Our First Family Christmas

Kevin, Carolyn & Linnaea, Tim & Elise, Me

Jason, and Jennifer

We just got back from visiting Kevin’s family in Tarpon Springs for Christmas and we had a great time. It took us 10 hours to drive down (8 hours of driving) which was a little too long for Elise and Linnaea, but we made it safe and sound. We arrived on Friday, December 21, thinking it was just going to be the Kovacs from Buffalo. But surprise! Kevin’s sister, Carolyn, and her fiancé, Tim, flew in that night. It was a packed house so Kevin and I had to share a room with the babies and Rosie and Taffy. It was well worth it to have everyone together.

Elise

Grandma Sue, Elise, and Linnaea

We ate a lot of food, especially cookies and sweet treats made by Kevin’s mom. Elise and Linnaea were adored by all. In the two weeks we were there, Linnaea mastered pushing herself to sitting, crawling, and pulling herself up to standing. She even takes little baby steps when holding on to a coffee table or couch. Elise is happy sitting in the middle of a blanket watching Linnaea do all the work. She has her two middle bottom teeth and Linnaea has those plus one top tooth. They are now both in the “da-da-da” phase, after last week’s “ba-ba-bas”. They really enjoyed playing with wrapping paper and bows. They got some really cute clothes and lots of toys. They are enamored with their Leap Frog activity table, their barnyard animals that make noises, the goat that sings, and their Ugly Dolls.

After the Kovacs left, our friends Jonathan and Lisa flew in from Boulder, CO. They hadn’t seen the girls since July so it was really exciting for them to see how much they have changed. We were ambitious one day and went to the Florida Aquarium to see fish, sharks, and sea dragons. Elise loved every minute but Linnaea was a bit cranky and ended up taking a nap. Other than that we did a lot more eating and even had a successful attempt at Indian food one night.

Daddy drives the Corvette! Uncle Jonathan and Elise; Auntie Lisa and Linnaea.