It all started last Wednesday when I first heard about the potential of snow flurries. Like most native Atlantans, I didn't get too excited. I figured we'd be lucky to see a couple of flakes, especially since we'd just had a white Christmas. As the week wore on, however, the forecast looked more promising (or scarier, depending on your take). By Saturday morning, every meteorologist in the city was forecasting 3-6 inches of snow starting late Sunday night with snow and sleet continuing on Monday. I knew what had to be done and set my sights on the critical matter at hand: obtaining milk, bread, toilet paper, and junk food.
I stocked up on enough food for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks for 3-4 days. I made sure Audrey had healthy snacks and David and I had "we're-stuck-inside-and-snow-day-calories-don't-count" snacks. We spent Saturday evening at church and most of the day Sunday out and about in order to preempt cabin fever as much as possible. We closed the stores down and then came home, ate dinner, and waited. And waited. And waited. Finally, around 9:30pm, we looked out and saw the most snow falling from the sky that our southern eyes had ever seen. By 10:30pm, there was at least two inches on the ground. I was downright giddy. We stayed up and watched it, then David went to bed but I was too excited to sleep. We were going to get to keep him home the next day and make a real snowman! I sat in the playroom and looked out the front window, watching it fall and reading my book until I finally climbed into bed around 12:30am.
On Monday, we (okay, I) rushed downstairs and opened the back door to see the gorgeous piles of pure, white, fluffy snow. I got out a ruler and measured the amount on a table on our back deck - 6 inches! I took some pictures, we ate breakfast, and then Audrey and I played inside while David worked from home (stupid integrity). He finally took a break and we suited up and went outside. Audrey was less than impressed, just like with the last snow we'd had a few weeks ago. She didn't want to walk in it, and had to be held while David and I threw together a small snowman. Before we went inside, David tried to sled down the hill in the backyard using a cardboard box. Audrey burst into tears, assuming he'd either lost his mind or been seriously injured. We went in, warmed up, and built a fort out of blankets. We spent the rest of the day playing in it, and then napping, eating, and playing some more.
On Tuesday, David's office was unofficially closed again and we were determined to make the most of the rare snow. We put on our layers and dragged the laundry basket outside to pull Audrey around in. As soon as we put her in it, she said "All done! All done!" and began to cry. We stayed out a little longer, walking around and showing her all of the pretty sights. Both David and I made multiple attempts at sledding down the hill again using a storage container lid, a cardboard box, the laundry basket, and a door mat. The door mat worked best, but even that was pretty pitiful. We went inside to thaw out, feeling like snow day failures. I couldn't sit around and be unproductive for another day, so I set about cleaning out and organizing a closet and two junk drawers. When Audrey went down for her nap and David worked, I began planning her second birthday party (yes, it is five months away, but I needed a creative outlet!) When she got up, we played, cooked a big "brinner"(breakfast for dinner), and ate. After dinner, I made brownies and then we went on a stuffed animal safari with flashlights. When we'd recovered all of her bears, lambs, and the camel (from David's Israel trip), Audrey had a brownie (her first taste of chocolate) and milk before heading to bed. It was an awesome, fun, semi-productive day.
My alarm clock went off Wednesday morning and I heard the DJ say "today's commute in was far worse than Monday's or Tuesday's." Great. David had already decided to give it a while before making the call about going to work, so we got Audrey up, ate breakfast, and I put together some "fun" educational games (look for details on Imperfect Perfectionist later) while David worked. At 10am I finally caved and let Audrey watch some Little Einsteins for a minute. I was proud of myself for not resorting to television before, but enough was enough. I needed 20 minutes of peace. Around 11:30, Audrey and I walked into the office and asked David what he'd decided. He said his big afternoon meeting had been cancelled and that most of the people at work he'd talked to said they'd wished they hadn't come in because the roads were still so rough. He'd seen several neighbors attempt and fail going up the big hill outside of our house, so it was official: Day #3 of staying indoors. I must not have hidden my reaction well because he asked why I wasn't happier about it. I tried to explain that his not getting out meant that Audrey and I weren't going to get out. In addition to that, it's hard to keep Audrey away from him and quiet while he's trying to work! But, alas, we fixed leftovers for lunch, played games, and read books. When AJ went down for her nap, David went outside to scrape off the driveway. I caught up with some phone calls and then realized that I could no longer hear the sound of the shovel. Worried that he had busted his tail, I went out to check on him and found him with a dozen other neighbors working on the huge hill leading out of our neighborhood. When he came in almost an hour and a half later, he explained that people just kept coming out and joining the group. At first they were attempting to clear the whole road until David pointed out that they could probably just focus on one half. They agreed that was a good idea and finally made some progress. That's my genius husband for you. Of course he also admitted to me that he wasn't sure it was going to do any good because they were just breaking up large chunks of ice into smaller pieces that would melt and then refreeze, but he was trying to be a good neighbor. Audrey woke up, and we played, ate dinner, and watched Wheel of Fortune until her bath time. When she went to bed, David did some work and I read for a little while before we gave in and scarfed some brownies while watching tv. We are going to weigh 400 pounds before this is all over.
So that brings us to today: Day #4 of Snowmageddon 2011. David decided he was making a break for it and left for work around 9am. He got there safely and said the worst roads by far were the ones in and around our neighborhood. Since he took my car, that meant another day indoors for us girls. I decided I needed to clean out the refrigerator and spent two hours doing so, removing and scrubbing every shelf and drawer. Of course, it took that long because everything takes that long when you're simultaneously entertaining a toddler. I pulled out one of the big produce drawers, washed it, filled it with water, and let AJ play and splash her bath toys around. The amusement wore off quickly, and the remaining mess was part of the two hours it took to complete the job. I fed her a snack, let her watch another tv show (gasp), and started cleaning the downstairs. It didn't really need it, but I needed to do it. We had a dance party, a crawling race, and practiced jumping for a solid five minutes. All attempts at exercising/wearing out an 18 month old usually just result in making the adult feel tired and old and today was no exception. I took a shower, fed her lunch, and worked on cleaning some more before putting her down for a nap. The first hour of her nap was spent cleaning, the second catching up with a friend and blogging. David got home just as she was waking up and we - are you ready for this? - WENT OUT. That's right, we escaped. We broke free. We busted the joint. As I mentioned on Facebook, I hadn't been that excited since....well, since seeing snow fall on Sunday night. Funny how that works, huh? Anyway, we went to the store and got back before dark with a car full of replenishments, including coke and bread for the single lady who lives next door. (I'm proud to be married to a man who thought to go ask her and I had to brag on him.) She was so excited to make grilled cheese sandwiches. I imagine she's been jonesing for a Coke for days, poor thing. David parked at the bottom of the driveway and ferried up the bags while I fixed AJ's dinner amidst her hysterical cries for the "yellow one" (the lemon juice bottle from the fridge). David, who was still outside at the bottom of the driveway thought something was horribly wrong as her wails filled the cul-de-sac. Yeah, I'm pretty sure we're headed into the terrible twos a little early. After her fit was over, we sat down and ate dinner, played, did laundry, put AJ to bed, and are now getting ready to go to bed ourselves and dream about a warm beach.
It's been a good week and, jokes aside, it hasn't been TOO terrible being stuck indoors. Anything is better than the Valentine's Day from Hades last year (David was on the other side of the world for 2+ weeks, Audrey and I were snowed in and sick, and she wouldn't nap. I remember sitting on the bathroom floor bawling while begging God for patience and endurance. He heard and provided, because she's still alive.) After that snowed-in experience, this week seemed like a breeze! We had to cancel a few play dates and plans, but we got to spend a lot of time together in a safe, warm house. I hope you and your families enjoyed it and have stayed safe and warm!
To wrap up, here is a Snowmageddon-related Thankful Thursday list:
1. Safety and good health!
2. That David is not paid hourly, and that he works for a company that values their employees' safety and integrity to allow them to call in when they need to and not penalize them for it.
