Whew, what a week!

I am not quite sure how my eyes are still open and I am still going after this week and all the festivities we had going on! But what a fun week it was and I am constantly reminded how lucky we are to live in such a fun and great neighborhood with so many friends! And this little one is even more lucky to have a neighborhood with so many best buddies to play with! And I think from this face, she is pretty happy about it! The week started off with a girls dinner night and ornament exchange. The guys all stayed home to babysit and the girls got out for a much needed night out. Uptown Charlotte is decorated so nicely right now so we got a shot in front of some of the decorations.

On Thursday night, we did a neighborhood luminary and caroling night. It was the first year we have done this and of course all of the neighborhood didn't participate but the ones who did, their driveways looked great and the kids all had a blast going around. Our house with our luminaries and Christmas lights.

It was a little chilly but a little hot cocoa and some warm hats and it really wasn't too bad.

The group going up to front doors and singing. Luckily the little kids loved running up to the doors and singing so the parents could hang out in the back. One of the neighbors even baked cookies so I think the kids just ran up to every door just in case they had cookies.

These two are so adorable and I just know, they are going to be getting into big time trouble soon, you can just see it in their eyes!

We had another fun party on Friday night, unfortunately I didn't have my camera but it was fun adult night and luckily it was right across the street so no need to travel far which was the best part! The neighborhood started a tradition a couple years ago where they have a secret Santa kids book exchange but of course Ella was a little too small this year so this was our first year participating and it was so much fun. We decided to also do a cookie exchange with all 9 families and I am so excited to have a freezer full of yummy cookies! We went a little early to help Tracey set up and it is so cute how Addie and Wesley just love Mike. In fact, we all joke that Addie has a little crush on "Mr. Mike" and runs up to him and gives him a hug whenever she sees him. While we were setting up, "Mr. Mike" was reading books to the kids! Can't you just see Ella's face, yeah yeah he's not that big of a deal, I see him all the time!!

There were a total of 16 kids at the party and the oldest was only 5 so that is a lot of little kiddos but they all play and get along so well and the big kids are so great to the little kids.

Ella and Wesley coloring at their own craft table.

I told you these two were trouble! We turned our head for a minute and they darted off up and down the stairs!

We even had a special treat at the end of the party, snow! It didn't snow long but big flakes were coming down and the older kids were so excited to look out the window and check it out!

Why just stop with that for one weekend when there are so many more things to do and see! So, of course we did and went to visit the bears that only come out during Christmas time in one of the buildings in Uptown. We went last year with Ella's cousins, Andrew and Connor and Ella napped through the entire thing and I honestly wasn't sure if she would be that interested this year but...

this girl loved it! She was so mesmerized and sat and stared at them for a long time. One of the main bears is named Ella and the conductor bear kept referring to Ella so I think she loved hearing her name like he was talking to her. She stayed on our laps and watched for awhile but then she got more comfortable.

And she had to check them out a little bit closer.

Oh yeah, this girl loves the bears and really anything that has to do with music and singing. After a nice long nap (thank you Ella), we headed over for a holiday dinner with friends. It was pot luck style and then a Chinese gift exchange for the adults. So fun to get together one final time before we all head our separate ways for the holidays.Oh yes, Ella is really into necklaces these days and put that on herself! We are in trouble since she loves to put on jewelry and carry around my purses all over the house!

Trying to capture a picture with all the kids and guess which one is screaming?? I know, shocking since almost every time we try and get a picture like this, she is screaming! The only one! Oh well.

Love these girls:)

Finally a picture of the three of us from all the holiday festivities!

