Christmas Eve

Our Christmas was a lot quieter in some respects than it has been in years past. Our only two guests this year was Mimi and PaPa. Nana didn't get to come this year because she so graciously came to help us when Wesley was born. Barbara and Uncle Jerry weren't able to make it over either, but hopefully we will get to see them later Christmas week at Mimi's house.

Clint and I cooked off and on all day. It felt weird not cooking with my mom by my side! But, we managed to do pretty good. We had ham, macaroni and cheese, green beans, and some south west dressing. I thought I was doing a good thing to make the homemade mac and cheese, but I mistakenly made it with whole grain pasta (to counter-act the 4 cups of cheese in it) and the girls did NOT like the whole wheat pasta. Ella told me it was yuck because it wasn't white!

After dinner, the girls opened one present from me and Clint - new pajamas and new slippers. They both really liked them both - it was fun watching them. They excitedly went to bed with anticipations of Santa coming that night!

Big girl bed

Yesterday, Ella and I went to town and bought bed rails for Mary Catherine. Clint put them on the bed last night (after suffering thru the worst instructions ever). So, after bath time and story time, we were ready to put Mary Catherine to bed. She was a bit confused, but since she was really tired, she didn't give us much grief about getting into the bottom bunk. She was a little confused, but laid right on down. She only cried for about 5 seconds before drifting off to sleep.

Ella, daddy and I watched Polar Express, so Ella was a little later going to bed than normal. When Ella went to bed, Mary Catherine was still sleeping soundly in her new big girl bed. Before we went to bed, Clint checked on her and everything still seemed to be A-Okay.

Could it really be this easy???

Even though I got up at 3 to feed Wesley, I didn't even think to check on the girls! At any rate, about 6:15 or 6:30 this morning, I heard some crying. When I went into the girl's room, Mary Catherine was laying on the floor, all balled up, with no lovey, crying. I picked her up, got her lovey and brought her into the play room. We got a blanket and just rocked and cuddled for about 20 minutes. She seemed so tired. So, I am not sure if it was really that "easy" for her. Not sure how long she was on the floor and really not sure how she even got out of the bed!!!

Guess we will see how it all goes tonight!

We went to Roper Mountain Science Center again this year to see the Christmas lights. Mary Catherine just didn't know what to think about all of the lights. She was pretty amazed. Ella remembered going last year, so she talked about that a lot. We got some hot chocolate (and coffee for Clint, of course) and roasted some marshmallows. We walked around to see Santa, and to see all of the giant Christmas cards that the local schools had made. Then we rode thru the grounds admiring all of the lights that we saw. Our favorite (or at least mine) was Candy Cane lane.

Roasting marshmallows. I think the roasting part is her favorite, as opposed to eating a burnt marshmallow. Whatever makes her smile though :)

Completely wore Mary Catherine out!!

Santa

We got the kids all dressed up and went to the mall to see Santa. We only had to wait in line for about 15 or 20 minutes - so not too bad. Surprisingly, Ella ran up to Santa and sat on one of his legs. I put Wesley on the other. Santa politely asked if Ella could sit on the bench below, which she agreed. So, then I put Mary Catherine in his lap. After the picture was made, Ella didn't want to talk to him, so we got our Stop sign and waited to the side for our pictures. While we waited, Ella wrote on her Stop sign her letter to Santa and put it in the big mailbox for the North Pole. We had a great time - and all of the kids did great!

Is he cute or what?

Wesley is just too cute! When I took him with us to Mary Catherine's 18 month appointment last week, he weighed almost 14 lbs!!! Can't wait to see what he weighs at his 2 month checkup next week!!

Disney on Ice

Ella, Mimi and I went to the Disney on Ice - Princess Classics. It was pretty amazing!! I have never seen skating like that before. Ella was truly amazed, too. She had no idea what to expect and I think the show was more than she could have dreamed. The skating, the costumes, the scenery - it was just all really amazing. But although that part was fantastic, I think the most amazing and fun part was watching Ella react and soak it all in. Nothing like seeing things thru a child's eyes!!

After the show, she asked me what the princesses were going to do. I told her they were going to eat lunch and then rest for awhile. Of course, she asked why they were going to rest and I told her because they were tired. She said, "Well, after they eat and rest, can we go back and see them again?"

