Holiday Happenings 2014

Here is a little of what we've been up to the past month or so to get ready for, and celebrate, the holidays...

Avery and I made sure to test out a few batches of Reindeer food before Christmas Eve.  The best batch contained popcorn, M&Ms and Chex.  Let's just say Santa's Reindeer loved it and ate it ALL.

Avery and I also decorated the inside of our front door...everyone needs a little Frosty in their lives...

We spent a day with the Goads and DiNinos decorating holiday cookies.  What fun!

Group shot after the cookie decorating and eating.  =)

Avery, Claire and I spent one weekend with Danda and Papa in early December when Jeff was in Tahoe for a bachelor party.  The first night of our weekend sleepover, Danda and Papa's neighborhood had a movie in the park night with a fun holiday show.

Avery got dressed up a few times this holiday season for some special events.  First up, her Holiday Happening at school (see where I got the blog title?) where her class sang Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.  So cute!  She also saw two different performances of the Nutcracker.  One with Danda, Papa and Helen and the other with me and some friends at a Nutcracker Tea.

Christmas Eve morning Avery and I volunteered to deliver roses to seniors in a local senior home.  It was a very sweet morning and Avery did so well.  She was kind, talkative and caring in a situation that could be scary or uncomfortable.  She handed the roses to the elderly, said her name and asked theirs.  With some, she chitchatted about what she wanted for Christmas or what her plans were for Christmas Eve.  Everyone got a kick out of her and I know we made everyone's day and holiday a little brighter.  We met another mom and daughter duo volunteering that morning and made fast friends!

Getting ready to pick up the roses!

The seniors loved watching them dance to Christmas songs!

On Christmas Eve, Avery and I went to church with Danda, Papa, GramCin and Grandpa Wayne while Jeff stayed home with a sick Claire.  (Fortunately, Claire's cold didn't turn into anything that bad, just a stuffy, sneezy, coughy kind of thing - but, with an itty bitty, that can be hard.)  After church, Jeff and I switched and he took Avery to Danda and Papa's to celebrate Christmas Eve with the family, including Uncle Brennan, Auntie Michel, Helen and Rose!

My sick one - still cheery, but quite snotty.

Christmas Day was filled with fun, family and smiles!

Twinsie kisses!

Love my family!

 FPT

Our little Christmas Elf.  This picture makes us laugh for so many reasons!

Haircut!

Avery and I decided it was time to change things up with her hair.  What a big change it is and she is loving it!  (She loves the shorter brushing time, fewer hair ties and clips needed, etc.  That being said, the morning after we had it cut, she woke up, looked in the mirror and said, "I look like a boy!"  Ahhh!  She looked absolutely adorable and was okay with her hair again shortly after.)

 

LOVE

FPT

Where did my bald baby go?!

Conversations with Claire

...conversations "baby style."  Claire started cooing recently and it's amazing.  And cute.  And I want to ingrain these chats in my mind forever.

Let's talk, Baby!

Note: 1) a special guest appearance by Miss Belmont Pickles in the background of the first video and 2) Claire ending our conversation in the second video, because it was clearly time to eat.  Ha.

Claire has also been having longer stretches of awake time.  I mean, we're talking 30 minutes here (not including feeding time).  That is a lot for us...and believe you me, if we go over her allotted awake time by one minute she lets us know (including anyone within a 50 yard radius).

So, in this awake time I have noticed a few things... Claire is becoming very interested in her toys.  She smiles and coos at them without hesitation.  She loves interacting with people...smiles are easily forthcoming and what a treat they are!  She has a continued admiration for our downstairs ceiling fan (which we now call her "boyfriend").  She loves her Daddy and finds his beard thrilling.

Mesmerized by this guy.

Smiling at her car seat companion, Miss Butterfly.

Talking to her toys.

 Love this little lady!!

FPT

In the middle of our smile sesh, a sneeze snuck in.  Took us both by surprise!

