Snowy Christmas in CT

Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!   This year, we spent Christmas in CT and had a wonderful time.  The drive went really well both ways and we made it in 8 hours up and 8.5 hours back.  The kids did great and the early morning departure is definitely the way to travel with two little ones!  The DVD player also helps a lot!  On Christmas Eve, we had Bill's Aunt Amy, Aunt Meryl and their families over for dinner and it was so much fun watching the girls open gifts and get prepared for Santa's visit.  Madelyn enjoyed putting out the reindeer food on Grandpa's front lawn and getting the milk and cookies for Santa all ready.  On Christmas Day, the entire family was together and we had a fabulous time.  Madelyn, Jack and Ellie loved opening all of their gifts from Grandpa and Vera and the Christmas Day dinner was fabulous thanks to Uncle Mark.  

I was determined to make Christmas morning at Grandpa's house no different than our house.  I packed all the stockings and gifts and everything fell together perfectly.  Madelyn and Ellie had so much fun opening their gifts from Santa.  Madelyn loved her new camera, princess book and castle and Ellie's favorite was all the wrapping paper. 

The big surprise this year was a blizzard on Sunday night which left 14 inches on the ground and lots of snow drifts because of the heavy wind.  It was so much fun getting all the snow, but we were disappointed that we had to cancel our trip to New York City.  However, Madelyn and Jack enjoyed playing in the snow together and we were even able to go sledding on Tuesday which was a blast for Madelyn and the adults.

Here are some pictures from our trip:

Great Grandma McGuire on Christmas Eve

Great Aunt Amy and Steve with the girls!

Sprinkling the reindeer food on Grandpa's lawn. 



Not sure if you would call this sprinkling the food on Grandpa's lawn.  A better word is dumping the food on Grandpa's lawn!



Madelyn also insisted on leaving carrots by the front door!

Madelyn playing in her Christmas present from Great Aunt Amy.  Leave it to Great Aunt Amy to buy a Fashion Show tent with a runway that lights up!

So excited about leaving cookies and milk for Santa!  She made sure she picked out the cookies with red on top because red is Santa's favorite color!

Look what Santa brought!

Fenway trying to sneak a peak in his stocking on Christmas Eve!

They went immediately in their new house and starting looking in their stockings!

Madelyn reading her new book and Ellie playing with her favorite, the wrapping paper!

Sisters on Christmas morning 2010!

Loves her new Dora umbrella!

I guess she doesn't care about bad luck!

Little Miss Ellie was having so much fun!

Santa even left a note!

Madelyn, Ellie and Jack on Christmas Day!

Ellie loves playing with Aunt Kristen!

Sweet little Ellie!

Ellie being silly with Aunt Kristen!

Jack on his new bike from Grandpa and Vera!

Madelyn is so excited about using her new sleeping bag from Grandpa and Vera on New Year's Eve!

The Princess Dresses were by far Madelyn's favorite gift from Grandpa and Vera (and  maybe even Jack's favorite)! 

Ellie with her godparent's, Nikki and Nick!

Ellie sporting her new Boston hat from Nikki and Nick!

Madelyn and Jack watching "The Wizard of Oz".  Jack was protecting Madelyn from the witch in his picture!

Ellie playing with Grandpa and Erin!

Jack trying to hurry Madelyn up by feeding her dinner.  I'm sure he wanted to go put on the princess dresses and watch "The Wizard of Oz".

Princess Madelyn with Grandpa and Vera!

Eating a fabulous dinner made by Vera during the blizzard!

Watching "The Wizard of Oz" again and Fenway is protecting her this time!

Getting ready to go on a ride with Jack in the snow!

Riding around the neighborhood.  Didn't last long because it was super cold and windy!

Jack likes this sled ride!

Sweet cousins.  You can see how high the snow was at places because it's almost as tall as them in this picture!

I tried to take a picture of the snow blowing everywhere in the wind but it really didn't work!

The snow was so soft and fluffy that a snowman was impossible.  This was the best we could do!

Sledding with Uncle Matt!

Ellie was a trooper in the cold but never made it on a sled.  She ended up sitting in the car witih Grandpa, Aunt Erin and Jack.

Jack wasn't a big fan of sledding.  He'd rather hold his coffee and stay warm!

Grandpa and Aunt Erin blocking the wind from Ellie!



Aunt Erin keeping Ellie warm!



Madelyn LOVED sledding!  She was a dare devil and went down over and over again!

Riding with Aunt Kristen!

Madelyn wanted to ride with everyone.  Here she is with Uncle Mark!

Madelyn also insisted on everyone pulling her back up the hill on the sled!





Madelyn also wanted to go down head first and eventually went down head first by herself!

Madelyn and I on the Radio Flyer!

Being pulled up the hill again!

So happy to be playing in the snow.  What a change from last year!

Ellie is 9 months old!

