the calm before the baby.

it seems like we're slowly returning to normal around here after the holiday and birthday season at our house.  i hesitate to say this because i know that 'normal' is about to change again with the addition of a new baby.  so maybe instead we're just enjoying the last bit of time we have as a family of four while i make endless lists of things to do, to bake, to buy, to organize before baby.  i know that really none of these things will matter and as long as i manage to wash the newborn clothes we have, and buy a few packs of diapers we'll be fine, but i can't stop thinking about all of the things i should do now before this baby comes to make our lives easier.  most of them revolve around food:  freezer dinners, lists of easy to make dinners, frozen breakfast cookies, and a freezer stocked with some bison and frozen fruit.  honestly, smoothies and coffee are my food essentials and i could easily survive off of those and peanut butter sandwiches, but having kids makes me feel like i should provide them with a bit more throughout the day.  there's something about ending the evening with a hot, home cooked meal (even if it was prepared a month in advance) that makes me feel like i've accomplished something.  and so i keep making lists of things i need to cook and freeze.  

there are endless things that i want to organize:  the garage, the storage area in our basement, all of the kids toys and books that seem to multiply at an alarming rate.  i cleaned out our toy situation before christmas and it doesn't even seem like we have that much but they seem to be experts at getting out every toy we possibly own, especially the ones with a million pieces, and relocating all of the pieces throughout the house.  at the end of the day the legos haven't actually been used but i can find them in four different rooms of the house.  avery is getting just slightly better about actually cleaning up after herself.  she won't do it without a lot of prompting and whining but she is actually capable of putting toys back where they go.  ellie is actually fantastic at this.  she would make a great engineer someday because the kid loves order and cannot move onto something else until her original mess is picked up.  quiet time and bedtime don't happen until everything is back in its place and often when i call her to lunch or dinner she'll tell me "in a minute, i have to put back" and then she'll actually clean up and put things away.  i love it.

   i feel like i should mention that we had a great christmas.  i always have dreamy expectations of the holiday: my kids thoughtfully, and slowly unwrapping presents and then playing with them for hours while charlie and i drink endless cups of hot coffee, and then later sitting down to a delicious candlelit dinner that lasts more than 15 minutes.  but honestly it was pretty great.  the kids have loads of thoughtful family members who manage to ship gifts out to them in time for the holiday (a skill i have yet to master unless it involves ordering something directly from amazon prime) and had lots to open in addition to the gifts we got them.  i actually managed to stuff stockings this year, which were filled with fairly practical things and the kids 'big' gifts from us were a big hit and they have really enjoyed them.  the theme of this years christmas was definitely frozen, and they now have dolls, blankets, toys, and books that are filled with the world of elsa and anna.  after opening presents we made french toast, which everyone enjoyed and the kids did spend a lot of time playing with their new presents.  we made a turkey, mashed potatoes, and green beans for dinner and did light a candle although i'm pretty sure ellie didn't even sit down at the table that night and took zero bites of the dinner i worked so hard to make.  we also got to FaceTime with almost everyone back east that day, which was nice for the kids and us!  being super pregnant i definitely enjoyed the low key christmas and i would actually really like to make it a tradition to not travel anywhere on christmas day, but instead to just enjoy the company of our family and some good food, too.  

  

4 more sleeps!

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.  

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.    

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.  

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.    

christmas 2013.

this christmas was cinnamon rolls for breakfast, a toddler who woke up at 5:30 am, a play kitchen for avery's big present, FaceTime with family, alex celebrating with us, a very sleepy baby, a long afternoon nap for everyone, christmas music on iTunes, pork and mashed potatoes for dinner, a glass of wine (the first in a long time), too many cups of coffee, spending the day watching avery play with her toys and holding a sleepy ellie, and attempting family pictures before bed (never a good idea).  

pre-christmas 2013 and a very special birthday

it's the christmas season! which in our house is also the season of birthdays.  we celebrated charlie's and avery's birthdays last week and somehow i managed to make it through without feeling too stressed.

avery loved dinner!

charlie turned 31 on tuesday and we kept things pretty low-key.  just the way he likes them apparently.  he bought himself his gift a few weeks ago so i didn't have to stress about finding him the perfect present or even something acceptable enough that he wouldn't return.  he actually took the day off and started it off by letting me sleep in with ellie and making french toast for us & his parents who were visiting.  have i mentioned he's a good guy?  we hung out, took avery to the playground, and ate dinner at a japanese steakhouse.  we had plans to do the zoo lights after dinner but it ended up running pretty late and so instead we headed home for cake and presents before avery's bedtime.  every year he asks for a carvel cake, which makes things even easier for me.  i got him the game cards against humanity, which we played for a bit with his parents that night.  definitely not a game to play with anyone who you don't know too well!  

avery's second birthday was also pretty tame.  ellie was pretty fussy that whole day so i had to spend a lot of time just taking care of her.  we took avery to barnes and noble to play with the legos, had macaroni and cheese for dinner, FaceTimed with everyone by the end of the day, and opened a few presents.  when i asked her what kind of cake she wanted she told me chocolate with chocolate icing so that's what she got! the icing was a little stiff but overall the cake was pretty good.

and here's just some random pictures of us and the kids as of late.  i can't get over how big ellie is getting!  at her two week appointment she was just about 8 pounds but i'm guessing she's gained at least a pound or two since then based on the fact that she's outgrowing all of her clothes.  avery is slightly obsessed with her sister and is really helpful with taking care of her throughout the day.

happy christmas eve.

right now we have turkey soup simmering on the stove for dinner, a second pot of coffee was just brewed, christmas music is playing constantly, my sister is in town and has been playing with avery since the second she ran down the stairs to wake her up this morning, and we have plans to take the kids to the playground and watch elf later today.  and we promised avery we'd drive around again tonight to look at christmas lights.