3. Our heat and power remaining on and steadfast. I can't imagine dealing with this week if we'd had outages!
4. Chocolate. Because sometimes banging your head against a wall isn't an option. I'll also add hot chocolate (and marshmallows) to this item, because I've consumed my fair share the last four days.
5. The Toddler's Busy Book that my brother and sister-in-law gave me for Christmas. We've pulled quite a few tricks out of it this week.
6. Moments that will be sweet, funny memories down the road: all of us curled up in our tent fort, Audrey crying because she thought David fell when he was sledding down the hill, brownies and stuffed animal safaris, dance parties and crawl races.
7. Productivity! I got some things accomplished that I've been putting off doing (cleaning out a closet) and some that I'll be grateful I got a head start on later (AJ's birthday party).
8. Saving money. Short of two large grocery trips and utilities, we haven't spent a cent in almost five days. We've probably saved $75 worth of gas, eating out, and impulse shopping this week!
9. Rock salt. And the fact that I'm OCD enough to have restocked it so soon after using it up at Christmas. It was completely sold out at the grocery store tonight!
10. The beautiful scenery of snow that God gave us, even if we're anxious to view it from a different location.
Tomorrow is a new day, with a high temp expected to be in the mid-forties. Look out world (a.k.a. Chick-fil-A and Hobby Lobby or Target), Audrey and I are coming!
Thankful Thursday
Thursday, January 6, 2011
1. A good 18 month check-up for AJ. She weighs almost 24 lbs. and is 32" tall, which are both around the 50th percentile (meaning she's average in height and weight).
I almost laughed out loud when the nurse asked if she knew and could say six words. I replied yes, but I was thinking "per minute, or what?" We check that off before we leave her room in the morning, lady. Just for the fun of it, I kept a running log yesterday morning. Before we walked downstairs for breakfast, she said: "yellow blanket", "airplane" then "see it?", "bless you, mommy", "elfant" (her humidifier has an elephant face), "Daddy?", "tange diaper", "clock", "pig" (for her piggy bank) "pajamoms on", "robe", "hands", "up pease", "downstairs", and "yes." I really need to start having a cup of coffee before I go get her. I am SUPER thankful for such a great talker, but sometimes it's hard to keep up!
2. Routine, routine...glorious routine. Of course I would love to have the holidays last longer and David stay home with us 24/7. However, knowing that can't happen, the last days of break had me feeling anxious and ready to get back to our normal schedule. Play dates are scheduled, errands and chores are getting done, and I'm back to exercising and a more normal diet (meaning, not counting Christmas cookies as a food group.)
3. Being all caught up on both blogs and with pictures. I get antsy when I get too far behind. Life happens quickly around here and if I don't take a minute to record it, I worry I'll forget it!
4. All of our shows being back on from winter break. For me, it goes hand in hand with the second item on the list. I only watch it about once a week, but it really bugs me when Live with Regis and Kelly isn't actually live.
5. Fish at Wal-mart. I can't stand shopping there, but every once in awhile it's a necessary evil. Being able to bribe Audrey with a visit to check them out and then watching her excitement as she studies all of the tanks is definitely the best part of the trip.
At the risk of coming close to one of those annoying "unspoken" prayer requests, please say a prayer for someone close to me that's going to be having a major medical test tomorrow. I want to protect their privacy, but I know prayer works, so please lift them up on my behalf if you think about it today.
Have a great weekend!
I almost laughed out loud when the nurse asked if she knew and could say six words. I replied yes, but I was thinking "per minute, or what?" We check that off before we leave her room in the morning, lady. Just for the fun of it, I kept a running log yesterday morning. Before we walked downstairs for breakfast, she said: "yellow blanket", "airplane" then "see it?", "bless you, mommy", "elfant" (her humidifier has an elephant face), "Daddy?", "tange diaper", "clock", "pig" (for her piggy bank) "pajamoms on", "robe", "hands", "up pease", "downstairs", and "yes." I really need to start having a cup of coffee before I go get her. I am SUPER thankful for such a great talker, but sometimes it's hard to keep up!
2. Routine, routine...glorious routine. Of course I would love to have the holidays last longer and David stay home with us 24/7. However, knowing that can't happen, the last days of break had me feeling anxious and ready to get back to our normal schedule. Play dates are scheduled, errands and chores are getting done, and I'm back to exercising and a more normal diet (meaning, not counting Christmas cookies as a food group.)
3. Being all caught up on both blogs and with pictures. I get antsy when I get too far behind. Life happens quickly around here and if I don't take a minute to record it, I worry I'll forget it!
4. All of our shows being back on from winter break. For me, it goes hand in hand with the second item on the list. I only watch it about once a week, but it really bugs me when Live with Regis and Kelly isn't actually live.
5. Fish at Wal-mart. I can't stand shopping there, but every once in awhile it's a necessary evil. Being able to bribe Audrey with a visit to check them out and then watching her excitement as she studies all of the tanks is definitely the best part of the trip.
At the risk of coming close to one of those annoying "unspoken" prayer requests, please say a prayer for someone close to me that's going to be having a major medical test tomorrow. I want to protect their privacy, but I know prayer works, so please lift them up on my behalf if you think about it today.
Have a great weekend!
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Christmas 2010 - The Weeks Before, Of, and After
Monday, January 3, 2011
You would think that since David had so much time off around the holidays that I would've posted more...or written this particular post earlier! Or maybe that I would've at least signed in for a Thankful Thursday post instead of skipping TWO in a ROW!
Instead, we were busy with prep, then celebrating, and then, when all was over, we were mostly lazy bums. And it. was. awesome. Read on for the details, or go straight to the picture gallery and see what I stayed up until 2:00am last night doing. Just be sure to come back and catch up.
Hmmm...where to begin? I guess I'll start with the Saturday before Christmas, if I can remember that far back. I did turn another year older while on hiatus, you know.
We always celebrate with David's mom's side in Alabama on the Saturday before Christmas. This year, we left the house around 10am and got there close to 11:30am. We ate lunch almost immediately and, as usual, Grandma had outdone herself with ridiculous amounts of every meat, casserole, and side dish imaginable. Audrey got to taste test a little herself this time and really enjoyed it. But then, how could she not?! We cleared the table and let Audrey begin opening her presents. She enjoyed being the center of attention way more than the actual gifts, but those were appreciated too. She got spoiled rotten by everyone: A new baby doll complete with a full head of hair to brush, an Elmo doll that has buttons/snaps/zippers, a Sit n' Spin, a Raggedy Ann doll, a giant coloring book (that Mommy and Daddy later enjoyed too), a cookie cutter/baking set, and counting cookie jar were just some of the toys she received. After she went down for a nap, David's cousins took turns opening their gifts. The biggest by far was his cousin James' new truck! It was such a sweet surprise and I'll never forget the look on Uncle Don's face when James nearly tackled him with glee. After we'd all checked it out, we came back inside and the adults did our White Elephant game. We did three rounds: one for girls, one for guys, and a gag one for everyone. There was only minimal stealing, but there were a lot of laughs and we ended up with some great stuff. Audrey woke up from her nap and, after an obligatory homemade roll, really started putting on a show for everyone. We finally got her settled down enough to strap into the car seat and drove home around 5:30pm. My only regret was that we don't get to spend more time with them. How blessed I am to get to say that about in-laws!
On Sunday we ran some errands and then I spent a lot of time baking while David did yard work. It has always been a Martha Stewartesque dream of mine to deliver cookies around Christmastime. Since I was more on my game this year and actually had a spare minute on my hands, I decided to go for it. I packaged them all up with a thank you note and a little info card from our church. On Monday, I loaded Audrey and our cookies up and drove down to the local fire station about two miles from our house. We gave the tins to a young fireman who seemed genuinely touched (and kept calling me "Ma'am", but I'm sure it was out of respect and had nothing to do with age). We rushed back home in time to meet the garbage men and the mail lady to give them their treats. They also seemed super grateful. Of course, by that point, they hadn't actually tasted the cookies yet. Still, though, it was exciting and fun. I don't share all this to brag, but to remind myself and others how sometimes it is the super cheesy "does-anybody-really-still-do-that?!" kinda stuff that make the holidays so special. I was way more blessed by giving that day than they were with my measly ol' cookies.
