Riley visits

We decided to get a Christmas tree. And I am glad we did. It did help with the Christmas spirit and it also encouraged me to get the Christmas presents wrapped before Christmas Eve, which is quite unusual.

But this post is not just about the Christmas tree. I wanted to share some of the Miller visit. Kristi, Wes, and their 3 1/2 month old daughter Riley came to visit. They are living in Chicago right now while Wes is going to a program there for a year. They are due to return next June. Kristi and I were pregnant together which was quite fun. We were able to groan, moan, complain, sympathize and go to prenatal yoga with each other. Neither of us was particularly fond of being pregnant and we wallowed in our misery together. Good times.

They were in Chicago when Ella was born as well as when Riley was born, so unfortunately we were not there for each other's births. Say-lave. But in light of that, we are sure that our daughters will be BFFs forever. We will force them to.....They WILL love each other. As you can see, they already do.

Having two babies in the house is fun. It is even more fun to have two such different babies in the house. It is even more fun to have such different babies in the house and to know that there will not always be two babies in the house.

Ella and Riley are about as different as they come. Riley is above the 99th percentile for her height and weight. She sleeps well and generally likes to just hang out and watch the most fascinating, entertaining, and captivating thing that we like to call life. Ella on the other hand is around the 25th percentile. She is almost constantly in motion and not only wants to see what is going on, but wants to be intimately involved in all around her. Which also means she gets tired quickly and tends to get over stimulated. Riley is 7 weeks younger than Ella and so naturally she is not quite as far along with her development. But it is funny because she is so much bigger than Ella, you expect her to be doing more. Like getting up and walking.

We had a great snow storm the day after they arrived. We haven't had one like it in about 10 years. They brought Chicago with them.

We of course had to bundle up the babies and take them out in the snow. Don't they look like they are having fun?

Okay, maybe we were being a little bit selfish, but look, Ella is catching a snowflake on her tongue!

Kristi and I did go back out in the snow, leaving the babes in the nice warm house with the daddys. We ran, we played, we made snow angels, we made snow food, and then we had to go back inside to get some real food. Got to keep the calories up to keep producing milk for those babies.

We had a big breakfast on Sunday morning with some friends. All people within walking distance because most people were still snowed in. Good food, good company.

Wes has already returned to Chicago and Kristi and Riley are leaving on Wednesday. And the holiday visits will continue when Jackie and Keegan arrive on Thursday. Ella is very much looking forward to seeing her Grandma Jackie as she has not seen her since she was 8 weeks old. I am sure many more pictures will be coming soon of that visit.