preview of coming attractions...

taking a moment as we leave for the hospital for our long-awaited ultrasound...i am going "brrrr" with my lips (hence the lame look) and rubbing my warm belly in contrast to the frigid air (wisconsinites are laughing, but the wind chill here was only 8!)
an illegal shot in between when the ultrasound tech left the room and the doctor came in. we were thrilled to learn that our baby (who was doing aerobics the whole time!) appears healthy as can be. baby also appeared cute as can be, and i even got gently reprimanded by the very nice ultrasound tech for touching the screen. (in my own defense, i wasn't actually touching it, i was just pointing and more or less "cottoning" it and telling it how dang cute it was and how much i love it!)
seriously, look at that little button nose! at the end of the exam, we were asked if we wanted to know the gender of our newest little bundle of love, and of course we replied "yes!" she told us that we are having...
...ANOTHER LITTLE GIRL!!!! daddy sure is going to have his hands full, but we were both thrilled! we simply cannot wait to meet her and love her and cuddle her and sniff her and...

this shot is of her lying on her back...her spine is near the bottom, and her head is in profile on the right side of the screen...

WE LOVE YOU AND WE CAN'T WAIT TO MEET YOU, SWEET DAUGHTER!!!! xoxoxoxoxoxo

round three...christmas in norlina

no, that's not our clever abbreviation for north carolina, we're talking about the metropolis of norlina, north carolina where grandma lives...it's also "where north carolina begins." we had a lovely visit with a trip to the canal museum, all the pork your heart could desire, ivy constantly terrorizing tammy the cat, and of course, a wonderful time with grandma (or gabba, as ivy would come to call her).
the boo bear also entertained herself with endless rounds of hide-and-seek (i snapped this one while hiding as she entered the back room to look for me)...tammy was always the winner at hide-and-seek, though...

i love you grandma (or "gabba" as ivy says)!
neither griffin nor i have any idea now why these salt & pepper pictures were so necessary. we do remember that she was doing something cute, smart, and/or funny...great story, i know...

round two...christmas in philly

after a wonderful trip to wisconsin, we celebrated our little family's christmas here on sunday, december 28th. this was the first time we had done some christmas gift-opening at our home, and it was really warm and snuggly and wonderful. gag if you must, but these are the things that we hope our wee ones will come to treasure. :)
duplo blocks from pappy were a big hit, especially with daddy!

sock or present...sock or present? ee'm a multitasker, so i'll just do it all at once! (wherever does she get this oddity from?)

top chef, toddler style. ivy's new kitchen is undoubtedly her fave of the christmas haul, as we suspected it would be. she got right down to business after opening it, preparing rare delicacies such as cheese and fish for daddy and me. mmm...
lemme get that...hello?...i'm sorry, we don't have any reservations for several weeks. please call back again soon.
ummm, what's better than this?

not much.

lest you think me crazy, ivy had gleefully been running up to me for weeks now whislt i was/am using the facilities, shouting and pointing "pee-pee!" and clamoring to wave bye-bye as she took on the royal duty of flushing the "potty." so, we followed her lead and gave her her own potty for christmas...she sat upon her throne for a good while after opening it, but didn't "produce" until a few days later...

it's christmas in wisconsin, with all of the kid(d)s at home!

Thank you ever-so much for this delicious array of food, Aunt Beppi! Eee love to sit on your lap and play! If you come over next week, I'll fix you dinner!
Unc giving Ivy and early lesson on how to HOIST a Barbie Uno card!
Sisters, sisters....with glasses on, we all actually look a bit alike. (Scarf courtesy of Beppi's handmade originals).
Cousin Lexie, shy as always in front of the camera - showing off her fashionable "Pink" Wisconsin sleep duds...

Eeem hungry! Pappy forgot to buy potatoes, sending Unc on an hour-and-a-half scavenger hunt for the last potatoes in Rock County (he claims he had to "wheel and deal" at a Kwik Trip for a 20-lb bag of potatoes, the remains of which will likely be molding in some corner of pappy's house next Christmas). In the meantime, Aunt Beppi and mama prepared to feast on Ivy's wooden play food. Mmmm...fiber....

Emo! Emo! I loooooove my hide-and-seek Elmo book from Unc! I love to read it and crawl on it and chew on it and sit on it and...
Whew! All that playing...a girl's gotta' rest...I'm just gonna' take a breather here on the floor with my pillow...do not disturb, people!
No, I know I'm cute, but go ahead, you can say it again!
So...tempting...want to rip a-l-l the ornaments off the tree. (Truth be told, she was actually quite good at leaving most of the ornaments in place!)

oh christmas eve, oh christmas eve, you go by just too dang fast...

Boo Bear traveling (in carseat borrowed from sweet cousin Nora, thank you very much!) in style, wearing her vintage matching wool hat and coat which was originally mommy's (from Aunt Teresa), and now fit her perfectly! First we attended church at St. Mary's - much to Pappy's chagrin, Daddy, Mommy & Boo Bear sat in the "cry room" while the rest of the fam sat in the regular church. Boo Bear tried to rush the altar a few times, likely to give a more interesting sermon.
Next we had dinner and Terrill-side gathering at Jim & Nancy's...Mommy's not gonna' lie, it seemed to short this year and she was sad that both she and Boo Bear (and Daddy) didn't have more time with all the relatives...Hmmm...daddy finishes school in a year...anyone hear Madison calling? Can anyone comment on the schools...property taxes...??? Hmmm... Anyway, here is Ivy opening a squish-a-rific gift with Cousin-Uncle Peter (home from SanFran!). The little ladybug was a big hit on the plane ride back! Thank you again, Jim & Nancy!
the fam...
Cousin-Uncle John, I'd be happy to help you open that gift! You and Peter have always been soooooo unbelievably good with me and all the little ones!

Uncle Duncan, read it again! I know it's Gracia's book, but I love it so! (***By the way, if anyone has any pictures of Gracia and Ivy playing together, pleeeease forward to me, as I was in the other room gabbing with Nancy during the Gracia and Ivy hide-and-seek extravanagza!***)

Teesa! Teesa! Not a shortage of kisses for Teesa, either!

Thanks for the 50 lb box of blocks, Teesa! What do you think will be more fun - me playing with them or mommy and daddy trying to get them into their luggage? :)

Umm, Aunt Joan, this is how it's done. Just watch me a sec, and I'll help you figure it all out!

playin' in pappy's winter wonderland

King of the mountain!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There were several feet of snow on the ground (a faaaaaar cry from PA!), which made for snowy tomfoolery for all! Boo Bear wasn't really too thrilled with the snow, and was much happier when mama took her inside for a nap! Mama however, happily returned to the tundra outdoors to attempt to sled with Aunt Becky, Lexie, and Daddy (who was more or less a sled dog as he tried to pull the 4-person toboggan down the hill to make a sled track in the snow). We crashed and burned more than we actually sledded, as the snow was just too deep. Daddy and Unc however, had a great time snowmobling through the fields!

Ever the fashionista, Cousin Lexie strikes a pose after falling into the deep and falling snow!

Umm, daddy, I'm not so sure about this cold white stuff? What gives?

Mush Daddy, mush!

magial wisconsin winter wonderland
perhaps not the best day for a dip in the pool...