On Tuesday I had a dentist appointment, so David's mom came over and kept Audrey while I went to that and ran a couple of errands. Lest I paint too stress-free of a picture of our holidays: the printer at Wolf Camera was down when I desperately needed some pics made, the dentist didn't have my next set of trays ready so the drive and appointment were unnecessary, and I went to three stores trying to find a last minute gift only to come up empty handed. Instead of letting it get to me, though, I cranked up the Christmas music and waved my white flag of surrender all the way to the nail salon. I got a pedicure while writing Audrey's 18 month update. That night, Audrey and I went to another Wolf and then tracked down that final gift. The day turned out great.
Wednesday was nuts. I woke up bright and early and spent 20 minutes writing out my two page grocery shopping list. After we spent an hour at Publix, for which Audrey was an angel, we came home and I spent at least 45 minutes putting it all away. All that time and I hadn't even preheated the oven yet! I wasn't even making anything big or special! How on earth do people enjoy cooking? The planning, shopping, prepping, cooking, and then cleaning up....ugg! After we got everything all put up, I began cleaning the house and preparing it for company. When David got home we, laughably, ordered a pizza and packed for his parents' house.
On Thursday we loaded up our sleigh and drove to his folks' to celebrate with them and David's dad's side of the family. Audrey looked adorable in her fancy Christmas dress. (There was no way I was going to let it get only twenty minutes of wear for a tearful Santa picture.) We got there around 11am and played until it was time to eat. And eat. And eat. When she went down for her nap, the adults opened our gifts (we'd drawn names) and oohed over everyone's loot. We got a card game going, pool was played, and stories were shared...some we'd all heard before, but those are the best ones. I remember having a "it's finally here" Christmas moment. After AJ woke up, it was more playtime and more eating. After everyone had left, she opened her big gift from her grandparents: an adorable little play kitchen. She loved it and said "Oh WOW!" We ate quite a lot more that night, but thankfully most of it was pretend food she cooked up for us. After she went to bed, David and I exchanged gifts with his parents and then we crashed, feeling spoiled rotten.
On Friday we got up and ate a delicious breakfast and then let Audrey finish opening gifts from her grandparents. She loved it all - the new toy guitar, books, clothes, and the interactive stuffed dog that barks and sings with certain cues from a storybook. She was more into opening things this year than she was last year, but still didn't quite understand the whole concept. I was fine with that, as I'm sure the lectures on gratitude are coming. We ate lunch, took a few more pictures, and loaded up our sleigh, this time with goodies for us to keep. I pulled out every trick in the book trying to keep her awake on the ride home so she'd nap when she arrived. It worked (barely) and David and I unpacked, put everything away, and if I remember correctly, took a short catnap ourselves.
We woke up from our naps and played before cooking our traditional Christmas Eve dinner of tacos (I have no idea when or why this started, but sometime before we were even married, we declared it and have enjoyed it ever since.) We set down as a family, thanked God for the sweet season, and stuffed ourselves. After we gave Audrey a bath, we put her in her new Christmas pajamas and let her open one present: a tiny "See and Say" replica ornament, which is another tradition we started with her last year. Eventually she'll catch on that her Christmas Eve present is always going to be a boring old ornament, but hopefully one day she'll appreciate the thought that went into choosing something to commemorate her year. We let her help hang up her stocking and put out cookies and milk for Santa, then we read the Night Before Christmas and the Bible story of Christ's birth. We tucked her in and spent a little while tidying up and getting things ready for my family's visit so we wouldn't be so busy the next day. We worked together cleaning and polishing most of the hardwood floors (why we chose Christmas Eve to do this, I don't know) and then sank into the couch, tired, but so glad to be home and warm and well. Around 11pm, we got things ready for Santa's arrival and quickly went to bed...in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.
On Saturday morning, David and I woke up giddy. The only thing that comes close to being a kid at Christmastime is having a kid at Christmastime. We got ready and I threw some cinnamon rolls in the oven. We went upstairs and got Audrey out of her crib, realizing that next year she'd likely be running in our room waking us up. I sat at the top of the stairs with her, letting her snack on Cheerios while David started a fire and set up the video camera. (My brothers and I always had to wait at the top of the stairs until we received the go-ahead from Mom and Dad. I fully intend to put her through the same torture.) When everything was ready, we came down and let her check out her loot from Santa: a new just-her-size chair, the book How the Grinch Stole Christmas and a stuffed dog Max, a ride-on, a reusable sticker set, and a Matchominoes game. She said "Oh Wow!" and began checking it all out. We let her play a few minutes and then sat down for breakfast. After we ate, we let her open her stocking. There was a jingle bell stick, a Veggie Tales DVD, and a toy microphone with a recorded message from Santa! She accidentally erased it and after the thousandth time of her asking "Clause?", we put it away and promised we'd try it again after her nap. She "helped" us open our stockings and then we played with some of her toys for awhile.
By the time lunch rolled around, Audrey had unwrapped the clock (see pic in gallery for details), books, and Rolling Acres small ramp toy from us. After we ate, we let her open her biggest and last gift from us - a Little People house. She loved it and we spent almost half an hour playing with it before we put her down for a nap. We cleaned up, checked in with family, and opened our gifts from each other. D gave me an iHome dual docking station alarm clock and some great camera gear including a lens hood and a remote to take pictures on the tripod. I gave him a a Tech running shirt, a toy Blizzard maker, and tickets to see the Blue Man Group. It was great!
I got started making dinner and dessert and before we knew it, Audrey was awake and my brother, sister-in-law, and niece were on their way over. The snow had finally begun to fall at our house (it took so long to start that I wondered if we were really going to have a white Christmas) and it was beautiful! They arrived safely around 5:30 and we visited, ate a big spaghetti dinner, and let the girls dance and play until bedtime. We got them settled in, sat down with massive servings of my oreo cake, and watched Elf. I started editing and organizing pictures and Kim fell asleep at some point, but it was wonderful to all be in the same room with a warm fire, a beautiful Christmas tree, and family. We put ourselves to bed around 11pm and I fell asleep happy that our house was full and excited about the next day.
Sunday morning dawned and I went downstairs to find my brother and niece already awake (she's a very early riser, unfortunately for them). Before long, the rest of the house slowly began to stir and we all got dressed while continuing to check weather and traffic reports. We knew that if everyone could just get to the interstates, they'd be okay. It was a slippery trip, but they made it. The hours that followed were a frenzy of wrapping paper, food, laughter, and picture taking. This was the first Christmas without my grandmother and we all felt her absence immensely. Of course, there was hardly a dull, quiet moment to dwell on that with three toddlers running around. The kids were so much fun to watch and we tried to soak it all in. She would've loved it. My favorite moments were watching everyone open their gifts, especially when my parents opened the pictures all nine of us had done at a studio without them knowing. We got some wonderful things (really! No returns this year!), and greatly appreciate everyone's thoughtful generosity.
Before we knew it, it was dark and time for all to make their treks home. When I closed the door after helping my Mom out (who refused to spend the night despite our nagging), the house was sadly quiet. It had been an amazing day, but it had gone entirely too fast. We fed Audrey, gave her a bath, read our last Christmas library book, and tucked her in. We put our feet up and I tried to push away that awful "I can't believe it's all over" feeling. All of that prep work for hosting...all of that excitement about having everyone over...and it was here and gone before I could even catch my breath. Still, everything was amazing and I know it'll be a Christmas I'll never forget.
The week that followed was full of fun and laziness, with very little productivity. On Monday, we bundled Audrey up and played in the snow. She was less than impressed and it didn't last too long. She likes admiring it from inside a warm house, just like her Momma. We had a blast playing with all of her new toys and only left the house for a quick trip to the store, mainly just to fight the cabin fever that was setting in.
