The Joy of Sharing....

This year, the girls received a lot of joint presents - but even if they had not, they would still need to figure out the whole sharing thing. As the older sibling, Elizabeth bears the weight of the sharing responsibility as Emily pretty much follows her lead. So far, not so good. To be fair, they usually play very well together - but every once in a while, it gets very ugly, and screaming, yelling, pushing and shoving ensues.

This is Elizabeth's face, after learning that "sharing" means that Emily also gets to play with their (joint) gift from Aunt Denise and Uncle Andy - until then, Elizabeth's only understanding of sharing was that she could play with all of Emily's toys (i.e., "Emily has to share with me").
Emily basically blocks out Elizabeth's screaming and sets to work, pushing the baby stroller.
But as it turns out, Emily doesn't really like to share either.Can you see the wicked gleam in Elizabeth's eyes as she dashes away with the stroller?

Bring on the Cousins!!

Congratulations to Uncle Mike and Auntie Kelly, who are expecting a baby in July. We are very happy and excited for them and Elizabeth and Emily can't wait to add another cousin to the family. Actually, Elizabeth can't wait to see Auntie Kelly and check out the baby in her belly (a phenomenon that simply fascinates her, as it should).

Uncle Mike, Auntie Kelly and Elizabeth (in August 2007)

Merry Christmas to All, and to All a Good Night!

After an exciting Christmas morning, we spent the rest of the day, playing with presents, visiting and eating. I'm afraid that tomorrow,when we get back to the routine, the letdown will be tremendous. I am hopeful, however, that the mounds of toys will keep them occupied enough to forget that the haven't received any new presents in a few hours....

Is there anything else in here?

Emily loves the new vacuum - and it makes noise (what was Santa thinking?)

Some quiet reading time

Doing puzzles with Grammy

Playing together

More puzzles with Grandpa

Not to worry, the dogs got their share!!

A Christmas call with Grammy and Grampy - Elizabeth chatted on and on (can you believe it!) about her princess house and puzzles and made certain to say "Happy Holiday!"

Christmas Morning

Hmmm, it looks like someone took all the cookies and carrots and drank all the milk I left.....

Opening presents with Daddy

The "princess house" was a hit - and Santa even thought to put all of the princesses inside of it!!

Helping Emily open a present

Emily gives her baby a hug

For those of you that were hoping for another "wow" video, I apologize in advance, as this certainly isn't it. And, even worse, I turned off the camera just as Elizabeth noticed all the presents and exclaimed "Gifts! Gifts! Oh me, oh my!!" but that is a moment that Lee and I will remember for a long time. This morning, Elizabeth was so overwhelmed by the princess house that we made for her that after playing with it for a bit, we had to stop to have breakfast before opening the rest of the presents.

Here is Emily, opening the baby that Santa brought her. This baby has yet to de-throne Lambie, but she did carry her around a bit today - and she went for a ride in the stroller a few times, with Lambie beside her.

'Twas the Night Before Christmas. . .

Writing a letter to Santa (with Mommy's help)
Baking cookies for Santa
You can't forget carrots (8) for the reindeer!Lots of cookies for Santa - it's hard work, bringing toys to every little girl and boy!!
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care....
With his work here done, Santa is off to bed, blissfully early this year!!

Christmas in New Hampshire - Round Two

This weekend, we celebrated Christmas with all of our aunts, uncles and cousins on Daddy's side of the family - an incredibly loving and generous family!! We received countless gifts, more than we can even count, and had the opportunity to spend some quality time with so many amazing and wonderful people that we just don't see often enough. We want to thank everyone for their generosity - it's overwhelming. Merry Christmas to you all.

Uncle Andy and Emily

Hugs for the Emilys

Emily and Nolan

Elizabeth

Aunt Denise, can you give me a hand with this?????

Pajama time for Emily and Elizabeth

The Wheels on the Wagon go 'Round and 'Round

We opened presents with Grammy and Grampy and they got us the best gift - a wagon!!! We were so excited to go for rides around the house - and we loved our wagon so much that we insisted on sitting in it while we opened the rest of our gifts!! Then, after we opened Grammy and Grampy's gifts for them, Grampy brought out a rocking horse that had been Daddy's and Uncle Mike's when they were little - we had a fun time with that too!!!

Going for a ride in the wagon

Like your present, Grammy?

Check out these cowgirls!!

Opening Presents with Memere

As Memere was not feeling well enough to join the rest of the family in celebrating Christmas, we made a special visit to her house to exchange presents. We think that she really liked the album and photos that we brought for her, and we sure liked the toys and books she got for us. We also exchanged presents with Aunt Sylvia, Uncle Barry and Karen. We were very grateful for the opportunity to see them and share a little holiday cheer.

A little entertainment - the Chicken Dance!

The Endless Wait for Christmas

We've made it through the last week before Christmas. Elizabeth can barely contain herself, constantly asking about Santa, checking the chimney to make sure that he can fit, and equating every random noise in the house with Santa. Emily, on the other hand, is pretty much unaware - and content to speak new words ("tree" was the word of the day) and develop new skills - like eating on her own with a fork or spoon. Elizabeth shows Elliot how much she loves him.
Check out Emily, eating her oatmeal (all by herself) this morning.

Christmas in New Hampshire - Round One

We enjoyed an early Christmas yesterday, spending a wonderful afternoon and evening with our cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents in New Hampshire. It was the first time the entire family was together in more than a year and we had a lot of fun catching up, eating, drinking, and....oh yeah, opening presents, presents, presents!!! We've never seen so many presents! Thanks to all the aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents for our great gifts!! You can see Auntie Kathy's pictures here.

Tickle time with Auntie Sandra and Katie

Here Emily, let me help you with that.

It's Good to Be a Kid

Christmas is for children - there's no doubt about it. And after watching the joy and excitement on the kids' faces yesterday afternoon, I am starting to see Christmas through their eyes instead of my own - and it's an amazing, joyful way to view life!!

Elizabeth had no idea that she was getting presents until all of a sudden, she had too many!

Emily just enjoyed taking in the crowd

Katie, who was the most excited, had the best reactions of all!!

Jingle All the Way....HEY!

What a fine family of singers. HEY!

How Lovely Are Thy Branches

The love affair with our Christmas tree - and all of its ornaments - continues.