Merry & Bright

It is Christmas Eve and there have already been hundreds of pictures documenting this year's holiday season so I'm doing my best to break them up!  We are halfway through gift exchanges and travel and for the most part, the girls have remained pretty merry & bright through it all.

Going backwards, the pictures start back in November with the first appearance of the Christmas decor!

Why are big bows so adorable on little faces???

Santa with a little reindeer

Ready to decorate the tree!

Not too thrilled with the Santa/Reindeer role reversal!

My attempt at a Christmas Dress Photo Shoot...

 one of the only ones that actually turned out but is now a favorite!

Not really a Christmas pic but funny capture of this little lady playfully throwing her food...

And it begins!

We had an eventful weekend in the middle of December with a quick DC visit Saturday morning to see the National Christmas Tree and enjoy brunch at Old Ebbitt's Grill, before catching a train up to NYC for a short but sweet getaway while the girls had a sweet stay at Nana & Pop-Pop's.  

So fun to get back to this tradition of dining at Old Ebbitt's and Lilee loved taking part!

Loved being able to celebrate my amazing husband for his birthday at a trendy little French restaurant in NYC's Nolita.  

Our visit was jam packed with seeing good friends and very bitter sweet but also a good reminder that life goes on and seasons change!

Grocery shopping with Nana & Pop-Pop is always more fun!

Should've known with this little one...

One morning I left the cereal bowl within her reach while helping Maelee and this is what I came back to- she had grabbed it and started helping herself!  

On Maelee's last week of school, the students put on an adorable Christmas program with the Pre-K class opening up the performance.  Maelee was the cutest angel I've seen and Lilee loved seeing her sister on stage!

We had an especially merry time last Friday for a delicious and super sweet Christmas lunch out on the beautiful Gwynn's Island on the Chesapeake Bay a few hrs south at Mava's father's house.  It was such a special afternoon with the whole Miles family, my precious Aunt Mae, Randy, my folks, Too-daddy & Mary Catherine, and Tom & Viv.  We loved every minute of our time there and hope to be able to visit again now that we're closer!

Lilee loved seeing "Auntie Mava" again!

And Maelee was truly over the moon to see "BFF," Madie again.  She must've hugged her for a full minute.  And was practically in tears when we left! Madie was so sweet with her!

Three special faces

Happy girl tritty-trottin' with her Too-daddy!!

Water on both sides of the house- so beautiful!

And tritty-trot fun with Aunt Viv!

Aunt Mae was so touched by Maelee's little hug!

The Miles were so sweet to have gifts for our girls and Maelee was thrilled with her "Frozen" microphone.  She was a riot performing for us!!!

We were all smiles watching this little "star." :)

Group shot!

Family photo!

Slideshow of our visit to Gwynn's Island:

It has been a busy month, with many moments not so merry while Steve worked like crazy and I felt like I was going crazy!  :)  But, we are grateful for a season that reflects on the bright light that Christ brings and have enjoyed celebrating it with those we love.  And the celebrations continue!  We leave for NC tomorrow to see Steve's family and look forward to having a very Merry Christmas, especially with a second little lady this year!

Slideshow of more from December:

Santa Sightings, Tree Lightings, and Mice Fighting...

The Christmas season began in full swing for us the weekend before Thanksgiving with a trip to the National Harbor, just over the bridge from Old Town.  One of our favorite new(-ish) spots, Maelee LOVES the carousel and little playground there and had the bonus of seeing Santa AND riding the big wheel last time we visited.  The crowds weren't yet huge, it was a beautiful clear day (albeit pretty chilly!), and both girls were in pretty jolly moods.

They got to see Santa on the carousel and at the wheel and I must say, he was probably one of the best Santas I've ever seen!  Maelee especially loved his Elf side-kick, Gus, who engaged her in a pretty lengthy and random conversation on the walkway to the wheel.  Lilee wasn't too interested in the man in the big red suit yet, but we were just impressed that she didn't scream!!!  She has definitely come a long way in letting people hold her...

 

After getting their fill of Santa & Gus, we all enjoyed the beautiful view from the Capital Wheel.  We got to go around several times and Lilee made friends with the group in the car in front of us, banging on the window, babbling, and grinning. It was too cute.  Maelee got excited each time we made another loops around. So fun and glad to be able to share with Nana & Pop-Pop who we are very grateful to for the ride!

We took in the decorated Gaylord hotel and Maelee loved riding the train again and again.  Then our final stop was to admire the big, beautiful tree where we amazingly got a fairly decent picture of both girls smiling.  It may or may not have taken about a dozen tries...

That next Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, we met my folks in Old Town for pizza, a Christmas cocktail, and the tree lighting at Market Square.  It was a very chilly night, and a bit of a wait for the big moment, but fun to see.  We caught a glimpse of Santa on the stage and enjoyed some carolers.

Old Town Alexandria's Christmas Tree

Then our own little 'hood had its "Shirlie Lights up the Village" tree lighting a couple Wednesdays ago, complete with singing, reindeer hats, Santa pictures, and even horse & carriage rides.  Unfortunately, being both a school night and Lilee's bedtime we had to choose between Santa and a carriage ride, and we ended up choosing Santa.  In hindsight, not the best choice, but at least we should get another shot another year!

