Merry and Bright

Christmas Day 2011

It was a lovely day. That nearly sums it up, but here are some things I want to remember:

My (dare I say it) best Christmas present- from my niece and Godchild, Aila. The left half of the ornament is mine and the right half is hers and together we make a full heart. And my heart is so very full just thinking of that.

{A special thanks to my best friend for picking this out because Aila is just too young yet to think of something so thoughtful, though I know when she's older she'll treasure this too!}

We spent the morning and early afternoon at Matt & Krissy's. The kids were SO excited to show us all that Santa had brought them. It was a great mix of over-excited Christmas cheer and some lovely quiet moments like this. Aila had taken over Willy's LeapPad for awhile and was quietly playing away with a little help from Mama. Yes, take note. Aila was being quiet. If I remember correctly that lasted maybe 3 minutes :)
Uncle Dan got in some play time, as he does every Christmas morning :)
Aila's big gift from Santa was her ride-on giraffe. And boy does she love it.
This kind of climb-up-and-play makes me so happy because soon enough they'll be too old and too big and too cool to cozy up to Uncle Dan like this.
Opening gifts with Aila this Christmas was likely the thing that made me happiest all year until that date. Aila and are kindred spirits in so many ways, as I've mentioned before, so finding and making gifts for this little chickie is easy for me. But watching her receive them just made me so incredibly happy. She ooohhed and ahhed and gasped as she opened each package. She wanted to immediately open the gift, play with it or wear it. Right away! And as she opened more and more garments she just kept layering them. This is my silly girl wearing her pjs with ruby slippers, a Dorothy apron and a flowered apron, a tutu and legwarmers that I made for her and her Hello Kitty bracelet and necklace! Priceless.
Willy's big gift from Santa was his Remote Control Polar Express Train! He'd been talking about it for months and had the time of his life moving it back and forth with the remote, making the sounds "CHOO CHOO" with the press of a button!
I love this shot of his little piggy toes peeping out.
It was great seeing my hand knits so well received. I love this hat on Kris. The color is great. Disclaimer- I know she hates this photo, and I'm sorry Kris! But its the only one I have.
Matt had been heavily hinting at his desire for a hat- "one like Conor's!" so that's exactly what he got :)
It was a great morning. Dave and Marilyn came over. We all ate pancakes and eggs and enjoyed a nice late breakfast together. There were rounds and rounds of gifts. Smiles and laughs all around!

We changed up the "schedule" a bit this year and had dinner at Mom's instead of lunch so we didn't have to rush. It was perfect! We arrived mid-afternoon, ate appetizers, had some wine and played games!

The house looked perfect as always!! :)
There was a heated game of Skip-Bo before dinner! Gail gave Gram a card she needed by accident, which didn't bother Gail any. When Gram asked why on earth she'd do that, Gail simply replied "Its Christmas!" Gram's response "Not in cards its not!!"
We ate our traditional Christmas dinner. Sauce. Eggplant (oohh the eggplant), Artichokes, Meat and Eggs. Salad. The works! And after dinner, we did something non-traditional (but great)- we Skyped with Michael and Monique!!
There were yet more gifts to open at Mom's.

Grammy & Aunt Milly

Mom & Dad

--- I bought this hat for Dad- it has lights under the brim. Mom bought her peepers in VT this fall. Yep, they're lighting the world on fire those two! ---

This was another hand knit gift- a shrug that I made for mom. She picked the pattern and the color but hadn't seen it until Christmas.

And after all that preparation and anticipation- another Christmas wound down.

Until next year...

An Enchanted Afternoon

Sunday December 11

This year was the first year I took Aila out for a Christmas adventure and boy did we have a good time. I picked her up after church and amazingly enough she said she was hungry, and since I hadn't eaten lunch we headed to Chipotle. Aila ate nearly her whole taco so I considered that a win for this amateur auntie! After lunch we drove to Jordan's Furniture in Avon to see the Enchanted Village. In typical fashion, my little protege fell asleep in the car on the way there. I drove around for a few minutes hoping she'd stay asleep for a little while (secretly hoping this very overworked, overtired auntie could find a spot in the parking lot, lock the doors and take a nap along with Miss A), but as soon as we got to the light to pull into plaza, Aila startled awake thinking she'd missed the whole surprise! I assured her that she hadn't and we made our way inside.

