So, here we go....
Friday, the 18th
We left NC around 9:45 and arrived in MD about 5. It was a long drive with some traffic at the end. We only stopped once for lunch and to feed Kylie. They were calling for some major snow so we were glad we made it before it all started. My sister, Leah ("Aunt Ditter"), was originally planning to come on Saturday morning but decided to head on up because of the snow. Noah was so excited to be there and got his first present of the weekend almost immediately (my mom decided to give him things little by little over the weekend - that worked pretty well - he got to play with things for a while and didn't have too much to open when it was time to 'really' open presents. Course then he got used to having something all the time! :-)
Saturday, the 19th
We woke up to a winter wonderland - and a great's night sleep! Kylie slept 9 hours straight that night and has ended up doing it 4 more times since then.... we a getting there! Anyway, there was already about 6 inches of snow on the ground by that morning and it was supposed to keep going all day! We ended up with almost 2 feet on the ground (I think we measured 21" or so). It was crazy! Some pictures from Saturday....
Snuggling with Ditter
Ready to play in the snow. When they started calling for it, my mom went out and got him a snow suit, a jacket, boots and gloves. We thought he looked like the kid from A Christmas Story here. :-)
So excited about the snow! It was a little miserable out there though because it was still coming down like crazy. Noah wanted to stay out but we lured him in with hot chocoloate. :-)
Going sledding!
Back inside - trying on Papa's boots
Kylie's big event for the day - a bath. :-)
Noah loves holding Kylie and is still so gentle with her.
We are so lucky that we never had any jeolousy issues.
I think this picture is hilarious. Look closely. :-)
Grammy and Noah made snow cream! It was good!
When it finally finished snowing on Saturday night, this is what our car looked like from the garage!
Sunday, the 20th
Saturday was supposed to be our annual Christmas Seafood Feast with my dad's side of the family but since the snow put a damper on that, we tried again for Sunday. Luckily, some of them were able to come, so that was lots of fun as usual.
Playing in the snow in the morning. This shows just how deep it was!!
Kylie snuggling with Aunt Marie
Bruce and Keith preparing the fried shrimp and oysters
Tracy, Chris and Brittany
Snuggling with Tracy now!
Here's what grown men will do for a beer run. :-)
Aunt Ditter feeding Kylie
Julie also came to visit that afternoon to meet Kylie for the first time!
Monday, the 21st
In the morning, we went out to play in the snow again. Noah took some good naps while we were there! The snow wore him out!
Pulling Grammy on the sled
A family shot out in the snow.
Kylie's first snow! :-)
We made a snowman. :-) The snow was too fluffy to make a big one so this one was about 6 inches tall. :-)
While Waylon, Noah and I were playing in the snow, Kylie was talking to Grammy.
and then time for snuggling...
On Monday afternoon, Julie came back to visit again as did my friend Brian with his two kids, Caleb and Addison. Noah played with them on our last trip to MD and had been asking to see them. They had a great time running around. Roz and Duane (basically my aunt and uncle) also came by with Jill and Diane (two of their daughters). Jill had a little boy about 2 weeks after Kylie was born and this was their first chance to meet! So fun.
Talking to Julie
Running with Caleb
Addison, Waylon and Noah
Kylie and Max!
Me, Kylie, Max, Jill and Diane
Tuesday, the 22nd
Tuesday was our 'Christmas Day' with my family so in the morning, we had breakfast casserole and started opening presents! Noah loved giving and receiving and it was lots of fun. Leah and Casey arrived while Noah was napping, so we exchanged our presents with them in a more calm manner and then Noah has more presents waiting for him when he woke up. That evening, we went over to Roz and Duane's hours to visit with them some more. Katie (their other daughter) arrived that evening with her husband Keto so it was nice to see them. Roz's mom and Jill's husband, Dan were also there.
Papa holding our favorite present of the year. :-)
Papa loves watching the movie Cars with Noah so Noah had to get him a copy for Christmas
Noah got lots of Thomas stuff to go with his train table from last year - he also mastered the art of holding it up so we could take a picutre. :-)
We framed a poem with the kids handprints for the grandparents. Here's Grammy and Papa opening theirs.
After the morning round of presents, Kylie was knocked out, too.
My mom got Kylie this 'Happy Apple' off Ebay. Apparently, Leah and I used to play with one like this when we were little and loved it. Kylie does, too!
Leah and Casey watching Noah open presents in the afternoon round.
Leah and Noah playing with a fun Mickey Mouse game they got him.
That afternoon, we headed over to Andrea and Sean's house for a very nice dinner. They made a turkey and we had all the fixin's along with it. Noah and Savannah (as always) had so much fun playing together and Noah did not want to come home! We told him if he stayed, Santa couldn't find him but he said he didn't care! :-)
Dick and Waylon
After we got home from Roz and Duane's house, Papa and Kylie had a long conversation. It's fun to hear her 'talk' more and more. She seems to do it most when she's naked. :-) Noah was the same way. We always had 'naked boy playtime' right before bedtime with him when he was little... guess we'll do 'naked girl playtime' with Kylie. I'm sure they will love that when they are older. :-)
Wednesday, the 23rd
We left MD around 10:30 or so and hit some really bad traffic coming out of DC. Guess it was the 'get out of town' day. We didn't make it home until almost 6:00 and then were busy getting the kids fed, to bed and everything unpacked. When I finally sat down and got a chance to check my email at 10 pm, I had an email from my boss that made me worry. I couldn't get in contact with anyone at that time, so when I finally got a chance to find out what was going on it was Christmas Eve and ......