Shirlington Village's Tree

Santa, take two...

Again, at least Lilee didn't cry!

(But I don't think she'd agree w/ her adorable outfit...)

Last weekend was sandwiched between what felt like a VERY long 5 day trip for Steve to CA.  Not the jolliest days of the Christmas season in our home during those days, but I was grateful to have my folks' support and got to have a special mommy/Maelee date to see Ballet NoVa's Nutcracker last Saturday night.  It had been a pretty really tough day, followed by a pretty tough evening as far as Maelee's behavior was concerned, so I was considering going to the performance by myself!  But alas, Christmas is the season of grace, and my big girl and I needed that time together and she loved every minute.  So did I.  Not surprisingly, when asked what her favorite part was, she answers the battle between the mice and the soldiers...

Finally, last Sunday after church, the girls and I went to a little "Holiday Fair" at a nearby community, with (drum roll, please) MORE Santa, plus some ornament decorating and even face painting.  Lilee had pretty much had enough of Santa's lap by St. Nick #3, but we all enjoyed ourselves otherwise.  And Maelee did make a pretty cute Rudolph.

 

We are trying to make the most of the magic of the season, while also reminding Maelee of the truth of the season.  While Santa is fun and based on the kind-hearted St. Nicholas, Jesus is REAL and the biggest gift we can freely receive, whether naughty or nice (because our family sure can be both!) during Christmas time or any time.  

 

It is not an easy balance, but we try!  And we love now showing BOTH our girls both of these traditions.  I do have to admit, I am pretty excited to watch little Lilee rip into presents this year...  Some year they'll (hopefully) get that "it is better to give than receive" but it is fun for now to watch little hearts brimming with joy as they receive over and over again!

Slideshow of more pics:

 

Because Thanksgiving deserves another day!

It was fun to be back in DE again this year for Thanksgiving at Tom & Viv's.  This annual tradition has been going on as long as I can remember and I have sweet memories of laughing with the family, eating too much food, and meeting new people.  While Maelee & Lilee were the only little ones this year, they both enjoyed themselves and Maelee was especially grateful to have some good one-on-one time with her beloved pal, Jake, the schnauzer.

But before I jump right into Thanksgiving day, Maelee's pre-k class had their own little Thanksgiving celebration the week before. She made one cute little pilgrim girl, if I do say so myself!

They sang adorable songs for us (see video below!) and we feasted on fruit, homemade corn muffins, and fresh churned butter.

The kids did a bunch of cute crafts and learned a lot about the first Thanksgiving so it was fun watching Maelee develop a better understanding this year of why we celebrate this holiday and why it's so darn important to give thanks! The thankful tree that Maelee brought home did include standards like family and even sparkly shoes, but I imagine she was the only kid in her class that had a leaf that said "angler fish" on the tree. (What is it about that darn fish?  Side note- it was hilarious that both my brother and my cousin, via my parents, sent us links for Maelee about the sea devil angler that made the news!)

On Thanksgiving Day, after a turkey shaped pancake breakfast, we hit the road for our first long trip in our new car.  Ironically, our trip down to Williamsburg was in a rental as Steve had a free weekend and we booked it before we became proud owners, so it was nice to let "Elsa" really stretch her legs.  Really, could our silvery/icy car be named anything else?

Traffic was a breeze and we enjoyed spending some time with Too-Dad & Too-Mom before heading over.  Also gave Maelee and me a chance to make some Oreo turkeys (well, mainly me as this apparently wasn't too interesting for Maelee, but she did get several candy corns into the filling!).

Dinner itself was delicious and we were proud of Maelee for trying several new things.  We told her for every new bite she took, she'd get a bite of dessert and it worked at least a little.  Her favorite food of the night?  Too-mom's deviled eggs. :)  They were yummy!  Lilee also tried just about everything but was a bit unsure of most of the new textures.  I was hoping to capture quite a surprised expression when she got a bite of the tart cranberry sauce but she didn't seem to mind!  And she sure did love Nana's pumpkin pie.

It was a special evening and overall, the girls really did great.  And they have really loved being able to see Too-Dad & Too-Mom so much!  It is always such a beautiful Thanksgiving celebration up in DE - the only problem we had was that you can't get leftovers when you travel!  So, after both my mom and Steve had mentioned wanting to pick up a turkey to roast and have some leftovers from, we decided why not just celebrate the day all over again?

So last Sunday, that's just what we did.  Complete with all the fixins.  My mom got a great price on one of the most delicious turkeys I've ever tasted, thanks to some brining and other special touches courtesy of Nana.  Mmm, are we enjoying some yummy turkey sandwiches now! 

 

Maelee said the sweetest, most sincere prayer for us and said how grateful she was for family.  It has been a year of mixed emotions for our household but with lots of huge blessings.  We are all so thankful for new family with the birth of our precious Lilee, and for being closer to much of our family now that we're in VA.

Slideshow of Thanksgiving Festivities:

And below shows some more November happenings, including a fun bonfire with our church community group, Anglerfish pancakes, Lilee's mischievous side, Maelee's goofy side, more fun on "the truck," and crowding around the window to watch the snow fall.

Slideshow of November pics:

And finally, what better way to end a post on thankfulness than with some sweet shots of our now 10 month old little blessing.

Such a joy!

A few more here: