Merry Christmas!

Christmas this year was undoubtedly a special one for us, and one certainly to be remembered as we celebrated the holiday cherishing the precious little addition to our family. For us, our Christmas present arrived in October and this year's Christmas served as a reminder of how lucky we are to have Ella in our lives. Every day she enchants us with her giggles, her cheeky smiles, her pouting lips, and her little personality that has permanently charmed her parents. Needless to say, we are in love with our little daughter who puts smiles our faces and warms our hearts constantly.
The Christmas celebrations started on the 23rd at the Abbott's home for the yearly Christmas party. And what fun it was! We look forward to these Christmas parties each year as it gives us the opportunity to be with some of the most wonderful families, many, if not most, of whom have been friends with the Buehrig's for the last 30 years. This year was particularly neat as it marked a whole new era; there were little babies and kids galore! The next generation is beginning to grow....
We relaxed quite a bit on Christmas Eve; Erika and her mom treated themselves to manicures and later that day our friends Keith and Cory stopped by to meet Ella. The visit was short but it was good to see them! Later that evening we attending mass and were joined by the Mercantini's, Mrs. Fay, and Meg for a fun evening at Erika's parents house for a Christmas Eve dinner. Christmas day couldn't have been more perfect - it started late morning and we enjoyed opening presents, eating the Buehrig's traditional Christmas breakfast, and just enjoying the day by lounging around the house and doting on Ella. Ella received her first baby doll which is truly bigger than she and Tim was speechless when he realized a small TV he opened up was a miniature representation of a real LCD flat screen television....a very very generous gift from both our parents. Tim loves it for the football games, Erika loves it because it's created more space in their little living room! To each their own!
The Christmas holiday didn't end on the 25th - the Carlson's, with Monica and her boyfriend Olivier, arrived from Williamsburg on the 26th. We had a relaxing afternoon with them by the fire in our condo and spent time opening up Christmas presents (it was all about Ella, of course!) and just enjoyed being with Tim's family. Later afternoon, we took a trip to Reston Town Center for a few pre-dinner beers and oysters before enjoying a yummy raclette dinner - a Carlson Christmas tradition and one of our favorites! The next morning, we headed up to Morristown, NJ to visit Tim's relatives. Ella received further adoration from her extended family members and we all enjoyed being together. The Burkharts hosted a tasty dinner on Thursday night and we enjoyed a fantastic meal on Friday. The days flew by too fast but it was wonderful to see everyone!
We'll be home for the new year as we plan on these last few days of 2007 to be relaxing and slow-paced. This has been a big year for us; the highlight of course being the birth of Ella - we'll cherish the remainder of this year but look forward to good times ahead in 2008!

Click here to view some pictures from our Christmas!

Tulsa, OK and Ice Storm 2007

The Carlsons visited Erika's wonderful family in Tulsa, OK this past weekend. We wanted to share our little daughter with her great grandmother (Nana) and her many cousins, aunts and uncles. Ella handled the airplane ride very well and thoroughly enjoyed being held, bounced and gawked at by the Hinson and Marlow clans during our extended stay. I say extended stay because we were held captive by an incredible ice storm that rumbled (there was thunder!) into town on Sunday. Tim was supposed to leave Sunday evening, but instead returned late Tuesday evening with Erika, Ella and Aquina. All during the night on Sunday and into Monday were the sounds of ice encrusted tree limbs snapping off and crashing to the ground like giant chandeliers - terrifying. Erika's cousin Cory had one smash through his bedroom window inches from his head! About 80% of Tulsa lost power (including the airport for 12 hrs on Monday). We made the most of it by huddling around fireplaces, eating lots of good food and shopping at the mall that, by the grace of God (in some eyes), retained power. Anyway, it was a trip we'll be recounting to Ella many times over.

Below are some picture from Tulsa but click here for MANY updated pictures from November and December. Sit back, relax (grab a drink, or two), and enjoy!

4 generations of beautiful women


Nana's backyard on Monday morning

Something to Blog About

It's been quite awhile since our last blog post. Since then, we've had a pretty busy few weeks! Where to start!?!?

The weekend before Thanksgiving took us to Smith Mountain Lake to meet our good friends Shea and Jim for the weekend. Not only was this Ella's first weekend trip away, but she was also introduced to Shea and Jim's little baby Brady, just 3 weeks older than Ella. Erika and Tim might have met their future son-in-law! It was neat to be back to the house since just several months before, both Shea and Erika were pregnant and they were cons babies. So much has changed! While the girls stayed at home and enjoyed a relaxing Saturday afternoon (relaxing? Hmmm, that could possibly have been one of Ella's MOST fussiest days of her short little life....how convenient!) with the babies, Tim and Jim were cheering on the Hokies to watch them beat Miami. We've decided however, that next year both Ella and Brady will be old enough to attend the game, too - the mommies won't be left out again!

The following weekend was Thanksgiving and Ella's second road trip to her grandparents house in Williamsburg. We arrived on Wednesday evening and Erika's parents and brother arrived the following morning. Plus, it was Grant's first introduction to his niece Ella! We all had a great time together - ate lots of great food, did a little shopping on dog street, walked through W&M campus, saw some beautiful sunsets from the Carlson's dock, and just relaxed! On Saturday, we drove to Suffolk to spend the day with Camille, Ryan and their two girls Peyton and Anne-Perry. Of course, the girls did some shopping (so hard to resist) while the guys stayed home with the kids (Ella included) to watch some college football.

The following week was very exciting as we welcomed Monica home from Africa on the 29th. And like Grant, it was her first chance to meet Ella! Monica snuggled up with us in our cozy abode for a couple of days until the Carlson's arrived on Sunday for the day to take her back to Williamsburg. It was also a busy but fun weekend, too - our friend Ami arrived in town from Charleston to surprise Sandra for her 30th birthday dinner which was so much fun! On Saturday, Meredith and Erika hosted Christi's baby shower at Erika's moms house - it was a wonderful celebration for the expectant arrival of little baby Claire. . .due on January 18th. Christi is getting close!

This week wraps up Erika's last week of classes from the fall semester....and so nice it is! With the last paper handed in this past Monday, the semester's work is over. She'll have about 5 weeks off to enjoy the holiday season before returning back to school in mid January.

Tomorrow, we're off to Tulsa, OK to visit Erika's relatives....this will be Ella's first airplane trip (can breastmilk be spiked??) so we're hoping all goes well. But we're looking forward to seeing the family and Ella will be meeting her GREAT-grandmother..pretty amazing!

Speaking of Ella....she is doing so well! We took her to the doctor's today for her vaccinations and like all babies, she exercised those lungs of hers during the shots (she had three of them in her little thighs!). It was tough for us to watch but it all went so quick and she stopped crying immediately after we picked her up and hugged her. And she is growing, too...right on track! Today, she weighed 11.4 pounds and measured 23 1/4 inches - our little baby is growing so fast! She's already outgrown her newborn onsies that Tim bought for her when we brought her home from the hospital! It's so hard to believe. But she's healthy and developing just perfectly - 70 percentile for height, 60 for weight, and 50 for head circumference. Her personality is really devloping, too - she has the most cutest smile and just grins ear to ear. It's pure joy to see. Plus, she's able to focus on us and direct her eye gaze at noises but has been just great to see. She's a beautiful little baby, we are just in love. Although we're still working on her day time naps, she has been sleeping 6-7 hours consistently at night for the past 3 weeks or so and pulled in a 9 hour night last weekend! Wow! Needless to say, she woke up happy but HUNGRY!

So that's about it for now! Check back soon for an updated web album revealing pictures from the last month - take a look and enjoy!