Audrey spent the night at David's parents' house on Tuesday and we had an early birthday celebration with a delicious dinner at Bonefish. We were complete and total bums the next day, sleeping in until a whopping 8:30am. We lounged around and played UpWords, watched some of the Band of Brothers BluRay set my brother had given David, and didn't bother going anywhere until we made a quick trip to the mall before meeting the three of them for dinner to get AJ. It was luxurious. She came home to two very refreshed parents!
On my birthday, we got up and ate breakfast before heading out to stroll around the bookstore and craft store (two of my favorites)! We ate lunch at Chick-fil-A (another favorite), stopped by the grocery store (later discovering it was for a cake), and went home for family nap time. When we woke up, I'd gotten a sweet Edible Arrangement fruit basket that included chocolate covered strawberries from my dad. After taste tasting a little, I opened my gift from David (a picture scanner) and when Audrey woke up, I opened a sweet card and gift from her. She loves playing with my measuring cups and has misplaced my 1/4 cup, which happens to have a red "1/4 cup" label on it. She now looks for what she calls the "red one" every time she opens that cabinet, to no avail of course. When I opened the package from her, there was a new set of measuring cups with a note that read "Dear Mommy, Sorry about the red one. Love, Audrey." Melt my heart. The day ended with delicious pizza from our favorite place, a ride in the car to check out Christmas lights, and Publix birthday cake. Perfection.
On Friday, we headed over to a friend's house to hang out and have lunch. We met them a few years ago at church and reconnected at birthing class before our daughters were born (they have a daughter who is three weeks older than Audrey). We talked nonstop, let the girls play while interjecting constant "share" reminders, and enjoyed a delicious lunch before driving home. I can't remember, but I'm pretty sure that afternoon included another nap. We knew we were going to be staying up until midnight, after all. The warm weather was so nice that we decided to go for a very short-lived run before dinner. It felt so good. We ate together and after putting Audrey to bed, we started undecorating the big Christmas tree while watching another Band of Brothers. We went upstairs at 11:45, watched the countdown, kissed, and were asleep by 12:10. Last year we didn't even stay awake, so we're getting better.
New Year's Day was cold and rainy, which was fine for staying indoors and taking all of the decorations down. We spent most of the day packing it up and got dressed for our first Saturday evening service at church. Audrey didn't cry when we dropped her off at nursery, and we enjoyed a great worship service and message. We picked her up and stopped by Five Guys for dinner on the way home.
Sunday was sad, with a giant "reality is coming" cloud looming over us. We finished packing away all of the Christmas decorations and took a trip to the library to get Audrey some new non-Christmas books. We snuck in one more nap (hopefully you're not counting, because I think we officially crossed the threshold of being bums) and then David and Audrey ran to the grocery store while I began the daunting task of uploading pictures. I finished the Facebook album and paused for dinner, AJ's bedtime routine, and another Band of Brothers viewing. When David went to bed, I stayed up and finished the Picasa gallery, so don't forget to go view them!
This morning dawned early and came on strong, but so did my resolve to get back into a routine, eat something other than total junk (I dare you to count my food references in this post), start my work-outs back up, and quit those afternoon naps. I wouldn't call those resolutions. They were more just requirements of getting readjusted to the real world. The world where I don't have David's help all day nor eat leftover birthday cake every night. Thankfully, I succeeded at all but one of goals for the day. I won't say which one, but I must confess I'm not all that tired right now.
It was a wonderful few weeks full of the people and things we loved and lots of downtime. I feel so blessed to have shared it all with such great family and friends. I'm especially thankful that we all stayed well and safe. I hope you and your family enjoyed it as much as we did. Only 11.75 months to go. :)
Instead, we were busy with prep, then celebrating, and then, when all was over, we were mostly lazy bums. And it. was. awesome. Read on for the details, or go straight to the picture gallery and see what I stayed up until 2:00am last night doing. Just be sure to come back and catch up.
Hmmm...where to begin? I guess I'll start with the Saturday before Christmas, if I can remember that far back. I did turn another year older while on hiatus, you know.
We always celebrate with David's mom's side in Alabama on the Saturday before Christmas. This year, we left the house around 10am and got there close to 11:30am. We ate lunch almost immediately and, as usual, Grandma had outdone herself with ridiculous amounts of every meat, casserole, and side dish imaginable. Audrey got to taste test a little herself this time and really enjoyed it. But then, how could she not?! We cleared the table and let Audrey begin opening her presents. She enjoyed being the center of attention way more than the actual gifts, but those were appreciated too. She got spoiled rotten by everyone: A new baby doll complete with a full head of hair to brush, an Elmo doll that has buttons/snaps/zippers, a Sit n' Spin, a Raggedy Ann doll, a giant coloring book (that Mommy and Daddy later enjoyed too), a cookie cutter/baking set, and counting cookie jar were just some of the toys she received. After she went down for a nap, David's cousins took turns opening their gifts. The biggest by far was his cousin James' new truck! It was such a sweet surprise and I'll never forget the look on Uncle Don's face when James nearly tackled him with glee. After we'd all checked it out, we came back inside and the adults did our White Elephant game. We did three rounds: one for girls, one for guys, and a gag one for everyone. There was only minimal stealing, but there were a lot of laughs and we ended up with some great stuff. Audrey woke up from her nap and, after an obligatory homemade roll, really started putting on a show for everyone. We finally got her settled down enough to strap into the car seat and drove home around 5:30pm. My only regret was that we don't get to spend more time with them. How blessed I am to get to say that about in-laws!
On Sunday we ran some errands and then I spent a lot of time baking while David did yard work. It has always been a Martha Stewartesque dream of mine to deliver cookies around Christmastime. Since I was more on my game this year and actually had a spare minute on my hands, I decided to go for it. I packaged them all up with a thank you note and a little info card from our church. On Monday, I loaded Audrey and our cookies up and drove down to the local fire station about two miles from our house. We gave the tins to a young fireman who seemed genuinely touched (and kept calling me "Ma'am", but I'm sure it was out of respect and had nothing to do with age). We rushed back home in time to meet the garbage men and the mail lady to give them their treats. They also seemed super grateful. Of course, by that point, they hadn't actually tasted the cookies yet. Still, though, it was exciting and fun. I don't share all this to brag, but to remind myself and others how sometimes it is the super cheesy "does-anybody-really-still-do-that?!" kinda stuff that make the holidays so special. I was way more blessed by giving that day than they were with my measly ol' cookies.
On Tuesday I had a dentist appointment, so David's mom came over and kept Audrey while I went to that and ran a couple of errands. Lest I paint too stress-free of a picture of our holidays: the printer at Wolf Camera was down when I desperately needed some pics made, the dentist didn't have my next set of trays ready so the drive and appointment were unnecessary, and I went to three stores trying to find a last minute gift only to come up empty handed. Instead of letting it get to me, though, I cranked up the Christmas music and waved my white flag of surrender all the way to the nail salon. I got a pedicure while writing Audrey's 18 month update. That night, Audrey and I went to another Wolf and then tracked down that final gift. The day turned out great.
Wednesday was nuts. I woke up bright and early and spent 20 minutes writing out my two page grocery shopping list. After we spent an hour at Publix, for which Audrey was an angel, we came home and I spent at least 45 minutes putting it all away. All that time and I hadn't even preheated the oven yet! I wasn't even making anything big or special! How on earth do people enjoy cooking? The planning, shopping, prepping, cooking, and then cleaning up....ugg! After we got everything all put up, I began cleaning the house and preparing it for company. When David got home we, laughably, ordered a pizza and packed for his parents' house.