Ellie is 9 months old!  She is really showing her personality and is such a giggly, happy, and curious little baby.   Madelyn and Ellie are really starting to interact and it is so much fun to watch every day.  Their favorite thing to do is sit in a fort made out of blankets and take a bath together.  They just giggle constantly.  It is so cute!  At 9 months, Ellie:

• Weights 15 lbs 10 oz (5th percentile)
• Is 28 inches long (59th percentile)
• Is finally sleeping through the night again.  She goes to bed around 7 and wakes up around 6:30.
• Eats 3 meals a day and nurses 5 times a day.  She eats oatmeal, prunes and fruit in the morning, fruit at lunch and 2 vegetables at dinner.  Her favorite foods are sweet potatoes, all fruits and carrots.
• Is very good at picking up her puffs.  She's very entertained at feeding herself.  However, we realized we are spending WAY too much money on puffs because Madelyn will sneak some for herself.  We are switching to Cheerios in the near future!
• Says "Uh Oh" all the time, especially when she drops something and has starting saying "Ba Ba" for Buddy.
• Loves to wave hello and bye
• Claps at everything, especially when she hears a song
• Will fold her hands when we say grace at dinnertime.  It is precious!
• Stands while holding onto an object like her musical table
• Loves to be upside down and often flings herself back while you are holding her which is kind of scary

Christmas at Nana and Pop's House!

Since we are spending Christmas in CT this year, we celebrated Christmas with my side of the family a week early.  It's actually a lot more relaxing celebrating a week early because you are not competing with a million other activities that day and you spread out all the excitement.  We all had a really good time and the kids were exhausted by the end of the night.  We had our traditional Crab Mornay for dinner and Red Velvet Cake for dessert.  We also had lots of yummy sides and of course, wine!  Cora and Madelyn were running around like maniacs as usual and had a good time opening their gifts.  However, Madelyn got very possessive of her new dollhouse which made it difficult at the end.  We need to work on sharing our new toys!  Ellie was happy as usual and loved sitting in all the gifts and playing with the bows and wrapping paper.  Here are some pictures from our evening:

One of my favorite pictures of Madelyn and Bill in front of the tree.

Ellie and her great grandmother Meme!

Meme with two of her great granddaughters!

We actually got a decent family photo.  I'm shocked!  Madelyn is doing a lot better at smiling these days.

The girls with Nana and Pop

Madelyn and Ellie with the talking Santa.  Nana has been collecting a lot of moving and talking Christmas characters since she's had grandchildren.  It's a little scary but all the kids love them!

Ellie's favorite, the Hallmark singing snowman and dog!

Sweet little Ellie!

Uncle Sam is always a big jungle gym for the girls!

Meme and Cora

Madelyn the reindeer.  She wore them just about all night!

Ellie loved the gifts and bows!

Yummy bow!

Cora was a pro at handing out all the gifts!

Where's Ellie?

Madelyn and Cora helping Nana open her Journey Locket!

Pop and his new Bush book!

Ellie reading her new book from Meme!

Madelyn opening her new dollhouse from Nana and Pop.  It was a hit.  She has played with it all day long and never once asked to watch a show on TV!

Cora helping Aunt Amy open gifts!



Ellie loves her new Madame Alexander doll from Nana and Pop.  All the granddaughters have gotten this doll for Christmas amd they all three love their first baby doll. 



Pop with his new "Grilling for my Grandkids" apron!

Madelyn never moved from this rug after opening her new dollhouse.

Aunt Amy sporting her new coat and hat.  She's all ready for these cold temperatures we've been having!

Ellie with her inch of pearls.  Nana and Pop give each granddaughter an inch of pearls a year.  They are really hoping for a boy next time around because this is getting a little pricey!

Madelyn and her new mermaid doll from Nana and Pop

Could they be any cuter?

We did an impromptu dinner with our friends, the Moore's, last night and took a picture in front of the Christmas tree with the kids in their PJ's.  It's been a yearly tradition to take this picture and it's fun to see how the kids have changed every year!

Christmas 2010

Christmas 2009

Christmas 2008

Disney Princesses on Ice

Miss Madelyn had a very exciting day yesterday.  Bill and I took her to see Disney Princesses on Ice at the Coliseum.  As many any of you know, Madelyn is completely obsessed with princesses and will often tell you to call her "Princess Madelyn".  Needless to say, the show was worth every penny because Madelyn literally sat on the edge of her seat the entire time.  She had a huge smile on her face and never took her eyes off of the show.  She loved it!  Her favorite part was Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella.  I really enjoyed the show myself and can honestly say my heart fluttered during some of the songs, especially my favorite movie, The Little Mermaid.   Bill also had a great time and enjoyed watching Madelyn's expressions.  Little Ellie loved all the flashing lights and took a nap during the second half.  It was a fun morning!

Madelyn picked out her outfit for the show.  As soon as we walked in the door, she threw off her coat and couldn't be more excited when she saw all the princesses everywhere!

Ellie all ready to go find our seats!

Ready for the show to begin.  We were very pleased with our seats!

Madelyn's expression just about the entire time!