Holiday Festivites

I love when December hits and there are lots of holiday activities to get you in the Christmaspirit.

This year it started off with decorating our tree. Whitney was very helpful and took hanging the ornaments very seriously. She was very good about leaving the ornaments alone...we only had one casualty. She did have her own mini tree that she could undecorate and redecorate to her hearts content!

Her stocking...of course!

Baking! My desire to bake goes into full force around Christmas time. I make a variety of cookies but always one gets top pick. I was hoping to give them out to all my friends this year but that just didn't happen. I did make about 125 pizzelles and if you had some I hope you enjoyed them as much as I did!

Whitney's Christmas Concert. Whitney and I have been attending a weekly bible study and the kids had been practicing Christmas songs to perform for all the Moms. I had heard reports back from teachers that she loved music time and was so cute while performing. Performance day came and on the drive there I told her how there would be lots of people watching them sing but it was ok because they were all Moms like me. She seemed ok with this, however, when hundreds of Moms came flooding in and were snapping pictures left and right, Whitney was not too thrilled. She had a trembling lip and was very close to loosing it. But with her friend Leighton by her side, she held it together. She did the occasional hand movement they had learned, but mainly just sat there looking cute. Still a proud parent moment!

Cookie Decorating. This was the 8th annual Christmas cookie baking day up at my friend Gigi's (Kristin) house. Ann started going up there the year before I moved here, and we have continued the tradition every year! Whitney loves playing with Sophia and Damian and they are so sweet to her. Whitney definitely thought she was a big kid!

Breakfast with Santa This was our second year with the new tradition of Breakfast with Santa at River Creek with my parents. This year went way better! Though Tim and I did have to get in the photo, there were no tears. Whitney told Santa that she wanted Minnie for Christmas and after she left his lap acted like she just experienced the coolest thing ever! We always follow Breakfast with Santa with decorating my parents tree. Ann joins us for this day, and with 7 of us there, it gets done rather quickly. Then we make Nanny's sugar cookies! A family favorite!

Holiday Play Date This year Whitney and I held a holiday play date. A huge thanks so my mom and Marguerite for helping me prepare! We had so much fun with all our friends, we didn't get any pictures of the kids! Here are few of the food...the strawberries were a Pinterest find and super delicious!

Living Nativity The church we attend was holding a living nativity. With Whitney's love of animals I knew this was a must. We bundled up and got to pet all the animals!

Christmas Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were filled with lots of excitement. We started with a fun gathering at our family friend's house,the Green's. We had fun socializing with old friends but the highlight for Whitney was definitely the train which Tim patiently sat and helped her control the remote for about 45 minutes! We had a restful day at my parents house while we exchanged a few gifts. Then came home to have a delicious dinner with the O'Neills and exchange gifts with them. My parents then crept in late that night after church so they could wake up with Whitney in the morning. Marguerite made it over bright and early! We had so much fun watching Whitney's excitement as she opened her gifts. She was also very excited that the cookies and carrot we had left out were eaten. The O'Neill's joined us that afternoon and the two families spent a wonderful Christmas together! Brady, Niki and the kids were definitely missed! Whitney summed it up about by saying "Mama, I want more Santa!" Can't wait till next year!

Oh yeah, this guy came to visit too!Let the princesses begin!

Chocolate (soy) milk for Santa!

Who knew Tim was such an artist!

Sesame Street Live!

Thanks to my Mom for the last minute heads up, we attended Sesame Street Live this weekend at the Patriot Center. Whitney's excitement level tripled as we walked in the door and Elmo was everywhere! Not only were we being tempted by Sesame Street paraphernalia, but also those not so good for you but oh you really want some treats. I told Whitney she could pick between cotton candy and soft serve ice cream. Much to my delight, cotton candy was her choice. When we got to our seats we opened the cotton candy, Whitney pinched some off and looked at me very puzzled and said, "Eat?". With a slight chuckle, I said yes and after a taste Whitney quickly replied with a "Yum!".

Our seats were far back but almost center, so we could see perfectly. The seats at the Patriot Center looked nice and new. In other words, the spring on the seat was so tight, Tim had to rest his leg on it so Whitney didn't get folded up in the chair!

