Christmas: All Wrapped Up

Christmas this year was a lot of fun for our little family. Jon took the entire week off so we were able to spend a lot of time playing with the kids and taking care of last minute Christmas things.She's watching the snow come down. We had a very white Christmas!

Christmas this year was a lot of fun for our little family. Last year our pip-squeak had fun, but as she wasn't even one yet she really didn't have the slightest idea of what was going on. This year, things have started to click. She watched as presents found their way under the tree. She picked a gift for her brother and "helped" wrap it up. She stood in awe of our amazing 4' tree, and marveled at the bright lights (which were required to be on if she were ever in the vicinity). She was terrified of Santa in the flesh, but enjoyed saying "HO, HO, HO!" and watching him on TV. She loved playing with the Little People nativity we have, though baby Jesus was quite literally fed to the animals. (I think it had something to do with the bed of hay.) On Christmas morning she loved each one of her gifts. So much that we had to open up, take out, put together, and play with each one before she would even think of opening the next.
I was impressed to see my little guy truly grasp the true meaning of Christmas. Each Monday this month we had a family night where we discussed different aspects of Christmas. First, we put together a gingerbread house and talked about Christmas traditions and what we do for Christmas in our family. The second week, we took a drive searching for bedecked Christmas houses, and talked about the symbolism behind Christmas lights. The third week we read the Christmas story and sang Christmas songs. The fourth week we made and delivered treats for our neighbors; talked about why it is better to give than receive; and memorized a scripture (Matt 10:8 "...freely ye have received, freely give"). My little guy is pretty sensitive to other peoples feelings and had a lot of really sweet things to say when we would discuss what Christmas was really about. I was so pleased when I asked him what he thought Christmas was about and he answered "baby Jesus and loving eachother," instead of "presents and Santa."
(Don't get me wrong, I love Santa just as much as the next guy and we had some serious discussions about him this year as the little guy has two cousins whose family has decided not to believe. When he asked me about it I turned the question around and asked him what he thought about their decision. He told me, "I think it's too bad, because now Santa won't want to bring them anything at all. He won't want to bring a present to someone who doesn't believe in him." Santa lovingly filled their stockings and left each of our children one gift under the tree.)


We did our fair share of baking. The Sunday before Christmas I (yes, I) cooked a turkey and made an entire Christmas dinner. We invited our friends, Gordon and Rachel and their little boy, to share it with us. It wasn't SO bad...except the gravy. Man do I need to learn how to make gravy! Sorry guys! I also (this time with help from my mom) made a tea ring for breakfast Christmas morning. This is a tradition in my family, and I always loved eating tea rings and coffee cakes on Christmas morning. We also had gingerbread men, christmas cookies, and popcorn balls. Still Jon has managed to drop a few pounds. He very graciously gave them to me, though I really didn't want them!

Christmas Eve is always spent at Grandma Seiter's house. It's getting more and more cramped as people get married and have more kids. This Christmas Eve there were 24 people! Jon's sister announced that by next Christmas we will have one more, and with the return of his youngest sister from a mission in Germany we will have at least 26. I think we need to look into a reception hall! For now we all cozy up next to eachother and have a great Christmas party.
This is the best picture I could get of my pip-squeak on Christmas Eve. We had a surprise visit from Santa which did not sit well with this Santa-phobic toddler. I could almost feel her little heart beating out of her chest. Once Santa left she calmed down and for the rest of the night would sporadically say, "Bye, Santa, Bye!"

Christmas morning was wonderful. Jon woke up before everyone else and got in the shower, naturally waking up the kids. We opened presents at 6:30, which gave us plenty of time to enjoy them, and eachother, before heading to my parents house later that morning.

(take a good look at my pip-squeaks hair in the first picture. Apparently this awesome blue crawling tube comes standard with static electricity!)

I'm usually not one to list what we gave each of them for Christmas, but this year the little guy got his first pet! It's a golden tree frog named "Anakin Skywalker". What else would a 5-year-old name a frog anyway!? Jon and I bought it a few days before Christmas and my parents willingly took care of it for the few days inbetween. He was a little freaked about the frogs diet of crickets, but has quickly gotten over that. He is now watching it regularly hoping to see Anakin eat one. Yum-O!

Grandma Debbie and Papa George spoil our kids rotten! They absolutely love the gifts and adore their grandparents. At the end of the day when we were all buckled up in the car and ready to go home the little guy said, "Mom, it's just that I miss them so much already."

