What a Christmas...

This was the best Christmas so far with Julia. She is old enough to enjoy opening presents and gets excited about everything that has anything to do with Christmas, and still young enough not to notice if someone gets more gifts or something she would rather have. We had a blast. Christmas takes us to three different homes each year and the transitions this year could not have been smoother. We started the morning at home and it was so nice to have the quiet, calmness and be able to really feel the spirit of Christmas. Then, on to David's parents house for a few hours. The girls had a blast with uncle Matt and uncle Daniel. This is only surprising because they only see eachother a couple of times a year. Then, on to the Fletchers for the noisiest part of Christmas with 20 some people (and yes, this is just my immediate family and their children). We finally made it home about 11 and I don't think the girls touched their pillows before falling asleep. It was a great year.


By the end of the day, Elizabeth was so tired, all she could do was lay on Chelsea's (my 8 year-old niece) shoulder.


Our family picture...pajamas, morning hair, glasses, and all...

Daniel taught Elizabeth how to say 'kitty-kat' for the first time. At least that's what he says...I have yet to hear it.

Matt sweetened the deal by giving Julia 1/2 a bag of chocolate-covered raisins...thanks Matt.

Daniel got this singing Duck for Julia. But, everytime Daniel made it sing, Elizabeth had to make out with it immediately.

I just had to mention...

A friend commented on how cute Julia's painted fingernails were in all of her pics. (You'll notice, if you ever see a picture of me, my fingernails are never painted). Julia asks at least 7 times a day for 'more flowers fingers.' This oringinates from when she was about 16 months old and I painted her toenails to keep her occupied while I did my hair for church. She looked at her toes and exclaimed, "FLOWER TOES!!!" I don't even want to correct her. It's so darn cute. So yes, her nails are always painted.

Painting cookies

I thought Julia would enjoy decorating Christmas cookies this year. And, since the mess from cutting out her own cookies last year was more than I could muster the energy for, I settled for just icing them. Then, thinking of the disaster that a 2 year old could make with colored icing and a plastic knife, I opted for sandwich baggies with the tip cut. I twisted the frosting to the corner and then tied a twistie-tie at the top so I wouldn't have to keep squishing it back down. It worked great!! Very little mess and she had a blast. She said she was 'painting cookies'. Uber-cute. And, when she was all done, i let her eat a cookie. What do you think she did? Licked the 'paint' off.

yep...sick again

When David and I got engaged, I was working at a local pharmacy. One of the techs there warned me saying, "Don't have children with that boy. He was a very sickly child." I laughed thinking she must have been exaggerating. And, even if she wasn't, my healthy genes could trump his sickly ones, right? Apparently not. Of the eight ears in our family, five of them are infected. (Neither of mine are, by the way). Elizabeth just had tubes put in her ears less than a month ago and today there was so much drainage in her ear that the doc couldn't even see her eardrum. Thanks Dave. So, we're all pretty much miserable and I use that as an excuse for a multitude of lazy happenings...that's why I haven't blogged lately, that's why I didn't make cookie plates for friends, that's why I didn't send out cards (which I never do anyway). I guess at least I have an excuse this year. Hope you all are much better than we.

first of many

Julia and David had their first daddy-daughter date tonight. David had a retirement party for a coworker and Julia got to go with him. She felt so special that she got to have time alone with daddy. They went out to eat, then to look at Christmas lights and when they got home, Julia was so happy I thought she'd never go to bed. This also afforded some time just for mommy and Elizabeth. This is a rare occurrence since Elizabeth is usually asleep anytime Julia is. Our time tonight meant that I was able to give Elizabeth a bath in the sink rather than the big tub, which is soooooo much easier. And, since Elizabeth hasn't had many sink baths, I took the opportunity to record some happy moments (and check out that hair!!) And, I had to include one of Julia rockin out on David's hand-painted guitar. David and the girls love to sit in the floor and play guitar together. Although David would argue that he doesn't 'play', he just makes noise. Either way, they have a great time.

Relief!

I've never been particularly fond of pilates. I didn't really see how stretching was terribly effective. I am growing fonder. However, today I've realized that whoever introduced 10 minute pilates for relaxation segments to the U.S. is a genius. I just relieved a headache and released a huge amount of frustration in 10 minutes. I feel like accomplishing something now whereas before the segment, I wanted to spend my kids entire nap time on the couch. I'm sold.

One of the other branches that shares our building has initiated a '23 days closer to Christ' blog. I thought this was a fabulous idea and I'm excited to put it into action. Thinking you all might like it as well, I've copied the address, http://jacksonreliefsociety.blogspot.com/2008/12/coming-tomorrow.html. Hope you enjoy.

my little mommy

Julia is in the copycat stage right now. This usually means that I am brought face to face with the worst parts of my mommyhood as she shouts at Elizabeth to 'STOP!!' when she starts whining excessively. Today though, was truly blog-worthy. I was checking my email when Elizabeth crawled in and tried to stand up using the computer desk as a prop. She concked her head and started crying. So, I picked her up and coddled her a bit, hugging, bouncing, and soothing. Julia went to her bedroom, picked up her babydoll (who she frequently puts to bed, offers a pacifier, and generally carries around mothering), brought her to the computer, whacked the dolls head on the desk, and then began bouncing, shushing, and soothing her baby. It was hilarious!!!

On a completely different note, we are officially potty-training. That's right, I can't let a post go by without some mention of gross body functions. Julia only had two accidents today and one was because daddy gave her a dissapointing look that sent her into hysterical sobbing (a story I'll address in a later post). Not bad for day 3.