The holidays were awesome and my girls got away like bandits on Christmas morning.... not to mention the amazing number of gifts they received from their grandparents and aunts and uncles who spoil them to death! The Disney princesses are still very popular in our house (if not more popular than ever before!) and Elmo showed up on Ella's wish list a few times, too. The big gift was the indoor musical trampoline which is still a big hit. It's a favorite of mine, too, since the girls can use it to get some energy out on these super cold, winter days indoors.
We definitely took advantage of what the season has to offer with Christmas playdates, a neighborhood children's party at a local pottery shop, traveling to see our families in southern Missouri and Illinois, putting lights up on our house, viewing other light displays, a visit to Santa's village to see his reindeer, a visit to the STL Zoo to have breakfast with Santa, a Christmas concert at Adelyn's preschool, listening to Christmas music while putting up ornaments (and taking them down), pretend ice skating, Christmas cookie decorating, wish list making, etc. I'm sure I'm missing something.
It was so neat to watch both of the girls take in the holidays. Adelyn has reached an age that allows her to really capture the Christmas spirit for the first time. On Christmas Eve, we all set out cookies and milk for Santa, sprinkled reindeer food (oatmeal and glitter) out on the lawn, and then read The Night Before Christmas. Adelyn was just too excited to go to bed... and I'm sure that the fact that it snowed on Christmas Eve made it even more exciting. She made repeat trips to the tree to see if Santa had visited yet. The last of those repeat trips was at 12 am after Mommy had already set out the filled stockings. Phfew..... talk about a close call! We were moments away from some serious questioning by a 3 yr old... and a couple more away from some serious story-telling by a nervous mommy! :)
So... unfortunately, in the midst of all of the sweet moments we shared during the holiday season, we had to experience loss, too. Both of Andrew's grandparents as well as my 93 yr old grandma all passed away in the matter of a month. It was a tough time for us to have to deal with all of that in such a short span of time not to mention how difficult it was to answer a 3 yr old's questions about life and death. But we are blessed to have such a strong family unit to support each other through the loss and see through the sadness.
With that said, we are looking forward to moving on in 2010. I'm so excited to see how both of my girls develop this year and to witness all of the sweet moments they share together. Ella Bella is turning 2 this weekend and we are having a "lollipop" party to honor her oodles of sweetness. :) I will definitely share pictures soon.
Hope your holidays were wonderful and 2010 has already been good to you. We love you!
