The girls were ecstatic about getting to spend time with Meera! We played at our house and Nana and Papa's house, decorated cookies, went to playgrounds on warmer days, and visited mall play areas on colder days.
For the second year in a row, we walked through a beautiful (expensive) neighborhood in Virginia Beach to admire their wonderful Christmas decorations. We also drove through the Virginia Beach Merry Mile, where there are Christmas light displays along the beach boardwalk.
Steve treated us to a gourmet home-cooked meal one night. Dan and my mom were his sous-chefs.
My parents had a ball with all three girls in town!
Next year will be even more fun with a baby boy in the mix!
The girls looking pretty in their Christmas dresses at church
They were both tired of smiling for the camera, but I thought this one turned out sweet.
Family Christmas photo
We had a belated Christmas celebration with the Jester family after everyone came back into town from their travels. There were mountains of presents for all the kids and everyone had a blast hanging out together.
Then the holidays ended, and Disease Month struck! Hallie and Emma both caught a flu-like virus that gave them high fevers and a terrible cough. Hallie got over it in less than a week, but Emma's fever persisted for more than 10 days and she missed two weeks of school. She had developed ear infections and pneumonia from her virus, which extended her fever. Her entire school's attendance was way down in January due to the flu, strep throat, and other viruses being passed around between the students and staff.
Here was at least half of our January, in summary:
Lots and lots of TV time
cuddles
and doctor visits
Dan and I took turns staying home with the girls while they were sick, and miraculously, neither of us caught their virus!
We did squeeze some fun things into January. Dan took Emma on a Daddy-Daughter date to the Portsmouth Children's Museum. She had been begging to go since Christmas and they had the best time. A few weeks later, Hallie and I got to join Emma's class on a field trip there again. Emma was thrilled to go twice in a month!
The girls sitting with Emma's class, getting instructions about proper behavior at the Children's Museum. :)
They have tons of regular exhibits at the museum, but one of the rooms has a rotating exhibit. This time, the entire room was dedicated to Thomas the Train! The kids loved it! Hallie is dressed like a conductor and Emma is riding Thomas.
We started taking the girls to a gymnastics class on Saturday mornings in January.
Emma absolutely loves it. They set up obstacle courses for the kids to accomplish each week, which is so much fun. She's showing us how strong and coordinated she is!
She can cross all the balance beams independently
And she nailed a headstand on her first try!
Hallie's class is a parent & child toddler class. They encourage the little ones to do the same activities as the older kids, with assistance. Hallie enjoys it, but puts her foot down about any exercise that requires her to go upside down. She absolutely HATES somersaults, head stands, flips, etc. But she's willing to climb, balance, and jump as long as we're beside her. I think we'll see her progress quickly in the next few months.
My birthday was in January, and some of my sweet coworkers took me out for a nice lunch.
We celebrated with the extended family a couple of weeks later after the girls were feeling well.
But the sweetest thing about January was this:
Our nephew, Rowan Paul Krishnan Campbell, was born on January 19th! Steve, Sheila, and Meera are all besotted, and so are the rest of us! He's adorable and we can't wait to meet him in person!
