Seeing Double

Since we visited American Girl Place in New York back in August, Elizabeth has been asking for one - specifically, the Elizabeth doll.  In early September, the store notified me that the Felicity and Elizabeth dolls (both historical) were going into the vault, never to be for sale again, so I was forced to make a quick decision.  I purchased the Elizabeth doll and most of her accessories and stored them away.  On Christmas morning, Lee and I presented her with her doll and one outfit (the rest of the outfits and accessories will be handed out over time).  She is IN LOVE with her doll, changing her outfit several times a day and combing her hair just as often.  We've already poured through the catalog and looked at the store website several times and Elizabeth has been very active about adding outfits and accessories to her wish list.  She absolutely cannot wait to go back to the store, even though she knows that it won't happen until summer.  And much to our surprise, Emily handled the situation very well.  She did not cry (although she came close, see video below) and was delighted that her Bitty Baby received a new pair of pajamas.

Simply thrilled. 

Elizabeth and Bitty Baby watched and waited while we enjoyed our Christmas breakfast. 

Elizabeth in her holiday dress.

Watching the fire with Elizabeth.

A Very Merry Christmas

Christmas becomes more and more special every year, as the girls are at the absolute perfect age for this magical holiday.  We were awoken (and not too early) by Elizabeth and Emily climbing into our bed and wishing us a Merry Christmas.  Elizabeth then excitedly told us that she heard Santa's sleigh land on the roof with a "boom" and the jingling of sleigh bells - they were both beyond excited to get downstairs to open their gifts but waited patiently while Lee took the dogs out and then turned on all of the holiday lights.  This year, Santa only brought a few presents - one large gift for the girls to share and a couple of smaller items; the bulk of their presents came from Lee and I.  We made the change because our girls are very lucky and we think that it is important that they understand that not every child gets the same amount of gifts as they get on Christmas morning.  I actually think that this worked out well as both Elizabeth and Emily were very grateful for their gifts and have thanked us many times.  After we opened all of our presents, the rest of our day was pretty low key.  My parents drove down to spend the day and we just lounged around, cooking and playing with all of our new toys.  We were also technology free - no computer, no phone, no cell phones - so if you tried to connect with us on the 25th, all of the phones, ringers and computers were off (even our blog post was done in advance) as we tried to make the most of our day together.

Down the stairs on Christmas morning - I love Emily's discovery that Santa's cookies are gone...

Emily was the first to notice that the treats they left for Santa were gone! 

Checking out their barbie dream house. 

A Prince Naveen "barbie." 

Two of my favorite pictures - Emily hugging Elizabeth after opening the change purse that Emily got for her; and Emily hugging Elizabeth after opening the lip gloss that Elizabeth got for her. 

Emily was very happy with her new camera (and Melissa, you should be relieved). 

Emily

Starting to get into their barbie dream house. 

Talking on walkie talkie telephones - this is a total flashback to my childhood, although it was not until Christmas morning that I remembered receiving phones very similar to these for Christmas when I was a little girl.

Our Christmas table (sans food).  By the time the food hits the table, no one is patient enough to wait around for me to take a picture. 

Emily and her Bitty Baby, wearing its new pajamas.

Lee carving our Christmas roast - my mother (just out of the picture) was keeping a watchful eye on him. 

Rudy and Elliot, enjoying our scraps. 

Christmas Eve

Like we do every year, we spent Christmas Eve in New Hampshire with Lee's extended family.  It is a magical time of laughter, joy, love and frantic gift giving and a tradition that we enjoy more and more every year (although Lee still fondly remembers his childhood Christmas Eves at Memere and Pepere's as the best!).  This year, the food was better than ever and gifts for the girls were piled high.  Elizabeth and Emily enjoyed the frenzied chaos of opening mountains of presents from their great aunts and great uncles and then collapsed with exhaustion in the truck on the way home.  Thank you, once again, to our wonderful family - your love and amazing generosity overwhelms us every year!  More photos here.

Aunt Margie's beautiful Christmas tree and all of the presents, waiting to be opened. 

These reindeer antlers from Aunt Margie held them over until the gift opening began in earnest.

Grand Memere loved the necklace that Elizabeth made for her. 

Memere with the girls (above) and boys (below) - these are historical pictures, for so many reasons. 

Elizabeth was thrilled to receive The Sound of Music from Aunt Sylvia and Uncle Barry. 

  

The huge, joint gift from Aunt Denise (a barbie camper).