On Thursday we loaded up our sleigh and drove to his folks' to celebrate with them and David's dad's side of the family. Audrey looked adorable in her fancy Christmas dress. (There was no way I was going to let it get only twenty minutes of wear for a tearful Santa picture.) We got there around 11am and played until it was time to eat. And eat. And eat. When she went down for her nap, the adults opened our gifts (we'd drawn names) and oohed over everyone's loot. We got a card game going, pool was played, and stories were shared...some we'd all heard before, but those are the best ones. I remember having a "it's finally here" Christmas moment. After AJ woke up, it was more playtime and more eating. After everyone had left, she opened her big gift from her grandparents: an adorable little play kitchen. She loved it and said "Oh WOW!" We ate quite a lot more that night, but thankfully most of it was pretend food she cooked up for us. After she went to bed, David and I exchanged gifts with his parents and then we crashed, feeling spoiled rotten.
On Friday we got up and ate a delicious breakfast and then let Audrey finish opening gifts from her grandparents. She loved it all - the new toy guitar, books, clothes, and the interactive stuffed dog that barks and sings with certain cues from a storybook. She was more into opening things this year than she was last year, but still didn't quite understand the whole concept. I was fine with that, as I'm sure the lectures on gratitude are coming. We ate lunch, took a few more pictures, and loaded up our sleigh, this time with goodies for us to keep. I pulled out every trick in the book trying to keep her awake on the ride home so she'd nap when she arrived. It worked (barely) and David and I unpacked, put everything away, and if I remember correctly, took a short catnap ourselves.
We woke up from our naps and played before cooking our traditional Christmas Eve dinner of tacos (I have no idea when or why this started, but sometime before we were even married, we declared it and have enjoyed it ever since.) We set down as a family, thanked God for the sweet season, and stuffed ourselves. After we gave Audrey a bath, we put her in her new Christmas pajamas and let her open one present: a tiny "See and Say" replica ornament, which is another tradition we started with her last year. Eventually she'll catch on that her Christmas Eve present is always going to be a boring old ornament, but hopefully one day she'll appreciate the thought that went into choosing something to commemorate her year. We let her help hang up her stocking and put out cookies and milk for Santa, then we read the Night Before Christmas and the Bible story of Christ's birth. We tucked her in and spent a little while tidying up and getting things ready for my family's visit so we wouldn't be so busy the next day. We worked together cleaning and polishing most of the hardwood floors (why we chose Christmas Eve to do this, I don't know) and then sank into the couch, tired, but so glad to be home and warm and well. Around 11pm, we got things ready for Santa's arrival and quickly went to bed...in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.
On Saturday morning, David and I woke up giddy. The only thing that comes close to being a kid at Christmastime is having a kid at Christmastime. We got ready and I threw some cinnamon rolls in the oven. We went upstairs and got Audrey out of her crib, realizing that next year she'd likely be running in our room waking us up. I sat at the top of the stairs with her, letting her snack on Cheerios while David started a fire and set up the video camera. (My brothers and I always had to wait at the top of the stairs until we received the go-ahead from Mom and Dad. I fully intend to put her through the same torture.) When everything was ready, we came down and let her check out her loot from Santa: a new just-her-size chair, the book How the Grinch Stole Christmas and a stuffed dog Max, a ride-on, a reusable sticker set, and a Matchominoes game. She said "Oh Wow!" and began checking it all out. We let her play a few minutes and then sat down for breakfast. After we ate, we let her open her stocking. There was a jingle bell stick, a Veggie Tales DVD, and a toy microphone with a recorded message from Santa! She accidentally erased it and after the thousandth time of her asking "Clause?", we put it away and promised we'd try it again after her nap. She "helped" us open our stockings and then we played with some of her toys for awhile.
By the time lunch rolled around, Audrey had unwrapped the clock (see pic in gallery for details), books, and Rolling Acres small ramp toy from us. After we ate, we let her open her biggest and last gift from us - a Little People house. She loved it and we spent almost half an hour playing with it before we put her down for a nap. We cleaned up, checked in with family, and opened our gifts from each other. D gave me an iHome dual docking station alarm clock and some great camera gear including a lens hood and a remote to take pictures on the tripod. I gave him a a Tech running shirt, a toy Blizzard maker, and tickets to see the Blue Man Group. It was great!
I got started making dinner and dessert and before we knew it, Audrey was awake and my brother, sister-in-law, and niece were on their way over. The snow had finally begun to fall at our house (it took so long to start that I wondered if we were really going to have a white Christmas) and it was beautiful! They arrived safely around 5:30 and we visited, ate a big spaghetti dinner, and let the girls dance and play until bedtime. We got them settled in, sat down with massive servings of my oreo cake, and watched Elf. I started editing and organizing pictures and Kim fell asleep at some point, but it was wonderful to all be in the same room with a warm fire, a beautiful Christmas tree, and family. We put ourselves to bed around 11pm and I fell asleep happy that our house was full and excited about the next day.
Sunday morning dawned and I went downstairs to find my brother and niece already awake (she's a very early riser, unfortunately for them). Before long, the rest of the house slowly began to stir and we all got dressed while continuing to check weather and traffic reports. We knew that if everyone could just get to the interstates, they'd be okay. It was a slippery trip, but they made it. The hours that followed were a frenzy of wrapping paper, food, laughter, and picture taking. This was the first Christmas without my grandmother and we all felt her absence immensely. Of course, there was hardly a dull, quiet moment to dwell on that with three toddlers running around. The kids were so much fun to watch and we tried to soak it all in. She would've loved it. My favorite moments were watching everyone open their gifts, especially when my parents opened the pictures all nine of us had done at a studio without them knowing. We got some wonderful things (really! No returns this year!), and greatly appreciate everyone's thoughtful generosity.
Before we knew it, it was dark and time for all to make their treks home. When I closed the door after helping my Mom out (who refused to spend the night despite our nagging), the house was sadly quiet. It had been an amazing day, but it had gone entirely too fast. We fed Audrey, gave her a bath, read our last Christmas library book, and tucked her in. We put our feet up and I tried to push away that awful "I can't believe it's all over" feeling. All of that prep work for hosting...all of that excitement about having everyone over...and it was here and gone before I could even catch my breath. Still, everything was amazing and I know it'll be a Christmas I'll never forget.
The week that followed was full of fun and laziness, with very little productivity. On Monday, we bundled Audrey up and played in the snow. She was less than impressed and it didn't last too long. She likes admiring it from inside a warm house, just like her Momma. We had a blast playing with all of her new toys and only left the house for a quick trip to the store, mainly just to fight the cabin fever that was setting in.
Audrey spent the night at David's parents' house on Tuesday and we had an early birthday celebration with a delicious dinner at Bonefish. We were complete and total bums the next day, sleeping in until a whopping 8:30am. We lounged around and played UpWords, watched some of the Band of Brothers BluRay set my brother had given David, and didn't bother going anywhere until we made a quick trip to the mall before meeting the three of them for dinner to get AJ. It was luxurious. She came home to two very refreshed parents!
On my birthday, we got up and ate breakfast before heading out to stroll around the bookstore and craft store (two of my favorites)! We ate lunch at Chick-fil-A (another favorite), stopped by the grocery store (later discovering it was for a cake), and went home for family nap time. When we woke up, I'd gotten a sweet Edible Arrangement fruit basket that included chocolate covered strawberries from my dad. After taste tasting a little, I opened my gift from David (a picture scanner) and when Audrey woke up, I opened a sweet card and gift from her. She loves playing with my measuring cups and has misplaced my 1/4 cup, which happens to have a red "1/4 cup" label on it. She now looks for what she calls the "red one" every time she opens that cabinet, to no avail of course. When I opened the package from her, there was a new set of measuring cups with a note that read "Dear Mommy, Sorry about the red one. Love, Audrey." Melt my heart. The day ended with delicious pizza from our favorite place, a ride in the car to check out Christmas lights, and Publix birthday cake. Perfection.
