The week before...

I have so much to write about Christmas and all the fun and excitement we had but before I do, I have to revisit the week before Christmas. I didn't have time to update the blog before we left and I don't want to forget all the fun leading up to the big day.

We had our 2nd annual neighborhood caroling and it was a great time. The kids loved singing all the songs and several neighbors baked cookies and handed out hot cider. Ella's favorite songs were definitely Deck the Halls, she had the fa-la-la-la down pat and we wish you a Merry Christmas.

Wesley, Ella and Addie walking together holding hands. Ella is pretty much obsessed with all her best buddies in the neighborhood.
The first house we stopped at handed out warm cookies so the kids thought every house had them and luckily a few more did but they would sing the carols and then rush to see what treats were at the front door. I think Ella thought this was a little like trick or treating round 2!
After all the cookies, the kids were wound up when we got home and decided to have a wrestling match with Daddy. It went a little something like 1, 2, 3 JUMP and he was a good sport.
Of course we had to wear our different Christmas outfits all week since it was the last time I can have her wear them (tear.) But with school closed, we had to find different activities and luckily the Y filled some of the void. While Mommy worked out, Santa and Mrs Claus visited all the kids in child watch. Ella is still terrified but he stayed in there for a long time and they said after about 45 minutes, she finally went up to him, not on his lap or anything, but did tell him what she wanted for Christmas. They said they got a picture but I haven't seen it yet. When I asked if she sat on Santa's lap after the Y, she said "No, He's nice but I'm scary of him!" Her favorite part was getting a cookie when we left though!
We have had a gingerbread house making kit sitting under the tree and it seemed like there was never time but one night after Daddy got home, we decided to make it. The frosting was a little gummy and messy but we let Ella dive in and make her own "masterpiece."
And isn't it just a thing of beauty you are dying to dive right into and eat???
We have been trying to find time to meet Daddy in Uptown to watch the singing bears for awhile now but with Mike's busy work schedule and us being out of town, we couldn't find time until last Thursday, the day before we left for Seabrook. We packed lunches and went to meet him and someone was so excited to meet Daddy. This picture is definitely one of my new favorites, can you tell how much someone loves her Daddy and how much they look alike?
After lunch, we ventured to get a closer look at the bears. I wasn't sure if Ella, our little scary cat, would go up on her own but she marched right up to the fence to get a better look. The bears don't do much but for some reason, all the kids are pretty mesmerized by them.
And then she really got into it by showing off her dance moves. Sorry this picture is blurry but she was twirling and dancing so fast, it was the best I could get.
That night, we had one final celebration with the best buddies. Just very low key, ordering pizza and letting the little ones run around while I got to hold and cuddle little baby Braelyn. And no celebration is complete without a tea party and they threw a great one!
The next day we left for Seabrook and after I go through and have time to edit to pictures, most likely next week once Ella starts preschool up again, I will have a long post about how much fun we had. Hope you all had a merry and bright holiday! Can't believe 2012 will be here in just 2 days!!

Back in the Keystone State

Last April after an epic meltdown by Ella on our last flight, Mike and I looked at each other and vowed we would never fly again until she was 10 but memory is funny thing and somehow we decided to do it again and fly up to Pennsylvania to see Grandma & Grandpa and the rest of the family. I think I counted this is Ella's 8th flight in just 28 months but this is the first time she has flown since she turned 2 so that meant this flight she would get her own seat. As much as we didn't love having to pay for that extra seat, I have to say, it was worth every penny! I am happy to report that Ella did great on both flights. I was worried she would get scared on takeoff or landing and want to sit in our laps but she was happy to have her own seat and happily watched movies once we could turn on electronic devices.

