Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas from the Hepper family! It's Christmas day and we've just finished unwrapping a mountain of presents from Santa and family members, and eaten ourselves sick with a big Christmas breakfast. Now the snow is coming down and we're relaxing by the fire, watching a white Christmas unfold. The kids have tuckered themselves out after a fury of unwrapping and oohing and aahing over all the gifts they received. Here are some highlights...

Sophia and Caroline got IDENTICAL of everything. This was absolutely crucial as the girls have already started comparing belongings and will shriek with horror if one girl has something the other does not. Among (lots of) other things, each girl got an American Girl Itty Bitty Baby, a baby cradle complete with bedding made long ago by Marmee's mom, Great Grandma Sinkele, a toy vacuum cleaner and Lily Pulitzer plate and utensil sets. My personal favorite toy is the vacuum of course :) Landon got more Star War figures and accessories than I can even begin to name as well as lots of Leapster games and books.

All of those gifts don't include the fantastic stash that Caroline received from the Hepper side of the family. Our little Christmas girl got tons of great new clothes, a Radio Flyer bumper car, a music set, and more!

And as if all of these presents weren't enough, Santa decided that Christmas was the perfect time for Caroline to get her molars! She's got 4 breaking through at the moment, with swollen gums indicating more on the way. Luckily, Caroline has always been a non-eventful teether, so these new arrivals aren't really cramping her style.

Caroline is lucky to have such doting family members on both sides. We had a wonderful Christmas and are looking forward to a few more days of relaxation, good food, and family before we head back home to Richmond. Here are TONS of pictures of our Christmas....

All dressed up and ready for church on Christmas Eve.

Dueling vacuums...

Helping Daddy unwrap a gift.

Happy Christmas girl!

The "twins" eating breakfast with their new hats and plate sets.

The girls "baking" in the kitchen with Play-Doh.

Marmee's girls before church.

Dinner with Santa

Last night we concluded all of our pre-Christmas events with the grand finale: dinner with Santa! We went to the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden to enjoy a wonderful seated dinner with our good friends the Benjamins and the Kinards and of course, Santa! The big man showed up about halfway through the dinner and took his seat on a stage, ready for the little ones to come and sit in his lap for a picture. Caroline eyed Santa warily from her highchair but stayed calm for the moment.

After dinner, we got in line for our turn with Santa. Caroline got to go first out of her friends, but I'm afraid she didn't set a very good example. She looked very uneasy when I sat in Santa's lap with her in my arms. As soon as I attempted the hand-off to Santa, the tears set in and Caroline squirmed with all her might to get free. She was quickly set down, handed a candy cane, and ushered off the stage. Of course, by the time we got back to our table, she was perfectly fine.

Soon after we bundled up and headed outside to wander through the botanical gardens and see all the beautiful lights and displays. Even though it was chilly, we had a fantastic time with our friends and are so glad we squeezed in one last event before the "big one" this weekend!
Tomorrow we're headed to Atlanta for the holiday. Stay tuned to see and hear about Caroline's 2nd Christmas!

All dressed up and ready to go to dinner!

With Daddy at our table...watching Santa on the stage.

Attempting the Santa picture...

The hand-off...

Mission: failed!

Wandering through the veggie patch, checking out the carrots and squash...

Looking out of the tree house at all the lights in the garden.

Winter Wonderland

Last night we took a family trip downtown to the James Center to walk in a winter wonderland full of reindeer and Christmas delights. The weather was perfect for the outing - it was 35 degrees - downright balmy compared to the temps we've had lately.
Our timing was perfect. We got there right after dark but before the crowds got too bad. We spent a long time wandering through the 50+ lighted reindeer (complete with a Rudolph sighting!), stood in awe under the enormous Christmas tree, and then headed inside the James Center lobby to check out more decorations. Caroline had a great time toddling around in her 5 layers, oohing and ahhing over everything she saw.
On the way home, we took the long route so we could scope out all the Christmas lights and decorations along the way. What a fun night!

