Christmas comes to an end...

Some final pictures from Christmas 2011...

We came home on Tuesday and Evie was delighted to see what Santa Claus had brought - a retro, and pink - kitchen set!


Ellie too had received a kitchen set, but picked out from her sister.

Evie helps Daddy open his "Super Dad" book.

Ellie is decked out for Christmas and loves exploring her new toys.

At the end of the week, we headed up to New Jersey to visit Bebe and Popi. We also got to see all the cousins, including Julianna, Stan, Molly and Bryn.


Evie got to play Santa with Aunt Dellie.


Ellie models her new outfit from Aunt Dellie!

Grandma Bebe with Ellie and Molly.
It was also an opportunity to celebrate Bebe's 71st (17th) birthday. All the kids wanted to help blow out the candles on the cake!

After New Years, we had a delightful lunch with Ba and Opa.
A big kiss from Daddy.

Evie had some fun with the gold tinsel...

A goofy smile from Ellie.

Evie has gotten really good at reading the names on the gift tags, and here demonstrates her clear pronunciation of "Foelsche".

The family picture (Evie called it her Santa Claus dress)!
With Ba and Opa laughing at Mommy's antics.

Some buy a zoo, others just go to one...

On our last day in Tampa, we decided to check out the Lowry Park Zoo, which was great for kids Evie's age. Here she is getting a close up and personal look at the manatees and sea turtles.

Evie stays close to Daddy with an alligator nearby.

What a great place! They walk around with llamas that you can pet - Evie says there's her mama with a llama!

Ellie's first ride on a carousel - she looks a little wary...

After the carousel, Evie was able to read "Sweet Shop" over the cupcake store and was a little disappointed when we told her no sweets until after lunch. She had to have some alone time while we checked out the penguins (translation: she went over to the corner by herself and moped).

Evie the explorer!

Ellie is not far behind!

Evie went on her first rollercoaster ride with Daddy and she loved every minute of it!

They went four times around the track and she didn't want it to end...

Ellie does some exploring on the map to see where to guide Daddy next...

On our second carousel trip, Evie found the courage to finally try a horse that went up and down.

At the end of the day, Evie got her cupcake from the Sweet Shop. All is right in the world.

The girls, Ba and Aunt Amy and Dia enjoyed one last dip in the hot tub.

What a wonderful trip for everyone! Thanks Aunt Amy and Uncle Karl!

Ho ho ho, who wouldn't know?

The next morning, Evie was happy to discover Santa knew that she was visiting family in Florida and left her some treats! She digs into her stocking.

"Me, too!" Ellie wants a piece of the action. She received her first Thomas the Tank Engine pullback train. Hopefully her sister will let her play with it once in awhile.

Evie proudly displays her lollipop ring - what could be better than lollipop jewelry?

We didn't take too many pictures that day, but had a delicious dinner of ham, turkey, and a lot of yummy sides prepared by Amy's mom Becky. Even Ellie wanted to taste a gherkin - what an adventurous palate!

Christmas Eve is here!

Hooray! The big night had finally arrived! In the German tradition, we celebrate and open gifts on Christmas Eve. While we all gathered in the living room as the roast went into the oven, Evie put on a delightful reenactment of the Nutcracker.

As Clara, she twirled around the room and saved the Nutcracker from the Mouse King by throwing her shoe (and nearly missing everyone's heads).

Daddy played the Nutcracker prince and danced with Evie, flying her through the air. He had some impressive pirouettes.

Daddy luckily was granted a reprieve and spent some bonding time with Ellie before getting to work on the mashed potatoes, his now signature dish.

Being Foelsches, we of course had to pose for many pictures before the gift unwrapping could commence. Here we are joined by Ba, Amy, Amy's grandparents from Maine, Muriel holding Dia and Willis, Ellie, Mommy and Evie in front, with Jerry, Becky, Karl, Opa and Dad in the back.

We call this one: the Foelsche-McDonalds in front of the fireplace, all in our Christmas whites.

The girls donned their gay apparel - matching dresses compliments of Ba. Dia must have thought her little cousins may have gotten a little close for comfort.

Ellie tried to reassure Dia by giving her a kiss (at least, we hope she is not trying to eat the baby) while an amused Evie looks on.

Then, we all sang "Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht" (Silent Night, Holy Night) in German with the help of some lyrics found by Uncle Karl.

This was the first year we actually made it through three stanzas because everyone could see the words, and not just have to hum along to the tune!

Time to dig in! Ellie did a great job of opening gift wrap because she wanted to eat the paper, but also enjoyed munching on her new peacock and sister's DVD.

Evie got into the action. She was very good at playing Santa and handing out gifts to everyone else, and thanking everyone as well (without even being prompted). Mommy and Daddy were pleasantly surprised!

Ah, Ellie had to take a break and rest on a half-opened present.
Oh, what a night!

Isn't there a Jimmy Buffet song about Christmas in Florida?

The family packed their bags and headed down to Florida for a lovely visit with Aunt Amy, Uncle Karl, and new baby Dia. We stayed at Casa de Foelsche and besides enjoying the great company and awesome weather, also had a fun time splashing in the hot tub. The girls donned their matching pink swim suits and jumped in. Ah, one could get used to this life.

This was Ellie's first time in a pool and she took to the water, well, like a little duckling.

Ah, chillin' in the hot tub, Lakeland-style. Don't call Childhood Services - the bottle is empty!

Next on the schedule, checking out Uncle Karl's cool 3-D television (while Ellie takes a nap on Daddy).

Evie gets a kick out of wearing the cool glasses and reaching out to touch the fishies...

But of course the highlight of the trip was meeting little Dia for the first time! Here she is at 7 weeks old, giving some smiles to Opa.

Evie loved her little cousin and would call her "cutie pie".


The next day, we had a fantastic beach day in Clearwater and then helped decorate the Christmas tree. Evie contributed many of her handmade ornaments and used her clustering technique to make sure the lowest 2 feet of the tree was covered.

Aunt Amy made Evie a headband out of a red ribbon, looking a little like Springsteen: "It's all cold on the beach...You guys know what time it is? Oh, it's Christmas time. You guys all been good and practicing real hard?" (intro to Bruce version of Santa Claus is coming to town, that dad loves to recite often)

The next morning, Evie is rocking her pajamas and Nike track jacket, not to mention her pink lollipop after visiting the bank with Dad.
We told Evie to do some model poses and work the camera, so this is her hipster look. Note how she is wearing baby sunglasses!