On Friday, we headed over to a friend's house to hang out and have lunch. We met them a few years ago at church and reconnected at birthing class before our daughters were born (they have a daughter who is three weeks older than Audrey). We talked nonstop, let the girls play while interjecting constant "share" reminders, and enjoyed a delicious lunch before driving home. I can't remember, but I'm pretty sure that afternoon included another nap. We knew we were going to be staying up until midnight, after all. The warm weather was so nice that we decided to go for a very short-lived run before dinner. It felt so good. We ate together and after putting Audrey to bed, we started undecorating the big Christmas tree while watching another Band of Brothers. We went upstairs at 11:45, watched the countdown, kissed, and were asleep by 12:10. Last year we didn't even stay awake, so we're getting better.
New Year's Day was cold and rainy, which was fine for staying indoors and taking all of the decorations down. We spent most of the day packing it up and got dressed for our first Saturday evening service at church. Audrey didn't cry when we dropped her off at nursery, and we enjoyed a great worship service and message. We picked her up and stopped by Five Guys for dinner on the way home.
Sunday was sad, with a giant "reality is coming" cloud looming over us. We finished packing away all of the Christmas decorations and took a trip to the library to get Audrey some new non-Christmas books. We snuck in one more nap (hopefully you're not counting, because I think we officially crossed the threshold of being bums) and then David and Audrey ran to the grocery store while I began the daunting task of uploading pictures. I finished the Facebook album and paused for dinner, AJ's bedtime routine, and another Band of Brothers viewing. When David went to bed, I stayed up and finished the Picasa gallery, so don't forget to go view them!
This morning dawned early and came on strong, but so did my resolve to get back into a routine, eat something other than total junk (I dare you to count my food references in this post), start my work-outs back up, and quit those afternoon naps. I wouldn't call those resolutions. They were more just requirements of getting readjusted to the real world. The world where I don't have David's help all day nor eat leftover birthday cake every night. Thankfully, I succeeded at all but one of goals for the day. I won't say which one, but I must confess I'm not all that tired right now.
It was a wonderful few weeks full of the people and things we loved and lots of downtime. I feel so blessed to have shared it all with such great family and friends. I'm especially thankful that we all stayed well and safe. I hope you and your family enjoyed it as much as we did. Only 11.75 months to go. :)
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18 Months Old
Monday, December 20, 2010
My oh my. I cannot believe I haven't written an update post in three months! I've put in little tidbits and stories and written a lot about our travels, but has it really been three months since I've detailed what AJ is into? Oops!
So, with fair warning, here comes some major proud Mama bragging:
I reread the 15 month post and it's hard to believe how much has changed just since then. We are well past the point where I can list all the words she can say, because there are just too many to count! I read somewhere that at 18 months they are learning and committing a new word to memory every 90 minutes. I believe it! She is surprising us with at least 3-4 new words a day. And she repeats them over and over until you figure out what she's saying. Sometimes we win, sometimes we have to try and distract her.
Some of her latest and most adorable words and phrases are "pajamas" (this comes out sounding like pumjumoms), "Big girl" (when doing something "mature", such as sitting on the couch or taking a bath in the big tub for the first time), "Right back" (she'll say as she's leaving the room), "Dare she is" (when she finds something or someone, regardless of gender) and “You alright” (she’ll tell herself if she’s bumped her head). One of my favorite things she says is “All Gong” because of the soft “G” sound she puts on the end of “Gone.” We work a lot on repeating pronunciation, but that one I’m leaving alone for now. It’s just too cute.
Some of her latest and most adorable words and phrases are "pajamas" (this comes out sounding like pumjumoms), "Big girl" (when doing something "mature", such as sitting on the couch or taking a bath in the big tub for the first time), "Right back" (she'll say as she's leaving the room), "Dare she is" (when she finds something or someone, regardless of gender) and “You alright” (she’ll tell herself if she’s bumped her head). One of my favorite things she says is “All Gong” because of the soft “G” sound she puts on the end of “Gone.” We work a lot on repeating pronunciation, but that one I’m leaving alone for now. It’s just too cute.
Her comprehension of verbs, especially similar ones, is amazing too. For example, she'll use bring vs. take, fell vs. drop, and have vs. do correctly most of the time. And believe me, "Audrey do it" is an extremely common phrase around here nowadays! Thankfully “Mommy do it” is still pretty popular, too. She is also learning big vs. small and can tell you which object is big or "mall."
With all of these new verbal skills, she has begun to put together simple sentences: “Mommy change Audrey diaper” or “Audrey carry drink” or “Show Daddy _____” (baby, leaf, whatever), and “Mommy sit down.” She also answers basic questions. “What should Mommy wear today?” is usually answered with “Pants”. The cutest is when she’ll request something repeatedly “Color? Color? Color?” and then we’ll say “Would you like to color?” and she’ll answer, “Okay!” or “Sure!” as if we came up with the idea instead of her.
She knows her alphabet A-Z and can say it and point/pick out all of the letters. We had to work hard for about a week to get "LMNOP" all in without skipping any, but she's got it down now. She can also make a lot of the letter sounds. I hope to work with her more on those and lowercase letters after Christmas.
Animal noises are so old news. Now she refers to most of them by name and will even note whether or not they have a tail, what color they are, if they're soft, etc. She still loves watching our neighbors’ cats when they come through the backyard and will hold her sippy cup up to the window as if offering them a drink while telling me whether they're black or white.
And speaking of colors - they came out of nowhere! We have been naming them from Day 1, but haven't purposefully worked with her on them. Nonetheless, it seemed like one day she just started saying them and now she knows about ten. She even understands the concepts of "shades" as she proved when I was wearing a navy shirt under my light blue robe. She pointed and said "Blue, blue. One, two blues." I think she already has most guys beat in that department!
She can name most shapes and can easily put them all into her shape ball now without much help from us. She'll say "almost" to herself as she works to get them oriented the right way then usually gives herself a hand and a "Yay Audrey" when she's finished. (Sometimes if Mommy and Daddy are playing too, we'll get a "Yay Mommy!" or "Yay Daddy! Good job!" from her. So cute!) She also knows numbers 1-13, though 11 usually gets skipped. She loves counting so much that what begins as actual counting often ends up just reciting the numbers she knows.
Schedule-wise, she/I are still pretty rigid, but I feel that that actually allows us more flexibility and dependability. I know when/where/what we can do because she's so predictable and she can handle the occasional interruption and flow with it because she knows it's temporary. She wakes up at 8am, has a snack at 10:30am, eats lunch around 12:30pm, naps from 2 – 4:30ish, has a snack when she gets up, eats dinner around 6:30pm, and goes to bed around 8:30pm.
Like her parents, she enjoys most all food. She still hasn’t had strawberries, chocolate, much seafood, or peanuts/peanut butter. I also have yet to give her French fries, cookies, or many other treats and sweets, but she does love the occasional fried chicken nugget from Chick-fil-A or a lick of their ice dream cone. She is getting better at feeding herself with utensils, but I must admit that we mainly stick to cut-up finger foods for the sake of time/cleanliness.
Her favorite toys by far are still books. She will get one and "read" it aloud which is hilarious hearing her make up words and sounds. There are one or two that she really can name every word on every page (Sandra Boynton "Opposites"). We've read it to her so many times that she's memorized it.
She also loves her baby dolls and her Little People sets. She has a nativity one and I cannot tell you how precious it is to hear her say "Jesus?! Jesus?!" as she's hunting for the baby Jesus. The other day she was sifting through basket where we keep it and said, “trough” as she held up the animals’ feeding trough. It took me by surprise and I cracked up, which got her cracking up, of course. Apparently David had taught her that one.
We do let her watch a little television now (bad Mommy, I know! We really try to keep it to about one 20 minute show 3-4 times a week at most plus a few nights of Wheel of Fortune, of course.) Little Einsteins is her favorite and she requests it by name and quotes parts of it throughout the day.
Her manners are coming along well, too, thankfully. I must hear "Up, please" at least a thousand times a day! "Scuse me" is my favorite, mainly because she'll say it as she is lightly butting you out of her way. We're still working on "Thank you" and are now introducing "Ma’am" and "Sir."
