A Whole Lotta LOVE!

February was a sweet month, filled with lots of love and fun times with friends and family.  There were playdates and parkdates with friends, a yummy Valentine's Day, and a very special weekend with precious family.

Since this is another very picture-heavy post though, I'll  try to keep the wordiness on the lighter side.  

Starting with some mischief between two very good pals:

Maelee-Mae & Blakey-Blake

SO much love with daddy

And a few more shots from Maelee's 21st & 22nd months in this slideshow:

Valentine's Day!

Sweet ladybug treat from "Auntie Cindy!"

Sharing a Valentine's lunch date with good pal, James

One LOVED little girl!

Enjoying a delicious Insomnia Cookie

Kisses all around!

Loving daddy's special e-card for his little girl

And loving the sweet personalized bear from Nana & Pop-Pop

(that now must be in the crib with her!)

Of course, here are more Valentine's Day memories in this slideshow:

Over President's Weekend, we had the wonderful opportunity of seeing lots of special family with a quick stay in DE, followed by a couple more spent in VA.  On Saturday, we got to meet Sam (my cousin) & Kim's precious little Mason, born on January 16th.  He is a cutie and a sweetie! 

Enjoying the yummy ice cream cake to celebrate the occasion!

The proud grandparents!

Sweet family

Too-dad and Too-mom (thinking of changing Mary Catherine's nickname from "Nart!") with the grandkids and the great grandkids.

One of Maelee's favorite things...

Walking Gracie

And going on walks with her Pop-Pop

Kisses and hugs for Too-mom

And some tritty-trot with Too-dad

It was a super special visit with Too-dad & Too-Mom; Sam, Kim, & Mason; Uncle Tom & Aunt Viv; Cyndi (Viv's sister) & Dolf; and of course, Nana & Pop-Pop. 

After our visit to DE, Steve was able to join us in VA for a long holiday weekend.  Maelee, as always, enjoyed her time with Nana & Pop-Pop, watching her favorite videos on the ipad, walking through the hallways in  their building, and watching the airplanes from the roof.  We even got to take in some of the President's Day parade in Old Town.  It was a great weekend!

Some final shots of our time in DE & VA in this slideshow:

Hooray for long, holiday weekends!

Maelee & her Melodies...

January was a good month, albeit not terribly eventful. After a busy holiday season though, we enjoyed getting back into a routine of park dates and play dates with friends with a few new music "classes" thrown in (i.e., a dozen + wild kids running around to a man singing wacky kid songs and strumming a guitar).  While our little lady has always enjoyed music and has been singing for a few months now, this past month she has really kicked it up a notch.  We crack up at her renditions of the "Happy Birthday" and "ABC" song, and "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" are classics, too.  We were finally able to video tape her performances a couple weeks back so get ready!  If you're having a bad day, these will definitely make you smile:)

Once again, here's her "Happy Birthday" serenade taken back on 1/8 for her Pop-Pop's bday:

And here's the favorite melody in two songs- "Twinkle, Twinkle" & "ABCs:"

And finally, an "Old MacDonald" tune that turned into a "What does so & so say?" game, followed by a very goofy Maelee singing "Happy BirthGAW:"

That very last bit was taken back on the 2nd weekend of January when my folks made a super quick trip up to 1. see Maelee and 2. bring our load of goods up from Christmas that we couldn't fit in suitcases on a bus.  Thanks, Mom & Dad!  The visit was too short but Maelee loved seeing them and they, of course, loved seeing her. And, we all got the added bonus of experiencing Christmas all over again! 

The stuffed whale!

Pop-Pop's ipad!

Our little goofball during her "Happy BirthGAW" act...

Excited over her special, new table that's her very own!

(Thanks, Nana & Pop-Pop!)

And a cute one of her and one of her best buds, James

We've cut back on the crazy picture taking lately (gasp!), but don't worry, I promise to have the obligatory slideshow in the next post with pictures from Maelee's 21st & 22nd months.  I can't believe she's just a few short months away from turning T W O!!!  Crazy...  

She's getting funnier and funnier with the things she says and  we're constantly wondering what must be going on in that little mind of hers.  She insists she sees a sea lion on one of our steps every time she goes down the stairs and all we see is a knot and a couple of dots in the wood...  And she develops quick obsessions with random objects/people after seeing and learning them- for example, the "robbers" in the "How much is that doggie in the window?" youtube video; every now and then, she'll just blurt out, "robbers-bad!"  Hehe.  A few of her favorite things are still airplanes, helicopters, "diggers," and whales.

