Hello all,

Christmas (Part II) pictures of Ella and Jonah

We had a fantastic Christmas and a whirlwind trip to VA, DC, MD. We saw so many people and enjoyed ourselves so much! Here’s a run down of our holiday:

12/22: Enjoyed our own little family Christmas morning a few days early. Opened presents, had a big family breakfast and stayed in PJs all day. Absolutely Perfect.

12/23: Arrived in Alexandria and celebrated with the Wilkenings and got to meet Mark’s fiancé (now wife as of 12/30/06).

12/24: Enjoyed lunch at 5 Guys with Andrew and Joe and a walk in Old Town with Julie, Shelby, and Katie. Got ready for the Christmas Eve Party. Saw my Dad (aka Papa) ring bells at Christmas Eve Mass. Thoroughly enjoyed the annual Egan Family Christmas Eve Party. We missed being there last year since we were anxiously waiting for Jonah’s arrival. It was great to be with friends and neighbors from Linden Street who are just like family. We stayed up WAY too late and opened presents in a frenzy. Although Ella did a terrific job of adapting to the different sleeping environment, Jonah woke up each night and ended up sleeping with us. Needless to say, HE was the only one that got good sleep all week!

12/25: Finished opening presents. Had a big family breakfast and just hung out (I napped!). Went to Aunt Peggy’s for an awesome Christmas Dinner. Enjoyed hanging out with family and introducing Jonah to some more people. Maggie introduced us to the video game, Guitar Hero. Fun!

12/26: Went to MD to visit with Gigi, Aunt Susie, Nicky’s family, and Keith and Ruthie. Ella really loved seeing cousins Gabrielle and Emily. The girls did a great job playing together. We ate lots of good food and had a great visit. Afterwards, we went to see Jan and Mark. It was fantastic to be in a “baby proofed” house. Ella and Jonah had a blast playing with Timmy and Molly and all their toys. And Timmy and Molly did a great job sharing their stuff with our kids. Ken and Valerie and Anne and her daughter, Natalie, joined in and we all went to dinner. We had such a good time that Jan and Mark invited us to stay the night. They have plenty of room and lots of “kid supplies” so it was easy (and fun!) for us to just crash there for the night. I think it was the first “spontaneous” thing that we have been able to do since Jonah arrived!

12/27: Spoiled by Jan and Mark with a delicious pancake breakfast. Then Andrew dropped me off at the Metro so that I could get back to Alexandria. He took Jonah and Ella to visit the Heinrichs. I got to spend the entire day with Katie Rivers. We had lunch at a cool Mexican/Salvadorean Restaurant, Los Tios, and I immediately became addicted to their food. DELICIOUS! That night Katie, Bruce, Emily, and our family went to dinner (and waited and waited for food with the St. Clair family). We had a great time and the kids did well considering the wait.

12/28: Mom (aka Nana) and Aunt Katie joined us for a quick visit to the Smithsonian. It was a gorgeous day and Ella and Jonah also got to ride on the Merry-Go-Round on the National Mall. We went to Katie and Pete’s house for dinner that night. Ella and Jonah loved playing on the playground.

12/29: Mom and I took the kids to A Likely Story for storytime while Andrew played golf with Dad. Katie came over and we got to meet Philip’s new son, Benjamin. Then Katie and I went for a long walk and back to Los Tios (YUM!). That night, we had a family dinner at Mom and Dad’s. After the kids went to sleep, Katie, Pete, Andrew and I walked down to a Spanish bar/restaurant.

12/30: Andrew and I attended Gerrit’s wedding while the kids stayed with Nana and Papa. We had a fantastic time (especially Andrew). When we got home, we spent some more time with Philip and his family with Andrew Y.

12/31: packed up and headed home. Made it back to NC after dinner and unloaded the car and passed out!

Happy New Year to all!
Sarah, Andrew, Ella, and Jonah