Well, it actually started on the 23rd as we were packing up the car and ready to set out first thing in the morning for our vacation at one of our favorite places, Seabrook. But Miss Ella had other plans and decided to get sick that night. It didn't last long, just one throw up (I know, TMI) but she slept well that night so we didn't think too much of it. We left first thing on Christmas Eve and the car ride went well (thanks Uncle Tyler and Aunt Steph for the new portable DVD player for the car, it is truly a life saver!) We arrive early afternoon, Mike goes off to play golf, Ella naps and Mom and I start cooking for dinner. Uncle Court arrives and we all head off to church and Ella did great for the first hour and got a little stir crazy towards the end so we left a little early and came home for a yummy dinner. We tried to get a lot of pictures with Ella, but she was too excited to stay in our arms for a picture. 
This was the best one of the three of us, not so good but what are you going to do. 
Later that night, Mike starts not feeling well and we quickly learn that whatever Ella had was quickly passed onto Mike and unfortunately he got it much worse. He has a rough night and wakes up Christmas morning still feeling ill. Ella also decided she was so excited, she was going to wake up extra early at 6:00am! She did go back to sleep in the bed with me for a little while and I was trying to relish in the extra cuddles and not the fact that it was so early! 
Ella wore her Christmas outfit and waited in her chair for the presents! Unfortunately, after our breakfast, I started not feeling well also and as you can probably suspect, I had now caught this nasty stomach bug. We only opened a few presents before we had to stop because Mike and I had to go back to bed because we felt so awful. The weeks before Christmas, I kept imagining Christmas morning and how special it would be, this was not what I had in mind. We did finally resume after long naps by all and we didn't feel 100% but were at least feeling up to getting out of bed. Someone that managed to escape this nasty stomach bug was Dakota and she quickly found her present from Uncle Court and enjoyed every second of it! 
Ella got a very special present from Uncle Court and can you tell she loved it?? She gave it a huge kiss as soon as she saw the picture on the box! The stroller is so cute and looks just like the BOB jogging stroller we have and she even got a baby from Jennifer to ride in it so she is all set! 
Ella is obsessed with dogs! All dogs but she does love Emma, Jennifer's dog and she loves to give her kisses and pet her. Emma, like Dakota, is very tolerant of Ella although I am not sure she is as fond of the attention as Dakota is! 
Mike wants me to put a big disclaimer on this picture that he was not feeling well and thus, please don't judge his appearance. But the boys all got new golf sweaters from Pebble Beach and it was perfect for their other gift, a round of golf at the Ocean Course at Kiawah. Luckily they played later in the week when Mike was feeling much better. 
Someone was all tuckered out after opening so many gifts and toys. And really, why do we get toys when all she wanted to do was carry around a gatorade bottle??
But she does love her new baby stroller, no more stealing one from Wesley! She was so funny, she kept putting everything in it. She would go over to DeeDee's spice cabinet and pull out all the spices and put them in it. I am not sure what it is with her and spices but she loves them, I guess she likes a lot of flavor in her food! 
She also liked wearing DeeDee's necklaces and pushing the stroller. It is too funny, she loves to put on necklaces and carry my purse around, will she be a girly girl? She isn't great about bows though so it's still uncertain. 
So, we were hoping the stomach bug was just contained to the Hennessy's but Sunday morning, DeeDee woke up feeling sick, the next day Papa, then Uncle Court, Jennifer, etc. It was not great that everyday one person would be feeling better and another one would get sick. On Monday and Tuesday, my aunts, uncles, cousins and Grammy all arrived. We disinfected the house numerous times, Lysoled everything in sight, hoping it would be contained to just our house. We avoided hugs, washed our hands 100 times and thought it would be ok. But this stubborn bug was too strong and eventually moved to the other house and infected almost all of them. In total, there were 21 people including Ella and 19 out of 21 got sick at some point. So disappointing and a lot of things that we had planned were cancelled but at least we were all together and got to spend time together, even it was in our pjs and eating toast and drinking ginger ale. There was however one night when my mom and aunts were all feeling well and decided it was time to introduce Ella to a Dougan tradition, dancing to the Pointer Sisters! 
Sorry the pictures aren't very clear, it was dark and they were taken with the iPhone but you get the idea, Ella had a blast and ate it up. In fact, she was such a dancing queen, she stayed up until almost 10pm dancing the night away! 
And what were all the guys doing at this point? The usual, sitting on the sidelines. 
Ella is not the only one who loves Emma the dog, Grammy loves her also! Jennifer, Uncle Court and Grammy with the sweet dog! 
So, we have a new obsession in the Hennessy Fam. One obsession that this mom and dad wish that we didn't have but a certain little girl loves. It is Yo Gabba Gabba, a show on Nickelodeon that makes you want to pull your hair out as an adult but for some reason, all little kids love and Ella is their number 1 fan. Whenever she hears the music or sees DJ Lace, she squeals and laughs with excitement. We did buy a dvd for the car ride and if she could have, she would have jumped out of her car seat and started dancing. There were certain moments this week where when all else failed, put on some YGG (we can't say the full name or Ella runs to the tv and wants it on). Pretty much anytime the tv is on, she says "Gaba Gaba". 
We had to show Nannie and Grammy YGG also. If you know Ella, you know she doesn't sit still for long, she is very active these days but when Gabba is on, she is mesmerized! So, I guess we will endure the awful songs for some calm, quiet time. 
On Thursday, we had a bridal shower for my cousin Brad's finance Whitney. They are getting married in April so we surprised her with a shower at the Seabrook clubhouse and Ella got to attend her first shower and luncheon. The theme was pretty in pink so all the girls wore pink, Whitney's favorite color. 
Ella sitting with Jennifer (or Fer-Fer as we tried to get Ella to say). 
Ella is a big girl these days and not interested in sitting in a highchair when she can sit in a regular seat like everyone else. 
After some heavy rain, wind and we even saw a few flakes (and I mean like 10 flurries but hey, it was a first for us in Seabrook), the sun came out and we had great weather and got to spend time running around on the beach. 
This is the first time we have been back since Ella is fully walking and she learned the beach is much more fun when you can walk or run around on it. She liked to chase her doggie around with the chuck it tennis ball toy. 
Two best buddies spending a beautiful morning together on the beach. If there is someone who loves the beach even more than us, it is Dakota. This is definitely her happy place! 
Dakota even went for a swim in the ocean and Ella tried to follow her in! Not yet peanut, a couple more months. But we did lots of swimming at the indoor pool. In fact, we went almost every morning and she would take 3 hour naps after that! That is huge for Ella who doesn't really nap too well. We might need to start going to the indoor pool at the Y more often. 
We had an amazing sunset on New Years Eve and we tried to capture it. And yes, your eyes are not deceiving you, Ella is wearing a Georgia jersey, another gift from her Uncle Court. He is trying to bribe her with Georgia gifts but even her wearing the jersey couldn't pull the Dawgs through. Plus, we all know she cheers for a team playing in a BCS game, Go Hokies! (It's halftime now, close game...) 
Me and my munchkin on the last day of 2010 and what an amazing year it was! 
So, with all the sickness and bad health we had this vacation, I am still so grateful that we got to spend so much time with family. Most of them traveled long distances, Texas, Colorado, DC, etc so it was great that we could all find a little time in our busy schedules to come together. Mother Nature treated us to amazing surprise, an unforgettable sunset the final night and just seemed so fitting for a final sunset on 2010 and a final sunset for this vacation. 
I don't think I could ever get tired of this unbelievable view.
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