Monday, December 21, 2015

4 more sleeps!

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we've checked everything off of our christmas lists (except wrapping all those darn presents) and all we have left to do is count down the last few days until christmas.  with three birthdays in the month before christmas i always feel like the month is packed with crazy.  i feel sort of bad for the kids having their birthday so close to the holidays so we try and decorate and make it as special as we can while still doing all the christmas things, too.  it makes for a really fun month but always leaves me very ready for the calm of january.  

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i actually don't think we did too many activities this year at all.  mostly we celebrated at home, together by reading christmas books and watching christmas movies, baking cookies and making ornaments.  the kids have loved having the decorations up and really love when we're out after dark and they get to see everyone else's lights, too.  the one activity we did was to take the kids to see the zoo lights.  we hadn't been since ellie was a tiny baby (less than a month old!) and it was much more fun this time since she could actually appreciate it and i didn't find myself breastfeeding her on the floor of the lion house.  we've celebrated with some friends too which is always nice because i feel like this time of year can get so busy that we don't see people as often as we usually do.    

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avery's birthday was a hit.  she got a few presents that she really liked (dolls and legos and a necklace were her favorites).  we went out to dinner at a japanese steakhouse the night before to celebrate charlie's birthday and her birthday.  this is sort of our yearly tradition and the kids love watching the 'show' and eating a huge amount of friend rice.  the day of her birthday we opened her presents, went to ellie's gymnastics class and then to the bookstore.  avery had been talking about going since i took ellie one day when she was at preschool and i hope it lived up to her expectations.  we made tacos for dinner (her favorite) and sang happy birthday to her after dinner.  she had requested a strawberry cake, which i found a little tricky since it's nether strawberry season nor could i find a good recipe for one.  instead i made her a vanilla cake with chocolate icing and added sliced strawberries to the top and she seemed happy enough with it.  

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we'll have a really low key christmas this year.  it's just going to be our little family all day.  we have plans to have french toast for breakfast in between present opening.  i'm really looking forward to setting everything up with charlie on christmas eve and watching the kids open everything in the morning.  ellie is still at the slow and sweet stage of present opening.  she likes to open something and play with it for a bit before moving on to the next present.  avery's a bit faster but i'm hoping they take their time on christmas so we can savor it, too.  this is the first year that we're actually doing stockings.  i actually bought them and remembered to buy things for them.  the dollar spot at target had some great stuff that i know they'll actually use:  chalk, bath finger paints, coloring books, and necklaces.  we got them each a 'big' present.  ellie's is a teepee and avery's is a scooter.  and then a few other little things like books, art supplies, and some clothes.  i'm hoping they like everything and they also have quite a lot of presents that family members have sent, too.  we're planning on making a roast turkey for dinner and hoping for a bit of snow.  it's always such a fun day and the kids make it doubly fun since their excitement is contagious.    

Friday, December 11, 2015

christmastime

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it's the most wonderful time of the year, right?  at least it feels like it.  


+  our tree is up, decorated with both colored and white lights, and the kids keep rearranging the ornaments on it.  
+  we're listening to christmas music every afternoon and evening.  i have to try and play it not too often or else i'll get a little sick of it by the time the 25th rolls around.  
+  we've watched elf once, we attempted the polar express but we had to abandon it because it was 'too scary', and we'll sneak in a viewing of the grinch before too long. 
+  we're spending mornings reading christmas books and the kids are loving opening two new ones each week that my mom sent to us.  our basket of christmas books is overflowing this year!
+  we've had some snow which always makes things feel festive and the kids are loving bundling up in their snow gear and running around, sledding down our little hill in the back, and then coming inside to warm up with some hot chocolate.  
+  we've attempted one ski trip already this year to test out avery's 'new' skis.  of course she hated it and says she doesn't want to go again and doesn't like skiing.  but they should fit ellie by next year, hopefully.
+  we've been making lots of christmas crafts.  so far we've done a santa, an elf, a christmas tree, rudolph, a snow globe, and a snowman and our fridge is filling up fast with all of their handiwork. 
+  our christmas cards have been ordered, addressed, and mostly sent.  i still need a few more stamps for the rest of them. 
+  avery's been drawing and painting pictures to give to family members and is really, really excited to wrap some presents.  
+  buddy the elf has been slowly making his way around our house and if the kids have noticed that sometimes he doesn't move for four days they haven't said anything. 
+  there are mini trees in each of their rooms.  the colored lights on ellie's tree are serving as her nightlight right now and it's the coziest thing to see when i read to her before bed.  
+  we've planned our christmas dinner menu, although i'm still looking for a good breakfast recipe to eat during some breaks in present opening.  i'm thinking we might just go with french toast since that used to be one of avery's favorites and we haven't made it in over a year!
+  we made salt dough ornaments and hung them on the tree.  they are quite imperfect but the kids had a lot of fun with them.   
+  we still would like to see the zoo lights, make some sugar cookies, have a holiday dinner with some friends, and wrap and mail presents to far away family.   

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it's been such a wonderful holiday season so far and i'm excited for the rest of it.  i will admit that we started decorating before thanksgiving, putting up a few decorations each day but saving the tree for the day after thanksgiving like we always do.  with three birthdays between the two holidays it's sort of nice to have the extra time to savor the season and the kids are so, so, so excited for everything.  they love every string of lights that we've hung, every garland, every stocking, and every wreath.  they love their little trees and they love, love the big tree in our living room.  i'm really looking forward to a slow holiday with our little family this year.  it's actually been really nice having two 'older' kids who can actually understand everything, help with the decorating, and enjoy the mess of baking and crafting.  these days are the best and i will miss them, i know, when they're older and 'cooler'.