Christmas with the McDermotts

Here is a picture of our Christmas with Philly's brothers (Sean, Kevin and Cullen-- Mike and Beth couldn't make it back from California) and their wives/girlfriend (Lois, Kelly and Jill.) You might be able to tell that next year, we will have two more little McDermotts to add to the pic!

We opened presents right away, as Jack and Joe could barely wait! There were lots of dinosaurs and Transformers for the boys, and games, purses and lipglosses for the girl! Sadie has another whole family who spoiled her rotten this Christmas! After the gifts and appetizers, Sean, Kevin, Cullen, Phil and Cullen's girlfriend, Jill, took the kids outside. Sadie made a snowPRINCESS with Jill and then got brave enough to try the sled. The boys made a jump to see who could fly the farthest and land the cleanest... After everyone came in and dried off, we watched a movie (Sadie took a snooze) and then ate lasagna. It was a great time!

Christmas 2007

Sadie was mesmerized by the Frida Kahlo calendar that Auntie Cassie received from Santa. She stared at all the pictures for at least 10 minutes and asked lots of questions, even recognizing the paintings she had seen at the Frida exhibit at the Walker. It was precious.

Christmas... need I say more?

Sadie went to Grandma B's on Sunday, Grandma and Grandpa Bernhardt's in Waseca on Monday and Tuesday before coming home and going to McDermott Christmas the next day. Will the insanity ever end? She can't possible need anything more. Seriously. We're running out of room. Sadie can now entertain herself by playing the yoga game, rocking out on her new guitar like Hannah Montana, having tea as Belle or Cinderella, or glamming herself up with her Hello, Kitty purse and tons of make-up.

Bye-Bye Tonsils and Adnoids!

Sadie made it through surgery this morning. She had both her tonsils and adnoids removed as she suffers from sleep apnea and has been constantly battling strep and chronic coughing. When we took her in for her consultation last month, the ENT said that her tonsils were pretty big, and he thought because of her strep cases, they should be removed. When he came back in to talk to us after the surgery was over, he was sort of laughing about the gigantic-ness of the tonsils. He said, "Those are some of the biggest I've removed in a long time. They were touching!" He also said her adnoids were blocking about 60 percent of her airway, so at any rate, we did the right thing.

It was hard getting her into surgery. I had to hold her arms and her legs as the anesthesiologist held a mask over her face. She was sobbing and tears were slowly dripping over her cheeks as she fell asleep. Hard to watch. I came out to the waiting room after we left, sat down in the chair, and started bawling. Thank goodness Grandma was there.

Sadie has had an afternoon of Popsicles, jello and pudding, thanks to Phil, who went grocery shopping while we were at the hospital. Cassie and Finn came over with a Frida Kahlo doll (long story) and lots of loves! All of Sadie's "peeps" called, too, to see how she was feeling. We're so lucky to have so many people care about us! As I write this, Grandma is reading and singing her to sleep. Hopefully, Christmas will keep her mind off of her throat for the next few days as we have lots going on!

Merry Christmas! - Megan

Princess Sadie is 4!

My little girl turned four on December 9th, and boy, did we have a party! "All my people were there," stated Sadie. The birthday girl enjoyed a blue, angelfood Cinderella cake, tons of food served on princess plates and guests including Grandma, Grandpa, Auntie Cassie, Uncle Cam, Willabee Wallabee Finners, Jill, Ryan, Teri, Hunter, Michalea, Nate, Kelley, Owen and Wes, Troy, Julie, Ethan and Kellen, and of course, mom and Philly. She got so many great presents, she didn't know what to do with herself! After a long day of opening presents and playing with the kids, she fell asleep with a big, princess smile on her face! Lucky girl!

Small One

So it's Christmas time, and I got out Sadie's Disney Christmas DVD. There are three classic tales, including Christmas Carol and a short cartoon called Small One, about an old, little donkey whose owners, a small boy and his father, have to sell him because he can no longer bear their loads. The little boy takes his beloved donkey to town, but doesn't want to sell him to the tanner, or anyone else who doesn't care about the animal. In the end, a nice man buys the donkey to carry his pregnant wife to Bethlehem! I explained to Sadie that the man was Joseph, who was Jesus' dad, and the woman was Mary and that Jesus was in her tummy!

Tonight,we were making chocolate chip cookies and listening to Shawn Colvin's "Along the Little Road to Bethlehem". I told Sadie that maybe Small One was in the song because he was on the road to Bethlehem with Mary and the baby in her belly. Then I asked her, "Who was the baby in her belly?" And, with flour all over her hands, she screamed "God!" We thought she was close enough.

O' Christmas Tree, O' Christmas Tree

How lovely are thy branches? Here we are finally getting the tree up. Sadie thought it was the best and even had to take some deep breaths to get through it! When she came down the stairs early the next morning, Phil asked her what she thought of the tree- it was all lit up- and she looked at it and said, "Oh, it's beautiful!" There are also some pictures here taken by Sadie herself! Deck the halls!