I have continued to try and involve her in little chores around the house in the hopes that she’ll develop a spirit of service. She loves to match socks from the laundry, stir things when I’m cooking, and (usually) to help pick up her toys at the end of the day. Side note: Baby Center.com posted the results of a study about toddlers helping that I found really interesting. In the overwhelming majority of cases, if a toddler saw an adult struggling to complete a task (i.e. stacking books) they would quickly and eagerly pitch in and help. If, however, the adult did it without a problem, the toddler was less likely to assist, even if asked for help. Seems like we all need to be needed from a very young age! So, though it may take two or three times as long, I really try to let her help me as often as I can.
She is still a little shy when first meeting people, but warms up much more quickly than she used to. She remembers faces very well, even if weeks pass in between visits. We still hear quite a lot about Brian, Kimmy, and “Leese” from our Savannah trip and rarely a day goes by that all four grandparents aren’t brought up.
Here are a few other cute quips about our big girl:
- In the grocery store the other day, an older lady stopped by to fuss over her. When she walked away, Audrey pointed to herself, grinned, and said, “cute.”
- Sometimes she gets on a greeting kick, saying hello to everything. "Hi milk." "Hi sofa."
"Hi chair." "Hi brush." When she's really feeling friendly, she'll throw in a little wave.
- Sometimes she gets on a greeting kick, saying hello to everything. "Hi milk." "Hi sofa."
"Hi chair." "Hi brush." When she's really feeling friendly, she'll throw in a little wave.
- This morning, she asked where Daddy was. I explained that he was at work, but that soon he was going to be off for vacation and would get to spend lots of time with us at home. “Isn’t that wonderful?” I said. She nodded and very clearly said, “Treat.” Indeed, it will be a treat!
- We’ve been singing a lot of Christmas carols this past month, with Jingle Bells being a common request. She can’t quite keep up with all of the words, but she’ll say “Hey” and “Ha, ha, ha” at the appropriate times. She also loves to dance to them...foot stomping optional.
- In addition to hugging and kissing on her stuffed animals herself, she’s started to have them hug and kiss each other. The objects involved don’t always make sense, though. The other day she gave her coat a kiss and tonight her hat gave her lamb a kiss.
- I can’t remember if I shared this one, but it’s so cute it’s worth writing again. A few weeks ago, she had a cold. One night I heard her through the monitor as she sneezed. It was followed by a very faint and sleepy “Bless you” to herself. Precious!
I've saved the absolute best for last: About two weeks ago, she began saying "Yuv (love) you, Mommy" or "Yuv you, Daddy" totally unprompted and spontaneously. It is the SWEETEST thing I have ever heard and it melts me.
Yuv you, Audrey. Happy 18 Month Birthday, Sugar.
(P.S. Check out the two newest albums in the gallery. One is random pictures and visits with friends/family for her 16th - 18th months and the other is Christmas activities and family celebrations...more to be added to that one soon!)
(P.S. Check out the two newest albums in the gallery. One is random pictures and visits with friends/family for her 16th - 18th months and the other is Christmas activities and family celebrations...more to be added to that one soon!)
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Thankful Thursday
Thursday, December 16, 2010
1. My Dad, whose birthday is today. The older I get, the more I realize what a great Dad he was (is) and the more I appreciate all he's done (does) for me (all of us). Though David has long taken over first place as the main man in my life, he's a very formidable and close second. Love you, Dad!
2. The cold weather. (And indoor play dates!) Yes, it's been a bit too cold for my taste, but I would much prefer these temps than to have it be warm at Christmastime. I love it cold between mid-November and New Year's. Beyond that, bring on the 70s!
3. New pictures in frames. I decided we were long overdue for updating some pictures around the house, so I replaced/put up 40+ new pics (most in collage frames) a little over a week ago and am currently working on updating our digital frame that hasn't had a new file in it in years. I love walking around the house and seeing these cute and beautiful little pieces of art, even if I was insane to take it on during the holiday season. It's finished now and it looks great!
4. Being a part of a church where God is doing big things:
http://www.ajc.com/news/gwinnett/lawrenceville-church-plans-to-771320.html
5. Enjoying the season! I promised myself I was not going to be in the same boat this Christmas season as I was last year. I think it was a mix of Audrey's age plus David pulling really, really long hours, but last December was a stressed-out, frantic mess that we barely enjoyed. (I just reread the posts from a year ago and remember how nuts it was!)
So, this year I have busted my tail to be finished shopping/wrapping/decorating early. Maybe not as early as I had it done pre-Audrey, but still early enough. I have forced myself to turn down things and invitations that would've been fun, but that would've meant less family/down-time. I've even taken a few short-cuts that no one but me noticed anyway. My family may be a little disappointed in the lack of photo calendars and homemade applesauce (sorry, y'all) but I'm willing to bet they'd rather me spend that time and energy soaking up this most wonderful time of year.
All of this reorganization of priorities has resulted in an awesome season full of simple pleasures. In fact, one of the highlights of my life was snuggling with David and Audrey, eating pizza, and watching the original Grinch movie the other night. I've seriously dreamed of doing that since I was a little girl watching The Grinch myself. I've gotten to have lunch with both my parents, dinner and a light show with my in-laws, and caught up with friends over meals and way-too-much dessert. We have even watched a few Christmas movies that we've owned for years and just now opened.
I am so grateful that we've had some real quality time to spend together doing fun things. I know what a rarity that is this time of year. Hopefully you're able to do the same these next nine days!
2. The cold weather. (And indoor play dates!) Yes, it's been a bit too cold for my taste, but I would much prefer these temps than to have it be warm at Christmastime. I love it cold between mid-November and New Year's. Beyond that, bring on the 70s!
3. New pictures in frames. I decided we were long overdue for updating some pictures around the house, so I replaced/put up 40+ new pics (most in collage frames) a little over a week ago and am currently working on updating our digital frame that hasn't had a new file in it in years. I love walking around the house and seeing these cute and beautiful little pieces of art, even if I was insane to take it on during the holiday season. It's finished now and it looks great!
4. Being a part of a church where God is doing big things:
http://www.ajc.com/news/gwinnett/lawrenceville-church-plans-to-771320.html
5. Enjoying the season! I promised myself I was not going to be in the same boat this Christmas season as I was last year. I think it was a mix of Audrey's age plus David pulling really, really long hours, but last December was a stressed-out, frantic mess that we barely enjoyed. (I just reread the posts from a year ago and remember how nuts it was!)
So, this year I have busted my tail to be finished shopping/wrapping/decorating early. Maybe not as early as I had it done pre-Audrey, but still early enough. I have forced myself to turn down things and invitations that would've been fun, but that would've meant less family/down-time. I've even taken a few short-cuts that no one but me noticed anyway. My family may be a little disappointed in the lack of photo calendars and homemade applesauce (sorry, y'all) but I'm willing to bet they'd rather me spend that time and energy soaking up this most wonderful time of year.
All of this reorganization of priorities has resulted in an awesome season full of simple pleasures. In fact, one of the highlights of my life was snuggling with David and Audrey, eating pizza, and watching the original Grinch movie the other night. I've seriously dreamed of doing that since I was a little girl watching The Grinch myself. I've gotten to have lunch with both my parents, dinner and a light show with my in-laws, and caught up with friends over meals and way-too-much dessert. We have even watched a few Christmas movies that we've owned for years and just now opened.
I am so grateful that we've had some real quality time to spend together doing fun things. I know what a rarity that is this time of year. Hopefully you're able to do the same these next nine days!
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Thankful Thursday
Thursday, December 9, 2010
1. Visits to Santa...even if they are tearful and only yield a ridiculously over-priced picture that's not frame worthy. She looked adorable in her Christmas dress and memories were made that we'll keep forever.
