When it came to Christmas gifts for the girls this year...you nailed it. Yup. Totally nailed it. No help from here. Just nailed it. They are both in love with their gifts. You rock.
Love, Us
Dear Everyone Else,
Sorry we didn't get videos of every single gift. We should have. Apology accepted? Your gifts rocked too. We're still soaking them all in and thank yous will come...one day. Our girls felt very very loved this year. Thank you for all the thought that went into each gift!
Christmas with a 2.5 year old has been so much fun! In December we started our advent activity calendar to count down the days. We saw a live nativity, read special Christmas books, made cookies for neighbors, did some preschool Christmas-themed coloring sheets, and so on. Cupcake has really enjoyed her calendar and counting down for her birthday.
One Saturday morning the calendar said we'd do a Christmas craft. Cupcake LOVED making a reindeer family with each of our hands as antlers. Check out her focus:
Even Daddy got in on the action:
Figuring out how it works:
Yay! Our reindeer family has been a fun source of play ever since.
I'm packing away the last of the Christmas decorations, finally admitting that the hubs does have to work and can't permanently be on vacation, and doing a final Christmas dump on the ol' blog. After this, it's time to move on. If I don't the retail shops will have Easter out before I've even entered January.
Here's a few more shots from Christmas in Houston:
Cupcake had no problem opening gifts this year:
She also likes to be in charge. See her finger? She is saying "No, no doggy" Just like her Gigi, she runs a tight ship with the pets.
Luckily even with presents, relatives, trees, and more she still loves to "nuggle mommy" which means snuggle with mommy. :)
Pac-man went Santa Baby style
So did cupcake: When we came home we did our own family (meaning the three of us) Christmas. Even though cupcake had no problem opening gifts it was overwhelming everything beyond the first 2. We were thankful we had the foresight to stretch it out. Her surprise from Mommy and Daddy was a slide. I'm still not sure who the present was really for because said slide has also bought Mommy and Daddy time to cuddle on the couch, drink hot chocolate, and talk while cupcake fully exhausts herself going up and down, round and round, taking dolls and friends down too. It's a win-win.
On that note, Happy New Year to all!
We're a few days into our 28 Day Challenge which is NOT a New Year's resolution and is NOT a diet. It is a whole body cleanse. Chris keeps saying we are eating "garden-y" food but honestly we're all loving it. I sure miss cheese and chocolate but in 28 days I am guessing there will still be plenty of opportunities to eat either if I do so still desire. Bear with me in the coming days as I post a little on the challenge. I'm sure most of you don't care to see pictures of our "garden-y" food. But there are some that do and for those...I have something better coming down the pipe for you :)
I know most of you prefer cupcake driven posts but some of you have been anxious to see my Christmas "projects" which dominated my home rendering it unable to host friends for almost a week. Let's just say craft room is officially on my dream list....though highly unlikely given the layout of our home and our unwillingness to move anytime in the foreseeable future. This is why I said dream list and not wish list.
I got this beauty at a garage sale. For free. Because of a generous friend. It was in our garage for months though I knew the minute it was "mine" what I was going to do with it. It had pac-mans name all over it. Of course it is pink and princess-ey but that's what made it so *fUn* was telling people who saw it that I was giving it to my nephew :). Anyway, 4 short months later, about 10 yards of felt, 4 different colored spools of thread, some puffy paint (yep I went there), rick rack, fabric glue, 2 yards of doggy fabric, and lots of "workshop" time the finished product was indeed Pac-man appropriate:
Cupcake loved it too. Great for test market purposes. Heartbreaking for a mom to realize she has to tell her angel that the countless hours in making something she totally loves is not for her. This brings me to New Years resolution #1- Make more for cupcake. It seems she gets the left over ideas so for 2011 I'm starting on somethings special for her. I already have an idea for one. But like the princess castle, you'll have to wait. It won't be made of felt and I hope it doesn't take 4 months. Ultimately Pac-man loved it and that made my heart SOOOOOO happy. Check out his precious-ness. Then I just had to include my sissy in the fun! I figured she wouldn't have much time for a felt house of her own in 2011 since she is about to pop with baby girl but who doesn't love some fun decorations for their house that can interchange with the seasons. I started with these:
I ended with these. Click the picture for a better view.
I was jealous. Then I remembered I made them. New Years resolution #2: Make a set for me. Yay! A fun resolution that benefits me. Can that even count? Don't answer that.
I like being Santa's elf. I just think I should start earlier. New Years resolution #3: Start Christmas "projects" in October this year. Or earlier....but not likely. More on resolutions later if I'm feeling bold or have had a drink. Surely one of those will happen soon, right?!