After we spent the morning there we took a short (like 3 blocks) drive to my grandma and grandpa's house for Christmas dinner. That too gets a bit crowded, especially when it's time to exchange gifts! I totally forgot to take pictures there, though I had my camera the whole time. I carried it around with me to take pictures and then would put it down and leave it somewhere. I think it was returned 3 times while we were there, and then I almost forgot it when it was time to leave!

So, there's Christmas, all wrapped up! I think it's my longest post ever. But I know all of you were biting your nails wondering WHEN I was going to post all about our day!

Talk About a Gingerbread Man

The little guy and Grandma Debbie (my mom) had fun creating this giant gingerbread man today. I asked the little guy if he wanted to save it and leave it out for Santa. He told me, "Santa eats so many cookies, I think we should just leave him a small one so he doesn't get too full." How thoughtful, right? So Santa will get a plate full of chocolate chip cookies, and the little guy will get a tummy ache!

We Asked for It!

So the little guy and I have been wishing for a white Christmas all month. Yesterday a big snowstorm came through dumping over 8" of snow on our front porch! The little guy helped dig us out. He's great with a snow shovel! Today he spent the day at his Grandma Debbie's house playing in the snow. It was too cold to pack the snow for a snowman but he had a great time sledding with his friends!

White Everything

This week has been a big snow week at our house. On Tuesday it snowed all morning. I bundled the pip-squeak up in her complete snow gear. She had every warm thing on from the beanie to the wooly socks and snow boots. At 2:30 we went out to pick up the little guy from his bus stop, prepared to let the pip-squeak roll in the snow while we waited. Apparently she is not much of a winter-sport kind of girl. She wouldn't roll in, step in, or even touch the snow. She waited patiently on the shoveled walk for 10 minutes waiting for her brother to get home.

I was surprised she even got out of her little push car. Over the last couple of snowy days I've tried several times to get her into the snow. I was positive she would love it, if only she'd give it a chance. I still have yet to get her in the snow, and short of throwing her in, I'm not to optimistic that she'll decide to give it a chance. Yesterday, when I told her it was time to go to the bus stop, she ran and hid in a downstairs cupboard. This is definitely out of the ordinary as she is usually waiting at the door, with shoes in hand, telling me when it's time to go. She told me she wanted the car. I told her she could ride in her car and persuaded her out of the cupboard. After bundling ourselves up I went into the garage and got her little pink car. This was, apparently, not the car she meant when she requested that we take the car to the bus stop. I guess only having one car is hard on everyone!

On the other hand, the little guy couldn't be happier about the snow. He is thrilled to be having a white Christmas and has no problem trudging to and from the bus stop in the snow. He spent a good hour and half outside yesterday cleaning the driveway all by himself! he told me I shouldn't do it because I would get my foot all wet. (Which is true. My walking boot is actually just a sandal like shoe that is definitely made for warm, dry weather. I look quite awesome sporting the sock-and-sandal look!) Well, the little guy did a great job! I should have taken his picture after a job well done. He completed it by sprinkling salt all over to melt the remaining ice. I told him to use it sparingly like when you salt your vegetables. He dropped it grain by grain.

We have another snow storm coming today and the little guy is already planning what his snowman will look like. He's collected a scarf, gloves, and a hat and has them waiting at the door. He also asked me where he could get a lump of coal...

Oh, and we've also learned you should purchase your snow shovels BEFORE the first big storm of the season. We had to visit four separate stores before we finally found one!

A Scary Old Man??

On Saturday we took a trip to Cabella's so the little guy could pick out a few small presents for his papa and his uncle. When what to our wondering eyes did appear but Santa himself and some stuffed, dead reindeer! Now the dead reindeer were a little disturbing but we thought we'd try to get the pip-squeak to sit with Santa for her first official Santa picture. She wasn't just uninterested, she was terrified! She screamed bloody murder, and only stopped long enough for Santa to hand over a larger-than-usual candy stick to try and coax her to sit down for a picture. Just goes to show even Santa agrees with little incentives (or bribes, what have you) now and then. Jon made ME sit on Santa's lap with the pip-squeak to try and get a picture. Obviously, having mommy there too did not console our Santaphobic daughter. Poor girl...maybe next year! She did enjoy the strawberry-flavored candy stick though.

Apricot Smiles

Check it Out!

