New Year's Eve 2010

52 minutes until the year 2011. I'm sitting here at the computer with the USC game on in the background, my 3 week old is snoozing in the swing, my husband is applying a coat of stain to a set of table and chairs for Madeline, and my precious two year old is sound asleep in her beloved big girl bed. While this holiday evening may sound "lame" to some, I am as happy as can be with where I am and where our family is.
What a difference one year makes. This time last year, Eric and I were scrambling to close on our beautiful new home, one that we consider to be our "forever home". This time last year, we were discussing & planning to try for a second child. This time last year, we were discussing the job opportunities that would cause Eric to be away from home a lot. Now we are making our "forever home" feel like home, we've made the best of Eric's traveling situation, and we have two beautiful daughters.
While some of the day to day happenings in 2010 were not the best, they all contributed to our growth as individuals and as a family. 2010 was good to us, and we have many blessings for which we are thankful. My only hope is that 2011 is just as good to us, and I look forward to what the year will bring to our family.

McCarthy Christmas 2010

Eric and I entertained my parents, brothers, and their families the day after Christmas, so the gift giving and fun continued. Madeline received an American Girl Bitty Baby to which she has named Stella! She loves Stella to pieces, and Madeline mocks a lot of what I do with Amelia with her doll. It's very sweet to see her take care of her baby the way Mommy takes care of Amelia.

The oldest McCarthy cousin, Ryan, holding the newest, Amelia.
Drew unwrapping his gifts.

Madeline opening her new baby, Stella. Notice Madeline is holding Stella in the rest of these pictures. She would not put Stella down!

Amelia spent the entire day with Aunt Kim all snuggled up and sleeping soundly.

An attempt to get the three oldest cousins in a picture together...this was the best one on my camera. :) Ryan's pose and laughter sums up the attempted photo shoot perfectly.

Christmas 2010

This Christmas was extra special with the birth of Amelia in early December, but it was also extra special because this was the first year that we celebrated Christmas at home. We were lucky to have both sets of grandparents stay with us over the holiday. It was simple, quiet, and low key, but considering we had a newborn in the house, it was perfect for this year. We skipped out on a few "typical traditions" this year in light of the fact that Amelia was so new, and we were getting our acts together as parents of two little ones. Hopefully, Madeline didn't feel too jipped this year not seeing the Christmas lights at our local park, keeping the house decorations to a minimum, setting out cookies and milk for Santa, using our Elf on the Shelf, and leaving reindeer food on the front lawn.

On Christmas Eve, we enjoyed a traditional turkey dinner. With my mom's help, I was able to prepare a pretty yummy meal. It was a first for me to make such an elaborate holiday meal, and I'm looking forward to next Thanksgiving when I host my side of the family. I think I'll be able to reproduce the deliciousness!

My first ever turkey --- after we cut into it.

We've decided that we want our children to wake up in their own home on Christmas morning. Madeline experienced her first Christmas morning with gifts from Santa under the tree. We didn't build up the whole Santa thing with cookies & milk & reindeer food nor did we use our Elf on the Shelf since Madeline is just not quite there yet with understanding all these concepts. I mean, she did call her baby sister Jesus, so I think she had a lot to comprehend this year. We plan to add these traditions next year.

Santa indeed found us in our new neighborhood.
Eric and I really enjoyed setting out the gifts.
However, Madeline was pretty stoked up about her gifts under the tree on Christmas morning, but it was also a little overwhelming for her. She knew something big was happening, and she totally understood the present thing. But, it was definitely a lot for her to take in with all of us watching her and making such a fuss over her. Madeline really seems to like to keep a low profile when it comes to being the "center of attention".


Eric and I have decided that quality is more important than quantity when it comes to gifts from us and from Santa. For us personally, we just don't believe that our children need gobs and gobs of gifts from us & Santa --- a few special items under the tree & some stocking stuffers are certainly a gracious plenty for our children in our minds. Madeline was very excited about her new tricycle, a Fancy Nancy book, Dora slippers, and some Fruit Loops in her stocking. (Yes, I am the mean mom who makes her kids eat "healthy" cereals, so that means Fruit Loops become a great treat!) Honestly, I think the Fruit Loops and Dora slippers were among the favorites.






Amelia really got into the festivities.
Madeline enjoyed wearing one of her dress up gowns, entertaining Amelia, and hanging out with us in the kitchen while we prepared our Christmas dinner.

We had a wonderful Christmas, and we were able to create many Christmas traditions of our own this year. We look forward to carrying out these traditions in years to come, and start a few more as we are more settled with our home & neighborhood, Amelia, and our circle of friends.

Ha Ha Ha!!

Until I have a chance to sit down and sort through all of our Christmas photos and do a proper post to document the loads of fun we had over the Christmas weekend, I thought I'd at least give everyone a good laugh in the meantime!

