Cousins Dinner

Lizzie wrapped in the soccer blanket that Auntie Beth sent to Molly girl.

Last night we went to Slice of Heaven in Cromwell for a "Cousins Dinner". We had a great time and only had one injury - to the gracious planner of the evening, KK.
Tim is not all that cooperative when asked to pose for pictures but I did manage to get one of him and Meg.

Kirk and Paula enjoying a night out - they have a built in babysitter - Brooke is already 15 years old.

The boys hanging out and talking sports! We banished them to a different end of the table.

KK, Kara and Ben hanging out.

Kevin and Emily doing some sibling bonding!

Eileen and Jeff!

Brigid and Joe!

Tim and Colin - future brother - in - laws!

Best Buddies - we were excited that Scott made it - he has a girlfriend and has been MIA at family gatherings of late!

Eileen and Emily - Emily is due in May and tried to convince us that she has a belly but we were hard pressed to find it!

Brigid and Jeff talking CVS shop!

Not an accurate picture of the severity of KK's tongue injury - like a trooper she kept on eating and drinking!

My date, KK! Bob came too but we put him at the end of the table with the sports jabbering boys! My parents watched all 4 kids and they were happy and sleepy when we got home - I could get used to this!

Sisters - how cute! Joshua was with Auntie Pat and Kara looked very happy to be out!

Molly and Annie in their headbands!~

Annie is getting 4 teeth and really feeling it this time! She's usually pretty good about her teething but she has been kind of cranky and having a bit of trouble sleeping. That being said - both girls also got major shots on Thursday so I think that may be making things worse.

Poor Lizzie was having some major tummy issues so last night we switched her formula to a predigested kind - sounds gross eh? The little screamer didn't scream once all night and slept for 6 hours - woke up and slept for another 4 hours! She looks so calm and content - of course, the new formula costs a fortune but Lizzie is worth it! Is it possible that Christmas is in less than 2 weeks!

Bob is at our Family Faith Festival at church and I'm laying on the couch watching the baby sleep and Facebooking - which one of us is the sucker?

GNM - ILY!

Happy 1 month Birthday Elizabeth!

Our baby girl is one month old today - is that possible? Of course, the only pictures I got of her today were fresh from the bath and bundled in her blanket but you get the idea! When I think back to the fear and apprehension of my pregnancy with her I am amazed that it has already been one month since she got here safely and as healthy as any baby I have ever seen. Our girl is an absolute joy and we are blessed beyond measure!

Vital stats from the pediatrician today

10 pounds, 23 3/4 inches.

She is in the 95th percentile for height and the 75th for weight.

She is growing perfectly and the nurses were shocked that she had not lost any of her beautiful dark hair - Molly is happy because she thinks that her dark hair makes Lizzie looks like Molly!

Our little angel - one month old!

"Who needs Santa when I have Grandma!"
Auntie Beth and Auntie Meg got this onesie for Lizzie and she looked adorable in it - with all of that dark hair red seems to be one of her best colors!

I wish I had gotten a full body shot because the little pants looked so cute on her skinny little legs!

Annie went for her 15 month appointment with Lizzie today - brilliant idea - me thinking that taking two babies to the pediatrician by myself would work out well for anyone. Poor Annie and Lizzie both got shots and - as you can imagine - Mommy only has the ability to provide so much comfort at one time. Annie got her 4 shots first and as she was still whimpering in my arms it was time for Lizzie's shots - she screamed her head off sending Annie into a new set of convulsions! It was great fun - next time Daddy is coming - and possibly some more reinforcements.
Annie stats are as follows:

23 pounds 12 ounces, 31 inches

95th percentile for height and 75th for weight and looking great.
She is incredibly healthy and her ears are clear still - I think this may be the longest we have ever gone with no infections - Allelluiah!

Molly went to her first Daisies (the beginning step for Brownies and Girl Scouts) meeting on Tuesday and had a blast. She met a few new friends and made a project - she has asked every day since when she can go back! She starts selling cookies on December 20th so get your orders in now!

I had all sorts of plans for tomorrow - go visit people at work, Christmas shoppping but if it's still raining tomorrow I'm going to just hang in the house with the girls - Ahhhh - the joys of maternity leave!

GNM - ILY!

A few updates!

We finally got our Christmas tree up - yeah - we're feeling the holiday spirit now! I also did some Christmas shopping - not so fun when you don't have money to spend but the kids will wake up with big smiles on their faces on Christmas morning! Abby was here when we put up our tree and she was so funny - she loves being at our house but boy do we get on her nerves sometimes. We were putting up the tree and I started yelling at Peter and finally sent him to his room at one point (for a very worthy reason) and Abby looks up at me seriously and says "In my house we don't yell at the kids when we put up our tree!" So we aren't the Waltons but we did manage to have some fun!