Mary Catherine - 18 months

Mary Catherine turned 18 months on Dec 4, 2010. Wow - a year and a half has passed since she has blessed our lives!! She is just such a joy and so much fun. She is the most loving child. She can give some of the best hugs and best kisses!

I took her to see Doctor Whylie on Dec 7 for her check up. He even called her "independent." She didn't have any issues with him holding her and checking her out. She did really well and didn't seem to mind him checking her out. Didn't really like him looking at her ears, but all was well. She weighed 23 lbs and 6 oz and is 32 inches.

She is starting to add to her vocabulary. To name a few, she can say daddy, Ella, Wesley, dog, ball, Paw Paw, duck, quack. She even said, "Mommy"!! She is definitely very expressive. She knows what she wants and even if she can't tell you, she will figure out a way to let you know. And if you don't understand, well then, she will just throw a tantrum :) Are we ready for the terrible twos?? We did have an exciting moment the other night though - she (accidentally) went #1 in the potty! We were all very surprised - even Ella. We gave her a high-five. She seemed really proud of herself. Wow - what it would be like to get her out of diapers :)

For some reason, she has also taken a likin' to sah-sees (pacifiers). If she sees one of Wesley's, she doesn't think twice about taking it and putting it in her mouth. This morning, she even got mad at me for taking it away from her before I left her at school!

Smiles and Gurgles Video

Wesley is 8 weeks old - he sure is smiling a lot. He is also finding his voice. He has started gurgling and making noises. He loves to play with his tongue too.

Christmas cookies

This was the first time EVER that I have made sugar cookies from scratch. As Clint and Ella decorated the tree (and Mary Catherine promptly removed ornaments), I tried to make some dough for the cookies. I didn't mix the butter and sugar very well, so the dough didn't turn out. I also didn't realize the importance of flour when rolling the dough out. So, I tossed the dough. The next night, we decided to try again. So, with the help of Ella in the kitchen, we made the dough, rolled it out and used our new cookie cutters to make all different shapes of cookies. We baked them that night and they actually tasted pretty good.

Tuesday night after "nastics" we decorated the cookies. I think Ella really enjoyed it. It's amazing how many sprinkles we used and how many were dumped out on the kitchen counter :) But, it was still a lot of fun. Surprisingly, Ella never asked to eat a cookie - I guess making them was just as much fun as eating them. Either that, or she knew we were making them to take to her school for their Christmas program on Friday night - so maybe she is just waiting for Friday night.

Greer Christmas Parade

We went to the Greer Christmas Parade. Boy was it cccc-oooo-llll-dddd!!! Brr to the bone cold! But, the girls had a blast!! The Gardze's met us out there - although I am sure they were wondering what they had gotten themselves into as cold as it was!!

After Wesley's brief moment out of the stroller, we put him back in it and snuggled him up. He was warm and toasty - he had the best seat in the house!!

Mary Catherine and daddy waving to Santa Clause.

Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving this year. Ella, Wesley and I left for Byron on Wednesday. We stopped in Commerce, ate lunch and fed Wesley. It was a pretty easy drive. We got there mid afternoon and just relaxed with Mimi and PaPa Ace that evening. Thursday morning, Clint and Mary Catherine drove down. We had a great day visiting with family and eating good food.

The kids were so fun to watch together. It was funny to watch Pearce and Mary Catherine. At one point, he was standing in front of the gate to the stairs and she was standing on the other side of the stairs. They stood there and played peek-a-boo forever and just laughed and laughed at each other. It was so sweet and fun to watch!

After lunch, we decided to take the kids to the park. The day was beautiful and they had a great time playing outdoors.

Wonder what they are discussing?

Who can go faster??

Double trouble :)

Sweet sisters. You can tell how tired Ella is - they played pretty hard!

Coloring with dad after bathtime. Relaxing!

Wonder what she is pondering?

M&Ms

As we were leaving Target today, I bought a bag of M&Ms from a little girl selling them for her choir (not that I really need a reason to buy M&Ms or anything). Anyway, Ella and I were sharing them on our way home. She made a comment about Mary Catherine having M&Ms. I told her that she probably shouldn't have any. She quickly asked why and I told her that I thought she was still a little too young and I wasn't sure if she could chew them up or anything.