And, may I add, that we did not ask Madeline to "pose" for this picture...she was doing this little pose all on her very own when we happened to have our camera ready to snap such hilariousness!

Two Weeks Old

Amelia is two weeks old today! What a special Christmas gift she has been to our family. Amelia is just a little sweetheart --- eating, sleeping, and snuggling. She seems to be very go with the flow, and she's been great so far. She is on the 2.5 - 3 hour feeding schedule and has become more and more alert in between sleeping and feeding.


There is no doubt that she is going to LOVE her big sister. She follows Madeline's voice with her eyes and seems enamoured by her. Madeline has been a wonderful big sister so far --- consoling her when she cries, covering her when her swaddle comes undone, "petting" her head every morning, holding her, and being a big helper when I need diapers, burp clothes, etc. Madeline enjoys singing and reading to her, and every now and again, Madeline gets a little possessive of her declaring, "MY baby!"


Her two week well visit went very well. She weighed 7 pounds and 1 ounces and 20 inches long. The doctor seemed pleased with her development and growth so far.

Amelia, we love you to pieces, and our family feels so blessed to have you in our lives.

First Bath

Amelia's cord finally fell off, and we were able to give her a bath. She seemed to enjoy it --- the sound of the water, the warm water on her skin, and the feeling of being clean. I just love a clean baby to sniff and nuzzle!

"I LOVE IT, Mama!"

squealed Madeline over and over and over after opening this precious gift from one of my nearest and dearest friends, Dana. Madeline absolutely loves her pug stuffed animal & purse all in one. It's two of Madeline's favorite things, stuffed animals & purses, all wrapped up in one package! Seriously, she's beside herself about her new purse! See for yourself:

This one is my favorite. I'm pretty sure she was shouting, "I LOVE IT!"

Thanks Auntie Dana!

A Trip to See the Big Guy in the Red Suit

After Madeline's school program, Daddy had a special date with Madeline. He took her to the mall to have lunch, visit with Santa, ride the merry-go-round, and shop while I took Amelia to the doctor for a bilirubin check.

Apparently, all of the festivities were a big hit especially the merry-go-round ride. Madeline spotted a pig in line, and she declared that to be her seat! Unfortunately, the date ended in a temper tantrum because you-know-who didn't want to get off the merry-go-round. It was Daddy's first public temper tantrum, and as reported to me, a little in-your-face-talking-to behind a sign & immediate departure from the mall was the result of that little situation. To quote Daddy, "It was the best $2 I ever spent to see the sheer glee on her face while riding the ride, but it was THE WORST $2 EVER since it resulted in such an outrageous public display of two year oldness!"

However before the merry-go-round incident, Daddy captured a few Santa shots. No, Madeline didn't request anything for Christmas, and yes, that sweet Santa read that story to Madeline. She insisted on carrying that book up to him, and I suppose she thought she was climbing in his lap for story time. I guess we should work on the whole Santa thing.

Madeline's Christmas Program

On Wednesday, we had the opportunity to attend Madeline's two year old Christmas program at her school. Yes, we took our four day old infant out into the cold, but we wouldn't miss it for the world. Okay, first and foremost, how Ms. Lisa and Ms. Kellie teach two year olds all day, everyday is beyond me, but I guess people used to say that to me when I taught fifth graders all day, everyday. Secondly, the show was A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E!!!!

The kids were all decked out in their cutest clothes and marched in ringing the bells. Madeline was enamoured by all the people. She's totally sizing up the audience instead of doing a lot of the songs and dances. However, we were proud of her for standing up in front of the audience and remaining on the "stage" for the entire show.

The prayer was super cute, and Madeline took it oh-so-seriously.

More songs and movements

Storytime with one of the pastors at the church. Madeline was completely and 100% sucked into the story of Baby Jesus and his birth.

She started to get into the songs toward the end of the program.

This is funny --- notice Madeline standing all by herself still on "stage". Before the teacher gave a little talk at the end of the program, all the kids in the class went off to be with their parents automatically. No one actually said, "You can go find your parents now." All of the kids just ran off to be with Moms and Dads. So what does our little rule follower do? Madeline stood there throughout Ms. Lisa's talk until Ms. Lisa said, "Madeline you can go find your Mommy and Daddy now." That child was not moving until she was told she could go.

Party Time! Snack Time! Again, most kids ran over to the food table and started to help themselves. Not Miss Madeline, she waited for me to let her know it was okay to fix a plate.

The Three Amigas

L to R: Charleston, Madeline, & Aubrey

Apparently, Madeline and Charleston are super BFFs because they run to each other EVERY morning, squeal, and hug. Then they immediately go to the dress up clothes, kitchen, and baby dolls. They have established some sort of "you are always this dress up, you play with this doll, the purse is yours, and the cell phone is yours" hierarchy. Oh to be a fly on the wall...