The Magic of Christmas

The plate we left for Santa before heading to New Hampshire - two cookies, two (?) carrots, hay and reindeer food.  Oh, and a cup of milk.

By early Christmas morning, the cookies, milk and carrots were gone and only crumbs of hay and reindeer food remained.

Very early Christmas morning.... 

Where in the House is Nick: Week Four

Nick found some new and different places to hide during his final week in the house:

On Monday, we found him hanging out on one of the lights in our bathroom. 

On Tuesday, Nick decided to spend some time in Mom and Dad's room.

On Wednesday, Nick hid in one of Emily's drawers, probably because he was so concerned about her impending surgical procedure. 

On Thursday, we find Nick snuggled up in our rocking chair. 

On Christmas Eve, we found Nick in the Christmas tree, patiently waiting for Santa to take him back to the North Pole.

The Land of Zhu Zhu Pets

I blame my sister, 100%, for the invasion of Zhu Zhu pets at our house.  We successfully kept them out of our house until she decided to buy both girls their very own - and then the downward spiral began.  We hit a new high of Zhu Zhu pets and accessories over the weekend, when they each received a Zhu Zhu pet, a baby Zhu Zhu pet and additional accessories.  There is only so much complaining we can do, however, as the whole set up really keeps them occupied.

All I Want for Christmas....

....is my two front teeth!  I promise not to post every time Elizabeth loses a tooth, but it seemed appropriate, given that her two bottom teeth are now gone, just in time for Christmas!  This time around, the Tooth Fairy left 50 cents, half of which Elizabeth generously shared with Emily.

A Minor Mishap

On Tuesday afternoon, Emily was playing quietly (not unusual) when Lee noticed that she was blowing her nose.  When he went to help her, she told him that she had put a bead up her nose.  He questioned her a little but even when she recanted, he couldn't be certain that she hadn't actually put a bead up her nose.  So he took her to our primary care physician, who confirmed that there was indeed a bead in her nostril, but was unable to get it out; off to the Ear, Nose and Throat doctor, who was also unable to get the bead out (mind you, Lee had to hold her down while the doctor made several attempts), so she was scheduled for surgical extraction.  On Wednesday morning, we brought her to the Surgical Center, where they put her under (this time, I got to hold her down) and extracted the bead.  On the positive side, the bead never caused Emily any pain and the fact that she told Lee what happened allowed for the extraction to occur before infection resulted.  On the negative side, no surgery is minor and we were quite nervous about Emily receiving anesthesia.  The doctors and nurses that took care of her were unbelievably professional, kind, courteous and caring and we are so thankful that she was in their care.  And most of all, we are thankful that Emily is a-okay and shows no signs of infection.

Getting her blood pressure taken and pulse checked. 

Emily and I, right before going into the OR.  I had to assist when they put her under, so I had to wear scrubs, just like Emily. 

Recovery.

Feeling better. 

Christmas in New Hampshire

On Saturday, we made our annual pilgrimage to New Hampshire to celebrate Christmas with the O'Connor side of the family.  For the first time in several years, there was no bad weather to dampen the festivities and we were all able to enjoy ourselves without keeping one eye on the sky.  From the moment we walked in the door, the cousins had a wonderful time playing together - Elizabeth and Emily simply adore Meghan, Kate and Jillian - and the gift-opening frenzy was an all time best!  It was great for me to have the chance to visit with my siblings, who I don't see very often (and sometimes only once a year!).  No doubt about it, a great time was had by all!  Although the pictures below are mostly of the kids, all of the adults participated in our annual yankee book swap.  Truth be told, it was not as frenzied as in years past (like when Sarah Palin's biography was up for grabs), but by the end, there was quite a bit of book stealing going on.

Cousins 

Elizabeth is so excited about her FurReal pet! 

Happy, happy girl! 

Helping Katie open her gifts.

Meghan was excited to get Season 1 of Glee. 

And Jillian was pretty excited about her new spa towel from Justice. 

Elizabeth holds up her annual ornament from Uncle Mike and Auntie Sandra, her godparents.

Opening more presents. 

Emily loved her FurReal kitten. 

Katie is so excited about receiving Guesstures.

More great gifts! 

Emily was thrilled about receiving a Zhu Zhu pet garage from Auntie Grail. 

Sitting down to a fabulous dinner. 

Meghan left early, heading out to her first high school (gasp!) semi-formal.  Before she left, she agreed to pose for a few photos, including one with my parents.  What a grown up and gorgeous girl!