After landing in Harrisburg, we drove to Danville to Grandma and Grandpa's house. Ella loved being showered with lots of attention and enjoyed the new toys at their house, like Woody!
We were lucky enough to time this trip so that we not only got to see Mike's parents but lots of his other family and friends as well. Mike's grandparents, better known as Bama and Papa were up visiting from Florida along with Mike's Aunt Debby. They had not seen Ella since Kelly's wedding when she was 9 months old so needless to say, she has changed a lot.
We also got to see and spend time with one of Mike's oldest friends, Russ and his wife Alison and their little boy Henry. Ella and Henry got to run around and play at the park and then came over for a yummy lasagna dinner. Alison is also expecting her second baby in April so our new babies will get to play together in the future also.

There is a playground right across the street from Grandma and Grandpa's house and I love that they still have some old school equipment there. I used to love this spinning thing when I was a kid but you can't find them anywhere now. Ella wanted to be in charge of pushing while Henry was happy to go along for the ride.
Ella was also excited that they had the same purple dinosaur that we have at our park. Henry is almost a year younger than Ella but they are about the same size so Henry had no trouble keeping up with Ella.
These two were fast friends after playing together all day!
On Saturday we were so excited when Uncle Tyler, Aunt Steph and cousins Andrew and Connor arrived all the way from Seattle. They flew on the red eye all night but you wouldn't know it by their energy levels. A favorite toy all weekend was the piano, Andrew enjoyed showing Ella the proper way to play.All the kids had so much fun playing together and Ella got to play with lots of toys she had never seen before like Lego's and Daddy was in heaven putting lego's together.
And putting Toy Story puzzles together.
But after all those boy toys, Ella thought the boys needed some princesses in their life so she showed them her princess sticker book.
Connor turned 4 on Monday but we celebrated his birthday a couple days early with a cupcake party.
Everyone got to decorate their own cupcake with frosting and toppings.
Shocker, guess who was in heaven eating only the frosting and sprinkles off her cupcake?
Connor and Andrew also shared their leapfrog books and Ella loved playing with that. Note to Santa, maybe a gift for next Christmas.
More piano playing but this time Connor joined in to make some music. Watch out Beethoven.
How cute are these three little monkeys in the bed?
Getting a picture with everyone smiling and looking is impossible but this was the best attempt.
They seemed to cooperate a little better with Grandma and Grandpa.
Ella loved spending time with her cousins so much. This wasn't planned or posed, they were just watching Curious George together. How sweet is that?
I only wish we lived closer so these little cousins could see each other more but it sure is fun when we can get together and now there will be even more to join in the fun.

We had an early Christmas celebration before we left and Ella loved opening presents. She is quite talented at navigating the wrapping paper and tearing it open to see what is inside. Of course, the excitement of the gift lasts about 15 seconds and then she turns to us and says "open another one please!"

We got Grandpa an automatic golf ball putting game and Ella had to get in the action and perfect her putting skills as well.
After saying goodbye to everyone in Danville, we packed up the car and drove a couple hours to meet the newest and tiniest members of the family, Owen and Noah. Mike's sister had twins boys a month ago and after a brief stay in the NICU, both boys are home and doing well. They were born 6 weeks early so they are still so tiny so we encouraged Ella to mainly look and she could gently touch their feet. Luckily Aunt Kelly and Uncle Ben gave Ella a new Rapunzel purse so that kept her pretty occupied during our visit.
When we arrived, both boys were actually awake but then they quickly went to sleep and we got to sit down and have an early dinner before our flight home. Before we hit the road though, we got one final picture with Ella and her new baby cousins. She was actually really good with them and just wanted to look at them and see what they were doing the whole time. I hope she is like that come February with her new baby brother or sister.
The flight home was good and uneventful, the way you want a flight to be with a 2 year old. It was past her bedtime but it's amazing what a little candy and a movie will do. It was late when we finally got home but it was such a good trip and we are so glad we got to see so much family and friends. That will definitely be our last flight for awhile so we were thankful to spend that time with family before our new little one arrives.