after avery's in bed tonight we'll be wrapping a few presents and assembling her big gift and then tomorrow we get to spend the morning watching her open presents.  our christmas (new years) cards have been sent, our presents have been bought, and all we have left to do is enjoy these few days together.  i have loved the christmas season this year.  it's been slow and sweet and amazing to watch through avery's eyes.  i've loved that her excitement has been over the christmas lights and buddy the elf's mysterious appearances and drawing snowmen and santas and getting christmas cards in the mail.  she doesn't really get the present thing yet, which has made this christmas about the season itself and not a list of things that she wants to play with.  

merry christmas eve.  and we miss you mom & dad. 

christmas 2013.

i knew that this holiday season was going to be a little different than in years past both because we were going to have a very new newborn with us and because avery is actually at an age where she can understand and get really excited about christmas.  i am loving the 'almost two' age (usually) because she just gets things now that she hasn't in the past and it makes things a lot more fun.  we knew that we definitely wanted to make the season fun for avery but i also knew that running around and doing a lot of activities wasn't going to happen because ellie was so new and honestly both charlie and i are still adjusting to the lack of sleep.  but because avery is old enough to get the holidays it's also made us think a lot more about how we want to celebrate and what traditions we want to establish.  

avery's really into the christmas decorations this year, which has been really fun.  we tried to involve her as much as possible in decorating since she gets so excited about it.  we broke our previous tradition of decorating for christmas the day after thanksgiving since we were planning on having ellie prior to thanksgiving.  we both knew that decorating with a newborn would be a lot less fun than enjoying the decorations while sitting on a couch with a newborn.  so charlie hung the outside lights at the beginning of november and we put up our inside decorations a week or so before thanksgiving. we've always kept it pretty simple inside (and even with that the clutter of the decorations is beginning to drive me nuts).  avery helped with the tree, although she was in a terrible mood that day so wasn't as into it as she might have been.  she's so cute because every time she sees the outside lights she'll say "daddy hang christmas lights.  thanks dad." and every time she sees the inside lights, like the ones i hung in the playroom she'll say "mommy hang christmas lights.  thanks mom".  it definitely makes decorating worth it to see how excited she still is over these things.  i got her a mini tree for her room and she's still really into holding the ornaments during diaper changes and turning the lights on and off of the tree.

charlie got a train for around the tree this year and she's liked it almost as much as he does.  it's the polar express and it came with the book (now we have two copies) and the bell.  

one of the christmas ideas that seems to be everywhere is the idea of wrapping up 25 christmas books and unwrapping one each day and reading it.  i love that idea but i also love the idea of having all of our christmas books available to read during december.  we read all the time and she's really liked some of the christmas books.  some of her favorites that we read every day are the bearenstein bears christmas tree, the sights and smells of christmas, the polar express, and 'twas the night before christmas.  i think her favorite out of all of them is the bearenstein bears and i've been pretty impressed that she'll sit through the whole book because it's long! and sometimes even ask for it to be read multiple times.  

we sort of do the elf on the shelf tradition.  neither charlie and i are sure if we're going to do the whole santa thing with avery.  i mean she knows who he is but we haven't done the whole concept of santa bringing you presents on christmas.  both of us hate the idea that santa brings you presents if you're good.  mostly, i just don't like the idea of using santa as a bribe or a threat and i don't want her behavior to be tied to some imaginary figure that brings presents.  also, i think that christmas can be pretty magical with or without the big guy in the red suit.  anyway, charlie told her that the elf comes during the holiday season and that he's there to watch over us and make sure that we're safe.  we do attempt to move him once a day although we've both been pretty bad at that but she does look for him and gets excited when he shows up in a different place.  charlie named him buddy last year and she'll tell you that buddy's the elf and he makes sure we're safe.














a few other things that we've done are baking christmas cookies.  avery was really into this and also really, really into eating them in front of the christmas tree.  i love how she gets so excited about little things like that.  we also made a christmas tree out of painters tape and then cut out ornaments for her to put on the tree.  i wasn't sure about this but it was actually a pretty big hit.  my mom did a few crafts with her when she was in town.  they did a foam christmas tree, a rudolph face that had to be glued together, we made another rudolph one day at barnes and noble when they had crafts, and we made snowmen out of foam balls.  avery's really into crafts so all of these were fun, easy activities that made the really cold weather that we've been having not seem so terrible.  

we also watched a christmas movie.  avery's never actually watched a movie before so this was sort of extra special.  we started the grinch for her one night and then she finished it the next morning.  she really liked it and snuggled up with charlie during most of the movie.  i also found the bearenstein bears christmas tree (the book that we read all the time) on youtube and we watched that.  it's a short one (about 20 minutes) and she liked it but it didn't hold her attention nearly as well as the grinch did.  when she gets older i'd love to have friday's during advent be christmas movie nights because there are so many good christmas movies to pick from.





















but mostly we've spent this time just hanging out as a family and wearing a lot of christmas pj's.  avery's been playing a lot, we've been coloring and drawing santas and snowmen, we've been taking turing holding ellie, and just spending this time just enjoying being a family of four.  we'll have visitors the last 2 weeks of december and this time with just the four of us has been really, really nice.  in the future, especially as the kids get older i know we'll be doing more activities, but i hope that we don't get too busy during this season, that we learn to say no to certain things, enjoy time as a family, and focus on family and friends and the time that we spend together.  i feel so incredibly fortunate to have had this time with my family, without charlie traveling, and to have had so much family come and visit us.  it's really been the perfect christmas season.