Holiday Rewind

Eli and I both have horrible colds and have been trying to rest today while Ella stays with my mom and dad. I don't have the energy to do much, so I guess I will try to play catch-up on this blog!

We had a wonderful Christmas at home this year. I am always thankful that my job allows me two whole weeks of uninterrupted time with my family to relax and celebrate the holidays.

Ella got to see Santa at my dad's annual kids' Christmas party. She was so excited to sit on his lap and receive her special present. We were cracking up watching all of the kids' reactions to Santa after he called their names. It brought us back to Santa visits in years past where Ella was totally freaked out.

Early in December, my Aunt Diane treated Ella and I to lunch at Crown Center and then took us to the KC Museum to visit the Fairy Princess. This is something she used to do when she was a little girl, so it was really special to get to pass the tradition on to Ella.

The Fairy Princess had a magic wand that opened this box so Ella could pick out her gift. You should have seen Ella's face ... she was amazed.

Afterwards, Ella got to sit at the arts and crafts table and decorate a gingerbread man.

Every year, I try to pose Ella in front of our tree for some Christmas pictures. I had to do a lot of bribing to get a non "CHEEEEESE" smile out of her, and was somewhat successful.

I absolutely LOVE decorating a fresh Frasier Fir tree every year. It smells wonderful and makes me so happy.

Ella's preschool hosted a wonderful Christmas music program this year. Everyone to the left of Ella is in her class. Check out the handsome little boys in flatcaps. 

This one cracks me up - look how Ella is getting into it! My friend's daughter (red dress and blonde hair in the middle) was a rockstar and didn't stop singing the whole time!

Holly, our Elf-on-the-Shelf, came to visit Ella for the first time this year. Ella was too young to understand the concept of Holly looking out for her and reporting back to Santa, but she loved looking to see what she was up to every morning!

hangin' around ...

ballet class ...

popcorn and a movie ...

taking a marshmallow bubble bath ...

Before Holly returned to the North Pole on Christmas Eve, she left behind this sweet note. Ella was sad to see her go, but was excited when I told her she would come back next year.

My brother came in town for a week before Christmas, and we all went out for a nice family dinner at Nikko's Japanese Steakhouse. We stopped by my Uncle's house beforehand so they could see Nick, and got the opportunity to take a great family pic - one of the few lately where Ella has a normal smile and is looking right at the camera!

The fire freaked Bean out a wittle bit ..

Before he left town, we took Nick to Sadlers Indoor Racing to drive go karts. These babies go FAST (up to 45 mph) and we had so much freakin' fun. Even Nick couldn't stop talking about it after we left. The best part of all? I think Eli and Nick were both surprised that I could keep up with them - in fact, I believe I passed each of them at one point during our race. I was so excited I almost ran into a wall.

Finally, some much anticipated snow pics. We got some awesome snow the first day of winter break and Ella and her neighbor friend, Carmen, posed for some fun pictures.

The first snowman we have been able to make in two years! I didn't realize as I was taking pics, but the light bouncing off the snow totally threw off my exposure. Oopsies. Now I know for next time to do a little light metering (it sounds so professional, but I really have no idea how to do that). My photography skills are still a work in progress.

Eli and I thought it would be fun to take Ella ice skating for the first time. For about five minutes, Ella was fine with us holding her hands to help her, but then she got frustrated and wanted to try it on her own. Of course, she couldn't stay up, so she spent most of the time on the ground playing with the ice shavings. Eli and I ended up taking turns skating by ourselves while the other one sat by the fire pit with Ella. Not as much fun as it sounds.

A few days after Christmas, Eli and I headed to the beautiful mountains of Colorado with my sister- and brother-in-law. They skied for the first time and we all had a blast.

   

We even ran into some college friends while we were in Breckenridge. How cool is that?!

In a couple of weeks, we are taking another trip out there and Ella is going to take ski lessons. I can't wait to see how she does!