Family Christmas Overload

I have a rule for holidays. We don't hop. Hopping takes the fun out of the holidays for me. And by hopping I mean: rushing to eat and open presents with one set of family so that you can rush to another family and rush to eat and open presents there and so on. The best part of Christmas for me is the lounging around, playing games, and relaxation that comes after all the food is eaten, the dishes are done, the gifts are unwrapped.

Luckily our families are good about scheduling things. We started out Christmas morning at home, seeing what Santa brought and opening our gifts for/from each other. Then we got all dressed up and headed out to the Baker's. We opened our gifts within the immediate family right away and around noon the extended family (aunts, uncles, grandparents) came for lunch and gifts and games. We hung out at Ma and Dad's all evening, until Heidi tired from doing circles around the kitchen in her Christmas PJs and somebody's fuzzy pink socks. Then we headed home to refresh the memory of what Santa had brought and dream of the next Christmas party.

Saturday we held Christmas at our house for my Mom and Bill and all of my brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews. It's a huge clan and such a fun group. We made a traditional dinner and sat on the longest table you've ever seen to eat it. Then it was gifts for the kids and games for the adults. More games were played (though we never got the payout from Who Wants to be a Millionnaire) and someone may or may not have gone in the ditch on the way home.

Finally on Sunday we had our last Christmas, with Grams and the Aunts and Uncles on Mom's side. It's always my favorite food because we shy away from tradition. This year we decided to do appetizers and we had enough food for 10 families. After dinner and dishes, the kids opened gifts, we caught the end of the Packer game, and lounged around in various rooms. Some of us may have even caught a few zzzz's.

Another successfully holiday season. No hopping allowed.

Christmas morning

Christmas with a toddler is so much different than Christmas with a baby. Heidi came down the stairs and immediately saw toys sticking out of stockings. Dog toys sticking out of dog stockings that is. I quickly redirected her to her own stocking where Blue was peeking out.

And then she looked under the tree and saw that Santa had not only filled her stocking (and those of her puppies), but also brought her a toy all set up and ready to play with...

And she just wanted to play with this toy all morning. Who cares about other presents? Who cares about what else is in the stocking?

Finally, after a few spins around the family room, we were able to direct her back to her stocking to discover what else was inside, which included sippy cups and a movie and socks and...

...crayons, which she then used to decorate her next present.

Finally, another present open and ready to play with. Can't I just play with this present mom? Do I really have to open more?

And so, being the nice mom that I am, I opened her remaining two presents (boring old sheets and quilt) and let her play.

And that was Christmas morning, in a nutshell ;)

The many faces of Christmas

Hey Mom, whatcha doin'?

Enough pictures already, let me play!

Am I not the silliest girl ever?

Who needs Christmas dinner?

Santa brought me this?

What do you mean this highchair is for my babies?

Christmas travel is exhausting

Incarcerated

Self-incarcerated...doesn't seem to mind a bit, perhaps even enjoys the peace and quiet.

Love this face...

Nature v. Nurture

I don't know where she picked it up, but Heidi has recently discovered that she can carry a ton of things if she tucks a few under her chin and holds them against her body with her arm.

Did she just innately learn this?

Or does she have a mom that multitasks?

I can't say, but I do know that seeing Heidi walk around the room with 3 stuffed birds tucked under her chin is the most darling thing I've seen this week.

On the road again

The whole family drove down to Tennessee for the Thanksgiving weekend. I wasn't excited about driving 14 hours with the Nut. I'm not even excited when I have to drive 15 minutes with the Nut. Surprisingly, it went pretty well. Thanks to entertainment by Daddy and Papa, the portable DVD player to play Baby Signing Time 7 times in a row (on the way home, totally not exaggerating), bird house + birds, books to read, and snacks & milk. We all survived the trip, quite happily.

Here's Nutty on the way down. She got her haircut, isn't it sweet?

And on the way back, she's got daddy lassoed with a necklace and is pulling him towards her, which is super funny.

More trip pics to come, as I assure you a good time was had by all. Happy Thanksgiving to one and all.

I am thankful...

