Christmas 2008

This Christmas was very different than last, seeing that Emaline is a pro at opening presents now and realizes what is under that shiny happy paper. We started the morning off pretty late, Em slept until almost 10am! Then we got right down to business, but that didn't take long considering we really don't do a big blow out of gifts at our house...yet. I made eggs and bacon and we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and then off to get ready for Nana and Pepere's house. Now their place is a little different.

When we got there, the living room was piles of presents already separated out for each of us. Emaline's favorite though would have to be her Little Einsteins Pat-Pat Rocket (she wants to take it everywhere), thanks Aunt Stephy! My parents always go a little overboard with Christmas and I can't even imagine how next year is going to be when we add another kid to the mix. It took us roughly 2 hours just to get through the gifts--and that was hurrying up! We had a great afternoon meal of turkey (and I got ham, hee hee) and all the dressings. We then loaded up the car with all our treasures and headed over to the Little household to start all over again.

Emaline didn't have a nap, but surprisingly she did awesome for the day! We showed up at Grandma and Papa's about 3:30pm and went straight into gifts before all the extended family started to arrive for dinner. Emaline really made out like a bandit this year, especially with some really cute clothes and fun learning toys. She especially like the Leapfrog Globe she got from Grandma & Papa, now she knows where everything is on what she calls her "talking planet". Dinner was great and we got to see a lot of Audrey's family that we don't usually see during the year. Emaline and I were done at right before 8pm when my parents came over to exchange gifts with The Littles. She passed out right on the couch in the middle of everything! So her and I went home and Josh got to visit with his family for a little longer. It was a very long day, but always a good time. We hope that everyone had a safe and happy holiday and got to spend such wonderful time with their family and friends. Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve Presents

Every year we head over to my parents' house at some point to open one gift on Christmas Eve, its usually the gifts we get from my Godmother Valarie and her family. Thanks to her for always sending them so early! We enjoyed some appetizers and drinks for dinner and watched Emaline run circles around the house clearly because she had too much sugar or carbs. Its like she's preparing for a marathon...then she falls and we call it quits and by we, I mean Mom and Nana. She got to wear her new Christmas jammies that I bought from PB Kids and she learned all the reindeer names because they were covered in them. So Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer was sung alot that night :-) Emaline also knows Jingle Bells and Dashing Through the Snow and it is hilarious to hear her sing them on her own. I desperately tried to get it recorded on video, but alas, my timing was really off this year. :-(

So, here are a few snapshots:

Rob Your Neighbor 2008

Thanks to Senor Peter Schrappen for organizing another year of festive cheer and merriment in the form of giving away random gifts to each other. Although, this year's event was much more laid back and "family friendly" due to the new addition of Olive to the Schrappen Family. It was a smaller turn out and very intimate, to say the least. This year's festivities were held at the Holidome (Holiday Inn, South County) and was complete with a pool table, pin pong table, clock radio playing holiday music and indoor swimming pool (for those of the brave of heart). Josh and I were fortunate to go together and I had a great time visiting with my friends that I hardly ever get to see anymore! Erin and Sarah were in from out of town and I also got to meet my friend Carrie's new "man friend". Josh and I got respectively, an Amoco Holiday record and a portable putting game set, so another year made out with great gifts. After we shut down the bar at the Holiday Inn at 11pm, we sauntered over to Frailey's across the street for some much needed Imo's (delivered straight into the bar) and more non-alcoholic drinks for us ladies with child.

Thanks again to everyone for making it such a fun night to hang out and catch up, I love seeing everyone at RYN! Also a shout out to Meghan, who hopefully is feeling much better... :-) Have a great New Year everyone!

Annual Christmas Tree Trimming at The Ahmads

Again this year we went out to my sister's house to help her and her in-laws celebrate their Christmas and it was great to see everyone! Emaline had a great time playing with the boys and Kaya was a great addition to the mix. She had a great time! At least she sounded like she was having a good time with all that laughing and screaming only babies can get away with :-). Stephani put out another great spread and I thought my poor belly was going to spilt right down the middle! My contribution this year were Cranberry Brie bites made with phyllo cups. I think my Mom was right saying the puff pastry worked better last time...but still tasty.

The kids did a great job (with Uncle Adham's help) putting up all the ornaments and lights on Steph's tree. It turned out beautiful! We always have a great time doing this and hope Steph and Adham continue the fun tradition.

