Mexico Fantastico!

We have needed a crowbar to get the girls out of the water this week!

Releasing the Turtles

 Tess was excited all day that we were going to release baby turtles into the ocean.  

And as you can tell, she was not disappointed.

Claire loved it too.  Even though she didn't want to hold one, she watched their every move and kept calling out to them, "hi, baby tur-tels."

After watching the little turtles make their long journey into the ocean, a wave came and washed some of them back.  Claire felt their frustration and started weeping.  She is our compassionate one.

A FUN Day Out

The weather in Chicago has gotten colder and we are very thankful for a wonderful gift from Great Grandma and Grandpa Reilly - a membership to the DuPage Children's Museum.  We anticipate many more fun days there.

My New Year's Eve Dates

Chris worked on New Year's Eve, so Tess and Claire were my adorable dates.

We watched Monsters, Inc. and they got to have their pacis downstairs, because it was Tess' last night with a pacifier - No pacis in 2012 for our big girl Tess.

And of course with these two, there was a dance party before midnight.  Though they only made it until 9pm.

I did get to talk to Chris at midnight.  And we wish everyone a happy and blessed 2012.  We are very excited for 2012 and the arrival of the newest member of our family!

Storytime

Friends and Family,

As all of you know, the Tess and Claire stories are priceless and so telling of their personalities. They are not the big milestone moments, but the little amazing things that happen every day – the stories of Claire dancing at the drop of a hat every time she hears music or Tess’ imaginary friend Pan (not the real Peter Pan as she tells us, but they do have a lot in common) that make us smile and feel so blessed to be their parents. There have been many fabulous and funny tales over the last almost three years since we started our family and we are fortunate that lots of them have been recorded in emails to the girls themselves or between Chris and I. However, as Chris’ work schedule gets busier and we are adding to our family and thus the great stories, we fear that these little moments that fill us with so much love and joy may be forgotten. Therefore, for months now, Chris has asked me to capture these moments in one place and to write a blog. It is a good idea and I know Tess and Claire and the future Reilly kids will appreciate it and so it became my new year’s resolution to do it. Here we go… time for the stories of the Reillys.

Kate