I've created a new blog to showcase (and hopefully sell) a few of the different things I like to make for my pip-squeak. When she was an infant I made pacifier clips to stop her binkies from constantly hitting the floor. I've been making them as gifts ever since, and have had several people ask me to make some for them.
Once she started growing the crazy coif on top of her head I tried to tame them with boutique style bows. These, too, I have made for other people.
Most recently the pip-squeak has taken on a love of dancing. I made her a cute little tutu and then taught several other people how to make them.
Now I'm hoping that maybe, just maybe, someone out there may be interested in actually paying for these things. As a pilot test I set up a blog: ApricotSmiles.blogspot.com
to showcase some of the different things I've made for the pip-squeak over the past two years. I've set it up so people can custom order tutu's, bows, and pacifier clips. I'd love if you guys would check it out. If you think it's worth passing on please do!

Oh, and if this sounds awkward it's because I am so NOT a sales person. What I am is perfectionist who takes a lot of time to make sure something turns out just right. I hope it shows in what I made for Apricot Smiles.

The Lights on the Trees

So last night we put on our jammies, popped up some popcorn, put in some Christmas music, and drove around to look for lights. We left just before the pip-squeaks bedtime, assuming she would lose interest quickly and fall asleep. I have never been more wrong. She absolutely LOVED the lights. We heard squeals of delight every time we turned a corner. And when we happened across a brightly lit house she would scream, point and clap. For an hour we heard, "mommy, look! Look! Look! LOOK!" and "Oh, pretty, pretty lights!" We had been driving for over an hour before sleep overcame her. Still, with her eyes half closed she would point out the most colorful houses. I wish I had a picture for you, but as it would just be the kid's in their carseats, or some strangers house, I didn't bother bringing my camera. The little guy really enjoyed looking at the lights too. It seems that the more trees that are lit, the better the house. We'll keep that in mind for our future yard!

I love driving around and searching for Christmas lights every year. This year was a special treat though, as the pip-squeak was experiencing it all for the first time. I have never seen her so excited about something. It was adorable. There's something about driving down a dark road and turning a corner to see a house bedecked in holiday glow and lighting up the world around! Merry Christmas everyone. Go out and find some lights!!

(We did see one very Clark-Griswald-Christmas-vacation house. I mean it was covered. The entire roof and the siding was lined with strand after strand. The bushes and trees were wrapped in lights and someone had managed to attach a GIANT pole-to an already giant tree-in order to showcase a giant star high above their house. Now THAT is some yule-tide spirit!;)

Scrub-A-Dub

So my pip-squeak loves to take baths. At 6:00 on the dot tonight (normal bath time for her) she started saying, "bash, bash, bash". I diligently tried to ignore her and finish my project but relentlessly she continued. Three minutes later I heard her upstairs, "bash, bash, mommy, bash".
"Hold on." I said.
"OK, mommy. Bash, mommy bash."

So, I went upstairs. She had her PJs out and was in the bathroom sitting on the floor naked. I asked her what she was doing and she started crying. "Bash, Bash, pease, bash." When I started the water she dove right in .

Dear Santa

The Little Guy shut himself in his room today for some alone time and this is what he came out with. We don't have a scanner so the pictures aren't as clear as I'd like them to be. You can click on them if you want a larger view. Seeing as he is only in Kindergarten his spelling and word structure is sometimes hard (or impossible) to understand. Translations are included!

"Santa and Mrs. Claus, North Pole"
"Dear Santa I want a video games and a remote control car!"
"Please, Thank you, From little guy"

I'm pretty sure this please and thank you were included after he re-read his note and realized he sounded "greedy" because when he came downstairs to show me he asked me if he sounded "greedy or naughty". He thought his note should be extra nice to Santa.

Here is a picture of the big guy himself.

I'm struggling with putting his first Santa letter in the mailbox. I really want to keep it, bad spelling and all!

Gingerbread House Bandit

On Monday we decorated a gingerbread house for our family night activity. As soon as the last gumdrop was in place the little guy asked if he could start eating it. Jon and I talked him into keeping it as a Christmas decoration for a little while. We forgot to tell our little pip-squeak the same rule applied to her. The gingerbread house worked as a centerpiece on our table for one whole day. Then I caught the pip-squeak doing this...

So I gimped over to the table, put the pip-squeak on the floor and moved the gingerbread house to the counter. I was just getting my leg propped up on the pillows when I heard the sound of a chair scraping on tile. When I looked back this is what I saw!

She managed to eat another handful of gumdrops, two gumballs, and several icicles before I moved it completely out of reach. I've pretty much been living on the couch the last couple days so I've taken to keeping both my phone and my camera by my side. We'll see what other kind of trouble she can get in before I'm off these crutches!