and Elyse is all about comfort... especially with blankie!!!
and the girls playing on the sit and spin, the zebra... having too much fun to desribe...
HAPPY NEW YEARS from Angela and Elyse!!!
We made the mistake of buying "the horns" and letting them see them... and the poor people near us at the mall knew where we were at all times. Angela figured out how to make noise RIGHT AWAY... it took Elyse a minute or two... and then we had to "mad trumpeters" all through the mall. We will be spending new years in NYC (sands kids... they'll be staying with mom-mom and pop-pop... thanks mom and dad!). I think this is our 5th or 6th year of doing the Midnight Run in Central Park. It starts at the stroke of midnight, you run through central park, amidst all of the fireworks... a GREAT way to start out 2009!!!
Hope your whole 2009 is DEVINE!!!
So, finally we found some time to get ourselves to our local roller skating rink. I've been sooo excited to put both of the girls on skates for a LONG time... and we did yesterday (December 27th). We went to "the Palace Roller Skating Center" for the 10 years and under skating session. It was GREAT!! Both girls were VERY excited to get their skates on, and off they went. Angela needed little assistance and began to skate like a champ. Elyse also did VERY well. Her skates were laced up and away she went. Elyse got MANY comments from parents holding up their MUCH larger children about how well she was doing... and I must say, I was VERY proud of both of my girls!! Maybe there is roller skating in their futures?? Ha-ha... I guess only time will tell!!!!
Wow... can you believe that christmas is all over with? Whew... it really flew by... but we ALL had a great few days!!! Our "family time" actually started early since we had some ice on wednesday so Scott stayed home from work.... yeah for 5 day weekends!!! We did go to our candlelight church service on christmas eve, and the girls did GREAT. They were dressed in christmas dresses with their formal black jackets.. too cute for words!! Then we came home and put out the "magical reindeer food", milk and cookies for Santa, then it was off to bed. Angela was sooo excited for the morning to come, but Elyse still had no clue.
So, the next morning, the girls were up and they tore into their stockings and presents with MANY smiles! It was sooo much fun to see the excitement on their faces. I can only imagine what next year will bring! Here are some pics from christmas morning at our house!
Then it was off for an early nap, since we still had to go to the "big family get together" at Aunt Carla's House. That party started around 3pm... and Angela and Elyse loved seeing all of their family members. And of course getting even MORE presents. It was just soooo cute how happy they were!!
And a nice present to us was that my cousin Katie asked for Angela to stay over night at mom-mom and pop-pop's house (they were staying over while they were visiting), and of course everyone said yes, so we were down to one kiddo!! We came home, enjoyed a late dinner, just the three of us, and then it was off to bed for Miss Elyse.
Then it was friday, also known as Boxing Day. Since my mom had to work on christmas day (we did see her for a bit) we had planned a small get together for my parents, Scott's parents, and my sister at our house. So, besides seeing grandparents and aunt Erin, they were even more excited to see MORE presents. And we are still crossing our fingers that Dad Reedell continues on his recovery from his most recent surgery. We are hoping that 2009 brings only GOOD THINGS to him! Oh, and here are some pics....
Whew... that was ALOT in a few days... but it was LOTS of fun!!! Thanks to everyone for all of the new toys, clothes, etc, for the girls... we are VERY lucky to have such wonderful families!!! Hope your Holidays continue to be fabulous into 2009!!!!
As soon as we bought this house Scott says "I really want a real christmas tree"... so on saturday night we loaded the girls up and bought our first real christmas tree. It was a nice having the immediate smell of fresh pine in the house. We put it up in our sunroom and put some lights on it. We wanted to keep it simple with just white lights and a few red bows... it looks very nice, especially at night when it's all dark in there, we can see it from our family room and kitchen... just feels like the holidays!!! And of course the cats LOVE having another source of "fresh water" in the tree stand... so they want it to stay... silly kitties....
wow... it's hard to beleive that last time we saw Shauna she was still pregnant... because now she looks GREAT... with that "new mommy glow" about her!! Miss Callie is around 5 weeks old and just BEYOND cute. Angela and Elyse loved looking at her, touching her hair, and both even held her. They were gentle... ok, more Angela than Elyse, but they both did well. We enjoyed our visit and look forward to seeing Miss Callie grow up with us in her life!!!! Thanks for coming over Shauna and Callie!!!
And we were VERY lucky this time and had the opportunity to spend even MORE time with Keith, Jen, and our nephews (Aidan and Evan) because they stayed overnight at our new house. It was wonderful to get to know those two little guys... and I know we can't wait to see them again too!! The cutest part was the Elyse and Evan were buds almost immediately. They spent ALOT of time playing, swinging and just babbling between themselves... just tooo cute!!! Scott's dad went into the hospital on monday morning for stomach surgery (keep him in your thoughts if you could for a speedy recovery....), so Scott and Keith went up to the hospital to meet up with their mom, and so Jen, the kiddos (all four of them....) and I had the day to ourselves. They all got along as well as could be expected, we took a nice trip to a park because of the 60 degree temps, and then all four even took naps at the same time... it was peaceful at least for a few minutes.
Boy, the weather has been crazy in PA... it was a high of around 30 on sunday and yesterday at 6pm, it was around 65 degrees... so we put all our christmas decorations (with the help of my dad... THANKS much!!!!) on the outside of the house... so now you DEFINATELY see our house as you are driving down our road. I love the way it turned out... it just feels sooo festive... hope you enjoy it too!!!
We actually had these taken last week, but I'm finally getting to post them now. I packed up the girls and we headed to Kiddie Kandids for their annual christmas pics. I would LOVE to say that all went well, but it was a TOUGH day. Elyse was NOT feeling well... she's getting either 5 or 6 teeth at once, so she was CRANKY and didn't like the photographer at all. Angela was willing to do what they told her, but she didn't want to smile... and if she did it was a CHEEZY smile. After about 45 mintues of trying, I gave up and we went to walk around the mall. I wasn't sure if we were coming back I was sooo frustrated. So, we met up with a few of the girls friends and went to see santa (which Elyse had NO desire to even look at and screamed when she looked at him...), but at least Angela sat on his lap. She told him all about her day and what she wanted for christmas, and then we went and had lunch. Then they seemed to be in a better mood... so we tried again... and this time we had a better photographer (that was willing to REALLY interact with the girls) and they smiled with NO problems... and the pictures came out really well!!! So, happy holidays from the Reedell gals!!!!
So, it started snowing on saturday evening and when we woke up on sunday morning we had about an inch or so, and BOTH girls were chomping at the bit to go outside and play in the snow. So, after breakfast we bundled them up and off we went. This was our first real experience with snow at our new house... and it was GREAT!!! The backyard has enough of a slope that even with minimal snow, the sledding was perfect. Both girls LOVED being pushed down the hill... smiles were constant... until it was time to go inside... But I"m sure there will be more snow (or at least we are hoping so...) and more days of fun in the "winter wonderland" in our new backyard!!! Here are some pics of the kiddos... and their fun!!!