So, like I said, my eyes are getting very heavy and I am looking forward to a good nights sleep (hear that Ella, no peeps tonight!). We head down to Seabrook later this week and can't wait to celebrate and see all the Dougan aunts, uncles and cousins for another wild and fun week. Guess I better recover this week before then! We hope all of you have a great holiday full of lots of love, laughs and special memories. We can't wait to make even more memories and see the excitement in Ella's eyes. Seeing it through the eyes of your children truly reminds you of the real meaning and how special it is. Merry Christmas 2010! Love, The Hennessy Family:)

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

The chill is in the air and we even had a light dusting of snow last night so it is definitely beginning to feel a lot like Christmas. Last weekend we went to pick out our Christmas tree. It was cold cold cold, so we were pretty quick in picking out a tree. We knew we didn't want anything too big with Ella running around and all this year. Decorating definitely takes on a whole new meaning when you have a 16 month old (by the way, our little peanut is 16 months old today, where has the time gone??) running around. We got a great tree though and it smells great. There is nothing like the smell of a fresh Christmas when you walk in the front door during the holidays!

Last week was a rough week, the ear infection and respiratory infection hit Ella hard! She was down for the count for several days and didn't bounce back as quickly this time as she has in the past. It probably has to do with this freezing weather! But after being housebound for 4 days, by Friday night, I was ready to go out and do something. We had been trying to find a good time to go see Santa and I thought this would be the perfect time. Unfortunately, so did the rest of the Charlotte.

So, after Mike got home from work, I put her in her new Santa outfit that DeeDee and Papa brought up the week before and we ventured out. We arrived around 6pm to a long line but naively thought it would move quickly and wouldn't be too bad. Well, after waiting a little while and not moving, Ella was getting very antsy so I took her up so she could watch all the kids with Santa. I was also hoping this would make her a little less scared of him.

I am pretty sure she was more excited about watching the other kids than Santa. Well we watched a little girl about Ella's age and she screamed and screamed and the Mom had to come up and they kept trying to coax her into sitting on Santa's lap and this little song and dance went on for quite awhile. I guess the parents felt like they waited for a long time and they wanted their money's worth.

With Ella still not quite a 100%, she was being very clingy with me (even more than usual) and I could see the writing on the wall, we would wait forever and she would go hysterical when we got up there. So, after driving 20 minutes, we decided to ditch Santa and the line for the night and just head home. I might attempt to take her one day during the week when the line isn't so long but we'll see. We may have to wait another year when she isn't so scared and sick.

So far with the tree though, she has been really good and hasn't tried to pull anything off of it. She points at it and says "teeeee" and she likes when Daddy picks her to show her all of the shiny ornaments. Let's hope it stays that way through the rest of Christmas (knock on wood).

We did make it to church Sunday morning and again, we were worried how she would do in the nursery. It has been a little while since she has been there but she did great and the service was great. Our church does this annual carols and lessons service and it is my favorite one all year. This year did not disappoint and the music was outstanding!

And we came home and had a little photo session when she was all dressed up in another one of her new Christmas outfits.

So, it was a pretty low key weekend for us which was great and we are crossing our fingers that our little girl is over this round of sickness, although, Mike and I both started to feel a little sick ourselves yesterday but hopefully it passes quickly. I think I might change the name of the blog to the "sick hennessy family" after this season! Can't believe Christmas is less than 2 weeks away and in contrast to last weekend, this next week ahead is very busy! Neighborhood caroling, kids breakfast and book exchange, adult party, girls dinner and ornament exchange and finally a big family dinner with some of our closest neighbors! It will be a busy one but should be lots of fun.

More Thanksgiving Pics

I apologize that these photos are so small, maybe you can click on them to see them bigger but they weren't from my camera and I tried just copying and pasting them but since I didn't have the original file, they came out small, sorry. But still wanted to share more fun memories from Thanksgiving weekend and pictures with the entire Hennessy gang.

On a side note, it has been a rough week for our little peanut and more trips back to see Dr. Ankrah. I think like that is our second home this Fall:( We went back to the doctor on Tuesday and Ella had a double ear infection and upper respiratory infection. Not a fun combination and this is the 3rd ear infection for Ella since October. I am hoping she grows out of this and doesn't have to get tubes but we will just have to wait and see. What I know for sure is that having a sick child is so much worse than being sick yourself. I know she is just miserable and I hate seeing her like this. I am hoping she bounces back quickly and then maybe Mom and Dad can get some rest again.