The show started and Whitney was wide-eyed and engaged the whole time. Of course, whenever Elmo left the stage she would ask, "Where Elmo go?". I assured her he would be back. By the second act, Whitney was literally out of her seat dancing along. It was so cute and exciting to see her having such a good time. Tim said to me last night, "When's the next family outing"? I have already received an email from him...looks like Barnum and Bailey will be our next stop this Spring!

Gymnastics

This Fall Whitney took a gymnastics class that ran 10 weeks and loved it! I was so excited to introduce it to her, as it was one of my favorite things to do growing up. Those back handsprings and back walk overs helped me snag my role in "The Araboolies of Liberty Street" at Imagination Stage a few years back! I know my parents will be excited when we have a house and we can take my old mat and balance beam off their hands! Anyway, Whitney was excited every week as we pulled on her super cute leotard and headed to the Rec center. Tim was able to make it to one of the classes and helped take some photos since Mom's have to be very hands on. Her favorite things were the balance beam, the tunnel and log rolls (with an occasional somersault) down the wedged mat. OH, and of course the big parachute!

Patiently waiting for her stamp!

Whitney's Half Birthday

Whitney is 2 1/2! My sister and I always liked to make note of our half birthdays growing up. Not that anything special happened but I guess we liked to feel just that much older!

I do feel half birthdays are a big deal at this young age. I have seen a pattern that as Whitney crosses each 6 month mark, she seems to go through huge changes. When she turned two I saw this little girl emerge and my little baby start to fade. How heartbreaking it was but how exciting too. The last 6 months have been filled with so much fun!

The biggest change is definitely her talking. She talks all the time and you can tell she loves learning to say new things. Though sometimes it comes out half words half gibberish, I have seemed to pretty much cracked the code. She is getting good at 4 word "sentences" and I am feeling as she crosses this 2 1/2 mark that more words are just going to come flying out!

I will give a brief mention on the success of moving her to a big girl bed and becoming a 100% diaper free house! Both were much smoother transitions than I ever anticipated. The pacifier on the other hand, I am a bit terrified. Though she only uses it to sleep, I know it is the next big girl step. Aaaah!!

Curious George is still #1 in our house, but Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is a definite second. It is fun to watch her watch these shows as she repeats things they say or acts them out. Best of all is her boisterous laugh that she gets from her Papa!

Our newest game is hide and seek. After dinner you can count on a good 15 minute game with Tim hiding in very obvious and hilarious spots. Like standing on a dining chair with a blanket over his head. Whitney is getting better at staying in her hiding spot and keeping quiet until you find her.

Her favorite song to sing along to in the car is "I like to Eat Apples and Bananas". One that was a favorite of mine as a kid. She seems to be picking up on the vowels and "u" is her favorite one to shout out.

Whitney is a huge helper around the house. Any trash she finds she shows me and takes it to the trash can. She puts her clothes in the hamper, loves to stock the toilet paper in the closet, helps me unload the dishwasher and loves to bake with me!

Our little girl is just so sweet. She is very affectionate and covers us with hugs and kisses!

Smashing bananas for our muffins!
Enjoying her hard work!

Thanksgiving

We made our annual trip to Charlotte for Thanksgiving with the O'Neills! Whitney was perfect on the 7 hour trip. As long as the DVD player was running and snacks were in hand, she was content. We arrived at 11:30pm on Tuesday and Whitney woke ready to play with Grandma and Grandpa. We all made it to bed about 12:30pm and Tim and I got the luxury of sleeping in all week since Grandma was ready for Whitney's 7am wake up call!

For me, the week was filled with shopping. Between the fantastic kids consignment stores they have and a few black Friday stops, I stocked Whitney up. Plus, a few little boy things a long the way! I got spoiled and didn't do any cooking! Tim and his Mom took care of it all! Tim got to spend time golfing with his brothers and a several hours of playing video games.

Niki and Brady hosted Thanksgiving at their house which was beautifully decorated for the holiday! Good friends, Ed, Michelle and their adorable little girl Jasmine joined us and the girls had a blast playing together!

It was a wonderful trip filled with lots of laughter. I am so glad Whitney got to create more lasting memories with her O'Neill Family!

Looking for lighted trees!


Still princess of the house!
A little "Ring Around the Rosie"
The table top beads kept them busy for hours!
Sharing Iphone secrets!
Crashing in on the boys video game
The Family
The McDevitts

We are due 10 days apart!
Posing in front of Frontgate at the mall...who needs to wait in line for Santa!

Her Buddy in the backyard!