My pictures didn't turn out so well - I couldn't figure out which type of flash worked best with all the lights. Here are some of the best ones we got...

Enormous (and beautiful) tree.

Winter wonderland

Mailbox to the North Pole

Tiny tot next to enormous tree

"Let me go, Mom! I want to check out all the decorations!"

Eskimo scene in lobby

Cookie Exchange

Today Caroline and I went to a cookie exchange at a friend's house. The cookies we brought were Great-Grandma Sinkele's Austrian angel cookies - they are always a hit!

I had to wake Caroline from her nap to get to the party on time, but as soon as we got in the car and I told her the magic word "cookie", she perked right up and was ready to party! She spent lots of time downstairs playing with all her great friends, a lot of time snacking on goldfish, fruit, pretzels, and of course, cookies. A little cookie decorating, some "shopping" for cookies to take home, and some more play time with friends and we were partied out and ready to head home.

What a fun way to spend a cold and dreary winter's afternoon!


Double-fisting a cookie and a pretzel.


The cookie spread


Caroline and Hailey playing together.


Caught red-handed!


Decorating a cookie (but mostly just eating sprinkles)

Snow Day Fun?

Today I found myself on the flip side of the snow day coin: the parent side. Caroline was supposed to go to her preschool this morning, but with 2-5 inches of snow predicted for central Virginia, school was cancelled. As a teacher, days like this filled me with glee. As a parent, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little disappointed to lose my 3 hours of free time. Paul also took my car since investment bankers (and the business world in general) don't "do" snow days, so we were trapped inside all day with no means to leave.

So, what to do with lots of free time and no free access to the outside world? Well, first I made the executive decision to remain in pjs for day. That was easy :)

Next, time to get creative! First I borrowed an idea out of a parenting magazine to turn a big cardboard box into a shape sorter. BIG hit. 45 minutes of occupied time.
After that, Caroline "helped" me make the cookies for our cookie exchange tomorrow. I really hope it doesn't get cancelled because I don't know what I'll do with the bajillion cookies in my kitchen otherwise.
After baking, it was lunch time. A little mac and cheese and canteloupe and our bellies were full and ready for naptime! A nice long snooze was the perfect way to kill some time on this snowy day. Mommy happily participated in this activity. :)

After naps, we had playdough time, made even more cookies, watched a little TV, and then watched our neighbors play in the snow from our front window (luckily for me, Caroline showed no interest in playing outside today).

By about 4pm, I was out of ideas and Caroline was out of patience. Luckily, that's when Daddy called to announce he was coming home! Yay! Caroline was thrilled to see her Daddy home so early in the day and Mommy was happy too - because she was officially off duty!!

Homemade shape sorter


Making cookies is the best!



As you might imagine, Isabel and Frances are NOT fans of the snow!


Daddy's home!

Caroline's Holiday Season by the Numbers

Here's a breakdown of all the holiday happenings around the Hepper household as they pertain to Caroline:

0 - the number of visits we've made to Santa. Don't worry - we've got one planned for next Monday!

1- the number of presents Caroline has unwrapped prematurely - pretty good, huh?

2 - the number of trips we made to the post office to get all our packages mailed in time. Caroline was a gem during both trips, charming the cranky people in line with her adorable antics and winning smile.

3 - the number of Christmas trees we have in our house (one regular, 2 miniature) that Caroline has to say "goodnight" to before going to bed

5 - the number of ornaments Caroline has "altered", requiring glue gun repair

7 - the number of self-guided Christmas lights driving tours Caroline and I have taken in the last two weeks. Once Caroline sees one set of lights, it's "more, more, more" until we keep driving in search of others.

10 - the number of trips we've taken to Target in the last two weeks shopping for holiday supplies and gifts. I hate to admit this, but if I don't see a Target for a while, I won't be sad at all (and neither will Paul!).

At least 25 - the number of times we've watched the Elmo's World: Happy Holidays movie - I pretty much know every line by heart

45- the number of cookies we'll need to attend a cookie exchange later this week - fingers crossed we get some good ones in return!

