Papa and Grandma Brooke drove up last weekend for a visit. Nadia was so excited and Amelie caught on really quick that she was going to have fun. They tag teamed the girls for play time and told Mike and I we could go out to lunch alone. I had some Cheesecake Factory gift cards from my birthday so we headed over and had such a nice time. (I enjoyed eating a complete meal without feeding someone else or taking someone to the bathroom. HA!)
They brought beautiful spring outfits for the girls and fun treats like flash cards and stickers!
Nadia engaging Brooke in one of her serious play sessions.
The next morning we had WAFFLEMANIA! I made regular and chocolate Belgium waffles. The chocolate ones had chocolate chips and peanut butter chips inside and really should have been considered dessert for breakfast. We also had butter, syrup, whipped cream, nutella and strawberries for toppings. It’s such a fun tradition every time they come to visit.
After waffles there was a lightsaber duel.
And Amelie is down – she didn’t last long. It was a nice fun weekend – thanks for coming Dad and Brooke!
Christmas is always an exciting time for me, but this year I really felt over the top. This being Amelie’s first Christmas and her being a toddler changed everything. Unlike and infant who doesn’t really know what is happening, it’s been really fun to see the delight she has at all the new things we have done. Nadia was really sweet the whole month wanting to point stuff out to Amelie and saying, “This is your first Christmas. Do you want to see this or do that?” The first gifts they saw were the sleeping bags/pillows. Thanks Lynnea for posting about them so I could score them myself at Costco. Nadia wanted to open up the sleeping bags and try them out right away. Then it was on to the stockings.
Amelie was really funny because she would open a gift and then want to clean up the paper and THEN check out the gift. We kept telling her not to worry about it, but she didn’t really listen until the end of the presents. The girls each got a medical kit in their stocking and apparently Mommy needed a lot of doctoring.
Nadia with her new cookbooks and kitchen gadgets from Papa and Grandma Brooke.
Amelie with her Tag Jr from Papa and Grandma Brooke.
Nadia with Darth Maul. She was totally amazed with all the Star Wars galactic hero figures and ships she got. (These were the rest of the set that we bought at her birthday. She asked us where we got them and we told her eBay. I am now convinced she thinks eBay is a magical storehouse of Star Wars figures you can’t buy in stores)
Amelie loving the wand (and tutu) from Kim, Eddie and the kids.
Spanish Dancer pose.
My sister Tahni and her husband Joseph were going to be in our area for 2 hours on Christmas Day so we told her to let us know who to invite for some coffee, appetizers and visiting. The time went too fast, but we all had fun before everyone broke off to have their meals with the other half of their families.
4 generations here!
Grammie and some of her grandkids.
My favorite of the day – the Prom Pose of cousins and spouses/fiancées. I love that everyone humored me!
Once everyone was gone we put the girls down for a nap and after they woke up we went to visit with Mike’s mom at her assisted living apartment. That night for dinner I made Mexican food and the girls had a blast playing with all their new gifts. I think Amelie was totally and completely overloaded by the end of the day and we could tell by her attitude so bedtime came quick.
For the yearly prayer shower at our church. Each January our church honors the babies born or adopted the year before. They hand out 4×6 cards in advance and all the families of the church are encouraged to write a prayer or favorite verse for the children. Then they put them in a photo album for the children to have as a keepsake. Last weekend was the actual prayer shower with breakfast and all the women of the church are invited and any female relatives. After breakfast each mom introduces their child and one person in the room prays for the child. It’s a wonderful blessing to be a part of. At the end when everyone said amen Amelie shouted out loud and clear “AMEN!!!!”
I love the tulips!
Grammie, Me, Amelie and Aunt Paula – thanks for coming!
The moms and babies. We missed the couple that were out due to sickness, but we still prayed for them.
Amelie’s keepsake with all of her prayer cards inside.
