On Tuesday, cousin Emilie arrived into town from NYC, and cousin Stephanie joined her Wednesday evening for their annual Turkey trek to D.C. On Wednesday, we made a trip to Sears in an attempt to have pics taken of Lily, Jack and Casey - I would love to report that we got some adorable pictures, but unfortunately none of them turned out great, the kids were not that cooperative, and when one would look cute, the others had other things in mind. Thus, professional pics of the cousins has so far been a bust, we will just have to continue with taking free pics ourselves! While at the mall, Lily and Jack made their first pre-Thanksgiving visit to see Santa - Lily hopped right up onto Santa's lap while Jack gave Santa a high five and fist bump (who knew Santa was so hip?!) and clung to Mom's arm and was going nowhere near Santa's lap.
On Turkey Day, we all headed over to Grandma Gail and Grandpa Tom's and were joined by Grandpa Maurice, Grandma Phyllis, and Great Yellow Grandma - and of course Aunt Kelly. The kids had lots of fun, and Lily had her fill of about 10 pieces of banana bread, she was not a huge fan of the Thanksgiving feast, but our thought is more for us! ;) On Friday, it was time to do away with fall decorations and we got out the Christmas tree, menorahs, and other decorations - we spent the day decorating the tree - and were later joined by Grandma Gail, Grandpa Tom, and Aunt Kelly for leftovers. Aunt Kelly flew back to Colorado later in the day, and Em and Steph headed back to NYC.
On Saturday, we made a family trip to the mall, and while normally malls are about shopping, the kids made out really well - they got to see the fish at the LLBean store, Lily got to sit on Santa's lap again (Jack and Santa high fived again), they rode the mall train, and then we ended the afternoon at an outdoor playground. Jack then took close to a 3 hour nap, while Lily worked on some art projects and played veterinarian.
On Sunday, we headed over to Grandma Gail and Grandpa Tom's to decorate the Christmas tree and met up with Aunt Tracy, Uncle Stan, and Casey for leftovers - they were in Roanoke for Thanksgiving. It was a nice day, so they got in some play time in the driveway and took a walk in the wagon.
Lily is very exicted about all aspects of celebrating Christmas and Hanukah, she thinks she is pretty lucky that she gets to celebrate both, although we are getting lots of questions that at times we struggle to answer. In a discussion about Rudolph, she asked why Santa didn't just use a flashlight to guide his sleigh - pretty reasonable question we thought. In examining a cresh at Grandma Gail and Grandpa Tom's, she asked why Jesus was nailed to the cross - that was a tough one - her Uncle Stan explained to her it because people thought he didn't tell the truth, way to put the fear of God in her!
A week from today, Jack will be 2 years old, time flys! He can sing in full his ABCs and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and can count to 10. He also repeats anything and everything his sister says and does, which at times she finds hilarious and other times she finds completely annoying! As an early birthday present courtesy of Aunt Donna and Uncle Stephen, Mom and Dad spent three hours putting together Jack's train table - both Jack and Lily were very excited and we suspect Jack will be spending lots of time in the basement with his "choo choo trains."
Enjoy the pics!
In matching white for photos that just did not work out.
Hanging out with Cousin Em. Somehow, Cousin Steph managed to avoid the camera.
Jack carried the dog all the way from the sun room to the kitchen and then sat down for a ride.
Hanging out with Santa.
Jack checking out his birthday present from Aunt Donna and Uncle Stephen. A little early but some assembly was required.
Topping off Grandma Gail and Grandpa Tom's tree.
Matching fleeces.
Ready for a ride.
Lounging around.
