Christmas 2008

Ellie and her cousins, Paige and Kameron, waiting patiently for the present opening to begin.

Ellie enjoying her new 'puter' which up to this point seems to just make sounds. We'll have to work on actually using the mouse to pick out things on the screen.

Look Out!! The present-opening carnage has begun.


Ellie and Uncle Nick

Ellie and her Daddy

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. It seemed to go by in a whirlwind though, likely because we squeezed 4 Christmas celebrations into a little more than a 24 hour period. Ellie really got the hang of opening presents this year, and it was so much fun to see the joy of Christmas through her eyes. We talked about Santa a lot, and how she needed to be a good girl (what are we going to use to make her behave for the next 11 months?) so she was ready for the big guy, although she didn't want to share any cookies with him on Christmas Eve.

For the next week after Christmas, anytime we would go to visit someone's house, Ellie would ask if we would get to open presents. And after New Year's as I was taking down Christmas decorations, Ellie came up to me and said, "I don't want Kissmas to be over. I want it to stay Kissmas."

Disneyworld

We decided to forgo Christmas gifts for each other this year and instead take a trip to Disneyworld all together. The Marler clan descended on Orlando for a quick weekend trip and had a great time. Ellie was so excited to visit Mickey at his house, and boy did she light up when she saw him. She went right up to him and gave him a hug, after waiting in line for nearly an hour. She obliged us and let us take her picture with the other characters too, but when we got to Goofy, she was done. (And of course, she still remembers and likes to tell us that she DID NOT see Goofy at Disneyworld).

She especially enjoyed the live action shows and the electric light parade sitting on Jason's shoulders. All throughout the parade, she would lean down to talk into his ear and ask whether he saw Donald, or the princess, or any other character that caught her eye.

But the best part was spending time with our Arizona family that we don't get to see often enough. Ellie had a wonderful time with her cousins and will likely keep talking about it for months to come.

Ode to the Wii

Oh, how we love you, Wii. You give us countless hours of fun. From the first time we took the controllers in our hands and woke up sore from swinging the tennis racket and baseball bat too hard. To the anticipation we felt waiting for Rock Band to be released. And even now, as little Ellie imploring asks her Daddy to play Mario Kart, just so she can see the Mi's of Gran, Papi, Aunt Laura and Uncle Nate in the crowd. Or when she runs into the living room, guitar around her neck, hoping for some special bonding time with Daddy and Mississippi Queen. Yes, you're always up for a good time, Wii, and for that we applaud you.