Thursday the 24th
... I lost my job. Merry Christmas to me! In a nutshell, the company has been waiting on 4 contracts to be signed and since none of them have been signed yet, they have terminated my position - at least for now. They are saying there's a chance that if the contracts are signed, I could come back but we can't count on that, so we'll see. I had about an hour of self pity that morning that overlapped with a visit from our friends Steven and Kate. After they listened to me complain for a bit, we had a nice visit. They are expecting their first baby in February and we are super excited for them. Here they are with Kylie...
That afternoon, we headed over to Andrea and Sean's house for a very nice dinner. They made a turkey and we had all the fixin's along with it. Noah and Savannah (as always) had so much fun playing together and Noah did not want to come home! We told him if he stayed, Santa couldn't find him but he said he didn't care! :-)
Noah and Savannah in her new Dora house. He loved it!
Nana and Kylie
Dick and Waylon
Noah wanted Nana to get in the tent. It was so funny.
He also ate all the cookies and drank the milk!
Checking out the eaten food.
Savannah in her pretty dress.
Playing with Grandaddy
Aunt Andrea and Kylie
When we got home, we put out cookies and milk for Santa and took a few PJ pictures...
We all went into Noah's room at bedtime and read The Polar Express and The Night Before Christmas together. I had to take a picture of Noah in bed pretending to be alseep. My parents used to always do that with me and my sister. :-)
Friday, Dec 25th
Santa came!! (Santa's pile was much smaller than either grandparents'!)
He also ate all the cookies and drank the milk!
When Noah woke up, he came into our room as usual and wanted to snuggle. We told him that Santa came and he was excited but not tearing down the stairs or anything.
The three loves of my life
Coming down the stairs.
Coming down the stairs.
Checking out the eaten food.
More Thomas stuff!
Noah got his dolphin!! If you have read previous posts, you'd remember that he found a stuffed dolphin at the mall that he wanted and kept asking about. We promised him we'd tell Santa and we kept our promise! He was really excited about it. He had to take it to Nana and Grandad's later that day, and on the way there, he said (out of the blue), 'Santa brought me a dolphin! I love it! The dolphin is happy, too!'
Giving Kylie her stuffed animal - an elephant
Over at Nana and Grandad's - opening some much needed State gear!
She got diamond earrings!
Andrea, Sean and Savannah
Waylon napping with Kylie
Playing with Playdoh - I love how his little legs are crossed here. :-)
This is the only picture I got over there - Andrea with Lily Kate
Even excited about a toothbrush (Dora and Diego of course)!
After opening all of our presents, we had breakfast - eggs and Gorilla Bread that I had made! It was very yummy. Then we all got ready and headed over to Nana and Grandad's.
Ready to go to Nana and Grandad's in her new outfit that Grammy got her. It has a tutu and she loved the way it felt. She kept grabbing it.
As soon as we got there, we started opening presents - the kids were so excited. There was about 15 minutes of craziness (the kids tearing into the huge pile of presents) and then things calmed down a little. When Savannah finished hers, she went down for a nap and the rest of us finished up a little slower. Noah ended up taking a nap on Nana and Grandad's bed which worked out pretty well. We just relaxed the rest of the day over there and played with Noah's toys. We stayed until bedtime and came home happy and content!
Over at Nana and Grandad's - opening some much needed State gear!
Nana reading their framed poem.
She got diamond earrings!
Andrea, Sean and Savannah
Waylon napping with Kylie
Playing with Playdoh - I love how his little legs are crossed here. :-)
Saturday, the 26th
Saturday was a day of cleaning out, putting away toys and laundry galore! We did find some time to relax a bit though and got out of the house for a quick errand and dinner that night.
Kylie and her Happy Apple
Sunday, the 27th
Sunday morning, Noah and I had a great moment. He had gotten in trouble for something and had to go to timeout and when it was over, we were making up (talking about what had happened and how to do better next time, etc) and I told him I loved him. Then he said, 'I love you SOOO much!' and threw his arms around me. It was so sweet, I don't even care if he was just trying to make up for whatever he had done. :-) Then, we were hugging and he pulled away and said, 'You wanna nuzzle noses with me?' It was so cute. He's such a sweet boy.
After nap, we headed back over to Nana and Grandad's house to visit with Ronnie and Robin and Royal and Danita (Waylon's uncles and aunts) and Meghan (Waylon's cousin), her husband, Cameron, and their new baby, Lily Kate. Of course, Andrea, Sean and Savannah were there also. It was fun to meet Lily and have so many kids there this year!
This is the only picture I got over there - Andrea with Lily Kate
We had such a great few weeks and now it's back to reality and thinking about the future! :-) We wish you all a Happy New Year and hope that 2010 brings you great happiness!
