Buddy 'Ole Pal

Emry's friend Addie came over to play this morning. They went to daycare together all last year and sadly, I think they don't remember each other. It was fun seeing them together again and they played pretty well. It was hard to get a good shot of them b/c they are busy, busy, busy!

It's a Par-tay!

I wanted to continue the ritual with Bryn of going to breast feeding group. Even though I'm an "experienced" mom, I've forogotten a lot of things and also loved going to group weekly during my maternity leave with Emry. I've met some wonderful friends there as well. So we try to go as often as we can when my work schedule permits. Today, an employee from Gymboree came to demonstrate some activities they do in their infant class. This in addition to yummy snacks provided by the hospital cafeteria, was our Christmas party. Bryn was so stimulated...she fell asleep. :)

2 Months!

Our little peanut is 2 months today. CAN-NOT believe it! Here is what she's up to these days:

* Nurses 6-7 times/day
* Nurses every 2 1/2 - 3 hours during the day
* Sleeps anywhere between 6 - 9 1/2 hours at night
* Is smiling!!! (we love this)
* Takes at least an hour nap after each feeding during the day
* doesn't like tummy time too much
* is beginning to coo
* protests when initially put in her carseat and then calms down the moment the car starts moving
* is still swaddled
* workin' on those neck muscles
* wears mostly 3 month clothing
* enjoys bathtime for the most part
* is a sweet baby...she goes with the flow and has done so well since I've gone back to work (even though I work from home)

Daddy and I love you, love you, love you! We are so blessed to be your mommy and daddy.

Partial smile.

Santa (take 2)

Once again we thought we'd beat the Santa rush by getting to Bass Pro Shop twenty minutes before the store opened only to find a long line extending down the sidewalk on the side of the store. Steve and Emry rushed to get in line while Bryn and I waited in the car for a bit. Then we joined them b/c it was actually decent outside. After waiting in line 15-20 minutes, the doors opened and we followed the crowd downstairs and were three people away from getting a 10:00 ticket to see Santa. We received a 10:30 time slot (not too bad but still MORE waiting). Even though the man in charge of Santa Land told customers not to wait in line early, that he would call our time...Bryn and I still hovered around the line while Steve and Emry roamed the store. Emry was loving the live ducks and fish. Around 10:45, it was finally our turn. Steve and I were certain Emry would throw a fit since she has separation issues but to our surprise, she did really well with the jolly man. She wouldn't look at him at first but warmed by the end. Bryn was also a rockstar considering it was time to eat and she had been fussing in the stroller about 10 minutes prior. I tried taking pictures with my camera but of course they were all blurry...ugh! Luckily Bass Pro took a decent pic so I was able to scan and save it.

Not sure that all the waiting around is worth it but I guess the girls will have fun looking back at the first time they met Santa and so on, and so on as the years go by. I'm just not a huge line person and started to think it might be easier to rent a Santa suit and have Steve play the part from now on. We'll see. :)

1st Santa Attempt

We had good intentions this morning when we planned to get to Metro North Mall at exactly 12:00 when pictures with Santa began. Well, we weren't punctual as 12:00 means 12:30 nowadays with two kids. Even so, we still thought we would beat the mad rush. Wrong! I waited in line with Bryn while Steve walked around with Emry. We must be naive b/c for some reason we thought everyone received a FREE 4 x 6 photo with Santa. After I had been standing in line for almost 30 minutes and was still a good 30 minutes from reaching Santa, we realized ONE 4 x 6 cost $11.99...what?!?! Many of you know, Steve and I are fairly frugal so Steve quickly researched other options on his phone and Bass Pro shop turned out to be a better deal so I exited the line and we moved on to the free train ride. We'll try Santa again tomorrow morning at Bass Pro. At least we didn't waste an hour for nothing because there was a reason we were here...we ran into Emry's buddy from her former daycare...Addie! Sadly, I don't think they remembered each other but they shared a train car and did surprisingly well on the ride. They're all grown up!

Family Pics 2011

We had family pics taken November 19th, when Bryn was one day shy of one month old. Here are some of our faves. Enjoy! :)

Christmas with Friends

We headed to Avery and Aleah's house this morning for some Christmas cheer. The kids colored, made an ornament, ate a yummy lunch, played a game, and opened a special gift. Emry loved it! Bryn enjoyed the party so much, she passed out. :)

Sweet Angels

Cookies with Santa

Steve took Emry to his school this evening to have cookies with Santa. I wasn't able to go because I had conferences but here are a few pictures he took.

Seussical

We went to the Crown Center for a field trip with my school and watched the performance "Seussical." It was basically a kids musical based on the story Horton Hears a Who. Emry was fairly entertained for a while but then lost interest as any almost 2 year old would. The performance was about an hour and a half so we occupied her with juice and a snack the last 40 minutes or so. It was amazing to attend a field trip on a Saturday and be able to share the experience with Steve, Emry, and Bryn. This job is amazing!

This is the only shot I could get before I was told no pictures during the show. The kids were able to sit on the floor by the stage.

Three Amigos!

Bryn had a play date with her new friends Sophia and Noah! Sophia is 6 days younger and Noah is about a month younger than Bryn. It's amazing how different they all look but they have such similar mannerisms. Here's to many more memories for these three amigos!

Little Helpers

We had extra help this year decorating our Christmas tree. Emry prepared the ornaments and Bryn supervised from her bouncy seat. So fun to do as a family of four! We are so blessed!

"Preparing" the ornaments by taking off the tops. :)

Supervisor hard at work.

Perfectly placed.