I cannot help but be. Thankful.

Despite everything that has happened in our family over the last time we sat down together for Thanksgiving dinner, or perhaps in spite of it all. I am thankful.

The fall is hard. The fall is when we found out that Keagen had cancer. The fall is when Keagen started chemotherapy. The fall is when Keagen and Kaileigh celebrate their birthday. The fall leads to the winter and the winter is when Keagen had his surgery. The winter is when Keagen had his stem-cell transplant. The winter seems like it never thawed this year for all of us with broken hearts.

But I am Thankful. I'm thankful that we had Keagen in our lives for 2 years and 5 months. I'm thankful that my heart was warmed by his sweet smile, that I was able to snuggle him in my arms for countless moments over his much-too-short life. I am thankful for family that has meant everything over the last year.

I am thankful for my daughter. Every. Single. Day. I am thankful for her. I am thankful for her attitude, her personality, her temper, and her incredibly frizzy hair. I am thankful for her health. I am thankful that she belongs to me and was a God given gift.

I am thankful for my husband. From that very first day I been amazed by his love for me, and it's never ceased to astound me in all of the days since then.

I'm thankful for a million other little things (you know, like food and computers and my new car and puppies). I am thankful for them all.

Whether I have them for a minute or for 100 years, I am thankful.

Blind reindeer

Wordless Wednesday

I am green...

with envy. I could use a day like that.

Food fight

Anyone who has had a toddler, seen a toddler, watched a toddler, or, heaven's forbid, tried to feed a toddler knows that there is really no guessing what a toddler will or will not eat on any given day.

Heidi is no exception. Some days, she'll eat anything you offer (loves her veggies, especially). The next day she's certain it's a conspiracy to poison her.

So for your pleasure, Heidi eating pictures...

End of dinner, finished up with mac-n-cheese and green beans. Both are usually hits.

Eggs are a virtually foolproof breakfast. Especially scrambled. Love.

Grilled cheese w/tomato soup (sometimes she dunks, sometimes she ignores, sometimes she throws all the grilled cheese into the soup and leaves it there) and peas & carrots--eats the peas not the carrots.


Just had to share this one for the face.

Early days of mac-n-cheese. She's a big fan. She particularly likes rubbing it in her hair.

Some people really freak out when their kid refuses to eat. Not me. I know she's not going to starve herself to death, so why stress?

This face

We saw this face a lot within the last couple of weeks...

Then I noticed the three new teeth sprouting out in various places in her mouth. Gone from 4 to 7 in just a couple of weeks. Bring on the steak.

Day in her life

I am on a parenting message board and we had a photo assignment for our 08 babies to do a Day in their life. I won't share all the pictures here. I'll just say that it started out like this (and no, I didn't wake her up--she was awake for a while at this point):




And it ended like this:

It was a perfect day for this assignment since Josh didn't get to see Heidi at all today, he got to at least see her in pictures.

It's all in the little moments

Daycare has always been an emotional deal in our house. We just love our daughter so much that it's hard to put her in someone else's care for 9 hours a day, but we both know that we need to work, and so it has to be.

This year, Heidi started a new daycare at De's. I really wanted her to be around other kids her age, rather than being the only wee one in the house all day. The first couple of weeks were really hard, she cried every morning when I dropped her off and I had to run out the door yelling "I love you!" [One time she even held her arms up to me and I about crumbled--thankfully this was before she was walking.]

Fast forward a couple of months and Josh and I both had the moment where we knew that we had made the right decision about De's. We were both there to pick her up together because we were going to town right away. We walked in and grabbed her up, bundled her up, and out the door.

In the car was this conversation:

Josh: Did you see her when we walked in? She was playing!
Me: No, I didn't see her, she'd already stopped by the time I got in.
Josh: She was playing with two other kids, just throwing all these toys into this bucket!

It's in the little things. She plays!

Words

I should save this for tomorrow, but while I'm thinking of it. Heidi has started to say many more words. Here's the current list, I think...