Videos for Julie and Lola

Avery was really into making videos for Julie and her mom, Lola, after their visit a few weeks ago.  Take a look!

This girl.

FPT

Baby chub: 6 weeks!

One Month Photo

Everyone does their baby's monthly growth photos differently, if they do them at all.  I didn't do them consistently with Avery, so I am making it up to her and will do Claire's monthly growth photo next to her...

I envisioned having their feet at the same bottom marker on the bed and doing an artsy shot from above.  This is what I got.  I'll go with it.

One month!

Claire is a great baby!  She is chill and content.  She has a love affair with ceiling fans.  They don't even have to be on to grab her attention.  As long as they are on the ceiling and are a contrasting color to the ceiling paint, she's good to go for a stare off.

She is still a great eater, but we've had our share of gassy issues.  Getting better each day and she's thankful for that (we all are)!  She is a sleepy kid and doesn't typically stay awake longer than 45 minutes at a time, including feeding time.  She has been doing really well at night and we've seen (and slept through) some six hour stretches!  Every now and then after her 4:00 / 4:30 am-ish feeding she thinks it's morning, which is not that awesome.  But again, thankfully, she needs to go to sleep again shortly thereafter.

Claire is a complete sweetheart and has so much love and life in her eyes.  We are all madly in love with her!  Avery continues to be the best big sister ever.  She is always asking to hold Claire and loves kissing and touching her.  We have been blessed in the new baby-adjustment department, that's for sure!

Oh, and Claire started smiling (actual reactive smiling) at 3.5 weeks.  Jeff was her smile-receiver of choice at first, but now, if she's in the right mood, will crack a grin for anyone she deems smile-receiver worthy.

FPT

This would be a "not so content" face.

This and That

This post is a snapshot into our lives the past month or so.  Birthday parties, Halloween and plenty of family pictures.  A little random, but fulfilling and fun just the same.

Avery's friend, Cameron's, 4th birthday party.  Horses, lots of playing and swimming.  What a fun day!

It's like she was born to ride.

This picture cracks me up.

Halloween!  Unfortunately, Avery got a little cold bug Halloween morning, but she was able to participate in her school's parade before heading home with Claire and me.  We rested all day, gave her plenty of fluids and meds and she was able to go trick or treating that night...for a little while at least.  Avery was tired, not feeling 100% and scared of all the "non-princessy costumes and decorations," so we made it an early night for all of us!

Oh, Avery was a "MOM" for Halloween.  =)  Love her!

I kept telling her she was a pumpkin, but she kept insisting she was a pirate.

Now, a bunch of randoms!

My friend love, Julie and her mom, Loretta (Lola), came to visit a few weeks ago!   This was a jean jacket picture, if you couldn't tell.

Rose and Claire - cousin twins!

Check yourself.

Ha!

Avery and Helen tearing up the culdesac.

The Simpson-side cousins.  We love Tyler!

We went to breakfast at a local hotspot recently.  It was a busy morning, so we had to wait outside for a little while.  During our wait, an elderly couple shuffled out of the restaurant after finishing their meal and the man happened to be wearing an eye patch...  As they were passing us, Avery asked pretty loudly, "mom, is that a pirate??"  OMG!  Everyone in earshot started laughing and thankfully, the elderly man was cool and said with a chuckle "honey, I'm too old to be a pirate."  Ahhhh!  Do I laugh or cringe?  Since it was since an innocent question and not offensive (I hope), I went with laugh (in a polite way, of course).

Sass is an understatement.

 

 

That's a wrap, folks!

FPT

They're going to kill me for posting this picture one day, but it's a risk I'm willing to take...

Avery and Claire look A LOT alike.  You can undoubtedly tell they're sisters.  Major similarities: nose, facial structure and intense baby stare glare.  Minor differences: lips and eyes.
It'll be fun to see the similarities and differences as they grow up.

Claire left; Avery right.