Time for Tea

I *think* I may have sorted the picture situation, but I won't know for sure until Christmas. Until then my wordy updates will have to do!

The good news? Caitlin is finally on the mend. She had been running a fever and coughing for the last few days. She was much better tonight in time for a party at her cousin's house this afternoon.

The bad news? My throat is killing me tonight. It looks like I'll need some of that Irish tea to warm me up and sooth my throat. My brother-in-law joked that I've caught the local disease....as in drinking tea.

There is still snow on the ground, though we have missed seeing any snowfall. It is cold, but that makes it all the more fun to stay bundled up in front of the fire.(Not so much for Morgan's sister whose pipes froze! The headlines here are all about the winter weather dilemmas, but so far so good for us!) The Irishman and his brother are talking about taking their two little ones to see Santa in town tomorrow. We'll see if Caitlin likes an Irish Santa any more than his American counterpart!

From High Above the Atlantic Ocean

I have to admit, my expectations this morning were low. The only part of the trip that was organized was the person staying at our house to watch the cats.

We were up until about 2 getting ready to celebrate "American Christmas" before we left. It must have a late night for Santa, too. We woke up to find a note telling Caitlin he made an early visit so she would not have to worry about fitting presents in her suitcase.

The Irishman also woke up with a stomach bug. I am pretty sure flying across the pond with a baby and a sick husband is up there with things I fear most.

It was a rough morning trying to celebrate "American Christmas", pack, clean, and not get sick. Despite it all, we had a lovely Christmas and thanks to Uncle Ken we got to the airport in one piece.

As for the flights, I'm afraid to speak too soon, but so far they could not have gone better. Caitlin and her daddy slept soundly through the flight to New York. (even I managed to doze a bit) We are now high above the Atlantic with free WiFi and a sleeping baby.

Not sure how our computer access will be once we get to my in laws house, but I'm sure I'll figure something out. Now that the shopping and wrapping and traveling are done I'm looking forward to relaxing and enjoying the time. You can expect pictures of Caitlin in front of the castle down the road.

 

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Well this is my second "edited to add" segment. The first was on my phone once the WiFi cut out. It will be stuck on my phone until I can turn it on again or find another place with WiFi access.

 

Soon after I typed the first part the meal service came around. Caitlin woke up and we managed to jugle two trays of food and a wriggly baby. Then Morgan's nose started to bleed.

 

The couple sitting behind us saw the panicked look on my face and the fact that the flight attendant was ignoring our call light. They took the two trays from us so we could move and ran to the back of the plane for paper towels.

 

Next up was finding a way to make a bottle of warm milk without warm milk. I thought ahead and brought powdered milk. We mixed that with some hot water and cold milk. It wasn't perfect, but she drank it!

 

After a diaper change (fun times in a plane bathroom) Caitlin was ready to go back to sleep. She was REALLY good. Even with our adventures, it was a dream flight. I can only dream the way home goes as smoothly!

 

The drive back to Cork was quite scenic...patchwork of green fields I love so much are all covered in powdery white snow. Caitlin and I slept in the car, but we're enjoying looking at the snow from warm inside the house. There is supposed to me more coming in the next day or two.

 

Caitlin has met her three cousins and is enjoying time with her Nana and Granda. She has a bit of a cold and started running a fever last night. After a little tylenol, a warm bath, and a warm bottle she slept for over 12 hours. She still has a runny nose and a little cough, but she seems to feel better this morning.

 

It looks like it will be a quiet day around the house here watching Daddy make a snowman and playing with all the "new" old toys. I'll try to get some pictures uploaded later. = )

 

 

E is for Elmo

These days Caitlin doesn't go anywhere without her Elmo. I find it funny that she has only seen a few YouTube clips the Irishman has shown her on his phone, but she loves Elmo.



I guess her Daddy's efforts worked! He bought her Elmo #1 when she was sick in November. We now have Elmo #2 and Elmo #3....just in case. Every once in a while they all meet up and have an Elmo party.



It is funny to watch other kid's reactions when we go out.
"That baby has Elmo"


Honestly, he isn't my favorite, but I guess it could be worse! Her second favorite is Paddington Bear. If he wasn't so big or hard to replace I would be launching a Paddington Bear campaign.

Caitlin loves Elmo though, so that is all that matters!

Christmas in her Eyes

Christmas is the happiness that lights our children's eyes.
Christmas is a song of bells ringing through the skies.
Christmas is a time of peace, of contentment deep within,
A time of love and silent hope that years will never dim.
--Sherrill Thompson

C is for Cookie

The Irishman found a CD this weekend of 'Old School Sesame Street.'
We have been singing a lot of 'C is for Cookie' at our house.*



Ruth snapped these cookie photos at the Breakfast with Santa last weekend.

Caitlin was FAR more interested in the candy than the cookies!
(These are my photos...still learning to use the new camera)

That's okay though because

C is for



Caitlin!

* Disclaimer: If you watch the video you WILL be singing this song all day...and if your daughter's name is Caitlin you will be changing it to 'C is for Caitlin' in no time at all. That is good enough for me!
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It is just after 6am and I am about to pack up cookies and cards to give to some of our favorite coworkers. Because C is for Cookie...

Reindeer Caitlin

Even dinner time around here is festive...

More Breakfast with Santa

Okay, so I shared the GOOD photo with Santa on Saturday. Full disclosure? The rest of her time on Santa's lap looked something like this:



Thankfully she didn't hold a grudge. Santa must not have either. On his way back to the North Pole he stopped to check in with Caitlin.

They had a nice little chat and Santa suggested we take an extra photo or two. Guess he wanted to get past the little screaming incident...

This breakfast has become one of our favorite holiday events! (Click Here to See Last Year's Pictures)

Morgan had RSVP'd this year before they'd event sent out the official invitations at work. It should be no surprise that Caitlin was the first on the list for Santa! They provide fantastic free 8x10s of the pictures, but a certain Irishman has been known to wait for the crowd to die down before asking the nice people in the IT department to email a copy to him.



Because no breakfast with Santa would be complete without an official family photo with the man in red!

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Hosted by Krystyn at Really, Are You Serious?

Breakfast with Santa 2010

What a difference a year makes...

2009

2010

Our photographer Ruth managed to get the picture before Caitlin tried to launch herself off Santa's lap. We thought having Elmo with her might help, but Morgan said he thinks some little boy tried to tell her that Santa's suit was made of Elmo fur...just kidding! Thankfully Caitlin was much happier for our family Santa picture. I guess she didn't want us to miss out on the fun!