Christmas Festivities

We spent several days after Christmas with Jonny's family (Jane's brother) in Mechanicsburg, PA.  Jane's parents drove up from NC with Will so we had a total of 7 adults and 4 children altogether!  

It was wild - here are the photos to prove it. :)

Erik unwrapping his gift from Jonny.

Getting ready to go outside for some snow play!

Romping with Daddy!

This is possibly my most favorite winter photo EVER!

Ellie Belle charming us with her cuteness. :)

Ah..these girls are too precious together.

Eliza Wren taking it all in...amazingly quiet and peaceful with all the chaos and commotion around her.

Cousins = best buddies!

 Granddad and Granna with their FOUR granddaughters! :)

simple toys

We had a lovely Christmas filled with many dear people and many generous gifts.  

And, as always even with all the new toys, great books and games she received, the simplest and most basic "toys" often provide the most fun. :)  After unpacking a large box sent from Grandpa and Grandma Petersons, Meredith and Erik had a blast jumping in and out of the box...throwing the peanuts and pretending it was snowing...etc...SO MUCH FUN!!! :)

Christmas Day!

We spent a leisurely day together as a wee family of four this Christmas.  Our morning began with stockings and gift giving.  

We gave Meredith an easel we salvaged and fixed up especially for her.

 Meredith's favorite part of her stocking was finding the lollypops - Trader Joe's Organic pops! :)

 Daddy and his girls :)

 Erik recently found an old cast iron skillet that needed to be restored and reseasoned...so, as a Christmas gift for me he did it!  It worked out beautifully and now we have a HUGE cast iron skillet - something that's been on my wishlist for some time now. :)  We christened it on Christmas morning with a batch of cinnamon rolls.

 Erik's brother, David, made us a delicious chai mix.  

Chai + cinnamon buns = a delicious breakfast for a winter's morning!

 Then, off on a family walk around our neighborhood in the brisk late morning.  

Do you see Eliza snuggled up?

 One of Erik's favorite gifts from me was a jar of marinated herring. :)  He enjoyed it as part his lunch.

 We finished the day with a lovely dinner with dear friends - the Nothackers.  Meredith is a big fan of their sweet girls and energetic puppy, Tucket. :)

Christmas Eve

We popped down to Tenth Presbyterian Church for their family service at 4:30pm today.  It was lovely - a brass quartet played, children's choirs sang and it ended with us all singing Silent Night by candle light. :)

 Now...this little one is off dreaming of sugar plums and all the festivities coming tomorrow. :)

Frog and Toad

More and more Meredith loves to read on her own.  Often we find her happily reading to herself...I caught this video a few days ago of her reading through our "Frog and Toad" book. :)

visitors

Eliza Wren's first visitors arrived during her first 24 hours of life - Granna and Grandaddy McKinzie came to meet her shortly before we left the hospital.

Our dear friends, Sherry and Tim popped in later that evening to cuddle her up and declare her to be beautiful. :)

Jonny, Bria, Lila and Ellie came to visit later that week and we enjoyed a boisterious evening with all FOUR granddaughters together with their grandparents and parents!

First cousin photo with all four girlies together!!

Aunt Bria

Meredith and Lila were quite the duo at the piano.  Loved capturing this picture of them playing together.

two weeks old!

Eliza is now just over 2 weeks old.  Over the past few days she's been coming out of her sleepy/completely zonked newborn days, and is having delightful alert awake times for long stretches during each day.  And, don't worry - this kiddo is still a stellar sleeper at night!

She continues to have crazy head control and rocks tummy time!  At her two week check up this weekend she raised her head up and rolled over for the pediatrician!  The doctor exclaimed, "Wow! Well, she just passed her 2 MONTH check up - I have no worries about this kid!" :)

We love our sweet girl and we're getting in all the snuggles we can in these precious early days!

one week old

Eliza Wren passed her one week birthday on Friday, December 7th.  Erik took this video of her during one of her awake times - doing what she most often does when she's awake...hiccuping! :)

Early Days

These early days with our Eliza Wren have endeared her to us all.  We love having her as a wee addition to our family.  While any transition has its bumps, we are glad we can spread our love between two children.  Meredith has taken to her new sister with a care for detail, the offer of her toys, and many gentle kisses.

When she is awake, Eliza has a sweet quietness that is alert and content...a blessing indeed.

And while she sleeps, you can tell she must have already grown accustom to having noise and disruptions around her even while still in the womb.  Nothing can seem to wake her at this point.

Eliza has also amazed us with her head control and ability to roll over on her own.  She has already pulled a 180° twice while we watched!  As Mama can tell you, she has always been very active and strong - she pulled some pretty amazing moves and kicks in the womb!