Fa la la la la la la la la!

We have had so much fun enjoying this holiday season. Isabelle loves everything Christmas and we have spent many nights driving through the different neighborhoods near us in our PJ's looking at Christmas lights and singing carols. While grammie and grandpa were visiting for the weekend we spent the day downtown and after a nearly 2 hour wait, Belle finally was able to sit on Santa's lap and whispered that she was hoping for a scooter on Christmas morning...which Ben and I had never heard of until then. We then had fun walking around the Alamo and Riverwalk which were all lit up and beautiful for the holiday.


Belle has loved every minute of decorating and re-decorating the entire house many times and baking lots of holiday goodies which we have shared with our friends. We also had a great time at Fiesta Texas' Holiday in the Park with our friends the Haley's where Belle loved riding the rides with Dallon and Dawson and seeing all of the lights around the park.

With only 4 days left until Christmas the magic is still alive and little Jelly is tucked tightly in her Christmas quilted bed, hugging her stuffed Rudolph and smelling like gingerbread from her bath! Tonight in her bedtime prayers she said "Heavenly Father, I hope that Christmas comes very soon because I cannot wait and it is the best time ever!" What a wonderful time of year!

Remember November

Like the rest of 2009, somehow November came and went with us rushing in and out of town before we could ever catch our breath. Unfortunately the turkey month didn't start out too smoothly when Ben came home coughing from a business trip and was diagnosed with H1N1 the next day. He quickly shared his germs with Belle and after another 24 hours they were both officially victims of the swine flu. Even with Tamiflu to help, they both had fevers that raged for nearly a week and didn't eat, drink or sleep much for days. I knew Ben was seriously ill when he didn't even mention work for close to 48 hours and then still barely picked up his Blackberry for the entire work week. Thankfully, I had been vaccinated a few weeks prior and was able to stay healthy throughout the madness and tend to both of my babies.

Unfortunately, in normal Cosby style, we didn't have a lot of time to be "ill" as we had tickets to Curious George Live in DFW the following weekend. We considered skipping the show but knew Belle would be disappointed to miss her favorite friend so we cut our trip shorter than planned and hopped on quick flights for a fast weekend getaway. Curious George was everything that Jelly hoped he would be and we all had a great time visiting with Grandma Ruth, Grandpa Van and some of our family who were able to join us in Dallas for the weekend.
After our quick trip to DFW, we rushed back to unpack and pack our bags again and were on our way to Houston for the Thanksgiving weekend the following day. We started the holiday with the annual Coles Crossing Turkey Trot and then enjoyed a yummy feast of our favorite foods. After mapping out a Black Friday shopping plan for Tara and Grammie, Ben and I left Belle in their care and caught another flight, this time to the Big Apple...just the two of us!
We enjoyed 4 days in NYC sleeping in, shopping late, eating whatever we wanted, etc. We started our days with a jog through Central Park and a bagel from Rupert's and we hit all of the shopping hot-spots I planned to do damage in...some more than once! We went to Mary Poppins on Broadway and ate at Ellen's Stardust Diner which we always enjoy. We watched the ice skaters at Bryant Park and enjoyed the lights at Rockefeller Center. It was a perfect way to celebrate my 30th birthday (in August) and our last few days before we are joined by a new baby on our outings.

Sadly, we had clearly rushed Belle's recovery from the H1N1 virus and after a couple nights of her not sleeping or eating my parents finally took her to the doctor where she was then diagnosed with Bronchitis and the early stages of pneumonia, both secondary infections from the Swine Flu. Thankfully, after a few days on antibiotics and steroids she started to feel much better and was able to better enjoy her last few days in Houston. While mom and dad were away, Jelly enjoyed Christmas shopping with Aunt Tara and Grammie, taking care of Koshka while Alee and Nick were on vacation and helping Grandpa at work.
It was once again a crazy and fun few weeks and Belle cried real tears when it was finally time to head back to San Antonio. Lucky for her, by the time we arrived home it was already the 2nd of December and time for the really busy season to begin...and we haven't slowed down yet!