We had to walk through Jordan's Clearance Center to get to the Enchanted Village. Aila was already sold on how cool this place was! She oooohed and ahhhhed the whole way through "Seat!" "Seat!" "Couch!!" She loved it! If only the long, winding line went through the store, we'd have been all set.

That wasn't the case. It was a Disney World kind of line that took us at least 30-40 minutes to get through, which with a very energetic 2 year old wasn't exactly easy, but Aila did great. I brought her 2 favorite giraffes that live at my house so those kept her happy for a couple turns. Then she saw the ads for the Jordan's Polar Express Movie Ride and that got us through another few. By the time we got closer, she was about to lose it, and I broke out the big guns- my smartphone which was able to find the opening clip from Lion King. JACKPOT!!!

We finally got to the end of the line--- the big blue wall with the white silhouette of the enchanted village on it-- the houses that Aila called "The Castles!!" When we finally got inside, she was thrilled! She loved the figures, especially the scenes that had animals. She named them all "Puppy!" "Cat!"....

Miss A and her babies taking in all the scenes.

(For the record:: yes, she tried 4 times to hike her tiny leg up and get inside with the characters! LOL)
Enjoying our festive afternoon...
...... with this silly little goon
A nice lady behind us saw me taking photos of the two of us and kindly offered to take a shot of us. I agreed. Why not right? Well, Aila just wanted to talk to the nice lady. "Did you see Sampa? Did you see him? He's right there. Go say hi! Did you see Sampa?!!" (pointing at the display we just passed, with the animated Santa Claus).

No longer pointing but still talking. Sampa, was afterall, RIGHT THERE! Didn't she know?! :)
Taking in the last of the sights before we made our way out.

The one thing they changed since the last time I went is that when you exit the village you end up right at Santa (no separate line, hooray! this 2 year old was done with lines). She walked right over, waving frantically "Hi Sampa!! HI Sampa!" He asked if she wanted to sit on his lap. She turned around and looked at me as if to say "Yeah? Am I allowed?" I gave her a big nod and told her to hop on up. Well, it being Aila- she did! She hopped onto the stool in front of his chair, and then bounded right up into his lap. He was totally taken with her. Aila was pulling on his beard and just saying "Hi Sampa" over and over again, ignoring his questions about what she wanted for gifts. We got a photo and made our way out to the car.

It was time for a treat for this well behaved little one. We went to Starbucks and she got a mini donut and a mini whoopie pie. Delicious!

It was a great day with my little munchkie! I wasn't sure if she'd had as much fun as I thought she did, but when I picked her up the next Saturday (for the dance recital) she wanted to leave the house as soon as I could get her dressed. When I got her settled into her car seat she asked "Are we going to the Castles??!!" I guess that's my answer. She was ready to go back. Line or no line. So I think we'll be going back next year (and next time it won't be based on my crazy work schedule so I can do her a favor and try to find a time where the line won't be so horrendous).

I can't wait! Love you baby! :)

Nothing Says Christmas Like a Kickline!!

On Wednesday December 7th, Mom, Terri, Krissy, Megg, Emelyn and I met for a Christmas surprise! We met up after work at Rockbottom in the Theater District for dinner, and then headed over to the Wang Center to see the Rockette's Christmas Spectacular!! It was a complete surprise for the Fortin girls and they were thrilled!

Emelyn requested that I sit next to her, and I have to say that made the experience even more amazing. Watching her watch the show was so enjoyable. She loved every minute of Santa and the different performers. And she was totally entranced by the theater... looking up at the gorgeously decorated ceiling (all the while eating her cotton candy).





I was in the middle of a crazy couple weeks at work, and I had to go back to the hospital after the show, but I can't think of a better escape than a few hours spent with some of the people I love most in this world. And at Christmas time! I'm a very lucky girl!

All Aboard... the Polar Express!