Hokie Hokie Hokie High!!

Tech Tech VPI!!! We are heading to the Orange Bowl! We had such a fun weekend and of course the highlight was the big Virginia Tech/Florida State game in Charlotte for the ACC Championship. This is the first year it has been in Charlotte and we were really excited to be playing for the big game. In fact, I tentatively booked our babysitter 6 weeks ago when I thought things were looking good for us! I was going to make sure we could go if we made it! So, the weather in Charlotte in December is usually high 50's, it was even in the 60's last week and all week, they were saying 55 and sunny but when we woke up Saturday morning, we had a few flurries falling and it was cold. Really cold, like northeast cold. Not like Charlotte cold. Throughout the day, the weather turned to sleet and my attitude towards going to the game started turning sour but as the time approached, it stopped raining and my spirits rose. Before we game, we went to a couple different tailgates and got to see lots of friends who traveled in from out of town for the game. I actually went to one that was indoors and heated and saw a bunch of my sorority sisters. And as when we all get together, debauchery soon ensued! Someone thought playing flip cup and reliving our college days was a good idea.

Well, I have to say, we haven't lost a thing! We went undefeated and it wasn't even that close!

We would like to think we won the ACC flip cup championship, I think we could compete for the National Championship!

After some hard core tailgating, we headed over to the stadium in our 17 layers for the game. It actually wasn't as cold as I thought it was going to be or maybe it was the 3 hot chocolates I drank and hand warmers that kept us warm.

And plus, you are never really cold when your team is winning! This was sweet revenge for the 1999 National Championship when we lost to Florida State in New Orleans. Mike and I were also present for that game and being on the winning side is so much more fun!

We sat with our friends Erin and Jeremy and we all had a great time cheering on the Hokies!

Now, it is on to the Orange Bowl where we will play Stanford. It will be a tough game but considering how the season started for us, we are happy to be playing in a BCS bowl game.

Earlier in the week, we had a short visit from Papa and DeeDee. Papa had a work dinner and they came up for just a night and got to spend some time with Ella. Ella was so funny, she would follow Papa all around the house and even into the other rooms when he was trying to make work phone calls. Papa also snuck her some treats so of course, she would stick by his side!

This cold weather has stayed in Charlotte, it only got up to 38 today!! Where is the normal 50 and 60's??? We are hoping it warms up soon, we are getting a little case of cabin fever and it's only been a couple days. We live in Charlotte for warm weather not this 30 degree stuff!! Oh well, I guess it's beginning to look and feel a lot like Christmas! The elves have been busy, tree and decoration pics coming soon!

Baby, it's cold outside

Brrrrrrrrr! It has definitely turned cold here in Charlotte and winter is here but it hasn't slowed us down at all. It just means piling on the layers of clothes and braving the weather because there are still more parks to explore, walks to take and fun to be had. Ella loves her new Hokie hat that Grandma made and yes, I know she is wearing quite the outfit in the picture below, polka dots, different color strips but whatever, she was warm! We found this park close to our home and we love it! Tons of fun bridges to walk across...

Spokes to look through...

And tons of open fields for Dakota to run around and chase the tennis ball.

Me and my two kids (one human and one furry!!)

Last night, we went over to our neighbors house for dinner and Ella loves playing with all their toys and especially play jewelry! She has quite the fashion sense, she put this necklace on herself! I think she might be starting a new trend!!Finally, all bundled up for a walk! Not sure if we are ready for this cold weather but oh well, guess we will have to prepare!

We are off to watch the Hokies play tonight in the ACC Championship game. Currently, it is sleeting in Charlotte so my excitement level is not too high right now but I guess anything for the Hokies! Hopefully the weather stops before tonight and Go VT!!