Christmas in Federal Way...whew!

Christmas at Nana and Papa's house was the last of our celebrations. Auntie Tara and Matt joined in the fun as well as our good friend Sarah. It was so great to continue spending quality time with family and friends. Although I was exhausted by the time it was all over, I miss it already. I feel so blessed as a mom to know that my daughter has so many people who love and adore her.









I don't know...do you think she likes it? :)

Mommy helps Ellie open all her presents while Daddy videotapes in the background. We sure got our money's worth out of these pajamas!

With Nana and Papa

Let the fun begin!

Cheers to a great 2008!

Christmas in Milton

Christmas in Milton was a simple one. Ellie woke up early and went straight for the tree to find her presents (I think she gets this concept now because she still looks under the tree every morning!). We took our time opening and playing with each gift and Ellie especially liked her new big girl dishes and her new retro pink kitchen. We had so much fun just watching her discover it all. Daddy went back to sleep and Ellie and I played for a little bit and then took a nap. It was a perfect morning.

Christmas in Spokane

What a month! I can't believe tomorrow is January already! I thought I'd have this blog up to date before today but we actually celebrated Christmas THREE times and we are still unpacking from our travels (and finishing the last of the holiday cookies...thanks Sandy and Yadda Family!) We have so many pics, video clips, and great memories to share (and I'm sure the same is true for all of you) I can't possibly fit it all on this site; I hope life affords us time and opportunity to visit with each of you personally. In any case, I will try to share a few highlights to give you a sense of all our holiday fun. As I said, we celebrated Christmas in three parts: once in Spokane with Papa and Mema Ciabattari, once in our humble little abode, and finally at Nana and Papa McDonald's. Ellie had so much fun, Dan and I ate too many cookies, we all played in the snow, and Santa made a guest appearance at Mema and Papa's. Ellie learned all sorts of new things. Her favorite new word is "Oatmeal" and she uses it all the time. It sounds like "Oat Male" with a little southern twang...it's adorable. She also says all the colors, baby, stop, tissue, and...well, there are just too many to list. You get the idea. OK OK, enough of my narrative. Here are the pictures I promised. Thanks everyone for a terrific Christmas filled with love, laughter, and many blessings! We hope your 2008 is just as happy, healthy, and blessed as our 2007! Happy New Year! (Check out the slideshow at the bottom of the page for all our Christmas pictures!) If ever there were a moment that could epitomize total peace and happiness, for me, this is it. I love this picture. I am so truly blessed.

Ellie loves to be silly. She loved the blinking Rudolph nose in her stocking!

Ellie with cousins Olivia and Nick

Hi Santa! I see Mema in the background, but where is Papa? Hmmm...

Time With T-Rah

Ellie with her "T-Rah" (Ellie's version of Auntie Tara). Nobody brings out Ellie's silly side like Tara. Ellie is fascinated with her auntie and even from the time she was born, responds to her immediately. Their favorite thing to do is make funny faces and fish kisses. Silly Ellie. Silly T-Rah. :)

Jaxie and Ellie

Pictures from our day at the park.

Ellie can only throw the ball about two feet but Jaxie indulges her anyway and "chases" it. Ellie gets really excited and starts screaming and hopping and then says "Ja Ja! Ja Ja!" Jaxie is a very patient dog. We know they have a special connection because Jaxie will not drop her ball for ANYONE...EVER...except Ellie. She will let Ellie take it right out of her mouth. Good dog, Jaxie!

Gotta Love It...

Ellie says "Goodnight" to all the Christmas decorations. She thinks all of them are called "Santa." :) My favorite part of this picture is actually her little feet. They are like plump little marshmellow feet. I could just eat them! :)

Holiday Fun

Today, my friend Diane, Ellie, and I all went to our friend Amanda's home and helped her decorate her tree. Ellie did a great job deciding where to put the ornaments and "rearranged" a few she felt just weren't placed in the right place. What a helper!

Tiny Dancer

Here is a clip of our tiny dancer. This is the evening that she got her new rug for her bedroom. It was Ellie's bedtime but I really wanted to unroll the rug and see how it looked. Dan and I weren't expecting Ellie to be as excited as she was. She kissed the rug and then started twirling in the middle of it. Dan and I turned on some music and this is what ensued. Clearly, she got her moves from her daddy, not me. :)

A Visit from Mema

Mema (Grandma) came to visit us this past week. She and Ellie had lots of fun together and shared in all kinds of silliness. Mema taught Ellie how to say "STOP!" with attitude (thanks mom) and how to sing into a microphone. Ellie cried when Mema had to go home but now kisses her picture every day and says "Mieu Mieu" (translation: Mema). Love you Mema!

What a Ham!

Here are some recent pictures of Ellie. She is such a little person now! As you can see, she loves to be silly!

Happy Holidays

Happy holidays! We are taking the plunge, joining the 21st century, and FINALLY creating a blog spot! Really this should be called "Ellie's Page" because, let's face it, that is what it will most likely be, but we will try to include a few other tidbits about the rest of the McDonald clan (yes, Jaxie too). So here is our first picture: Ellie's first visit to Zoo Lights at Point Defiance Zoo in Tacoma. Ellie had a great time and even rode the carousel. Needless to say, we are staying busy this holiday season but are taking it in slowly too. Ellie's eyes are filled with wonder, curiosity, and excitement as she explores the holiday festivities around her. She LOVES to say Hi and Bye to Santa...any Santa...over and over again and she names all of the ornaments on the tree to mommy EVERY morning. But her absolute favorite way to celebrate the Christmas season is to dance, dance, dance! She is hilarious to watch and will dance all day if uninterrupted. Ellie definitely keeps mommy and daddy busy but brings us more joy than we could have ever imagined.