The only explanation I can possibly come up with is that it only took a year for older cousin to not also mean bigger cousin. Here they are a year ago. Same couch. Matching p.j.s. Older cousin was bigger cousin. WAS.
Look at the first picture again. At least he's nice about it. Pac-man pats her knee as if to say "There, there cupcake. You had your year. Now I have forever more. There, there."
She'd better get used to it. She's about to loose her status of only walker and only girl as Pac-man is about to walk and his Mom is about to pop with baby girl.
It was a great Christmas otherwise. More posts to follow.
But since cupcake isn't much of a singer yet we've had to improvise. We went to our neighborhood's Christmas celebration which included a carriage ride and a chance to see Santa. Cupcake was so interested in the horses as the pictures relate. Really she loves all animals so it was a treat to enjoy a carriage ride.
Also, rather than having a candy filled advent calendar we opted for something a little more meaningful. Each day we read a Christmas story together and then do a craft or activity that correlates to the book we've read. Here are some of our favorites so far:
After reading Snowmen at Christmas we made this snowman. Cupcake loves to play with cotton balls. We also were able to find a few twigs around our one little tree for arms. The eyes and nose are very Picasso, don't you think?
We also read the book Olive the Other Reindeer a week or so ago. It is a silly one that Cupcake really enjoys. We just had to make a reindeer canvas after reading the book. The face is her foot and the antlers are her hands. It will be fun to compare her growth next year when we pull out the Christmas stories again. Our Christmas cards are finally ready to go and we have most of our shopping done. However, this elf needs about 2 more weeks to finish the Christmas projects part of Christmas. Sigh. It's tough having a head full of creative ideas and only limited time to do them. Guess I'll have to have a cup of peppermint hot chocolate and think about all those ideas. Oh WAIT...I mean get back to work on the ones I've already started :)
Bear with me as we get through the holidays and I'll get back on track with blogging.
I am still catching up on Christmas both at home and on the blog. So bear with me as Christmas 09 is still alive and kicking for the Crack Team.
Chloe received two very special bibs to wear during the Christmas season.
Bib one - From Courtney in Arizona. Her Grandmother taught her to cross stitch years ago. Now her Grandma has passed on but Courtney remembers how to stitch and made Chloe this ADORABLE Christmas bib. It says "Believe" on it. I was soooo touched by her thought and time. Chloe looked so cute in it and it looks like it will be able to fit again next year too so this won't be the last time you see this sweet bib. Thanks Courtney!
Bib two - Came all the way from Hong Kong!!! My friend Noel sent it to us. I used to work with Noel and we got to email EVERY day. Now we don't get to be in touch as often so I miss her so much! She was so sweet to remember this was Chloe's First Christmas and send a Baby's First Christmas Bib all the way from Hong Kong. I was so surprised and thankful. Thank you Noel!!
I am sooooo lucky to have such kind and loving people in our life. Both of these bibs were worn with thought of people who love us. THANK YOU! I can't say it enough!!
As promised, I have more posts and stories coming about Christmas....
We just had to get our Christmas cards out first. Today they are all officially on the way. Yes, they say Merry Christmas. No, they don't also say Happy New Year. Yes, this is slightly embarrassing. No, I can't promise it won't happen again. We're the Crack Team...shamelessly imperfect and unkempt. Remember?
Sooooooo Bitter Biscuits.
On our 12.78 hour stint in Kingwood before flying out to Louisville my Mom hands me a box of EarthBaby Organic bitter biscuits and says, "Have you tried these with Chloe?" We hadn't. She then asks "Could she have one?" Pause for one moment: Can I just say that I LOVE LOVE LOVE that my Mom respects me as a Mom enough to ask my opinion on stuff. I have so many friends who's Mom's would just give their children whatever they thought is best without asking. If you are a friend's Mom reading my blog, heed this as your warning....you won't get Mom/Grandma of the year with that behavior. Love you, Mom....you make me believe (however untrue) that I really can do this Mom thing!
Ok...back to Bitter Biscuits (BB's for the remainder of this post). So, I tell Mom to go ahead and give her a BB. I can't quite tell you what happens over the next 10 or so minutes. It might have been that I was enjoying (read:devouring with no manners) a DELICIOUS meal made even more delicious because I did not have to make it and did not have to be in charge of Chloe while I ate it. I may have also been busily arranging Christmas gifts for our exchange that was about to take place. Or I may have just had one of those "Mom" moments. All that to say, I didn't see how the bitter biscuit went down, I just noted that we should pack those for the plane. And we did.