Loco in Acapulco

Here are some pics for those of you who care about Phil and I as well... We had a great time in Mexico- but couldn't wait to get back to the girl!

Busy Builders

Sadie got TV taken away on Monday night because she wasn't being a very good listener. Mommy had a paper she had to finish for grad school, so that left Philly to entertain, as we had lost our instant mesmerizer, the tube. But, we couldn't give in, so Phil went to work, doing yoga and building towers with Deeds. They were very proud of their work, so Mom took a break-- and a picture! Aren't they cute?

Our apologies...

Our cameras here are not very good! You can see our pictures all have either a bright spot where one camera flashes this horrendous light in the subject's face, or an aura around the bottom or top or the whole dang picture from another camera that incessantly beeps and then randomly shuts off. I don't know what the deal is... Possible Christmas gift idea??? Ha! :P

This one's for all you GRANDMAS!

Happy Halloween everyone! It's Mommy's favorite holiday, but Sadie got to experience all the excitement, thanks to the dress Great-Grandma sent a little over a year ago! Sadie decided that she wanted to wear that dress and be a princess, (among 12 other little princesses at her daycare) and so she was. She wore her gloves, ring and clip earrings from Grandma Brenda, the oh-so-perfect princess dress and sparkly pink shoes from G.G. Joyce, and the crown from Grandma B. Thank God for Grandmas, huh? She trick-or-treated with all her friends from school during the day, then the little cow Finn came over for some short-lived trick-or-treating in the townhouses, and then we went visiting! Just so you know... there is LOTS of leftover candy... for Philly.

Best Costume EVER!

Sadie was invited to a Haunted Halloween Party at Wes and Owen's house on Saturday night. It was a spooky, spectacular get-together! The kids hunted for candy (and so did Phil...) played games like "wrap the mummy" and ate pizza and treats. Then they watched "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" and "Garfield's Halloween" until the parents started trickling in to pick up their little pirates and Storm Troopers. Sadie's friend, Owen, was Draco Malfoy! Sadie, however, won the grand prize of BEST COSTUME! Thanks, Grandma! (All the parents were asking about it...) Sadie had fun, and so did mom and Philly, as Wes and Owen's parents are good friends! It really tired out our little Australian kanga, though, and she (and mommy) went to bed very early that night! Boo!

Fall Fun!

The whole fam was in Waseca for the weekend, as Grandma Joyce and Grandpa Bud visited. We went to the park, ate EVERYTHING in sight, and sang karaoke on Grandpa's machine. It was a relaxing, fun-filled weekend!

Baby Dinosaurs

Here's Sadie and her best bud, Finners. Grandmother Brenda bought them both matching pajamas, which are clearly the cutest things EVER! After an enormous feast prepared by Phil and me, Cassie bathed the girls and we took these pictures. It's amazing they turned out, as Sadie was uncooperative and Finley was over-exhausted. But, all in all, we got two striped girls, a binky and a smile!

Haircut

I need to mention that Sadie recently endured a four-day haircut, which was wrapped up with Grandma working some magic. Mommy found out that it's not easy to get a straight cut when your subject is mugging it up in the mirror.But she loves it at any rate- and I think it's adorable. She's adorable.

Putting a Wrench in Things

Here she is, testing out future vocations! She was having so much fun playing with her toolbox, she didn't even know I took the first pictures.

Sadie is having a blast back at daycare and doing lots of swimming at the indoor pool at Lifetime. Her grandma also bought her a bicycle at a garage sale and Grandpa raced out and bought training wheels and a horn for it. She's not too sure about the shakiness... she still kind of wants to ride her tricycle!

Jesus Loves Sadie

Sadie had a big day today... her first day of Sunday School! I tried to prepare her for it as the weekend progressed, and finally she asked me, "Mom, what IS Sunday School?" I told her it would be a lot like daycare and that she would have new friends, make things and learn about Jesus. She thought it would probably be okay. She was pretty apprehensive as we arrived at Lutheran Church of Christ the Redeemer this morning. I sat with her and all the kids. We played a name game, and talked about "blessings," since later in the morning we would be blessing the new addition to the church. When the teacher, Jane, asked the kids who were blessings to them, Sadie raised her hand and said, "My cousin Finley!" It was so sweet. We also learned a bible verse and a song written by an LCCR member. Then we went outside with sidewalk chalk and bubbles and played while people arrived for the church celebration and dedication. Cassie, Cam, Finn and Phil met us for the service and we enjoyed the fellowship and beautiful sunshine!

Crafty Little Girl

Sadie was all about arts and crafts this afternoon. She first got out the finger paints and made both her Grandma and Grandpa a beautiful picture. Then she grabbed her Play dough and rolled that around the table for a half an hour before asking for the Wiggles. All that creative energy was too much for her to take. She's sleeping on the couch right now!