Christmas Highlights - McFun

No trip to the 'ville is complete without a stop at Dave and Tara's. We headed over on the day after Christmas - Lucas, Liam, Seamus & Colin were nice enough to let Lily try out their presents.

"I'm with the band"... that's right, Lily is apparently a groupie in the making. She jammed along with Lucas and friends as they played Guitar Hero.

Tara, Jeremy and the kids playing with Lucky Ducks - quite possibly the most annoying game ever invented... but of course the little ones loved it.
Lily & Colin - born only 3 days apart! - inventing their own version of air hockey.
The mommies and the babies. Awww.
Out of a pile of toys, Lily selected the lightsaber. Jeremy was so proud...

Christmas Highlights - The Big Day!

Lily had a lot of fun opening presents on Christmas Day with her two cousins!

Here she is getting things started... For some reason, Lily needed a snack to keep her going as she opened all her gifts. She had trouble balancing crackers and wrapping paper, but managed to work through it.
Three little girls among all the chaos...
Getting some help from Daddy.
Playing with one of Aurora's gifts

Christmas Highlights - Day 3

What better way to start off Christmas Eve than with a trip to the park? I was too cold to enjoy it, but Lily and Jeremy were brave enough to bundle up and have fun. Back at the house, waiting for Jeremy's dad's family to arrive...
Riding the hobby horse that was built by her great-great-grandfather!
Chilling in the rocking chair with cousin Katey
Posing in front of the tree with Grandma and Pops

Christmas Highlights - Part 2

On Sunday, we took a trip down to the Louisville Science Center. It was pretty chilly outside, so Lily desperately needed an indoor space to run around.

As on Saturday, she was really into playing doctor. Guess who's getting a doctor kit for her birthday??
Lily climbed up and exclaimed, "Choo Choo!!"
Loved the water table, but the apron did little to keep the water off of Lily....
Checking out the rocket with Daddy.
Working the lats with Mommy and Mr. Bones
I think the only reason she sat here for so long was because I let her touch the keyboard. The laptop at home is off-limits so Lily really enjoyed being able to "type" away.

Thanks to an episode of Curious George, she's really into rockets. Check out how intensely she is paying attention to Daddy's piloting skills!
Cutest reindeer ev-ah!!!

That afternoon, Lily loved following Aurora around Grandma and Grandpa's house. Here we are taking a little snuggle break. Aurora was ready for a sleepover!

Christmas Highlights - Part 1

Lily had a blast in Louisville over the holidays. We arrived in the 'ville on Saturday, just in time for some pre-Christmas celebrating with Jeremy's mom's side of the fam.

Opening the first of many presents with Daddy...

Showing off her fancy new shoes to Aunt Evelyn
Going in for a hug from cousin Kaylee
Getting a smooch from cousin Aurora (oh, and J. says to ignore the wallpaper in the background... Go Cards!)
Lily was obsessed with playing doctor and made the rounds to several family members... starting off with her godmother, Aunt Mandy!
Onto cousin James
and then Julie....
We tried settling her down by getting her in her PJs, but that only led to a round of giggling in bed with cousins Jill and Aurora!!

Paco the Pony... the next Seattle Slew?

Meet Paco, Lily's new rocking horse. Actually, Jer and I almost forgot that we had hidden this last present away in our basement, but remembered yesterday right before Lily went to bed.


Although Lily still doesn't seem convinced that Paco makes a better ride than her Grandpa...

Taking her baby for a walk...

Lily also got a new doll and lots of gear... check out her strolling with her baby.

Christmas Celebrations Begin Early...

Not everything under the tree will travel, so Lily got some early gift-opening practice this weekend.

The first of many presents... Lily loves these puzzles with the big knobs. Every girl needs a pet alligator!

Taking a break from all the gift-opening with Grandma and Grandpa...
Lily got lots of play food for her toy kitchen... don't forget the grapes!

Umm, Lily... remember it's not real food?!
More presents later in the day... this time a pizza!
Lily cuts a slice of the pie for Mommy.

Mr. Chiem comes to Washington...

My friend Alan, a fellow Mandinka from my Peace Corps group, is in town. Lily loves him, and as we walked around the Mall today, she kept looking back and saying, "Alan, c'mon!"

We stopped by one of Lily's favorite places, the Air & Space Museum, before a visit to the National Gallery.
Lily was too busy checking things out to pose for a picture...
Cheesy grin in front of the rockets
It was tough getting her out of the pilot's seat...
She needs a t-shirt that reads, "Daddy is my co-pilot."

Jeremy's Weekend Impersonation

Clark Griswold, anyone? We went to pick out our Christmas tree on Saturday (next year we think the lot at Home Depot a few blocks away will suffice!)...

No, we didn't bring our own saw... but luckily there were several on-hand to borrow. No need to use the 4WD ala the Griswold's.
In hindsight, we should have done a better job of making sure the stump was even.
For Lily and I, we just don't get this kind of entertainment at home. All we could do was giggle and snap a few photos!