Ella then very politely asked me for a napkin. I passed her one back - thinking that she had gotten some on her hands or something. For some reason, I decided to look back and see what was going on. Ella was very quickly wiping Mary Catherine's face off. She had blue all over her mouth. I started laughing and asked, "Did you give her a M&M." Ella replied, "Yes, I gave her two of them. I think she likes them."

So, we have decided that Mary Catherine likes M&Ms. I have also confirmed to myself what a quick thinker Ella can be. It is just too funny that she knew what I was saying about MC not being able to have any and then how quickly she thought to get a napkin and try to get rid of the evidence!! She never seizes to amaze me! :)

Wesley - 6 weeks - first bottle

Today, Wesley is 6 weeks old. Hard to believe how fast it is going. He is just growing by leaps and bounds, too! He is in a size one diaper, but I think after this box, we will be moving to a size 2 - already! Some of his 3 month clothes are already too short for him. Definitely seems to be growing at a faster rate than the girls did. Can't wait to see how much he weighs next week!

We also gave him his first bottle this evening. He took it like a champ - no questions asked. Gave him 4 ounces and he seemed pretty content - but then wanted to nurse for a little longer. My guess is that he took around 5 ounces - which to me, seems like a lot for a 6 week old. I think both girls started school at 4 ounces (and they were almost 4 months old)! Growing boy!!

He is really smiling a lot now and even starting to make some sweet little noises. Definitely gets lots and lots of kisses from his sisters, too :) They just love him! He is sleeping pretty good. He has pretty much dropped one of his night-time feedings - going about 5-6 hour stretch between feedings. Can't decide if he is going to be a pacifier baby or a thumb sucker. He definitely takes a pacifier, but when he is done with it, he is done. He is starting to find his hands more - so it may just be a matter of time!

Thanksgiving list

Ella made an indian hat at school. Each "feather" was something for which she is thankful.

I'm Thankful for...
- to go to the beach.
- Mommy helping Lucy stop barking.
- daddy to go out to camp with me.
- I get to go to my Grandma's house.
- Santa Claus giving me a toy.

I asked her about the "camping" seeing as though we have never been camping. She carefully explained to me that she was talking about when they roasted marshmellows with the neighbors on Halloween.

Family moment

This morning, Clint and I were standing in the kitchen watching our children. Wesley was sitting in the bouncy seat (on the table). Ella and Mary Catherine were eating breakfast. They didn't know that we were watching them. Ella very quietly got up, stood next to Mary Catherine and kissed her on the cheek. Mary Catherine smiled. She then picked up a Cheerio and held it out to Ella, who then ate it from her hand. They both giggled out loud.

We couldn't help but to smile and hug one another as we watched this sweet, priceless moment unfold before our very eyes.

Ella's words

Our favorite words from Ella (and their translation)...


Nastics (Gymnastics)

Te-o-lard (leotard)

Hot hair balloon (hot air balloon)

Mary Caffrine (Mary Catherine)

Elacabator (Elevator)

Candy-cap (handicap)

Updating blog

Well, I have been such a slacker updating our blog. It really has been a great way to share news and pictures with the family - which I also do on Facebook now too. I guess since FB and the time it takes to blog, I have slacked off blogging. But, I have decided to get back into it because it also is just a good way to "scrapbook" and to keep up with things. I also promised my brother before he left for Afghanistan that I would start blogging again so that he could see what all is going on with the kids. So, hopefully over the next couple of weeks, you will see some older posts being published and current updates going up on a much more frequent basis.

Love to all!

Halloween

The girls had a great Halloween. On the Friday before Halloween, they had Trunk or Treat at their school. After getting the girls all dressed up, daddy and Nana took the girls to the school. Since Wesley is so small, I stayed home with him. They had a blast - I was so surprised at how late they all came home :)

On Sunday night (Halloween night), we dressed the girls up again and Daddy and Nana took them around the neighborhood trick-or-treating. Wesley and I stayed home and handed out candy. Mid-way thru the neighborhood, they came back home to take a rest. But Mary Catherine and Ella were ready to keep going. They both were just having so much fun. Mary Catherine was even telling people "thank you." It was a lot of fun to watch their excitement!!