She started learning shapes this month and is beginning to recognize a few numbers & letters, and is getting more & more agile on the playground.  We just can't believe how quickly our baby has turned into a little girl!  

Sweet times:)

Four Christmases: Parts Three and Four- VA & NYC

As was stated in the previous post, it was quite a busy Christmas season, spread out over four states.  And while I tried my best to keep these posts from being too picture crazy, this one has no shortage of photos from our time in VA and some fun shots from here in NYC.

We can't believe already a month has gone by since we arrived in VA - our time there went by fast, but was filled with special moments and precious memories.  One of the biggest highlights of our time there was seeing my brother, Daniel- aka Uncle Dan!  Our 4 hr bus ride pales in comparison to his double digit plane ride from Japan and after not seeing him for an entire year, we are so grateful for each day we had with him.

We also feel incredibly blessed by our time with Maelee's Nana & Pop-Pop as they continue to develop their sweet relationship. God has been gracious in our family life and we are so thankful for the holiday memories created, and for all of the time we get to spend together with all our family! 

Onto a sampling of pictures from VA:

Helping Nana in the kitchen rolling snowball cookies!

And enjoying said cookies after they were all done- yum!

Enjoying a delicious 2nd annual dinner at Old Ebbitt's Grill in DC.

Pointing out one of the trucks in her truck book- one of her favorite games!!!

Say cheese!

Outside of Old Ebbitts

2nd annual trip to see the National Tree but not interested in the tree...

Much more interested in the trains!!!

Making music with Nana

Helping to crush crackers for Daniel's birthday dinner

And after a delicious dinner, it's time for cake...

and singing!

And conducting, apparently... :)

So excited to see her Uncle Dan!!!

Pointing to baby Jesus in her "Christmas in a Manger" book on Christmas Eve before the trip to DE-

He is the reason for the season!

And listening to the Christmas story in another book on Christmas morning

Excited over her new airplane toy- they are one of her favorite things!

Excited over another new gift and another one of her favorite things- a whale!

Peering up at Uncle Dan over another fun present- her very own laptop!

Fascinated by Uncle Dan's alphabet "abacus" gift!

One of the many "special moments"

And another special moment and one of her favorite activities-

watching the airplanes go by on the roof!

After our return from NC- enjoying (!!!) some pumpkin cookies :)

And some of Nana's scrambled eggs!  

(but especially enjoying time with Nana!)

Strolling along the Potomac River pier

And more "Happy Birthday" singing during Pop-Pop's early 60th Bday treat 

while we were all still in VA

And Maelee's sweet performance from NY on his actual birthday:

(had to include that!!!)

A fun celebration, indeed!

(and ironically, there's a bit of the Cherry Blossom Riverboat in the background 

where Steve & I got married!)

Trying on Uncle Dan's hat :)

Thankful for some very dear family 

(and an ipad...)

And here's a slideshow of more pics from Christmas in VA:

We returned home to NYC on New Year's Eve and like last year, had a quiet New Year's Day morning opening gifts from each other.  Christmas in the City is always so beautiful and has so much to offer, but this year we only took advantage of a few sights, before our tour of the east coast began.  Here's a sampling of pictures from NYC before and after "the tour":

At our neighborhood park, Carl Schurz's Tree Lighting

Hamming it up to the music of the carolers

Our little, winter darling

Excited to see Santa...

But not too excited to sit on his lap without mommy's and a furry friend's presence

The carousel at Bryant Park's Christmas Market

And our own little Christmas...

Apple charm from daddy

Dancing with the ballerina in her beautiful, new jewelry box from our dear friend, Heather

And a slideshow from Christmas time in NYC:

Oh, and in case you didn't get your fill of pictures, here's a final slideshow of our official "Christmas Photo Shoot," including some fun ones that didn't make the cut:) :

Whether we were celebrating with just the three of us (uh, four- sorry, Parker!) or with ten of us, we truly had a joyous Christmas season.  We can't believe how quickly another year went by and that our little girl will be two years old in only 3 short months... We are thankful for what 2011 held and what God has in store for 2012!