The next day we flew to Louisville and Chloe did GREAT. We didn't have to resort to all the tricks in my diaper bag (BB's included) because it was a quick flight in which we all slept, watched one short movie, and then basically prepared for landing. So, we then got settled into Grandma Sally's house and all took another nap. We woke up, showered, and got dressed much faster that we usually pull ourselves together so that we could make the 6pm Christmas Eve service. Here is what Chloe looked like:
We get to the service, take a seat towards the back, on an aisle. I have learned a few things about being a Mom :). The service starts...the bells, the advent candle...really a beautiful traditional service. Then the pastor calls the kiddos up to the front. Since we don't have "children's church" as part of the Gateway services I was so excited for Chloe to get to partake in something that was a mainstay of my childhood church going memories. Up we went...she basically crawled all over Chris and I and looked at the other little girls dreaming of when she could have long hair.
Then we go back to our seats and Chloe is done with church and hungry. So, since church wasn't done Chris comes to the rescue with...a BB!!! He unwraps it, hands it to her and all is well again. A few minutes later communion starts. We agree that Chris will go up with his Mom and Chloe and I will stay in the pew. No sooner did Chris and his Mom start up the long aisle to get in the long line for communion did I realize the truth about BB's. They are a HUGE dissolving mess! Imagine if you sucked on a graham cracker without ever taking a bite....only denser and more dissolving-er. BB gunk was all over her hands and with each smile and coo of delight a little more drooled out of the corners of her previously precious gummy smile and onto her velveteen Christmas dress. I'm stranded. I can't reach the diaper bag without leaning down the aisle and risking BB gunk drool on the new (did I mention this was a brand new sanctuary?) velvet pew cushions.
Hours later (ok....just moments but it was one of "those" moments) the people in the row in front of us start coming back. I sigh relief knowing Chris would be soon after. As they enter the pew but still from a distance they start to say "isn't she cute?"....but as they get closer and see the mess they pause a little and "cute" is more forced out and comes with the layers of judgement that must have been heaping on a Mom who gives her baby a BB in their brand new church. Thankfully we were miles from home and knowing I would NEVER see these people again I could careless what they thought of me and our BB mess. Next the people in the row behind us are coming back. I don't know whether they cut in line, Chris was up there confessing both of our sins, or if God,who knows I am a hard learner wanted to make sure I learned about BB's. But, of course as they are entering the pew Chloe turns to watch them...and they too start to say how cute she is...of course she smiles. I've trained her well. Only this time the smile as previously mentioned includes a dripping of BB gunk out of the corners. So, I feel the drippage making it's way down my right shoulder. Perfect. Now I get to have BB mess too!!!
Finally I see Chris coming. In my head I'm yelling HURRY UP, I NEED WIPES NOW!!! But I'm also reminding myself it's Christmas! My husband has just cleansed himself at communion. We're in church. And...of course I want to maintain my perfect wife, we can handle anything appearance. Ha. Ok....not that last one but I did want to respect my husband on Christmas. Soooo, I opted for the whispered version as he sits..."I need wipes. Please." He grabs them as he gets a closer look at what has transpired since he left and starts mopping us both up with wipes as the choir sings Away in A Manger. Thank you Jesus for the reminder that even the most precious babies lay in managers among livestock. Surely we can be forgiven for our BB gunk-ified Christmas Angel in this pretty church!!!
Chloe loves Christmas! Or more properly, we loved sharing Christmas with her!!
We traveled to Houston for a quick overnight stay so we could have a direct and shorter flight to Louisville. With less that 12 hours to work with my Mom and Dad still managed to make an awesome pork tenderloin dinner and shower us and Chloe with Christmas presents a few days early.
Christmas Eve morning we flew to Louisville. We had a great trip and Chloe continues to do pretty well on the flight though we anticipate that to change as soon as she can walk. We had a great five days in Kentucky! Sally, my Mother-in-law, (MIL for all future mentionings) has the gift of hospitality. She had gathered lots of toys and books for Chloe from some of her friends who are also Grandmothers. She also had yummy Christmas cookies out for non-stop grazing. Not great for my waist line but oh so delish! She had decorated a tree and put it in a playpen so that Chloe could enjoy it without pulling it over. She also had an open house the day after Christmas so we could see a whole bunch of Chris's friends at once. Several of them have little ones now too so there were giggles, hugs, and a good time had by all. Finally, and most impressively, my MIL made baby food! I was so thankful that she was willing to go to Whole Foods for organic produce and then make some familiar treats for Chloe. I am really so thankful for all of Sally's efforts for making us feel at home, special, and able to enjoy our first Christmas with Chloe all at the same time.
