Christmas Update

Hello! We made it to St. Louis without too much trouble and have been keeping pretty busy on our vacation. We flew out of Hartford early in the morning on Christmas Eve through some freezing rain and snow. The airport was busy and we had some adventures getting our boarding passes and through security. If it hadn't been for a VERY nice curbside baggage attendant we might have been in real trouble. However, we made it through with a very little bit of time to spare and got on our flight. Millie was on her best behavior in the airport and slept for the first flight. The plane took off a little late for de-icing and we barely made our connection in Atlanta. She was a little more active on the second flight and made some new friends, but as always, she was great. When we arrived in St. Louis we found that our luggage did not make it with us.

Millie wasted no time in checking out Grandma & Grandpa's house and getting re-acquainted with everyone. She even got an early Christmas present - a very nice shopping cart!














Luckily, our luggage was delivered around 8pm that night, so all in all, it wasn't too much of an inconvenience. Everyone had a nice rest after our busy day. Christmas morning came early and Millie was ready to open presents right away, but not everyone was up yet. By the time Christmas started, Millie was ready for a nap!














After a little power nap, Millie was ready to open some presents and she got many nice things, including her very own cell phone, some books, some new boots, and a boat. Combined with all of somre early presents and the nice toys Millie got from all of her family in Michigan, it was certainly a very nice Christmas! Millie definitely has plenty of toys to play with and we really appreciate all of the presents.




























After breakfast and presents, it was time to make Christmas cookies and Millie got to join in the fun. She had a fun time getting involved (but mostly eating cookies...). After that we played outside for a bit.
























































After that, Millie spent the rest of the day playing and hamming it up for her audience. It didn't take long to impress everyone with her chattiness and her baby skills. She even gave kisses to all of her Uncles! She also managed to keep Grandma on her toes by going through her cabinets. We all got dressed up for Christmas dinner and had a very nice evening. All for now, more updates later - Merry Christmas!

Christmas Day (Observed)

We celebrated our family Christmas here in Connecticut today. Not surprisingly, I was the one who couldn't sleep and was up by 5:00 a.m. Millie and Scott slept until almost 7:30! Which gave me plenty of time to get showered and make coffee for Scott and oatmeal for Millie. When Millie did finally wake up she was in a happy mood -- wanted her "milk" and oatmeal first (that's my girl....) and then was willing to be coaxed into the living room to see what was under the tree. She was immediately enamored with her new kitchen set, so much so that we had to convince her to look at the other presents! She helped us unwrap some and played with each new toy as it was presented. I was more interested in the new clothes than she was, but that's to be expected. Millie got lots of nice things and Scott and I did pretty well too (after all these years together we're still able to find good gifts for each other :)).

After presents we played for a bit and then everyone got ready to go out. We headed to brunch at the Silvermine Tavern where we all enjoyed a very good meal. Millie had fun trying new things (Scott even shared some of his chocolate chip pancakes with her!) and watching all the people. It was a very nice way to celebrate Christmas. Now we're all back home and ready for some good naps -- well, Millie doesn't know she's ready for a nap, but she is :).

View from the staircase -- the "before" shot...

right to playing!


Making Scott an egg sandwich, after watching him do it only once!

A car from Scott...... a musical birdhouse from me.
the "after" shots. Millie wasn't too sure about that sock monkey ;). It was a great Christmas morning and we appreciate all the love and gifts sent from across the miles. We wish that it were possible to see everyone on Christmas morning. We send our best out to all our family and friends and wish everyone the very merriest of holiday seasons!

Happy Birthday Grandpa Ric!!

We're sorry we're missing the celebration this year, but we are SO happy that we will be seeing you in a few days! We are also so happy that you and Millie were able to share so many special moments in the past year. Here's to many more! Hope you have a great day! We miss you and love you!

Let it Snow!!


We finally got our first big snow yesterday. Schools and offices were closed early in the morning in anticipation of the storm. The snow didn't actually start until about 11:45 a.m., but once it did, it didn't stop. It snowed and snowed and snowed!

Last night was Stephanie's annual daycare Christmas party, so we ventured out in the evening to have dinner there. If we lived more than a mile away, we probably wouldn't have. It was a small group, just us and Leo and his dad, but Millie had a great time. She and Leo got free range through the house and took full advantage. Millie continues to show her love for Leo -- just yesterday she started saying his name "e-0." She walked around ALL night saying "e-o"!

We decided to wait until today to take Millie out in the snow. So after lunch we got everyone bundled up in their snow gear and headed out. Millie was very good about getting everything on, though once it was on she was ready to get outside -- no waiting around in all that stuff! We plopped her down right in the middle of the front yard and that's pretty much where she stayed... I'm not sure she could move the snow was so deep! In general, she wasn't too sure what to do once she was out there. She watched the neighbors across the street shoveling and gave them a wave "hi."

And then, she took a face-plant... that she did not like.


After that, she stuck pretty close to me and frequently said "nooooo." It was a good first venture out though and she did a great job keeping everything on and seemed to stay pretty warm :).





Looks like we're going to have a "white Christmas"!

