Christmas Part 3: The Quad Cities

Here we are, the middle of January and I am finally finishing off the Christmas pictures! Oh well, not much else has been going on around here besides getting ready for the semester to start. First a few last pictures from Chicago. Lilly had her first experience with fairy wings and seems to have fun with them, until they got in her way. But I was able to get a great picture of her and Missy in some awesome light.
But all too soon it was time to pack the car, and Lilly was unhappy that she was not allowed to help. But to make it up to her we stopped to meet with some friends from grad school who are back in the Chicago area. It was awesome to see Jen and Brad again and this was the first time that they were able to meet Lilly. Finally we arrived in the Quad Cities and started Christmas take 3! Unfortunately I neglected to take as many pictures as I should have because I had to recharge the battery. But I did get a few of Lilly joining the fun of guitar hero. She wasn't very good, but then again, neither are we (on a side note we are getting better).

We also got to visit Derek and Tina, friends we had not seen in a long time. They also had never met Lilly and I had not yet met their new son Dagen, who they have had the joy of being parents to for the last 6 months. We had too much junk food and watched the kids play and vowed to do it all again really soon

Before we knew it, it was time once again to get in the car and head back to good old WV. In all the Christmas vacation was fun and we enjoyed seeing the family and friends, but we were glad to get back home. This was especially true for Lilly who decided to join some her toys in a large box, which seemed to be one of her favorite Christmas toys.

Christmas Part 2: Chicago

After we had our small family Christmas we were off to Chicago to spend Christmas eve and day. The trip started out fine, although when we stopped about half way through Miss Lilly decided that she did not want to sleep at all that night. It was not fun. Then we hit a snowstorm as we drove into Illinois which slowed us a down a bit. But we finally arrived at the P's and Christmas could begin. Grandma and Grandpa P had the coolest tree. And Lilly really enjoyed her counsins, (except when they got in her way) and this cool wand that she found. She also tried to get very up close and personal with the tree itself, which required us to spend a lot of time playing tree guard. She did like the neat tatoos that daddy found for her and her first candy cane. But she did not like the big guy who gave it to her. We also got a cute family picture. Of course Christmas eve also means one think...peirogies! my favorite and I look forward to it every year, and this was Lilly's first try so I had the camera ready, she was not a fan. I was excited to try out some new photos as I played with light, but it was not always easy as again I can not hold still and as it turns out kids also do not like standing still when they are young and full of sugar! Oh well, lesson learned and next year I will utalize the cool gorilla pod that my hubby got me for Christmas. After a long evening on Christmas eve we finally got the kids in their pj's and got them, somewhat, settled for a picture before one by one they took off.

Lilly slept pretty well that night, of course as she is only 10 months old she really has no clue about Christmas, so I will remember what that was like next year. She once again enjoyed ripping open presents, often more than the presents themselves. She really liked the dog's Christmas presents, not so much for herself, but to let the dog chase her around. The rest of the day was fun, but tiring and so we all went to bed early. Then we took a little break before Christmas Part 3 and had fun relaxing with the P's. But all too soon we were off again to the QCA for the last leg of the journey, which I will discuss in the next update. Until then I will be hanging out and enjoying the remainder of my vacation.

Lilly's first Christmas Take 1

Wow has it been a crazy, crazy few weeks as we finished up the semester and set off on a whirlwind tour of Chicago and the Quad Cities. Ok, maybe it wasen't so much whirlwind, but we did see our familes and Lilly got to enjoy her cousins and doting grandparents, aunts and uncles. We started our Christmas early as we had a fun family Christmas before we left for Chicago, where we would spend our actual Christmas. It was fun and since Lilly does not know what Christmas is or even what day of the week it is, she didn't mind. I can not wait until next year when she has more awareness about all things Christmas and can enjoy more of her mommy and daddy's favorite holiday. Next year we will stay at home for Christmas and then tour the midwest. Lilly has actually been entralled with the decorations for awhile. She loves the tree and all of the lights and especially her pink stocking from Grandma P that hangs near her highchair. With this in mind I thought I would try to take some cool pictures of her playing with the lights using no flash. This did not work out very well as I can not seem to steady my hand and Lilly could not sit still, but I did get a few good ones. The rest are just blurred lights, like some weird holiday ghost. We got the family party off to a good start with this which is what Jeff and I gave eachother. Fun pictures of that to follow. Lilly did not seem interested in the presents at all until she realized she could rip them open, then she was all smiles. Jeff and I decided that since we buy her toys whenever the fancy strikes and she would be showered with gifts from the family, that we would each get her one thing and hopefully save some tiny space in the house for us to live in. Jeff opted for this awesome Mickey Mouse Airplane that she can ride. And boy does she love it, especially the light up propeller. Let's just say that Jeff and I will have some very strong arms from pushing her around the living room until she gets tall enough for her feet to touch the ground. I got her a purple plush tinkerbell chair that she also loves. She sits down in it with her bottle and chills, but as soon as I get the camera the little stinker refuses to sit still. So no pictures of that yet. I will update in the next few days with Christmas 2008 Part 2: Chicago and then of course Part 3: Quad Cities. But now I must try to get some of these toys put away so I can walk through the living room!