Now, it's back to unpacking, doing laundry and repacking before we head to Seabrook on Friday for Christmas. I honestly can't wait for this Christmas morning and being able to experience it with Ella and all the magic an excitement that she has. Seeing it through her eyes is really what's its all about. Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and safe travels if you are traveling.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

We are in full Christmas swing here! Ella is beyond obsessed with everything Christmas, Santa, Rudolph, snowmen, etc. I am so excited for the holidays this year and this weekend we really kicked it off.

Last Thursday we had our roof redone and the sound was really loud so I went to pick up Ella from preschool and instead of coming home to noise and clutter, we went to the mall to see Santa. We have been watching a lot of Christmas specials and she kept talking about Santa. Last year she was terrified and wouldn't go near him so I was a little apprehensive about how she would do around him.

When we arrived, Santa was on a break but Ella wanted to wait and pose in front of the giant Christmas tree. After waiting, Santa came back and Ella immediately got really scared and wouldn't let go of me. Luckily it wasn't crowded so we didn't have to wait and Santa was sweet asking Ella to come over but there was no way it was happening. So, instead we just waived to him and maybe we will try again next year.
(By the way, how cute is a 2 year old in a sweater dress and boots??)

After the mall, someone fell asleep in the car and I wanted her to nap so I just pulled over and let her nap while I sat in a parking lot. Thanks goodness for iPhones. How come she only falls asleep in the car when we run errands and not when we have a 4 hour drive to Atlanta?
That night, Charlotte had a tree lighting in Uptown and all the ACC mascots were in town for the ACC Championship game. Ella wasn't too sure what to think of the Hokie Bird at first.
They also had Rudolph on hand and Santa (yes, we tried again with Santa and struck out again, oh well. No Santa pictures this year.) Ella was more excited to meet Rudolph even though she looks terrified in this picture. After we left Rudolph, she kept asking for him and waiving to him.
The huge tree they lit behind us.

Friday morning, the painters had to come back and finish up so it was another outing for Mommy and Ella and we went back to one of our favorite places, Discovery Place Kids. We haven't been in a long time and we were there right when it opened and basically had the place to ourselves. Future kayaker in training.
Practicing dolphin riding skills so we can be an expert by the time we go back to Seabrook!
She was really riding everything while we were there.
And of course we finished it up with an ice cream. Not sure who wanted it more, Mommy or Ella?
Saturday morning, we decided to head out on a hunt for the perfect Christmas tree. But we needed to fuel up before hunting so we went to our favorite spot for some yummy breakfast. Eggies all around.
Then we had to find the perfect tree and good thing we brought an expert along with us. She inspected every one...
until she found just what she was looking for!
And then she had to run around like a wild woman, playing hide and seek and running back and forth!
She was in charge of holding onto the ties to ensure the tree stayed on the top of the car and not fall.
Saturday afternoon and night were very sad in the Hennessy household. First, we got on our Georgia jersey to support Uncle Court and his team in the SEC Championship. Unfortunately, they came up short and then it was time to cheer on the Hokies. Actually, she went to sleep before it started which is probably a good thing with some of the words and language given how badly the Hokies played. Oh well, the silver lining came the next day when we got a bid to the Sugar Bowl. Just wish we could go back to New Orleans but being 8 months pregnant, it won't happen this year.
We have a new visitor in our house, Buddy the Elf! Buddy came out Saturday and Ella had seen a special on TV about the elf on the shelf and so she knew just what to do with him and was so excited. Every morning and after each nap, she wakes up asking for Buddy and talks to him all the time. She told him she want Rapunzel and Eugene for Christmas, haha! She also says, "no touch Buddy or he will lose his magic." It is so fun to see the excitement in her eyes!
We decorated our tree and then got some pictures.
Ella loves looking at all the ornaments and we are still working on not taking them off the tree and leaving them on there. We are also working on not opening the presents under the tree since she thinks they are all for her!

This Christmas is definitely going to be magic and we are trying to soak it all up. Seeing holidays through your child's eyes is so much fun and it brings out the child in all of us as well.