Christmas in Pictures 2009

Road Trippin'

We decided to drive to Indy for Christmas this year. We had a fantastic time with the Indiana family. I'll post more on Christmas '09 soon. (gotta get my pictures downloaded first).

I wanted to share some things I have learned from this last road trip with my family.

• Kids cooped up in a car seat all day WILL be crazy once the driving is done. Allow them to run around and be crazy before trying to settle down for bed.
  
• Talking with an almost three year old to prepare her for what's ahead is a good idea.
• Always look at your hotel room before you decide to stay for the night.
• Comfort Inns are a good bet (or any Choice Hotel chain).
• Gusty wind isn't fun while driving in the middle of Kansas.
• Flexibility is key
• Eating semi healthy while on the road pays off.
• A car dust buster may be a good investment.
  
• Kids sometimes surprise you and do really well on a long road trip.
  
• I think we'll be flying to Indy at least until our kids are a bit older.
  

Jack is One!

My little buddy is One today!

This has been an awesome, joy-filled and very fast year. Jack has brought so many smiles and lots of love into our lives.

Some things about Jack:

• He is quite social. He loves the ladies!
• He loves stairs. The moment we open the gate, he squeals and crawls as fast as he can towards the stairs. He does well going up - still working on going down.
• He likes to walk holding onto our fingers.
• He's a good eater. He prefers finger foods. Mommy does too - not so messy!
• He can be rough and tumble with his big sister Lily. He's a tough guy.
  
• Speaking of Lily, he loves loves loves his sister.
  
• He still looks like his Uncle Matt.
• He's a good napper - still working on sleeping ALL the way through the night
• He loves to clap
• He gives "fives"
• He jibber jabbers quite a bit
• He's learning sign language. He signs when he wants to nurse.
  

We love you Jack!!

Single Parenthood

This weekend I'm home alone with the kids. David is in Las Vegas visiting his Mom. He comes home tonight and I can't wait! I realize how much I rely on him when he's gone. I'm managing of course and even having some fun with the kids, but boy, it's tiring. I have a new found respect for single parents or military spouses.

Yesterday we attended a birthday party for Lily's little buddy, Ian. This was held during the normal afternoon nap time. I was a bit nervous about taking them as I was afraid of major meltdowns. They did okay! The only crying was at the very end when I told Lily she could only have one piece of cake. Once the crying began, we headed out and the kids took a short nap when we got home.

Today we have another party in between Jack's morning nap and the kids afternoon nap. I'm glad we have some fun activities this weekend!!

We've only had a few things break this weekend - a mirror frame and a honey dispenser. The mirror happened last night. We were up in Lily's room and I was putting away her toys. I had my back to the kids as I was hanging Lily's shirts in her closet. Jack crawled over to Lily's standing mirror and pulled it down. The mirror itself didn't break, just the frame. It was a very old mirror (from my childhood) and just one of those cheap ones you can get at Target. I will try to repair this one, but if it's not repair-able, I'll look at getting her one that hangs on the wall. Then this morning, I was holding Jack while preparing Lily's breakfast. Jack decided he wanted to Cheerios box and knocked it over, which hit the honey dispenser and cracked the top. I was afraid of glass shards in the honey, so Lily was a bit upset that she had no honey on her Cheerios - she got over it quickly.

David, we miss you! See you tonight!!


At Ian's party....Melanie: Ian's Mom with Jack (Melanie is pregnant with baby #2 due in March, can't wait to meet the newest addition!)

Socks

Now that the sweater is done, I decided to work on a smaller project: socks! I'm hoping to finish these up by Christmas and perhaps give them as a gift!

Today we had my company holiday luncheon. I work for a very small company (12 people) so we held the luncheon in our conference room. Normally I don't work on Fridays, so I just popped in for a few minutes (for the food of course). David and the kids came with me so my coworkers got to meet them.

This coming weekend is a busy one. I have a Lemongrass brunch on Saturday and I believe David is inviting a high school buddy and his wife for dinner Saturday night. Sunday is lunch with my former coworkers at Pikes Peak Behavioral Health Group. If the timing goes well, I will go from my coworker lunch to a meetup with my bookclub girls! I love social weekends! Now I just have to figure out how to get my chores done at home in-between.