2. Being reminded of the little things. I went out with Audrey tonight, determined to finish up the last 3-4 things on my Christmas shopping list. I came up empty handed and frustrated. As I was buckling her in the car, I said "Well, Audrey. That was a bust, wasn't it?" She said "Dog!" and pointed inside Old Navy where I'd just let her spend a few minutes visiting with the mannequin dog. Then she shouted "Moon!" as she pointed up to the gorgeous night sky. I smiled and thought about the aisle of clocks we'd found in Hobby Lobby and how she'd gone crazy with excitement yelling "Tick Tock! Tick Tock!" I remembered how loudly I'd sang carols in the car as she laughed. To her, the night was not a bust. We got out of the house and saw new and different things. We spent time together. The holiday to-do list will get finished, but I have to remember not to miss the special moments in the meantime.
3. Soft Lips Chapstick. Good stuff.
4. AJ finally getting adjusted to a new nap schedule! We started the one-nap-a-day schedule last week and the next day she got sick. We stuck with it, but it was a rough week. Since she couldn't breathe when she was lying down, the naps were short and there were a lot of tears shed. I was seriously regretting my decision to switch. This week, however, has been much better! She even slept for 2.5 hours each of the past two days! YAY!
5. Family letter Christmas cards. We send one every year and I'm sure we're the butt of many jokes because of it, but I LOVE them. I love getting them from other people and I love writing ours and sending it out. Start checking your mailbox now, folks...they're on the way!
2. Being reminded of the little things. I went out with Audrey tonight, determined to finish up the last 3-4 things on my Christmas shopping list. I came up empty handed and frustrated. As I was buckling her in the car, I said "Well, Audrey. That was a bust, wasn't it?" She said "Dog!" and pointed inside Old Navy where I'd just let her spend a few minutes visiting with the mannequin dog. Then she shouted "Moon!" as she pointed up to the gorgeous night sky. I smiled and thought about the aisle of clocks we'd found in Hobby Lobby and how she'd gone crazy with excitement yelling "Tick Tock! Tick Tock!" I remembered how loudly I'd sang carols in the car as she laughed. To her, the night was not a bust. We got out of the house and saw new and different things. We spent time together. The holiday to-do list will get finished, but I have to remember not to miss the special moments in the meantime.
3. Soft Lips Chapstick. Good stuff.
4. AJ finally getting adjusted to a new nap schedule! We started the one-nap-a-day schedule last week and the next day she got sick. We stuck with it, but it was a rough week. Since she couldn't breathe when she was lying down, the naps were short and there were a lot of tears shed. I was seriously regretting my decision to switch. This week, however, has been much better! She even slept for 2.5 hours each of the past two days! YAY!
5. Family letter Christmas cards. We send one every year and I'm sure we're the butt of many jokes because of it, but I LOVE them. I love getting them from other people and I love writing ours and sending it out. Start checking your mailbox now, folks...they're on the way!
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Thankful Thursday...Thanksgiving Update
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Thanksgiving already seems like it was a long time ago, so I'd better get in a quick update about it before I forget it all! So, in lieu of a Thankful Thursday post, here is a summary of our holiday:
David took Wednesday off and we spent most of the day decorating and running a few errands. I was thankful for the help with Audrey, because I was on day three with no voice. I'd been to the doctor the day before and got some prescriptions for bronchitis and laryngitis. I felt pretty okay, but sounded terrible. That evening, I made a couple of side dishes and David finished putting lights on the tree to prepare it for decorating the next night (our tradition). I sank into the couch after Audrey was in bed, reflected on all God had blessed us with since last Thanksgiving, and took a moment to whisper my thanks to Him for it.
On Thursday morning, we got up and dressed and headed over to my Mom's to have lunch with her, my brother, my sister-in-law, and my nephew. Audrey fell asleep as soon as we were pulling off of the interstate, so we drove around for about 20 minutes to let her catch a little nap. When we got to Mom's, we helped finish making/heating a few things and sat down to a huge, delicious feast that I only truly appreciated later when I had time to slowly savor the leftovers. Watching Audrey enjoy all of the new foods was really cool. I just kept thinking, "This time last year she wasn't even on solids! I was her sole source of nutrition!" Man, what a difference! Corn pudding was probably her favorite (I may be biased, though, since that was one of my contributions). She also loved the sweet potatoes, rolls, and turkey.
We cleaned up a little and went outside to enjoy the gorgeous, warm weather. We tried to take some pictures, but the wind and the sleepy kids weren't terribly cooperative. We did get in a few good shots (the album is in the gallery). We went back in for some pumpkin pie, which was another first for Audrey and, like her Mama, she loved it! We read books to the kids and hung out until about 3:30 before starting the trek home. Audrey was so exhausted that she slept the entire way back!
When we got home, we attempted a few more family pictures and played in the backyard for a little bit before it got dark. Then we headed inside to heat up some leftovers and enjoyed round #2 of that day's yummy meal. When we finished cooking and I'd typed out a quick TT post, we decorated the tree while watching the Lighting of Macy's Great Tree. Even Audrey helped by hanging a few non-breakables on the very bottom. We snuggled together, read, and said our prayers, feeling especially grateful for such a sweet day.
On Friday we woke up at a normal time like normal people and did not fear getting trampled or mauled on our way downstairs. I calmly and conveniently made a few online purchases in my pajamas (for which I still got early bird deals, applied coupon codes, and free shipping) and we hung out and decorated some more. By lunch time, though, David wanted to venture out. It cracks me up how much our personalities have switched over the years. He said we'd just "go see how bad it was" and come right back if it was crazy. So, off we went to Target on Black Friday. Ugg. Surprisingly, though, it really wasn't terrible. We got a decent parking spot and found a few great deals we couldn't say no to (an 8GB SD card for $12 and Elf on DVD for $3.99). We also bought hot dogs, buns, and chili for dinner that night. I bet we're the only people in the world who bought stuff for chili dogs at Target on Black Friday. We went home and worked on decorations (22+ boxes/rubbermaid containers and 3 trees take a loooong time) and even started wrapping some gifts. I usually have some wrapped by Halloween, so to get to Thanksgiving without having anything completely ready was ridiculous for me. I'm a freak. I know.
I ran back out late that afternoon by myself to make two returns (I figured Black Friday was the perfect time to do returns because no one else would be...I was right!) and hunt for another gift or two. An hour and a half and four stops later I called it quits and went home for time with my family and chili dogs.
We woke up Saturday morning, got ready, and drove out to David's parents' house for Thanksgiving celebration #2. His parents, two sets of aunts and uncles, cousin, paternal grandmother, and maternal grandparents were all there. I coerced his cousin into taking some family pictures of us before we ate, and she did a wonderful job. It's so hard to get a picture of all three of us smiling because A) I'm usually taking the pics and B) If I'm in it, I can't be the one getting Audrey to smile. I was desperate to get a smiling family photo for the Christmas card and, thankfully, we finally did! After going in to warm up (major temperature change between Thursday and Saturday), we sat down to a huge, yummy meal. Audrey ate just about everything we offered her, but David's Grandmother's banana pudding was by far her favorite. She kept everyone entertained by showing off her ABCs, twirling in her cute sweater dress, and even played a little on Granddad's drums. We took more pictures, packed up more food, and got back on the road around 3pm. As with Thursday, she took a pretty good nap on the ride home.
When we got to the house, we changed her into her Georgia Tech t-shirt and played, ate, and watched a little football. She went to bed exhausted and we stayed up and watched the Tech v. UGA game until after midnight. Unfortunately, we weren't rewarded for our time as they lost this year, but, there's always next year. I stayed up long after David went to bed working on our Christmas card, finally finished it, and emailed it to Camille, glad to have that checked off the list.
Sunday is kind of a blur. I think there was more decorating and cleaning up, then we went to church (and, finally, AJ did not cry about being dropped off at nursery!), then we went to small group that evening. We were definitely feeling down about David having to go back to work after being off five days in a row, but it made us look forward to Christmas even more.
So, there ya have it - Thanksgiving 2010. Lots of family, lots of food, lots of decorating, lots of fun.
Hope y'alls was great, too! Remember to check out the pics.
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