We went out to dinner on Christmas Eve after mass and then returned home to hang the stockings for Santa. Ellie tried to hang her own stocking on the fireplace.
We got the first snowstorm of the season on Friday. There was no school even though the snow didn't begin until about 2 pm. It came down fast and we decided to venture up the street for pizza that evening for dinner. Ellie refused to ride in her sled so she walked a short distance and then was carried the rest of the way there (and the whole way home).
Ellie went outside to enjoy the snow yesterday while John shoveled. She still doesn't quite know what to make of it and just stands outside observing. At least she likes to put her boots and snowpants on!
Julie bravely hosted a cookie decorating party for the kids on Wednesday. It was great for everyone to get together before Christmas and Ellie loved being with her friends. She especially liked the frosting and candy while decorating. Ellie got to wear the adorable dress that Erica brought back for her from Paris.
Ella, Will, Ellie, Olivia, Gwyn and Ben
We had breakfast with Santa at the zoo this morning. I have been telling Ellie all about Santa over the past few weeks. I've kept the conversations very positive and have always emphasized how nice Santa is and how he brings presents and treats to children. We waved to the mall Santa last week (no real interaction though) and she seemed excited about meeting him this morning. As soon as Santa walked into the room, Ellie cried. I told her I'd go with her to have her picture taken with him and she had no interest in sitting on his lap. Luckily, Santa sat on a bench so I didn't have to get on his lap myself! She was fine sitting with friends while Santa read a book. Maybe next year...
Kellan and Ellie
The birthday girl!
Cate turned one yesterday and we went to Friendly's for dinner to celebrate. Ellie got to try her first ever "conehead" sundae there. We had fun but we're not sure if that Friendly's will ever recover from our visit.
We celebrated Cate and Kellan's first birthdays and Ellie's second birthday at Laura and Dan's house last weekend. The kids all had a great time together!
Over the weekend, we went to buy our Christmas tree. We're fortunate to be able to walk to get the tree and John carried it back to our house. We added some ornaments to the tree tonight which Ellie got a kick out of. Her favorite one was the frame ornament from last year with her phototgraph in it.
Throughout Europe and in some other parts of the world, St. Nicholas Day is celebrated on December 6th. Children leave their shoes out the night before hoping that St. Nicholas will fill them with treats. Ellie was pleasantly surprised to find that St. Nicholas left her a treat next to her shoes yesterday morning. She was happy to open new Christmas books that St. Nicholas left for her.
Christmas is coming and we're getting ready in our house! Ellie has a Playmobil advent calendar that has a gift for her to open for the 24 days leading up to Christmas. Each gift is a piece to add to a winter forest scene and she loves the daily ritual of opening the box and adding the day's new present to the forest. Ellie has also been wearing her Christmas pajamas and enjoys reading her Christmas books. Now we just have to see how the visit with Santa will go next weekend...
Ellie turned two in Buffalo last Friday. We can't believe she's already two years old. She had a little party at Mimi and Papa's house with her friends Balin and Quinn. The Elmo cake was a big hit!