Christmas Card '08

Huntin' for a Christmas Tree

We made the annual trek to Wright City to cut down our Christmas Tree yet again this year. (We actually missed last year due to some serious ice/snow storms...) It was really a pleasant day and not as cold as I expected it to be. We started off with breakfast at Denny's in Lake Saint Louis and then headed off to Country Pines off Hwy M. It was me, Josh, Emaline, Nana, Pepere, Aunt Kayleigh, Aunt Stephy, Uncle Adham and Kaya--and even Tabasco made an appearance. Poor Lt. Dan had to stay home this time around :-(. Thankfully, Josh survived the day...he had to work the night before and was a real trooper in making sure he baby girl got her cut down tree.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

A very Happy Thanksgiving to all! We spent a pretty low-key day at my parents and Josh's parents, but I definitely ate way too much food! Above, Emaline got some practice at taking out the "turkey juice" so Nana could make some yummy gravy. We started off at my parents around 1pm and got to visit with Stephani's in-laws, Bill & Sophie, who were in town from Florida. Then Emaline passed out after her two helpings of stuffing. We then headed home to pick up daddy (poor guy had to work all week!) and had another great meal at his parents house. Finally, I think we were so full and so tired we decided to head home and go straight to bed!

We are very thankful for another year of good health and close family and friends. Now we can't wait for Christmas to come and around the corner another little lady will make her debut :-) Hope everyone has a great start to their holiday season.

Welcome Mallory Elaine...

On Sunday, November 23rd, our good friends Tricia and Conor welcomed their first little bundle of joy, Mallory Elaine at 3pm in the afternoon weighing in at 7lbs. 2oz and 20in. long! We are so happy for them and so glad that Trish did a great job and thankfully had no complications. We made it to the hospital to see the newest girl added to the circle and she is absolutely adorable! She has a perfect little head of hair too! I can't wait to get all these girls together... so exciting!

Emaline Loves to Party!

Last weekend we ventured out to Foristell for Emaline's 2nd cousin Katie's 8th birthday party. It was good to get out and see some of the family and Emaline had a great time playing with the kids and running around the house! I hope Katie enjoyed her party and gifts, cause we did!

End of October, Starting of November Pics...

Just thought I would share some photos from my Mom's camera that they have been taking of Emaline while I was away in Mexico for my friend Robyn's wedding. No...I haven't been gone long, just slacking at my blog. So here are some fun things we did during Oct./Nov. at Nana's house. Including decorating pumpkins and playing in all the colorful leaves!

Now we'll be gearing up for Thanksgiving soon and Christmas following! I really can't believe it.

Ryane's Trip to Mexico for Robyn & Cory's Wedding

I travelled to sunny Mexico this past weekend for my good friend, Robyn's wedding. It felt like the shortest trip I've ever taken, but it was well worth it to see my friend get blissfully hitched. The resort we stayed in was the Secrets Maroma Beach and it was really, really nice. The rooms were pretty nice and spacious and I even got a swim-out patio! I felt very pampered, especially since I was all alone. It would have been ten times better, I think, if Josh would have been able to join me. Oh well, maybe next year!

The ceremony was beautiful out on the beach at sunset (except for the killer mosquitos, they had some bad rains earlier in the week...) and the reception dinner was held inside at the main lobby building in a little intimate ballroom just for us 14 people. It was great. I was really glad to have been a part of this special time in their lives and I couldn't imagine two better people to enjoy this kind of happiness. We wish you all the best Robyn & Cory! Love you! Also thanks to the whole Cooper Clan for taking care of me :-)

Robyn's Bachelorette Party

We had Robyn's bachelorette party for her on Nov. 1st...the same night as her fiance, Cory. That wasn't a big surprise since I know they really wanted to meet up and spend more time together :-). We started out with a drink at Double D Lounge at 6:30pm, followed up by some dinner at Benton Park Cafe at 8pm. I was really impressed with the food here and definitely recommend it! You can get breakfast any time of day and in my book, that's awesome! We then handed out a couple gifts for the bride-to-be and then off to the bars! We started out at Jive & Wail in Maplewood and it slowly started to go downhill from there. Way too many drinks being handed out! Obviously, I was the sober witness to all this and from where I was standing it was pretty hilarious. It was great to see Robyn let loose a little bit and have a good time. Since we really didn't have many more places in mind, we ended up going back to the Double D and there is where we hooked up with the men. At around 1:30am, I called it quits and the rest of the parties got on one of the buses and headed out to Colombo's. From what I hear, it was back to Robyn & Cory's after that and everyone went to bed. Good times had by all. Thanks to Donna, Rick, Sarah and Kelly for putting on a great party!