Mom
Dada (yaya)
Grandma
Papa
Puppy
Molly
Lucy
Fish
More
That
Blue
Moo
Hey

And possibly:
French Fry
Cracker

And signs:
More
All done
Hi and Bye (waves when I say "say hi" or "say bye")
So big!
No (shakes head)
Yes (nods)

And points to: nose, belly, and sometimes mouth

She's really trying to imitate now, so it's fun trying to get her to say lots of things. To be continued, I'm sure.

Weekend Update

For once, the good weather showed its face on the weekend! We were blessed with sunny skies and unseasonably warm temperatures for this entire weekend (we're talking 20+ degrees above the norm). Heidi and I took full advantage.

Saturday we played outside (and got Mom's car washed). Heidi played in the infamous Cozy Coupe, mostly. We also brought the puppies out and played with them in the grass. Heidi would sit down in the grass by the pups, but if one crawled onto her lap she'd push it away. She's just not sure what to think.

We also went for a walk to the park, in just our t-shirts! We did lots of swinging and lots more just walking around, which is her new favorite thing to do at the park.

Sunday we played outside some more, of course. We did a little bit of Cozy Coupe riding in the garage, brought the puppies back out (where she tentatively lifted one for about 2 seconds before pushing it away), and played some ball.

Then we went out to Grandma and Papa's and played in their yard and with our Cozy Coupe that is at their house. Heidi walked Grandma all the way to the end of the driveway and back. She just loves being outside and loves walking.

Heidi and the puppy dance

Molly had puppies a few weeks ago. Bassett hound puppies are unquestionably the cutest of all puppies, and our lot is no different The five puppies have wriggled right into our hearts, even the littlest heart in the house.

Heidi absolutely adores the puppies. However, it's kind of hard to describe her reaction to them. It's kind of a mix between frenzied excitement and extreme anxiety. Like she just wants to hold them so badly, but then she physically cannot make herself do it. There are lots of noises involved in this dance off between Heidi and the pups, but we'll just say she never ends up holding them.

The rest of us do hold them though, lots.

And for the namers out there, the puppies have been given true bassett hound names: Art, Moose, Lucky, Carla, and Bella (the 2nd).

Heidi cries everytime we put the puppies away. I don't even want to know how hard she's going to cry when the last puppy goes to a new home.

Lord help me when she turns 16

Heidi's favorite toy, at the moment, is the grand Little Tikes Cozy Coupe.

And watching her play with it is pure entertainment. She's very independent, as are many girls her age, so you have to let her get in and out on her own. She actually does very well. She holds onto the yellow support and puts her first leg in, and then slams the door...on her second leg. She does it pretty much every time. Then she opens the door, puts the second leg in, and finally closes it.

Incidents have been fairly minimal. We had one roll-over the other day. Today we had a reverse run over (she slipped down under the steering wheel).

Sometimes she decides it's easier to just walk behind it and push it along. Sometimes, I don't blame her.

Continued...

Okay, I was pretty much done with Friday, so Saturday comes the fun stuff.



Started out in the morning with a perfect Saturday, pancakes for breakfast, and hanging around the house. Now Heidi loves to jump on the bed, loves it. So Josh was in the bedroom bouncing her on the big bed, she was laying down. I go running in and pounce onto the bed on hands and knees and POP. Out goes my back. I've never had it go out like this before. But it was definitely out. Out to the point that I could not stand completely up. Enter Ashley the hunchback.



You're thinking, well, at least it was the weekend. True. However, it was also the weekend of trick-or-treating and halloween and I had this little witch to take out...

And she wasn't even in costume yet. Mommy won that fight though. Costume on. Success.

I even optimistically tried to get the witch hat on so I could get a picture. You can see how that turned out.

The witch costume was not chosen on a whim. I knew she'd characterize this costume to a T. She did not disappoint me.

She was actually pretty good for trick-or-treating. Except that she wanted to walk. And her mother was a hunchback who could barely walk. Luckily Aunt Laura was with us and was able to get her back on track when she veered towards the road. It only took us 2 Dum-Dums to get through trick or treating. And she even kept her hat on.

So that was Saturday. We survived it and came out with some candy even. Hunchback stories to be continued, tomorrow.