Annie loves the Christmas lights - on the tree and on the houses!
Molly and Abby decorating the tree - the girls loved hearing the stories about each ornament - thanks to my mom I have lots og ornaments made by me and my brother.

Our beautiful girl in her birthday suit - I took lots of these pictures because I was enthralled by her - she looked so cute!

Poor Lizzie has an umbilical hernia - hopefully it will heal on its own but in the meantime she has a major outie for a belly button!

Pretty little hands!

Lizzie doesn't look very comfortable but she stayed this way for a long time.

Annie loving on Lizzie this morning!

Kissing Lizzie.

Annie starting doing close mouthed kisses - xhe is not a baby anymore!

Daddy is the lucky recipient of a kiss from Annie!

I love this one because both girls are smiling!

Annie loves playing with the nativity scene and my mom got us one that is resin and able to withstand the kids when Molly and Peter were very small. All of the kids love it!

Our big girl hanging with Jesus.

Annie kissing Jesus - she walks around the house holding baby Jesus and yelling for Daddy to come play! I love that she plays with the nativity set for hours at a time!

Molly and I are off to daisies tonight and then Bob and I are due for a quiet evening at home! This holiday season is going by way too fast!

Sleepy girl on her Daddy.

Silly smiles - what a sweetie pie!

GNM - ILY!

Snow Days!

The kids were up at the crack of dawm this morning ready for some snow time! They have been asking when it was gong to snow for weeks now and Bob and I keep smiling at each other because we were loving the warmer weather and lack of precipitation - but here we go again - early morning TV watching to find out if school is cancelled and kids shrieking when they look out the window and see the white stuff on the ground. I have to admit that - since bob does all of the shoveling - my job is incredibly easy - get the kids dressed and undressed 6 times a day and make hot cocoa when they come in the door.

Molly made a book for her cousin Abby and I thought it was so cute - she listed all of the reasons that Abby is her best friend and drew pictures to match them. 1. You love me! 2. We play Sisters! 3. I always stick up for you! 4. We listen to music. 5. We play popstar! 6. I love you! Oh - and the title of the book is "The Abby Book!" I'm not sure that I ever wrote a book like that for my cousin Beth when we were little but I certainly remember feeling like every family party was a chance to play with my best friend and as I got older many of my cousins have become my best friends - I hope that Molly realizes how very lucky she is that she has cousins who are so close to her and who she is able to see and play with all the time!

Grammy and Molly are ready for the Nutcracker - we had a blast! Molly and grammy compared their best parts in the car and their worst. Both of them agreed the man wearing underwear was the worst part - Molly giggled incessantly when he came on stage and 2 hours later when we went to DQ for ice cream she was still giggling and laughing about it! The play was fun and being with Molly and my mom was great - Molly adores my mother and Grammy made the day really special for her with pizza for lunch, a special outfit to wear (sparkly and Hannah Montanaish - just up Molly's alley) and ice cream to top off the night. Other than a stop to nurse Lizzie and my own apprehension that we might not make it home for the next feeding (she goes about 2-3 hours and I was worried that Bob would be stuck with a screaming newborn) the afternoon was perfect and I think it was a much needed bit of attention for my oldest daughter in the wake of her new sibling.
Annie gets to go out in the snow with the big kids!

Not sure what to do but totally enjoying being a big kid!

Molly girl loves her sled and even got Annie on there a few times!

Ready for a sled!

I just love the look on her face as she went down backwards!

Molly holding on to Annie tightly and ready to go down the hill. Annie LOVED it!

Pete trying to help Annie get back up the hill!

Annie covered in snow and loving it!

Molly stopping Annie from going down the hill without the sled - she was great with her sister and the big kids were so excited that this year Annie could play with them out in the snow.

Ready to go!

Peter holding Annie to help her up the stairs!

Peter feel down the hill while snowboarding!

Daddy and Annie!

The kids and Bob having fun in the snow - I had such a good time watching them all play and have fun!

Molly Girl looking rosy and happy in the snow!

Peter so happy to be in the snow and with his sisters and Dad!

This was Lizzie when we came in - calm and content waiting for all of us to be done with our fun so we could hold her and love on her! We all took turns holding her once our hands were warm!

So I guess snow is not so bad - it certainly made for a fun family morning in the H-W house! Now I'm off to my cousin, Kara's baby shower (Baby Reillyn is due in January)and than home for the Patriots game with Bob - I'm trying really hard to enjoy football so Bob and I can spend some time together doing something he enjoys - since most of the time we do what I want!

GNM - ILY!