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.