It's Christmastime in the City

Ellie and I went to NYC to see the city in its holiday splendor. It was a such a fun trip. We took the MetroNorth from New Haven which was easy. The photo of Ellie above is of her waiting in the train station for our train. We got into Grand Central where we met up with Adam. Ellie was so excited to see Uncle.

Ellie couldn't wait to get to the city and see everything but she fell asleep within minutes of our arrival. Adam and I shopped around Rockefeller Center and let her nap. When she woke up, we were able to show her the tree.

She loved all of the sights in the city and even requested to have her photo taken with this oversized nutcracker.

We had a fun dinner with Erica and Mary at JG Melon's and then spent the night at Adam's place.

The next morning we walked down to meet up with Erica and Dashel and Erin and Sadie. Ellie loved seeing the gingerbread house above.

Erica took us to the Top of the Rock. We had great views of the entire city.

We ended our visit with lunch with Adam overlooking the skaters at Rock Ctr and a trip to the Lego store and American Girl Place. We had so much fun that we plan to make it an annual tradition!

Brunch in Beantown

We had brunch with our friend Andrea in Boston a few weeks before Christmas. It was great to see her while Kevin is deployed and we can't wait for the arrival of their baby boy in February.

First Gift of the Season

A Christmas gift arrived at our house for Ellie and James this week from Mimi and Papa. The new table for the basement wouldn't fit in our car on the ride home from Buffalo so they sent it early. Both E&J love the new table and it's a great addition to our basement playroom.

Buster the Bruiser

James gave John this black eye last weekend. We were trying to keep him quiet so that Ellie would sleep in and I brought toys in our room to entertain him. James threw a little fire truck at John's head and it hit him on the side of his eye.

St. Nicholas Day

Mimi and Papa sent some holiday treats for St. Nicholas Day. E&J left their shoes out for treats and were very happy in the morning to see what had been left for them.

Deck the Halls

Meet Rudy. He's our new reindeer wreath. He's made out of driftwood and I hung him on the chalkboard door in the kitchen and did a Christmas countdown on the board.

Across from the chalkboard door is our bulletin board where we post our photo Christmas cards and below that is our new advent calendar. I'd been eying this string of knit hats and mittens from Garnet Hill for awhile. Each day I put a little something in it for Ellie and James. So far, it's been mostly notes telling them that today will be the day we'll get our tree or today is the day we'll decorate the tree. It's the second thing Ellie checks every morning when she gets up.

Ellie's dollhouse people were given a tree this year. There was actually a note in the advent calendar one day for her to check out a Christmas decoration in her dollhouse. She thought it was pretty cool. The fact that the tree was a little sparkly added to the coolness factor.

Above is the tackiest Christmas decoration I could ever imagine and I can't really believe I've allowed it in my house. Ellie and I found this pink tree at Target this week and I thought it would be fun for her to have her own mini tree in her room. It actually looks kind of cute with all of the pink, green and yellow in her room.

and last but not least is Bailey. Bailey is the Elf on the Shelf that we were given last year. I can't remember what his name was last year but Ellie renamed him Bailey this year after her friend in school. I think it's a perfect name for him and one that I'll be able to remember year after year. I know that many people like the Elf on the Shelf because they think their children behave better when they are being "watched." I like it because it makes Ellie want to get out of bed in the morning which is usually not the easiest thing. The first thing she says when she wakes up is, "Did Bailey move last night?"

Tree Trimming

We decorated our tree last Sunday evening. Ellie was very into placing the ornaments on the tree, she really thought it was great to have them all very close together on a few branches close together. Needless to say, I had to do some rearranging after she was in bed. James didn't want to hang ornaments but was happy to check out the ones we had hung and even take a few off. This year there are no fragile ornaments hanging on our tree which will probably be the case for the next few years.

The Tree Farm

We may have started a new family tradition last weekend. We made our first ever trip to a Christmas tree farm. It was a beautiful sunny day to drive out along the water to Tiverton to get our tree. The farm offered pony rides and Ellie was thrilled about that. James kept saying, "I like horsies" but he didn't have the nerve to go for a ride. Oh well.

Craftiness

Ellie got crafty making gifts at our school's Gift Fair last weekend. She even got to work one on one with our Head of School (bottom photo) making a cool sphere ornament. She was very proud of the gifts she made and can't wait to give them out on Christmas morning.

Seeing Santa

When my parents and Bridget were here, we decided to take the kids to see Santa. It was a great way to kick off the holiday season and the visit was pretty uneventful. I think both Ellie and James felt better knowing each other was on Santa's other knee. James was a little hesitant about going up to Santa and Ellie wanted James right with her for the experience. Ellie has asked for three things this Christmas, a bouncy house, a trampoline and popcorn. I'm not sure about the first two, but I bet Santa will come through for her with the third item.

Ellie's 4th Birthday

Ellie had a fantastic fourth birthday! Mimi, Papa and Bridget were in town for the weekend which made it extra fun. She started her special day by unwrapping her birthday book. We had brunch at Red Stripe and then Bridget and I took her to see Tangled in 3D. We came home, opened presents and then went for a very high end dinner at Johnny Rockets. The day ended with a Mary Poppins birthday cake. I don't think she could have had a better day. Happy 4th Birthday to our sweet Ellie!

Thanksgiving

We had a good Thanksgiving holiday. Ellie helped me make the apple cranberry pie on Thanksgiving morning and then we went to John's sister's house for dinner. Ellie and James enjoyed seeing their cousins and we got to do it all over again the next day in New Hampshire. E&J played on a playground next to the football field where John took part in the annual family football game.