Merry Christmas!

We had a great Christmas. It was nice to sleep in and enjoy Julia's excitement over Santa. As you can tell from the video, she seemed a tad disappointed that Santa wasn't still at our house. Julia was pleased that he ate all the cookies we made for him. Sorry for the poor lighting in the first video. Apparently, Christmas tree lighting isn't enough for the video;) We hope all our family and friends had a Merry Christmas too!

Santa left Julia some cool toys!

Julia patiently waited for Daddy on the steps. We wanted to open presents together.

Julia's Christmas portrait. I love this girl;)

Cookies for Santa

Julia and I bake cookies for Santa every Christmas Eve. We had a great time baking this afternoon and enjoyed taste testing the cookie dough. Later, we drank eggnog in mommy's wine glasses. I'm sure Santa will enjoy the cookies!

You know the cookies are yummy when Julia has chocolate on her forehead!

Brrrr....Santa & Penguins at the MD Zoo!

This morning we went to the Maryland Zoo with Julia's cousins and Aunt Diane and Uncle Joe. We had breakfast with Santa and the Christmas Penguin. I really can't tell who she was more excited to see...cousins, Santa or the Penguin;) She asked Santa for a Barbie and a book. The girls enjoyed decorating cookies, visiting the animal ambassadors, riding the tram and braving the freezing winds to visit the Children's zoo. The adults had fun too, but could have dealt without the freezing wind gusts.

Julia & Regan greet the Christmas Penguin!

Julia & Santa

Julia, Regan & Olivia visit a real penguin.

Our daredevil raises her arms in the air as we ride the tram!

Kindercare Holiday Show

Kindercare hosted a holiday show this evening. Julia told us she was going to sing a reindeer song, but she wouldn't tell us which one. Dave and I started singing every Christmas song we knew. Our daughter rested her face in her hands and said "Oh my! Mommy! Daddy! Stop!" It's a good thing we did stop because we never would have guessed "Reindeer Pokey" and "Five Little Reindeer." Enjoy!

Our Cricket

Julia has some exciting news to share. She'll be a big sister this June! We recently went for our gender ultrasound and were surprised to find out the baby is a boy. Julia told me the pictures were "weird" and it looked like the baby was a cricket. The ultrasound pictures do look a little strange at 16 weeks. We might have to start calling the baby "cricket."

Julia and Sadie take weekly photos with me. I really enjoyed Sadie's 16 week photo.

Mommy & Me Ballet Open House

Julia and I had a wonderful time at the Mommy and Me ballet classes at Carroll County Dance Center and Ballet Conservatory. Sadly, many of her classmates dropped out and she became the last student remaining in the class. Our open house recital centered around us, which was kind of fun. Auntie Kathryn made a special trip to see Julia's performance, which made Julia super excited! During the stretching portion of the class, Julia got a little antsy and it was questionable whether we could proceed. Auntie Kathryn volunteered to join our show, which saved the day. What a trooper. Thanks again, Auntie Kathryn!! These video clips are long (the class was about 45 minutes), but there are some awesome highlights. Julia's "tall finish" is just beautiful. We also did a spectacular tiptoe across the floor with Auntie Kathryn. Finally, Julia dressed as a little china doll and we danced to the Nutcracker music. Enjoy the show;)

Julia & Mommy do our "tall finish."

Julia's "tall finish."

Julia hugs her teacher, Ms. Leslie.

Mommy & Daddy gave Julia flowers for her exceptional performance!

Julia & Ms. Leslie

Breakfast at Hoppers

This morning, we went to Hoppers to have Breakfast with Santa and burn off some energy in the bounce house. Julia was not thrilled about sitting on Santa's lap. Her expression cracks me up!

Petsmart Santa

Sadie needed to get her nails trimmed, so we went to Petsmart this weekend. Julia and Sadie decided to visit Santa as well. They both were a little apprehensive, so I joined in on the fun.

Panera with Friends

We had breakfast and did a Secret Santa exchange with our friends this weekend. These kids are bundles of energy! Group shots are not entirely feasible at this age. When we got home, we started to decorate our Christmas tree.

Abby, Luci & Julia

Finn, Abby, Bobby (on his back as he slides off the seat), Luci & Julia

Miss Debbie took this shot during breakfast. Love it!

Julia decorates the Christmas tree.

Our Christmas Tree

We picked out our Christmas tree last week and Julia once again named it "Mickey Mouse." The tree was featured in the Sykesville Merry Main Street event earlier this month. Jules has an eye for nice trees;)

Nutcracker Tea

Julia and I attended the Nutcracker tea at the Carroll County Dance Center this afternoon. We had punch, sandwiches and cookies as the dancers visited each table. Julia admired the costumes and picked out a small nutcracker to take home. After the tea was over, we went to the main dance room and watched the dancers perform a few excerpts from the Nutcracker. Julia sat on the floor in the front of the room and seemed mesmerized by the show. This definitely was a hit and we both thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. My camera lens was dirty, so please ignore the smudges on the pictures.

Christmas with the Greens & Whites

Julia loved visiting all of her cousins, aunts and uncles this weekend. Aunt Diane and Uncle Joe hosted a family Christmas party on Saturday and we had a really hard time convincing Julia we had to leave when the party was over. She even called our bluff and told us she would be totally cool with us leaving her there.

Olivia & Julia

Regan, Olivia & Julia

Regan, Samantha & Nicole

Papa, Gigi and friends!

Julia and I went to visit Papa, Gigi and the great grandmas on an extended weekend trip to Yorktown. Papa and Julia picked out a Christmas tree together. It's a big, beautiful tree named "Mickey Mouse." Julia was extremely excited to decorate the tree, especially once she learned she could climb a ladder to reach the high branches. Jules also had a great time playing princesses with Gigi and saving the great grandmas from the evil queen (aka Papa). Miss Kelly and Caitlin and Lauren came over for pizza Friday evening. The girls helped us finish decorating the tree and stayed up past their bedtime as Mommy and Kelly had some much needed girl time. They had orange popsicles (aka "awesons") before bed and became insanely hyper. I really didn't know whether to cry from exhaustion or just join the giggle fest myself;) We had a great time! Thanks to all our family and friends for making this such a great visit!

Julia & Papa

Caitlin, Julia & Lauren