Saturday December 3, 2011

This year marked our 3rd trip on the Polar Express and I think it may have been the most fun yet. I was a little worried that Willy's getting older and it may not be as much fun for him... he started asking why the train car wasn't the same as in the movie and stuff like that. But still, he was psyched to go!

We boarded the 2:45p train out of Greenbush and got a great seat! Willy took his spot at the window and was immediately enthralled with the rest of the engines in the yard.

Once everyone had boarded the train, the lady leading things for our car came on the PA system and enthusiastically asked "Where are we going today?!!!"

Every child on the train yelled excited at the top of their lungs "To the NORTH POLE!!!!!!!!"

And at exactly the same time, Willy yelled (with matched excitement) "NOWHERE!!!!"

I lost it! Full on giggles that it took about 10 minutes to fully stifle! But, he was just as happy as the rest of the kids, even if we were just going up a few miles and turning back around!

He enjoyed a chocolate chip cookie...

And some chocolate milk!
We sang Christmas Carols (here we are, mid-tune)....
"all is Merry and BRIIIIIGHT!"
Willy loves the elves (always pretty high school girls). This one had tattoos! She passed him by 3 times before I could flag her down and I think he thought he was going to totally miss out!
And then the big man arrived! Willy was so excited, waiting for him to come see us...
He asked for a Polar Express Remote Control Train and a Garbage Truck.... Santa asked if he'd been a good boy and shook his hand.
But the best part of all comes last. Willy got his bell!
I'm so happy that this sweet boy still believes, not just in Santa but in the "magic" of the Polar Express. I'm overjoyed that he still loves spending time with his Auntie, doing silly things, singing and sitting on my lap and telling me stories!

Merry Christmas Buddy! I love you to the moon and back!

Happy 2011

Dan and I officially rang in 2011 at Dana & Sheri's house after a nice dinner at La Scala. We played Apples to Apples for 3+ hours {{loads of laughs}} stopping only briefly to do the traditional countdown with the rest of the East Coast watching Times Square on tv. It was a great night out, especially since I'd been so sick that week and the stir-craziness had started to set in.

Then on Saturday we packed up the car and headed over to Mom's for her Annual Christmas Open House. Mom and Dad host this huge event every year, usually on the Saturday after Christmas, which this year fell on New Year's Day. And so it was a chance to ring in the 1st day of 2011 with about 90 of our closest friends and family.

The Lassonde's came (from Northern MA, NH & even Vermont!). I was so excited to meet little Marley for the first time. She's such a cutie. And it was great visiting with the still sort of newly-engaged Megan and Evan.

For the first time, my friend Ryan came to the Open House- knowing that my parents throw a killer party and curious to see all those Christmas Trees for herself!

*ryan, jen & meggsie*

It was great having the Fortin clan there for the day too. Sometimes this party falls on the weekend when they traditionally do Christmas with Doug's side of the family, and even amongst the 100 some-odd people it always feels a little empty without them.

*megg and dan*

we had fun exchanging gifts with one another. Mom bought Will and Oisin "Woody" pajamas that are just the cutest {{check em out}}

*Sigh, look at that cute little belly with his skinny little legs! But what's even cuter is that the pjs have the look of the cowboy boot built right into the leg*

The boys went nuts over them, and I can't say I blame them!!

It was Garret's first Open House too. He was dressed for the occasion, and so happy with all the other kids to play with, and the Christmas trees to mesmerize him.

He and Miss A get along so well. Its adorable. They were hugging each other in front of the tree, though unfortunately I missed that shot!

Aila looked so cute with her new jewelry from Auntie Diane, a gift brought home from our trip to Venice this fall.

As you can tell I didn't take many photos this year. Even though the total number of guests (or at least those who signed Mom's new guest book) were fewer than normal, it seemed I was always getting pulled here or there into a new conversation. That made for a GREAT day, of course, but I didn't click the shutter as many times as I'd have liked.

Fortunately Megg pushed me to take some photos and I'm so happy I have these!

Such great memories with some of my best friends.

And so, a very belated Happy New Year to all my readers out there.

I hope 2011 is a year of peace, happiness, health and stability for you and your families.

I love you all!