Look-alike Meter
Over the past year we've been asked countless times who Millie looks like and been given just as many opinions on the matter. The most common response is that she is a good mix of both Scott and myself, though I've always contended she looks more like Scott. Turns out, a good mix is pretty accurate :). Thanks Jason for pointing me to this fun site :).

So, to all the mommies out there, who do YOUR kiddos look like?

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Lineage - Family tree software

What We've Been Up To

...apparently spending too much time near a computer. Check out Millie's hand on the mouse -- perfect placement! And she's figured out how to use the mouse wheel to scroll...


Having lazy weekends at home in our jammies (or less in Millie's case! She loves to be naked no matter what time of year!)



Going through our daily routines one day at a time in anticipation of our holiday break! That's Millie eating her apples I had just prepared for her afternoon snack -- she decided they would make a better morning snack :).

We are SO excited for Christmas to get here and to get a break from work. We're looking forward to lots of family time in the next two weeks!

'Tis the Season ...

... for lots of festivities and parties. We have had one busy week here in Connecticut! We started right away on Monday night with dental appointments for Scott and me, which really has nothing to do with the holidays, but did contribute to our crazy week. Millie and I picked Scott up from work Monday night, we had dinner on the run, and then headed to the dentist's office. Millie did a great job in the waiting room (it helped that she slept on the way there). While she was hanging out with me, she spent her time alternating between roaming and sitting on my lap practicing her latest fine motor skill -- screwing and unscrewing bottle tops. Fortunately I had gotten a bottle of water with my dinner and that was all we needed to keep her busy and happy :). She also made sure to greet everyone else in the office... . Fortunately, everyone got a good report from the dentist and we don't have to go back for another 6 months! Woo hoo!!

Tuesday and Wednesday were relatively normal days -- busy at work for both Scott and me, but nothing out of the ordinary. Thursday night was Scott's annual work cocktail party. Millie and I went home after school, packed up bags for the evening and changed into our party dresses and then headed out for the night. Millie was a big hit in her ladybug dress and she had a BLAST exploring the office and giving everyone lots to smile about. I'm pretty sure she went into every office and cubicle possible. She liked the table top decorations and had fun playing with a model tractor that Scott had in his office. It's truly a model and not at all meant for riding, but that didn't stop Millie :). All in all, it was a fun night.




Friday brought a half-day at work for everyone. Scott had his annual "state of the company" meeting at the Darien country club -- which included a drum circle this year! I took a half day so I could come home and get ready for my co-worker's wedding which was later that evening. Millie came home too for a few hours so we could spend some time with her before going out. Stephanie agreed to watch Millie for our night out which we were happy about. We've gone out several times in the past year and left Millie with various people, but we have always been back right around bed time. We knew Friday was going to be a late night and we knew that if anyone would be able to get Millie to sleep, it would be Stephanie.

It was very nice for Scott and I to get dressed up and go out for a "grown-up" only night. Several of my co-workers were also at the wedding so the company was good. The ceremony and reception were both beautiful and Liz made a spectacular bride. Millie did well at daycare and didn't give Stephanie a hard time. Everyone had a great night!

(Editors note: Our week has been so busy that this post has been delayed. Scott stepping in...)

The next evening one of our neighbors had their annual Christmas party. This being our first year in the neighborhood, we weren't too sure what to expect. It actually turned out to be a pretty big party - lots of people in a house that is not THAT big - plus a ton of bigger kids running around. Like the cocktail party, Millie had a blast exploring. She was basically pinballing off the legs of adults as she roamed around. We got lots of comments on her general cuteness and walking skills!

On Sunday we ran some errands and went to the Christmas Tree Festival in Fairfield. This is an annual charity event. Businesses donate decorated trees and wreaths and all of the proceeds go to a designated charity (Shannon's school was the charity last year). It was very nice and Millie got to meet Santa. She was pretty wary at first but we finally got her to go see him and to briefly sit on his lap (we are saving those pictures for later).

We also had our first real snow of the year Saturday. Millie was pretty interested in the snow and still thinks the Christmas tree is pretty awesome. She is also very enamored with Mommy also (and as always). Daddy got her down for some naps this weekend but she is pretty much all about having Mommy nearby. It has made life a little tough on Mommy but we are sure it will turn around.

We are ready for Christmas!!

Just the Right Size

Millie got an early Christmas present on Friday from LoLo and Jason. We were going to put it under the tree and wait to give it to her the weekend before Christmas when we will have our own little celebration before heading to St. Louis on the 24th, but when we realized it wasn't wrapped, we decided to go ahead and give it to her (with LoLo's input of course). So, I put the gift together Friday and left it in the playroom for Millie to find when she got home. She spotted it right away and knew just what to do!

As you can see, the chair is the perfect size for Millie! It gives her a safe and fun way to climb on the furniture :). It also gives her another place to hide :)

She has so many things that rock, that she thought this chair should too at first. She seems okay with the fact that it doesn't ;). Thanks LoLo and Jason for the wonderful present!! We can't wait to see you in a couple of weeks!