Christmas Eve

Once we got to Detroit, we headed over to Uncle Tom and Aunt Michelle's townhouse. It was the first time that the cousins had met! It was very fun to see the reactions of Emma and Noah! Emma was very fascinated by Amelia!

"Nice Amelia"

Emma giving Amelia a kiss

Hugs to go around!

Big Squeeze

Emma was loved Amelia's eyes, which we had to be careful not to let Emma touch them.

Uncle Tom, Emma and Amelia

Typically, we open gifts on Christmas Eve, but this year we decided to open them on Christmas day. To their happieness, Noah and Emma were allowed to still open one gift each.

Emma got a "Cookie", boy does she love her Cookie!

Noah was incredibly excited about his gift.....it was a truck with a shiny pull-behind that had horses! He kept telling everyone that Gramma wouldn't forget the gift he wanted so badly! And she didn't!

A satisfied smile towards Gramma

Everyone checking out Noah's new toy

Amelia's First Airplane Ride!!

This is our Amelia - a new air traveler! For Christmas, we went to Detroit to celebrate Christmas with Amelia's Uncle Tom, Aunt Michelle and their family! Gramma and Grandpa came up to Minneapolis and we all flew out together, which was wonderful since they were incredibly helpful with ALL the stuff we had. Amelia also benefited because she didn't have to go to daycare the day before the trip and was able to spend it with Gramma and Grandpa!

Don't be fooled by this look of concern! Amelia was such a pro at the whole travel thing! We were very proud of her and also relieved!

Gramma and Amelia in the airport in Minneapolis waiting for our flight to leave to Detroit

Grandpa, Gramma and Amelia. All of the things you can see around them are all ours! It was so nice to have extra hands!

The ladies of the trip!

The men of the trip, relaxing and waiting

Our very handsome daddy and husband

Amelia in the Detroit airport waiting for everyone to start towards baggage claim

All smiles!!!

On both flights we waited to feed her until we were about to take off and then gave her a pacifier to help with the air pressure changes. Amelia never cried once and in fact took a nap on both flights! I was very concerned about blow-outs on the plane. And Amelia did fill a very fragrant diaper, but luckily gramma was there to help change Amelia on the plane and avoid a full on blowout!

Peek-a-Boo!

Patrick and I have been playing Peek-a-boo with Amelia for the last month or so on a regular basis. As she has been getting older Amelia thinks it is funnier and funnier, with more and more giggles. It is quite a fun game to play with her - especially now that she interacts more with us.

Today I picked Amelia up from daycare and they said Amelia was playing peek-a-boo with another little boy!! Evidently the little boy came up in front of her and Amelia took her bib, covered her eyes and then uncovered them - over and over again. They did say maybe - just maybe it was a coincidence; however, they said the timing was so perfect that it had to be intentional! How amazing!

Here is a video of Daddy and Amelia playing peek-a-boo from a couple weeks ago...

The Great Snow Storm

On the weekend of December 11 and 12, we had a huge snow storm in Minnesota. I know, I know, the people from up north getting snow....big surprise! In actuality it was one of the biggest snows, Patrick and I have seen in years!! We got around 20 inches of snow that weekend and Patrick used the snowblower 5 times in 1 day just to keep up with all the snow! One of Patrick's co-workers gave us a little kid sled and I can't wait to use it with Amelia! It was too windy for this snow, so we will have to wait.....

Looking out over our driveway

Our box garden looking from the deck

Patrick was very nice to the dogs and shoveled them a path off the deck and through the yard

Our mountain of snow on the grill

If you look closely the snow is all the way up to our mailboxes!

The little white and brown dot amidst the snow is Joey. She did not enjoy the snow quite like Indie.

Patrick's path through the yard for the dogs

Out for a run!

.....and a continuation of the Russian baby pictures!

Ta-dah!

I had to get a picture of Amelia with all the snow in the background

Sometimes, I think that smile gets so big it is going to break that sweet little face

Enjoying a little tummy time

Peek-a-boo!

Her little feet were so cute in her little shoes, so of course - I had to take a picture!

Amelia was sitting in the bassinett after sitting through all my pictures and was talking and playing by herself so contently.

Grapes Anyone?!

Amelia has a fetish with putting things in her mouth, mainly due to her teething. One of the toys we got when she was born was vibrating grapes. This particular night was hilarious, she found out the grapes vibrated! As Daddy held the grapes, she just chewed and chewed with such intensity and focus! We had to get a picture of it!

Mommy and Amelia

I decided I needed a recent picture of Amelia and me, so Daddy became the photographer for a while!

I Love My Feet!

As mentioned in a previous post, Amelia has found her feet! Originally, it provided quite the challenge when changing her diapers; however, now she does a really good job of putting them down. The key is to get one foot away from her and the other one follows! It is amazing how flexible babies are!

Amelia was getting very comfortable - as shown by her foot on the wall.

Amelia even has the occasional suck on the toe, when desired ; )