85 - the number of Christmas cards starring Caroline mailed by us last week - hope you got yours!

115 - the number of chocolate dipped pretzel rods I made to give to our friends and neighbors

About 25 - the number of chocolate dipped pretzel rods Caroline has eaten since then (she only eats the chocolate part, of course)

Countless - the number of Christmas songs we've listened to since Thanksgiving. Caroline loves to dance to the music, although her dance moves resemble well-formed squats more than anything else.

That's about it! We've had a very merry holiday season so far and are looking forward to seeing the DeNiro side of the family for Christmas next week!

Caroline checking out the BIG box of goodies sent by the Grandparents Hepper!



Mmmmm...cookies!



I love Christmas!

18 Month Well Visit

It's a good thing Mommy looked at her calendar yesterday - I'd forgotten all about Caroline's 18 month well visit that afternoon! Luckily, we made it to the appointment with no problems, although Caroline probably wishes I'd forgotten. :)

The exam itself was very quick with nothing too exciting to report. Caroline weighs 24 lbs and 6 oz (50th percentile)and is 32.75 inches tall (75th percentile). She continues to meet all her developmental milestones with no issues - except her teeth - the poor child still doesn't have any molars!

The worst part of the visit came when Caroline had to get her shots (2) and get a finger prick for lead testing (since our home was built prior to 1973). That would have been bad enough alone, but the finger prick was really bad because the nurse had to squeeze poor Caroline's finger for over a minute to get all the blood she needed! Needless to say, Caroline was not pleased about this experience.

Luckily, it was nothing a little lollipop couldn't fix! After that, we were on our way and all smiles again.

Holding baby's hand so she wouldn't be scared.


Having a snack and all smiles before the doctor arrives.

Little Gymnast

With the cold weather that's hit Richmond this week, Caroline and I have been looking for ways to play inside. Luckily, we get to go to The Little Gym at least twice a week for her "Birds" class. Caroline has become quite the gymnast! She can walk across (a widened) balance beam completely on her own - and it's 3 feet off the ground! She can also do an assisted forward roll, walk backwards, hang on the parallel bars and lots more. She loves going to The Little Gym! Check her out having a good time...

Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree!

With our outdoor lights already up and most of the indoor decorations out, we decided it was the perfect time to go out and get our family Christmas tree! We drove to the faraway land of Home Depot and scouted long and hard (about 5 minutes) for the perfect tree. With our new tree strapped to the roof of our car, we happily drove home. Caroline kept pointing at the sunroof and saying, "bah, bah" with a look of great concern on her face. She seemed to think we were unaware of the giant tree tied to the top of her car!

Once home, we snapped the tree into our trusty stand, strung it with lights and decorated it in no time. Caroline was semi-helpful. She thought the ornaments were balls though, and we had several close calls with ornaments getting tossed around the room. Mommy remembered to put the non breakable ornaments on the bottom of the tree since little hands like to explore anything within reach! After that we added our presents underneath, and our completed tree looked fantastic!

Caroline's favorite thing about the tree is the lights. Every time we turn them on, she says, "whoooaaaa!" It never gets old to hear her say it :)


I'm not too impressed with this selection, Daddy, but I guess this one will do...



What a pretty tree! And yes, that's a popsicle in my hand :)


Daddy and I had blueberry pancakes for breakfast next to our Christmas tree!

Ready for the Chilly Weather!

With the chilly weather making it's debut in Richmond this week, we are more thankful than usual that Grandma Hepper is a talented knitter! Caroline has been the lucky recipient of many beautiful pieces carefully made by her Grandma and the latest creation doesn't disappoint! When Grandma arrived for Thanksgiving, she brought with her a beautiful cream cardigan and a matching hat. They go perfectly with all of Caroline's cute winter dresses. She has already worn the sweater and and hat 3 times, and has received many compliments! Here she is, ready to go to school!