Here are a few highlights:
Chloe meet Great-Grandmother Farr:
Four Generations:
With Aunt Robyn:
On Christmas morning:
Big Family Shot from our day trip to Indiana:
I've got some other pictures and a few more stories, I'll post soon. We're trying to get our Christmas cards out (late, late, late). But I wanted to get at least one update up and say we had a GREAT Christmas and really enjoyed our time in KY. Thanks Sally for a great trip!
I've been sooooo excited about getting Chloe to Santa for her 1st Christmas Santa picture. Chris and I have several ideas of Christmas traditions we'd like to have in our family but most of them will be more special once our kids are a bit older and when we celebrate Christmas in our own home. So I wanted to be sure we had a few that we could also do on the years we traveled. Of course picture with Santa was on the top of my list.
We tried multiple times to hit the mall Santa. My Grandpa loved the mall at Christmas time so it seemed the natural place to start the tradition. However, several failed attempts (line too long, Santa going on break, forgot the camera) we finally realized that even if we successfully made it to the front of the line, we'd have to pay $20 to take pictures. We decided it wasn't worth it since we didn't even know if our Cupcake would like the jolly old soul. I was so disappointed. Between not having our Christmas pictures made for the Christmas cards and not getting to see Santa I was beginning to loose Christmas cheer.
Then Chris got smart and looked online for free Santas and found out that there'd be a Santa visit at our farmers market. Since it was "free" I told myself he'd probably be in cheap velour, Walmart's own brand of cowboy boots, and would probably have the cheap fake white beards. I decided if he was even a step up from the Walmart vision I was imagining then I could be excited and Christmas cheer would be alive again :) ha. But, if he was just a Walmart Santa....at least we'd have our Santa picture. So we packed up and headed out to the farmers market to meet our friends, James, Kristi, and Joshua...and of course Jolly Old St. Nick.
What a surprise he was....He was from Australia and great with the kids....of course, since he's Santa, right?! Needless to say I was THRILLED. In fact, it'll be hard to top these Santa pictures, ever.
Have I mentioned our Christmas cards are late, late, late? They're still coming but it will be January. I'm signing off until probably after the New Year. I've been so anxious for Chloe 1st Christmas that I'm leaving the internet aside for the next week or so in order to fully experience it with our cupcake! So Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!
I watched a video on You Tube. I was moved by it. Then I realized that the Lord has been good to us financially this year in spite of a hard economy so I could really give all the gifts I've been starting to mentally think of AND still give to others this Christmas. Later, I realized that's pretty selfish of me. What if I gave the money we have planned to give AND took MORE out of the gifts we were planning to give to people that don't really NEED anything? I'm not saying gifts are bad...in fact I think its appropriate to show appreciation and love with small tokens or gifts from time to time. 450 billion though is just flat sick....really sick.
So, I'm joining the conspiracy. I dare you to join me.
In fact I dare you to not just figure out how to give, but to really cut back on the gifts you are giving to give more. I'll even go out on the limb and say if everyone one of you actually does this (and you won't, admit it)...we'll still be giving more gifts than people need. It's a sickness and I want to be healed this Christmas, do you?
During our Weekend to Remember we stayed the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort in San Antonio. The hotel was beautiful and nestled in rolling hills. They have a beautiful golf course and lots of activities. The hotel was immaculately decorated for the holiday with themed Christmas trees throughout. I loved the tree that had all different Nutcracker ornaments. I also like the white tree with all white ornaments. However, I was most enamored with a GIGANTIC gingerbread display. All weekend when we'd walk past it from our rooms to the conference I'd remind Chris "We have to get a picture of that." Sadly we only had our camera phones so the detail of the pictures isn't that great. However, almost everything you can see with the exception of the characters is edible. The oven you can see both in the top and third pictures is made of square pretzels. The oven door is covered in Hershey kisses for the "stainless" look. The book is all icing and the round balls you see on top are jaw breakers. The presents the elf is working on are cakes. The snowman behind my head is a giant gingerbread cookie snowman. There is icing on the fence post enclosing this thing that I wanted to lick! They used gumballs, licorice, skittles, cotton candy(for the smoke in the chimney) and more. I am so sad that both my words and the pictures don't do this lovely display any justice! The chef at the Hyatt responsible for this creation began working on it in August.
