed to convince her that she should climb into bed with me giving Marla, who was still downstairs with Henry and the dreaded bili-lights, an extra 20 minutes of undisturbed sleep. (Sweet, sweet sleep. I remember when we used to do that.)

So, at 6:50 AM we headed downstairs to unleash the furious glee of a two year old on some unsuspecting presents.

Within 30 minutes Emma had opened every single present under the tree. She concientiously opened only her own until it was clear that neither Mommy (who slept through much of it) nor Daddy were going to step up and rip with the gusto called for on Christmas morning.

A few presents, in particular, stood out from all the rest.

First off was Black Johnny. You can see from that gorgeous grin on her face that no more wonderful shirt exists on the planet. This is her third Johnny shirt, so we’re just shy of being able to wear Johnny for half of each week. And believe me, she will want to wear ALL of her Johnnys. Thanks, Grandma Northcutt! (Black Johnny, in fact, was worn two days in a row because he’s so awesome.)

Next up was her new iron and ironing board. This was quite a hit. Emma has always been fascinated by watching Marla iron but, you know, hot irons and children don’t really mix. You can see from the pictures that she puts on the spray starch with her tea pot and tea cups (a present from cousins Ben and Maggie) and then irons to her little heart’s content.

I think the rest of the pictures speak for themselves, so, without further ado, enjoy the show!